ManintheBox
maninthebox
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Reviews 4
Approval 75%

Soundoffs 256
News Articles 2
Band Edits + Tags 23
Album Edits 19

Album Ratings 864
Objectivity 67%

Last Active 01-03-23 8:55 pm
Joined 03-17-11

Review Comments 913

Average Rating: 3.80
Rating Variance: 0.67
Objectivity Score: 67%
(Fairly Balanced)

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5.0 classic
Agalloch The Mantle
Words can not describe... Best Tracks: In the Shadow of Our Pale Companion, You Were but a Ghost in My Arms, and The Hawthorne Passage
Agalloch Pale Folklore
Fucking classy & classic. Best Songs: She Painted Fire Across the Skyline, As Embers Dress the Sky, and The Melancholy Spirit.
Agalloch Ashes Against the Grain
Alcest Kodama
Alice in Chains Jar of Flies
All Time Favorite Album: Best Songs: Rotten Apple, Nutshell, and Don't Follow. Must own Every single one m/!
Alice in Chains Dirt
Best Songs: Dam that River, Hate to Feel, and Them Bones. Every Single one is a classic m/!
Bell Witch Mirror Reaper
Black Sabbath Paranoid
All time classic...must own. Best Songs: Planet Caravan, Paranoid, and Electric Funeral.
Converge Jane Doe
fucking classic:best songs: Homewrecker, The Broken Vow, and Jane Doe. every one is classic!
Converge Axe to Fall
Best Songs: Axe to Fall, Dark Horse, and Wretched World. Every single one is classic though m/!
Corrosion of Conformity Deliverance
Fuck it, I consider this a classic, a great masterpiece of an album all the way through m/! Best songs: Seven Days, Deliverance, and Shake Like You
Crippled Black Phoenix Ellengaest
Road hymns for the end of the world is immediately what comes to mind when I think of this release. In the year of 2020, nothing could be better; Ellengaest has served as the perfect backdrop for the stress, difficult situations, and heartbreak that has abounded this year. Their no genre rules approach to making music serves the thematic ideas of hardship and loss perfectly.
Cryptopsy None So Vile
Cult of Luna and Julie Christmas Mariner
Darkthrone Transilvanian Hunger
Death The Sound of Perseverance
Best Songs:Spirit Crusher, Story to Tell, and Voice of the Soul. But they all fucking rip!!
Death Symbolic
Deftones Diamond Eyes
I take that back, just got this thing on vinyl....Fucking masterpiece m/! Every song is great though the best are Royal, Sex Tape, and Prince
Dozer Drifting in the Endless Void
Emma Ruth Rundle and Thou May Our Chambers Be Full
This album is an emotional dirge ranging from despair, to failure and anger, finally ending on notes of desperate frustration but somehow at the same time, hope? The fact that all of these feelings are expertly conveyed in just a 38 minute runtime makes the album endlessly listenable. The creative dynamic of Emma and Thou paired with exciting song writing and the perfect amount of grungy 90s influence makes this my most listened to album of 2020 and the perfect emotive embodiment to all the emotions found within this year
Faith No More Angel Dust
Gojira L'Enfant Sauvage
Album of the year 2012. Best songs:The Axe, The Mouth of Kala, and the Gift of Guilt. Every song is a classic though m/
Gorguts Colored Sands
2013 Album of the year, masterful execution & concept. Best songs: Le Toit Du Monde, Colored Sands, and Absconders
Immolation Close to a World Below
The most brutal album ever! Best tracks: Father You're Not a Father, Put My Hand in the Fire, and Close to a World Below.
Iron Maiden Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
The most classic of classics! Best Tracks: The Evil that Men Do, Seventh Son of A Seventh Son, and Infinite Dreams
ISIS Oceanic
A fucking thought provoking masterpiece. Best Songs:The Beginning and the End,Weight,and
From Sinking
Kvelertak Kvelertak
Fucking amazing album, It's definitely a 5. Best Songs:Blodtorst, Sultans of Satan, and Utrydd Dei Svake
Megadeth Rust in Peace
Best Songs: Tornado of Souls, Holy Wars....The Punishment Due, and Rust in Peace..Polaris. Every Fucking One is a classic though m/
Mgla Exercises in Futility
The best album of 2015 and one of the best Black metal albums in recent memory. Best songs: I, V, and VI
Misfits Static Age
I realize that this was the missing piece of my musical DNA. I am now complete having heard this fucked up album of dark yet fun energy. Best songs: Some Kinda Hate, Hybrid Moments, and Attitude
Night Verses From the Gallery of Sleep
Best Album of 2018. It's like the aural equivalent of a mountain stream smoothly yet powerfully flowing downward. Best songs: Copper Wasp, Phoenix IV: Levitation, Vice Wave..Though it really does have to be taken as one cohesive piece.
Nine Inch Nails The Downward Spiral
Best Songs: Heresy, Ruiner, A Warm Place. But They are all classics m/!
Obscure Sphinx Void Mother
Probably the best metal release to come out in the 2010's so far. Has my all time favorite song on it m/! Best tracks: Presence of the Goddess, Waiting for the Bodies Down the River Floating, and Lunar Caustic
Pallbearer Foundations of Burden
Holy shit, I just realized this is a 5.. Best Songs: Worlds Apart, Ghost I used to Be, and Watcher in the Dark
Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here
Tool Ænima
Best songs:H., 46 & 2, and Jimmy. But they are all Classics m/!
Tool 10,000 Days
Best songs: 10,000 Days(1&2), Jambi, and Right in Two.

4.5 superb
Abigail Williams Becoming
AC/DC Back In Black
This is the album that got me into music and in the long run metal. I owe this album so much m/! Best tracks: Hells Bells, Back in Black, Shoot to Thrill, Let me put my Love into You,You Shook Me All Night Long, Have a Drink on Me, Givin the Dog a Bone, and Rock n' Roll Ain't Noise Pollution. So many classics.
Acid Bath Paegan Terrorism Tactics
Aeviterne The Ailing Facade
AFI All Hallow's E.P.
