|
TheBigBlack's Rock Top 10Rock came up better in the end than I had expected, and had a better showing than the previous couple of years. I actually had to cull a couple to get down to 10. |
||
|
|
Velvet Revolver
|
|
As much as we all complained about this album, it put some MUSICIANS back on the radio, and that's worth a mention me thinks. Remove Weiland and pop someone like... say... Axl Rose on vocals, and the album would have been BRILLIANT. |
|
|
Incubus
|
|
Incubus has always made great and intelligent music for me, but was always a little too close to walking the radio song line. Now, with the album that finally leaves any chance of that behind (and the legions of radio rock fans that couldn't make this album out), I think this may be their best ever. All the clues left on 'Morningrise' to where a good Incubus album may be are realised here. |
|
|
Mark Lanegan Band
|
|
I have been a big fan of Mark Lanegan since the early 90s when he released his 'Whiskey For The Holy Ghost' acoustic album, then discovered the HUGE Screaming Trees back catalogue. Everything he has written since then has just gotten better and better. A brilliant blend of acoustic folk and rock. |
|
|
Eagles Of Death Metal
|
|
Josh Homme's band long before Kyuss or the QOTSA were even thought of finally got together and recorded their debut with him on drums (and leaving not long after...). This is a really groovy southern rock album, with an alternative feel. Unusual and unique. And has a stupid name. |
|
|
The Dissociatives
|
|
When I fluked upon this playing late one Saturday night on Rage, I got very excited! Could this be new Silverchair? But the style is wrong? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Then after a quick hunt on the net I was surprised to find Mr. Johns had teamed up with ol' buddy Paul Mac again. The 2000 E.P. 'I Can't Believe It's Not Rock!' left us all noting that it wasn't rock, and I expected more of the same. But this is Johns at his creative best. The album grew on me like an amoeba growing in a laboratory petri-dish, and I love it. |
|
|
John Butler Trio
|
|
The man is a master of the guitar and a genius song writer. Give him a jazz style percussive team to accompany his blues-riffed folk - and a masterpiece appears. The story goes that Sony America offered him a million bucks to publish the album in the U.S., but as they refused to press the cover on recycled paper, he signed with some small label for less than 100 grand... what a great hippy! |
|
|
The Tea Party
|
|
The Tea Party are one of the few bands that can be consistent and not go stale. This is a bit of a departure (with a more straight up rock feel and no eastern influences), but is still classic stuff. |
|
|
Ministry
|
|
Rock or Metal? I still class these guys as industrial alternative rock - but I'm very anal about such things. Just when you thought Jorg could never produce another thing of quality when loaded on so much blow and shoot, before your very ears comes what is possibly the best Ministry album ever! And every song starts with a W. Is that 'W' for 'Where's my veins?' |
|
|
Green Day
|
|
Green Day can't do any wrong really. Billie Joe is the master of the 3 chord pop-punk style, and. and there is nothing else to say. So get stuffed. |
|
|
Nirvana
|
|
Wow! This is huge, with 3 CDs of nearly all unreleased (or rare) Nirvana, more Kurt Cobain demos than Courtney Love can claim ownership of, and a fitting end to the band that started the greatest revolution in rock since Hendrix pumped out Purple Haze at the Monterey Pop Festival in '67. Brilliant. JUST BRILLIANT. |
||
|
TheBigBlack's Rock Honourable Mentions |
||
|
|
Cake
|
|
Just because they are Cake. And they released an album. And it is funky. |
|
|
Twisted Sister
|
|
Re-recording their classic 1984 album 'Stay Hungry' with a 2004 production style, and opening the vaults to give us the left over tracks from the original sessions! |
