Mix CD #33 - Top Albums Of 2017

Hello and welcome to the first Sapphire Bullets blog of 2018! 
It's weird that we've reached 2018 already, it barely seems like any time at all that now was when the future was in dystopian, Post-Apocalyptical Sci-fi's. Sadly the future is very underwhelming and 12 year old me wouldn't be at all pleased. Back To The Future II was set nearly 3 years ago now and, where we're going, we most certainly still need roads.

Hopefully, reading this blog will assuage the pain of not having a flying car that runs on vegetables somewhat. As you can see it's a roundup of my favourite albums, in order from 20 down to 1 (there's actually 22 tracks not 20 but why will become evident should you read on). Much like last year, there's been an absolute ton of fantastic music and there were quite a few albums that I hated not to include. I'll bung some honourable mentions down at the bottom.

With it being more of a chart this time the format is slightly different. I don't want to post the track listing of the mix first and ruin your sweet anticipation of what's come where so, instead, I'll post it after the last entry along with the download link. I've also included a Spotify link for the first time if that's of use to you.

So yeah, here's my top 20 albums of 2017. Enjoy!

20 - Me And That Man - Songs Of Love And Death

Me and That Man is a side project of Death Metal titans, Behemoth main man, Nergal. It's a collaboration with an English musician called John Porter and often reminds me of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Songs Of Love And Death is a dark, gothic album as you might expect but it's quite eclectic too, with elements of Folk, Country and Blues all present. I hope it's not a one-off thing as I'd like to hear more.

19 - Dirt Box Disco - Poppycock

The fifth Album by these brash UK Punks is more of what they do best. It's offensive and childish but also funny and entertaining; there's plenty of infuriatingly catchy choruses and head nodding melodies too. I've frequently caught myself in polite company singing Fingerblast or Lazy Bastard and had to stop myself. They're a great band and one I'd love to see live at some point.

EDIT: 21st April 2018. I saw them live last night and they were fantastic! Please try and see them if/when they play near you. You won't be disappointed.

18 - Western Addiction - Tremulous

The first of the several bands on this mix to return after a sizable gap and it's been 11 years since their debut album, the brilliant, Cognicide. Tremulous carries on the frenetic rage of Cognicide but sees them letting off steam and slowing things down a little sometimes and even features an almost ballad in the form of Your Life Is Precious the Americana influenced closer. The wait for their aggressive, Hardcore-driven Punk was too long but, thankfully, worth it. 

17 - Von Hertzen Brothers - War Is Over

This Finnish trio are all brothers and, would you believe, share the surname Von Hertzen. Their music is a fluid blend of 70's era Prog Rock with a modern sheen and some great Pop melodies thrown in. It has the technical ability and experimentation of Prog but with big choruses and memorable tunes. War Is Over is their seventh album and as good as anything they've ever done.

16 -  The Regrettes - Feel Your Feelings Fool!

A lot of reviews for this young American band clumsily describe them as a cross between 60's Girl bands and 90's Riot Grrrl. It's a lazy description but is actually a reasonable account of their sound. Some of the songs are zippy, shouty Punk and others are slower, Poppier, with a 60's vibe. The song I've picked for this mix, Seashore, is a mix of both styles. It also highlights, Lydia Night's smoky vocals and clever, sardonic lyrics. To think she had (I think! just turned 17 at the recording of this album is impressive and suggests they're only going to get better. I liked Feel Your Feelings Fool! a lot.

15 - The Idol Dead - Tension & Release

The fourth album by this Leeds band is lyrically a little more introspective and darker in tone than their previous ones, particular songs like Black Dog Down, Heart On Sleeve or, the opener, Happy Now? Musically it's still their enjoyable hybrid of Hard Rock, Alt. Rock and Punk but it feels like a more personal and mature album. I've still not managed to get to see them live yet unfortunately and that's where they really shine by all accounts. Hopefully, I'll correct that soon.

14 - Life Of Agony - A Place Where There's No More Pain

The second of the comeback albums on this list, A Place Where There's No More Pain comes twelve years after their last album, Broken Valley. It's also their first album since vocalist Keith Caputo became Mina Caputo, not that you can tell, her voice still sounds the same. Listening to A Place... you wouldn't think there'd been such a long gap as it follows right on where Broken Valley left off. Just like that album, it's harder-edged than their most melodic, Soul Searching Sun, but the chunky riffs of their first two albums have been smoothed out and feel more fluid. A Place Where There's No More Pain is a really good album and a strong return.