Agents of Oblivion Agents of Oblivion
Akhlys The Dreaming I
Alice in Chains Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains Facelift
Alice in Chains Black Gives Way to Blue
Amon Amarth Surtur Rising
Bad Company Bad Company
Baroness Red Album
Be'lakor Vessels
Behemoth The Satanist
This was the definitive metal album of 2014 as far as I?m concerned (I didn?t say personal favorite though!). It captured everyone?s attention with shit tons of hype before it was even released with stories such as Nergal?s battle with Leukemia and the band controversy between the band and their home country of Poland concerning their ability to create such Satanic music. What furthered cemented this album as popular album of the year is that the music found on this track actually surpassed all of this hype that was built up around it. And after listening to this release, it?s not hard to see why. On the Satanist, Behemoth abandons all that made them a tedious band on previous releases and craft and emotive album I can only describe as gospel like. Seriously, due to tracks like the insanely catchy Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer and the epic as fuck closer O Father O Satan O Sun, the band sounds like they?re trying to emulate a higher power (I?ll let you guess who that power is). Instrumentally the band hits it out of the park as well, with amazing guitar work on tracks like Amen, Ben Sahar, and most notable Messe Noire which possesses probably the best guitar solo of the year. In the end The Satanist deserves all the praise it has received and maybe should even have some more on the side. Rating: 4.8
Between the Buried and Me Colors
A truly amazing album, the last three tracks are all masterpieces of music. WHIIIIIITTTTE WAAAAALLLLLS!
Between the Buried and Me The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues
Black Cilice Banished from Time
Black Sabbath Master of Reality
This is a fucking master piece and true classic of the genre. On Master of Reality Black Sabbath basically make the best stoner/doom album of all time. Every album released in those genres has been to just try and reproduce the awesomeness of this release. Admittedly I don't find it to be the ultimate Black Sabbath album and find Paranoid to be just a little bit better and more iconic. Master of Reality is still a master piece though and is worth the price of admission just for dem fucking riffs..thanks Mr.Iommi m/! Best songs:Sweet Leaf, Lord of This World, and Into the Void.
Black Sabbath Black Sabbath
It truly is amazing to listen to the album that helped start it all. While most of this album isn't metal per say but a style of blues rock, you can definitely tell that the foundations of one of the most influential and impressive genres in all of music was being laid down in songs like Black Sabbath and N.I.B. And these two songs are still some of the best in all of metal some 40 years later. Fucking impressive m/! The bluesier portions of this are no slouch either and the final track warning is a total jam and a masterpiece. Best Tracks: Black Sabbath, N.I.B., and Warning.
Blind Guardian Somewhere Far Beyond
What an era for this band, one of the best to ever do it! Ashes to Ashes and Somewhere Far Beyond are some of the best songs period.
Blind Guardian Imaginations from the Other Side
On Imaginations from the Other Side, Blind Guardian make my all time favorite Power Metal album that relies just as much on speed and thrashy riffs as it does on epic vocal arrangements and power metal like melodies. It is because of this unique blend of speed and melody that Imaginations works so well and succeeds in my eyes where so many other power metal albums fail. It still possesses a bite on songs like I'm Alive, Born In a Morning Hall, and Another Holy War that I think all metal albums should possess and which most power metal albums lack. Also this album revolutionized power Metal along with Iced Earths Burnt Offerings and you can't deny the excellent song writing ability on display here. Best songs: Imaginations From the Other Side, Bright Eyes, and The Story Ends.
Blind Guardian Tales from the Twilight World
The amazing Tales from the Twilight World shows Blind Guardian starting to hint at their future as premiere epic power metal band that they would become on Nightfall of Middle Earth and Night at the Opera. You can start to hear this transformation from their speed metal roots to a more grandiose style on songs like the master piece ballad Lord of the Rings and the epic Traveler in Time. Tales still possesses enough thrash and speed elements combined with a penchant for good song writing that makes almost every song a unique adventure worth a listen. There is still one minor mistep in the form of Tommy Knockers and Altair IV both seem out of place on this fantasy leaning album. All in all though this is my second favorite Blind Guardian album behind their other master piece Imaginations from the Other Side. Best songs: Welcome to Dying, Lord of the Rings, and Last Candle.
Blood Ceremony The Old Ways Remain
Blood Incantation Hidden History of the Human Race
Bloodbath Nightmares Made Flesh
Blut Aus Nord Disharmonium - Undreamable Abysses
Bolzer Aura
Borknagar Winter Thrice
Brand New Daisy
Cannibal Corpse Torture
Carcass Surgical Steel
Now when I said that this was the year of the come back album this was the album I was referring too. And Honesty what other album could it have been. Carcass saw such meteoric rise with Surgical Steel the music had to be as good as the hype suggests, and of course it not only is, but its better! It boggles the mind how Carcass were able to pull this off, I mean just imagine waiting 17 years and then releasing an album that not only sounds as good as your two classic albums but sounds as if it was released right in between them (I am talking about Necroticism and Heartwork of course). From when the Master Butcher's Apron starts all the way to the closing seconds of the Mount of Execution the album is a true masterwork. I also want to take a brief second to mention just how amazing closer Mount of Execution is. It has it all from head bangable riffs to beautiful acoustic interludes. Really this could be said about Surgical Steel as a whole which has everything and then some. Best Songs: Unfit For Human Consumption, Master Butcher's Apron, and Mount of Execution.
Chapel of Disease ...And as We Have Seen the Storm
Clutch Clutch
A conspiratorial filled romp through booze soaked lyrical paranoia, groovy yet heavy riffage, and impeccable pacing and dynamics. The self titled is Clutch at their most insane and lively! Best Song: Spacegrass
Clutch Earth Rocker
This album truly took me by surprise due to the fact that I initially wasn't really anticipating it all that much. But after I heard this grooving bluesy master piece my jaw dropped, somehow Clutch has made their tightest most cohesive album yet. This album is 45 minutes of fun filled fast paced blues additude. This even tops Blast Tyrant due to the fact that it doesn't overstay it's welcome and bows out with The Wolf Man Kindly Requests.. at just the right time. All in all Clutch has made a wonderfully fun album which will keep you coming back for more. Best Songs: DC Sound Attack, Gone Cold, The Wolfman Kindly Requests.
Cobalt Slow Forever
Converge All We Love We Leave Behind
Hoooly Shiit, On All We Love We Leave Behind Converge proves once again that they are one of the best bands in all of Metal by upping the fury and chaos a solid two rungs. Throughout the whole album the main theme Converge is trying to convey is loss and the sadness and then absolute anger that comes with it. This is done insanely well as track by murky desolate track rushes by at break neck speed while at the same time carrying enough wait to knock some teeth out. While not as iconic as Jane Doe or the just as off the wall Axe to Fall All We Love We Leave Behind still stands as a testament to the raw chaos incarnate that is Converge. Best Songs:Coral Blue,Trespasses, and the Title Track.
