top 10 of ’08

Here is my top 10 favourite records released in 2008. To be honest, I only bought about 15 records released this year, and a whole lot of older records. That being said, I believe that this is a good list, and that the reason these 10 made the list is that I actually believe they are good enough to buy. This list is in alphabetical order and the numbers are for organizational purposes, not ranking.

1. Becoming the Archetype- “Dichotomy”

Epic Progressive Death Metal. Great music, solos, vocals and production. Easily this band’s best record, they have finally learned to write catchy songs and not just riffs.

2. Brave Saint Saturn- “Anti-Meridian”

The highly anticipated third part to the Saturn Five Trilogy lives up to expectations, blowing the previous BS2 records out of the water, and also showing improvement over Five Iron Frenzy’s heyday. Great hooks, melodies and excellent lyrics make this electro-pop disc a winner.

3. Child Bite- “Fantastic Gusts of Blood”

Experimental post punk based on Greek mythology. Excellent vocals reminiscent of Pere Ubu, and spastic music that is as strange as it is catchy. Also check out their remix EP “Exquisite Luxury” also released this year.

4. Jon Foreman- “Fall / Winter / Spring / Summer”

Jon Foreman’s four EPs based on the seasons take him out of Switchfoot’s hard rock territory and place him into the realm of acoustic folk and pop. Excellent lyrics and great music that truly wouldn’t fit into the realm of his full time band. It doesn’t matter that the four seasons concept doesn’t play out in the songs, they are great slices of pop regardless.

5. Joy Electric- “My Grandfather, The Cubist”

This one is certainly a grower, not jumping out at me as quickly as Ronnie’s other records. That being said the minimalism of the music and vocals truly draws me in on repeated listens. One of JE’s best, and after 23 releases that is saying a lot!

6. Mars ILL- “Black Listed Sessions”

Not one, but two complete revisions of the classic “Blue Collar Sessions” EP. Dust consistently improves the beats, and guest producer Beat Rabbi does great on his two tracks as well. Manchild’s unchanged vocals are as convicting as ever. If Dust continues to write beats this good I don’t care if he does every Mars ILL song seventeen times, I’ll still want it. This two-disc set is a limited  edition of 250 with excellent art, so pick it up while you still have the chance.

7. Norma Jean- “The Anti Mother”

Cory Brandon is not Emo. His vocals however, are blisteringly visceral and full of emotion. This album candidly discusses Brandon’s divorce, and his pain is palpable and convicting. Easily the best post-Scogin Norma Jean record.

8. Trenches- “The Tide Will Swallow Us Whole”

This sounds nothing like Haste the Day. If you get it just because of Jimmy Ryan’s presence behind the mic you may be disappointed. This is super sludgy metal, often mid-paced and epic. Comparisons to early Warlord are not without reason. In a word it is great.

9. Thrice- “The Alchemy Index Vols. 3 & 4: Air & Earth”

The most experimental music from Thrice yet. The air disc is light and airy, and the Earth disc is acoustic folk country. It takes some getting used to but it is excellent. Dustin Kensrue’s gorgeous voice and spiritually convicting lyrics shine in any musical setting.

10. Underoath- “Lost in the Sound of Separation”

The most organic sounding Underoath record, void of the vocal layering of past records, this sounds raw and live. The band has now perfected the dichotomy between pummeling metal and catchy hooks.

Honorable Mentions:

Fleet Foxes- S/T, Brendan Canning- Something For All of Us…, Deliverance reissues on Retroactive

On Norma Jean

Norma Jean is a band that I have loved, hated, and who have confused me. The band is fraught with line-up changes, and have been both loved and bashed by critics alike. Here I will write my personal thoughts on each of the band’s records, hope you enjoy.

Throwing Myself  (2001, released under the band name “Luti-Kriss”)

Luti-Kriss has to be the worst band name ever. On top of following the misspelling nu-metal trends as begun by Korn and Limp Bizkit, it also happened to be reminiscent of the equally misspelled rapper Ludacris. And when a club books a rap artist and gets metalcore…. oops. Fortunately the band killed this name after the debut. Unfortunately, this trendy and derivative moniker is entirely indicative of the music herein. Mostly bland and overproduced, the band sounds a bit like Zao rip offs. There a few bright moments, such as opener “Blacksmith” and the fast and heavy “Light Blue Collar,” but overall it is obvious the band are beginners. I would say that this is my least favorite Norma Jean album, but since this is not technically Norma Jean, I will instead say this is my favorite Luti-Kriss album. And that’s not saying much.

Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child (2002)

At singer Josh Scogin’s suggestion, the band abandon the overproduction of the debut and opt to record this record live in the studio. On top of that, they (wisely) abandon the nu-metal trend for a more experimental hardcore direction. The result? Jaw dropping. Rarely does a record absolutely impress me the first time through. This one did it in the first three seconds. I was hooked. The band bludgeons with metalcore pounding, and then turns it around on the longer epics with quirky ambience and alt-rock style experimentation. And it still blows my mind that the 16-minute epic “Pretty Soon, I Don’t Know What, But Something Is Going To Happen” was recorded live. Insane. Also of note here is Scogin’s newfound obsession with really long song titles, which has since become commonplace in this genre. Hmm, from trend followers to trend setters. Of course, two weeks before this record dropped both Scogin and bassist Josh Doolittle bailed on the band. Since Scogin was the main songwriter and creative force behind the band their future was in question, but they soldiered on to create much more excellent music. I would call this my favorite Norma Jean album, but that’s not fair because the band that made this is entirely different than the band that made the next three records. With that in mind, I’ll instead say this is my favorite hardcore album of all time. And that is most certainly saying a lot.

O’ God, The Aftermath (2005)

Three years after Josh, the band has toured extensively with a fill-in vocalist before finally calling up Cory Brandon, former singer of Eso-Charis, and begin to record their follow-up, O’ God, The Aftermath, which gets my vote for most appropriate album title ever. I didn’t know what to expect of this one. The Chariot’s debut made it absolutely clear that the chaos and the live in studio recording were entirely Josh’s doing. This album on the other hand, returns to the heavy-handed production of Luti-Kriss. I wouldn’t say that this is overproduced though, just obsessively clean sounding, with everything in its place. Fortunately, the ambience and experimentalism was not from Josh, but the rest of the band, so while this wasn’t recorded live in the studio, it still sounds like Norma Jean musically. Cory Brandon is a competent vocalist and great lyricist, but on this album he doesn’t sound very good. Of course, he hadn’t been in a band for a couple of years, so it’s understandable that he’s rusty. He sounds best doing his gruff yell/singing. A lot of fans criticized this. I think it sounds great, and I think everyone needs to realize that this Norma Jean is not the same Norma Jean that made Bless the Martyr. I like to look at this as a re-debut. When it was first released I honestly hated it, since I’ve grown to appreciate it and actually find myself listening to it a lot now, but it’s still my least favorite Norma Jean record.

Redeemer (2006)

This is one of those albums that’s just really good. At 41 minutes it is the band’s shortest record, completely void of the long, experimental songs. Fortunately the band’s newfound tightness works wonders, as they add the ambience and guitar noodling to all the songs instead of relegating it to a couple epics. This makes all the songs a lot more catchy and also more interesting. Also notable, Cory adds even more singing to this record. Of course that will leave some, who think that it ain’t metal enough unless it’s all screaming all the time, up in arms. I say screw ’em. This album is great, and Cory’s vocals are great, much better than on O’ God The Aftermath. Clearly the touring and recording process has done good things. Also, there is more killer artwork, including the return of the “man overboard” symbol, which has now become a band logo of sorts. This album isn’t particularly progressive, nor is it genre defining. It is just a metalcore album, but a really good metalcore album. As my friend Jerry has stated, “Some are remembered for doing it first, others are remembered for doing it best.” Norma Jean does it best. This album is consistently good, every song, no filler, nothing extraneous, just really good music.

….and that is all for now. Stay tuned for a proper full-length review of Norma Jean’s latest, The Anti Mother, just as soon as I let it sink in a bit more!

for the record…

To all the reviewers out there:

The clean singing on Norma Jean’s new album “The Anti Mother” does not sound like Emo. I mean really. Saying that is both an insult to Norma Jean and Emo.

Chino Moreno does not sound like an Emo singer. At all. Have you ever even heard Emo? Go Listen to Sunny Day Real Estate or Appleseed Cast.

Cory Brandon does not sound Emo. That is just stupid. The guy has a gruff singing voice, riddled with the age that all his screaming gives it. 

Seriously I am so freaking sick of everyone labeling the singing on any hardcore album Emo. That is ridiculous. Singing does not equal Emo.

This has been a public service announcement…