Metal Storm Awards - Voting Is Closed
All that build-up, all that preparation, and once again the month of February seemed to fly right by (being the shortest month, it's probably entitled to do that). We hate to see the Awards go after such a fleeting adventure, but this is what the whole shebang leads up to: determining the champions of the year's metal offering.
It's quite common that we get one album nominated for everything (by the way, uh, don't do that). Last year, it was Death Grips's Bottomless Pit (first of all, she doesn't even go here); this year, it was Igorrr's Savage Sinusoid, an album that, if nothing else, is actually featured on Metal Storm. Now, Savage Sinusoid is a great album - some would say an exceptional album - some would say a wicked pissah album, but they all live in Boston - but no album can be the best in EVERY category, and if it were, we'd put it in Avant-Garde and call it a day. Our other contender for "Unseemly MSA Perpetrator of the Year" goes to the knobhead who wrote in a trap album for every category. Please learn to read.
Moving right along, as always, y'all could have predicted the winners in most categories within the first five minutes. Gothic was pretty close, Ex Prog was neck-and-neck for a while, and Power had enough big names to make pretend competition, but Alternative, Death, Heavy, and others fell to comfortable leads. Thrash got annihilated, as expected, and poor Extreme Doom never stood a chance, even with the success of last year's #AddSpectralVoice2017 campaign. You guys can be viciously decisive sometimes. One of these days, we're just going to give Septicflesh the "Permanent Victors of Symphonic Metal Forever" award and move along. Biggest Letdown was almost interesting: we had Ensiferum, Arch Enemy, and Anathema, three titanic presences of sadly dwindling report, all vying for the lead - or second place, rather. You'll remember why once you see who won. They might be nothing more than a big inside joke at this point, but? we'll have to let you guys have it this time. It's a genuine homespun tradition.
Speaking of Arch Enemy? color us shocked, because our prediction turned out to be embarrassingly incorrect. What was seemingly the unquestioned biggest contender in Melodeath (a category that gets brutally swept up every year) has, in fact, been overtaken. At the end of the day, it's still Mors Principium Est - it's not as though a serious underdog like Duskmourn or Noumena came up to swipe the gold - but, hey, an upset's an upset, no matter how small.
Equally unanticipated was Dream Theater's fifth-place run in Biggest Letdown, with their (read carefully) 2016 album The Astonishing. Come on, guys. It was two years ago. Get over it. Biggest Surprise, meanwhile, fell to Trivium. Fair play, we suppose; The Sin And The Sentence ain't exactly Shogun, but it was admittedly unexpected of a declining metalcore-turned-hard rock band to put out something actually pretty okay. The real Biggest Surprise, though, was, as one sagacious write-in put it, "Wintersun - Releasing something other than a statement about why they haven't released anything."
We've given away some of the exciting bits, but there are more categories than we care to mention all at once here, so by all means continue your foray into the MSA results and start complaining about who got robbed and who's overrated. Remember: it's not about who won or lost; it's about discovering new music. Just because the voting is closed doesn't mean you can't keep listening.
It's quite common that we get one album nominated for everything (by the way, uh, don't do that). Last year, it was Death Grips's Bottomless Pit (first of all, she doesn't even go here); this year, it was Igorrr's Savage Sinusoid, an album that, if nothing else, is actually featured on Metal Storm. Now, Savage Sinusoid is a great album - some would say an exceptional album - some would say a wicked pissah album, but they all live in Boston - but no album can be the best in EVERY category, and if it were, we'd put it in Avant-Garde and call it a day. Our other contender for "Unseemly MSA Perpetrator of the Year" goes to the knobhead who wrote in a trap album for every category. Please learn to read.
Moving right along, as always, y'all could have predicted the winners in most categories within the first five minutes. Gothic was pretty close, Ex Prog was neck-and-neck for a while, and Power had enough big names to make pretend competition, but Alternative, Death, Heavy, and others fell to comfortable leads. Thrash got annihilated, as expected, and poor Extreme Doom never stood a chance, even with the success of last year's #AddSpectralVoice2017 campaign. You guys can be viciously decisive sometimes. One of these days, we're just going to give Septicflesh the "Permanent Victors of Symphonic Metal Forever" award and move along. Biggest Letdown was almost interesting: we had Ensiferum, Arch Enemy, and Anathema, three titanic presences of sadly dwindling report, all vying for the lead - or second place, rather. You'll remember why once you see who won. They might be nothing more than a big inside joke at this point, but? we'll have to let you guys have it this time. It's a genuine homespun tradition.
Speaking of Arch Enemy? color us shocked, because our prediction turned out to be embarrassingly incorrect. What was seemingly the unquestioned biggest contender in Melodeath (a category that gets brutally swept up every year) has, in fact, been overtaken. At the end of the day, it's still Mors Principium Est - it's not as though a serious underdog like Duskmourn or Noumena came up to swipe the gold - but, hey, an upset's an upset, no matter how small.
