MetalReviews

Awards 2012

11 reviewers shared their picks for 2012.

← 2011 2013 →

Chris

Top Albums

  1. 1.
    Wintersun - Time I — While expectations where high and maybe the album lacks content, Sons of Winter and Stars is the best song of all the known universes AFAIK :)
  2. 2.
    Eclipse - Bleed and Scream — One of the best Hard Rock albums of all time, enough said !
  3. 3.
    Freedom Call - Land of the Crimson Dawn — Some might find it too cheesy, but to accuse Freedom Call to be cheesy is not understanding the band nor style they play. A grandiose album that gets better with each and every listen !
  4. 4.
    Asia - XXX — A masterpiece from a classic band
  5. 5.
    H.E.A.T - Address The Nation — Who said Hard-Rock is dead ? Listen to this album and you'll understand that it's still alive and kicking :)
  6. 6.
    Iron Fire - Voyage of the Damned — It's not every day you can drastically change your style and still come on top, Iron Fire's new opus is a true tour-de-force, congrats !
  7. 7.
    Herman Frank - Right in the Guts — Awesome album from the Guitar player of Accept, playing something more Melodic Metal with a great collection of songs
  8. 8.
    Jimi Jamison - Never Too Late — AOR done right !
  9. 9.
    Accept - Stalingrad — Another great release from the masters of Heavy Metal, it's so great that this band can still deliver albums of this caliber after so many years !
  10. 10.
    Rage - 21 — Another Rage album, another grand album, enough said, Rage doesn't know how to fail, one of the most underrated bands (they should be as famous as Metallica imho), EXTREMELY productive band, that release killer albums for decades... Except one or two sub-par release, Rage almost always consistently delivers killer material, this album is no exception
  11. 11.
    Dragonforce - The Power Within — A great album, new singer isn't all that but fits the band well, and I like the new, less busy sound. The music breathes in this new opus and gives us something a little different but still great at the same time
  12. 12.
    Kamelot - Silverthorn — It may not top Black Halo or Karma, but it's the best thing since, the last two albums have been utter disappointment for me, so it's good to see Kamelot on the right path again. I miss Khan but the new singer is pretty good !
  13. 13.
    Sabaton - Carolus Rex — Still waiting for Sabaton to make a bad album :), Carolus Rex is a great album, and I was thoroughly impressed with it, however I must admit I rarely listen to it now...

Surprises of the Year

  1. 1.
    Crimson Shadows - Glory on the Battlefield — Probably my favorite album of the year, an amazing surprise and the beginning hopefully of a great career for this awesome Canadian band
  2. 2.
    Mercury Falling - Into The Void — A great new contender in the Power / Prog category
  3. 3.
    Die From Sorrow - Journey of Sadness — Excellent Chinese melodeath, a true surprise, review to come...

Disappointments

  1. 1.
    Gotthard - Firebirth — While it's a goodish album, I really expected more...
  2. 2.
    Ensiferum - Unsung Heroes — I might have been a little harsh with them but after the fantastic From Afar, an album that proved that Ensiferum can stand tall without Jari, well this is utterly disappointing. Bad timing to try and experiment imho....

Joke of the Year

  1. 1.
    Running Wild - Shadowmaker — The worse album from the band, some good ideas but an awful production, clearly an album to cash-in that tarnishes the image of Running Wild in my eyes.

Words / Final Thoughts

  1. 0
    — 2012 has been a good year metal-wise. I don't have much else to say, except I'm looking forward to 2013, and it started incredible with Helloween's newest album ! I look forward to the part II of Wintersun's Time, hoping it won't be delayed to 2014 ! I also hope to hear a new album from Crimson Shadows though that's probably wishful thinking. But who knows :). I also hope the new Avantasia album will be good, I'm not excepting a contender of the first two Avantasia, these days are gone, and I really hope Tobias will make more Power Metal releases like he did, and why not re-record Vain Glory Opera with an opera, and a better production. But also wishful thinking on my part I'm sure. I wish you all a wonderful 2013 Metal year !

