2014 has been a prestigious year in metal, with many new albums, new bands, break ups, huge tours, and great losses. All of these events and highlights attributed to metal being a huge topic this year, very deservedly. The amount of crossover fans from country, pop, electronica, and indie to hard rock and metal is astounding. Many bands and artists pushed the limits with music and media this year, gaining metal the popularity it deserves. As a very passionate metal fan, this year made me proud of this musical genre and lifestyle. I discovered more incredible bands this year than I have in my entire life, meaning the new releases caught my attention in special ways; Not to mention the several tours I had the lucky pleasure of experiencing in person.
Summing up a year in metal in just one post is difficult, so I decided to list what I think are the best albums of the year. This list is merely based on quality of music and personal preference, not based on gain in popularity or popular opinion (unlike other review sites). It took all year long to develop this list, as more and more new releases upped the anty on talent, quality, passion, and true musicianship. Picking the top ten for the year wasn’t easy, but these choices for me are definitive. The amount of incredible and intelligent metal musicians prevailed this year, giving hope to metal music afterall. If it weren’t for true passion in metal, 2014 wouldn’t be a year to remember for me; Passion being the biggest contributor to my decision making and a word you will hear throughout this post.
Top 10 Mainstream Releases
1: The Human Contradiction (Deluxe Version) by Delain
Upon my first listen on a rainy April Wednesday to this album and my first concentrated listen of this Dutch Symphonic Metal band, I was bombarded with sounds and characteristics that were foreign to me. Every aspect to what I was hearing was new and very intriguing. I found myself getting lost in the music and dissecting it as I listened. The album was loud, layered, textured with beautiful melodies and contrasting heavy riffs. The keyboards and synth were grand, yet not overpowering. The writing was complicated and passionate, every track exploding with personality and emotion. The vocals in the forefront, filled with technical and poppy lines throughout each track, each word well placed in a defined pocket of music. Every aspect, every measure, every characteristic of “The Human Contradiction” blew me away with the first note to the last note. From the heavy and dark intro Here Come the Vultures, to the incredible poppy anthem Stardust, to epic and powerful game ender Tragedy of the Commons, this album is a Symphonic Metal Masterpiece. Upon first listen, this band opened a whole new world of metal to me and instantly became one of my all time favorites.
Delain have this way of crafting well thought out, intelligent, mesmerizing music that is just so different than anything being produced today. You can hear directly how each member contributes to each track individually, giving the music life and its own personality. Considering Delain started out as a collaboration studio project by Martijn Westerholt, the growth is exponential in the music. You can hear the growth of the band in “The Human Contradiction” especially. It is matured and well versed in subjects the band is passionate about, creating this very unique identity for the band. The vocals are absolutely stunning and room filling from lead vocalist, Charlotte Wessels, and the lyrics are so perfectly delivered. The instrumentation from Zoer, Martijn, Timo, and Otto is powerful and contrasted with interesting subtleties. The bass guitar is well heard with heavy and low bass lines, like on Army of Dolls. The synth and keyboards are epic, mimicking the sound of an entire orchestra. The guitar is punching, powerful, and screaming with technique. The drums are simple, balancing out the sound perfectly. All of these aspects make “The Human Contradiction” and Delain’s music in general catchy and powerful unlike anything you’ve ever heard before. Each track is interlaced and streams together, almost like a story or a musical. Regardless of how people characterize this album, I think it’s an incredible and transcendent Symphonic Metal release and I highly suggest it at any age or musical preference.
I picked the Deluxe Edition of the album because it is 100% of Delain’s effort. Two bonus tracks and perfectly performed live tracks adds to the incredibly high quality of the album. Scarlet is a moving, powerful track that is a gorgeous stripped down version of Delain. It highlights beautiful vocals of Charlotte and the classical abilities of Martijn on keys. This song is really a defining track from the band, because it is every characteristic that makes this band great slowed and based on pure emotion. Don’t Let Go is a fun upbeat heavy and dance style track that is different from Delain’s other material, showing great versatility. The live tracks are absolutely flawless versions of other songs and are mastered surprisingly well. Every track on this album sounds incredible and refined perfectly. This deluxe album is my number one album of the year, because there is no album like this one and it reinvents metal in a passionate, technical, fun, engaging way. I highly suggest listening to this band’s entire catalog and experiencing their live shows.
