Final Exam 2012: Le professeur de musique's Top Non-Metal Albums of the Year

Coming up with a list of my top 10 non-metal albums was a fairly easy exercise.  Coming up with a top 20, however, would have been much more difficult.  I didn't listen to a ton of non-metal records, mostly because there weren't that many that grabbed my attention and warranted repeated listens.  But the ones that did catch my ears are worth noting and are thus listed below.

Admittedly, I did not hear every record that came out this past year (nor do I wish to).  My number one pick is an album that got better and better each time I heard it early on.  And it's been a go-to record for much of the year.  The other releases from my top 10 are formidable and also merit your time if you're not already down.

Final Exam 2012: Le professeur de musique's Honorable Mentions

Later in the week, I'll be posting my top 10 non-metal albums and my top 20 metal/near-metal albums of the year.

In the meantime, here are 5 records that didn't quite make the cut for my metal/near-metal list.  Each of these releases is very solid and worth checking out if you haven't already done so.

There will be no honorable mentions for the non-metal list.


Le professeur de musique's Metal/Near-Metal Honorable Mentions
1.  Dawnbringer - Into the Lair of the Sun God
2.  Deserted Fear - My Empire
3.  Posthum - Lights Out
4.  Sylosis - Monolith
5.  Testament - Dark Roots of Earth

Final Exam 2012: The Year's Disappointments

Later this week, we'll take a look at the year's best albums, but let's focus on the year's disappointments first.  Here are five of mine:

1.  Band of Horses' Mirage Rock.  I saw Band of Horses open up a show for Iron and Wine in the summer of 2005.  This was before BOH even had a record out.  Despite the horribly talkative crowd, I enjoyed both sets.  Since then, I've thoroughly enjoyed BOH's first two records, but Mirage Rock is the point where I must think of this band as a thing of the past.

Final Exam 2012: MetalSucks' Top Metal Albums

The staff at MetalSucks have each posted their top 15 albums of the year, and you can check them all out if you go here.  You can also find out what various metal musicians have chosen as their favorite records of the year.  So when you get some time, browse the 20+ posts here - they're all conveniently listed on the same page.

Final Exam 2012: Stereogum's Top Metal Albums

Props to Stereogum for giving the metal world some coverage on a somewhat regular basis.  Although the site tends to overdo things with so much rap and hip hop (at least for my taste), it's nice to see that they've put out a list of the top 40 metal albums of the year.

The list is below, but head over here to read their interesting introduction, to hear samples from each album, and to find out why Converge, Baroness, Swans, and Torche are not on the list.

Extra Credit: Kowloon Walled City

San Francisco's Kowloon Walled City plays a sludgy, noisy kind of post-metal.  At times, the band brings to mind Fugazi's slower moments.

Kowloon Walled City recently released Container Ships, a collection of 7 songs that lasts about 35 minutes.  If you like opening track "The Pressure Keeps Me Alive" (and you should), then you'll also dig the others.

Container Ships is available at bandcamp for the "name your price" option, so you can download the record for free or pay what you can to support the band.

Reading Assignment: "The Atheist" by J.R. Hayes

Pig Destroyer's latest album Book Burner is definitely worth checking out, especially if you're into extreme metal.  With the deluxe version of the CD, LP, or digital version, you also get a copy of vocalist J.R. Hayes' debut short story "The Atheist."  If, however, you don't have a deluxe version, you can still read the short story thanks to J.R. Hayes and the folks at Cvlt Nation.

Without giving too much away, the story takes place in a future where Christianity becomes the official religion of the United States.  As might be expected, the protagonist is a non-conformist.  "The Atheist" is an interesting read, and my only complaint is that the ending comes out of nowhere and could have been further developed.  Nevertheless, it's a quick and enjoyable read regardless of how you may feel about religion.