Equally unanticipated was Dream Theater's fifth-place run in Biggest Letdown, with their (read carefully) 2016 album The Astonishing. Come on, guys. It was two years ago. Get over it. Biggest Surprise, meanwhile, fell to Trivium. Fair play, we suppose; The Sin And The Sentence ain't exactly Shogun, but it was admittedly unexpected of a declining metalcore-turned-hard rock band to put out something actually pretty okay. The real Biggest Surprise, though, was, as one sagacious write-in put it, "Wintersun - Releasing something other than a statement about why they haven't released anything."
We've given away some of the exciting bits, but there are more categories than we care to mention all at once here, so by all means continue your foray into the MSA results and start complaining about who got robbed and who's overrated. Remember: it's not about who won or lost; it's about discovering new music. Just because the voting is closed doesn't mean you can't keep listening.
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Comments: 65
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| BitterCOld The Ancient One Posts: 15250  |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 01.03.2018 at 14:45 Genre definitions are hard. Dates apparently even harder. At least it was release within 30 days of the year we were voting for. Can recall someone writing in an album released in the 90s (Rhapsody, I think) in a past MSA.
---- get the fuck off my lawn. Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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| Darkside Momo Retired Posts: 9087 From: France  |
Written by BitterCOld on 01.03.2018 at 19:46 Not to mention Master Of Puppets in various occurences...
---- My Author's Blog (in French)  "You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you" "I've lost too many years now I'm stealing back my soul I am awake"
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| cobrapel Concept One Posts: 197 From: Italy  |
At this point i don't understand what does it mean 'clandestine cut'. I thought it is the category for demo/ep. Also i can't think something less clandestine then Septicflesh, Cradle of Filth or Chelsea Wolfe
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| Karlabos Meat and Potatos Posts: 5658 From: Brazil  |
Written by cobrapel on 01.03.2018 at 22:07 I also thought it was about demo/single/ep but then Dreadnought got mentioned on the category...
---- "Aah! The cat turned into a cat!" - Reimu Hakurei
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| IBlackened Posts: 477 From: Brazil  |
Written by cobrapel on 01.03.2018 at 22:07 That's what it means, but since that category doesn't have staff picks, it relies on write-in votes and you can imagine where that leads to.
---- Their old stuff is better.
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| mz Posts: 4773  |
Seriously surprised for the alternative metal winner. Didn't expect the Emptiness to be so unpopular in MS.
---- Giving my ears a rest from music.
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| RaduP CertifiedHipster Posts: 8628 From: Romania  |
Nobody gonna mention how close the HxC category was?
---- Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking One day there will be no heart at all?
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| Zap Guest Posts: 3516  |
Written by mz on 02.03.2018 at 12:09 They're still a very underground band compared to bands like Soen or Chelsea Wolfe.
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| BitterCOld The Ancient One Posts: 15250 |
Written by cobrapel on 01.03.2018 at 22:07 You are asking too much of people. People can't be expected to see if Bell Witch is in Extreme Doom before writing them in Doom, let alone bother to look up which albums were featured as Clandestine Cuts before casting their vote. That said, maybe next year we can keep a running total of our Clandestine Cuts to link there. "Vote for one of these or the rest of us will laugh and point at you."
---- get the fuck off my lawn. Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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| Karlabos Meat and Potatos Posts: 5658 From: Brazil |
It would be easier to just rename the category to "single/ep" or something.
---- "Aah! The cat turned into a cat!" - Reimu Hakurei
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| WorpeX Made of Metal Posts: 1347 From: USA  |
This is the first year I actually sat down and listened to every album in the Melodeath category before voting. To me, there was only 3 REALLY good albums on that list. Novembers Doom I liked, but it sounded like it shoulda been in the Doom category to me. Mors Principium put out a great album which I enjoyed (Especially Colours of the Cosmos!) but my #1 favorite this year was Æther Realm. I hadn't heard them before this and i'm pleasantly surprised!
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| Metren Dreadrealm Posts: 1328 From: Estonia  |
Written by JoHn Doe on 01.03.2018 at 11:38 Must've been a terrible year for prog... not that I'm paying attention much to that genre anymore, but yeah...
---- My one-man project's Bandcamp with free downloads: https://dreadrealm.bandcamp.com/
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| Rulatore Posts: 1107 From: Brazil  |
Written by BloodTears on 01.03.2018 at 11:05 Yeah, it's just average in everything and the songwriting just gets worse with time Written by Auntie Sahar on 01.03.2018 at 14:52 One had to do it
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| nikarg Posts: 7039 From: Greece  |
The fact that Wormwood won best meloblack and best debut by a mile shows that Metalstormers have good taste in music.
