It's almost 2009. With a temperate just below zero, and firecrackers here and there, we look back on the last year. Surely there happenned a lot, both in music as well as the 'real' world. Too much to mention probably, and by doing so we'd probably forget half the interesting things.
Musically though, 2008 was not a very good year, judging by various webzines and internet fora. What our crew thought of that? Those who took a bit of time to write up their year lists have the following to say. Let's hope 2009 will be a musical masterpiece, we'll try to make it so!
Ate
I | The best albums of 2008
1. My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
2. Joan as Police Woman - To Survive
3. Mogwai - The Hawk is Howling
4. When - You are Silent
5. Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
6. Mercury Rev - Snowflake Midnight
7. Tindersticks - The Hungry Saw
8. Shearwater - Rook
9. Karmakanic - Who’s the Boss in the Factory
10. Tiamat - Amanethes
III | The best compilations, mini- & live-albums
1. Anathema - Hindsight
2. …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - Festival Thyme
3. Naevus - Truffles of Love
4. Belle and Sebastian - The BBC Sessions
5. Neil Young - Sugar Mountain
IV | Best concerts
1. My Dying Bride - 5 juli, Wâldrock - Burgum
2. Andi Almqvist - 3 mei, Rhythm & Blues night - Groningen
3. Strawelte - 6 december, Iduna - Drachten
4. Pink Floyd Tribute - 10 mei, Groene Ster Festival - Leeuwarden
5. Life of Agony - 5 juli, Wâldrock - Burgum
V | Most disappointing concert
Queensrÿche - 5 juli, Wâldrock - Burgum
VI | Let's go the movies
1. No Country for Old Men
2. I’m Not There
3. There Will be Blood
4. Funny Games US
VII | Discovery of this
or any other
year
1. Fleet Foxes
2. Bon Iver
& A Silver Mt. Zion
VIII | Non-gothtronic album
Bob Dylan - The Bootleg Series vol. 8
David
I | The best albums of 2008
1. Cynic - Traced in Air
2. Cult of Luna - Eternal Kingdom
3. Ufomammut - Idolum
4. Enslaved - Vertebrae
5. The Monolith Deathcult - Triumvirate
6. Dismember - Dismember
7. Salome - Salome
8. Dozer - Beyond Colossal
9. Jex Thoth - Jex Thoth
10. Volition - Volition
III | The best compilations, mini- & live-albums
1. Agalloch - The White
2. Anathema - Hindsight
3. My Dying Bride - An Ode to Woe
4. Electric Wizard/Reverend Bizarre split
5. Envy/Jesu split
IV | Best concerts
1. Electric Wizard / Radio Moscow / The Freeks @ 013, Tilburg
2. Ufomammut & Lento @ Burgerweeshuis, Deventer
3. Ministry / Baroness / My Uncle the Wolf @ 013, Tilburg
4. My Dying Bride @ Ashes to Ashes...Dust to Dust Fest, 013, Tilburg
5. Witch / Earthless / Graveyard @ Vera, Groningen
V | Most disappointing concerts
1. Autumn @ Pagepop, Stadskanaal
2. The Wounded / Non Divine / Rule of Reason / Prey @ De Zwetser, Emmen
3. Ephel Duath @ Vera, Groningen
VII | Discovery of any other year
Calexico
And a personal note:
2008 was an enlightening year for me personally, musically, not so much.
Eelco
I | The best albums of 2008
1. Rome - Masse Mensch Material
2. Atrium Carceri - Souyuan
3. Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I-IV
4. Triarii - Muse In Arms
5. Tiamat - Amanethes
6. Autechre - Quaristice
7. Lights Out Asia - Eyes Like Brontide
8. Punch Inc. - Fightclub
Runner-up (or: not enough time because 2008 should have lasted looooooooooonger)
Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio - O N A N I [Practice Makes Perfect] which arrived December 30.