Danny

Top Albums

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 4.
    Orden Ogan - To the End — Hell, what took me so long to discover Joe ?!?
  6. 5.
  7. 6.
  8. 7.
  9. 8.
  10. 9.
  11. 10.
  12. 11.
  13. 12.
    Bloodbound - In The Name Of Metal
  14. 13.
  15. 14.
  16. 14.
    Kiss - Monster — Giant Monster.
  17. 15.

Surprises of the Year

  1. 1.
    Joe Bonamassa - Driving Towards The Daylight — What took me so long to discover Joe ?!
  2. 2.
  3. 2.
    Sunstorm - Emotional Fire — Almost as good as Asia.
  4. 3.
    Blessed By A Broken Heart - Feel The Power — Title tells everything
  5. 4.
    Tank - War Nation — NWOBHM at its best. Who said Saxon?
  6. 4.
  7. 4.
    Victorius - The Awakening — And almost pass like it never exist. Released in October guys !!!
  8. 5.
  9. 5.
    Tank - War Nation — NWOBHM at its best. Who said Saxon?

Disappointments

  1. 1.
    No new Metallica album. We are dying since 2008. FIVE YEARS !!! — Enough - 2013 shall be !!
  2. 2.
    Running Wild - Shadowmaker — Actually I like it, just this is not a Running Wild album, this is a Giant X one. Wrong casting, ugly wrong casting !!!!!
  3. 3.
    Firewind - Few Against Many — Hey, its still good, but Gus has done much better in the past. Yellow card as we say in soccer.
  4. 4.
    Grave Digger - Clash of the Gods — Ouffff, what happend?
  5. 5.
    Gotthard - Firebirth — Steve, we miss you. Good stuff, but ...

Joke of the Year

  1. 1.
    Running Wild - Shadowmaker — By far !!!!
  2. 2.
    Steve Harris - British Lion — Ok, I gave it one shot only. Still, a good joke. Aaaah the music industry.
  3. 3.
    Manowar - The Lord of Steel — Ah this bass .... that kills a superb album. Who said St- Anger.
  4. 4.
    Ensiferum - Unsung Heroes — Unsung for sure ...
  5. 5.
    Axxis - ReDISCOver(ed) — Their worst idea since ... Voodoo Vibes.

Words / Final Thoughts

  1. 0
    — Long LIVE Heavy Music Stuff. Period.

Alex

Top Albums

  1. 1.
    Therion - Les Fleurs du Mal — Call me crazy, but I think this was one hell of an effort
  2. 2.
    Khors - Wisdom of Centuries — And now to my Ukrainian picks of the year ... they did not disappoint, both Khors and Munruthel, I could just switch places b/t these two
  3. 3.
    Munruthel - CREEDamage — See the comment for Khors
  4. 4.
    Wolfbrigade - Damned — Energy brimming to the top in this grindcore package
  5. 5.
    Pale Divine - Painted Windows Black — Heavy and beautiful
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
    Dreaming Dead - Midnightmares — Putting both death and melodic in the same sentence properly
  8. 8.
    My Dying Bride - A Map Of All Our Failures — I felt total connection with this album
  9. 9.
    Superchrist - Holy Shit — Once in a while, when my mood is right, I can have a softer side
  10. 10.
    Vintersorg - Orkan — The comeback is on, right?
  11. 11.
    Lacrimosa - Revolution — Metal or not, I am a fan, and not ashamed of it
  12. 12.
    Accept - Stalingrad — There is still gun powder in these old bags
  13. 13.
    Les Discrets - Ariettes Oubliées — I liked this better than Alcest, but the latter Les Voyages De L'Ame deserves to be mentioned here (a clever way to use 1 slot to list two albums)
  14. 14.
    Altar of Oblivion - Grand Gesture of Defiance — Significant jump forward for this Danish crew
  15. 15.
    Black Messiah - The Final Journey — Significantly better than I thought it would be, melodies are infectious

Surprises of the Year

  1. 1.
    A Sound of Thunder - Out of the Darkness — My "discovery of the year" classic heavy metal band
  2. 2.
    Windfaerer - Solar — Melodic black metal with some folky touches
  3. 3.
    Lahmia - Into the Abyss — In the year when Dark Tranquillity does not release an album, this was solid melodic death metal
  4. 4.
    Dawnbringer - Into the Lair of the Sun God — Could have been #15 in the alist above, but I got it a spot here
  5. 5.
    Heidevolk - Batavi — I am surprised myself that I am following these folks

