Compiled by Sofrito's Hugo Mendez, Haiti Direct is an amazing collection from Haiti's illustrious but sadly unsung musical history.

Nothin' But Blood is religious music for people who are too drunk and high to give a damn what God may think.

Moody moves away the deep soulful grooves that made his name and instead focuses on creating a new sound that, while retaining the breaks and drum machines that are his trademark, is now coloured with live instrumentation and Kenny's delightfully sleazy croon.

Instead of cowering, Behemoth have triumphantly returned with characteristic ugliness and chaos, though this is skillfully juxtaposed with a newfound delicacy.

With no shortage of hooks and crescendos, Wonderland continues to revel in the spirit of TTA, demonstrating more greatness by this industry anomaly.

Ethereal strings, guitar and softly humming bass arise in delicate arrangements around them.

Sure, there are more awesome parts on Wolves Within than you can shake a (drum) stick at, but so too are there plenty of misplaced ones.

Oblique's songs are intricately woven into a dark, discordant tapestry, alternating between longer, more atmospheric songs and straight-up destructive doom.

Celeste put out a sludgy doom-inflected black metal record; this year, Indian turned the equation on its head and put out a blackened doom record, that's equally depraved, nihilistic, and crucial for any fan of truly heavy music.

The depth of Cantrell's songwriting is best appreciated the second or third time around, once you're over the sheer prettiness of her voice.

Essentially a pared down version of last year's singles box set--minus the singles, of course, and with a couple of additional tracks--it brings together acoustic takes on old favourites, a handful of covers and a muddy live cut.

An easy listen it isn't, but Ghettoville is full of such textural subtlety, rubbed-raw sound design and spatial aural play that it will leave you somewhat discombobulated yet curious for more.

Songwriters Brendan Kelly and Chris McCaughan are in peak form and are far too self-aware to fall into that old trap; they know better than to chase capricious youth.

Not only is Steppington the first must-own rap record of 2014, but it represents freedom for its makers.

Sure, they sound more focused and professional on Do Not Engage, but they have done that on every album they've released.

What Trouble lacks in focus, it largely makes up for with ambition and dexterity.

No matter how many times Dee Dee alludes to heartbreak and ritualistic evil, Too True is a joyful career pinnacle.

Although Köhncke may have released stronger singles in the past, Justus Köhncke & the Wonderful Frequency Band stands as his most all-around complete full-length to date.

The record is much more interested in problems than problem-solving, and that's what marks its maturity.

Here's one of the best records you'll hear in 2014.

Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light On Everything is the most personal outcry of righteous indignation they've mustered. The result is something for a broader audience of like-minded people constantly muttering 'What the fuck?' at the world at large to connect with.

As tracks like the bombastic slow jam "Ascension" and the Drive soundtrack cast-off "Disclosure" add a bit of auditory depth to the album, much of Chiaroscuro runs at a dreary autopilot pace.

Overall it's the atmosphere that haunts the album that will stick with you, assuredly.

Once adjusted to the band's change in dynamics, you're left with the distinct feeling that this is perhaps their most engrossing effort since the Young Team's debut.

Though Alcest have left the majority of their metal signifiers behind, they've discovered another kind of heaviness via gorgeous, shimmering melodies.

There are, unfortunately, a few songs that just don't connect, and when the album ends you're left feeling a bit unsatisfied, which is rare for this band. But it's still a great, short, raw blast of a melodic punk album.

While it may lack the sustained ear-catching excellence of Kings and Queens, South is another solid addition to what is now one of the strongest discographies in Canadian roots music.

This reissue of the first two Bottle Rockets albums from '93 and '94 brings back with startling clarity how in tune Henneman was with the times, lyrically foreshadowing the decline of the middle class amid the rise of urban sprawl and taking well-aimed shots at unchecked racism and political correctness, all while leading his band like Warren Zevon fronting Crazy Horse.