We’ve had a busy year in 2011, with a lot of things happening in the world of music.
Amy Winehouse passed away on 07/23/2011 with a posthumous release following close behind titled ‘Lioness: Hidden Treasures’. Adele became a household name with her song ‘Rolling In The Deep’ playing nonstop on the radio. Zakk Wyle proved there is life after Ozzy by releasing ‘The Song Remains Not The Same’ and appearing on American Idol, which put him in the national spotlight. We’ve seen a few regulars that somehow manage to stay in the headlines for good or ill – namely Courtney Love, Lady Gaga and Axl Rose.
We also learned in 2011 that throwing two successful artists/bands together cross genre for collaboration doesn’t always work. You can take a listen to Lulu for your proof. And finally we did see an apology from Metallica in the release of the EP ‘Beyond Magnetic’ with just four tracks, but many feeling that this is the best release they’ve seen from Metallica in years.
We’ve really seen a big year in album releases with some really amazing things being released that have to make you realize that good music is not dead, it is still thriving. With the absence of Slayer (release coming in 2012, date TBD), the other three of the Big 4 have all released new music in 2011. Megadeth released ‘Th1rt3en’, Anthrax released ‘Worship Music’, and we’ll pretend that Metallica only released ‘Beyond Magnetic’. Below I will list some of the best releases of 2011 (at least in my opinion), and please feel free to add to the list in the comments. I’m not trying to accomplish a “top ten” type of list, but just spreading the word on some album releases that are worth checking out from 2011.
Foo Fighters – Wasting Light
‘Wasting Light’ was the seventh studio album from Foo Fighters, and also their first album with 3 guitarists with the return of Pat Smear. Dave Grohl was trying to recapture a certain type of energy with this album and recorded mostly out of his garage using analog equipment. The end result is a fairly diverse sounding album that is absolutely worth having a listen. Please check out the music video for their song ‘White Limo’ below, with a guest appearance by Lemmy Kilmister.
Jane’s Addiction – The Great Escape Artist
Jane’s Addiction’s 4th studio album and the first release in 8 years, you couldn’t really expect ‘The Great Escape Artist’ to live up to the classics on ‘Ritual de lo Habitual’, and this is where you will be pleasantly surprised. A very energetic album with lots of great tunes, ‘The Great Escape Artist’ gave me my faith in Jane’s Addiction back. Duff McKagan joined the band as the bass player for part of the creative writing process, but left before the album release. His contributions to the album still come across as being substantial, with an album release that in time may even make ‘Ritual de lo Habitual’ pale in comparison. Below is the video for ‘Irresistible Force’ as a taste of what to expect.
Mastodon – The Hunter
‘The Hunter’ is the natural evolution of Mastodon as what a modern heavy metal band should be. This is the 5th studio album by Mastodon, and possibly one of the most impressive releases of 2011. This is the first album with drummer, Brann Dailor, taking such a large part in vocal duties and songwriting and it seems like a really good call. Metal bands always seem to have a hard time becoming successful without becoming more commercial or selling out, but that is exactly what Mastodon seems to have accomplished – their popularity has increased steadily and yet their music is uncompromising. Below is the video for ‘Curl of the Burl’ from the album.
Megadeth – Th1rt3en
‘Th1rt3en’ is the 13th studio release from Megadeth, and according to interviews with Dave Mustaine this is possibly their last release. It isn’t a weak album to end your career on, though I personally hope there is more new music from Megadeth in the future. With the recent reconciliation between the Big 4, it has really got my blood pumping for some new metal from these innovators of metal. While Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax all have a place on my mp3 player, it is Megadeth that has really been my favorite metal band from as early as I can remember. Check out a selection from ‘Th1rt3en’ below with the video for ‘Public Enemy No. 1’.
Primus – Green Naugahyde
Not everyone loves Primus – you have to have a deep love for the weird and fascination with the concept of a bass guitar fronted rock band. This is the seventh studio release from Primus, and marks a return of the original guitarist “Ler” who helped make Primus great. It isn’t just anywhere that you can be thoroughly impressed by a band’s musicianship as you listen to them singing about being watched by a squirrel. Primus still has it, and they proved with ‘Green Naugahyde’. Check out the below track from ‘Green Naugahyde’ titled ‘Hoinfodaman’.