Converge The Dusk in Us
Cormorant Metazoa
Metazoa is just one of those un-classifiable albums. It contains influences from basically every meal genre imaginable. Classic heavy metal guitar melodies streak across a back drop that belongs on a melodic death metal album while black metal snarls roar overtop. And believe me this changes from song to song. Post metal, many progressive elements, sickening breakdowns, hardcore shouts, and power metal melodies all make an appearance across this albums canvas. The amazing thing is that Cormorant make all these influences work perfectly for them, making a unique sound that is entirely their own. Also the overall flow of the album works great to, with not only the album as a whole being memorable but the songs as well. Definitely a recommended listen for all fans of metal. Best songs: Uneasy Lies the Head, Hole in the Sea, The Emigrants Wake.
Coroner Mental Vortex
Crypt Sermon The Ruins of Fading Light
Cult of Luna Vertikal
On their latest album "Vertikal" Cult of Luna has released the best post metal album since the LPs released in the genres heyday of the mid 2000s. Verikal combines all the usual post metal tropes with a tinge of industrial and even electronic influences. This makes for an all the more interesting and unique listen and helps to paint a very bleak hopless image with the music. The listener can truly get the feel of a dystopian future from the instrumentation found all over this album. This is definitely an album drenched in symbolism and meaning that can easily be ranked along with the other masterpieces contained in their discography. Best songs: Vicarious Redemption, In Awe Of, and Passing Through
Cult of Luna A Dawn to Fear
Danzig Danzig II: Lucifuge
It's always a bummer when you realize you don't love an album as much as you used too. This is no different with Danzig's still amazing album Luifuge. While I no longer see it as a classic, it is still a superb satanic Masterpiece. Best songs: Her Black Wings, Devil's Plaything, Killer Wolf.
Daughters You Won't Get What You Want
Dead in the Manger Cessation
The first masterwork of 2015, Dead in the Manger orchestrate quite a beautiful command over dynamics on Cessation. Beautifully Somber and savagely brutal are mixed seamlessly from one moment to the next creating an album the flows like a single journey through a land of loss and depression. Bands like Dead in the Manger, who successfully blur the lines between genres like black metal, grind, and even some post rock influence are the future of metal: New, Exciting, and always Engaging m/! Best songs, III, V, and VI
Death Scream Bloody Gore
Dude I can't fucking help it, this is def a 4.5, it is similar to alot of other death metal albums out there, but here is the thing, this is the original master piece right here, and while it is definitley not Deaths best album it fucking deserves a 4.5. Plus every song is awesome and seriously fuckin catchy: Infernal Death, Zombie Ritual, Denial of Life, Regurgitated Guts, Sacrificial, Baptized in blood, and Evil Dead.
Death Leprosy
Death Human
Deathspell Omega The Synarchy of Molten Bones
Deathspell Omega The Furnaces of Palingenesia
Deftones Koi No Yokan
While not quite as varied or interesting as the Deftones previously released master piece Diamond Eyes, Yokan shows Chino and the gang mellowing out their sound a little bit and exploring a wide array of dreamy landscapes. In a way Yokan takes the Meshuggah like riffing found on diamond eyes and combines it with the beautiful soundscapes found on Saturday Night Wrist. Best songs are: Entombed, Leathers, and Rosemary.
Deftones Ohms
Deftones does it again with one of their most consistent albums to date. Ohms possesses a beautiful swirling atmosphere over its 10 tracks which comes to culmination in the title track which is one of the best songs of their career.
Denial of God The Hallow Mass
Destroyer 666 Wildfire
Dio Holy Diver
Down NOLA
Dragged Into Sunlight Hatred For Mankind
Definitely one of the most fucked up albums I've had the pleasures of listening to. This album is a perfect blend of death, doom, and black metal and possesses one hell of a wall of sound. I shit you not songs, like Buried with Leaches and Volcanic Birth run you over like a giant 18 wheeler disintegrating every portion of your humanity as soon as contact is made. And the riffs found on this album pummel your spinal chord into oblivion. One of the riffs towards the end of Volcanic Birth alone will cause you to thrash your whole body without control. Also the sound bits of serial killers found scattered throughout this album works great and adds to the creepy fucked up atmosphere that Dragged into Sunlight is obviously going for. In short, if you want a look at the darker side of music and humanity check out this album. Best songs: Buried with Leeches, Volcanic Birth, and I, Aurora
Drudkh Autumn Aurora
Eagle Twin The Feather Tipped the Serpent's Scale
An album whose thematic and story elements perfectly go hand in hand complimenting the music. The shear brilliance of these sludgy riffs definitely helps too!
Edge of Sanity Purgatory Afterglow
Emma Ruth Rundle and Thou The Helm of Sorrow
The Thou and Emma Ruth Rundle partnership continue to bear successful fruit. The Helm of Sorrow explores slightly heavier territory than the previous album while still possessing the same emotive take on grungy 90s rock song writing.r
Enslaved RIITIIR
On their new album RIITIIR, Enslaved stick to the same one two punch of prog and black metal that they've used on their past albums, but they keep things different and engaging with interesting song structures and some of the most epic atmospheres I've ever heard. Enslaved have definitely melded beautiful cleans and atmospheres with vicious black metal highs and riffs to create one of the best albums of 2012. Best songs are Death in the Eyes of Dawn, Roots of the Mountain, and Forsaken.
Esoctrilihum Eternity Of Shaog
Absolute madness is the only way I can describe this hour long dive into the diversity that can be found in the modern avant garde black metal scene. Eternity of Shaog contains savage outbursts of anger, followed by bewitching otherworldly melodies, and languid beauty. This is music truly worthy of chronicling the impending madness of an esoteric being locked outside of time and space. The fact that it all came from one guy is unbelievable.
Eternal Champion The Armor of Ire
Every Time I Die Low Teens
Eyehategod Dopesick
Faith No More The Real Thing
Fear Factory Obsolete
Fuck the Facts Desire Will Rot
God Disease Drifting Towards Inevitable Death
Gojira From Mars to Sirius
Gojira The Way of All Flesh
Gorephilia In The Eye Of Nothing
Just a perfect old school death metal album with a hefty amount of doom influence thrown in. The balance between these two styles creates quite a dynamic listen throughout and really helps to break up the individual songs. Also the best riffs of the year are all over this fucking album!
