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[Best & Worst ’12] Jonny Picks His Top 10 Albums Of 2012

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And so another year comes to a close. 2012, just like any other year, you had your gems and you had your flops when it came to album releases. For this article, I’d like to give you my Top 10 albums of 2012 as well as several honorable mentions that didn’t exactly make the cut but were too good to leave unmentioned. So, read on to see my Top 10 Albums Of 2012!

Make sure to check out my worst 5 albums here.

JONNY’S TOP 10 OF 2012

10. Lamb Of GodResolution (Jan. 24th, Epic Records)

Clocking in at #10 is Lamb Of God‘s Resolution, one of the earliest releases this year. What you have here is one incredibly catchy, groovy album with blistering metal riffs every which way you turn. The possibility that this might also be the last LoG album unintentionally makes it that much more fierce and immediate.

9. GojiraL’Enfant Sauvage (June 26th, Roadrunner Records)

The French extreme metal masters proved once again that they very well might be the future of metal. L’Enfant Sauvage is a punishing wall of intensity that walks that fine line between noise and beauty.

8. Petter CarlsenClocks Don’t Count (June 12th, Function Records)

This album would’ve slipped completely under my radar had I not seen Anathema make a post about how singer Vincent Cavanagh did guest vocals on one of the tracks. Listening to it, I found a gorgeous, rich album that shines as one of the best melancholic rock albums I’ve ever heard. If nothing else, the song “Even Dead Things Feel Your Love” would’ve landed Clocks Don’t Count on this list.

7. Carina RoundTigermending (May 8th, Dehisce Records)

Another sonically diverse album that blends infectious rhythms with some heartbreaking moments of beauty, Tigermending is a journey that is wonderfully narrated by Carina Round and her stunning vocals.

6. MeshuggahKoloss (Mar. 27th, Nuclear Blast Records)

If it’s sheer blistering, melt-your-face-off metal, there was no better album released this year than Koloss. The Swedish tech metal founders have once again proven their status as titans.

5. Bat For LashesThe Haunted Man (Oct. 22nd, Capitol Records)

One of the late releases of the year, The Huanted Man is nothing short of stunning. Bat For Lashes Natasha Kahn knows exactly when to fill the landscape with a wealth of instruments and when to dial everything back to the bare necessities. This is one of those albums that you put on and don’t touch a thing. Just sit back and enjoy.

4. The GatheringDisclosure (Oct. 2nd, Dismanic Distribution)

This album slipped past me, only recently landing in my hands. But once I started listening to it, I couldn’t stop. It’s mixture of rock, pop, and electronic, all sprinkled with a sense of nostalgia and sadness. Oh, and I have to say how much I love that horns are used on this album. The first time I heard them, I was taken completely aback. It was so unexpected and yet fit so well. Now, I kinda want more horns on everything I hear.

3. DeftonesKoi No Yokan (Nov. 13th, Reprise Rcords)

The most recent release of the year is also one of the best. Koi No Yokan is Deftones at their strongest, mixing rich melodies with crushing distortion, all held together by singer Chino Moreno’s commanding voice. This release only proved how unstoppable Deftones really are.

2. KatatoniaDead End Kings (Aug. 28th, Peaceville Records)

Much like Koi No Yokan, Dead End Kings is an album that mixes incredible melodies over fierce, vicious distortion. However, there is something about Katatonia that draws me in that little bit more. This album simply resonates with me on a deeper level.

1. AnathemaWeather Systems (Apr. 24th, The End Records)

Something about Weather Systems grabbed me more fiercely than any other album this year and hasn’t let go since. From the opening acoustic notes of “Untouchable Pt. 1” to the ethereal fade out of “Internal Landscapes”, Anathema crafted an album that is a celebration of life. In my eyes, this album has already earned the status of “timeless”.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Storm CorrosionStorm Corrosion (May 8th, Roadrunner Records)

This prog masterpiece from Porcupine Tree‘s Steven Wilson and Opeth‘s Mikael Akerfeldt is a throwback to the glorious 70’s era progressive rock. Sinister and daunting, it’s a difficult album to “get” on the first try. But subsequent listens prove how intense and thrilling this album can be.

Stolen BabiesNaught (Sept. 18th, No Comment Records)

This album is insane, twisted, nightmarish, and unbelievable amounts of fun.

The Birthday MassacreHide And Seek (Oct. 9th, Metropolis Records)

I love this band and this album only added to that feeling. Infectious electronic rock with innocently sweet vocals, it’s well worth owning.

Twitch The RipperColorblind (Aug. 14th, Metropolis Records)

Like I’ve said before, I have an unabashed love of the 80’s and the electronic pop that filled that decade. Colorblind hit that era and gave it a modern feel that simply made the music all that much more glorious.

BaronessYellow & Green (July 17th, Relapse Records)

While not what many Baroness fans were expecting to hear, Yellow & Green is still a fantastic piece of melodic hard rock. Songs like “March To The Sea” and “Little Things” get my blood pumping while “Eula” is one of the most arresting “ballads” (their words) I’ve heard in years.

GarbageNot Your Kind Of People (May 22nd, Stunvolume Records)

I don’t think anybody was expecting Garbage‘s return to music to be as strong as it was. This album blew me off my feet and I still shake my head in disbelief when I think of how the band still has “it” after all these years.

Daniel LichtSilent Hill: Downpour OST (March 13th, Milan Records)

Daniel Licht blew me away with this soundtrack. While the game had it’s flaws (that freakin’ combat!!!), one thing that it had plenty of was atmosphere. This was largely in part thanks to Licht’s phenomenal original score that breathed new life into what I felt was a dying series. I still listen to this soundtrack any time I’m driving in the rain or the rare foggy day rolls in.

Got any thoughts/questions/concerns for Jonathan Barkan? Shoot him a message on Twitter or on Bloody-Disgusting!

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

LEPRECHAUN

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

LEPRECHAUN RETURNS sequel

Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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