13 - Agnés Milewski - Seven Demons

Seven Demons is the fourth album by this Austrian singer. She's very reminiscent of Tori Amos both in style and tone, a lot of her music tends to be piano based too which doesn't help. She's also as eclectic as Tori can be though and her albums feature a variety of influences from Jazz to Industrial Rock. Likewise, some of her songs are lighthearted while others are poignant and beautiful. This album is as eclectic as any of her others and has some great songs, in fact, opening track, Neptune's Daughter is one of my favourite songs of the year.
Seven Demons is an excellent album and would have placed even higher in my Top 20 if it wasn't so short, eight tracks and a running time of fewer than 29 minutes makes it more of a mini-album in my eyes. 

12 - Lonely Robot - The Big Dream

Lonely Robot is kind of the solo project of John Mitchell, who also a member of several other Prog bands including It Bites, Frost* and Arena among others. I'd never heard of John Mitchell, let alone Lonely Robot when I stumbled upon 2015's Please Come Home. It was an incredible album and only just missed out on being my album of the year that year (Clutch got that one) and I was pleased when I heard that a second was on the way after a relatively short amount of time. Sadly The Big Dream doesn't quite capture the magic of Please Come Home for me but it's still a very good album. John is a talented multi-instrumentalist and a subtly great vocalist but he's a decent songwriter too. Tracks like Everglow, In Floral Green and Sigma are experimental and atmospheric without losing any of the melody or huge choruses. 

11 - Deforesters - Leonard

I don't really know a whole lot about this Canadian Punk band, they were recommended on a Frank Turner Facebook page, I gave them a listen and enjoyed them a lot. There's elements of Skate Punk, Melodic Hardcore and a healthy dose of The Gaslight Anthem's Punky Americana. Pod's vocals are pleasantly gravelly, kind of like a less fucked Lemmy.
Leonard is a short album but filled with a ton of massive songs, the album closer, Municipal Geography Lesson is far and away my favourite song of the year

10 - Aurelio Voltaire - Heart-Shaped Wound

Heart-Shaped Wound is Voltaire's eleventh album and differs from the previous ten in that it moves away from his themes of folklore, horror, sex and social commentary and features a collection of love songs, albeit mostly quite twisted ones. It also features a bit less of the Gothic imagery (not that you'd think so if that cover was anything to go by) though it's still very much a Dark Cabaret album. There's a couple of guest vocalists too, most notably Alyssa White-Gluz from Arch Enemy who duets on the fantastic Leaves In The Stream. A pointless cover of Hallelujah lets things down but other than that, Heart-Shaped Wound is a fine album, with plenty of emotion, variety, great songs and twinkles of wit and humour.

9 - Septicflesh - Codex Omega

This is the tenth album by these Greek Death Metallers and the fourth since they reformed with a more symphonic approach. Since 2008's Communion, they've been utilising a full orchestra to bolster their sound and it works incredibly well. With each album, they've slightly refined the process and Codex Omega is a classy, atmospheric blast of Progressive Death Metal. Yeah, they've sacrificed some of the brutality but it was worth it, and there's still plenty of crushing riffs in tracks like Faceless Queen, Portrait Of A Headless Man or 3rd Testament for example.

8 - Ryan Hamilton & The Traitors - Devil's In The Detail

This time last year I'd not heard of Ryan but saw that he was supporting Ginger Wildheart and also that people were saying good things about him. I tracked down his first solo album, Hell Of A Day and instantly fell for his cheery, bittersweet Indie Rock. The Devil's In The Detail is his first album with The Traitors and it's a joy to listen to. From the opening track, Smarter, to the hidden track, Ode To The Idiots it's non stop quality all the way through. Definitely worth checking out if you're not already familiar with him.

7 - Stavesacre - MCMXCV

This is the first of two comeback albums in a row that I never thought I'd see and subsequently got very excited about. Stavesacre are a Post Hardcore/Alternative Rock band from California and are one of my favourite bands (previously I've done a dedicated Stavesacre blog that you can read HERE) They split in 2009 and released their last full album, How To Live With A Curse, in 2006. 
As you've probably gathered, they've since reformed and MCMXCV is their first album in 11 years. I was initially disappointed with it but I think it just needs a few plays to sink in and there are now several songs on it that I love and I enjoy it more with every listen. I don't think it's had a proper physical release as yet but I'll be having a CD when it does.