High on Fire Death Is This Communion
Horn of the Rhino Weight of Coronation
Horrendous Anareta
Horrendous Ontological Mysterium
Howls of Ebb The Marrow Veil
Immolation Here in After
In Flames Clayman
This is probably one of the most important albums in my listening career. Without In Flames, their insanely catchy single Only for the Weak, and all of Clayman in general I don't know if I would be the huge extreme metal fan that I am currently. This album, along with Shadows Fall's The War Within are gateway albums that I still listen to on a regular basis to this day. This should be seen as a real testament to both of these albums and their abilities to stand the test of time. Honestly I'm not sure why I'm just now getting around to rating this album, but it's about damn time. Best Songs: As the Future Repeats Today, Square Nothing, and Only for the Weak.
In Vain (NO) Aenigma
In Vain's epic as fuck album Aenigma was one that I almost missed this year, thank God I finally broke down and listened to it. If I hadn't I would have missed out on one of the finest progressive death metal albums released this year. It contains the perfect balance of catchy unique clean vocal patterns and brutal death metal snarls. This contrast makes the dynamics on this album amazing as well, especially when you consider In Vain's tendency to use symphonic and even jazz elements in their songs. Just look at the saxophone used on the closing track Floating on the Murmuring Tide. To say the least this is a breathtaking album that I'd hate for any metalhead to miss out on. Best Songs: Image of Time, Rise Against, and Floating on the Murmuring Tide.
Incantation Onward to Golgotha
Insomnium Shadows of the Dying Sun
Integrity Those Who Fear Tomorrow
Integrity create one of the most influential albums of the last two decades on their debut album the politically charged, Those Who Fear Tomorrow. To say the least this is one of the first albums to nail down the metalcore sound. Among hardcore shouts and incredible dark breakdowns come Iron Maiden esque melodies and fast as fuck Slayer riffs and solos. This combination creates a memorably catchy album which is also filled to the brim with hardcore level energy. This is one of the first instances of this happening and in my opinion still remains as one of the best. Best Songs: Micha, Descent Into Darkness, and March of the Damned.
Inter Arma The Cavern
This was one hell of an ambitious idea that Inter Arma put to recording. One song, 45 minutes, strings, clean female vocals and it all fits flawlessly together in their post metalish sludge sound. Really, the biggest standout to this album is the songwriting itself, this album flows so seamlessly and almost fluid like, that it makes its 45 minute run time fly by. How riffs are brought into play and then built upon and turned into something entirely different without batting an eye makes my jaw drop every time I hear "The Cavern". The record follows the perfect linear path, from introduction, to bridge, and finally to emotive climax that it just makes it a fun but at the same time challenging and dense listen. There's honestly to much going on here for me to rave about it in this tiny sound off, so in short, you must listen to this monolithic beast yourself.
Iron Maiden Powerslave
Iron Maiden Somewhere in Time
Iron Maiden The Number of the Beast
Iron Maiden Brave New World
Iron Maiden The Final Frontier
ISIS Panopticon
Definitely a thought provoking listen. This album honestly took about a year of me listening to it on and off for it to click. The secret to this album is the atmospheres and the slight changes in the background, take Altered courses for example which on the surface is a simple drum beat with uninteresting guitar work, but if you delve beneath that you find an ever shifting atmosphere of beauty. Definitely one of the best tracks on an amazing album.
Jerry Cantrell Boggy Depot
ummmmmm.......I misclicked excellent instead of superb which this album deffinently is: cut you in, Jesus hands, Keep the light on, Cold Peice, and hurt a long time are all amazing songs
Judas Priest Screaming for Vengeance
Judas Priest Killing Machine
Kate Bush Hounds of Love
Khemmis Hunted
Khemmis Desolation
King Buffalo Acheron
Yeah the scope here makes this a 4.5. The sound is 1/3 prog, 1/3 jam, and 1/3 stoner doom. This unique combo plus closing track Cerberus warrants the rating
King Diamond Abigail
King Diamond is truly some kind of musical genius. After being at the helm of one of the most influential metal bands of all time, Mercyful Fate, the King continues to trail blaze across the metal scene with his sophomore master piece Abigail. Diamond's vocals and lyrics take center stage to tell the chilling story of the devil in disguise Abigail. Truly this is the biggest highlight of the album, the concept, lyrics, and atmosphere that they invoke. Lets not forget about the other big highlight the guitar skills of Andy LaRocque. Some of the riffs and solos that he pulls out on this album are some of the best in all of metal. Other highlights include, basically everything else. Best songs:Arrival, Abigail, and Black Horsemen.
Kvelertak Meir
On their sophomore effort, the party vikings from Norway stay mostly true to their original blackend hardcore sound but at the same time branch out from it quite drastically. There is more black metal influence, more punk and classic rock melodies, and even some progressive song writing going on through out this album. The latter portion of this album contains some of the most epic songs I've heard all year in Nekrokosmos and Tordenbrak. It's still not as good as the self titled but in the end Meir definitely holds its own. All in all Meir explores fresh and new territory for Kvelertak but at the same time, it does not tread to far from the sound they had on their debut. Best songs, Bruane Brenn, Kvelertak, and Tordenbrak.
Kyuss Welcome to Sky Valley
Kyuss Wretch
Well, I guess I'm in the minority on this one. On Wretch Kyuss make just straight up balls to the fuckin wall Rock n' Roll. In my opinion, the riffs are memorable, the songs are memorable, and John Garcia sounds awesome. I mean you have simple punk influenced songs like Love Has Passed Me By, Katzenjammer, and Isolation that keep the album moving on a fun fast pace but then you also have songs that run you over with their epic fucking riffs, The Law I am looking at you. Seriously this album is wayy underrated. Best songs: Son of a Bitch, Deadly Kiss, and The Law.
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin IV
Lord Mantis Death Mask
Machine Head The Blackening
Mad Season Above
Manilla Road Crystal Logic
Mastodon Crack the Skye
Mastodon Hushed and Grim
Megadeth Countdown to Extinction
Meshuggah Koloss
The masters are back and destroying all of the meek djent bands in their wake....Meshuggah does it best, fuck the rest! Best songs: Behind the Sun, Demigure, Break Those Bones Whose Sinews Gave it Motion.
