My Favorite Mostly Metal Albums of 2016
Everyone complained about 2016 being a terrible year, but it created some amazing metal. Thanks to all the artists that impressed me this year, my list is longer than anyone's attention span for a website. |
1 | | Vektor Terminal Redux
A raging progressive thrashterpeice that will leave your mouth agape by the end. |
2 | | Thrawsunblat Metachthonia
Ridiculously melodic folkened black metal about spending more time in nature. This is neither kvlt nor blackgaze, so it does have limited appeal to the sputnik crowd. |
3 | | Hammers Of Misfortune Dead Revolution
Everything great about 70's hard rock and 80's (non-extreme) metal bundled into one fantastic package. |
4 | | Gojira Magma
Rarely does a band create and album that is heavy and progressive but accessible at the same time. If I had to label this, I'd call it progressive death metal, but then again, who hasn't listen to this yet. |
5 | | Cobalt Slow Forever
A progressive black metal ride through the US Great Plains with a drummer who idolizes Danny Carey. |
6 | | Testament Brotherhood of the Snake
Vektor may be the best of where thrash is heading, but Testament is the best of from where thrash has come. |
7 | | Anthrax For All Kings
Admittedly, Anthrax is hardly a thrash band now, but they still manage to still manage to write some of the most fun songs of all metal bands. |
8 | | Khemmis Hunted
Trouble for 2016 |
9 | | Thank You Scientist Stranger Heads Prevail
This is one weird album - progressive jazz post-hardcore. If Coheed and Cambria and Mahavishnu orchestra formed a supergroup, it would probably sound like this. |
10 | | SUMAC What One Becomes
Progressive doom/sludge metal produced by Kurt Ballou. These guys make slow and heavy not boring. |
11 | | Insomnium Winter's Gate
Releasing an album as a single 45 minute track may be pretentious, but if it's a wonderful, flowing piece of melodeath with a comprehensible story, who cares? |
12 | | Katatonia The Fall of Hearts
A beautiful work of goth metal |
13 | | Kvelertak Nattesferd
Addictingly fun and catchy black n' roll. This album will follow you around all day. |
14 | | Car Bomb Meta
If The Dillinger Escape Plan and Meshuggah formed a supergroup, it would sound like this. Meta puts the Violent Sleep of Reason to shame. |
15 | | Fleshgod Apocalypse King
A symphonic death metal tour-de-force and one of the most epic albums released this year |
16 | | The Dillinger Escape Plan Dissociation
For a band as chaotic as TDEP, Dissociation is rather accessible. It seems to create chaos with dynamics and mood changes instead of just time signature changes. |
17 | | Hyperion (SWE) Seraphical Euphony
Epic black metal with true heavy metal influences |
18 | | Eternal Champion The Armor of Ire
Cheesey 80's true heavy metal. The album art tells you all you need to know. |
19 | | Alcest Kodama
The creators of the blackgaze fad show everyone else how it's done. You can listen to this one around your non-metal friends. |
20 | | Xoth Invasion of the Tentacube
The most fun you will ever have listening to a technical progressive death/thrash album. |
21 | | Fates Warning Theories of Flight
Progressive metal featuring great melodies and awesome drumming |
22 | | SIG:AR:TYR Northen
A one-man black metal band creates an epic folkened black metal story about vikings. |
23 | | Opeth Sorceress
This may be some of the heaviest and best produced 70's style progressive rock you will ever hear. |
24 | | Animals As Leaders The Madness of Many
One of the best progressive instrumetal bands keeps their streak of great albums alive. |
25 | | Astronoid Air
Astronoid take blackgaze to a new level. Their mixture of blackgaze and electronic music with true heavy metal solos may even impress your non-metalhead friends. |
26 | | Fallujah Dreamless
Atmospheric death metal |
27 | | Deftones Gore
Nu Metal |
28 | | Ihsahn Arktis.
progressive black metal with some pop influences at times. |
29 | | Subterranean Disposition Contagiuum and the Landscapes of Failure
Weird doom metal |
30 | | Death Angel The Evil Divide
Well-produced 80's style thrash |
31 | | High Spirits Motivator
Upbeat and fun true heavy metal |
32 | | In The Woods... Pure
Dark proggy folky metal |
33 | | Moonsorrow Jumalten Aika
Epic folkened black metal |
34 | | Mithras On Strange Loops
Death metal |
35 | | Serpentine Dominion Serpentine Dominion
Killswitch Engage, The Black Dalia Murder, and Cannibal Corpse formed a death metal super group |
36 | | Theocracy Ghost Ship
Power metal album of the year |
37 | | Dawnbringer XX
True heavy metal |
38 | | Trophy Eyes Chemical Miracle
Post-hardcore |
39 | | Crowbar The Serpent Only Lies
Sludge metal |
40 | | First Fragment Dasein
Melodic (non-Gothenburg) technical death metal |
41 | | Norma Jean Polar Similar
Metalcore |
42 | | Zao The Well-Intentioned Virus
Metalcore |
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