Disappointments

  1. 1.
    Witchcraft - Legend — I could not put Firewood down, this is no Firewood
  2. 2.
    Korpiklaani - Manala — Creative crisis? But the live show I saw this year was great
  3. 3.
    Wodensthrone - Curse — Loss had me in tears
  4. 4.
    Grand Magus - The Hunt — Not as bad as some say, but not their best either
  5. 5.

Joke of the Year

  1. 1.

Aleksie

Top Albums

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
    Neal Morse
  4. 3.
    Neal Morse - Momentum — America’s prog rock master supreme keeps up the equally supreme work no matter how busy he keeps with his solo albums. A whirlwind of instru-mental ownage coupled with bursts of catchy melodies that will put their hooks in you should you give them the chance.
  5. 4.
  6. 5.
  7. 6.
  8. 7.
  9. 8.
    Overkill
  10. 8.
    Overkill - The Electric Age — East Coast thrash veteran Overkill revived its fortunes with the Ironbound-album a few years back and the follow up The Electric Age keeps that engine running hot and very heavy. Guitar riffs wield by like a swarm of flying scythes why the rhythms are kept appropriately brutal. Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth’s throat-maiming vocals are still among the most evil in the business. Mosh-tastic.
  11. 9.
    De Lirium’s Order
  12. 9.
    De Lirium’s Order - Veniversum — Downright sublime technical death metal with aggression as much as melody and wicked playing chops as much as raw animal ferocity. The harsh roars are great and the occasional clean vocals bring awesome dynamics. Their previous album Diagnosis was already a superb offering of Necroticism/Heartwork-era Carcass mixed in with their own stylings. Veniversum progresses from there with considerable leaps and in my books, makes this troupe easily the best death metal band that Finland has to offer these days.
  13. 10.
  14. 11.
  15. 12.
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  17. 14.
  18. 15.

Surprises of the Year

  1. 1.
    Standing Ovation
  2. 1.
    Standing Ovation - The Antikythera Mechanism — Easily my personal surprise of the year. Totally off-the-wall, cooky progressive metal with twisted laughter fills and instrumental zaniness to spare. Perhaps not for the weak of heart but for anyone interested in the entertaining sonic side of metal, a must-hear.
  3. 2.
    Oddland
  4. 2.
    Oddland - The Treachery of Senses — Progressive metal of an intriguingly modern variety. It’s got the kind of rhythmic angularity and quirkiness that Meshuggah branded in days gone by but they make things decidedly more melodic and occasionally atmospheric. All clean vocals so the grunt-factor isn’t there either. A seriously promising troupe of monsters of their instruments and a good start towards a sound of their own.
  5. 3.
  6. 3.
    Beyond the Bridge - The Old Man and the Spirit — Holy progfest, Batman! Another great surprise name with excellent chops combined with an ear for melodies.
  7. 4.
    Antagonist Zero
  8. 4.
    Antagonist Zero - Doomed
  9. 4.
    Humangod - Dead Water — Getting tired of the progressivity yet? Sorry, but Humangod’s notably traditional, mix of Dream Theater/Shadow Gallery/Symphony X-style prog metal with plenty of melodies and instrumental widdlyness makes for a very commendable and promising EP. I mean hell, the disc has 2 songs, both over 10 minutes long that do not get boring. These guys take their prog seriously.
  10. 5.
    Psychema – The Entry Point
  11. 5.
    Antagonist Zero - Doomed — Hodgepodge of doomy post/death/dark metal + melodies too.

Disappointments

  1. 1.
    Storm Corrosion - Storm Corrosion — Easily and by far the biggest disappointment of the year. Drag Ropes was a great appetizer and still a great song - the only one on this record. Maybe leave the red-wine-jams-and-sound-effect-noodling onto the demo reels and craft songs.
  2. 2.
    Lamb of God - Resolution — A good record with definite highlights, but I'd be lying if I wasn't expecting much better.
  3. 3.
    Suicidal Angels - Bloodbath — Again, good album, not as much as I had hoped for.

