GuyMan's Top 15 of '16
...with two honorable mentions that I want to stew on. All in all a pretty great year, especially considering other lists I've seen with common factors (Vektor, for example). |
| 17 |  | Every Time I Die
Low Teens
Ex Lives part 3, amirite? Its good, but ETID is always good. Still wrapping my head around why this hasn't grabbed me the way past releases have. Might just be that I'm finally numb to their magic. I hope not. |
| 16 |  | Norma Jean
Polar Similar
I love the direction the band has taken, but didn't get to put much time into this one. I will, and it will rise, because I love NJ. |
| 15 |  | Lacuna Coil
Delirium
Didn't see this coming. I felt like, since Karmacode, at least, they were pretty much washed up (I did like a few songs on Dark Adrenaline quite a bit, though). Also kind of felt like getting heavier was holding them back - the goth elements of their early stuff was definitely their best attribute. Seems I was wrong - This album would be sick even without Christina. |
| 14 |  | Textures
Phenotype
Track 2 is a song of the year candidate. Better than Dualism, imo. Still have a hard time with his vocals sometimes. |
| 13 |  | Opeth
Sorceress
I can get behind this. I don't think Mikael is done with metal. We'll get one more great one. We have to. Don't we? |
| 12 |  | Meshuggah
The Violent Sleep of Reason
I've never been the biggest Meshuggah fan, but I do find TVSOR the most immediately great album of their career. Blashpemy, I know. Truthfully, I still find them incredibly samey, but no less captivating. |
| 11 |  | Fleshgod Apocalypse
King
Finally got to this late in the year. I've never been a massive fan of heavy orchestral elements in metal, always preffered a more subdued approach. I still feel that way. I do really, really enjoy this album, though. Might be the grower in the list. |
| 10 |  | Ulcerate
Shrines of Paralysis
Not quite The Destroyers of All, but I do like it better than Vermis. I'm not thrilled about the mix, though. Feels a little muddy sometimes. Still fucking invigorating, though. |
| 9 |  | Death Angel
The Evil Divide
Most underrated band in thrash? Maybe. But boy did they kick the shit out of the big 4 with this album. |
| 8 |  | Fates Warning
Theories of Flight
Boy I really love this album. Scratches that itch that Queensryche and Amorphis have satisfied throughout my life. A very nice surprise. |
| 7 |  | Gojira
Magma
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed after the first spin. This is a transitional album, for sure, and I'm very excited to see where they go from here, and simultaneously worried that Gojira as I know it might be gone. That said - this IS a great album. "Shooting Star", "Silvera" and so on are immediate classics. There aren't any BAD songs...but still... |
| 6 |  | Destrage
A Means To No End
I found this to be more consistent than Are You Kidding Me...No and feel like Destrage has struck a wonderful balance between Every Time I Die snarkiness and Meshuggah brutality. Also, Federico is a fucking alien behind the kit. I can't wrap my head around it. |
| 5 |  | Alcest
Kodama
It wasn't my "A-ha" moment with Alcest, but it definitely is the first time that I fell in love immediately with Alcest's work. I honestly don't know what I can say that hasn't already been said. I love it, pretty hard. |
| 4 |  | Cult of Luna and Julie Christmas
Mariner
The best collaboration I've heard in quite some time. Julie's twisted, unhinged style fits Luna's rumbling tension so well - much better than I'd have guessed when I first learned of the project. Luna's riffs are present and the songs are epic, meaning it was sure to score high on my card. Like it more than Vertikal even. |
| 3 |  | Novembre
Ursa
This has held my attention for much of the year. The name escapes me, but track three is one of my favorites for the year. I think the second half wears off a bit, but the first half is so drenched with smooth, silky heaviness and I must admit I'm a sucker for Carmelo's voice. This was a nice surprise - hadn't heard of Novembre previously. |
| 2 |  | Fallujah
Dreamless
I listened to this album far more than any other this year as an admitted Fallujah fanboy. I absolutely adore it and believe "The Void Alone" to be the most infectious track of the year, swirling earworm leads that just never let go. If not for the slow start (remember, The Flesh Prevails was immediately captivating and never let up), Dreamless might be even better. I believe it has better highs, at the very least, and much better production. One of the most exciting bands in metal, for me. |
| 1 |  | Astronoid
Air
This was a late, LATE entry in my list. I only discovered this two weeks ago. But sometimes you just know. This isn't quite like when we all heard "The Devil and God" for the first time, and knew something special had just happened, but it also wasn't that far off, either. There is something to be said for a piece of music so wonderfully executed that still doesn't sound mechanical, labored over. Air is effortless. And its fucking beautiful. |
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