Ever since I started writing for this site, I’ve found myself in the same difficult spot at the end of every year: trying to select 10 albums that were released that year and were the best in my humble opinion. Seeing how many records get released every year, I just can’t avoid to have missed a few here and there. So I end up listening to quite a bunch of albums that others have been recommending on last notice, of which some actually make it into my list still. After long moments of contemplation, putting albums in my list, moving them around and replacing them by others, this is what finally became of my “albums of the year 2017”:
| Honorable Mentions | 10-4 | 3-2 | 1 |
1. Zeal & Ardor – Devil Is Fine
On my number 1 spot is an album that just blew my mind completely, just that tad bit more than the others in my list. In a way it’s a bit of a cheat since the album was actually already released digitally in 2016, but with a re-release after Zeal & Ardor signed with a label I discovered them and it felt like the release was destined to be in my top list. On Devil is Fine you get a serving of 25 minutes of art that is a blend of black metal, Delta blues, field recordings, jazz, ring shouts, music box melodies, glitchy hip-hop beats, soul and gospel.
It seems like a mix that shouldn’t work, but the link between the defiance in the slave spirituals and work songs of Afro-American music and the one of Norwegian black metal towards Christianity did make it work brilliantly! Devil Is Fine is without any question one of the most interesting, original and thought-provoking pieces of music art that has been released in a while. This album feels so pure, raw and honest that it will strike a chord with anyone who is open to new experiences and “different” music. For me personally this is one of the biggest surprises of the year and I clearly nothing managed to top it. Read my full review here.