2: 5. The Gray Chapter by Slipknot
After the death of Paul and all the turmoil that the band has experienced for the better part of five years, I didn’t think Slipknot were ever going to tour, let alone release a huge new album. It surprised me when they announced the new album. I wasn’t sure what to expect, especially after hearing the first three singles. I liked the singles, but they led me to believe that Slipknot was becoming too much centered around Corey Taylor’s vocals. As much as I think Corey Taylor is an amazing vocalist, Slipknot is about what each member has to contribute. I didn’t want another Stone Sour album in the form of a Slipknot album. After first full listen of “5. The Gray Chapter”, I was sorely proven wrong. This album is a spectacularly heavy, dark, and intense release from the legendary American Metal band. It is every great aspect of Slipknot’s music in one epic album. I was genuinely surprised by their comeback with this album. The band took all the pain, turmoil, and emotions from over the years and used it for the fuel of writing this new album.
“5. The Gray Chapter” has every Slipknot characteristic a cherished fan might expect. Tracks like the intro XIX, Skeptic and Custer are reminiscent of “Iowa” in the darkness and heavy guitars and percussion. Other tracks have undertones from “Subliminal Verses” and the self titled album, creating slow and dark haunting melodies through vocals and guitars. There is of course that mainstream “All Hope is Gone” sound on tracks like The Negative One and catchy song Killpop that reminds me of Vermillion. This mixture of classic Slipknot and new evolved Slipknot is brilliant, pulling you in differently with each track. The darkness they achieved on certain tracks like Goodbye and If Rain Is What You Want is captivating. Once again Slipknot’s darkside has prevailed and inspired absolutely brilliant tracks.
It is no doubt that this album is a tribute to Paul Gray, with songs like Skeptic and Goodbye. The heaviest part of the album is not the instrumentation, but the sadness and frustration. The burden of losing Paul hangs over this album and somehow brings it to life in an absolutely incredible way. Fans can complain about the “change” or “new sound”, overlooking the complexity and beauty of the album, but it will never demean the album’s sentimental value. This is the first album without Paul, but it keeps him alive somehow. I think all of the emotion and sentimental thoughts put into it is why it may be Slipknot’s best album ever and why it has the number two spot on this list.
3: War Eternal by Arch Enemy
I had sadly never heard of Arch Enemy (due to living under an American rock) until the headline that Angela Gossow had stepped down as lead singer of the Melodic Death Metal band. The band then brought in former singer of The Agonist Alissa White-Gluz and the news scattered about with hateful and disappointed forums. As a previous fan of The Agonist, I was ecstatic to see Alissa getting an opportunity to use the heavy side of her in such a prestigious band. I knew she could handle anything Michael and company threw at her, as she was personally mentored by Angela and asked to fill the spot in the band. When the band announced “War Eternal”, I had no idea what to expect. Alissa can also do clean vocals, so I wondered if Arch Enemy were going to use this dueling talent. The fans were worried about a “softer” side of the band. Upon first listen, I was enraged by any negative reviews or comments I had read prior, because of how absolutely powerful and brilliant this album is. Being that this is my first Arch Enemy album that I’ve heard, I became a fan and now love their entire discography.
“War Eternal” is a brilliantly composed album about the wars we face everyday. Whether it’s people trying to control you, judge you, hurt you, or inner struggles this album empowers you to rise above. The theme of this album is very relevant to modern times, seeming like a heavy soundtrack to going through the trials of high school. The instrumentation is obviously incredible, mixing pummeling riffs with well executed melodic solos. The drums are spot on and driving along with the bass, truly carrying the rhythm. The vocals on this album are extremely heavy and true to Arch Enemy’s roots. The lyrics are still incredibly audible, like Angela had achieved on “Khaos Legion”. The guitars are layered and constructed with extreme technical ability, adding a vast depth of sound on this album more than previous releases from the band.
