Top 10 for 2019

TheBigBlack's Rock Top 10

Tool
Fear Inoculum

Alternative Rock | Album | 30 August 2019

Tool's 'Aenima' is still one of my favourite rock albums of all time, and each subsequent album released since has had moments that I have enjoyed, but ultimately I have been disappointed overall. They lacked the fire the first couple of albums did, instead replacing it with mood. 'Fear Inoculum' was the album that finally broke through for me. 13 years in the coming, this album is everything a grown up version of Tool is known for, but the moodiness and soundscapes are far beyond anything the band has done before. It is a slow burner, with all but one track between 10 and 15 minutes long, but every song slowly unfurls like the petals of a new flower, and the band finally does what it says on the packaging - it transcends and eclipses all previous albums with very little effort. It twists and turns, and you are brought along for the journey more as a witness than a listener. Will it ever be my favourite of theirs? Probably not. Do I think it is their best album? Possibly so.

TheBigBlack's Rock Honourable Mentions

The Beatles
Abbey Road [50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition]

Classic Rock | Album | 26 September 2019

Soundgarden
Live From The Artists Den

Grunge Rock | Album | 26 July 2019

Jimi Hendrix
Songs For Groovy Children (The Fillmore East Concerts)

Classic Rock | Album | 22 November 2019

Bob Dylan
The Bootleg Series Vol. 15, Travelin' Thru (1967-1969)

Classic Rock | Compilation Album | 1 November 2019

Bob Dylan
The Rolling Thunder Revue (The 1975 Live Recordings)

Classic Rock | Compilation Boxed Set | 7 June 2019

The idea behind Bob Dylan's 1975-76 Rolling Thunder Review Shows was simple. Get a bunch of early 1960's folkies together on the road in a throwback to the old troubadour shows of the 1920's. It was a great idea, and the eventual outcome was just under 60 shows with the likes of Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Jack Elliot, and Roger McGuinn. Even beat poet Allen Ginsberg was along for the ride. The music was (deliberately) wild and free and the artists reinterpreted their songs from soft folk to rollicking rock 'n' roll. Those looking to hear Dylan in his 1960s guise would have been surprised by the white faced minstrel they saw on stage, stomping around and barking lyrics like a hoarse shaman. 14 CDs in length, the box contains all known recordings of the 1975 leg, nestled snugly between two of Dylan's masterworks, Blood On The Tracks and Desire. We start with 3 discs of loose rehearsals showing the fun (and sometimes directionless) nature of the tour, and then get 5 complete concerts of the Dylan segment of the show from various stops. As fans of most bands would know, a number of shows from one tour is just needless repetition - but that is never the case with Dylan, who morphs and changes his performance every show. The sound quality and mixing is superb, and the only thing that would improve the experience would be visuals to go with the music, to really show the passion every musician puts in. The package wraps up with a single dis of random oddities from various stops on the tour, and whilst it isn't as essential as the other discs, it is a nice bookend to an amazing boxed set.

TheBigBlack's Metal Top 10

Diamond Head
The Coffin Train

Heavy Metal | Album | 24 May 2019

Candlemass
The Door To Doom

Doom Metal | Album | 22 February 2019

Death Angel
Humanicide

Thrash Metal | Album | 31 May 2019

Opeth
In Cauda Venenum

Death Metal (Progressive) | Album | 27 September 2019

Devin Townsend
Empath

Progressive Metal | Album | 29 March 2019

Abbath
Outstrider

Black Metal | Album | 5 July 2019

Mgla
Age Of Excuse

Black Metal | Album | 2 September 2019

Possessed
Revelations Of Oblivion

Thrash Metal | Album | 10 May 2019

30+ years is a long time between drinks, but from the instant the razor blade guitar of 'No More Room In Hell' kicks in there could be no other band but Possessed that could make these sounds. Picking up where a band left off in 1987 would not be an easy thing to do for any musicians, and sole remaining member Jeff Becerra toured this new line up for a number of years before writing and recording to ensure the DNA of the early songs were imprinted on the new ones. It certainly paid off, with the spirit of those original albums shining through on every note. Arguably the world's first death metal band, those 80s albums were (and still are) hugely important to future generations of metal artists, and unlike many other reunions the new music has expanded and enhanced their legacy rather than diminish it. The riffs on 'Abandoned' and 'Omen' and straight from 1985, whilst other songs like 'The Word' seamlessly integrate more modern feeling influences. Possessed has shown than age doesn't necessarily mean you need to slow down, so let's hope the next new music takes less than 33 years to reach our ears.

Darkthrone
Old Star

Black Metal | Album | 31 May 2019

Mayhem
Daemon

Black Metal | Album | 25 October 2019