|
|
Pearl Jam
|
|
Giving us a live acoustic Pearl Jam set for charity. This has songs the band has never performed live before. Great stuff! Eddie - Will you marry me? Still 'no', huh? One day. |
|
|
Spiderbait
|
|
With a pumping cover of 'Black Betty' (that topped the charts), and a follow-up single called 'Fucking Awesome' that radio couldn't play for obvious reasons, the 'bait is back! Perhaps they could show Powderfinger and Grinspoon how it is you play rock music, as they seem to have forgotten. |
|
|
Midnight Oil
|
|
The Oils finally releasing in conjunction with Triple J - The legendary 1985(?) Sydney Harbour / Goat Island concert on CD and DVD. Man - can Garrett dance or what? Yeah - he's dancing. |
||
|
TheBigBlack's Rock Dishonourable MentionsLess than the last couple of years, but enough to still have my rant. |
||
|
|
|
Regurgitator
|
|
Thanks for entertaining us by thinking you could use a reality TV show to make a decent album, when it was obvious to all of us it was never gonna happen. |
|
|
U2
|
|
I smell something stale - Oh, it's seems it's time to throw the U2 away, as it's past it's use-by date. This is tired and boring. This is boring and tired. This is tired and dull. This is dull and boring. See how I wrote that over and over again, but changed it just a little - there you have the format used for this cattle dung. |
|
|
Queens Of The Stone Age
|
|
Why when so much media hype and controversy is surrounding your band would you delay your new album and release a crappo E.P. of bad covers of bad songs? GIVE US THE DAMN ALBUM AND STOP WASTING OUR TIME AND MONEY. |
|
|
Jay-Z / Linkin Park
|
|
OK - We had to suffer 'Reanimation' a couple of years back where rappers and DJs remixed the already agonisingly overplayed Linkin Park. Now we have to suffer another mini-album of the same tripe, only this time worse than the last? And the smart part is - of a 6 track album, they have capitalised with the single 'Numb' (again) by releasing it separately with 2 of the 6 songs on it also? And they say Lars loves the money. |
|
|
Jebediah
|
|
With this radio friendly tripe, it's no wonder nobody bought your crappy album. Go back to Fremantle. You are a disgrace. |
|
|
A Perfect Circle
|
|
When did 'A Perfect Circle' become 'A Ring Of Poo'? Let's get other's songs to save us time writing them, then make them really dull, so we sound moody and angsty - and we'll devote the whole thing to protest the war that ended 12 months ago... Maynard - Go back to Tool. We don't give 2 craps for your side project anymore. |
||
|
mk's Rock Top 10Rock Top 10 will be appearing soon, but in the meantime these are some of the best (in no particular order.). |
||
|
|
|
Cake
|
|
|
|
|
Black Label Society
|
|
I can't recall the first time I had a listen to this band. In any case became familiar with their releases after forming in 1998. While The Blessed Hellride released prior to this effort I love to bits, Hangover is a very different beast. As the name suggests, it is a very dulled-down release to perhaps support the day after for some. That aside, this is actually a very ballsy effort from Zakk-man. It exposes his vocals even more so, which most would admit take some getting used to. To the point however - he blows the doors off with a mix of mellow, blues/rock sound covering some very catchy tunes. You get to hear his now familiar guitar sound that he has perfected over the years - even when you listen to Ozzy releases over the recent years you will clearly know he has left his paint mark on the release. Highlights include the opener 'Crazy Or High', but as you proceed through the album, you hit the gems such as 'Stepping Stone', 'Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow' which shows the man can hold a tune and can hold his own on the ivory which is surprising. We then have the short enjoyment of Zakk noodling in 'Takillya (Estyabon)' - very much in flamenco style. As you proceed you will find a tribute to Layne Staley and a cover of 'A Whiter Shade Of Pale'. I must admit the 65 minute effort does come to an early halt with the last few songs which does relieve it of the 'classic' title. However going back to the start, if you are after a comfy listen on a Sunday morning following a big Saturday night, this is the landing zone. It hooked me as a lifetime fan and loved having the chance to see the man handle his guitar playing live. |
