'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!
by Godspeed You! Black Emperor

'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! by Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Year: 2012
Release date: 2012-10-15
Overall rank: 1,022nd   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
80/100 (from 417 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 20 albums of 2012 (14th)
Award Top albums of of the 2010s (145th)
Award Best albums of all time (1,022nd)

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Godspeed You! Black Emperor bestography

'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! is ranked 4th best out of 10 albums by Godspeed You! Black Emperor on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Godspeed You! Black Emperor is Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven which is ranked number 93 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 12,174.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor album bestography « Higher ranked (772nd)
Slow Riot For New Zerø Kanada
This album (1,022nd)
'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!
Lower ranked (1,444th) »
Yanqui U.X.O.

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

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'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 82 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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#
Track
Rating/Comments
1.
Track pick (880 - 111 votes)
Average Rating: 88 (111 votes)Comments: View 3
3.
Track pick (860 - 101 votes)
Average Rating: 86 (101 votes)Comments: View 0

Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! rankings

'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! rankings summary
Overall rank: 1,022nd | 2010s rank: 145th | 2012 rank: 14th  Overall chart history
(Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). (Last updated: 6 hours ago).
Filter Filter
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YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026pinkfreud1981Top 100 Music Albums of the 2010s30/10014
2026 ssteveTop 57 Music Albums of 20124/575
2026cicadelicBlow Up Critics Playlist 20126/50 -
2026 ExTeaSeaTop 88 Music Albums of 201241/883
2026cicadelicPretty Much Amazing's 60 Best Albums of 201221/60 -
2026 EyeKanFlyTop 67 Music Albums of 201227/673
2026 AAL2014Top 53 Music Albums of 201210/534
2026HyggevinylTop 53 Music Albums of 201212/534
2026bonnequestionTop 23 Music Albums of 201210/233
2026jackharrison21Top 100 Greatest Music Albums42/10056
2026 LedZepTop 50 Music Albums of 201220/503
2026cicadelicGod Is In The TV 100 Albums of 201230/100 -
2026cicadelicScream & Yell TOP 25 DISCOS DE 2012 – INTERNACIONAL17/25 -
2026 imacgillTop 100 Music Albums of 201232/1003
2026Exist-en-cielTop 100 Music Albums of 201224/1004
2026bonnequestionBest Canadian Albums67/100 -
2026cicadelicTop 100 Music Albums of the 2010s86/1003
2026 Graeme2Top 100 Music Albums of the 2010s17/10017
2026JohnnyoAlbums of the year 2012 by Obscure Sound7/50 -
2026 NowhereManTop 18 Music Albums of 20129/183
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 343
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 1,705
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! collection

'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! ratings

Average Rating: 
80/100 (from 417 votes)
  Ratings distribution Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album.  | Show all 417 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
80/100
 !
07/13/2026 13:39 liquidbottle  Ratings distribution  77582/100
 
85/100
 !
05/26/2026 15:43 Milhaud  Ratings distribution  2,10071/100
 
90/100
 !
04/25/2026 23:19 Robert Anton Wil  Ratings distribution  1,14984/100
 
75/100
 !
03/27/2026 13:43 Tamthebam  Ratings distribution  23,18669/100
 
65/100
 !
03/16/2026 11:56 Dingerbell  Ratings distribution  4,10962/100

Rating metrics: Help Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album is rated in the top 2% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 79.6/100, a mean average of 79.1/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 79.8/100. The standard deviation for this album is 13.1.


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'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 17 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

I was tempted to bend the record sleeve in order to squeeze it into a dust jacket but I eventually got it in there towards the end of side A1, thereby succeeding in not bending but ascending to the enviable spiritually enlightened state of having this record in a dust jacket. Of course I was then almost forced to proclaim, "HALLE-FUCKING-LU-YAH." My life is therefore basically complete and I can die happy as the only person who truly understands this album's title while simultaneously also attaining the probable title of "Only Person Ever to Actually Get This Album In A Dust Jacket." For real, the only records I can think of that were more of a pain to protect than this were Titus Andronicus's quadruple LP "The Most Lamentable Tragedy," and Nick Cave's "Skeleton Tree." Even 2pac's quadruple lp, "All Eyez on Me" was easier from what I recall. I do refuse to so much as open "Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper" though, so this will likely, eventually "ONLY" be my 4th hardest LP to squeeze into a dust jacket out of about 900 records. And it's not even a double. Wrap your head around that bullshit.

That's essentially all you need to know about this album and I hope/know it was a very helpful comment. Okay, I'm sorry. Please forgive me and tell me if you know of any brand of dust jackets bigger than the Vinyl Styl brand.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 10/16/2022 05:46 | #290517
Side two is one of the best things to come out this year.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 01/12/2020 13:46 | #246770
Something else indeed. Wonderful.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 11/08/2017 04:32 | #200966
Just as good as LYSF and F#A#.., this one is not to be dismissed. Mladic might be my favorite Godspeed track
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 09/29/2017 04:17 | #198872
Mladic was amazing, the rest was OK
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 09/13/2015 03:50 | #149626
I don't expect these guys to ever surpass what they did on LYSFLATH, that would just be an unreasonable expectation. But I do think this is their second best.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
That's what you call talent. They wouldn't be able to make a bad record even if they tried.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 11/24/2013 17:38 | #94352
Love this. Different I think from their other stuff. Great comeback. Wish I could see them live! Love the way mladic builds from the spacemen3 jam then the bass kicks in and then that riff! Amazing production.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
This entire album is instrumental and it’s post-rock at its absolute best. It’s tough to explain this album, it has almost immeasurable depth and breadth, like listening to a beautifully crafted symphony. If you’re familiar with the band Explosions In The Sky, then you’re familiar with this type of music. It is absolutely beautiful, the kind of music that you turn on loudly, lay down and meld into, losing yourself in the music. It’s amazing and I highly recommend it. It’s probably their best album since “Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven". There aren’t really highlights that I can list either, as this is an album that needs to be listened to all the way through, though I will say the first track, “Mladic", is absolutely amazing.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
This should be at least in the top 10...
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

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