Too Soon? Vince’s Best of 2014… So Far

I keep a running list of my favorite releases as the days, weeks and months roll by to make sure I don’t forget anything, and looking back on this year’s list half way through 2014 I’m noticing a theme: polarity. On one side of the spectrum I’ve got albums that are some of the heaviest and most technical of the year so far (Artificial Brain, Soreption, Destrage), and on the other end I’ve got releases that are barely metal at all (The Intersphere, Biblical, Truckfighters) with just a few in between. Why the disparity? No idea. Maybe it’s a right brain / left brain thing, or maybe I’m just bored with middle-of-the-road heaviness. We’ll see which of these albums sticks by the time December rolls around.

Allegaeon – Elements of the Infinite (Metal Blade)
Ancient Ascendant – Echoes and Cinder (Candlelight)
Animals as Leaders – The Joy of Motion (Sumerian)
Artificial Brain – Labyrinth Constellation (Profound Lore)
The Atlas Moth – The Old Believer (Profound Lore)
Biblical – Monsoon Season (New Damage)
Destrage – Are You Kidding Me? No. (Metal Blade)
Exmortus – Slave to the Sword (Prosthetic)
Lazer/Wulf – The Best of Left and Right (Retro Futurist)
The Intersphere – Relations in the Unseen (Long Branch)
Septicflesh – Titan (Season of Mist)
Soreption – Engineering the Void (Unique Leader)
Tombs – Savage Gold (Relapse)
Truckfighters – Universe (Fuzzorama)