|
|
Eagles Of Death Metal
|
|
|
|
|
Green Day
|
|
|
|
|
Grinspoon
|
|
|
|
|
Monster Magnet
|
|
|
|
|
Spiderbait
|
|
|
||
|
TheBigBlack's Metal Top 10This has got to be the biggest year in metal since the now legendary 1986 (Master Of Puppets / Reign In Blood / Peace Sells etc). This was hard work getting this list together. I have around 100 new metal releases for the year, and 90% were fantastic! |
||
|
|
|
Borknagar
|
|
This Norwegian Black Metal supa-group re-invent and refine their sound with each release. This album is possibly my favourite so far, with enough melody and aggression to really grab me. |
|
|
Therion
|
|
This also includes the 'Sirius B' album - The 'issue 2 albums at one time' option has never really been pulled off by anyone but G'n'R in the past, but Therion have done a damn fine job of it here. A mixture of all of Therion's previous styles (operatic / power / death etc) beautifully wound into a 2 hour journey that is almost exhausting in intensity. |
|
|
Aura Noir
|
|
Brilliant old school black metal supa-group playing black metal how it should be - nasty, evil, fast, evil, angry, evil, underproduced, a bit more of some evil, and in white face makeup. Long live Satan apparently. |
|
|
Amon Amarth
|
|
I had never really noticed Amon Amarth before, but this album caught me by surprise. Pumping death metal in the style of Unleashed or Vader, with just enough originality to make it Top 10 worthy. |
|
|
Cradle Of Filth
|
|
I find that a lot of Cradle releases tend to blend into one long noise after a while due to Dani's vocals. For this reason they rarely make the 10. But this album is quite different - mellower (only in style - the lyrics still bite like rabid dogs), but still with a driving tempo, this is fantastic music for playing at parties... where murder is being plotted. |
|
|
Slipknot
|
|
This is without a doubt, the best thing the 'knot have ever released, maggots. I'm sure there are adverts for this in magazines saying 'BUY THIS OR DIE!' - and if there isn't - there should be, damn it! They have mastered the melody, but amped up the volume - and with the masterful producer Rick Ruben twiddling their knobs (oh lordy!), how could it not be a classic? |
|
|
My Dying Bride
|
|
MDB often make TheBigBlack Top 10, but this time they deserve it more than any other. By far the heaviest Bride album in years, with occasional death metal growls, once again this band have redefined what a gothic band should be in the new century. |
|
|
Megadeth
|
|
Mr. Mustaine has come through a treat for the 'deth's possible finale. With threads from previous albums, and shades of the entire back catalogue in the music, this is BRILLIANT. Go ahead - Kick The Chair. |
|
|
Exodus
|
|
Exodus are the biggest band never to be big in metal. They never recovered from losing Hammett to Metallica. They also never recovered from their debut album being released 18 months after it was recorded due to label issues. They also never recovered from losing a lead singer when about to record the next album. The list goes on - demos released as real albums by crappy record companies, lead singers dying, more lead singers leaving etc. Drugs. Alcohol. Yet still they manage to make one of the most inspired thrash albums in recent memory. And a special thanks goes out to Mr Hammett for allowing the band to finally record his Exodus era unreleased track 'Impaler'. |
|
|
Mayhem
|
|