Anthrax – Worship Music
‘Worship Music’ is the tenth studio release by Anthrax and marks the return of Joey Belladonna. Their first album in 8 years, they come back strong showing that they deserve their place as a member of the Big 4. With vocals initially recorded with Dan Nelson, a roadblock occurred when Dan left the band. In the end, Joey Belladonna brought back some unidentifiable quality I’ve missed from Anthrax for quite some time. Below is a sample from the album, the track titled ‘The Devil You Know’.
Metallica – Beyond Magnetic
Metallica got some bad press in 2011 with the release of ‘Lulu’, their collaboration with Lou Reed. I personally don’t think that bad press was undeserved, though at some times it was pretty brutal. That collaboration was a bad idea and seemed to really leave a bad taste in the mouth of both Metallica and Lou Reed fans. They were working off the insane premise of basing an album off of a group of plays about a German prostitute from her point of view. The end result was not good. I’m glad Metallica released the ‘Beyond Magnetic’ EP to remind their fans what they’re about and look forward to the full length album they are supposedly working on now. Check out the song ‘Rebel of Babylon’ below from their ‘Beyond Magnetic’ EP.
Eddie Vedder – Ukulele Songs
You may not agree that ‘Ukulele Songs’ deserves a mention on my list of albums worth listening to from 2011, as there isn’t really any guitar and it is mostly just Eddie Vedder strumming and singing along to a ukulele. Well, from a songwriting standpoint I was very impressed with this album. Also, listening actually made me want to buy and learn to play a ukulele and that is the definition of a great album for me. Check out the track ‘Can’t Keep’ below and decide for yourself.
Black Tide – Post Mortem
Black Tide is really a new discovery in 2011 for me, and the album ‘Post Mortem’ was really exciting for me. This is a band of some very young guys making some great music, and for their sophomoric release you couldn’t ask for much more. I have added Black Tide to the list because on top of their music being really solid heavy metal, it is very likely this band will continue making music for another 20 or 30 years if they can put up with each other for that long. Below is ‘Walking Dead Man’ from ‘Post Mortem’.
Joe Bonamassa – Dust Bowl
Joe Bonamassa is someone that seems to often be overlooked amongst guitarists and blues enthusiasts and I can’t quite wrap my head around it. From the time I discovered Joe Bonamassa everything he has done is like gold. Counting live albums, Joe Bonamassa has released 17 albums in the past 11 years. Joe Bonamassa is also a member of ‘Black Country Communion’ which some people may be more familiar with. Check out the track ‘Slow Train’ below from the album ‘Dust Bowl’
I know there are a lot of other great albums out there, but these are the ones that stood out for me in 2011. Please fill in the blanks I left in the comments with your personal favorites! Happy Holidays and New Year, everyone!
Probably my two favourite albums from this year were King of Limbs by Radiohead and United in Isolation by Papa vs Pretty. Terrible band name, but it has huge promise from a bunch of kids.
1. The Discovery (Born of Osiris) this album is EPIC!!
2. In Waves (Trivium)
3. A Dramatic Turn of Events (Dream Theater)
4. Digital Veil (The Human Abstract)
5. Leveler (August Burns Red)
6. The Hymn of A Broken Man (Times of Grace)
7. The Age of Hell (Chimaira)
8. Set The World On Fire (Black Veil Brides)
Thirteen by Megadeth was just awful, no offence to them. It was not Megadeth standard.
clearly ur not megadeth standard....13 was amazing. loved it, that machine is running so well right now. so grow up little bitch
Please sort out your spelling, you're giving me the impression that you're a 10 year old. Also, I have every right to express my opinions on the internet and all I'm trying to say is 13 is sub-par for musicians like the respective members of Megadeth, to have a go at me for doing so is childish. So no, you're the one that needs to "grow up".
