Matthew Cohen Portfolio

Favorite Albums of 2016

Hey, everyone! If you are reading this its because I specifically told you about this lists existence, I honestly don't like sharing stuff on facebook because I don't care what most people think about music choices, but I like writing about my opinions at the end of the day and I have a blog in my little corner of the internet, so I figured why not!

No frills or pretentious dialog, lets just talk music! First, some honorable mentions:

King Goat- Conduit Consider this your final warning to get into this band before they write a genuine classic and become what Khemmis, Pallbearer, and Uncle Acid are to doom metal right now. These guys are sitting on something BIG with their style.

Danimal Cannon - Lunaria I didn't give this a true ranking because, honestly, its not a solid album, but there are moments that are goddamn near transcendant in how good they are. I wish more chiptune-metal existed, and for that reason alone it get a special mention.

Epica- The Holographic Principle A couple years ago Epica put out what I consider to be their masterpiece and one of the best albums of the new millenium, The Quantum Enigma. This new album is basically more of the same, and that's a very good thing. It doesn't reach the outstanding heights of that previous opus, but the opening salvo of songs is excellent, in addition to a few other songs here and there. Epica remains irresistible.

Spider Kitten- The Ark of Octofelis I've been a big fanboy for these guys since they put out Cougar Club a couple of years ago. This honestly would have ranked higher, but I have a hard time justifying ranking an album in the top 10 that what amounts to a 20 minute jam session (even if its a REALLY good jam session). Essential doom for the year in my opinion, all the same.

The Vision Bleak- Into The Unknown WOW I love the style of this fucking band, holy shit do they just hit ALL the right buttons. If this were a top 11 this would be a shoe in.

All right with that out of the way...

My Top 10 Albums of 2016

10) Anaal Nathrakh- The Whole of the Law

I don't understand how this band works. They are so profanely heavy and their production is SOOOO dense, and yet they write some of the catchiest extreme metal I've ever heard. This is my first album with the band, but I immediately checked out the rest of their discography afterwards and am now an ardent fan. Listen to this with quality headphones due to how dense the production, but yea, totally goddamn awesome. Favorite song: "On Being A Slave"

9) Deepspacepilots- Point of No Return

Full disclosure: I am friends with the bassist in DSP and basically consider them hometown heroes, so I am biased as fuck when recommending this album. I don't care, Point of No Return is easily the best album they've put out wall to wall and its definitely still one of the best doom metal albums of the year by my reckoning. The Title track, Nebulizer, and What's Up are some of my favorite songs of the year. Its not a perfect record, but the wide majority is crazy catchy and fun to listen to. Favorite Song: "Point of No Return"

8) Witchcraft- Nucleus Why does it feel like the world forgot this exists? This album is exquisite, so much musical ground is covered here, so many awesome melodies, easily the best Witchcraft album so far, so, so, so heavy. Favorite Song: "The Outcast"

7) Saor- Guardians When Saor put out Roots in 2013 it blew my mind, I thought for sure they were one of my new favorite bands (for the record that album is still one of the best atmospheric black metal records I've ever heard). Then they released Aura a year later and I was kinda bummed out, it wasn't bad but was too metallic and didn't recapture the feeling I got from their freshman release. Thankfully theyve resteered the ship, guardians is excellent and shows them at the top of their game. Favorite Song: "Tears of a Nation"

6) John Carpenter- Lost Themes I love me some Synth and the Old School Master put out by far my favorite synth album of the year, beating out some of my other favorite acts like Perturbator and Dance With The Dead out of sheer song-for-song quality. One of my favortie albums to listen to while doing work or relaxing, every track screams of inspiration. Also the basis for one of my favorite concerts of the year. Favorite Song: "White Pulse"

5) Spiritual Beggars- Sunrise to Sundown Spiritual Beggars get inched out of the top Doom album of the year JUST BARELY, albeit by a band that sound nothing like them. That should not even remotely stop you from checking this out though. What a kickass album, so many fun choruses, awesome riffs, retro sounds and just all around excellent songs. Apollo Papathansio also turns in what is by far my favorite vocal performance of 2106, this guy just has the COOLEST voice in rock right now. Favorite Song: "Hard Road"

4) Neurosis- Fires Within Fires

I'm gonna be straight with you guys: Fires Within Fires is my favorite Neurosis album to date. I know that must sound blasphemous to veteran fans of a LONG lived band, but there have always been problems here or there that have kept me from fully embracing their music. That is not the case with them here: I loved every moment of music here. Its not the most original Neurosis record but thats kind of what I like about it, they weren't trying to reinvent the wheel here but they just made a damn, DAMN good wheel. Also Broken Ground is my favorite Neurosis song to date. In related news, Favorite Song: "Broken Ground"

3) Fleshgod Apocalypse- King

The biggest surprise of 2016, without question. I have straight up hated this band up until now, and they've somehow made a complete about face with their music and are now beating out EPICA in the symphonic metal game. Just unreal, the album is so epic, so consistent, and, most importantly, so well produced. The biggest knock against every other FGA album preceding this has been the horrible production jobs, which left us with cluttered noise instead of, well, metal! Here everything fits into place: there is so much going on musically with all the orchestras and the blast beats and the guitar solos and UGH its just awesome. The fact that its also one of the best written metal albums of the year wall to wall helps, too. Like finding out someone you never got along with before has a ton in common with you, fantastic. Favorite Song: "A Million Deaths"

2) Urfaust- Empty Space Meditation

Between Urfaust and Saor's Atmospheric Black Metal 2016 made me very happy for one of my favorite genre's, but Urfaust took it to another level. This album makes me feel like hiding away from the world just to absorb it properly. Its not complicated or deep music, but something must be said for just how perfectly this band understands the concept of atmosphere. This is not another shitty, throw away atmo-black metal album buried under layers and layers of garbage production to hide the fact the band sucks. This is an immaculately written, painstakingly produced masterwork that understands the harsh genre is belongs to, but also knows how to write music at the end of the day. One of the best albums Atmospheric Black Metal has yet produced. Favorite Track: "Meditatum III"

1) Vektor- Terminal Redux

In 2011 when Vektor put out Outer Isolation declared that in a couple years time they would be the only band that anyone would care about from the mid 00's thrash revival, easily the most disappointing musical movement in metal history (yes, really, fight me). They stood miles above every other band that even attempted to ride the nostalgia waves of thrash during that time, and today they have reaffirmed themselves as not the kings of that ill-begotten time, but vanguards of something new and better.
Terminal Redux reminds me of why I fell in love with thrash as a teenager in the first place. Its so much fun, so complex (with purpose), and so consistent that whenever I listen to it I can never just listen to one song; its a full album listen EVERY-SINGLE-TIME. The only knock I can even reasonably level against it is that it lacks a killer single in the vein of Tetrastructural Minds, a moot point when you consider it as a concept album and maybe the best one ever composed for thrash. OH and I would be remiss to not mention that the closing finale 1-2-3 punch of Pillars of Sand/Collapse/Recharging the Void is easily the best final to an album I've heard in years. Absolutely Essential. Favorite track: "Recharging the Void"