{"id":14042,"date":"2014-12-22T01:00:23","date_gmt":"2014-12-22T06:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southeastofheaven.com\/?p=14042"},"modified":"2022-01-06T19:38:30","modified_gmt":"2022-01-07T00:38:30","slug":"content-needed-the-brainfarts-top-albums-of-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/?p=14042","title":{"rendered":"The Brainfart&#8217;s Top Albums of 2014!"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>ALBUM OF THE YEAR<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Crobot &#8211; Something Supernatural<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>I literally struggled for months as to who really put out the better album 2014 and it was a damn close call.\u00a0 I\u2019m talking bunk chads in Florida close.\u00a0 I have never had a more difficult time but in the end, Crobot reigned supreme with their latest release Something Supernatural.\u00a0 When these guys first sent me a very humble email back in 2012 asking to give them listen, after doing so I just knew I was hearing something pretty fucking magical.\u00a0 Two years later and with a new and improved rhythm section, Crobot returned and released an album that had not one single skippable track.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/oQnU4Qn_a_U\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Song for song, it\u2019s a solid, facemelting goulash of everything I love about hard rock music.\u00a0 If I could take all my favorite bands and throw them into a blender, I\u2019d have Crobot and that is why Something Supernatural lives up to it\u2019s name.\u00a0 It defies all genre barriers,its cosmically stellar, and It\u2019s fucking unreal just how great this album is.\u00a0 This is a much deserved album of the year award to a band to exceeded even the high expectations I had set for them two years ago.\u00a0 Bravo beardos.\u00a0 Bravo.<\/p>\n<p>==========================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Blues Pills &#8211; Blues Pills<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Coming in so close to the album of the year is Blues Pills long awaited self titled debut.\u00a0 After three EP releases, 2014 finally saw the release of this stellar platter of blues infused psychedelic hard rock n\u2019 roll.\u00a0 Elin Larsson and Company delivered re-worked versions of songs from their indie EP release along with a stellar run of newer songs such as \u201cHigh Class Woman\u201d, \u201cNo Hope Left for Me\u201d, and \u201cAin\u2019t No Change.\u201d\u00a0 Blues Pills hit the scene hard with this album and it is one the most powerful and most moving releases I have heard in some time.\u00a0 This is the album that solidified Blues Pills as a strong, upstanding band that has me excited to see what the future will bring us from them.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iV9XFldAi7w\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>==========================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Vindicator &#8211; Sleeping with Evil<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Ohio thrashes Vindicator have made the list once again with an EP release that blew my mind.\u00a0 Top notch production, over the top thrash guitar solos, vocals that will rip the top of your head off and make you think, and songs that even Dave Mustaine would wish he wrote is what this release is all about. What I really love about this EP is that this really shows significant growth for Vindicator while they storm forward in their fight to preserve classic thrash metal.\u00a0 With bands like Vindicator, I feel confident that the metal I grew up with and the metal that I still love is alive, well, and kicking ass.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hMxtZeUyld0\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>==========================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Riotgod &#8211; Driven Rise<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>After a stellar debut, Riotgod put out their 2nd album Invisible Empire which really didn\u2019t do a whole lot for me.\u00a0 It was a good album but boy, lemme tell you, Riotgod returned to form with Driven Rise sounding more focused and determined than ever.\u00a0 This album grabbed me even more so than their debut with a set of songs that showed diversity yet maintained a level of cohesion. The songs are just so fucking good and Mark Sunshine is without a doubt one of my favorite modern metal singers.\u00a0 This album was just a pleasant surprise and reminded me to not lose faith in my favorite bands even when they do something at some point I don\u2019t love.\u00a0 This album is sweet redemption for sure.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qT6mlfnChok\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>==========================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Oath &#8211; The Oath<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>2014 was the year of occult rock\/metal for the Brainfart.\u00a0 When I first heard The Oath I knew right away I was hearing a new favorite band.\u00a0 Lead singer Johanna Sadonis with her sultry, smokey vocals leads this band delivering song after song of just in your face awesomeness that pulls from classic NWOBHM bands with just a hint of Motorhead attitude in there for good measure. Unfortunately, The Oath left us as quick as they came to us when they disbanded shortly after the release of this kick ass debut album.\u00a0 The Oath did in one album what many can\u2019t do in a career so if anything they should be proud of leaving behind such a monumental release.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cSyZDxc8bGg\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>==========================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kyng &#8211; Burn the Serum<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Kyng returned in a huge way with the follow up to their awesome Trampled Sun debut and let me just tell you that it\u2019s like night and day.\u00a0 As good as Trampled Sun was artistically, it just didn\u2019t capture the band\u2019s true essence.\u00a0 Burn the Serum truly captures Kyng and everything they are about.\u00a0 Eddie Veliz\u2019s sonic guitar playing and soulful vocals backed by one of the best fucking rhythm sections (Tony Casteneda and Pepe Clarke) is captured in all it\u2019s live glory on this album and let\u2019s not forget the quality of the songs. This is a band that cut their teeth on the road and grew to be a juggernaut of a band which is totally evident by just hearing the title track.\u00a0 Kyng really nailed the fuck out if with this album and it\u2019s shit like this that makes me psyched to be a fan of a band.