Possibly the best (and apparently possibly the last) Mayhem album ever! Faster and angrier and eviler than ever imagined. Just when the black metal world had given up on Mayhem as being a dinosaur, they show Norway they still reign. |
||
|
TheBigBlack's Metal Honourable Mentions |
||
|
|
|
Anthrax
|
|
This would have made the 10, but for the fact that it is all re-recorded old songs from the Neil and Joey era, so it doesn't really qualify. Oh - and they are done better. Shut up mk - they are done BETTER! |
|
|
MD.45
|
|
Thanks to Mr. Mustaine for re-releasing his '96 punk offering with his own vocals as it should have been in the first place. |
|
|
Deicide
|
|
Once again Deicide have shown the world what death metal sounds like. The only reason this didn't make the 10 is that I am pretty certain it is the same album they have released since 1989 - they just call it a different name each time. |
|
|
Damageplan
|
|
I didn't much care for the album - but it had Dime on it, so it deserves a mention. Enough said. R.I.P. |
|
|
Black Label Society
|
|
A pretty good album, yes - but not quite 10 material - it does get a mention though, for Zakk's boldness to release an all-acoustic album. And because he includes the worst version of 'A Whiter Shade Of Pale' ever recorded on it, thinking its listenable. |
|
|
Probot
|
|
Over his lengthy career Dave Grohl has time and again proven himself to be full of surprises, but none probably turned heads more than Probot. At a time when the Foo Fighters were heading into their most consumable and radio friendly music yet, Grohl decided to record a metal album. Originally for fun, but later growing into a full project, Probot as a concept was simple - Grohl would write the songs, and invite his favourite metal vocalists from the 80s to feature on them. What takes the album to the next level is Grohl's ability to perfectly mimic the styles of music the guest vocalist are known for. 'Shake Your Blood' featuring Lemmy on vocals is the song Motorhead should have recorded, whilst 'Red War' sounds so Max Cavalera in style that it is uncanny. 'Sweet Dreams' featuring King Diamond is an 80s metal masterpiece that never was. The album was hyped upon release, but quickly disappeared to no more than a foot note in Grohl's repertoire - but that is unsurprising considering his audience were probably scratching their heads at voices like Cronos of Venom and Snake of VoiVod. One song has seemed to endure though - a hidden track called 'I Am The Warlock' with Jack Black front-and-centre explaining how he is going to destroy the listener's life, in the way only Jack Black can. |
|
|
Cult Of Luna
|
|
Cult Of Luna amaze me, and not many bands do that anymore. This album is a brilliant collage of noise and distortion, which ebbs and flows like the ocean in a storm... crashing against the rocks of the shore. |
|
|
Fear Factory
|
|
Fear Factory without Dino? Like toast without Vegemite they said - It can't be done - DAMMIT! IT SHOULDN'T BE DONE! But it has been, and it actually worked. Like taking the first bite from a slice of toast spread with Promite instead, this was still Vegemite, but with a slightly new (and very refreshing) flavour. And it was HEAVY! |
|
|
Dream Theater
|
|
I am not a huge Dream Theater fan, and will never claim to be. Yeah - These boys can play like motherfuckers, but it is all a little to guitar wanky and mellow in places for the wall of noise these damned ears deserve. So why is this here? I can't say - but I can say I gave all 3 CDs a hell of a listen, and this is magnificent from start to finish. |
||
|
TheBigBlack's Metal Dishonourable Mentions |
||
|
|
|
Megadeth
|
|
Dishonourable Mention for being remixed by General Mustaine to now have the TRUMPETS in the scorching opener 'Into The Lungs Of Hell' EVEN LOUDER. What was he thinking? What was he THINKING? In 1988 when he put them there the first time WHAT WAS HE THINKING? |
||
|
