Kroda: Schwarzpfad (4.5/5)

Joshua's Top 10 Albums from 2011

#10 of 10

Year: 2011

Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal

Label: Purity Through Fire

TRT: 50:40

There's something very primal about Kroda. Hailing from The Ukraine, they incorporate a lot of the rich folk history of their country into their works, both through the instruments used and the lore reiterated. There's an undeniable beauty to their work, in both the cacophony and the quiet. This is a very memorable release with plenty of replay value.

01 Schwarzpfad I (First Snow)

02 Schwarzpfad II (Universal Provenances)

03 Schwarzpfad III (Forefather of Hangmen)

04 Schwarzpfad IV (Heil Ragnarok!)

05 Schwarzpfad V (Cold Aurora)

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Other Lives: Tamer Animals (4.5/5)

Joshua's Top 10 Albums of 2011

#9 of 10

Year: 2011

Genre: Western Folk Dream Pop

Label: TBD

TRT: 40:16

For 12 was recommended to me for a compilation I was putting together. The compilation fell through, but I fell for this song, and immediately checked out the rest of the album. What we have here is a band that at times reminds me of Mumford and Sons, sometimes Bon Iver, maybe even a little Radiohead, yet their clear vision and western slant make their sound unique and refreshing. I doubt these folks will stay under the radar long, since they're currently touring with Radiohead (as well as being released on their imprint), which is good, because we need more high profile quality music on the airwaves.

01 Dark Horse

02 As I Lay My Head Down

03 For 12

04 Tamer Animals

05 Dust Bowl III

06 Weather

07 Old Statues

08 Woodwind

09 Desert

10 Landforms

11 Head East

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Blut aus Nord: 777 - The Desanctification

Joshua's Top 10 Albums of 2011

#8 of 10

Year: 2011

Genre: Experimental Black Metal

Label: Debemur Morti

TRT: 43:47

These longtime black metal jauggernauts are relentless. After a career almost old enough to vote, they're still not ready to give up the ghost. Instead they're turning up the intensity but releasing a three part series of albums for their ninth, tenth and eleventh full length offerings. This is the second in the series (with the third part due out in early 2012), and it is monstrously depraved. They've pulled a page from MoRT, and really upped the industrial sound of the drums, giving them a pummeling machinelike pulse, which enhances the eerie guitar atmospheres and schizophrenic vocals. They've given us yet another journey to hell, and I don't think we're coming back from this one.

01 Epitome VII

02 Epitome VIII

03 Epitome IX

04 Epitome X

05 Epitome XI

06 Epitome XII

07 Epitome XIII

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Nero: Welcome Reality (4.5/5)

Joshua's Top 10 Albums of 2011

#7 of 10

Year: 2011

Genre: Electro Dubstep

Label: Mercury

TRT: 61:05

This two man DJ group has been lighting up stages and playing sets all over the world for many years, so the expectation for their debut album was pretty high. But I don't think anyone thought this was the album they'd make. Instead of going for the "easy kill" by coupling some nasty drops with some glitch ambient intros (rinse/repeat), they wrote an actual album containing actual songs. You can tell they put a great deal of effort into these tracks, they're not just a handful of club-friendly wubs and wobbles. This album is like the best parts of Justice and Skrillex combined with Nero's own singunature production. The result speaks for its self. Glitchy grooves, catchy hooks and drops that are somehow more "wholesome" than "filthy". This is one that's going to be getting a lot of play from me for a long time.

01 2808

02 Doomsday

03 My Eyes

04 Guilt

05 Fugue State

06 Me and You

07 Innocence

08 In the Way

09 Scorpions

10 Crush on You

11 Must Be the Feeling

12 Reaching Out

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Rwake: Rest (4.5/5)

Joshua's Top 10 Albums of 2011

#6 of 10

Year: 2011

Genre: Atmospheric Sludge Metal

Label: Relapse

TRT: 52:48

It's nice to see a band mature their sound without losing sight of who they are, and these southern sludge lords are not fucking around. While not as primal or violent as 2007's Voices of Omen, it's hardly deserving of such a sleepy title. Rwake focus more on the atmospheric side of their sound this time around, but there's still plenty of aggression to be found, and plenty of vicious grooves to be had.

01 Souls of the Sky

02 It Was Beautiful But Now It's Sour

03 An Invisible Thread

04 The Culling

05 Ti progetto

06 Was Only a Dream

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Gem Club: Breakers (4.5/5)

Joshua's Top 10 Albums of 2011

#5 of 10

Year: 2011

Genre: Piano-driven Atmospheric Melancholy

Label: Hardly Art

TRT: 37:49

Christopher Barnes channels the essence of melancholy and brings to mind "slowcore" pioneers Slowdive, while Barnes' haunting vocals are reminiscent of the Norwegian band The White Birch. Using his voice and his piano (with occasional help from cellist Kristen Drymala), Barnes creates immense atmospheres that are at once arresting and engrossing. His lyrics captivate your imagination, and whether hopeful or tragic, they come across with a sense of urgency and honesty that is sorely lacking in music these days.

