MGMT was huge this year.
Here are some good Canadian Albums of '08:
- The Waking Eyes - Holding on to Whatever It Is
- Tokyo Police Club - Elephant Shell
- Stars - Do You Trust Your Friends?
- Sam Roberts - Love At the End of the World
I completely forgot that album came out this year, I listen to that album so much, it is really good (not as good as A Lesson In Crime EP however).
I promise I’ll stop monopolizing this thread after this (I hope).
But yeah, I’m a fan of early melodeath, the stuff from the 1990s. Back then, In Flames really was melodic death metal, unlike now.
Bands like At the Gates, Dark Tranquillity (before they went all synth heavy), In Flames, Carcass, Unanimated, and their ilk blending death metal, thrash, classic metal, and black metal to form something new and awesome. The dual guitars (either in harmony, like In Flames) or in point-counterpoint (like At the Gates) chugged out swedish death metal riffs and melodic solos and interludes. Acoustic portions and interludes were no strangers, and everything was balanced perfectly.
Then around 2000, everything began to fall apart. At the Gates, Carcass, and Unanimated were no more. Dark Tranquillity changed to incorporate lots of synths (not always bad, but nothing compared to the early albums).Soilwork and In Flames bacame mainstream dribble.
Some of the new bands picked up the slack, like The Haunted, Arch Enemy, Amon Amarth, Nightrage, and CoB. But The Haunted are as much thrash as they are melodeath (even Arch Enemy borders on thrash). Arch Enemy hasn’t evolved at all since Angela joined, and Amon Amarth and CoB’s last several albums have all been the same stuff put out over and over again too (not that it’s bad, but it gets boring after a while). Nighrage quickly faded and became borderline metalcore, especially after Tomas left.
In Flames has put out my favorite album of all time (The Jester Race), but they’ve also put out a series of albums I can’t even listen to.
While you’re a fan of the early melodeath, I personally have a preference for the newer stuff. I like all types, but I generally prefer to listen to newer music.
There are some bands who have been advancing over the years as well. All Shall Perish(whom I also forgot to mention) had mediocre albums at best before Awaken the Dreamers last year. That’s now one of my favorite albums. I agree In Flames has moved into a bit more of a “mainstream” area, but I still enjoy listening to them quite a bit. As for Arch Enemy, some very subtle improvements I’ve noticed is in their guitar work. The Amott brothers are two of my favorite guitarists. I liked Twilight of the Thunder God, because Amon Amarth was actually going outside their norms with it.
AC/DC - Black Ice
Probably in order:
Revelation - Third Day
Lady Antebellum (Self Titled)
Prayer of a Common Man - Phil Vassar
Play - Brad Paisley
To Know That You’re Alive - Kutless