This album is number three on the 2014 best album list because of the authenticity and pure quality of Melodic Death Metal Arch Enemy has created. Everything about it is excellent and profound with everything I expect from a Melodeath album. The transition of Angela’s style to Alissa’s style is a game changer for the band, and keeps them going in modern metal times. The change is huge, but the change is ultimately good. As long as Michael is the sole writer for the band, I don’t foresee anything half-effort ever coming from Arch Enemy.
4: Massive Addictive by Amaranthe
Amaranthe, a Gothenburg Metal band with a brand of their own, has struck big once again after the profound success of “The Nexus” album. It was uncertain if Amaranthe could put out an album of equal or better quality, after the perfect mix of heaviness and poppy vocals were achieved. The band mixes power vocals, poppy vocals, and death growls with loud and catchy synths and techno. The lead guitarist Olof tames the three vocalists with melodic and shredding guitar riffs. This creates a unique blend of sound that I’ve never experienced before with any metal band. Having three vocalists and three exceptional instrumentalists creates stadium filling sound, especially with anthemic songs like The Nexus, 1,000,000 Light Years Away, and Invincible. There’s certainly no lack of explosive sound and energy piercing through every Amaranthe track, and that energy and enthusiasm is what makes their music so great.
“Massive Addictive” is everything Amaranthe has ever achieved with any release, ten fold. The energy, passion, technicality, and effort put into this new album is incomparable to 90% of the albums I’ve ever heard. This album may take time to grow on you, because it is a very fast paced techno metal album and is hard to grasp. It takes several listens to comprehend all that’s going on in this album. The vocals are huge and powerful, providing attitude and identity to the album. Between Jake E’s powerful vocals, Elize’s innocent poppy lines, and Henrik’s chesty growls the album is not short of dynamic sound. The perfectly pocketed vocal lines are as catchy as ever on this latest Amaranthe album, clearly justifying the name for the album. The guitar work from rhythmic riffs in the background and insane shredding melodic solos is absolutely incredible. If it weren’t for Olof, this album might be overpowered by the vocal section. His visionary guitar work adds a much needed balance to the album, keeping it to it’s melodic metal roots. Olof had more free reign to get creative on this album more than past releases, adding a new sound and epic quality to “Massive Addictive”. Songs like Dynamite, Drop Dead Cynical, and Digital World are blazingly fast and heavy, more than ever before. Over and
Done, Trinity, and True are softer songs with moving vocals, adding depth and diversity.
I think “Massive Addictive” deserves the number four spot on this list because it is the bravest metal release of the year. Amaranthe dares to defy genre and metal stereotypes and create something one hundred percent authentic to themselves. The passion and perseverance comes out strongly in every song this band puts out. Their music is incredibly unique and brings something completely different to the world of metal. The fact that there’s no album that sounds even close to “Massive Addictive” is a sign that Amaranthe strive to create authentic music, bringing a new string of metal into modern times.
5: IV- One With the Storm by Ghost Brigade
Ghost Brigade is a Melodic Death Metal band from Finland, mixing Doom Metal lyrics and Death growls with slow building guitars. Their special blend of music creates ethereal, mood setting music that is truly hard to describe. Past albums from the band have been incredibly dark and heavy, with Sludge like characteristics. “Isolation Songs” their second album had a perfect blend of Death Metal tracks like Suffocated and Birth, then Doom Metal tracks like Into The Black Light and My Heart Is a Tomb. “Guided By Fire” was an all out growl fest with echoey guitar solos and heavy drums. The band strives to get better with each album and advance their sound, getting darker and deeper with each one.
