Kingdom of Noise Top 40 of 2012 Countdown

As I have done for countless eons (well, 5 years) I'll be counting down the 40 albums that rocked my world in 2012. They aren't "the best" in the traditional sense. This is no democracy. These are the albums that I wanted to listen to the most. And did listen to the most. 2012 has been a crazy whirlwind year for me. In addition to KofN I started writing for Hellbound.ca and GhostCultmag.com. The new year will see me take on yet another "job" writing short reviews for about.com/heavymetal! This is could all cave in on me at any moment but I'm just running with the momentum. Anyway, I better start this countdown eh?
Here are the albums that almost made the cut. Any given day they could crack the top 40 but at some point you just have to call it a day and finalize.
The also-rans (in no particular order):

Pig Destroyer - Book Burner (Relapse): Great but I still don't hear what makes them special.
Converge - All We Love We Leave Behind (Epitaph): Not sure why this one didn't connect this time.
Hooded Menace - Effigies of Evil (Relapse): Starting to get formulaic.
Incantation - Vanquish in Vengeance (Listenable): Killer OSDM.
The Secret - Agnus Dei (Southern Lord): Could be Top 20 any given day.
Wizard Rifle - Speak Loud & Say Nothing (Seventh Rule): I don't really like noise but this is awesome.
Vision of Disorder - The Cursed Remain Cursed (Candlelight): What a return!
Author & Punisher - Ursus Americanus (Seventh Rule): Innovation, not a gimmick.
Xibalba - Hasta La Muerte (Southern Lord): Break down the ugly hardcore.
Witch Mountain - Cauldron of the Wild (Profound Lore): No doubting Uta's voice.
Norska - Norska (Self-released): Hard time keeping these doomsters out of the Top 40.
Encrust - From Birth to Soil (Self-released): Eardrums fully Encrust-ed.

My 40 Favourite Albums of 2010: 20-11

*DISCLAIMER! All rankings are based on 3 major factors. 1. I actually have to like the album. Nothing is included because it's on everyone else's list or because I think it would make my list look better. 2. I can listen to it no matter what I am in the mood for. 3. Overall play count/I actually paid money for it.  Remember, this is my opinion. It's not overly analytical. Most, if not all, rankings are VERY fluid. Don't get your panties in a bunch because your favourite band is lower than "that fucking piece of shit band!"*

As I get in to the Top 20, the reasoning changes slightly. There is usually some element that vaults the album in to this higher ranking. It could be that it's just really, really, really good, or a leap forward, or a comeback/return to form, or there is just something really unique about it. Enjoy the best of 2010.

#20.  Iron Maiden - The Final Frontier (ENG, EMI):  I got in to Iron Maiden in a weird way. It was A Matter of Life and Death that made me appreciate them. Before that, Dickinson's vocal style didn't appeal to me. I had a copy of Number Of The Beast back in high school (got it in a Columbia House metal grab bag with some weird Hendrix disc, The Best of Slaughter, a Varga (!) CD and something else) and sold it to a pawn shop. Then I got a used copy of Piece of Mind on cassette back in '09 and I was hooked. The Final Frontier may not be an all time Maiden classic but it's damn close. Dickinson, Steve Harris and the boys sure know how to write epic songs! There isn't a dud to be found here. I may have listened to this album more than any other last year. Thanks in large part to the fact that I could play it anywhere, in any company and it wouldn't scare anyone. (Unlike #19) It amazes me that a band can still be this good over 30 years into their career. Standout track "Where the Wild Wind Blows"

#19. Unearthly Trance - V (USA, Relapse):  For some reason I had Unearthly Trance confused as far as what style of metal they were. I thought they were operatic like Katatonia or Dark Tranquility or some other band I haven't given the time of day to. Or even the My Dying Bride kind of doom. I don't know where I got that idea from but motherfucker was I wrong! This is fucking DOOOOOOOOM! From the pits of Hell, the world is ending, beasts unleashed upon creation, fucking DOOM! I made a comment before and referred to V as "bowel evacuatingly heavy". I stand by that. They put the power in power trio with their earthquake inducing, thunderous riffs. At times, guitarist/vocalist Ryan Lypinsky reminds me of Floater vocalist Robert Wynia (Glyph remains one of my all time favourite albums). But most of the time his unearthly (hehe) screams sound like his voice is made of pure disgust for the human race. Vocals can make or break an album for me and these beastly bellows are a big reason V landed in my Top 20. Standout track: "Into a Chasm"

#18.  Ludicra - The Tenant (USA, Profound Lore):  This year's list has more black metal on it than ever before. Part of my growing interest in BM is due in large part to Ludicra, among others (as you will see). They opened my eyes to a bigger part of what black metal could be. Before listening to The Tenant I thought all black metal was bleak, monotonous, lo-fi Norwegian BM or keyboard laden, symphonic BM like Dimmu or CoF. (Neither of which you will find on this list) What's more, vocalist
Laurie Sue Shanaman made me reconsider what female vocals in metal were all about. ( I just thought Angela Gossow was a freak) Where traditional black metal (to me) feels like it's being bombarded by the wind, and is forced to endure it, Ludicra embrace the wind and use it to soar above the world full of sorrow and ugliness. The Tenant is an incredibly dynamic album that can go from beautiful to downright nasty on a dime. It earns #18 based largely on The Sickest Riff Of The Year on standout track "In Stable".

Hooded Menace - Fulfill the Curse

Hooded Menace - Fulfill the Curse: I first heard about Hooded Menace in Decibel Magazine. Apparently the band is a bit of mystery. They had no picture of the band. Just a cartoonish image of hooded druid-like figures. Cool. I don't remember what it was about the article that peaked my interest, but I managed to obtain a digital copy. I tried to listen to it a few weeks ago but gave up early. The first couple tracks are kinda boring. I knew I had punchier stuff to listen to so I moved on. But I decided to give it another shot. Glad I did. Once the album gets going, they add a few more notes to a pretty massive guitar tone. Had I been in an altered state of mind, I may have been enveloped by that tone and the somewhat hypnotic riffing. The weak point of this album may the the vocals. That typical atonal black/doom bellow (recorded in a cave) that I am sure is recreated by a litany of misunderstood, pizza-faced basement dwellers. But I can tolerate them.. I really don't know if any other vocal style would fit the music anyway. It bounces back and forth a bit between a slow dirge and a gallopy pace (dun dadada dun dadada dun.....). It serves the album well though. It breaks up what could have been a very monotonous record. Fulfill the Curse finishes with a 3 minutes instrumental piece entitled Theme From the Manhattan (something I can't remember right now), that breaks from the overall feel of the album. It seems out of place. It might even be a cover. It's not bad, it just doesn't fit. They could have left it off because the album was long enough already. Fulfill the Curse doesn't break down any walls, or blaze any new trails, but it has earned a spot on my ipod for a little while longer anyway.