Global Domination

GD's verdicts - Best of 2012: Jaime Viejo

18/12/12  ||  Global Domination

1. Colosso: Abrasive Peace

This album came of out nowhere and destroyed everything on his path. Written and performed by a Portuguese gentleman, Max Tomé with the collaboration of the insane Dirk Verbeuren (Soilwork, Aborted, Scarve, Bent Sea, Devin Townsend) on drums. This is a monolithic and vicious album that has super tight songwriting while keeping the brutality intact. This album pisses on top on the new boring Cryptopsy. Buy or die!

2: Dordeduh: Dar-de-duh

My two favorite members of Negura Bunget have released an amazingly epic Black Metal album with Romanian folk influences that is dense but highly enjoyable and innovative.

3: Neurosis: Honor found in decay

This is the band’s most accessible album and probably their best.

4: Abnormality: Contaminating the hive mind

Venomous, catchy, brutal and monstrous brutal death metal, that’s it.

5: God Seed: I begin

The black metal surprise of the year. “Evil” and “progressive” have fun playing together.

Major disappointment of 2012:

The Mars Volta: Noctourniquet

I absolutely love all the Mars Volta albums. To me, they are the Led Zeppelin of this era mixed with Latin influences, one of those rare bands that only L.A. can produce, multicultural and exciting. I never understood this album, never grabbed me by the balls like previous ones. Good ideas and some cool songs hidden under weirder-than-ever production and arrangements.

Robbie Williams, “Take the Crown”, has been another huge disappointment. I was expecting him to go back to the style practiced in ‘Escapology’ (2002), but he failed miserably releasing a sub-par collection of terrible goofy (in a bad way) stale songs. He is still, one of my all-time favorite singers. Love you Robbie!

Close but no cigar:

Meshuggah: Koloss
Kowloon Walled City: Container ships
Malignancy: Eugenics
Viaje a 800: Coñac oxigenado
Coffin Texts: The tomb of infinite ritual
Storm Corrosion: Storm corrosion
Code Orange Kids: Love is love/Return to dust
Conan: Monnos
Sylosis: Monolith
Azoic: Gateways

Best non-metal albums of 2012:

Robert Francis: Strangers in the same place
Father John Misty: Fear fun
Benjamin Biolay: Vengeance
Dr. John: Locked down
Bob Dylan: Tempest
Mark Lanegan: Blues funeral
Kendrick Lamar: Good kid, MAAD City
Swans: The sheer

Best Reissue:

Sleep: Dopesmoker

Best Live Album:

Keith Jarrett, Jan Garbarek, Palle Danielsson, Jon Christensen – Sleeper: Tokyo, April 16, 1979.