Joke of the Year

  1. 1.
    Several Union - Awake From The Game — To be fair, more precisely that Aerosmith-cover tune amidst the originals...just absolutely dreadful.

Words / Final Thoughts

  1. 0
    — Awesome year for heavy metal all across the genre board. Let it flow as good if not better in 2013! Keep it heavy! -AA-

Goat

Top Albums

  1. 1.
    Rush - Clockwork Angels — It could only be the Canadians. Another amazing album from the best band in the world.
  2. 2.
    The Gathering - Disclosure — I worried, but I needn't have. The Dutch band have made a new masterpiece, a beautiful album that I will be playing for years and that I nearly put first...
  3. 3.
    Elysian Blaze - Blood Geometry — The most arresting atmospheric experience of the year, Elysian Blaze have set the bar higher for black metal.
  4. 4.
    Enslaved - RIITIIR — Norwegian's finest blacksmiths release another masterpiece.
  5. 5.
    Sigh - In Somniphobia — Japan's most mentalist black metal band, at their best.
  6. 6.
    Sigh - In Somniphobia — Japan's most mentalist black metal band, at their best.
  7. 6.
    High on Fire - De Vermis Mysteriis — Pike and co's heavy metal thunder continues to enthral.
  8. 7.
    High on Fire - De Vermis Mysteriis — Pike and co's heavy metal thunder continues to enthral.
  9. 7.
    Cattle Decapitation - Monolith Of Inhumanity — Incredible album, death/grind perfection.
  10. 8.
    Candlemass - Psalms For The Dead — Genuinely perplexed at the poor reaction to this, a brilliant slice of doom from the masters.
  11. 8.
    Cattle Decapitation - Monolith Of Inhumanity — Incredible album, death/grind perfection.
  12. 8.
    A Forest Of Stars - A Shadowplay For Yesterday — British black metal continues to go from strength to strength
  13. 9.
    Cattle Decapitation - Monolith Of Inhumanity — Incredible album, death/grind perfection.
  14. 9.
    Candlemass - Psalms For The Dead — Genuinely perplexed at the poor reaction to this, a brilliant slice of doom from the masters.
  15. 10.
    A Forest Of Stars - A Shadowplay For Yesterday — British black metal continues to go from strength to strength
  16. 10.
    My Dying Bride - A Map Of All Our Failures — A compelling and weighty tome of doom from the masters that gets better with every listen.
  17. 11.
    My Dying Bride - A Map Of All Our Failures — A compelling and weighty tome of doom from the masters that gets better with every listen.
  18. 11.
    Meshuggah - Koloss — Catchy and immediate, crushing and powerful, Koloss is an awesome statement of intent from Meshuggah.
  19. 12.
    Meshuggah - Koloss — Catchy and immediate, crushing and powerful, Koloss is an awesome statement of intent from Meshuggah.
  20. 12.
    Gorod - A Perfect Absolution — Not quite as good as the album before, but still top-notch death metal.
  21. 13.
    Gorod - A Perfect Absolution — Not quite as good as the album before, but still top-notch death metal.
  22. 13.
    Nachtmystium - Silencing Machine — A crushing album that gets better on every listen.
  23. 14.
    In Mourning - The Weight Of Oceans — Big, bold, epic melodic death loveliness.
  24. 15.
    Asphyx - Deathhammer — This is true death metal, you bastards!

Surprises of the Year

  1. 1.
    Abigail Williams - Becoming — Swapping the deathcore elements in their sound to turn atmospheric, Abigail Williams proved their talent here.
  2. 1.
    Cult of Fire - Triumvirát — Czech black metal is alive and roaring! Expecting great things from this band in the future.
  3. 2.
    Cult of Fire - Triumvirát — Czech black metal is alive and roaring! Expecting great things from this band in the future.
  4. 2.
    Abigail Williams - Becoming — Swapping the deathcore elements in their sound to turn atmospheric, Abigail Williams proved their talent here.
  5. 3.
    Torche - Harmonicraft — Thunderous pop metal sure to put a grin on your face. It certainly did mine.
  6. 4.
    Hung - Hung — A pleasant surprise, I look forward to this band going from strength to strength.
  7. 5.
    She Said Destroy - Bleeding Fiction (EP) — Woo! More material from an excellent band that I'd pretty much forgotten about. Won't be doing so again!

