Gabe Wolf. Victimless Crimes.

Post-Rock styled rock music from Portland. Gorgeous acoustic passages. Hard-hitting guitars. Evocative singing. Heart-wrenching climaxes. Breathing. Moving.

Gabe Wolf - 'Victimless Crimes'

2013

1. Opening Statement

2. Aspersion

3. Victimless Crimes

4. Against Your Will

5. Outside of the Boundaries

6. Blank

7. Home Sick (In Absentia)

8. Acquiesce

9. Reflection

10. Closing Statement

Listen.

MARNOST. Die Hamletmaschine.

Long-form black metal from the Czech Republic. Furious feedback.Vicious guitar stabs. Powerful blast beats. Torturous shrieks. Massive atmosphere. Unrelenting darkness.

MARNOST - 'Die Hamletmaschine'

2013

1. Die Hamletmaschine

Listen.

Deuil. Acceptance/Rebuild.

Thick Belgian post-blackened doom. Monstrously heavy slow riffs. Distortion-laden blast beats. Broken screams over blistering guitars. Beautiful choral ambience. Expressive weight. Crushing enormity.

Deuil - 'Acceptance/Rebuild'

2013

1. Acceptance

2. Rebuild

Listen.

Obsidian Kingdom. Mantiis.

Spanish post-metal unlike anything else out there. Mammoth post-rock crescendos. Ferocious howls. Tense progressions. Shrieking horns and roaring guitars. Heartbreakingly beautiful melodies. Absolute unique perfection.

Obsidian Kingdom - 'Mantiis: An Agony in Fourteen Bites'

2012

1. Not Yet Five

2. Oncoming Dark

3. Through the Glass

4. Cinnamon Balls

5. The Nurse

6. Answers Revealing

7. Last of the Light

8. Genteel to Mention

9. Awake Until Dawn

10. Haunts of the Underworld

11. Endless Wall

12. Fingers in Anguish

13. Ball-Room

14. And Then it Was

Listen.

Park Place Xenia. Kasota Energy Park.

Experimental dreampop from Minneapolis. Surreal soundscapes of confusion. Evocative swirls of ambient keys and drums. Warm hum. Soft atmosphere. Underground beauty. Sun.

Park Place Xenia - 'Kasota Energy Park'

2012

1. Out of Here

2. Children in Paris

3. Stretch Armstrong

4. Cool as a Cucumber

Listen.

Hintergrund. Nemesis.

Newest record of furious noise-drone from Ohio. Shrieking pillars of feedback. Thick swathes of terror. Long-form destruction on an industrial scale. Immense dynasties of vicious power. Devastating. Essential.

Hintergrund - 'Nemesis'

2012

1. Dread Majesty

2. Empty Space

3. Herbstmord

4. As the Elk Lays Down to Die

5. Circuit

6. Grid

Listen. Keep.

Bunny Gamer's Top 100 Albums of 2012. Part Five: 10-1.

Well, this is it. The top ten albums of the year for me. I know I missed a lot of great works from this year, trust me, I do, but 100 albums is already a bit much. There really isn't too much to say here--all of these records are absolutely incredible and deserving of the highest praise, and all are worth giving a shot. Please let me know about broken links if you encounter them, and as usual, comments and thoughts are always appreciated. That's about it, just click on the title of this post to view my top 10 albums of 2012, after the break!