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Posts: 40071 From: The Netherlands  |
Written by nikarg on 03.03.2018 at 00:07 Actually it showed the total opposite   
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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| M C Vice ex-polydactyl Posts: 3349 From: Australia  |
Written by Metren on 02.03.2018 at 21:19 But not even a nomination for Dreadnought.
---- "Another day, another Doug." "I'll fight you on one condition. That you lower your nipples." " 'Tis a lie! Thy backside is whole and ungobbled, thou ungrateful whelp!"
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| M C Vice ex-polydactyl Posts: 3349 From: Australia |
Are Beast In Black and Beast in black gonna get merged in the Heavy category?
---- "Another day, another Doug." "I'll fight you on one condition. That you lower your nipples." " 'Tis a lie! Thy backside is whole and ungobbled, thou ungrateful whelp!"
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| JoHn Doe Posts: 4874  |
Written by Metren on 02.03.2018 at 21:19 Not a terrible year I'd say. It's me I guess, I grew tired of Ayreon, the much worshiped band, every time Lucasen releases something, every one goes nuts or something. I guess his recipe works, but I just don't care anymore. Arjen has been repeating himself for quite a while.
---- I thought the two primary purposes for the internet were cat memes and overreactions.
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| BitterCOld The Ancient One Posts: 15250 |
Written by Karlabos on 02.03.2018 at 16:10 Or keep as Clandestine Cuts, given that's the name of the article featuring unsigned acts we run every so often.
---- get the fuck off my lawn. Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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| Metren Dreadrealm Posts: 1328 From: Estonia |
Written by JoHn Doe on 03.03.2018 at 02:21 I agree completely with the point about repetition. I thought 01 and The Theory Of Everything were enjoyable in parts, but The Source truly resembles a very late season of a sitcom that has been airing way too long since its glory days have ended. I think Arjen's passion for bringing artists to his cause is still there, but as a songwriter, he lost his touch many years ago.
---- My one-man project's Bandcamp with free downloads: https://dreadrealm.bandcamp.com/
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| Khzwvlf Posts: 1 From: Venezuela |
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| BloodTears ANA-thema Posts: 11835 From: Portugal  |
Written by JoHn Doe on 03.03.2018 at 02:21 Terrible year for prog? Did people actually listen to the albums in that category? Not just the two or three. All of them were great, the hard thing was to choose just one. Yes, we've had better years but there's great new bands coming up. You might not like an album or two, but the category itself was strong and if people are voting on the best known band, that's not on us.
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| JoHn Doe Posts: 4874 |
Written by BloodTears on 03.03.2018 at 12:26 I never complained about the category, just the predictable winner. In fact I have listened to some of the albums in that category, so thank you.
---- I thought the two primary purposes for the internet were cat memes and overreactions.
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| BloodTears ANA-thema Posts: 11835 From: Portugal |
Written by JoHn Doe on 03.03.2018 at 12:54 Yes, the part about the category wasn't directed at you. The quotes got confusing ahah Did you listen to The Thirteenth Sun or Need? Sometimes I find people base their judgement on just a few albums and the whole picture is more important.
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| JoHn Doe Posts: 4874 |
Written by BloodTears on 03.03.2018 at 12:58 Loved The Thirteen Sun, Need not so much.
---- I thought the two primary purposes for the internet were cat memes and overreactions.
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| Mattma7ic Posts: 4 |
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| Metren Dreadrealm Posts: 1328 From: Estonia |
Written by BloodTears on 03.03.2018 at 12:26 Well, in my feeble defense, I did say "not that I pay much attention to that genre anymore", before making that statement. I just find it kind of sad that Ayreon won the award with the worst album Arjen's ever written, that's all. I shall now retreat into a corner and contemplate my ignorance. 
---- My one-man project's Bandcamp with free downloads: https://dreadrealm.bandcamp.com/
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| BloodTears ANA-thema Posts: 11835 From: Portugal |
Written by Metren on 03.03.2018 at 23:46 ahah you're funny. No, I get it. I was sad Ayreon won too because despite being a good album, Pain of Salvation deserved to win in my humble opinion. But I guess they are not as popular.
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| Nick Carter Posts: 257  |
I just can't understand how is it possible that someone beat Berserker in Power Metal. There is a huge gap between them and the "posisble second one"
---- #MetalIsForEveryone
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| Liafev Posts: 587 From: Germany  |
Written by Hellcult on 01.03.2018 at 14:08 I was actually surprised that MS thought they would win the title in this genre. To me this album is very disappointing from the 4th track until the end .. Not bad, sure, but not nearly as good as the previous ones. I felt Wolfheart should have won this title by far, but they are no popular enough apparently ...
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