II | Most disappointing releases
Medusa’s Spell - Last X Hours
Nine Inch Nails - The Slip
III | The best compilations, mini- & live-albums
Orphx - Teletai
Tiamat - Ark of the Covenant
Passione Nera - Research
Raison d'Être - The Luminous Experience / and great to witness, even though I was severely disappointed by the lack of audience.
IV | Best concerts
1. Diary of Dreams at Amphi festival, Cologne
2. Autechre at Melkweg, Amsterdam
3. Asche/Morgenstern as part of Asche/Morgenstern/Ars Moriendi at Maschinenfest, Krefeld
4. The Wounded at Podium, Hoogeveen
V | Most disappointing concerts
1. Ayin Aleph (WGT, Leipzig)
2. Sex Pistols (Sziget, Budapest)
VI | Let's go the movies
Oooh I’m terrible in going to the movies, so here are some titles: you figure out whether it’s 2008, 2007 or 1984: The Dark Knight, 30 Days Of Night, Hot Fuzz, The Zodiac, Taken and the TV-series Flashpoint. Also glad to see the return of The IT-crowd.
Utter failure: The X-Files: I Want to Believe, which seemed like a two-hour episode instead of an actual follow-up to the brilliant series.
VIII | Non-gothtronic album
The Veronicas - Hook Me Up :D
And a personal note:
Definitely not my most productive year for Gothtronic, but with good reason, this being the first year of my new job and my first hiring. Combine that with a new house and there's plenty of time to kill throughout the weeks. 2009 will hopefully be spent with more time for music, concerts and festivals. See you on the road!
Erik
I | The best albums of 2008
1. Frustration - Relax
2. A Place to Bury Strangers - A Place to Bury Strangers
3. Sect - Great Desired Utopia
4. Ice Ages - Buried Silence
5. Kampfar - Heimgang
6. Korinth - Sign of Eternal Return
7. Tronus - Kampf
8. Taake - Taake
9. Krepulec - New Radical
10. Horologium & Moljebka Pvlse - Penfield Mood Organ
II | Most disappointing releases
In general in comparison to 2007, 2008 was a mediocre year regarding music released. Let’s hope that 2009 will be a better year with lots of original, high quality music releases.
III | The best compilations, mini- & live-albums
1. Deutsch Nepal - Dystopian Party Collection
2. Friends of Alice Ivy - Hereafter Moth
3. Neon - Memories (best of)
4. Troum/All Sides - Thurun
5. CausaliDox - Demo
IV | Best concerts
1. Karjalan Sissit at Vage Geluiden In Stereo, Alkmaar
2. For Against at Zwischenfall, Bochum
3. Kap Bambino at Worm, Rotterdam
4. Phelios at ACU Noise Festival, Utrecht
5. A Place to Bury Strangers at Paradiso, Amsterdam
6. Current 93 at Roadburn Festival, 013 Tilburg
V | Most disappointing concerts
Svarrogh - ACU, Utrecht (many thanks to the music-technician ?)
VI | Let's go the movies
1. Hellboy 2 - The Golden Army
2. Alien vs Predator 2: Requiem
3. The Mist
4. Oorlogswinter
5. Planet Terror and Deathproof (DVD)
Eva
I | The best albums of 2008
Portishead - Third
The Cure - 4:13 dream
Bitter:Sweet - Drama
Morcheeba - Dive Deep
Goldfrapp - Seventh Tree
Benga - Life Of An Afro Warrior
Moby - Last Night
Sigur Rós - Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust
Thievery Corporation - Radio Retaliation
Pete Namlook & Wolfram Spyra - Virtual Vices VI
IV | Best concerts
Portishead @ Heineken Music Hall
The Cure @ Ahoy
VI | Let's go the movies
I can’t really sum up the best films of 2008, these all have something worth mentioning.. so in no particular order;
Madagascar - Escape 2 Africa
Into the Wild
Persepolis
No Country for Old Men
VII | Discovery of this or any other year
I’ve known about the artist Eluvium before, but it was untill this year that I really started appreciating his beautiful talent and thus listened all his songs over and over again. Just wonderful!