Disappointments

  1. 1.
    Burzum - Umskiptar — After two very good comeback albums from Varg, I felt he dropped the ball a little here.
  2. 2.
    Storm Corrosion - Storm Corrosion — That's it? Expected more from such a collaboration.
  3. 3.
    Drudkh - Eternal Turn Of The Wheel — It's not bad, but nor is it great. "Boringly competent" sums it up well.
  4. 4.
    Lamb of God - Resolution — The sound of a band running on empty, Randy and co are going to have to do something very interesting to pique my attention again...
  5. 5.
    Ministry - Relapse — Was generous to this at the time, but it did make me wonder whether Al wouldn't be better off putting the band back on hold...

Words / Final Thoughts

  1. 0
    — Not a bad one, all in all. Found it hard to pick albums for the 'joke' category, which either suggests I missed a lot or the year was a good one!

Charles

Top Albums

  1. 1.
    Stagnant Waters - Stagnant Waters — Haha. Damn right I put Stagnant Waters at number one. This is exactly what you would hope a mixture of DHG, Lugubrum, Shining (Norwegian version) and Virus would sound like.
  2. 2.
    Witch Mountain - Cauldron of the Wild — Great riffs and great songwriting on this record. A bit more adventurous than its predecessor, which I also thought was brilliant.
  3. 3.
    Napalm Death - Utilitarian — Contrary to what most people assume happens, I have got considerably angrier and more left wing as I have got older, and consequently I have loved Napalm Death more and more with every passing year. Genuine heroes of mine.
  4. 4.
    Putrevore - Macabre Kingdom — When I reviewed this album I rambled on about paneer curry, I think. To be honest, it probably deserves better.
  5. 5.
    Ihsahn - Eremita — Yep, seems like Ihsahn is still good.
  6. 6.
    Liberteer - Better to Die on Your Feet than Live on Your Knees — HAHAHA! Anarchist folk-grind for all!
  7. 7.
    Panopticon - Kentucky — Koeppe wrote a great review of this, but I expressed my own thoughts in a vastly more longwinded form here: http://utopianblaster.wordpress.com/2012/11/14/panopticon-kentucky/
  8. 8.
    Ignivomous - Contragenesis — Abrasive and unfriendly Australian death metal.
  9. 9.
    Christian Mistress - Possession — Good retro heavy metal tunes. I enjoyed this a lot.
  10. 10.
    Hail Spirit Noir - Pneuma — A completely charming album; sort of Hawkwind gone a little bit black metal, but in a whimsical way.
  11. 11.
    Bedemon - Symphony of Shadows — Great old-time doom.
  12. 12.
  13. 13.
  14. 14.
    Lord Mantis - Pervertor — Sort of takes that whole 'blackened sludge' thing which has been trendy recently, and makes it into something darker and more oppressive.
  15. 15.
    Venus Star - Setyphorus — Well, looked at objectively I could see why someone would describe this album as being a bit crappy. Slow tempos and drum machines, and whatnot. But I really dug it. Nicely blackened grooves.

Disappointments

  1. 1.
    Everything you enjoyed

Words / Final Thoughts

  1. 0
    — This list has to be read with an obvious disclaimer: something happened in the latter segment of this year that meant I had severely less time to listen to and review new metal music- and even less money to spend on new albums. So, there are some really big releases that simply don’t get recognised here. Propagandhi are one of my all-time favourite bands, for example, and I have barely even heard Failed States. Similarly, I didn’t get a chance to write about the last Ash Borer record. This last one is especially disappointing, because there seems to be nobody else here that has any interest in this band, despite them being easily one of the best black metal bands of the moment. Normally, I would invest more effort in this list, listening repeatedly to the bands on it, trying to decide which should be at number nine or number ten, and so on. I have been completely unable to do that this year, because circumstances have made it difficult to spend the requisite amount of time blasting Putrevore, Ignivomous and Undergang. So, rather than my exhaustive attempt to compile what I think were the best fifteen albums of the year, here are fifteen albums that I really like that came out in 2012.

