Best of round up and a look forward - 2016/2017

For the first time (and probably last) time ever...my top 3 films in one year were a Star Wars, a Godzilla and a Star Trek. That's truly special. Just about the top 3 franchises for me ever.

3. Rogue One: A Star Wars story.



2. Shin Godzilla (Godzilla Resurgence)



1. Star Trek: Beyond





And looking forward to 2017...

Best of 2014 - Music...

WHAT A YEAR! Turns out, there was a ton of good music released in the past year. I had a tough time ranking it all and unfortunately, had to limit my list to 10 top choices. Of course, there will be some honorable mentions at the end. Without further delay...

#10 / At the Gates / At War with Reality
Best Tracks: The Circular Ruins / The Book of Sand (The Abomination)

Such a long time since this band debuted. A solid and heavy record - one that I'll be exploring for some time.



#9 / U2 / Songs of Innocence
Best Tracks: Every Breaking Wave / Sleep Like a Baby Tonight / The Troubles

The best FREE album I've ever received! This kind of snuck up on me, and to be honest, it took me a while to want to get into it. This is a very intimate album and has some especially memorable tunes, right up there with some of their early 90s work. I love a good U2 record, and I hope Bono and Co. will continue bucking the trend.



#8 Black Label Society / Catacombs of the Black Vatican
Best Tracks: Angel of Mercy / Beyond the Down / Scars

Zakk keeps playing and we fans keep reaping the rewards. While not as good as 'Order of the Black' IMO, this is still worthy of the name. Solid tracks and production plus Wylde's signature riffing. Victory.



#7 Down / IV Part II
Best Tracks: We Knew Him Well / The Sufferer's Years

Phillip Anselmo. The guy oozes metal. If he keeps this up along with his Down bandmates, their legacy could rival that of the almighty Pantera - at least as far as creative output goes. A sludgy companion piece to Part I, the only negative is that Kirk Windstein doesn't appear on this album, having returned to continue Crowbar. Still, a great EP and I can't wait for the next installment.



#6 Arch Enemy / War Eternal
Best Tracks: War Eternal / As the Pages Burn / Time is Black

Alissa White-Gluz takes over for Angela Gossow on lead vocals. Great metal record with spectacular riffing/rhythm.



#5 Killer Be Killed / Self titled
Best Tracks: Melting Of My Marrow / Curb Crusher

Outstanding 'Supergroup' album featuring members of Cavalera Conspiracy, Mastodon and The Dillinger Escape Plan. Hits you like a ton of bloody bricks..and then leaves a trail of viscera.



#4 SepticFlesh / Titan
Best Tracks: Burn / Order of Dracul / Promethus / Bonus Orchestral tracks

I'm a bit late to the game on this band. A testament that I only recently acquired this in the last two months, and it still cracked the Top 5. Moody, atmospheric metal perfectly blended with bombastic orchestral arrangements. This could be the soundtrack to an epic movie featuring barbarian hordes marching on vampire robots equipped with rocket launchers and fire. It's big, mean and crisply produced. Go for the deluxe edition that features 5 bonus instrumental tracks of orchestra material. Awesome.



#3 Machine Head / Bloodstone & Diamonds
Best Tracks: Now We Die / Ghosts Will Haunt My Bones / Sail Into the Black / In Comes the Flood / Imaginal Cells

Robb Flynn and Co. are the most consistent metal band on the planet. They don't take much time off and they seem to top each album with the next one. That's hard to do in today's musical landscape, even when your songs average 6-8 minutes in length. Just one hell of a heavy metal band. Stupendous record.



And now, we come to it...for the first time ever, we have a TIE at the top spot! I just couldn't decide between the two, and to let one have the position would be a disservice to the other. So here it comes...

#1a. Slipknot / 0.5 The Gray Chapter
Best Tracks: Sarcastrophe / The Devil in I / The Negative One / Killpop / Skeptic / Goodbye / Nomadic / If Rain is What You Want

The death of Paul Gray (and to a lesser degree, Joey Jordison's departure) -- left a hole that it took the better part of 6 years for the remaining members to crawl out of. The result is a tangible manifestation of this new group's literal blood, sweat, and tears. It is obvious that they miss their deceased mate. It is also obvious that Taylor doesn't miss a chance to comment on the disgusting and dark in our world. The Fire is back. Prepare for Hell.





