MetalReviews

Awards 2016

4 reviewers shared their picks for 2016.

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Alex

Top Albums

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    Swallow the Sun - Songs from the North
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Surprises of the Year

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Disappointments

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Joke of the Year

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Goat

Top Albums

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    Cult of Luna / Julie Christmas - Mariner
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    Insomnium - Winter's Gate
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Surprises of the Year

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    Almanac - Tsar — Superb power metal from the expert hand of Victor Smolski. Not a surprise, when you think about it, but it did hit out of the blue.
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    Black Fucking Cancer - Black Fucking Cancer — A band with a bad name, Black Fucking Cancer brought the fucking noise. Tremendous debut.

Disappointments

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    Be'lakor - Vessels — Didn't get around to reviewing this one, but it didn't strike me as near as good as the band's previous outings.
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    Dark Tranquillity - Atoma — A real shame, perhaps I've just not listened to it enough times? But this just struck me as a boring, played-safe album.
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    Grand Magus - Sword Songs — Speaking of boring and playing it safe... The fire that Grand Magus once burned with seems almost entirely gone.
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    Opeth - Sorceress — I loved Pale Communion, but this is a real step down in songwriting quality. Bitterly disappointed in Mikael and the lads.
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    Wretch - Wretch — Far duller than I expect from the men behind The Gates of Slumber.

Jared

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Andy

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Surprises of the Year

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Words / Final Thoughts

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    —

    Looking back on 2016, this was a year that began with uncertainty and was filled with surprises. I'm not just talking about the ones we got to hear about ad nauseum in the press -- the surprises are reflected in my list, too. Out of everything I've listened to, the one that's stayed in constant rotation through the year has been an obscure sci-fi-themed band from Sacramento, Helion Prime, and except for Abbath, the top fifteen are dominated by obscure groups rather than more mainstream ones. Perhaps this only reflects my current listening habits; Metallica and Meshuggah both released albums this year, which unfortunately I haven't had the chance to listen to yet.

    And it's also possible that some of my list's diversity isn't destined to last. Trees of Eternity, shortly after releasing one of the best albums of this year, tragically lost vocalist Aleah Stanbridge to cancer. Agalloch, the powerhouse folk/black metal band from my hometown, abruptly decided to call it quits, and so did The Wounded Kings, right after completing this year's album. And Helion Prime? Well, Heather Michele, the vocalist who made their debut such a hit with me, parted ways with them this year too. On the brighter side, I got to hear Witch Mountain's new vocalist Kayla Dixon for the first time, and while I was too buried to write a live report, I can assure listeners that her voice is capable of sending a shiver down any spine. They've got a single out, but I'm hoping for a full-length in 2017. Fingers crossed...

    I wish all of you the best (and plenty of metal to listen to) in 2017!