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LfdA4f3vm3M\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>==========================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Anubis Gate &#8211; Horizons<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Anubis Gate\u2019s last album was so fucking good that I had my fingers crossed that they would follow it up with something just as great.\u00a0 Well, they totally exceeded my expectations but putting out an album that completely surpassed its predecessor by a light year.\u00a0 Once again, Anubis Gate has delivered progressive metal that is full of passion, feel, and soul (the last two things are sadly lost in many progressive bands) and the voice of singer\/bassist Henrik Fevre once again solidifies his position as another favorite singer of mine. The album is diverse, beautifully produced, and full of songs that create a truly unique listening experience.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JFXTwxzJdn4\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>==========================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Saturn &#8211; Ascending<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The minute I heard \u201cSo, You Chosen Death\u201d I just stood up from my desk in shock as to what I was hearing.\u00a0 Yet again, I was hearing one of my new favorite bands.\u00a0 Hailing from Sweden, Saturn pulls from the old school NWOBHM bands channeling classic UFO, Iron Maiden, and Diamondhead just to name a few.\u00a0 They do all of this and manage to forge a sound all their own without sounding like a dull carbon copy of the bands they wear on their sleeves.\u00a0 The album as a whole is kick ass from start to finish and it\u2019s definitely one that gets multiple plays in my stereo.\u00a0 Saturn is a band that I have very high hopes for and with this debut album I have to say that they completely knocked it out of the fucking park.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cyufdZAZ9Oc\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>==========================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Iron Reagan &#8211; Tyranny of Will<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Just when I didn\u2019t think I could love Tony Foresta (Municipal Waste vocalist) any more, here he comes with not only an amazing new band but one of my favorite fucking albums of the year.\u00a0 With songs ranging from 0:20 long to about 3 minutes long, Tyranny of Will is an old school, in your face, skate thrash masterpiece.\u00a0 It goes by so fucking fast that if you leave the room to take a shit you\u2019ve missed \u00bd the album.\u00a0 Tyranny of Will is an album made by guys my age who remember what real thrash metal is all about and they did it perfectly and I can\u2019t forget that \u201cMiserable Failure\u201d is without a doubt one of the best fucking metal songs I heard all year. This is definitely an album that should be in the collection of every old school metal fanatic.\u00a0 Own this album, see this band live, and thank me later.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lhiBDQF_0HM\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>==========================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Exodus &#8211; Blood In, Blood Out<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I literally passed on even giving this album a listen because I had already made it up in my mind that it just wouldn&#8217;t be good.\u00a0 I kind of felt that Exodus reuniting with former vocalist Steve &#8220;Zetro&#8221; Souza would be taking a step backwards but once I put all bias aside and gave this album a listen, I totally saw the light.\u00a0 Yes, Exodus did take a step back but only to grab Zetro and step back into place with him and make what I consider to be the best album they&#8217;ve made since Fabulous Disaster.\u00a0 The songs are full of that classic Exodus sound with just enough modern touch to it to keep the band sounding like a truly relevant band in these modern metal times.\u00a0 Blood In, Blood Out is an album that exceeded any and all expectations I\u00a0 had for this album and has very rightfully earned it&#8217;s place as not just a great metal album but one of the beset metal albums I heard in 2014.\u00a0 Well played fellas.\u00a0 Well played.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/efm1xQ4F9_Y\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center>==========================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>King Diamond &#8211; Dreams of Horror<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>You\u2019re probably thinking that it\u2019s weird that a \u201cBest of\u201d album made my list but fuck you.\u00a0 This is my site and I can do what the fuck I want.\u00a0 Finally, a Best of compilation spanning the career of King Diamond has made it\u2019s way into my life and it made my little, black, metal heart just filled with glee.\u00a0 The songs on this collection have been completely remastered and tweaked from the original tapes and it\u2019s amazing what King and guitarist Andy LaRoque did with these classic tracks.\u00a0 The songs sound so much fatter and the levels have been brought up and its\u2019 amazing to hear just how well these songs hold up.\u00a0 This is a great gateway album for anyone who has ever been remotely curious about King Diamond and knows nothing of his career.\u00a0 This album is also a great collection us long time fans as it really does capture some of King\u2019s greatest material and songs that are frequently featured in his live shows.\u00a0 This was just a great and unexpected surprise coming in so close to the end of the year and I couldn\u2019t be happier with this album.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ODtIbv_oN2k\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ALBUM OF THE YEAR Crobot &#8211; Something Supernatural I literally struggled for months as to who really put out the better album 2014 and it was a damn close call.\u00a0 I\u2019m talking bunk chads in Florida close.\u00a0 I have never had a more difficult time but in the end, Crobot reigned supreme with their latest release Something Supernatural.\u00a0 When these guys first sent me a very humble email back in 2012 asking to give them listen, after doing so I [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[277],"tags":[680,970,861,147,1059,683,663,527,1188,1116,803],"class_list":["post-14042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music-news","tag-anubis-gate","tag-blues-pills","tag-crobot","tag-exodus","tag-iron-reagan","tag-king-diamond","tag-kyng","tag-riotgod","tag-saturn","tag-the-oath","tag-vindicator"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14042"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14042\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19744,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14042\/revisions\/19744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}