The Top 5 Albums of 2017

Here is the final top 5 list, fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

We’ve looked at games & movies, so you know what today’s list happens to cover. As with the previous two subjects, there was a great plethora of Heavy Metal albums that came out in 2017. No top 10 this time around: as fun as assembling that list was, thinking of 10 albums & where to place them was a bit of a challenge. Strangely enough, doing it as a top 5 is somehow easier. With that out of the way, here are my top 5 albums of 2017. Let’s rock!

5) Septicflesh - Codex Omega (Sample)

We start off the list with an album that I was definitely excited for. Given my love for their smash hit Titan from 2014, it made said excitement all the more intense. Then, on the first of September, Codex Omega finally came out, and.......I’m not sure what to think! In no way do I hate this album, as the band’s production quality & effort from the last few records is front & center. My issue comes with how all over the place it is. Like I said in my overview back in October, Septicflesh seems to take songs from their previous 3 albums, and stick them on here. Some from Communion, some from The Great Mass, and some seem to have come straight from Titan. Codex Omega might not be consistent when it comes to it’s personality, but it’s quality in no way diminishes how badass Codex Omega is. Good on you Septicflesh!

4) Turmion Kätilöt - Dance Panique (Sample)

Much like my top 5 games of 2017 list from last week, this list shares parallels with another. In this case, it’s my top 5 albums of 2015 that this has connections to. I admit, I didn’t know that the Industrial Metal titans from Finland would crank out another record. It wasn’t until the very beginning of this year that I saw some previews show up on Youtube. After listening, I was intrigued by their next offering. Little did I know that a mere 2 months later (It was originally supposed to be released in February, but there was a delay into March), they would release perhaps a masterpiece of an album. In many ways, listening to Dance Panique was almost like listening to their earliest material from the early/mid 2000s. Though a little bit of the “Dance” element from their prior 2 albums was still around, they in no way diminish how heavy & brutal the record is. Industrial fans, this is the album for you!

3) Moonspell - 1755 (Sample)

Far in a way the most unique & intriguing release from the Portugese masters of Gothic Metal, Moonspell hit it out of the park with their 11th release. A love letter to their native Portugal and the 1755 Lisbon Earthquake, 1775 is sung completely in Portugese to add more flavor & identity to the album. Although the language barrier is a hindrance for those that don’t speak the language, none the less I respect this decision that Moonspell went with, and this helped result in the creation of a great record! It’s far stronger than Extinct from 2015, and I’m far more likely to listen to this album on repeat. Definitely a great album for Goth fans!

Also, Moonspell, if you happen to see this, please put out an English edition later on down the line. Fans of you guys here in the states would greatly appreciate it!

2) Mastodon - Emperor Of Sand (Sample) & Mastodon - Cold Dark Place (Sample)

For a while, I had considered prog masters Mastodon’s 2017 release to be the number one album of 2017. For the first time ever, I finally understood the appeal of this band, and their ability to turn tragedy into a unique & fascinating story with funky and heavy music is incredible. That being said, given how politically charged this year was, there was one album I thought was far more appropriate to put at the number 1 spot. Regardless, Emperor of Sand is a wonderful album. It’s usage of real life issues really makes the record rather personal to Mastodon, not to mention listeners. I would say what specifically affected the band.....but it would ruin the twist as it were. I cannot say anymore, other than for all of you to seek out Emperor Of Sand. It’s worth your time.

Also worth your time is Cold Dark Place. Though it’s only a 4 song LP, these tracks are pretty good in terms of quality. Recorded during the Once More Round The Sun (First 3 Songs) and the Emperor Of Sand (Last Song) sessions, it’s a shame that the tunes weren’t put on the albums previously mentioned. At the same time, it’s cool that we got these songs on something, and they have the same high quality from Mastodon as we’ve gotten for a while. A Cold Dark Place indeed!

Before we get to my number one album of 2017, I want to take time & talk about some honorable mentions. These albums are in now way awful, but they have elements they prevent them from making it onto the main list. Maybe it’s an odd quirk, or maybe it’s something else. Regardless, I would recommend these albums, flaws & all. With that out of the way, here are 2017's honorable mentions.

HM1) Paradise Lost - Medusa (Sample)

I was hoping that I wouldn’t have to put this album here. When I heard that Paradise Lost was putting out an album this year, and it would be a return to more of their Doom & Gothic Metal mentality, I was excited. Then the album came out, and......to a degree I got what I wanted. The instrumentation & atmosphere definitely comes across as very doom-laden and gothic, but the vocal work still seems centered in their Death Metal past. To a degree this makes sense given what their last album was, but at the same time Nick Holmes’s vocal work is far more suited to his smoother singing when the band goes goth. Regardless, Medusa is a beastly record, and should easily satisfy fans of the band.

HM2) David Bowie - No Plan EP (Sample)

What Made In Heaven was for Queen, No Plan was for David Bowie. Like Queen’s last album, listening to this EP made me feel like I was listening to a ghost sing. This EP is even more haunting than Made In Heaven or Blackstar for the simple fact that these 4 tracks.....almost come across as the last gasps of a dying man. Even with this heavy emotion behind it, I simply cannot deny the quality of each song, and as such, I still would recommend this to any David Bowie fan that hasn’t given it a try....or any other fan of music for that matter.

1) Kreator - Gods Of Violence (Sample)

2017 was perhaps one of the most politically charged years in recent memory. Left & Right tearing each other apart, the rest of the world going to hell in a handbasket, and bullshit justice oozing all over everything makes it that much harder to go through each day. Given everything that’s happened, it seemed necessary that one of the big 4 of German Thrash Metal would headline this list, and Kreator was happy to oblige! Released at the end of January of this year, Gods of Violence might be the Teutonic legend’s most politically charged album they’ve ever made. In fact, it almost seems like much of the material on the record is geared towards political issues. With song titles like Satan Is Real & Totalitarian Terror, it’s obvious that Mille Petrozza & the rest of Kreator had a goal in mind......and they succeeded at it. Raising a middle finger to all of what’s weighing the world down, Gods Of Violence is an essential modern day metal classic, and one you shouldn’t avoid!

These were my top 5 albums of 2017. My least weird of the top 5 lists, but strangely enough I’m thankful for that. I’ve got 3 more posts before this month’s end, so come back Friday for the first of this trio. Until then, turn the volume up to 11!



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If you like to know what I thought of last year, check out the link below:

Top 10 Albums of 2016