Christopher Mammal’s Top Albums Of 2013: #10 – #1
One day when I’m old and grey—.
Start again. When I’m even older and greyer or hairless, I’ll still be listening to all of these albums pretty often. I work alone in an office at home. I play music while I pretend to be busy. Often I get through ten albums a day. Without music, I’d go mad. My wife says that without metal, I might become sane, but she also says she’s used to my music making the panels on my desk vibrate. She’s lucky she can’t see what it’s doing to my insides.
May 2014 bring all of you great wealth, health, happiness and gut-thumping good metal.
10. Scale The Summit – The Migration
Progressive/math metal, USA
Sample song: Atlas Novus
9. Týr – Valkyrja
Folk metal, Denmark
Sample song: Nation
8. Mord’A’Stigmata – Ansia
Avant-garde black metal, Poland
Sample song: Inkaust
7. Pomegranate Tiger – Entities
Progressive/math metal, Canada
Sample song: New Breed
6. Amon Amarth – Deceiver Of The Gods
Melodic death metal, Sweden
Sample song: Deceiver Of The Gods
5. Sepultura – The Mediator Between Head
And Hands Must Be The Heart
Thrash metal, Brazil
Sample song: The Vatican
4. Finntroll – Blodsvept
Folk black metal, Finland
Sample song: Häxbrygd
3. Monster Magnet – Last Patrol
Stoner metal, UK
Sample song: The End Of Time
2. Leprous – Coal
Progressive metal, Norway
Sample song: Vaer Stjernar Vaerdan
1. Haken – The Mountain
Progressive metal, UK
Sample song: Pareidolia
FOOTNOTE: This is the third album released by Haken, It is also the third year Haken has released my album of the year.
Posted on December 27, 2013, in Best of 2013, Metal Lists and tagged albums of the year 2013, amon amarth, Best of Lists, Finntroll, Haken, Leprous, metal, Monster Magnet, Mord'A'Stigmata, Music, Pomegranate Tiger, Scale The Summit, sepultura, Týr. Bookmark the permalink. 9 Comments.
A Metal State of Mind 
I’m starting from the bottom.. I read so many good things about Haken. Every time I see one of their videos I feel a strange urge to press play, haha. Even though I know that I have, so far, not been very keen on their music. But that British accent, oh my god! 😛 And the bass! And I have to admit, their songwriting is marvelous. The melody in the chorus in the song above is also quite addicting… I hope I get to see this band live soon, sometimes that can change the way you hear a band’s music, for better or for worse. In this case I suspect for the better, unless they go all crazy and start improvised Genesis-proggy jams, haha.
I do really like the two last songs on that Leprous album, especially the one with Ihsahn singing. The rest of them, not so much.
Monster Magnet. I didn’t expect to see them so high up. Didn’t know you liked Finntroll that much either 🙂 And Sepultura! Wow, you sure have a nice mix of styles on your list, that’s cool. I haven’t even listened to that one yet.
Scale The Summit is always nice. So dreamy and relaxing. I need to listen more to this album, and I better do it now before my fondness of instrumental music disappears again, hehe. I love their song above.
Sepultura is a granddad band, so that figures. I love folk metal, and Finntroll gave it a humorous and very creative twist on their latest album. As for Leprous and Haken, they’re addicitive to a prog geek like me.
I do like Sepultura a lot, even though I’m not a granddad, mainly because of their “tribal” feeling, awesome groove and drumming (at least on their earlier albums). I just haven’t gotten around to listening to their later releases. As for Finntroll, same there, I love their earliest albums. When they were just a little bit more “black metal” and not all that folky. They are still fun though 🙂
I might get caught by the Haken some day. They might hook me. That’s funny, since “haken” in Swedish means “the hook”.
Awesome list. I can’t wait to get my greasy mits on Leprous and Haken.
I’m glad you like the list, KCProg. From your screen name I take it you’re a classic prog lover. Prog metal bands like Haken and Leprous help to fill the gaping hole left by the fading of King Crimson and other monster prog bands of my youth. so do many of the modern symphonic prog and neoprog bands such as Anubis, Arena, Chris, Flamborough Head, Glass Hammer, IQ, Kaipa, Karmakanic, Knight Area, Magenta, Mostly Autumn, Pendragon, Phideaux, Spock’s Beard, Touchstone….
I am surprised by some of your entries; Amon Amarth and Sepultura. You and Matt have something in common with your affection for Monster Magnet. I haven’t given them much of a listen, perhaps I should. I have heard a lot about Tyr and listened to them now for the first time…pretty cool, sort of like Amon Amarth with more of a folk-ish feel. I can see where a prog-fan such as yourself would like Scale the Summit. Like many others on your list, my first time checking them out. I dig he song you posted.
Great list; some surprises and also some cool new stuff for me to listen to for the first time.
Haken! That sounds awesome! Yet another band Ive never heard of before today. Ive been away from the metal scene for far too long.
That Haken album is pretty damn great. One hell of a prog overload. And I can never get enough of Cockroach King (both the song and video). Nice to see a bit of NJ in your list with Monster Magnet. Unfortunately I haven’t given it enough ear time, but I really liked what I listened to so far. They sound like they’re bringing back the old Spine of God/Superjudge feel back mixed with the hard rock feel of Powertrip on onwards. Great list and a good months worth of music to check out!
Have fun being improginated even more than you are.
How far are you from Red Bank when you visit the motherland? Invite the Monster Magnet guys to take you for a beer. Geez, they did Spine of God when I was still young enough to play tennis! That was about the time tennis balls were invented.