What a year. Here is a summary of my most pleasurable listening experiences. Quick shout outs to Gaza, Eldrimner, Acrania (Mexico), Disfiguring the Goddess, Gods of Eden, Trash Talk, Xibalba and TesseracT who just barely missed the cut. Sorry guys.
Anyways, I hope you enjoy my list. I didn’t mess around. Just meat and potatoes. Also, I’d love it if you left a comment validating my list or insulting me for terrible taste! Either way, happy doomsday!
Art By Numbers has been one of my favorite discoveries of 2012. Since I was first turned to them back in May, their album Reticence the Musical has had an endless amount of playthroughs. Their brand of technical jazz-fusion metal with splashes of circus, carried on the wings of Anthony James’ angelic voice creates a gorgeous spin on metal for a listener whose ears may be exhausted from the usual low and heavy.
‘Best Laid Plans’ always stuck out to me on the album because of its heavier focus on the jazz jam band style. I was so excited to see this was their choice for their next video because I really enjoyed their previous video for ‘The Man in the Box.’
For whatever the reason may be, whenever I get round to making my end of year list, it seems the entirety of it is built up of well-established, well-known acts and the whole thing reads like a list of the most anticipated releases of the year. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, I guess I’m drawn to the more refined and streamlined releases of a band who have found their sound and know how to utilise it. But when my taste is so predictable, it destroys the main point of these lists — to shine light on those elusive releases that blew up without anyone noticing. So in lieu of the standard records that I’m sure most people are enjoying (Meshuggah, High On Fire, Cannibal Corpse, Napalm Death… the list goes on and on), here are 5 records that don’t seem to be getting the attention they deserve and you might not have picked up on yet. But I promise you, they’re worth your time.
It was only last week when I discovered that Art By Numbers was actually a thing, and now their whole debut album Reticence: The Musical is available for streaming at Sputnik Music. Their brand of modern prog should sit well at home for most readers of Heavy Blog, as they take pages out of The Human Abstract and Protest the Hero‘s playbook. Neoclassical tech guitar leads, fantastic singing, and a grip for catchy melodies makes Reticence: The Musical worth your time.
Head on over to Sputnik Music to stream the record, due out next week, May 29th.
- JR
Be on the look out for Reticence: The Musical when it drops May 29th. Pre-orders are available at this location.
- JR
