#6 Priestess – Prior to the Fire

This one was a long time coming, almost four years in fact, and it blew every expectation I had right out of the water. After releasing their debut, Hello Master, Priestess was rolling quietly along until everything exploded; they signed to a major label, toured with some of the biggest bands in the biz, received increased radio airplay, and lent songs to smash hit video games. Fame, however, didn’t change them. In fact, they steered so clear of a commercial sound on Prior to the Fire that their label wouldn’t put it out. So that delayed things a bit, but Priestess finally found another way to release the album and despite the brilliance and success of Hello Master, there’s no doubt that Prior to the Fire is the album Priestess had always wanted to make. Stoner rock, progressive rock, classic rock, heavy metal…it’s all riffs and it’s all here in full bearded surround sound glory. And it’s completely perfect. This is my band, no doubt about it.

Listen to “The Firebird” from Prior to the Fire!

#5 Porcupine Tree – The Incident

It would be pretty much impossible for me to tell you who my favourite band of all time is, but if I was faced with the whole desert island scenario and was only allowed to have one band’s discography at my disposal, this would be the band. My love for Mark Lanegan is overshadowed by only one other singer/songwriter and that’s PT’s Steven Wilson, whose brilliance is unparalleled. Anything he touches (from side projects to producing) is always amazing. PT is a music nerd’s wet dream, an underground phenomenon with a cult following, their discography is expansive and eclectic, and they’ve created a unique, recognizable image with the help of artist Lasse Hoile. Every single thing they do, from songs to videos to packaging to live shows, is pure art, and not since the 70s has such care and thought been put into the album as an entity. Geez, look at me going on and on. I haven’t even got to the double-album The Incident yet. But really, there’s not much I can say. It’s brilliant. Their albums always are. And as before, The Incident plays with pre-conceived notions of genre like it’s a fetus in a mason jar and the result is the most mesmerizing, progressive, complex beauty you’ve ever heard.

Check out the video for “Time Flies” (which has been cut down from over 11:00 to just over 5:00) from The Incident!