mk's Metal Top 10OK - Having more than 3 months to listen to a myriad of goodies from 2004, here's a list with a little more effort. Bring on 2005!!!!! Yeah I know it's almost July!! |
||
|
|
|
Danzig
|
|
Some crunchy mid tempo guitars and I'm anyone's!! Yep I know this guy has done some great things in metal and I've ignored them all (including his Misfits work), but this release is impressive... Simple, but impressive. |
|
|
Exodus
|
|
OK - Another surprise. Scar Spangled Banner is brilliant. Souza's vox are infectious. Actually if you see what else has made my Top 10 this is a small trend at the moment (see Aura Noir and Cadaver vocals). This is just great old fashioned speed man!!! |
|
|
Mayhem
|
|
Each song has a great riff in it that keeps you listening for it to come around again. That's why it scraped in ahead of the others. |
|
|
Cadaver
|
|
Almost the spitting image of Aura Noir's latest. Grumpy vocals and straight up speed. Brilliant!!! |
|
|
Aura Noir
|
|
Nothing ground breaking here in terms of sound. Again just some really catchy tunes. |
|
|
Into Eternity
|
|
The surprise for me. This is just completely against all I stand for (in a wanky clean cut guitars sense at least) but something made me stand up and take notice - glimpses of grumpy guitars in between the clean and the vox change is different - I don't think I could stand a whole album of just one type. Impressive. |
|
|
Pungent Stench
|
|
Have loved these no thrills metallers for years. Glad to see they are back to their putrid, horrid, smelling best. And what a great theme for an album! |
|
|
Cult Of Luna
|
|
A new sound that has grown on me. This and ISIS were great releases this year. Definitely need to be in the mood for it, but the intricacies with the occasional growling vocals blending in is a catchy mix. |
|
|
Megadeth
|
|
Yes, it does grow on you. I think this record has got me over 'Bring back the 'Rust' days' phobia. Sure I've listened to and admired all releases since that epic - but it's always been a 'take-it-or-leave-it' relationship. This has me interested in revisiting those albums again. Keep the Megadeth juggernaut running Droogie Dave - just one more time at least. AND YOU'D BETTER COME TO ADELAIDE!!!! |
|
|
Slipknot
|
|
This marks the 3rd release from the Iowa band. Following on from the first 2 full-lengths, the band had the confidence to move on from the shock-metal (yeah I made that up) years that had them belting their instruments (all 8 of them) as hard as they can, questionable song titles and Corey growling like the devil. On this record, you need not look further than listening to the first minute of the opening track to be aware you were in for a treat. A new experience that had the band growing the balls to start off with an emotional, but angry ballad. Absolutely brilliant. But don't let that fool you - they drop right back into the aggressive pit, which gave us such gems as Duality and Vermillion. Add in the genius of dedication a song to their fans (the Maggots) with Pulse Of The Maggots and you have an incredibly attractive and mature release from the band. Still to this day their best release. |
||
|
mk's Metal Honourable MentionsIn such a tough year a lot of good music misses out (in no particular order): |
||
|
|
|
Behemoth
|
|
Hey - Some don't mind if you pour a bucket load of spit over your mic, but this ruins it for me. |
|
|
Cannibal Corpse
|
|
The perennials in filth and off-putting song titles. They keep spewing out the same old stuff. Good for a listen, but a bit boring now. |
|
|
Cradle Of Filth
|
|
Got a little boring in the end. I think this is the year of short albums for me. |
|
|
Decapitated
|
|
Some great short catchy songs in this lot. I just like the other shorter catchier songs better. |
|
|
Deicide
|
|
Hey - this is good. Maybe I should have put it in my Top 10. Could it be the last one under the Deicide name??? |
|
|
Enslaved
|
|
See Deicide. Maybe we could stretch this to a Top 15 Zan??? |
