The runner-ups

Links to previous pages:
– TIER 4: MAIN POST & HONORABLE MENTIONS
– TIER 3: THE GREAT
– TIER 2: THE EXCELLENT

Wait weren’t these supposed to be the albums of the year? Yes, that’s right, I LIED!!! *Laughs maniacally like an evil lunatic in the background*. Despite the stellar releases in the previous tier(s), we all had two albums that, in our opinions, stood clearly above the rest. And since the alphabetical order did not really match up with our number 1 and number 2 albums, I split this tier into two. So the next one will be our albums of the year, just bear with me a little longer. These albums are utterly amazing, and bar it not some incredibly minor qualm they could (would?) have been our album of the year. Our individual tastes probably won’t line up with yours, but there’s enough diversity among us three that I think you’ll find something of worth in here.

But before we get into it, I must say that there is no Spotify playlist this time. These last two tiers are three albums each, so having separate playlists would be kind of redundant. Hence we have a playlist with the recommended songs from both the runner ups and the albums of the year in the next page, which you can find below. If I gave you the link to that here, I’d be spoiling the albums of the year, which is bad.

Now let’s get to it!

Holy Fawn – Death Spells (US-AZ)
Style: post doom/shoegaze (mixed vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | RYM page
Original review: Missed albums edition
Review by: Nostrebor68

I have absolutely never heard anything quite like Holy Fawn. They’ve taken Shoegaze, fused it with atmospheric post-metal, and made something just extraordinary. The fusion of aural textures that suddenly and dramatically shift from quiet to loud to lovely to discordant, it’s just mind-blowing. The vocals shift back and forth between a floaty, airy tenor to some of the harshest high-shrieks I’ve heard in quite a while, and it’s beautiful. Everything about this album is beautiful.
I struggle to even applaud any particular part of this album’s composition or performance because it all just feels so divine and perfectly put together. If I had any complaint, it’s that maybe, just maybe the album is a tad too long, but that’s trivial when the music is this gorgeous. I cannot recommend Death Spells enough, regardless of whether you’re a fan of Post-Metal, or anything really, please listen to this album. It’s innovative, it’s beautiful, and I absolutely cannot wait to see what else Holy Fawn has in store for us.

Recommended tracks: Dark Stone, Drag Me into the Woods, Take Me With You
Recommended for fans of: Good music (????????)

Venus in Fear – The Dot Above the Eye (Israel)
Style: traditional/oriental (clean vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Metal-Archives page
Original review: April
Pick by: Sam

My taste in progressive metal can (generally speaking) be traced back to two bands: Dream Theater and Opeth. Ever since I just got into prog metal, the bands I ended up liking the most had significant influences from either the former or the latter band. And this band is the former.
Wow. It’s been ages since I heard a traditional prog metal album that sounded so fresh and inspired as this. There are significant nods to Dream Theater (see Where Eagles Die for example), but this band has a sound that is entirely their own. They combine 90s sounding prog metal with Middle-Eastern folk. Not the Orphaned Land or Myrath-style in-your face oriental, but it’s done more subtly. It’s only on Twice As the Devil where it becomes really apparent. Also they have a soprano female singer. Her voice can initially be a turn-off as it lacks power and grit, but after a while you notice how beautiful her singing really is (Twice As the Devil again being a highlight).
That really sets this apart is the songwriting and instrumental performance though. The songs are tight and dynamic. They’re well-structured, but you never know where they’re going next. Be it the super pretty softer oriental sections, the hard riffs or the amazing solos, it constantly keeps you on edge. Especially the solos, which are so good they deserve separate attention. Like holy shit. Just listen to Ancient Truth. That guitar at the end is the stuff of legends, up there with the likes of Under a Glass Moon or The Spirit Carries On by guitar-god John Petrucci of Dream Theater. And there are some nifty keyboard solos as well (see: Somedays). In Where Eagles Die they even did a super Dream Theater-like guitar/keyboard trade-off solo section, and they absolutely nailed it. The instrumental performance is simply stunning. And then I even forgot to mention the stellar drumming. His rhythms are super creative and his use of the ride in the oriental sections is mind blowing.
So coming back to this list, Venus in Fear definitely deserved their number 2 spot. The vocals may take some getting used to, but once you’re past that this record will most certainly envelop you like few others do. I may be biased, but in my opinion this is easily one of the best traditional prog metal albums of the decade. Seriously, listen to it already. This is amazing.

Recommended tracks: Ancient Truth, Twice As the Devil, Like a Star
Recommended for fans of: Orphaned Land, Dream Theater, Haken, Caligula’s Horse

The World Is Quiet Here – Prologue (US-WI)
Style: metalcore (mixed vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | RYM page
Original review: missed editions
Pick by: Dylan

Is this album my aoty runner up thanks to the huge bias I have towards BTBAM like music? Yes. However, that doesn’t make this album any less excellent.
To pull off such a chaotic style AND for it to be enjoyable, you don’t only need a great amount of skill as a musician, but also as a songwriter. It is with great pleasure that I inform that TWIQH succeed at both these aspects with an A+ grade.
Never has chaos been this accessible. They manage to make the usual metalcore “all over the place” sections catchy, and more accessible than their biggest influence. And to tie these sections together, you’ve got either the “unconventional” breaks with instruments or grooves you don’t expect, or brilliant hooks that stay in your head well after listening. All of this is interconnected with one track flowing to the other, which is another aspect that is pulled off perfectly.
All in all, the only thing preventing this album from being aoty, is that it rather feels like a sequel to Between the Buried and Me’s Colours, and I’d rather put an all original work before it. This doesn’t stop the music from being excellent though, and you (yes, YOU) having to check it out.

Recommended tracks: all or nothing tbh, but See the Sun
Recommended for fans of: Between the Buried and Me, Native Construct

Well, holy fuck. These albums are good, right? We were all absolutely blown away by these. The crazy thing is though, these next three albums are even better. Are you prepared? Has your patience managed to hold out? Here’s the link (this time for real):

TIER 0: OUR ALBUMS OF THE YEAR