Thirteen by Megadeth was just awful, no offence to them. It was not Megadeth standard.
clearly ur not megadeth standard....13 was amazing. loved it, that machine is running so well right now. so grow up little bitch
Eh thirteen kinda disappointed me too. Only two songs stood out for me, Endgame was easily better than it. I'm almost tepted to place it on the same level as risk
oh and dont get me wrong, the reason I'm so displeased with thirteen is not because its bad, but its too much like their more current releases.
Im also surprised they didnt include A dramatic turn of events. It's notable because its their first album without Mike Portnoy and is easily their best album since six degrees
Thirteen by Megadeth was just awful, no offence to them. It was not Megadeth standard.
I'm a devout Megadeth fan and I absolutely LOVED 13. You're clearly suck in the 80's because 13 was the culmination of how they've been writing records in CtE. If you've enjoyed anything since CtE, there's little to no reason why 13 wouldn't satisfy your appetite for Megadeth.
Also, 1 up for putting Black Tide up there. Most people profile them based on looks and yes, Post Mortem isn't as good as LfA, but it's still an great listen.
Agree that Machine Head and Trivium should both be up there though. Take Metallica off there simply because they released an EP of DM b-sides which were in fact stronger than 95% of DM.
well, i get it that it is about metal mostly but how can you just ignore albums such as El Camino by Black Keys or EPICNESS such as Kasabian - Velociraptor.....
Black Tide and Mastodon and no Unto the Loucust by Machine Head . As far as im concerend Black Tide and Mastodon did not have a metal hammer issue devoted entirely to thier albums.
1. The Discovery (Born of Osiris) this album is EPIC!!
2. In Waves (Trivium)
3. A Dramatic Turn of Events (Dream Theater)
4. Digital Veil (The Human Abstract)
5. Leveler (August Burns Red)
6. The Hymn of A Broken Man (Times of Grace)
7. The Age of Hell (Chimaira)
8. Set The World On Fire (Black Veil Brides)
No one will take your opinion seriously since you included Black Veil BRIDES...
Why do people get so caught up in just their own genre of music when saying good albums that are released?? your just as bad as the people that only like mainstream music!
"marks a return of the original guitarist Ler who helped make Primus great"
Wrong.
guitargodwannab wrote:
MightyTheAtom wrote:Thirteen by Megadeth was just awful, no offence to them. It was not Megadeth standard.clearly ur not megadeth standard....13 was amazing. loved it, that machine is running so well right now. so grow up little bitch
Nah 13 was pretty whack by Megadeth standards...like the previous 6 albums before it.
1. The Discovery (Born of Osiris) this album is EPIC!!
2. In Waves (Trivium)
3. A Dramatic Turn of Events (Dream Theater)
4. Digital Veil (The Human Abstract)
5. Leveler (August Burns Red)
6. The Hymn of A Broken Man (Times of Grace)
7. The Age of Hell (Chimaira)
8. Set The World On Fire (Black Veil Brides)
The only things on this list I strongly agree with are Wasting Light and The Hunter. Some other notable albums from this year: "The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues" (BTBAM); "Scurrilous" (Protest the Hero); "The Collective" (Scale the Summit); "El Camino" (The Black Keys); "I'm With You" (Red Hot Chili Peppers); "Torches" (Foster the People); "Arrows and Anchors" (Fair to Midland); "Leveler" (August Burns Red); "Thank You, Happy Birthday" (Cage the Elephant); "Digital Veil" (The Human Abstract); "Deconstruction/Ghost" (DTP); "Endgame" (Rise Against); "Father, Son, Holy Ghost" (Girls); "Heritage" (Opeth); "The Discovery" (Born of Osiris); "Staind" (Staind); "The Whole Love" (Wilco); and that's just some of the rock and metal.
Gotta give some credit to Dream Theater, Thrice, Nightwish, and Chevelle for their releases too. Lots of good music this year. I'm sure I'm forgetting something else.
This has been a great year for music, lots of awesome albums. Agree with "Wasting Light" and "The Hunter" of the list, but if one album deserves to be there more than any other is, in my opinion, Leprous' "Bilateral". Best album of the year by far, and the competition has been really strong. Just a perfect album, in every possible way.
