2008: The Year In Review

Top Ten 2008 Albums
note: these are only for albums i've purchased

1.


Ben Folds
Way To Normal
"His best musical offering since leaving Ben Folds Five"
Standout Tracks: Bitch Went Nuts, Brainwascht, Kylie From Connecticut


2.


Metallica
Death Magnetic
"The best thing for Metallica: Their best album since Cliff died"
Standout Tracks: The End Of The Line, All Nightmare Long, The Judas Kiss


3.


Hail Of Bullets
...Of Frost And War
"Solid Old-School Death Metal from a supergroup of some of the genre's finest"
Standout Tracks: Ordered Eastward, Red Wolves Of Stalin, Nachthexen


4.


Unleashed
Hammer Battalion
"Merciless offering of pagan death metal that stays true to its roots"
Standout Tracks: Hammer Battallion, Carved In Stone, The Greatest Of All Lies


5.


Deicide
Till Death Do Us Part
"It really is Deicide's most brutal album - EVER!"
Standout Tracks: Hate Of All Hatreds, Not As Long As We Both Shall Live, Angel Of Agony


6.


Arsis
We Are The Nightmare
"Equal parts of all their previous releases, this album shreds"
Standout Tracks: Shattering The Spell, Falling Winds Of Hopeless Greed, My Oath To Madness


7.


Hellhammer
Demon Entrails (Compilation)
"Absolutely essential to anyone who considers themselves a fan of extreme metal"
Standout Tracks: Euronymous, Crucifixion, Messiah


8.


Toxic Holocaust
An Overdose Of Death
"Bringing back the punk to thrash, a very enjoyable album"
Standout Tracks: Nuke The Cross, Future Shock, Feedback, Blood and Distortion


9.


Hate Eternal
Fury And Flames
"Shoddy production can't keep you from banging your head to this disc"
Standout Tracks: Whom Gods May Destroy, Bringer Of Storms, Fury Within


10.


Judas Priest
Nostradamus
"Classic Priest hidden within their most progressive offering yet"
Standout Tracks: Pestilence and Plague, Conquest, Nostradamus

----------------

Top Albums I Purchased This Year (Any Year)

1. Ben Folds - Way To Normal
2. Skeletonwitch - Beyond The Permafrost
3. Judas Priest - Metal Works '73 - '93
4. Morbid Angel - Altars Of Madness
5. Suicidal Tendencies - Prime Cuts
6. Impaled - Death After Life
7. Origin - Echoes Of Decimation
8. Metallica - Death Magnetic
9. Sodom - Sodom
10. Obituary - Cause Of Death

Honorable Mention: Death - Leprosy

Top DVD's I Purchased (Any Year)

1. Iron Maiden - Live After Death
2. Dark Funeral - Attera Orbis Terrarum - Part 1
3. Metallica - Live Shit: Binge & Purge
4. Slayer - The Unholy Alliance

Dishonorable Mention: Necrophagist - Summer Slaughter 2007

Top 5 New Bands To Me (Any Year)

1. Skeletonwitch
2. Judas Priest
3. Suicidal Tendencies
4. Impaled
5. Obituary

---------------------

Top 15 Performances Attended

1. Skeletonwitch (1st time)
2. Ben Folds (1st time)
3. Ben Folds (2nd time)
4. Obituary
5. Judas Priest
6. Skeletonwitch (2nd time)
7. Suicidal Tendencies
8. Unleashed
9. The Flaming Lips
10. Boris
11. Origin
12. Misery Index
13. Napalm Death
14. Iced Earth
15. Phobia

Honorable Mentions: High On Fire, mc chris, Hate Eternal (both times), Troglodyte (2nd time)

Top 10 Concerts

1.
Obituary w/ Unleashed
October 1
Kansas City, MO

2.
Skeletonwitch
February 11
Manhattan, KS

3.
Ben Folds
April 5
Kansas City, MO

4.
Ben Folds
October 22
Kansas City, MO

5.
Origin w/ Misery Index, Abysmal Dawn
August 9
Lawrence, KS

6.
Suicidal Tendencies w/ Terror, Whole Wheat Bread
November 29
Kansas City, MO

7.
Blackest Of The Black 2008 w/ Danzig, Dimmu Borgir, Moonspell, Skeletonwitch
October 31
Kansas City, MO

8.
Wakarusa 2008 w/ The Flaming Lips, Blackalicious, many many more
June 6th
Lawrence, KS

9.
Boris w/ Torche, Lair Of The Minotaur
July 23
Lawrence, KS

10.
Alice Cooper
September 12
Hutchinson, KS

Honorable Mention:

Iced Earth
November 12
Kansas City, MO

Worst Performances

1. Cobra Starship
2. 36 Crazyfists
3. Carnifex
4. Drowning Pool
5. Annotations Of An Autopsy

Top 5 Newsmakers

1. Metallica releasing Death Magnetic
2. Cryptopsy turning to Deathcore
3. Iron Maiden's Somewhere Back In Time Tour
4. Judas Priest/Heaven And Hell Metal Masters Tour
5. Chinese Democracy