Blueprint of a Strange Mind...: 2014 EOY Album List

12/25/15

I'm almost a year late posting this list, but hey, better late than never. I have it in pen and ink from exactly 365 days ago, so there has been no change between then and now. 2014 was a stronger year than 2013 (if you like what I like), but still not as strong as any year between 2009 and 2012.

1. Sólstafir - Ótta

I was introduced to Sólstafir when Svartir sandar was released in 2011. I didn't hear Köld until 2013, but when I did it became one of my favorite albums of all time (and by that I mean an all-time top 10 album - Köld is a glimpse of near perfection). This album is their second best, in my opinion, and coupled with the excellent Masterpiece of Bitterness and the two aforementioned, Solstafir has become not only the premier metal band from Iceland, but the premier band from Iceland. And yes, that's taking into consideration even the mighty Sigur Rós.

At this point they have all but finished shedding their viking/black metal skin for something all together more inspiring and transcendental, and I couldn't be happier. With this album Sólstafir presents: A Taste Of Iceland, written entirely in the native tongue. An avenue through which to, for fifty-seven minutes and twenty-four seconds, become acquainted with the remote outpost of the world that so few know or ever see.