ZH Best of 2017

10. Wand - Plum

 9. (Sandy) Alex G - Rocket

 8. Ty Segall - Ty Segall

 7. Bonnie Prince Billy - Best Troubadour

 6. The Yawpers - Boy in a Well

 5. Dead Cross - Dead Cross

 4. King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard - Polygondwanaland (among others...)

 3. St. Vincent - Mass Education

 2. Father John Misty - Pure Comedy

 1. Three For Silver - The Way We Burn

RJD's Best Metal Albums of 2017

11. Kadavar - "Rough Times" (9/29/17, Nuclear Blast)

10. Havok - "Conformicide" (3/10/17, Century Media)

9. Power Trip - "Nightmare Logic" (2/22/17, Southern Lord)

8. Enslaved - "E" (10/13/17, Nuclear Blast)

7. Primus - "The Desaturating Seven" (9/29/17, ATO/Prawn Song)

6. Troubled Horse - "Revolution On Repeat" (3/31/17, Rise Above)

5. Iced Earth - "Incorruptible" (6/16/17, Century Media)

4. Dead Cross - "Dead Cross" (8/4/17, Ipecac)

3. Leprous - "Malina" (8/25/17, Inside Out)

2. Zeal & Ardor - Devil Is Fine" (2/24/17, Radicalis)

1. Grave Pleasures - "Motherblood" (9/29/17, Century Media)

From the ashes of Beastmilk's spontaneous combustion, Grave Pleasures has risen. Beastmilk's only LP "Climax" could have garnered my album of the year nod had I heard it in 2013. Instead, another Finnish band took home the crown that year (Sammal's glorious self titled album.) Lead singer/songwriter Mat McNerney (aka Kvohst) and bassist Valtteri Arino initially assembled the band with pieces of Beastmilk in addition to players from other dissolved bands (In Solitude, The Oath.) Their first LP under the new moniker "Dreamcrash" was then released in 2015 without much fanfare. After more lineup changes, Grave Pleasures released the "Funeral Party" EP in late 2016. 'Deadenders' was one of my favorite songs of that year and appears to have been a sign of greatness to come. The fist-pumping, post-punk, apocalyptic lyrics/riffs that made "Climax" an instant classic have come front and center on "Motherblood." The up-tempo chaos of 'Infatuation Overkill' and 'Haunted Afterlife,' the doomy, pop chorus of 'Be My Hiroshima' and the clautrophobic spoken word intro of 'Atomic Christ,' give the entire album enough variety and tongue-in-cheek schtick to make it interesting, fun and most definitely headbanging. Any concerns that Beastmilk's magic could not again manifest have been washed away in a splendid, atomic, bloody, fusion of Danzig, Bauhaus and Echo & The Bunnymen. Best album of 2017.

RJD's Best Non-metal albums of 2017

6. Bonerama - "Hot Like Fire" (11/20/17, Basin Street)

5. Thundercat - "Drunk" (2/24/17, Brainfeeder)

4. Sevdaliza - "Ison" (4/26/17, Butler)

3. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - "Murder Of The Universe" (6/23/17, ATO/Flightless)

2. Sean Rowe - "New Lore" (4/7/17, -Anti)

1. Greta Van Fleet - "From The Fires" (11/10/17, Universal)

Led Zeppelin worship. Transcendent vocals. Led Zeppelin worship. Insanely catchy riffs. Led Zeppelin worship. ROCK. Church is in session.

ZH Best of 2016

It was a shitty year, in most respects, but there was enough inspiring music for me to put together an expanded list of 15 (the final being a compilation to make it a nice round number). A lot of death and despair on this list - a fitting soundtrack to the bleak future I anticipate for our country in the new year under the direction of our president elect. That said, maybe my top three albums, filled with creativity and boundary-breaking ideas, can offer a glimmer of hope for our survival.

15. Air - Twentyears (compilation)

14. Black Mountain - IV

13. King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard - Nonagon Infinity

12. Parquet Courts - Human Performance

11. Natural Child - Okey Dokey

10. Moonface - My Best Human Face

9. A Tribe Called Quest - We Got from Here

8. Al Scorch - Circle Round the Signs

7. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool

6. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree

5. David Bowie - Backstar

4. Leonard Cohen - You Want it Darker

3. Bon Iver - 99, A Million

2. His Name is Alive - patterns of light

1. Car Seat Headrest - Teens of Denial

RJD's Best Metal Albums of 2016

11. Virus - "Memento Collider" (6/3/2016, Karisma)

10. Blood Ceremony - "Lord Of Misrule" (3/25/16, Rise Above)

9. Sumerlands - "Sumerlands" (9/16/16, Relapse)

8. Gorguts - "Pleiades' Dust" (5/13/16, Season Of Mist)

7. Opeth - "Sorceress" (9/30/16, Nuclear Blast/Moderbolaget)

6. Megadeth - "Dystopia" (1/22/2016, Universal)

5. Leprous - "Live At Rockefeller Music Hall" (11/25/2016, Inside Out)

4. Vektor - "Terminal Redux" (5/6/16, Earache)

3. The Dillinger Escape Plan - "Dissociation" (10/14/16, Party Smasher)

2. Nails - "You Will Never Be One Of Us" (6/17/16, Nuclear Blast)

1. Cobalt - "Slow Forever" (3/25/2016, Profound Lore)

Bombastic. Melodic. Breakneck. Catchy. Cacophonous. THIS is how I like my metal. Cobalt has created their masterstroke with all pieces involved. The most baddest ass of music is able to combine several elements of the past as well as multiple genres. One man wrecking crew Erik Wunder has done just that with equal parts Tool, Agalloch, Kvelertak and Anonymous-era Tomahawk in addition to other components of black metal, grindcore and folk. Following the exit of founding member/original singer Phil McSorley, Wunder brought in Charlie Fell (ex-Lord Mantis,) whose vocals mesh perfectly and add more diversity to these compositions. "Orc" vocals commonly overused in black metal are featured less and now mixed with punk and thrash style vox. Spanning over 80 minutes, this is the only double metal album worth it's weight in 2016 (eat your heart out Metallica.) Bang some heads and raise your horns! Metal album of the year!