Editors note: This top 5 albums of 2014 list is from Chris Schoenberg, guitar/vocals for Primal Waters. This year they released their debut album, Dichotomy. Check them out here:
Alright! BadassConcert.com asked, and you shall receive!! I would like to give a quick shout out to B.A.C. for all the support to Primal Waters throughout the year. If you are reading this, and you are in a metal band, you should be in touch with these guys whenever you do something!! They are super cool dudes that just want to spread the word about the f**king awesome scene we are a part of!!
These are in no particular order.
Iron Reagan – The Tyranny of Will
I think the first Iron Reagan song I heard was “Eyeball Gore” on a MetalSucks post this year. I about creamed my f**king jeans when the drums and Tony Forestra’s vocals started. I grew up as a punk rock kid, and Iron Regan dances the line between punk and thrash metal expertly. Nearly everything I love about both genres crammed into songs less than 2 minutes long. Primal had the pleasure of opening up for these guys, and their live show is more fun than a couple hands down your pants!!!
Behemoth – The Satanist
First off, how can you go wrong with an album titled The Satanist? I’ve been a Behemoth fan for only a couple years now, I know, lame, but this one is probably my favorite so far. Absolutely f**king crushingly heavy, but still with the speed sections that hooked me on Behemoth. Nergal has said a lot how he wants his extreme music to be full of emotion, and especially wanted this album to be “organic” and I think they nailed it. The dynamics and themes combined with the virtuoso-level playing just blows me away.
Destrage – Are You Kidding Me? No.
This is probably the album from 2014 that I have listened to the most. These Italian weirdos have made something absolutely bizarre and wonderful. Every song contains so many “genres” it makes your head spin. I bet if you checked it with a stopwatch, less than 50% of the album would be “metal” but who cares?!?!?!?! The schizophrenic nature of this thing just keeps me going back to dig deeper. The musicianship is top notch, especially the guitars, so f**king tight, and like I said, the parts are just so varied, I have no idea how they remember all the parts to their songs!! Also the vocalist is outstanding, covering tons of stylistic ground.
Revocation – Deathless
I have the biggest Dave Davidson boner ever. Second to the rhythm guitar throne held by Lord Hetfield? At least. Plus, Papa Het can’t shred leads like Davidson. Some of Revocation’s most brutal stuff to date is on this record, and I can’t get enough, but it’s not all brutality, listen to the title track ONCE and tell me you don’t sing it in your head for the next month!! Revocation can do no wrong in my book.
Overkill – White Devil Armory
Overkill has been around for almost 35 years!!! Holy s*it. You know what you are getting with these guys, but damn, it’s always good. Bobby Blitz’s voice sounds great! I would even say better than on “The Electric Age” from 2012, and that was definitely one of my favorites from that year. Super tight, ultra fast thrash with hooky choruses. That’s a home run every time for me.
Chris Schoenberg
Primal Waters