As it is mentioned in the last phrases this are the albums that personally stood out for the editor. I don't agree with all his choices either but if we all agree on everything it would be a rather dull world, don't you think so?
Plus the list made by most of you (some your just busy to bitch around and not add anything) is pretty awesome.
I would add to this list Black and White America by Lenny Kravitz.
Iconoclast - Symphony X
A Dramatic Turn of Events - Dream Theater
Unto the Locust - Machine Head
Imaginaerium - Nightwish
From Chaos to Eternity - Rhapsody of Fire
I'm With You - RHCP
Ghost/ Deconstruction - Devin Townsend
Dystopia - Iced earth
Trivium - In Waves
Those among many others would be on my list.
(Including a few already mentioned in the article)
Great year for music as you can tell!
1. The Discovery (Born of Osiris) this album is EPIC!!
2. In Waves (Trivium)
3. A Dramatic Turn of Events (Dream Theater)
4. Digital Veil (The Human Abstract)
5. Leveler (August Burns Red)
6. The Hymn of A Broken Man (Times of Grace)
7. The Age of Hell (Chimaira)
8. Set The World On Fire (Black Veil Brides)
I'm a devout Megadeth fan and I absolutely LOVED 13. You're clearly suck in the 80's because 13 was the culmination of how they've been writing records in CtE. If you've enjoyed anything since CtE, there's little to no reason why 13 wouldn't satisfy your appetite for Megadeth.
Also, 1 up for putting Black Tide up there. Most people profile them based on looks and yes, Post Mortem isn't as good as LfA, but it's still an great listen.
Agree that Machine Head and Trivium should both be up there though. Take Metallica off there simply because they released an EP of DM b-sides which were in fact stronger than 95% of DM. [/quote]
That's quite funny because I'm 15, I don't see how I can be stuck in the 80's.
I've said it all year, Hymn of a Broken Man by Times of Grace is the best album to come out this year. A whole album done by Adam D from a hospital bed with some help from Jesse. It's metal and touching with an inspirational message. It's just a feel good album with good songs that are metal enough. I breathe metal, but the heaviest album of the year doesn't equal best. Top notch album, I highly recomend it.
Thirteen by Megadeth was just awful, no offence to them. It was not Megadeth standard.
I agree totally. 13 does nothing for me at all, particularly backing up Endgame which I loved. I guess it's an opinion thing.
My two favourite albums of the year aren't on the list, but Machine Head's Unto the Locust and Mercenary's Metamorphosis are both brilliant albums. Metamorphosis in particular I still listen to almost everyday. It's incredible.
"This is the seventh studio release from Primus, and marks a return of the original guitarist Ler who helped make Primus great."
Ler was always there, it was the original drummer Jay Lane that returned
1. The Discovery (Born of Osiris) this album is EPIC!!
2. In Waves (Trivium)
3. A Dramatic Turn of Events (Dream Theater)
4. Digital Veil (The Human Abstract)
5. Leveler (August Burns Red)
6. The Hymn of A Broken Man (Times of Grace)
7. The Age of Hell (Chimaira)
8. Set The World On Fire (Black Veil Brides)
The age of hell? seriously, that album seemed just likes a collection of left over songs and synthesizer interludes, chimairas time is up... no guitarists, no drummer, no keyboarder and no bassist. mark alone can't run that band.
1)Machine Head-Unto the Locust
2)TesseracT-One
3)Animals As Leaders-Weightless
4)Protest the Hero-Scurrilous
5)Opeth-Heritage
6)Vildhjarta-Masstaden
7 )Uneven Structure-Februus
8)Sylosis-Edge of the Earth
9)Skindred-Union Black
10) City and Colour-Little Hell
"Sophomoric" doesn't mean what it's used for here, unless the article is praising Black Tide for being unjustifiably confident. Replace it with "sophomore."
Also, I'd argue that the first entry should read "is the 7th album," as inanimate objects in obvious succession (like albums) aren't really subject to change. If and when the band releases another album, or if they disband/all die, Wasted Light will still be the 7th chronologically in their discography. I might be wrong.