Ghost Brigade’s new album achieves the growth of quality perfectly, getting darker and even more ethereal than ever before. “IV- One With the Storm” is a complicated and emotional album. Each song is much different than past releases from the band, but definitely keeps the same characteristics that make their music so captivating. The guitar work stands out to me the most on this album, holding a consistent building sound with each track. The guitars create this incredible ominous and absolutely heavy sound that I’ve never heard on any other album before. Songs like Departures, Electra Complex, and one of my favorite songs of the year, Long Way To the Graves highlight this signature guitar sound. Aurora is one of the heaviest songs on this album and is the best single from the album so far. Aurora and every track on the album is well balanced between instrumentation and clean vocals and grunts. The mix of Death Metal and Doom Metal is perfection on this album, a mix no other band achieved quite as well this year.
It differs from any Melodic Death Metal album released this year, surpassing In Flames and At the Gates ten fold in my opinion. Ghost Brigade created a perfectly balanced and intricately crafted album, which I find rare in the stereotypical genre of Death Metal. This album made it on the list because of the emotion it successfully captures and delivers in a powerful way. The way they combine Nihilistic yet hopeful themes into Death Metal is pretty brilliant and can’t be heard anywhere else besides bands like Summoning and Omnium Gatherum. Ghost Brigade is high on this list because they released one of the most unique albums of the year and the album transcends 95% of the music I’ve heard this year.
6: The Quantum Enigma by Epica
Epica being one of the best Symphonic Metal bands of all time have released brilliantly composed albums over a decade of existence. The level of pedigree this band achieves with albums is absolutely legendary. The combination of Classical Themes with grand orchestrals and well executed operatic vocals with heavy instrumentation and growls from Mark Jansen is Symphonic Metal at its best. Epica have a huge signature sound that either fills your entire house and stadiums, or is soft enough to sleep to. With every album this band gets better and creates even bigger sounds that cannot be matched. “Requiem For the Indifferent” is such an amazing album and conquered so many fans to where they believed it couldn’t be topped. The same quality was achieved with older records “Design Your Universe” and “The Divine Conspiracy”, both contenders for best albums of all time. So how could Epica ever top those albums and advance their sound to a better level? They topped those albums by going in a brave new direction and smashing any predispositions about the band, creating something completely different and daring. Epica is a trailblazing band and “The Quantum Enigma” proves it.
What Epica did with this new album strives for a new level of masterful Symphonic Metal that is unlike any release in their listed genre. The orchestra work underneath the pounding instrumentation from the band create a completely full sound. The songs are as fast and as technical as ever, sounding completely succinct with every note, having the tightest sound I’ve ever heard from the band. The layers upon layers of Classical influence is what makes this album so great. The sound is ghastly large and potent on this album because of these layers. The vocals of Simone are ever interlaced between Classical, Power, and pure Symphonic influences. She combines pure emotion and power to deliver cleverly written modernized lyrics, much like Epica achieves on every album, but even greater. With absolutely pounding songs like The Essence of Silence, Victims of Contingency, and Unchain Utopia, the band fills the mind and ears, captivating the listener with every tightened and refined beat. The Melodic side of each song balances out the heaviness perfectly, making it certainly not your typical Metal album. This album is different, because it is an album so intelligently layered that it took me at least five full listens to be able to compartmentalize it. At first it didn’t grab me, but the more I listened to it the more I could appreciate it.
“The Quantum Enigma” deserves to be on this list, because it is one of the best examples of Symphonic Metal I’ve ever heard. It takes every quality from the genre and reinvents it in a personalized way. It is so different, yet true to the defined identity of Epica. Each of their albums is its own project and creates its own world, but this album creates its own universe where traditionality and modernism collide in the heaviest way possible. Each album has its own great aspects and brilliance. This album’s sound is so vast, I simply cannot describe it without boring everyone to death. It is Epica’s best and most textured, layered, and refined album yet, so just give it your best concentrated listen.