01 Twins

02 Breakers

03 Lands

04 Red Arrow (John)

05 I Heard the Party

06 Black Ships

07 Tanager

08 252

09 In Wavelengths

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Leprous: Bilateral (5/5)

Joshua's Top 10 Albums of 2011

#4 of 11

Year: 2011

Genre: Progressive Metal

Label: InsideOut

TRT: 58:05

Leprous' last album, Tall Poppy Syndrome, really impressed me, so my expectations were very high for this one. And apparently they were up for the challenge. They really took things up a notch. Everything they did right on TPS, they improve upon. Vocalist Einar Solberg is particularly impressive. His performance on TPS is excellent, but there are several points during this album that my jaw literally dropped. These guys are the real deal, and they're raising the bar for progressive metal in spectacular fashion.

Also I don't usually bother making "best songs" lists for any given year, but gun to my head, I'd probably have to say my favorite track from 2011 is Forced Entry.

01 Bilateral

02 Forced Entry

03 Restless

04 Thorn

05 Mb. Indifferentia

06 Waste of Air

07 Mediocrity Wins

08 Cryptogenic Desires

09 Acquired Taste

10 Painful Detour

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Wolves in the Throne Room: Celestial Lineage (5/5)

Joshua's Top 10 Albums for 2011

#3 of 10

Year: 2011

Genre: Atmoblamet

Label: Southern Lord

TRT: 48:51

Wolves in the Throne Room will always hold a special place in my blackened heart, because they are the band that unlocked black metal for me, and it has since become one of my most-listened to and favorite genres. After the release of the straight-forward and mostly mediocre Black Cascade, I feared they had lost their touch. Yet again, I'm happy to be wrong in such situations.

Celestial Lineage gets back to the incredibly well constructed atmospheres of their first two albums, and some how, some way, makes them more vast and full-sounding than ever. In addition, there are some absolutely magnificent riffs to be found here. While that's always been the case, they're much more prominent on this album. Specifically (and you know I don't like singling out tracks), Astral Blood is one of the most black plague infectious tracks I've ever heard. I spent several weeks humming guitar parts (much to the chagrin of my wife). And when I got it on vinyl...let's just say Side C has gotten many many times the play the rest of the album has. I think I must have picked up the needle and started it over maybe 12 times in a row that first day. I would highly recommend picking up the LP if that's something you're in to.

01 Thuja Magus Imperium

02 Permanent Changes In Conciousness

03 Subterrenean Initiation

04 Rainbow Illness

05 Woodland Cathedral

06 Astral Blood

07 Prayer of Transformation

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Blue Sky Black Death: Noir (5/5)

Joshua's Top 10 Albums of 2011

#2 of 10

Year: 2011

Genre: Atmospheric Instrumental Trip-hop

Label: Fake Four

TRT: 62:41

While they started their career solidly in the realm of instrumental hip hop, over the past couple albums they've been moving more and more in the direction of washed out electronics and trip hop. They've also become more interesting as they mature their sound. Noir is like a warm day on the tail end of summer. Everything seems calm and laid back, but you just have a feeling that a storm is brewing on the horizon, and you can't shake your sense of unease. Like a hallway where there's enough light to keep moving, but not enough to see what's at the far end. Blue Sky Black Death prowls in those shadows, waiting.

01 Our Hearts Of Ruin

02 Sleeping Children Are Still Flying

03 And Stars, ringed

04 To The Ends Of The Earth

05 Farewell To The Former World

06 Falling Short

07 Gold In Gold Out

08 Where Do We Go

09 In The Quiet Absence Of God

10 Where The Sun Beats

11 Starry

12 Fire For Light

13 Swords From Driftwood

14 Sky With Hand

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Arms and Sleepers: The Organ Hearts (5/5)

Joshua's Top 10 Albums of 2011

#1 of 10 (Album of the Year)

Year: 2011

Genre: Ambient Electronic Soundscapes

Label: Expect Candy

TRT: 41:01

This duo from New England showed up on my radar sometime shortly after their second full length Matador was released in 2009. I liked it and checked out their first album, and liked it as well, but it wasn't until late in 2010 that I really started to get into their sound. That's what they do. They create lush and layed soundscapes that appear simple on the surface, but become more intricate as you start to pay attention to and pick up on the subleties. When I saw them in April of 2010, The Organ Hearts was slated for release about a month later. After they opened their set with the first three tracks from the new album, the anticipation became palpable, and I bought it the day it was released.

This is their best release to date. Everything I love about their previous releases is here, but magnified. At first blush this seems to be the most minimalistic and ambient material they've created, but as you become more familiar with the music, more and more things begin to pop out at you. Over time, listening to this album becomes like watching a time-lapse video of a mountain meadow as it transforms from winter to spring, and the flowers bloom from the frozen ground.

01 Kepesh

02 Tusk

03 I Sing the Body Electric

04 The Afternoon Child

05 A Smile in Sofia

06 Antwerp

07 Serie Noire

08 Reprise

09 Yesterday's Child

10 Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye

11 Atelier

12 Airport Blues

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