Metallica ...And Justice for All
...And Justice for All is the album where Metallica took their sound as far as it could go. Here they find the perfect balance between the progressive elements, longer songs, and broader dynamics, that have been creeping into their songs since Ride the Lightning, and their raw thrash sound. I mean you can't get much more ambitious as a thrash band with songs like the title track or One. The strongest aspect of this album though, is how emotionally raw these songs are, you can feel the rage and despair that was injected into each track, Dyers Eve especially. Truly in my opinion this is Metallica's dark misunderstood masterpiece and not only a peak in their sound but also the sound of the Trash genre as well. I do take off some points for the total lack of bass, but besides that, this album is perfect. Best Tracks:One, Frayed Ends of Sanity, and Dyers Eve
Monster Magnet Powertrip
Motorhead Ace of Spades
Ne Obliviscaris Portal of I
2012 was definitely a great year for Progressive Metal in General and Portal of I is no exception. Its like an actually good modern Opeth except combined with crazier world music influences. No doubt this album contains some of the best use of flutes, Violins, and clean singing I've ever had the pleasure of hearing on a metal album. Best songs: And Plague Flowers the Kaleidoscope, Of the Leper Butterflies, and As the Icicles fall.
Nechochwen Kanawha Black
Necrophagist Epitaph
Listening to Epitaph is the equivalent of being caught in the middle of a storm of knives where every moment your wondering where the next dagger will strike. And the fucked up thing is that you enjoy it. To elaborate further Necrophagist creates a furious blend of raw technicality and dissonant melodies. These melodies help make the album more varied and interesting and stops it from becoming one long glorious wankfest making this one of the masterpieces of modern technical Death Metal. Best songs: Stillborn One, Diminished to Be, and Seven.
Neurosis Through Silver in Blood
Nile Annihilation of the Wicked
This is a truly epic, brutal mind bending affair. Its insanely technical but at the same time its not just obsessive wankery, Look at songs like User Maat Re or the title track and tell me there isn't a little bit of song craft that goes into it, not to mention this album contains some of the heaviest grooviest riffs in death metal right along side the technical solos. Best songs: Cast Down the Heretic, User Maat Re, and Annihilation of the Wicked.
Nine Inch Nails Pretty Hate Machine
Nine Inch Nails With Teeth
No/Mas Consume/Deny/Repent
Oasis (What's the Story) Morning Glory?
Omnium Gatherum Beyond
Omnium Gatherum produce the best guitar album of the year with Beyond. This is because on Beyond the guitar is not just a guitar,it sounds like a whole fucking symphony. What really makes this album amazing is that I had no idea they had this album in them. After hearing their last album New World Shadows there would have been no way I'd believe that they could make my top 5. But holy shit they did it, and not only with death metal brutality but also melodic death metal beauty as well. Just look at some these songs like opener instrumental Luoto, amazingly cleanly sung Who Could Say, and extra-beautiful closer White Palace. You can't listen to these songs with out envisioning a beautiful epic landscape complete with epic sunset. Also this album brings the riffs to so don't worry, just check out Formidable, The Sonic Sign, or Living in Me. Best songs: Living in Me, White Palace, and Luoto
Opeth Damnation
Opeth My Arms, Your Hearse
Opeth didn't really click for me until I listened to this album which is an amazing journey to say the least. On My Arms, Your Hearse Opeth narrow down the very much long winded progressive death metal sound they had on Morningrise simultaneously trimming the fat and adding a heavy dose of extra brutal. This makes the album as a whole much darker and the acoustic and cleanly sung portions of this album all around more powerful and epic (see When). The concept behind this album is really well done too and adds an extra dimension to your listening experience. Thanks to My Arms I will definitely pursue listening to the rest of the bands discography. Best Songs: When, The Amen Corner, and Karma.
Ophidian I Desolate
Pallbearer Heartless
Pan.Thy.Monium Khaooohs And Kon-Fus-Ion
Panopticon The Scars of Man on the Once Nameless Wilderness
Panzerfaust The Suns of Perdition - Chapter II
A black metal album that takes its time building mood and ambiance in almost a ritualistic manner. When the songs like Areopagitica finally hit, this album can't be topped!
Parkway Drive Deep Blue
Parkway Drive Atlas
God Damn it Parkway Drive! Stop being so fucking good and making me seem like a false kvlt elite trve metalhead. I mean seriously how do these guys do it? They continue to evolve the narrow niche that is modern day metalcore and not only manage to be good but manage to write memorable unique songs I will be listening to years from now. They even make breakdowns thant are some of the freshest sounding I've heard well since the last Parkway album. Atlas doesn't serve as a testament to metalcore or any particular genre in anyway, it just serves as a testament to the amazingly creative band of Aussies that is Parkway Drive. Best Songs: Wild Eyes, The River, Atlas.
Pig Destroyer Prowler in the Yard
Pig Destroyer Phantom Limb
Pixies Doolittle
Primus Frizzle Fry
Queens of the Stone Age Rated R
Queensryche Operation: Mindcrime
Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine
This album is definitely a shot of adrenaline. The energy level throughout these ten songs transcends musical genres making Rage a band that can really appeal to any fan of music from fans of rap to metal. Also this is the ultimate political album and probably the only negative complaint I can raise against this album. If you don't agree with the political views displayed on this album and can limit your enjoyment of the lyrics. Best songs: Killing in the Name of, Take the Power Back, Bullet in the Head.
Revocation Revocation
On their self titled album Revocation keep their creative side intact while simultaneously continuing down the path that they started on their EP Teratogenesis by tightening up their sound and adding more Death Metal influence. Truly revocation are the Metal Legends for this generation. Just listen to the closing section of Archfiend or the guitar solo in invidious and tell me that Davidson isn't already a guitar God. All of the songs themselves are incredibly well written but at the same time flow seamlessly together, just look at how the surprisingly catchy Scatter the Flock flows into Archfiend. All in all Revocation make their best album yet by delivering on every level and then some. Best songs: Archfiend, The Gift You Gave, and Invidious.
Rotting Christ Triarchy of The Lost Lovers
On their what should be considered classic album, Rotting Christ choose the high road of Black Metal and bring good production and catchy riffs to the forefront of their sound. Best songs: Archon, Snowing Still, and Diastric Alchemy.
Rotting Christ Aealo
Rotting Kingdom A Deeper Shade of Sorrow
Rush Moving Pictures
Mother Fucking Rush! On Moving Pictures this iconic band demonstrates how to be technically efficient, write memorable songs, and strike deep emotional chords in just a short span of 40 minutes. Songs like YYZ and Tom Sawyer show progressive rock technicality perfected while Limelight, Witch Hunt, and Vital Signs show how Rush can really strike you on a personal level. And Limelight has to be one of the best songs ever written. In my opinion The Camera Eye drags a little bit, but other than that this album is a masterpiece. Best Songs: Limelight, Tom Sawyer, and Witch Hunt.