Khelek

Top Albums

  1. 1.
    Katatonia - Dead End Kings — What a phenomenal addition to the Katatonia catalogue. I'm not sure how this didn't get reviewed.
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    Coheed and Cambria - The Afterman: Ascension — Not as good as Black Rainbow, but still an excellent album.

Surprises of the Year

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.

Disappointments

  1. 1.
    Threshold - March of Progress — I tried to get into this but so far it hasn't done much for me. It's not so much that it's a bad album, but I feel it's a big step down from Dead Reckoning. I miss Mac.

Words / Final Thoughts

  1. 0
    — 2012 was a very busy year for me in my personal life, so I didn't get to listen to nearly as many albums as I had hoped (as evidenced by me only having a top 10 instead of 15, and my overall lack of consistent review output). However, I've heard a lot of excellent albums and seen some fantastic concerts, the highlights being Rammstein, Volbeat, and an unforgettable night with the legendary Rush. Cheers to all metal lovers, music is still alive and well.

Tony

Top Albums

  1. 1.
    Testament - Dark Roots Of Earth — The vets return four years too late with another quality slab of Thrash!
  2. 2.
    Behexen - Nightside Emanations — A perfect and long-awaited offering from Finland's coldest.
  3. 3.
    Cannibal Corpse - Torture — The guitars and vox are always razor sharp. The key here was Paul's drums. Torture was his best performance ever.
  4. 4.
    Carach Angren - Where the Corpses Sink Forever — The symphonic elements can be a bit cheesy, but they add diversity and lend to the brilliance of the stories.
  5. 5.
    Khors - Wisdom of Centuries — Proud to be 12.5% Ukrainian!
  6. 6.
    Kreator - Phantom Antichrist — Another Thrash band whose mastery predates my lifetime. Awesome album.
  7. 7.
    Lunar Aurora - Hoagascht — Some of the most harrowing BM ever released over an illustrious career. This brief return from hiatus is in good form.
  8. 8.
    Marduk - Serpent Sermon — The "heaviest" Black Metal in Sweden. Mortuus delivery is terrific.
  9. 9.
    Nachtmystium - Silencing Machine — I thought Addicts sucked. This one is a great return to form.
  10. 10.
    Nile - At the Gate of Sethu — George Kollias with one stroke discourages me and with one stroke leaves me in awe. He sets that bar even higher on At the Gate of Sethu.
  11. 11.
    Overkill - The Electric Age — The years of the Thrash vets continues.
  12. 12.
    Sabaton - Carolus Rex — One of the only Power Metal bands I truly enjoy. Great record from Sabaton.
  13. 13.
    Wintersun - Time I — It took long enough!
  14. 14.
    Wodensthrone - Curse — These guys haven't screwed up yet. A rare gem from the British scene.
  15. 15.
    Winterfylleth - Threnody of Triumph — More British mastery.

Surprises of the Year

  1. 1.
    Midnight (US) - Complete and Total Hell — I haven't been able to get into these guys. This might be a turning point.
  2. 2.
    Antestor - Omen — The first "White Metal" albums I've enjoyed in a while.

Disappointments

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
    Burzum - Umskiptar — I'm hoping he picks up the guitar next time through.
  3. 3.
    Korpiklaani - Manala — These guys have slowed down since their first few.

Joke of the Year

  1. 1.
    Job for a Cowboy - Demonocracy — #1 on the private high school charts.
  2. 2.
    Cryptopsy - Cryptopsy — We need Lord Worm back.

Words / Final Thoughts

  1. 0
    — Maybe I don't deserve to fill this out since my reviews were so far and few this year. I'd say I've still maintained my collection and still know plenty about metal despite my sad lack of keystrokes. Kudos to the stalwarts on MR for keeping up with it and cheers to a brutal 2013.