6 - Galactic Cowboys - Long Way Back To The Moon

The fourth comeback album is the least expected and has, by far, the longest gap since the last one. Galactic Cowboys split and released their final album, Let It Go, in 2000 so Long Way Back To The Moon is their first album in 17 years and it's fair to say I was very excited about it. If you're unfamiliar with them then an early description of them was like a cross between The Beatles and Metallica. It's not perfect but it'll do as a starting point. They're a Progressive Metal band with great huge riffs but then smother them in multipart harmonies and a ton of melody. 
It's possible that I might be listening with rose-tinted spectacles (you know what I mean, shurrup) and maybe their sound is a little dated now but, even if that is the case, I don't particularly care, I'm just chuffed to buggery to have them back.

5 - Chris Catalyst - Life Is Often Brilliant

Life Is Often Brilliant is the debut solo album by the Eureka Machines frontman and it's marvellous. There's a big Britpop influence to this album as opposed to the Punky Alt-Metal bounce of his main band, the opening six tracks are untouchable and "I'm getting my 'No Regrets' tattoo lasered off" must be one of the greatest opening lines of almost any album. That line sums up the general feel of the album. The majority of the songs are sprightly and upbeat but lyrically they're quite jaded and cynical. It's a nice juxtaposition. If I had to be critical I'd say it suffers slightly from mid-album slump but a friend of mine says those songs are among his favourites so maybe it doesn't. Anyway, it's a solid 9/10

4 - Mutation - III: Dark Black / Ginger Wildheart - Ghost In The Tanglewood

You may have noticed I've cheated a bit here. Both of these albums are by Ginger Wildheart (from The Wildhearts) but are complete musical opposites. I went round and round trying to decide which I preferred and where to place each one but they're so different that, in the end, I gave up and just stuck them under one entry together. It squeezes in another song onto the mix if nothing else.

Mutation is Ginger's heaviest project to date. the first two albums saw a large number of guest musicians, from Shane Embury or Napalm Death to Mark E. Smith of The Fall. Both albums (The Frankenstein Effect and Error 500) are challenging listens but they're a pleasant evening stroll compared to Dark Black. The band has been mostly streamlined down to Ginger, Scott Lee Andrews from Exit_International and, Ginger's go-to drummer, Denzel. Together they have created a gloriously angry, frenetic blast of spite. Lurking somewhere in the No-Man's Land between Noise Rock and Grindcore, Dark Black is definitely an album you need to be the mood to listen to and very probably not around your Mam.

Ghost In The Tanglewood however, is Ginger's first real foray into serious Folk and Country (I don't think his Howling Willie Cunt persona counts). the majority of the songs are honest, personal tales of depression, misery and general mental well-being. It's obviously a miserable album, particularly the heart wrenching closer, Don't Say Goodbye and his cover of Steve Earle's My Old Friend The Blues but there's some positivity in there too in tracks like Paying It Forward, which is obviously about doing nice things for people. Ginger's natural Geordie accent comes out much more strongly in this than anything else he's ever done and I think it suits the music well and gives it a sense of authenticity. It's not a perfect album, and maybe a little too short but I think it's a very, very good one.

3 -  Dog Fashion Disco - Erotic Massage / Polkadot Cadaver - Get Possessed

Ah fuck it, if it's good enough for Ginger Wildheart then it's good enough for Jasan and Todd too; here are another two albums under the same entry. Avant Garde Metal bands, Dog Fashion Disco and Polkadot Cadaver have both released albums this year and both bands feature Jasan Stepp and Todd Smith. They both sound as similar as you'd expect from two bands who share the same singer, guitarist and main songwriters. DFD have more saxophone and Pdot are a little more electronicy but that's about it.

Dog Fashion Disco's Erotic Massage is a complete re-recording of their debut album, first released in 1997. For that reason, I wouldn't normally have included it in a best of list but a) it's tucked in with Get Possessed and b) the songs now sound a lot different, playing new and old versions back to back really highlights that. The band are much tighter, some of the songs have been completely re-imagined and the production is rich and crisp compared to the original, it's like listening to a demo and the finished product. Highlights for me are the unsettling Anacostia, the horn-heavy Oral Spunk (them opening horns remind me of Livin' La Vida Loca) and the insanely catchy Dis-Content.

Get Possessed is Polkadot Cadaver's fourth (and a half) album and is probably their best and most consistent yet. It's a varied and eclectic mix of songs from the Stranger Things-esque synths of the curiously restrained opener Dead Beats, the Industrial tones of Robot Assisted Suicide and Brain Eating Amoeba to the no holds barred Thrash of the title track, there's not a weak track to be found. As you can probably tell by the band name, song titles and whatnot, Get Possessed is a dark, disturbing album but also intertwined with a twinkly sense of humour. It's a brilliantly flawless album from a fantastic band.

