Least Worst of 2011

2011 was a tough year for good music. It was out there and there were some gems, but overall, not a golden year. However, I found some keepers and a few future-classics.

Cave In returned. Destroyed. Mastodon became ZZ Top on speed. Approved. Will Haven also returned. Decimated. Matt Good found a piano and went to town. Exciting, right?

It was the year of stellar EP's. Crosses (Chino Moreno & Shaun Lopez get sexy, Glassjaw drops two slabs of awesome, while Coliseum unleases a min-album that destroys literally everything. The special little guy here is a dude that goes by jakeL. Check out his Bandcamp page, yo. Also shocked by how good Childish Gambino's debut is. Donald Glover might just be the best thing about the whole damn year. Save Community!!!

Here's the list. Go forth and get learned.

TOP 25:
1. Cave In- White Silence (Hydra Head)
2. Mastodon- The Hunter (Warner Bros)
3. Will Haven- Voir Dire (Bieler Bros)
4. Times of Grace- The Hymn of a Broken Man (Roadrunner)
5. Matthew Good- Lights of Endangered Species (UMusic)
6. Blindside- With Shivering Hearts We Wait (INO)
7. Dub Trio- IV (ROIR)
8. Junius- Reports From The Threshold of Death (Prosthetic)
9. Foo Fighters- Wasting Light (RCA)
10. Childish Gambino- Camp (Glassnote)
11. Trivium- In Waves (Roadrunner)
12. Rob Crow- He Thinks He's People (Temporary Residence)
13. Rival Schools- Pedals (Photo Finish)
14. Fences- Fences (Onto)
15. Trap Them- Darker Handcraft (Prosthetic)
16. Santah- White Noise Bed (No Sleep)
17. 40 Watt Sun- The Inside Room (Metal Blade)
18. Earth Crisis- Neutralize The Threat (Century Media)
19. Ghost Brigade- Until Fear No Longer Definies Us (Seasons of Mist)
20. dredg- Chuckes & Mr. Squeezy (Superball)
21. City of Ships- Minor World (Translation Loss)
22. Long Distance Calling- Long Distance Calling (Superball)
23. Chimaira- The Age of Hell (E1)
24. Machine Heads- Unto The Locust (Roadrunner)
25. Russian Circles- Empros (Sargent House)

...and the rest:
My Morning Jacket- Circuital (ATO)
Ryan Adams- Ashes & Fire (Pax-Am)
The Dears- Degeneration Street (Dangerbird)
Most Precious Blood- Do Not Resuscitate (Bullet Tooth)
Thomas Giles- Pulse (Metal Blade)
Devildriver- Beast (Roadrunner)
Rotten Sound- Cursed (Relapse)
Cavalera Conspiracy- Blunt Force Trauma (Roadrunner)
Amon Amarth- Surtur Rising (Metal Blade)
Thursday- No Devolucion (Epitaph)
Jesu- Ascencion (Caldo Verde)
In Flames- Sounds of a Playground Fading (Century Media)
Unearth- Darkness In Light (Metal Blade)
Sepultura- Kairos (Nuclear Blast)
Thrice- Major/Minor (Vagrant)
The Fling- When The Madhouses Appear (Dangerbird)
Karma To Burn- V (Napalm)
MonstrO- MonstrO (Vagrant)
Primus- Green Naughyde (Prawn Song)
Dream Theater- A Dramatic Turn of Events (Roadrunner)
East of the Wall- The Apologist (Temporary Residence)
Animals As Leaders- Weightless (Prosthetic)
Young Legionnaire- Crisis Works (Wichita)

EP's:
1. jakeL- Shelter EP (self-released)
2. Coliseum- Parasites (Temporary Residence)
Clouds- B Chuggas Are Logging (Hydra Head)
Glassjaw- Our Colour Green (self-released)
Glassjaw- Coloring Book EP (self-released)
Crosses- Crosses (self-released)


...and seeing Soundgarden absolutely demolish the Forum was a night I'll never forget.

2012, don't front. Bring it.

Gambino. Freaks and Geeks. Dope.