Cory

Top Albums

  1. 1.
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  5. 5.
  6. 6.
    Overkill - The Electric Age
  7. 7.
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  9. 9.
  10. 10.
  11. 10.
    Delain - We Are The Others
  12. 11.
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  20. 15.
  21. 15.
  22. 15.

Words / Final Thoughts

  1. 0
    — Overall a strong year for metal, though perhaps weaker than years past. The lack of female fronted albums in my list definitely displays that my tastes have wandered away from that particular side of the house, while having four thrash albums in the top ten testifys to just how good a year it was for veteran thrashers (as well as my growing palate for the genre). On a personal note, 2013 promises new opportunities with a new chapter in my Air Force career beginning in NJ. My son Aaron just keeps on growing and becomes more of a joy every other day (days in which he is not being a complete pain in the ass), and I remain happily married to my wonderful wife Jessica now working on our third year (an eternity by Hollywood standards). I sincerely wish you all the best in whatever it is that you puruse during 2013! Best Wishes, Cory

Koeppe

Top Albums

  1. 1.
    Enabler - All Hail the Void — Somehow this album surpassed efforts by the veterans, Converge and Cattle Decapitation, but without a doubt, it is the most straightforward, hard-hitting album to come out this year that regardless of my mood, it makes me want to mosh, break stuff, crack skulls, etc. The sheer weight that Jeff can put into a riff is like no other. Simply virtuosic in the elephant riff category that man is. Will it stand the test of time like Cattle Decap, Converge, Car Bomb and Pig Destroyer have demonstrated themselves as capable of doing? I don't know, but I do know if I wanted to hear one single album from this past year this very minute, it is this beast.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
    Car Bomb - w^w^^w^w — After a somewhat lengthy hiatus, these guys returned creating the mathcore that they left off with. I wish I had been able to review it before year's end, but it simply wasn't in the cards. What you have here is one of the forefathers of the new wave of technical/djent bands returning and demonstrating that they didn't use all the tricks in tehir bags and that they still have a thing or two to teach the neophytes of the genre.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
    Gaza - No Absolutes in Human Suffering — Hate and vitriol like no other. They have truly outdone their past work with this effort, albeit the fact that it takes a while to sink in, once you digest it, this album is delightfully brutal.
  8. 8.
    Om - Advaitic Songs — Somewhat gimmick-y, but this album is truly a pleasure to listen to. From beginning to end, these guys do it right and they do it well. My review captures most of my thoughts, but I really do enjoy this album. And like Kentucky, it is something so totally different and new in light of the rest of the genres that it stands out and surely will for years to come.
  9. 9.
    Burning Love - Rotten Thing To Say — Some good ol' hardcore right here. Chris Colohan is a veteran in the genre and this album really cements Burning Love as worthy of being the heir to Cursed. It is a fucking great album.
  10. 10.
    Author & Punisher - Ursus Americanus — Metal made by metal? Industrial equipment in my industrial music? What is there not to like about A&P? Fans of Jesu should be all over this.
  11. 11.
    Black Breath - Sentenced To Life — Straightforward, heavy-hitting badassery contained here. The best of all genres distilled into the perfect hard-hitting package. Why doesn't everybody love these guys?
  12. 12.
    Royal Thunder - CVI — Blues-y lady-fronted heavy metal? Sign me up. This album is just a blast. It may overstay its welcome, but that's not for lack of quality. You get your money's worth of great rockin' tracks. The fact that this might slip under some folks' radars is a travesty.
  13. 13.
    Blacklister - BLKLSTRS — Noise rock that was recommended to me by Pig Destroyer's Facebook account equals awesome. The one song that will exemplify how you will feel about this album is Trickfuck. The band blends heavy riffs with the lackadaisical energy of grunge with the vocal performance of a half drunk, angry insane man. It's beautiful.
  14. 14.
    Deathspell Omega - Drought — The kings of 21st century black metal release an EP that is better than any other straightforward black metal full-lengths released all year. Because that's how they do. If you haven't heard their whirling, entangling dissonance then you have done yourself an injustice.
  15. 15.
    Baroness - Yellow & Green — I love Yellow. I don't care for Green. But seriously, Yellow is some of the greatest, catchiest metal to be written in the last twenty years. This is hair metal level of catchiness minus all the douchebaggery and injected with that level of anguish and forlorness that makes a great Baroness album.

