6. ...And Oceans - "The Regeneration Itinerary"

It seems this year the albums that I have loved most have been those that display variance and eclecticism in the combinations and mergence of sound. This is yet another one that takes distinct genres and combines them to create a new cohesive whole. “The Regeneration Itinerary” is a highly ambitious and astonishingly diverse record. It successfully blends extreme black metal with symphonic, electronic, techno, and even folk elements. It refuses to sit still, and instead, it’s a hyperactive maelstrom of differing sounds that slam chaotically into each other. It is a highly immersive album, pulling the listener into an ever-shifting soundscape of fluctuating velocity and ferocity. The vocals also shape-shift randomly, moving from harsh to smooth without prior notification. It all builds into a simply extraordinary listener. A metal album unafraid to step out of metal's confines and unafraid to meddle with its constructs. Utterly incredible.