And a personal note:
2008 hasn’t been a very good year for me, unfortunately I’ve lost more than I could possibly imagine... Hopefully I regain some positive energy coming year (hopefully by exploring the world a bit more)
Fabian
I | The best albums of 2008
in no particular order
Irezumi - Endurance
Beyond Sensory Experience - No lights In Our Eyes
Manufactura - Psychogenic Fugue
This Morn’ Omina - Inferno
Ah Cama-Sotz - Declaration Of Innocence
Steel Hook Prostheses - Atrocitizer
Körperwelten - Avatars of Rape and Rage
Vestigial - Translucent Communion
Nordvargr / Drakh / Klier - The Less You Know, The Better
Rome - Masse Mensch Material
III | The best compilations, mini- & live-albums
Invisible Front - Bombs Around My Head EP
Raison d'Être - The Luminous Experience (Live In Enschede 2008)
Erotic Morgue
Xabec - Transformed
V:28 - Total Reconstruction
VI | Let's go the movies
The Dark Knight
No Country for Old Men
[REC]
El Orfanato
The Mist
VII | Discovery of this
or any other
year
Irezumi
Discovery of former years which I discovered in 2008
Marek Zebrowski & David Lynch - Polish Night Music
David Lynch - The Air Is On Fire
Forma Tadre - Automate
François-Eudes Chanfrault - Computer Assisted Sunset
Rome
Deaf Machine
VIII | Non-gothtronic album
The Dark Knight OST
And a personal note:
2008 was an especially good year for making my own ‘dead.circuit’ music project more well-known. I’ve collaborated in various compilation albums and came in contact with a small Italian label, Alampo Records, who released my debut album, ‘Repressed Memory Therapy’. There was also a collaboration with Hypnoskull on his latest album, ‘Industrial Owes Us Money’. In 2009 I hope to meet the people of Alampo Records in person. I also hope to do more live stuff.
Gaby
I | The best albums of 2008
1. Dignity - Project Destiny
2. Sabaton - The Art of War
3. Alestorm - Captain Morgen’s Revenge
4. Waylander - Honour Amongst Chaos
5. Ayreon - 01011001
6. Eluveitie - Slania
7. Serenity - Fallen Sanctuary
8. Cradle of Filth - Godspeed on the Devil’s Thunder
9. Stormwarrior - Heading Northe
10. Avantasia - The Scarecrow
II | Most disappointing releases
1. Dantesco: Pagano
2. Magica: Wolves &Witches
3. Edguy: Tinnitus Sanctus (Hey Tobias, where did al the fantasy go..???)
III | The best compilations, mini- & live-albums
1. Iced Earth: The Crucible of Man (EP)
2. Gamma Ray: Hell Yeah!!! The Awesome Foursome; Live in Montreal
3. Alestorm: Leviathan (EP verscheind in januari 2009)
4. Thurisaz: Scent of a Dream (re-release)
IV | Best concerts
1. Sabaton at Wacken 2008
2. Promordial at Wacken 2008
3. Gamma Ray at the Hellish Rock tour in January 2008
4. Avantasia at Wacken 2008
5. Equilibrio at Vredenburg Utrecht
6. Ayreon at the Stairway to Heaven
V | Most disappointing concerts
That can only be Nightwish at Wacken 2008
VI | Let's go the movies
1. The Dark Night
2. Live: Live at the Paradiso (live dvd)
3. Mirrors
4. Dimmu Borgir: The Invaluable Darkness (live DVD)
VII | Discovery of this
or any other
year
1. Dream of an Opium Eater
2. Alestrorm!!
& also
1. Primordial
2. Einherjer (they will reunite and play at Wacken 2009)
VIII | Non-gothtronic album
Simply Red: The Greatest Hits
And a personal note:
2008 Was a great year. My boyfriend came living with me and brought his recording studio into my livingroom, hahaha!! It is great, being able to play his beautiful guitars.