|
|
Fear Factory
|
|
Sad as it is to say - one of my fave bands has rolled out something very similar to previous releases but just doesn't grab me. There are some good songs in there - Cyberwaste (a great tribute to Dino), but I was maybe looking for something a little different without Dino there and given the success (or slight lack of) of recent efforts. |
|
|
Isis
|
|
Very similar to Cult Of Luna's release. I liked that one a little better as a complete album. |
|
|
Khold
|
|
Unlike most listed here I have never heard of these guys. Have a great sound. Mixing the theatrical (sort of - I did shudder when I wrote that) with a progressive sound is cool with me. |
|
|
Ministry
|
|
Love these guys and like this album, but I'm sick of the political stance in music - thank you Mr. Marley. Get back to singing about Jesus and those damn hot rods!!! Far more sensible topics. |
|
|
Motorhead
|
|
Let's put the record straight - never been much of a fan of the music, but am a fan of the man. |
|
|
Damageplan
|
|
The last we will hear of Dimebag. \m/ |
||
Last Data Update:
 2004-06-08 Velvet Revolver - Contraband.jpg)
 2004-02-03 Incubus - A Crow Left Of The Murder.jpg)
 2004-08-10 Mark Lanegan Band - Bubblegum.jpg)
 2004-03-23 Eagles Of Death Metal - Peace, Love, Death Metal.jpg)
 2004-04-05 The Dissociatives - The Dissociatives.jpg)
 2004-03-08 John Butler Trio - Sunrise Over Sea.jpg)
 2004-08-17 The Tea Party - Seven Circles.jpg)
 2004-06-21 Ministry - Houses Of The Mole.jpg)
 2004-09-21 Green Day - American Idiot.jpg)
 2004-11-23 Nirvana - With The Lights Out [Compilation Boxed Set].jpg)
 2004-10-05 Cake - Pressure Chief.jpg)
 2004-10-19 Twisted Sister - Still Hungry.jpg)
 2004-07-27 Pearl Jam - Benaroya Hall, October 22nd 2003.jpg)
 2004-08-17 Spiderbait - Tonight Alright.jpg)
 2004-04-05 Midnight Oil - Best Of Both Worlds (Oils On The Water).jpg)
 2004-11-15 Regurgitator - Mish Mash.jpg)
 2004-11-19 U2 - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.jpg)
 2004-10-04 Queens Of The Stone Age - Stone Age Complication [Compilation E.P.].jpg)
 2004-11-30 Jay-Z and Linkin Park - Collision Course [E.P.].jpg)
 2004-07-12 Jebediah - Braxton Hicks.jpg)
 2004-11-01 A Perfect Circle - eMOTIVe.jpg)
 2004-04-20 Black Label Society - Hangover Music Vol VI.jpg)
 2004-09-20 Grinspoon - Thrills, Kills and Sunday Pills.jpg)
 2004-05-25 Monster Magnet - Monolithic Baby.jpg)
 2004-06-29 Borknagar - Epic.jpg)
 2004-05-21 Therion - Lemuria.jpg)
 2004-10-01 Aura Noir - The Merciless.jpg)
 2004-09-06 Amon Amarth - Fate Of Norns.jpg)
 2004-09-28 Cradle Of Filth - Nymphetamine.jpg)
 2004-05-25 Slipknot - Vol 3 (The Subliminal Verses).jpg)
 2004-02-23 My Dying Bride - Songs Of Darkness, Words Of Light.jpg)
 2004-09-14 Megadeth - The System Has Failed.jpg)
 2004-02-02 Exodus - Tempo Of The Damned.jpg)
 2004-03-29 Mayhem - Chimera.jpg)
 2004-11-23 Anthrax - The Greater Of Two Evils.jpg)
![The Craving [2004 Remix & Remaster]](../../images-covers/(COVER IMAGE) 2004-07-24 MD.45 - The Craving [2004 Remix and Remaster].jpg)
 2004-02-23 Deicide - Scars Of The Crucifix.jpg)
 2004-02-10 Damageplan - New Found Power.jpg)
 2004-02-10 Probot - Probot.jpg)
 2004-10-04 Cult Of Luna - Salvation.jpg)
 2004-04-19 Fear Factory - Archetype.jpg)
 2004-10-04 Dream Theater - Live At Budokan.jpg)
![So Far, So Good... So What? [2004 Remix & Remaster]](../../images-covers/(COVER IMAGE) 2004-07-24 Megadeth - So Far, So Good, So What [2004 Remix and Remaster].jpg)
 2004-08-31 Danzig - Circle Of Snakes.jpg)
 2004-04-24 Cadaver - Necrosis.jpg)
 2004-02-10 Into Eternity - Buried In Oblivion.jpg)
 2004-09-13 Pungent Stench - Ampeauty.jpg)
 2004-10-25 Behemoth - Demigod.jpg)
 2004-02-24 Cannibal Corspe - The Wretched Spawn.jpg)
 2004-03-09 Decapitated - The Negation.jpg)
 2004-11-01 Enslaved - Isa.jpg)
 2004-08-19 ISIS - Panopticon.jpg)
 - Image Not Available -.jpg)
 2004-06-22 Motorhead - Inferno.jpg)