Rush Fly by Night
Rwake Voices of Omens
This album contains quite literally the heaviest riffs you'll ever have the pleasure of getting crushed by. Just listen to crooked rivers and tell me that you didn't lose at least half of your teeth when that mammoth fucking riff comes in. Best Tracks:Crooked Rivers, Leviticus, and Inverted Overtures.
Saor Aura
Schammasch Triangle
Schammasch The Maldoror Chants: Hermaphrodite
Shadows Fall The War Within
Slayer Seasons in the Abyss
FUUUCCCKIIINNNGG SSLLLAAAAYEEEERRR!! Seasons in the Abyss is truly not only one the most iconic thrash albums of all time but of all metal in general. And truly separates itself from Slayers previous albums by being an over all more varied release yet it still is as fast and ripping as Slayers other classics Hell Awaits and Reign in Blood. With songs like War ensemble, Hallowed Point, and Spirit in Black Seasons keeps a relatively fast pace but slower and groovier songs like Title track, Dead Skin Mask, and Skeletons of Society give the album an extra dimension and a more interesting listen. A True masterpiece of the genre and an iconic album. Best songs: War Ensemble, Dead Skin Mask, and Seasons in the Abyss.
Slayer Reign in Blood
This is just a fucking classic. On Reign in Blood Slayer immediately achieve legendary status with an album that as a cohesive unit is basically unfuckwithable. Separate the songs don't possess quite the same punch but with a run time of 30 minutes there's no way you won't keep coming back again and again for the full album. Seriously, the road map for extreme speed driven music was laid down effortlessly on this album. Best tracks: Angel of Death, Criminally Insane, Raining Blood
Sleep Dopesmoker
It?s about the pilgrimage not the final destination
Soundgarden Superunknown
One of the best albums the 90s had to offer. Sadly I no longer recognize this as a classic masterpiece. Truly a masterpiece of music history though.
Spaceslug Reign Of The Orion
Stone Temple Pilots Purple
Suffering Hour Dwell
Suffocation Pierced from Within
On their third album Suffocation once again helped to pioneer the now thriving technical death metal and Slam Death Metal Sub-genres. So its easy to say that Pierced From Within is a classic not only in the Death Metal genre itself but in Metal as a whole and should definitely be required listening to any respectable metal head. The music itself is dark, brooding, and really fucking heavy. The murky production on this release helps to spotlight occasional huge mammoth sized riffs that every now and then appear out of the wave of nonstop technicality just look at the song Suspended in Tribulation. And as far as guitar solos go, Terrance Hobs creates some of the best and even most melodic guitar solos you'll ever hear on this album. If there is one criticism the album is kind of front loaded and the best songs make their appearance all at the beginning. Other than that though this is a masterpiece. Best songs: Thrones of Blood, Depths of Depravity, and Suspended in Tribulation.
Temple of Void Of Terror And The Supernatural
Terrorizer World Downfall
The Dillinger Escape Plan Calculating Infinity
On their debut The Dillinger Escape Plan release something truly savage, off the wall, and way ahead of their time. While on recent albums Dillinger gets somewhat bogged down by trying to balance a contrasting more commercial side with their math core roots, calculating is all mother fuckin chaos for 35 glorious minutes. Every song while unique in its own way all work together to make one of the most cohesive albums I've ever heard. Really this album is ,ore of a statement then anything else, "Hi! We are crazy and if you ain't down...fuck off!" Best songs:43% Burnt, Under the Running Board, and 4th Grade Dropout.
The Faceless Planetary Duality
The Offspring Smash
The Reticent The Oubliette
Probably one of the most emotional albums of the year for (with the exception of the top 2). The concept of the album almost overshadows the music and truly is the highlight of the whole release. The music itself is the perfect brooding mishmash of Opeth, Queensryche, and Tool influence which for the most part lends itself perfectly to the overall concept. Best Song: The Oublietter
The Ruins of Beverast Exuvia
The Ruins of Beverast The Thule Grimoires
Thin Lizzy Jailbreak
Third Eye Blind Third Eye Blind
Tiamat Wildhoney
Tool Lateralus
Tool Fear Inoculum
Tribulation The Children of the Night
Triptykon Melana Chasmata
Turbowolf The Free Life
Type O Negative October Rust
On their album October Rust, Type O create not only a dark an sludgy affair but something insanely beautiful and catchy that also pulls on your heart strings. Believe it or not this should be everyone's go to October album, with amazing songs like Love you to Death, Red Water, Burnt Flowers Fallen, and Wolf Moon this album perfectly encapsulates the feeling of fall and the dark beauty that comes with it.
Type O Negative Bloody Kisses
Ulcerate Stare Into Death and Be Still
Unto Others Mana
Venenum Trance of Death
Vision of Disorder From Bliss To Devastation
This is a truly underrated album by an even more underrated band. Specifically on this album Vision of Disorder leave some of their hardcore roots behind in favor of a more grunge/nu metal rock sound. In the end though, this pays off like you wouldn't believe. This album truly is one 50 minute shot of adrenaline that will pump you up and get you energized with many doses of chest thumping anthems all in a nice 4 minute hard rock package. Make note though, these songs are also quite vicious and even possess a lot of metal influences especially in the vocal and riff departments. Best songs: Itchin to Bleed, From Bliss to Devastation, and Done In.
Wayfarer A Romance with Violence
One of the most unique visions for an album to come out in 2020. There?s the intensity of black metal, the swagger of old americana and country, and absolutely some of the best riffs of the year. The overall concept adds to the uniqueness as well. Definitely a defining album in modern USBM. Best Song: The Crimson Rider
White Ward Love Exchange Failure
Windhand Grief's Infernal Flower
Wishbone Ash Argus
Wolves in the Throne Room Two Hunters
Yes Close to the Edge
YOB The Illusion Of Motion
YOB Atma
YOB Our Raw Heart

4.0 excellent
A Hill To Die Upon Holy Despair
A Hill to Die Upon's sound on their latest full length "Holy Despair" could definitely be written off as a kind of copy of behemoth but then you'd be missing one hell of a fun and blasphemous album. What A Hill to Die Upon lacks in originality they more than make up for with their penchant for catchy memorable songwriting and consistency. This album doesn't have a single bummer track (which isn't something I can say for most Behemoth releases). Also when they do decide to branch out a little bit and experiment within their sound it's a treat. Just look at O' Death or the simple interlude Somme. This album is highly recommended for any black or death metal fan. Best songs: O' Death, Satan Speaks, and Nekyia
A Perfect Circle Mer de Noms
Abbath Abbath
Abigail Williams The Accuser
Abysmal Dawn Leveling the Plane of Existence
Act of Impalement Infernal Ordinance
Afterbirth In But Not Of
Agalloch Faustian Echoes
Faustian Echoes is more like an experiment for Agalloch than anything else, an experiment in story telling. Here they seek to fully embody the tail of Faust's deal with Lucifer with their post tinged black metal sound. Because of Agalloch trying to capture the dark and unsettling nature of the story, Faustian Echoes is considerably darker and heavier than most of their out put, once again truly showing how varied Agalloch can be. While you can't really compare it to any of their full lengths, Faustian Echoes shows Agalloch taking a break from their usual sound to craft a successfull and thought provoking EP.