But still I prefer I bass guitar. Another great thing is my band, although we take it easy, we still have lot’s of fun and hopefully we will be able to record some songs and who knows what else will happen. I look forward to 2009, because there will be some awesome gigs and I already have my Wacken 2009 ticked!
Wish you all the best for 2009!
Grauenhaft
I | The best albums of 2008
1. Enslaved - Vertebrae
2. Rome - Masse Mensch material
3. Keep of Kalessin - Kolossus
4. Dornenreich - In Luft Geritzt
5. Cult Of Luna - Eternal Kingdom
6. Coldworld - Melancholie²
7. Opeth - Watershed
8. Mourners Lament - Unbroken Solemnity
9. Isahn - Angl
10. Hollenthon - Opus Magnum / Khold - Hundre Ar Gammal
II | Most disappointing releases
Satyricon - The Age of Nero
III | The best compilations, mini- & live-albums
Agalloch - The White EP
Posthuman - Into The Void Demo
Endstille - Navigator RE
Bloodbath - Wacken Carnage Live
IV | Best concerts
in a somewhat weird sum-up ;-)
1. Primordial - Wacken Open Air
1. Enslaved - Burgerweeshuis
2. Negura Bunget - wacken open Air
2. Dream of an Opium Eater - Wacken Open Air
3. Sol Invictus - Summer Darkness
4. My Dying Bride - 013
4. Cinema Strange - Summer Darkness
5. Hollenthon - Waldrock
V | Most disappointing concerts
Satyricon – Waterfront, Rotterdam
Gorgoroth - Wacken Open Air
Killswith Engage - Wacken Open Air
Spiritual Front - Summer Darkness
VI | Let's go the movies
1. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
2. El Orfanato
3. There Will Be Blood
4. The Dark Knight
5. Sweeney Todd
VII | Discovery of this
or any other
year
Mourners Lament (Doom metal)
Iskald (Black metal)
Deathspell Omega - Kenose
Deathspell Omega - Fas, Ite Maledictie in Ignem Aeternum
Triarii - Piece Heroique
Metalocalypse (Bizarre death metal cartoon)
VIII | Non-gothtronic album
Jeugd van tegenwoordig - De Machine
Lykle
I | The best albums of 2008
1. The Arcane Order - In the Wake of Collisions
2. Seventh Wonder - Mercy Falls
3. Mercenary - Architect of Lies
4. Moonspell - Night Eternal
5. Burst - Lazarus Bird
6. Hail of Bullets - ...Of Frost and War
7. Benea Reach - Alleviat
8. Evergrey - Torn
9. Amaseffer - Slaves for Life
10. Zero Hour - Dark Deceiver
IV | Best concerts
1. Zero Hour (Prog Power, Sjiwa, Baarlo, 04.10.2008)
2. Threshold (Prog Power, Sjiwa, Baarlo, 05.10.2008)
3. Suffocation (Neurotic Deathfest, 013, Tilburg, 30.05.2008)
4. Asphyx (Neurotic Deathfest, 013, Tilburg, 30.05.2008)
5. At the Gates (Graspop, Dessel, 29.06.2008)
VII | Discovery of this
or any other
year
Newcomer of the year: Hail of Bullets (NL) & Amaseffer (int)
Not-so-newcomers: Seventh Wonder, Benea Reach, Mercenary, Gojira, Hacride, Threshold
VIII | Non-gothtronic album
Whitesnake - Good to be Bad
IX | 2009
Contract renewal at work (on its way), Wacken, Prog Power and a better girlfriend.
And a personal note:
New job, new apartment and the Prog Power festival.