7: Z10 by Devin Townsend Project
The musical mastership and inventiveness of Devin Townsend is unparalleled in our current universe, because of his ability to mix creativity, intelligence, Sci-fi, inner struggles, and Metal all into one progressive monster. Summing up Devin Townsend project in a two paragraph review is simply not possible. He has this imaginative way of creating non stereotypical metal, mixing Power Metal and Progressive Metal with his own signature sound. The edition of his accompanying musicians adds another incredible aspect to this particular project, especially the contrast of female vocals from Anneke van Giersbergen. Every album is straightforward and true to the styles and creation of Devin Townsend, but this new album is particularly epic and huge with Progressive sound. This album is nothing short of a Soundtrack to an epic Science Fiction blockbuster and it is a great approachable Prog Metal album
The new album from Devin Townsend Project is essentially three albums smashed into a two disc compilation. Z10 is an album that has two sides to it, a side similar to “Epicloud” and “Ghost” with melodic touches from Anneke and well executed synth throughout disc one. Songs like Rejoice, Universal Flame, and Forever are similar and in the similar gauge of songs off other albums, while other tracks like A New Reign and Midnight Sun are really different from past work from Devin. The first disc is astounding with passion and power and would be an amazing album alone, but Devin had to add another spin on this album. The second disc is a soundtrack to Devin’s Ziltoid character that has been chronicled throughout the past couple albums. It’s full of chaos and good character, allowing you to use your imagination and put your own vision to the Ziltoid. The second disc is heavier than the first disc, breaking up one album into two completely different projects. It is rare that a band can achieve this kind of diversity on just one album, but I am not surprised that Devin achieved this. While this album is not my favorite release from Devin Townsend Project, it’s still an absolutely amazing release of 2014.
8: Broken Crown Halo by Lacuna Coil
Lacuna Coil is one of my favorite metal bands of all time no doubt, but I had a love hate relationship with their last release “Dark Adrenaline”. I appreciated the change up and modernized concept of the album, but none of the tracks truly captured my attention. I wanted to like it, as I had been waiting for a new album for awhile, but it just didn’t impress me compared to other releases that year. I was not confident in Lacuna Coil after that album and did not anticipate the next album being any better. In true Metal fashion, the band proved me sorely wrong and exceeded all expectations. “Broken Crown Halo” is everything I expected from such an amazing Gothic Metal band and so much more. This album is different from anything they’ve put out, but does not lose the band’s original identity, beating the hell out of “Dark Adrenaline”. Every song on this new album is dynamite and catchy, with brilliantly delivered Melodic vocal lines that soar above past albums where Cristina was more in the background. Lacuna Coil rises to their full potential on this album.
Every song is of great quality from anthemic Nothing Stands in Our Way, to dark and melodic Zombies, to heartfelt and hard hitting track One Cold Day. Every song is impressive as the next and not one song falls flat, thanks to the brilliant dark composition of this album and the power coming from the vocals and bass. “Broken Crown Halo” is full of sounds from every spectrum, full with heavy instrumentation and intricate vocal lines fitting atop the distorted riffs. Songs like I Burn In You and In the End I Feel Alive have a unique off beat that keep the album interesting. Then slow building track One Cold Day ends the album in an epic way, full of pain and darkness, letting Cristina deliver a hopeful and emotional vocal line. This is one of my favorite Lacuna Coil songs, because of how dynamic and dark it is. The album overall is absolutely solid and “Broken Crown Halo” certainly worth the recognition of the masses. The album would be higher on this list it weren’t for the domination of Symphonic Metal, because of that the album didn’t stick with me very long.
