Friday, December 28, 2012

0 Josh, Noah, and Jeff's (Dog Shredder) Top Albums and Shows of 2012


Top Albums: (in no particular order)

Jeff: Krallice - Years Past Matter

Josh: Cursive - I Am Gemini
Tim Kasher is a personal hero of mine for his storytelling, broad themes and all around approach to playing and songwriting. Gemini is something I didn't see coming from them this late in the game and thus is the newest treasure in their deep collection.

Noah: JJDOOM - Key To The Kuffs
The latest project featuring the masked villain, DOOM, this time paired up with British producer JJ. The result is quirky, mysterious and playful. DOOM is phenomenal as always. Key To The Kuffs will hopefully tide me over until Madvillain 2 comes out.

Josh: Converge - All We Love We Leave Behind
No shocker here. Converge continues to pummel all our bands to pulp. They absolutely do this on purpose, by the way. They simply cannot be touched and everybody knows it.

Noah: HexVessell - No Holier Temple
An amazing follow up to their debut, "Dawnbreaker." Hexvessel is a Finnish folk-prog-ambient-psychedelic black metal band. They describe themselves as "Finnish forest music. Plant trees and worship Sagan." Perfect.

Jeff: Too Short and E-40 - History: Mob Music

Jeff & Noah: Enslaved - Riitiir
Noah: This is a repeat but I fucking love this album though. I've listened to it at least once a day since I got it.
RIITIIR is such a masterful blend of all things Enslaved. Brutality and beauty coincide, sometimes occurring simultaneously. 

Josh: METZ - METZ
This album is so gnarly. That fuzzy blowout production style will ALWAYS lure me in and the songs and performances rip so hard. Almost completely void of any image or aesthetic METZ represents great songs and a true purity I couldn't ignore.

Noah: Dysrhythmia - Test Of Submission
I love this record immensely. I saw it played live 12 nights in a row and was only more intrigued each time. Interesting heavy music at it's best.

BIG nods to Black Breath's Sentenced To Life and Sandrider's Sandrider. Exceptionally heavy albums by great homies.

Top Shows: (also in no particular order)

Josh: Charles Bradly @ The Wild Buffalo in Bellingham, December 8
The 64-year-old former James Brown impersonator had this place on its knees. The sold-out audience was crying, he was crying, and at the end he walked through the crowd in tears hugging people. This dude is REAL and you must see it.

Jeff: Wintersun @ El Corazon in Seattle, December 2
Not only did I know about 40 people that went to the concert, which makes for a great show experience, but I got to see fucking Wintersun. It'll probably be another 10 years or so before he comes out with another album and tours the states again. Dude likes to spend a lot of time on his shit. I felt pretty lucky to be a witness to his musical genius.

Josh: Akimbo, Black Elk, Ruby Doe @ The Comet in Seattle, May 11
Yes we played this show and yes it was the BEST. This was the last time I got to see old friends and slayers Akimbo and Black Elk always destroys. Enough said. You were probably there! You know. 

Noah: SUNN 0))), Black Breath, Loincloth @ The Wild Buffalo in Bellingham, December 15
Loincloth confused and overjoyed me, Black Breath rocked my balls off and ruined my neck for 3 days, and finally SUNN rearranged my entrails and tricked me into believing I could actually head bang to the moment 2 errant frequencies become one. Amazing. 

Josh: Refused @ Showbox SoDo in Seattle, August 28
12 years in the making for me, seeing Refused for the first (and presumably last) time was something very special. The band KILLED and did it just right. It's rare when I'm at a show and feel like I am watching something really happen. Like, something monumental, historic, something you can feel pulsate through the room. This show was that exactly.

Josh: Mastodon @ Soundwave Festival in Sydney, Australia, February 26
I was fortunate enough to do some touring with Mastodon and many other great bands this year. Watching them rip from side-stage in front of thousands of insane Australian fans is something I will never forget. Mastodon Reigns. 

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