Nick
I | The best albums of 2008
1. Felix Marc - Pathways
2. Leandra - Metamorphine
3. Untoten - Die Hexe
4. Imatem - Journey
5. Soko Friedhof - Wer Hat Angst Vor…
6. :wumpscut: - Schädling
7. Ice Ages - Buried Silence
8. Chandeen - Teenage Poetry
9. Colony 5 - Buried Again
10. Trümmerwelten - Psycho Tötungs Equipment
II | Most disappointing releases
Bauhaus - Go Away White
III | The best compilations, mini- & live-albums
1. The Crüxshadows - Immortal
2. Leandra - Noisy Awareness
3. Felix Marc - Give Back the Moments
4. Frozen Plasma - Tanz Die Revolution
5. Die Form - Her[t]z Frequenz
6. XMH - Led Manville remixes
7. NG-Pro - Star #9
8. Schwarzblut - Sehlenwolf
9. Das Ich - Kannibale
10. Welle:Erdball - Ich Bin aus Plastik
IV | Best concerts
1. Diary of Dreams at Amphi festival, Cologne
2. Sigue Sigue Sputnik at WGT, Leipzig
3. Clan of Xymox at Amphi festival, Cologne
4. Sophya at Atak, Enschede
5. Star Industry at WGT, Leipzig
VI | Let's go the movies
Clan of Xymox - Visible
VII | Discovery of this or any other year
Schwarzblut
Curious
Niels
I | The best albums of 2008
in no particular order, but with a lot of text
Evol intent - Era of Diversion
(so much more than just massive Drum & Bass, Middle of the night is one of my favourite tracks of the year!!)
Clark - Turning Dragon
(slamming beats, fat sounds, wicked edits… Clark at his best)
Metallica - Death Magnetic
(…..hunt you down all nightmare long!!!!!!!!)
Portishead - Third
(It took `m 10 years, but it was well worth the wait. The end of the world converted into music in “Machine Gun”.)
Pivot - O Soundtrack My Heart
(amazing surprise from Warp Records)
Yasushi Yoshida - Little Grace
Nas - Untitled
Hypnotizer - Everything is Nothing
Manufactura - Psychogenic fugue + A Damaged Symphony For Depraved Dementia N.2
II | Most disappointing releases
Squarepusher - Just a Souvenir
Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends
(the title song was great but the rest… hmzzzz)
III | The best compilations, mini- & live-albums
in no particular order
Noisia - FabricLive.40
Technical Itch - Technical Itch presents You need therapy
Symptoms vol.4 - Life Below 20Hz
(some shameless self promotion ?)
Mute. - A Single Chunk Of Preliminary Drama And The Truth About Pop music
(an actual 8cm mini-CD)
Anathema - Hindsight
Muse - H.A.A.R.P.
IV | Best concerts
Portishead @ HMH - Amsterdam
(The live version of Wandering stars send chills down my spine)
Rage Against the Machine @ Sportpaleis - Antwerpen
(A dream come true)
Rico & Sticks @ Watt - Rotterdam
(Even without Delic, they are still miles above everyone else)
Public enemy @ Watt - Rotterdam
(Oldschool!!!)
Happy Hardcore @ Outland - Rotterdam
(So many people singing, dancing and smiling….ahhh the good old days)
Sensation Black - Evil Activities (DJ set) @ Arena - Amsterdam
(seeing your buddy perform at the top of his game on the greatest dance event in the world is truly something special and never to forget.)
V | Most disappointing concerts
Nightwish @ HMH - Amsterdam
(by no means it was bad and Anette Olzon handled herself very well… but Nightwish just isn’t Nightwish anymore without Tarja… for me, she was what put them above all the other female vocal metal bands. A pity)
Korn @ HMH - Amsterdam
(Completely destroyed by the sound quality. How the hell could this happen in the HMH???)
VI | Let's go the movies
The absolute best…
À l'Intérieur (Inside)
(The French dropkicking the Japanese of the their throne in the horror/thriller genre. Masterpiece)
Låt den Rätte Komma In (Let the Right One in)
(a.k.a. the vampire movie that put al other vampire movies of the past few years to shame.)
And the rest….
[REC] (the new “blair witch” ???)