Agalloch The Serpent and the Sphere
Serpent and the Sphere: I hate to say it, but Agalloch disappointed me with this release. A band that released such amazingly unique genre defining efforts such as ?Pale Folklore? and ??The Mantle? seemingly merely copies themselves on this release while not really treading any new ground. Still the fact that this so called disappointment is still in the top 20 on my year end list is a testament to just how good Agalloch are. Tracks like ?Dark Matter Gods? and ?Vales Beyond Dimension? are epic beyond compare while Plateau of Ages truly sends the album off in a post rock infused kind of style truly befitting of this band. So in the end is it a misstep for these black metal legends? Yes. But does Agalloch miss a beat in the process? I?d say no. Best Songs: Dark Matter Gods, Celestial Effigy, and Plateau of the Ages
Agoraphobic Nosebleed Arc
Agrimonia Awaken
Ahab The Boats of the Glen Carrig
Alice in Chains Sap
Alkaloid The Malkuth Grimoire
All Hell The Grave Alchemist
All Shall Perish This Is Where It Ends
On This is Where it Ends, All Shall Perish continue to prove that they are at the top of the barrel when it comes to constructing -core influenced Death Metal. Unlike most of their ilk All Shall Perish know how to write a good song and throughout this album much variation is displayed. Even the breakdowns which appear unsurprisingly in every song are utilized relatively well and add or build up a song rather than slowing it down. For example look at Procession of Ashes or A Pure Evil. All in all, All Shall Perish don't really do anything unexpected or unique but they succeed in making a fun album with crushing songs that you'll come back to for multiple listens. Best Songs: Procession of Ashes, The Past Will Haunt us Both, and My Retaliation.
Altar of Plagues Mammal
Amenra Mass VI
Amon Amarth Twilight of the Thunder God
When you look up the word epic in the dictionary, you find listed just underneath it this album, truly one of the few albums I would take into battle against the armies of darkness. Only issue is that this album just shows Amon Amarth being Amon Amarth and not really experimenting at all or trying to evolve their sound which leaves you with that feeling that you've heard these epic fucking amazing songs before. still an amazing album and really strong 4. Best songs: Twilight of the Thunder God, Varyags Of Miklagaard, and Live for the Kill.
Amon Amarth Deceiver of the Gods
In Deceiver of the Gods, Amon Amarth don't necessarily make a misstep, it's just not as memorable as their other blood soaked outings. This is mainly attributed to the fact that no song truly jumps out at you that you can rank high in the echelon of Amon Amarths Best songs (besides Hel). Still the fact that this, their weakest album in recent memory, is a 4 should be a testament to just how good these brutal vikings are. I will tip my hat and say that band does pay a lot of homage to the great Iron Maiden with some of the guitar melodies and song structures that appear on this album, mainly on As Loke Falls and the 9 minute (I don't use this word lightly) Warriors of the North. Best Songs: As Loke Falls, Hel, Warriors of the North.
Amorphis Queen of Time
Anthrax Among the Living
Anthrax Stomp 442
Anthrax Worship Music
Armageddon (SWE) Captivity and Devourment
Artificial Brain Labyrinth Constellation
Labyrinth Constellations: Holy fucking shit?this album will melt your brain and then replace it with a high tech android super computer. This right here, is definitely my tech death album of the year and like the Fallujah album sees the boundaries of the genre being pushed to new extremes. Unlike the Fallujah release though, these extremes are a lot darker and messed up. Labyrinth Constellations zooms past like some kind of trip through space, and not the optimistic bright Star Trek kind of trip but one where you?re on an aged working class vessel with one of Ridley Scott?s Aliens and of course, no one can hear you scream. Admittedly this album does start to sound samey towards the end, but it?s worth it for the psychedelic infused outro to Absorbing Black Ignition alone. Best tracks: Absorbing Black Ignition, Labyrinth Constellations, and Wormed Harvester
ASG Blood Drive
ASG are an interesting band. On their 2013 album Blood Drive ASG create one of the catchiest rock albums I've heard in recent years. This is mainly because these Native Carolinian's (their a local band for me I might add) have some tricks up their sleeves. The main one being their vocalist Jason Shi who's unique croon adds a nice dynamic to these songs. And the fact that he can go from softly crooning to a blood curdling scream (Castlestorm) just adds to his excelent performance. Another trick is underneath all of these songs is actual talent and overall amazing instrumentation which has more to owe with stoner and sludge metal than anything else. Most of all though these guys just know how to write fun songs, nothing more...nothing less. Best Songs: Castlestorm, Blues for Bama, and The Ladder.
At the Gates Slaughter of the Soul
August Burns Red Leveler
August Burns Red Sleddin' Hill
Autopsy Ashes, Organs, Blood and Crypts
Avenged Sevenfold Nightmare
Baroness First
Baroness Blue Record
Baroness/Unpersons A Grey Sigh in a Flower Husk split
Rating this bad boy a 4 based solely on the Baroness half. Have never been able to get into the Unperson's side of the split. The Baroness half though is something else entirely, definitely their most ambitious and heaviest material. Post metal influence as well as the usual barrage of cave man shouts, groovy riffs, and amazingly intricate dynamics are all to be found on this must listen for both Baroness fans as well as fans of the sludge metal genre in general
Bask III
Beastwars Blood Becomes Fire
On their sophomore effort Beastwars make one of the most fun albums of 2013. It's a raw and heavy with sludgy riffs that hit you like a ton of bricks. And it's all supported by the best bass tone I've heard in recent years which increases the albums heaviness ten fold. The songs themselves are short and to the point and overall the album is easy to digest which adds to its fun quality. Overall I think Beastwars aren't quite finished perfecting their sound but they took a big step in making a unique brand of rock inspired sludge on Blood Becomes Fire. Best Songs: Dune, Realms, and The Sleeper.