Surprises of the Year

  1. 1.
    The Darkness - Hot Cakes — After a hiatus, this goofy band that most people here probably hate, which I kinda enjoy, released a decent hard rock album. Worth a listen every so often.
  2. 2.
    Mixhell - Exit Wound — Igor Cavalera and Greg Puciato combining to release a dance track? Why does this work so well and why do I love it so much?
  3. 3.
    Car Bomb - w^w^^w^w — I didn't know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear that they hadn't lost it after all these years.

Disappointments

  1. 1.
    Anaal Nathrakh - Vanitas — When will they ever return to form? The last two albums have been utter trash. They make Constellation of the Black Widow look like genius.
  2. 2.
    Ash Borer - Cold of Ages — After blowing me away with that self-titled album, how did they become so boring?
  3. 3.
    Candlemass - Psalms For The Dead — Not saying this album is bad, but after loving Death Magic Doom so much, irrationally much, this album always just left me with a bad taste in my mouth.
  4. 4.
    Opium Warlords - We Meditate Under the Pussy in the Sky — The album isn't bad per se, but being marketed as the avant garde folk drone descended from Reverend Bizarre left me feeling like it should have done more.
  5. 5.
    Terrorizer - Horde of Zombies — After World Downfall, this? I'd rather have no Terrorizer than neutered Terrorizer.

Joke of the Year

  1. 1.
    Die Antwood - Ten$ion — The joke is on us, because this is actually really enjoyable. I get a kick out of this album and thoroughly enjoy all of its bad moments. Like Quentin Tarantino, these three have mastered the art of pastiche in postmodern art. The blending of references to Ludacris, Tiffany, Vanilla Ice, etc. laced in with their political-social commentary on the current state of South Africa over top the sickest dubstep beats is just too much. It should crash and burn, and I think many think that it did, but I love it.

Words / Final Thoughts

  1. 0
    — A great year for metal, a great year for albums that push boundaries and buck the norm. There are so many songs and albums on this list that carried me through the year. If some of these slipped under your radar, I would strongly encourage rectifying that mistake. For your own sake, at least.

Andy

Top Albums

  1. 1.
    Overkill - The Electric Age
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
    Pallbearer - Sorrow And Extinction — Pallbearer's debut album really belongs in the Surprises of the Year section too, as no one, especially me, saw it coming.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
    Pale Divine - Painted Windows Black — Some of this album's riffs and choruses are STILL rattling around in my head!
  9. 9.
  10. 10.
  11. 11.
  12. 12.
  13. 13.
  14. 14.
  15. 15.

Surprises of the Year

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.

Disappointments

  1. 1.
    Eluveitie - Helvetios — I expected a lot more from this band based on their earlier output. Their songs have simply gotten too slick and blastbeat-driven.

Joke of the Year

  1. 1.
    Steel Panther - Balls Out — I know, they're supposed to be a joke...but I cried instead of laughed. Definitely a novelty/party act.

Words / Final Thoughts

  1. 0
    — 2012 was a great year for metal in general, especially doom and thrash metal. While I was hoping for more power metal albums, I was mostly doomed to disappointment...but to make up for it, Candlemass released one of its finest albums to date, we got a fifteenth Killing Joke album, there were endless black and doom metal gems released this year (including Pallbearer's left-field hit and an even stronger sophomore album from my state's own Witch Mountain), and best of all, an Overkill album that shows that their amazing comeback is no fluke. In 2013 I hope to see an even stronger trend towards innovation. Some of the newer acts are clearly maturing and coming up with some new ideas, and I can't wait to hear what they are up to. It seems that the field of metal keeps getting wider and more interesting (though maybe that's just my taste), and the sheer amount of good (and sometimes truly great) releases makes it difficult for me to choose even on a day-to-day basis what to listen to first. As a brand new reviewer I look forward to bringing you more of the dark fruits of the genre this year on a weekly basis, and I wish you all the very best in 2013.