The Black Knight (doesn’t need any comment)
The Man from Earth
(Crappy acting, crappy filming …. crappy just about everything…. But so thought provoking and intriguing)
Juno
(I laughed my ass of…. magical performance by Ellen page and the rest of the cast)
Battlestar Galactica Season 4
(best sci-fi series period + aaarrrgghhhh…the agony of waiting for the final 10 episodes for over half a year…may dreadful doom and terror rain upon sci-fi channel)
Gone Baby Gone
(brilliant, constantly sweeping you of your feet with plot twist upon plot twist and a beautiful ending)
Cloverfield
(monster movie made incredibly believable and the best piece of viral marketing in the world to date.)
No Country For Old Men
(Anton Chigurh, storms into the top 10 most evil bad guys ever)
Shine a Light
(OMG…. without even noticing I almost stood up in the middle of the theater to clap at the end of the songs. Luckily I didn’t ….that would have been so embarrassing)
WALL.E
(Pixar just keeps getting better and better)
VII | Discovery of this or any other year
Evol Intent
Heart break
Kashiwa Daisuke - Program Music I.
(An album containing just 2 tracks both with an insane length. The first; “Stella” is 35 minutes of pure emotion and single-handedly the most overwhelming piece of art I have heard since discovering World’s End Girlfriend. Layer upon layer upon layer build up and around halfway through the track explodes into an euphoric climax which completely leaves me struck in awe every single time I listened to it.
PLeaaaaaaaaaaseeeee ….for the sake of humanity…go check this out??)
VIII | Non-gothtronic album
For albums see the first category…
Songwise… I really got to give some credit to “I Kissed a Girl” from Katy Parry…. Certainly the catchiest pop song of the year and then there was “Heartbreak’” with “We’re Back” which is just so ultimately gay it’s just freaking awesome.
Padraigh
I | The best albums of 2008
in alphabetical order
A Forest of Stars - The Corpse of Rebirth
Anathema - Hindsight
Black Lotus - Harvest of Seasons
Doom:vs - Dead Words Speak
Enslaved - Vertebrae
Forefather - Steadfast
Mgla - Groza
Opeth - Watershed
Serpentcult - Weight of Light
Taake - Taake
II | Most disappointing releases
Ásmegin - Arv
Death Angel - Killing Season
Iced Earth - The Crucible of Man
Týr - Land
Weihan - Symphonies of Divination
III | The best compilations, mini- & live-albums
Agalloch - The White (EP)
Crystal Viper - The Last Axeman (Best Of)
IV | Best concerts
Haggard at Ragnarök Festival V, Lichtenfels (Germany)
Arkona at Ragnarök Festival V, Lichtenfels (Germany)
The Vision Bleak/Negurã Bunget/Farsot at JC Todo, Best
Gama Bomb/Bonded by Blood at Willemeen, Arnhem
Forbidden/Novembers Doom at Dynamo, Eindhoven
V | Most disappointing concert
De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig at Hip Hop in Duketown, 's-Hertogenbosch
VI | Let's go the movies
Burn after Reading
The Dark Knight
Be Kind, Rewind
In Bruges
Machine Girl
VII | Discovery of this
or any other
year
Vandale - Stale Verhale / Schandale
Justice - Cross
Remco
I | The best albums of 2008
1. ASVA - What You Don't Know is Frontier
2. Aethenor - Betimes Black Cloudmasses
3. Bohren & Der Band of Gore - Dolores
4. Beyond Sensory Experience - No Light In Our Eyes
5. Birchville Cat Motel - Four Freckle Constellation
6. Grey Duturas - Return to Disruption
7. Kiss the Anus of a Black Cat - The Nebulous Dreams
8. Sutcliffe Jügend - Pig Daddy
9. TenHornedBeast/Marzuraan - Split
10. Unsane - Visqueen
III | The best compilations, mini- & live-albums
2008 appears to be a year of great re-releases so here’s a top 10 in alphabetic order:
01. Brighter Death Now - Necrose Evangelicum
02. Con Dom - The Eight Pillar
03. Frozen Faces - Broken Sounds of a Dying Culture
(However entirely different than the original release)
04. Inade - Aldebaran
05. Loop - Fade Out
06. Nadja - Touched
07. Necrophorus - Drifting in Motion
08. Njurmannen - Terror in the Dollhouse (Reality Adventures)
09. Sleep Research Facility - Nostromo
10. Zeni Geva - Maximum Money Monster
IV | Best concerts
Aethenor at Tibet's day Roadburn, Tilburg
Bohren at Paradiso Amsterdam
Current 93 at 013, Tilburg
Donné et Desiree at Onomatopee, Eindhoven
Stephan O'Malley at Bimhuis, Amsterdam
Optimus Prime Noise Fest Tilburg
Wooden Shjips - Kikker Utrecht
(met name de lichtshow-way out!)