9: Home Is Where The Heart Is by Any Given Day
A German Melodic Death Metal band released one of the most surprising albums of the year with hardcore and moving album “Home is Where the Heart Is”. For a debut album and considering the band isn’t very well known, this album is absolutely incredible. The guitars are incredibly heavy and technical, reminiscent of Adam from Killswitch Engage and his fast melodic style. The vocals are a mix of chesty growls and high pitched screams and spot on clean vocals from lead vocalist Dennis Diehl. Dennis has powerful and unique male vocals, unlike anything I’ve ever heard. The drums are simple but perfectly placed as a structural support for the music. The bass is dropped extremely low and pounds the rhythm full and audibly. Already with their first album, the band has put everything they have into it. It is a brilliant effort from the band and absolutely caught me by surprise upon first listen.
The title track is a perfect example of everything that makes this band great. The rhythmic and technical instrumentation drives hard, while the vocals pound and soar, and the music comes together with a catchy formula. Every track on the album is a powerful anthem: From Anthem for the Voiceless, The Beginning of the End, Never Say Die, and If Tomorrow Never Shows, the album has a pounding and strong song to lift you up at any occasion. The mix of hardcore and melodic metal is not foreign to me, but this album seems to capture it in a whole new way. Some of the songs on the album are unlike anything I’ve heard in metal, especially since the uprising of Metalcore in America. Genre aside, this album is beautiful and heavy at the same time. It dares to be different than anything out there while being a very approachable Death Metal album. “Home Is Where the Heart Is” is one of my favorite albums of 2014, because it surprised me almost as much as number one of this list.
10: High Priestess by Kobra and the Lotus
Regardless of recent opinions from online blogs saying that this band “should stick to being an Iron Maiden tribute band”, I find the latest release from Kobra and the Lotus beastly and of high quality. This band mixes Traditional Metal with Modern Metal, similar to Halestorm’s approach but with more of a European sound to it. The band is set apart from other Power Metal bands, because of the female Alto vocals from powerhouse vocalist Kobra Paige. The band is highly acclaimed by manager and supporter Gene Simmons who originally discovered the band. Kobra Paige is the main songwriter for the band, inspired by theatrical and wartime themes, making their music an epic experience. Her vocal range is also a huge highlight of the band, ranging from high pitched screams, to lower aggressive vocals, to ballad soften tones. The range of the entire band is incredible however, containing influences from Judas Priest, Dio, and even some Anthrax Thrash. Kobra and the Lotus could be a band for old and new metal fans, if only they could escape from unfair stereotypes of metal elitists. Nonetheless, the band continues to put out solid albums and blow me away with their style.
“High Priestess” is an excellent Power Metal album from a Canadian band with sounds that are a blast from the past. The album has awesome tracks that highlight the band’s identity more than other tracks do. I am, I am is a fast one of the album with impressive power screams and low bending speed metal guitars. Hold On is my favorite track off “High Priestess”, because of the energy and technicality it shows throughout each instrument. Heartbeat is a blazingly fast track, one of my favorite tracks on this album. Soldier is a beautiful rhythmic track, telling a tale of a innocent soldier going through battle, painting a very vivid picture from the eyes of a man of war. Not every track on the album is up to the quality of the ones I listed above and that’s why it is last on the list, but it is by no means a bad album. I find this to be a very underrated album of 2014 and I think it deserves to be on more top ten lists.
*Notes*
*I did not include “Hydra” from Within Temptation because it is a compilation album.
*This list is purely based on subjective opinion and if you’re opinion differs than mine, please write your own list and share it with me.
Honorable Mentions
Suspended At Aphelion by While Heaven Wept Review: https://metalvalkyriereviews.wordpress.com/2014/11/24/while-heaven-wept-suspended-at-aphelion-review/
Melana Chasmata by Triptykon
Shadows of a Dying Sun by Insomnium
Guilty by Dawn of Eternity Review: https://metalvalkyriereviews.wordpress.com/2014/09/26/i-review-independent-symphonic-band-dawn-of-eternity/
Back From the Edge by Mindmaze Review: https://wordpress.com/posts/metalvalkyriereviews.wordpress.com
A New Dawn Ending by Ancient Bards
Origins by Eluveitie
Metal Valkyrie Reviews 