2 - CJ Wildheart - Blood

This one was a bit of a surprise, CJ Wildheart is the guitarist in The Wildhearts (that also feature the previously mentioned Ginger Wildheart) and Blood is his third (fourth if you include CJ & The Satellites) solo album and, while the previous ones have all been enjoyable, Blood far outstrips them all. It's heavy and has much more bite than Thirteen, Mable or Robot. It's energetic, blistering and packed full of riffs. Even though it's a frenetic and reasonably heavy album I can't say it's a furious or angry because it sounds like he's having so much fun and it's such a joy to listen to. The only (relatively) down point is a cover of Weezer's Tired Of Sex. It's not a bad cover as such, just not as good as the other tracks. As I said it was a surprise just how good this album was and how it placed in this list. Apparently, his next album, Siege, will take things up yet another notch although it's been put on hold for now while The Wildhearts work on a new album which is very exciting!

1 - The Darkest Of The Hillside Thickets - The Dukes Of Alhazred

So my favourite album of the year is this then. The Dukes Of Alhazred was released way back in (last) January and it's been firmly entrenched at the top of this list ever since. I love this band and it's been 10 years since they released The Shadow Out Of Tim so The Dukes Alhazred was long overdue.
The Darkest of The Hillside Thickets are from Canada and  Alternative Rock band who incorporate elements of Prog, Punk and Stoner Rock into their sound. More importantly though, the majority of their songs are a lighthearted interpretation of the works of H.P. Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos. Those that aren't are generally nerdy in theme, be it horror, sci-fi or historical occurrences, for example, The Great Molasses Disaster is about the Boston molasses flood that killed over 20 people in 1919, the song Varcolac regards a type of werewolf from Slavic folklore and Coelacanthem is an ode to the Prehistoric fish later discovered to be rare but not extinct.
Three of the songs are previously released, though all remastered/Re-recorded here. Kill The Chupacabra Tonight and Shhh... were compilation tracks and the original version of Shoggoths Away! was on their second album, the woefully produced Cthulhu Strikes Back.

The Dukes of Alhazred is easily their best and most accomplished album, Vocalist Toren Atkinson has a very listenable quality to his voice and every song is memorable, catchy and interesting. I love how they manage to capture a sense of atmosphere and creepiness despite the fact that they're so tongue-in-cheek and witty. I've been championing this band for a while now and, with the release of The Dukes Of Alhazred I have even more reason to. 

Mix Tracklisting
Me And That Man - Voodoo Queen
Dirt Box Disco - Lazy Bastard
Western Addiction - Red Emeralds
Von Hertzen Brothers - To The End Of The World
The Regrettes - Seashore
The Idol Dead - Let's Go
Life Of Agony - A Place Where There's No More Pain
Agnés Milewski - Neptune's Daughter
Lonely Robot - Everglow
Deforesters -Municipal Geography Lesson
Aurelio Voltaire - Human Nature
Septicflesh - Enemy Of Truth
Ryan Hamilton & The Traitors - It Ain't Easy
Stavesacre - Sideways
Galactic Cowboys - Zombies
Chris Catalyst - Cracking Up
Mutation - Toxins
Ginger Wildheart - Golden Tears (The Daylight Hotel on Spotify)
Dog Fashion Disco - G. Eye Joe
Polkadot Cadaver - Cocaine's Gone, Party's Over
CJ Wildheart -Tea Leaf
The Darkest Of The Hillside Thickets - Arachnotopia

You can download the mix HERE if you wish.
You can listen to it on Spotify HERE

---FIN---

P.S. As I mentioned at the beginning there were a lot of albums I enjoyed that didn't quite make the Top 20. Those that I haven't already included in past mixes will undoubtedly be popping up in the next ones though. 

Some of them albums are:
Toehider - Good
In Evil Hour - Lights Down
Miracle Of Sound - Level 7
Frenzal Rhomb - Hi-Vis High Tea
The Dollyrots - Whiplash Splash
Toadies - The Lower Side Of Uptown
Wayward Sons - The Ghosts Of Yet To Come
The Darkness - Pinewood Smile
Greg Graffin - Millport
KXM - Scatterbrain
Stone Sour - Hydrograd
John Mellencamp - Sad Clowns & Hillbillies
Creeper - Eternity, In Your Arms
The Bombpops - Fear Of Missing Out
Kim Seviour - Recovery Is Learning
Cyanide Pills - Sliced & Diced
Pink - Beautiful Trauma
Jesper Binzer - Dying Is Easy