V | Most disappointing concerts
Skitlive @ Tibet’s Day Roadburn
(Probably worst concert ever!)
Boris - Doornroosje
(Sounding like the Scorpions)
Seraphictine
I | The best albums of 2008
in no particular order
Portishead - Third
Solar Fake - Broken Grid
Tunes of Dawn - Of Tragedies in the Morning & Solutions in the Evening
Klangstabil - Math & Emotion
Untoten - Die Hexe (both albums)
Soko Friedhof - Wer Hat Angst Vor...
Uh Huh Her - Common Reaction
Crematory - Pray
Scream Silence - Apathology
The Cure - 4:13 Dream
Runner-ups:
Veljanov - Porta Macedonia
Eluveitie - Slania
Draconian - Turning Seasons Within
II | Most disappointing releases
I'll combine this with the next question: L'âme Immortelle's 'Namenlos' featured only one good track ('1000 Voices') and at their Amphi gig they totally succeeded in destroying every bit of magic in their older songs. Too bad, but after this year L'âme Immortelle isn't of my list of favourites anymore.
III | The 5 best compilations, mini- & live-albums
Patenbrigade:Wolff - Stalinallee
Ashbury Heights - Morningstar in a Black Car
Mute - Black Soup
(it’s a mini cd on an actual mini cd!)
Welle: Erdball - Ich bin aus Plastik
Und
Patenbrigade:Wolff - Demokratischer Sektor
Und
My Dying Bride - An Ode to Woe cd/dvd
IV | Best concerts
The Cure at Ahoy, Rotterdam
Portishead at Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam
Untoten & Soko Friedhof at K17, Berlin
Soko Friedhof at Amphi, Cologne
Scream Silence at Berlin
Covenant at Amphi, Cologne
Sticks & Rico (Opgezwolle) at Watt, Rotterdam
Draconian at Het Kasteel, Alphen a/d Rijn
Dune (dj set) at Outland, Rotterdam
V | Most disappointing concerts
Besides L'âme Immortelle I also lost the last bit of my interest in Nightwish. I didn’t like ‘Once’ that much already, and with Tarja leaving, the new album which wasn’t that great and a gig which just didn’t convince me I think it’s time to say farewell to Nightwish too.
VI | Let's go the movies
Only five movies? No way! Movie of the year is without doubt ‘Let the Right One in’, one of the best vampire flicks ever. My other favourites in no particular order:
Maar vijf films? Haha! Film van het jaar was zonder meer ‘Let the Right One in’, één van de beste vampieren films ooit. Mijn andere favorieten waren in random volgorde:
Der Baader Meinhof Complex, Persepolis, The Black Knight (the pencil joke was this years ultimate film-moment for me), Burn after reading, Wall-e (cuuuute!), Gone baby gone, Wristcutters: A love story, Juno, Inside (do not watch if you’re female and plan to have a baby soon), The Fall, El Orfanato (kids are scary), Cloverfield (before the cute frog-like monsters come out), Sweeney Todd, The Other Boleyn Girl, Lars and the Real Girl, [Rec.] (the Spanish one, please stop making crappy USA remakes of brilliant movies!), Sex and the City: The Movie (okay, movie-wise it wasn’t the best film ever, but it was definitely satisfying!) Das Leben der Anderen (yeah, I was a bit late with that one...).
