pemulis Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 Alright, here are our locks: Now, we need two tie-breaker rounds - one for 10th place, one for 11-15th place: First, we need to decide which Russian Circles album is 10th. The nominees are Enter, Geneva, and Empros. Next, we need to pick five albums from the following ten: Year of No Light - Ausserwelt Pelican - Australasia Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind God is an Astronaut - All is Violent, All is Bright Yndi Halda - Enjoy Eternal Bliss Daturah - Reverie Shy, Low - Hiraeth Toe - A Book About My Idle Plot... Moving Mountains - Foreword Deadhorse - We Can Create Our Own World So I'm gonna say whoever submitted their top 15 lists get to vote on these last few. Just post with your picks and we'll get this thing onto the design department ASAP. Awesome job with this. Picking a RC album is like choosing your favorite child. With a gun to my head I'd probably go with Enter. 1. Pelican - Australiasia 2. Year of No Light - Ausserwelt 3. Shy, Low - Hireath 4. God is an Astronaut - All is Violent 5. Mono - Hymn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wisdom81 Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Russian Circles - Enter 01. Pelican - Australasia 02. Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind 03. Year of No Light - Ausserwelt 04. Yndi Halda – Enjoy Eternal Bliss 05. Daturah - Reverie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sad Heart Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 My votes for the remaining: Year of No Light - Ausserwelt (1) Pelican - Australasia (5) Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind God is an Astronaut - All is Violent, All is Bright (3) Yndi Halda - Enjoy Eternal Bliss Daturah - Reverie Shy, Low - Hiraeth Toe - A Book About My Idle Plot... (2) Moving Mountains - Foreword Deadhorse - We Can Create Our Own World (4) As far as RS goes, my favorite is Station which seems to not be a common opinion. So I don't know if I'll be any of help with that. I really need to listen to more of them along with God, Daturah, and Yndi. If I had to pick a second favorite RS album it would Geneva (but please don't weigh my opinion as heavily as the others, cause Station is my go to.) Also, I'm surprised how much traction Shy, Low is getting how young it is. Not that they don't deserve it, the album is fantastic. Just surprising since we are doing a top list and have a lot of amazing, older stuff to consider; very interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek™ Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 There must be something wrong with me, because Australasia is probably the weakest Pelican release in my books. No idea. It's not bad in the least – and I do enjoy it enough to own a copy – but I feel like it's going way over my head after seeing these top picks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omik11303 Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 As far as RS goes, my favorite is Station which seems to not be a common opinion. So I don't know if I'll be any of help with that. I really need to listen to more of them along with God, Daturah, and Yndi. If I had to pick a second favorite RS album it would Geneva (but please don't weight my opinion as heavily as the others, cause Station is my go to.) This was literally my exact same thought process. Station is my favorite of theirs by a slim margin, but it's always the one I go to and it's the only RC album I actually own. It ended up being two votes apiece for the three finalists, with only one vote for Station, but since we're going top 10 artists first, they ended up with 7 votes which was enough to get 'em in the top 10. I just listened to Geneva and Enter all the way through today, actually, in anticipating of this final vote, and Geneva squeaked out in front. They definitely deserve a spot in this Guide; every release of theirs has something unique going for it. EDIT: Also, Derek, I'm surprised I haven't seen an avatar change from you in a while. Maybe the new Yndi Halda? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrewest Posted December 29, 2015 Author Share Posted December 29, 2015 Alright, here are our locks: Now, we need two tie-breaker rounds - one for 10th place, one for 11-15th place:First, we need to decide which Russian Circles album is 10th. The nominees are Enter, Geneva, and Empros. Next, we need to pick five albums from the following ten: Year of No Light - Ausserwelt Pelican - Australasia Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind God is an Astronaut - All is Violent, All is Bright Yndi Halda - Enjoy Eternal Bliss Daturah - Reverie Shy, Low - Hiraeth Toe - A Book About My Idle Plot... Moving Mountains - Foreword Deadhorse - We Can Create Our Own World So I'm gonna say whoever submitted their top 15 lists get to vote on these last few. Just post with your picks and we'll get this thing onto the design department ASAP. Put my picks in bold. Only voted for 3 of the 11-15. I think Hiraeth is good, but hasn't struck me as a top 15 album. And sadly, I've either not listened to ever, or enough times to give the others a vote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sad Heart Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Put my picks in bold. Only voted for 3 of the 11-15. I think Hiraeth is good, but hasn't struck me as a top 15 album. And sadly, I've either not listened to ever, or enough times to give the others a vote. You would love Deadhorse, and I highly suggest YoNL's