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Music Criticism - Top 17 Albums of 2017

17. Fin - Arrows of a Dying Age 16. Priests - Nothing Feels Natural 15. Pallbearer - Heartless 14. Jason Moran - BANGS 13. Craig Finn - We All Want the Same Things 12. Satan's Hallow - Satan's Hallow 11. Kamasi Washington - Harmony of Difference 10. Death Fortress - Triumph of the Undying 09. Joshua Abrams and Natural Information Society - Simultonality 08. Cameron Graves - Planetary Prince 07. Tchornobog – Tchornobog 06. Fleet Foxes - Crack-Up 05. Elder - Reflections of a Floating World 04. Black Cilice - Banished from Time 03. Archspire - Relentless Mutation 02. Cleric - Retrocausal 01. Myrkur - Mareridt (Write-up below) 17. Fin - Arrows of a Dying Age This release is (as far as I can recall), the only straight black metal album that I have ever been able to put on during a workout. This may seem like a pointless reason to like an album, and a ridiculous reason to put it into a top albums list, but I think this fact sheds light on an interesting ability Fin possess in compari

Music Criticism - Bathory - "Twilight of the Gods"

I am not saying anything revolutionary when I call “Twilight of the Gods” a masterpiece. Within the metal community the album is regarded as a classic, though, oddly enough, it does not seem to hold quite the same status in the broader music world, even when compared with other black/viking/folk* metal classics. Most of the people reading this are probably wondering why I would even bother to write something like this given that everyone who has even a mild interest in metal will encounter this album on nearly every best of list that covers a remotely relevant subgenre. The reason I think such an endeavor is worthwhile is due to an odd paradox I have noted when it comes to metal. Far more than any other scene I am familiar with, the metal community holds its classics in total veneration. People will go to great lengths to present detailed overviews and write ups to subgenres, and compared to most subgenres, there is a far greater emphasis on history in the metal world. However, while t