Muziek: Covenant - In Transit & Within Temptation - Black Sympony &Muse - H.A.A.R.P.
TV: Dexter, Ugly Betty, Little Britain USA.
VII | Discovery of this
or any other
year
2008: GPKISM, Tunes of Dawn, Solar Fake, Heartbreak and Patenbrigade: Wolff.
And: Dust of Basement! I can't believe I totally missed out on them, they are perfect. And unfortunately no longer together :(
VIII | Non-gothtronic album
I'm not crazy about the whole album, but 'Disturbia' by Rhianna is one of the best songs (and videos) made this year. I also really liked ‘In and out of love’, the collaboration between Armin van Buuren and Sharon den Adel (Within Temptation).
X | Especially for Seraphictine, the “Best album that cannot be put in any category”
Anathema - Hindsight :)
sx-base
I | The best albums of 2008
1. Transmission - Sublimity
2. Gomer Pyle - Idiots Savants
3. Din A Tod - The Sound Of Crash
4. Woven Hand - Ten Stones
5. My Sleeping Karma - Sarya
6. Blood Red Shoes - Box Of Secrets
7. Stoa - Silmand
8. Aesthetic Perfection - A Violent Emotion
9. Amenra - Mass IIII
10. A Place To Bury Strangers - S/T
III | The best compilations, mini- & live-albums
1. V/A: Some Bizarre Double Album
2. V/A: Wierd II Compilation
3. V/A: A Man And A Machine
4. V/A: Goth is what you make it vol.7
5. V/A: Falling Down Compilation
IV | Best concerts
1. Combichrist at Amphi, Tanzbrunnen Cologne (D)
2. Les Tambours Du Bronx at Gothic festival, Waregem (B)
3. Amanda Palmer at 013, Tilburg (NL)
4. The Black Angels at Botanique, Brussel (B)
5. Amenra at Pukkelpop, Hasselt (B)
V | Most disappointing concerts
I erased them from my memory...
VII | Discovery of this
or any other
year
2008: Nothing discovered that gave me the creeps.
Eerder:
1. Rediscovery of SA 42 with their new album Transformation
2. Charles De Goal - Restructuration
VIII | Non-gothtronic album
The Gutter Twins - Saturnalia
And a personal note:
Musically, 2008 was certainly not a genious year for me. The music we got offered exceeded hardly the average and to discover musical pearls was the same as finding a needle in a haystack. It seems
to me that bands like to stress on their live-sound nowadays and they forget to put quality in stead of quantity into their productions. But of course, there are exceptions! But 2009 is a new year and we will start it with good hope for better to come.
Teknoir
I | The best albums of 2008
in no particular order
Innerpartysystem - Innerpartysystem
Hysteresis - Will + Representation
Woven Hand - Ten Stones
Amanda Palmer - Who Killed Amanda Palmer?
Anathema - Hindsight
Edo Notarloberti - Silent Prayers
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Sunday at Devil Dirt
Orplid - Greifenherz
Rome - Masse Mensch Material
Portishead - Third
Klangstabil - Math & Emotion
The Law-Rah Collective - Inspiration
Caprice - Kywitt! Kywitt!
Suicide Booth - Terror from the Sky
The Triple Tree - Ghosts
VI | Let's go the movies
Sweeney Todd
The Bucket List
Vantage Point
Batman: The Dark Knight
The X-Files: I Want to Believe
Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?
3:10 to Yuma
Babylon A.D.
Die Welle
Oorlogswinter
VII | Discovery of the year
Soap & Skin
A Place to Bury Strangers
VIII | Non-gothtronic album
Arsenal - Lotuk
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