entire catalog. Some albums have vocals, some instrumental, all fantastic. Nord is my personal favorite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sad Heart Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 There must be something wrong with me, because Australasia is probably the weakest Pelican release in my books. No idea. It's not bad in the least – and I do enjoy it enough to own a copy – but I feel like it's going way over my head after seeing these top picks. City of Echoes is really high up there for me. Doesn't seem to get a lot of love though. What's your go to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebilljim Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 As far as Pelican goes, I actually would throw my "favorite album" vote for What We All Come To Need. I'm not sure that's the album of theirs I'm supposed to like the best, but it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omik11303 Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 There's still five users left on this tiebreaker, but I think it's worth mentioning that, going off of the votes already taken and the original lists of those yet to vote, the spots 11-15 are taken up exactly by: God is an Astronaut - All is Violent, All is Bright (8 votes) Year of No Light - Ausserwelt (6) Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind (5) Daturah - Reverie (5) Deadhorse - We Can Create Our Own World (5) Yndi Halda and Pelican are next with 4 votes apiece. Russian Circles would still be tied with four votes for both Geneva and Enter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pemulis Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 City of Echoes is really high up there for me. Doesn't seem to get a lot of love though. What's your go to? I know this isn't directed at me but.... People hate on City more than it deserves I think. The drumming isn't that great. But it doesn't distract from the album for me, I still listen to it pretty consistently. I think their new one (Forever Becoming) is incredible, it is much heavier and groovier than a lot of their stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sad Heart Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 I know this isn't directed at me but.... People hate on City more than it deserves I think. The drumming isn't that great. But it doesn't distract from the album for me, I still listen to it pretty consistently. I think their new one (Forever Becoming) is incredible, it is much heavier and groovier than a lot of their stuff. I've always loved that album. It's the new only Pelican album I own on wax. Yeah, like you said, the drummers aren't as good as they could be, but I still love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgedestroys Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Honestly I think I listen to Empros the most but to save myself agonizing over a decision and to hopefully help tie break, I'm just gonna go with Geneva, it feels more appropriate for some reason anyway. As for my other 5, Moving Mountains, Mono, God Is An Astronaut, Deadhorse and Pelican. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek™ Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 EDIT: Also, Derek, I'm surprised I haven't seen an avatar change from you in a while. Maybe the new Yndi Halda? I'm surprised, too. D&D just hit me so hard I haven't been able to get over it, I guess. But that is an excellent recommendation, since it's one of the more excitable 2016 releases for me. Thanks for the idea. City of Echoes is really high up there for me. Doesn't seem to get a lot of love though. What's your go to? I'm not even sure what my go-to is. Fire is pretty classic, and I had a very random appreciation for the riff-goodness packed into WWACTN, a year or two ago – it was my go-to whenever I needed to take a breather from Russian Circles, for a while there. The new album is decent though not groundbreaking. But City of Echoes is definitely a strong contender, I agree. The drumming gets harped on quite a bit (like a few people have pointed out) but it doesn't detract from the songwriting, for me. The first 3 tracks, especially, are such an excellent combo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abovetheearth Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Alright, here are our locks: Now, we need two tie-breaker rounds - one for 10th place, one for 11-15th place: First, we need to decide which Russian Circles album is 10th. The nominees are Enter, Geneva, and Empros. Next, we need to pick five albums from the following ten: Year of No Light - Ausserwelt Pelican - Australasia Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind God is an Astronaut - All is Violent, All is Bright Yndi Halda - Enjoy Eternal Bliss Daturah - Reverie Shy, Low - Hiraeth Toe - A Book About My Idle Plot... Moving Mountains - Foreword Deadhorse - We Can Create Our Own World Geneva Australasia Daturah Deadhorse YoNL GIAA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sad Heart Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 I'm surprised, too. D&D just hit me so hard I haven't been able to get over it, I guess. But that is an excellent recommendation, since it's one of the more excitable 2016 releases for me. Thanks for the idea. I'm not even sure what my go-to is. Fire is pretty classic, and I had a very random appreciation for the riff-goodness packed into WWACTN, a year or two ago – it was my go-to whenever I needed to take a breather from Russian Circles, for a while there. The new album is decent though not groundbreaking. But City of Echoes is definitely a strong contender, I agree. The drumming gets harped on quite a bit (like a few people have pointed out) but it doesn't detract from the songwriting, for me. The first 3 tracks, especially, are such an excellent combo. Yes! Those first 3 tracks pull me in every time. It's like Pelican's Quovis/Further Up/Further In. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek™ Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Yes! Those first 3 tracks pull me in every time. It's like Pelican's Quovis/Further Up/Further In. Definitely. But I'm interested to hear your thoughts on Pelican, perhaps, becoming a jam band. Like maybe doubling the length of Bliss In Concrete, but then extending the bridge in City Of Echoes by 10 minutes, and then just noodling out Spaceship Broken - Parts Needed for 3 hours. Actually, fuck that. 3 hours for 'Spaceship Broken', and another 3 hours for 'Parts Needed'. Break that sucker up into a two-part saga, with a synth laser-light solo on the back half. Can you even imagine? How would you feel about that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sad Heart Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Definitely. But I'm interested to hear your thoughts on Pelican, perhaps, becoming a jam band. Like maybe doubling the length of Bliss In Concrete, but then extending the bridge in City Of Echoes by 10 minutes, and then just noodling out Spaceship Broken - Parts Needed for 3 hours. Actually, fuck that. 3 hours for 'Spaceship Broken', and another 3 hours for 'Parts Needed'. Break that sucker up into a two-part saga, with a synth laser-light solo on the back half. Can you even imagine? How would you feel about that? Don't you fucking start with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drds89 Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Russian Circles: Enter -but as others have said, like trying pick a 'favorite' child GIAA Year Of No Light Yndi Halda Mono Daturah Deadhorse album is most excellent (I own all variants thanks to a board member here) and out of guilt and love for Brian and Rachel felt I had to make a statement that I feel like crap that it makes my top 20, but not top 10 or 15. brianmorgante 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drds89 Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 nevermind - found it. oy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omik11303 Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 nevermind - found it. oy. What was it? I was trying for about a half hour this morning but couldn't find it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrewest Posted December 29, 2015 Author Share Posted December 29, 2015 You would love Deadhorse, and I highly suggest YoNL's entire catalog. Some albums have vocals, some instrumental, all fantastic. Nord is my personal favorite. I think I very casually listened to Deadhorse previously, but need to revisit. I've definitely listened to YoNL, and liked it, just one of those bands that slip my mind and I forget to go back to. Also, I'm depressed at the lack of Cloudkicker love. Thought for sure Beacons would get some more run. I think that's the one snub that really should find a home in an "essentials" list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smailtronic Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 I'm going to be placing a big Denovali order in a week or two; does anybody from the states want in to save on shipping? Generally speaking, if you want three or more records from them, it's cheaper to order with others than to order individually, even factoring in the domestic shipping from me to you. If you're interested, check out their store (http://denovali.com/shop), PM me with what you want, and after waiting a couple days to hear from everybody who's interested, I'll get back to you with your total. I've facilitated a couple of these group buys before, I'm not going to steal your money, yadda yadda. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drds89 Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 What was it? I was trying for about a half hour this morning but couldn't find it. Sleeping Bear S/T (d'oh!) I think I very casually listened to Deadhorse previously, but need to revisit. I've definitely listened to YoNL, and liked it, just one of those bands that slip my mind and I forget to go back to. Also, I'm depressed at the lack of Cloudkicker love. Thought for sure Beacons would get some more run. I think that's the one snub that really should find a home in an "essentials" list. You'll love Deadhorse and they did an EP a couple years ago that only made it to CD. I envy you getting to (re)discover them. Also surprised that CK didn't get more love, for the amount of quality and variety output Ben has released over many years, and not just one album. Evpatoria Report's two albums are legendary - and still need vinyl - and yet only got a mention or two // I had to sacrifice them and Daturah off of my original 15 as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omik11303 Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 I might have to make a late addition to my best of 2015 list... Compass & Knife - The Setting of the Old Sun FFO: Giants, sleepmakeswaves, Seas of Years There will be many people in this thread that love this. Give it a listen if you haven't heard it already. RadDonut and brianmorgante 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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