Finally, meh on the Jane's Addiction album based on that one song. The lyrics commit the no-no of basing an idea on a clich without doing anything new, and the instrumentation and production are what I'd expect from any radio-ready single. Oh well.
To be fair, this list is a regular contributor's opinion concerning the year in music. Not everyone has the same tastes, and at least he elucidated the reasoning behind his choices for the expectations of the site.
It's like the were smoking up with the Mars Volta or something. It's so damn lifeless. I expected soooo friggen much more coming from Watershed, that album is fantastic. It was downright depressing to see Mikeal say that it's like the album he's been wanting to make his whole life or whatever. If this is seriously their direction, then there goes one of the best bands around.
Though, I'll admit I'm a bit pathetic, and having never heard Blackwater Park, I picked that up after listening to Heritage, and that's incredible!! It's sorta like having a new -good- Opeth CD, haha.
Some of my favs this year:
The completely neglected/maybe best metal album I've ever ****ing heard: The Human Abstract - Digital Veil
Darkest Hour - The Human Romance
Megadeth - 13
311's new one is short, but struck me harder than their last couple of releases. Everyone probably hates them anyway.
I'm afraid to listen to new In Flames at this point, is Jesper even in the band anymore?
And sadly, Trivium's new album came out like a bunch of mush. Hard to believe the band that wrote Shogun=the band that wrote In Waves.
These posts have convinced me to listen to the new Staind and Thrice though.
oh and dont get me wrong, the reason I'm so displeased with thirteen is not because its bad, but its too much like their more current releases.
Im also surprised they didnt include A dramatic turn of events. It's notable because its their first album without Mike Portnoy and is easily their best album since six degrees
1. The Discovery (Born of Osiris) this album is EPIC!!
2. In Waves (Trivium)
3. A Dramatic Turn of Events (Dream Theater)
4. Digital Veil (The Human Abstract)
5. Leveler (August Burns Red)
6. The Hymn of A Broken Man (Times of Grace)
7. The Age of Hell (Chimaira)
8. Set The World On Fire (Black Veil Brides)
No one will take your opinion seriously since you included Black Veil BRIDES...
Ah, now i see it lol...he did include August Burns Red, but tht wont make up for what he did.
Ppl r so narrow-minded...dam. Show some respect and look outside just metal itself. there are other bands tht showed great effort in their music this year. I still cant believe no one cares for The Devil Wears Prada or We Came As Romans. What about Of Mice & Men or Blessthefall? i agree with some of what ppl sed tho but this is just my opinion so dnt hate on it.
What? No *insert bands here*! You guys are stupid if you don't have the same taste in music as me! UG, you guys are a bunch of *insert crazy made up terms like "noobs"*
1)Machine Head-Unto the Locust
2)TesseracT-One
3)Animals As Leaders-Weightless
4)Protest the Hero-Scurrilous
5)Opeth-Heritage
6)Vildhjarta-Masstaden
7 )Uneven Structure-Februus
8)Sylosis-Edge of the Earth
9)Skindred-Union Black
10) City and Colour-Little Hell
thanks for mentioning AAL! That, Heritage, Cynic's Carbon Based Anatomy, Scurrilous and Digital Veil were my highlights.
Why a lot of people naming el camino?? It's a good album ok,but...it's a sort of"it's-only-rock'n-roll-but-i-like-it-even-if-i-heard-it-a- lot-of-times"
are you serious? you put black tide on there but no machine head?! UG get your shit together
Machine Head is garbage, at least Black Tide is young/somewhat promising.
Are you somewhat deaf? Black Tide, their new sound at least, is part of the awful generic metalcore sound that is saturating the metal genre, they are not inventive and sound like all of the other metalcore bands at the moment.
Machine Head on the other hand are one of the most forward thinking metal bands around at the moment and can pull off everything live in stunning fashion, can someone think of any band that sounds remotely similar to Machine Head? Thought not.
All these lists turn into is a "what about..." stream of comments. If they listed every single album everyone has suggested then we'd get bored reading the damn article!