#1. Behemoth / The Satanist
Best Tracks: Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel / basically the entire album

We are witnessing a band at the height of their creative zenith. Adam "Nergal" Darski has defeated leukemia and now he aims to defeat everything else. No doubt where their allegiances lie, and while I don't necessarily adhere to their message, I can respect and admire the way they go about their craft. There is hardly a time when I listen to a particular song - it's almost always a full album listen when I put this in. Each track is its own monster, while still flowing flawlessly into the next. Tight production and a willingness to experiment just enough has kept this on constant rotation in my cd player. Co-Album of the Year. Well done.





--

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Mastodon / Once More 'Round the Sun
The Raid 2 - Original Score Soundtrack / Joseph Trapanese, Aria Prayogi & Fajar Yuskemal
X-Men Days of Future Past - Original Score / John Ottman
Cannibal Corpse / A Skeletal Domain
Exmortus / Slave to the Sword
Interstellar - Original Score / Hans Zimmer
300: Rise of an Empire / Junkie XL
Lone Survivor - Original Soundtrack / Explosions in the Sky & Steve Jablonsky
Overkill / White Devil Armory
Pantera / Far Beyond Drive 20th Anniversary Remaster
Godzilla - Original s\Score / Alexander Desplat
Predator 2 - Expanded Edition Score / Alan Silvestri
The Hobbit - The Battle of the Five Armies Original Score / Howard Shore

That's all folks! Here's to a creative and good music filled 2015!

TOP TELEVISION PROGRAMS of 2013...900 POSTS!!!

My top 5 tv shows pretty much stayed the same - only the rankings have changed plus one major mover!

#5 GAME OF THRONES. Season Three.

"By what right does the wolf judge the lion?"



Gotta be honest, I expected a bit more overall in season three. It seemed as though season two set it up for some pretty big things. Not so fast. With that being said, there were still many twists and turns and advancement of character. I'm really starting to like some characters that they made you hate either by circumstance or their personal arc. Some lost their wankies, some lost their heads, and some lost everything. The Red Wedding. Damn.

#4 BREAKING BAD. The Final Season concludes.

"I did it for me. I liked it. I was good at it. And I was really -- I was alive."



The end of the saga with just about every loose thread tied up as you would expect. Way to go, Mr. White.



#3 THE AMERICANS. Season One.

"You're gonna to lose this war. You know know that right? You can torture me or you can kill me, but we are going kick your Motherland's marbled ass. And, there's nothing you can do about it."



Great first season of 80s Cold War drama. Can't wait to see where Season Two goes.

#2 THE WALKING DEAD. Season 3.5 and 4.0.

"You walk outside, you risk your life. You take a drink of water, you risk your life. Nowadays you breath and you risk your life. You don’t have a choice. The only thing you can choose is what you’re risking it for."



We had the second half of season three and the first half of season four in 2013. Woodbury burned, The Governor fled, the Prison suffered an outbreak, we had more deaths and an unexpected bloodbath for the midseason finale.







#1 HANNIBAL. Season One.

"I see his madness and I want to contain it like an oil spill.
--
Oil is valuable. What value does Will Graham's madness have to you?"



Outstanding first season of a show I thought couldn't exist, much less succeed. Mads Mikkelsen stars as Dr. Hannibal Lecter along with Laurence Fishburne and Hugh Dancy as Detective Will Graham. Blows my mind that this is on network television. Gruesome pyschological material and very heavy on the gore. Creepy and intense imagery, atmospheric music, and great overall storyline. Mikkelsen makes Lecter his own. Must. Watch.







Lots of inventive murder scenes are showcased in each new episode...but nothing...and I mean NOTHING...will top Episode 9's Corpse Tree Totem. Wow that's scary looking.



And coming in February 2014...



HONORABLE MENTION: AMERICAN HORROR STORY - COVEN

Season Three reinvents the series once again as a coven of witches lives in New Orleans and fends off voodoo queens, witch hunters, the undead and a frankenstein's monster. More focus than the previous season.

