Blaine Buxton: Positronic Vibrations From Alto Dorado

I thought it would be fun to share my favorite albums of 2006 with thoughts.

1. Coheed And Cambria-Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV
   By far my favorite album this year! I had gotten their previous album 2 months before the release of this mammoth. I quickly fell in love and bought their first disc as well. I love this band so much. Their music is just simply incredible. I love the fact that they can make a 9 minute song sound like 3. I totally lose myself in this album. The bass player is simply phenomenal! A great mix of rock, metal, prog, and pop. The music is diverse yet it all fits into a cohesive whole. The live show was incredible too!


2. Arsis-Diamond for Disease
   I swear these guys are channeling Chuck Schuldiner! I miss Chuck's music greatly and these guys deliver up a tasty mixure of extreme melodic metal zaniness. I love it. They remind me a lot of later era Death with more gusto. It's passionate and these guys are the future of death metal.


3. Clutch-Robot Hive-Exodus
   These guys groove so hard. The go-go bits are brilliant and the music simply crushes. Besides, any band that works the lines, "Rocking with Dokken" and "Tipping Cows in Fields Elysian" into their music has got my vote. Clever lyrics and great songwriting. These guys should be huge. I can't wait to see them live. It took me awhile to get into them, but this album is the one that sold me!


4. Story of the Year-In The Wake of Determination
   Anthemic pissed off music. This is basically old school thrash with a great singer. Emo my ass. This is great stuff. Who needs the next Metallica when you have this?


5. Crowbar-Lifesblood for the Downtrodden
   HEAVY. I love Crowbar. They are the kings of consistent output and never disappoint. Crushing.


6. Alice Cooper-Dirty Diamonds
   The master returns and this time it's his best in years. This albums shows all the facets of Alice in a classic rock setting. I hope Alice keeps making them like this.


7. Biomechanical-The Empires of The World
   This took a few spins for me to love it. It's technical thrash with lots of riff changes. It will make you dizzy, but once you get used to the curves in the track, this is one fun rollercoaster!


8. Vendetta Red-Sisters of the Red Death
   Surprise album for me. The subject matter will make you squirm, yet they make it sound so catchy. This one got stuck in the player and I love to sing along to it. Of course, people probably think I'm strange.


9. Pig-Pigmata
   PIG returns with his best album! Careful arrangements and clever electronics are spreadout this tour de force of what Pig does best. He gives you a good sampling of what he's up to and it makes for an interesting and never boring ride.


10. Thrice-Vheissu
    Wow. "Artist in the Ambulance" was good, but this just sets the standard to a new high. Super catchy music that stays creative without tripping over itself or being too self indulgent.


11. Candlemass-Candlemass
    Messiah returns with the might Candlemass and quite frankly Messiah can make sound great. His voice is just unmatched. Of course, the rest of Candlemass outdid themselves on this comeback disc. It's like they never left. Oh, this band throws me back to my younger years. What fun!


12. Dredg-Catch Without Arms
    Another surprise band for me. It took me a few listens to grow into this disc, but what we have is catchy atmospheric rock. I can't describe this band well, but I know I love them. Tight band live too.


13. Bloodbath-Nightmares Made Flesh
    FUN. Simply put. This is another throwback to my old years when we would sing the sickest lyrics and laugh ourselves silly. Mad fun. Great old school death metal with tongue firmly in cheek.


14. Corrosion of Conformity-In The Arms Of God
    Black Sabbath worship. Man, they have the grooves and feel of old school Sabbath without becoming a copycat. The whole southern heavy vibe is just awesome. The lyrics as usual are great. They brought back the politics and turned the volume up again! I don't care, this band always puts out something good and you never know quite what to expect. It's always a little bit different.


15. Firewind-Forged By Fire
    Anthemic power metal that's just fun. Lots of great guitar work to boot as well. It goes a little overboard and I love it for that. This again takes me back to the old days of power metal. Mad fun again!


16. System of a Down-Mezmerize/Hypnotize
    I never heard anything before this band, but I love both of these discs for their quirky nature. The goofy lyrics and never know what to expect make these a fun listen.


17. Russell Allen-Atomic Soul
    WOW! The voice of Symphony X outputs a disc that trumps his main band! He wrote all of the music and played most of the instruments. What we get is a spirited romp through rock history. Again, this is an album to put on and just crank the volume!


18. Confessor-Unraveled
    OK, I loved this band when I was younger, but I have never heard a comeback album like this. Simply put, this is their best album and it spent a lot of time in my player. Slowly played doom with a great singer and progressive flourishes. Great musicianship and songs. I can't wait for the next!


19. Chiodos-Alls Well That Ends Well
    It took me a little while to get into the singer on this album, but I'm glad I did. The music is fantastic. I love the keyboard player.


20. Avenged Sevenfold-City of Evil
    I hated the song "Bat Country" when I first heard it because the singer didn't click with me, but once I gave the song a chance, I loved it! These guys suck you in with an old school sound with a punk feel. It's got urgency and enough to hooks to sink a battleship.

Honorable Mentions:
Funker Vogt-Navigator
Between The Buried and Me-Alaska
Arch Enemy-Doomsday Machine
Nevermore-The Godless Endeavor
The Fall of Troy-Doppelganger
The Design-Into The Moat
Grand Magus-Wolf's Return
Porcupine Tree-Deadwing
Roadrunner United-The All-Star Session

posted by Blaine at 8:58 AM |  0 comments |  Post a Comment