TOP ALBUMS OF 2013....And Beyond...

I usually only do a Top 10, but a few more snuck their way in so I'm mentioning 12 albums this year...

#12...MEGADETH _ SUPER COLLIDER
Standout Tracks: Kingmaker / Super Collider / Built for War



Mustaine and Co. have a good thing going with the current lineup. Not any better than anything recent, but certainly not any worse.

#11...STONE SOUR _ THE HOUSE OF GOLD AND BONES, PART 2
Standout Tracks: Red City / Black John / Peckinpah



Corey Taylor follows up his concept album endeavour with a solid hammer of hard rock.

#10...WATAIN _ THE WILD HUNT
Standout Tracks: All That May Bleed / The Wild Hunt / Outlaw



Black metal album of the year.

#9...SEVENDUST _ BLACK OUT THE SUN
Standout Tracks: Faithless / Black Out the Sun



These guys just keep putting out good hard rockin' albums.

#8...ALTERBRIDGE _ FORTRESS
Standout Tracks: The whole damn album



Slowly but surely becoming one of my favorite bands out there.

#7...PHILLIP ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS _ WALK THROUGH EXITS ONLY
Standout Tracks: Usurper's Bastard Rant / Bedroom Destroyer



A bit of a different avenue for Anselmo - more punk oriented than his stuff with Down or Pantera but there is no denying the man's authentic aggression. Takes a few listens to get into, but a worthy record nonetheless.

#6... ALICE IN CHAINS _ THE DEVIL PUT DINOSAURS HERE
Standout Tracks: Hollow / Stone / The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here / Phantom Limb



The world is a better place when Alice in Chains is making new albums. Nice to have you back once again, Jerry and friends!

#5...BLACK SABBATH _ 13
Standout Tracks: God is Dead? / Loner



No way this should have succeeded, esp without Bill Ward on board. Happy to get such an inspiring work from these old geezers!

#4...SEPULTURA _ THE MEDIATOR BETWEEN THE HEAD AND HANDS MUST BE THE HEART
Standout Tracks: Trauma of War / The Vatican / Tsunami / The Bliss of Ignorants



It's difficult to think that Derrick Green has been a member of Sepultura for longer than Max Cavalera was at this point. And while it will be hard for any incarnation of this band to duplicate the quality of early works such as Chaos AD or Roots, there is no reason to ignore the excellent stuff they are putting out now. Precise and tight with a bit of the expected tribal influences we've come to love. Badass.

#3...QUEENSRYCHE _ QUEENSRYCHE
Standout Tracks: Where Dreams Go to Die / Redemption / Don't Look Back



So odd they would return to serious form without their most recognizable member. The best Ryche album in almost two decades. They make it sound so easy - almost like they never left. Hope this incarnation continues...FU indeed, Geoff Tate!

#2...CARCASS _ SURGICAL STEEL
Standout Tracks: All of them but the best song titles get the nod here: Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System / A Congealed Clot of Blood / The Granualting Dark Satanic Mills



Released their last album 17 years ago. Then all of a sudden they are back, and we should all be thankful. Groovy Riff Immolation at its finest. Bravo.

#1...CHIMAIRA _ CROWN OF PHANTOMS
Standout Tracks: No Mercy / All That's Left is Blood / Plastic Wonderland / Crown of Phantoms



The finest album of the year. Such a powerful album. Well done.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Trivium - Vengeance Falls / Killswitch Engage - Disarm the Descent / Havok - Natural Selection / Dream Theater - DT / James LaBrie - Impermanent Resonance / Oblivion Soundtrack / Man of Steel score by Hans Zimmer

ALSO OF NOTE:

Two great soundtracks worth mentioning:





That's all folks!

End of the Year Addendum...An Unexpected Journey...

Had a chance to finally catch "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" yesterday. Great film. So much so, that I'm sure it would have found a place in my end of the year Top 5 list had I seen it before that list was made. Oh well. Better late than never...

One of my favorite new characters - Thorin Oakenshield!

Also, the soundtrack was excellent and I'm sure it would have also had a spot in my top music list for 2012. Looking forward to adding this one to my collection very soon.