Beheaded Only Death Can Save You
Bell Witch and Aerial Ruin Stygian Bough Volume 1
A slow swelling sense of melancholy drapes the run time of this phenomenal collaboration of somewhat clashing styles. Both the soft ethereal acoustic pieces and crushing funeral doom of traditional Bell Witch lend themselves perfectly to the spacious lonesome feel of this LP.
Bewitcher Cursed Be Thy Kingdom
Beyond Creation Earthborn Evolution
Technical death metal has recently become a convoluted genre due in part to the number of bands in the scene with similar sounds as well as to the somewhat monotonous music these bands play. I?m excited to say that the next three bands on this list show that it is possible for modern tech death to break out of the mold of excessive technicality just for the sake of technicality. Beyond creation did so by harkening back to the technical releases of old with a superb production, a jazzy feel, and the best bass performance of the year. Some of the songs start to blend together towards the end, but as soon as track nine, Theatrical Delirium, rolls around with its jazz like guitar performance you know you?ve experienced a pretty awesome album. The bass performance in the title track alone puts this on the map. Best songs: Earthborn Evolution, Theatrical Delirium, and Elusive Reverence.
Big|Brave Vital
Black Anvil Hail Death
Black Crown Initiate Song of the Crippled Bull
If you want to know how to make waves on not just a debut LP, but a debut EP Black Crown Initiate show you how to do it. Utilizing a perfect combination of progressive song structures and melodies with some crushing death metal elements for good measure this relatively young band makes quite an impression in just a 20 minute time span. Definitely look for these guys when they release their first full length in coming years. Best Song: Ghost She Sends
Black Fucking Cancer Black Fucking Cancer
Black Sabbath Vol. 4
Definitely a pretty off the well and more disjointed album when compared to the previous 3. Classic Sabbath still shines through however with phenomenal riffs, fast paced songs, and a new penchant for beautiful key board melodies. Best songs: Snowblind, Supernaut, and Wheels of Confusion/The Straightener
Blind Guardian Nightfall in Middle-Earth
On Nightfall in Middle Earth Blind Guardian, shed some of the faster and thrashier elements found on their classic albums Imaginations from the Other side and Tales from the Twilight World. This is both a good and bad thing. It's good that in doing so Blind Guardian stayed fresh and relevant and practically created a whole new orchestral/classical/operatic version of power metal with the likes of songs like Nightfall and Mirror, Mirror which does draw influences from the mentioned genres. The bad is because they lost some of their more metal elements which was one of the big draws for me on their earlier albums which were epic power metal but still had a mean streak. Still a great album and a master concept album. Best songs: Into The Storm, Noldor, and Time Stands Still(At the Iron Hill)
Blood Incantation Timewave Zero
Bloodbath Breeding Death
This is just a really amazing blood soaked EP. Seriously these guys know how to write death metal and they successfully prove this without a doubt in only 14 minutes. And the riffs....holy fuck the riffs m/! This album contains a whole albums worth of awesome death metal riffs in only three songs and each song is unique. The highlight is of course closer Furnace Funeral which not only possesses more groove than I thought possible but it also closes out with some incredible keys/synth work courtesy of the genius Dan Swano. Don't worry the brutality is all still there. Best Tracks: all fucking three of them m/!
Bloodbath The Arrow of Satan Is Drawn
Bloody Hammers Songs Of Unspeakable Terror
Bog Body Cryonic Crevasse Cult
Bolzer Soma
Bolzer continues their reign over the kvlt like world of underground extreme metal in 2014 due to a sensational appearance at MDF (which I regrettably missed) but also largely in part to this astounding EP which brings to the table black and death metal as well as something special in the song writing department. While neither of the two tracks on this release quite measure up to the amazing songs found on their previous EP ?Aura? Steppes and the behemoth ?Labyrinthian Graves? are quite an impressive example of Bolzer?s ability to combine typical metal influences with psychedelic elements. Believe me, there?s a reason this 18 minute EP is on a list filled with hour long full lengths.
Bongripper Miserable
Boris Dear
Brand of Sacrifice Lifeblood
Burial Hordes Ruins
Bush Sixteen Stone
Cancer Bats Hail Destroyer
Cannabis Corpse The Weeding
Cannibal Corpse Butchered at Birth
Cannibal Corpse Tomb of the Mutilated
Cannibal Corpse The Bleeding
The Bleeding is a classic cannibal corpse record and starts to show the technical side of this buffalo death metal 5 piece, making this the perfect preview album to showcase what was to come when they eventually added corpse grinder. While still being a classic Cannibal and Death Metal album, The Bleeding does suffer from lack of variety since all songs possess the same groovy, technical, and muddy sound, still a crushing twistedly fun listen. Best Songs: Fucked with a Knife, Stripped, Raped, and Strangled, and She was Asking for it.
Cannibal Corpse Red Before Black
Cannibal Corpse Violence Unimagined
Carcass Heartwork
Cattle Decapitation The Anthropocene Extinction
Cave In Until Your Heart Stops
Until Your Heart Stops is a true classic in the metalcore genre. Featuring some of the best breakdowns and off the wall riffs in the early days of the genre, it even has a fair bit of catchy melodies in songs like the masterpiece Juggernaut and Halo of Flies. This album proves that Cave In should be ranked among other classic bands (Converge/Botch/Dillinger Escape Plan) in the metalcore genre. If more bands followed the likes of Cave In metalcore would be a much superior genre. Best songs Juggernaut, The End of our Rope is a Noose, and Halo of Flies.
Cave In Final Transmission
Chapel of Disease The Mysterious Ways of Repetitive Art
Chevelle Sci-Fi Crimes
Chevelle Hats Off To The Bull
Church of Disgust Consumed by Slow Putrefaction
Excellent old school sounding death metal with a new school level of energy. The overall aesthetic of rot and decay is excellently demonstrated across this quick little EP. The songs themselves are memorable and a whole lot of fun. Excellent Bass tone as well!
Clutch Blast Tyrant
Clutch Transnational Speedway League
Collective Soul Dosage
Conan Evidence of Immortality
Converge I Can Tell You About Pain
Converge Bloodmoon: I
Cormorant Dwellings
While Dwellings isn't a step down from Metazoa for the mighty Cormorant it is definitely different in many ways. First off this release settles on a more cohesive sound, trading in the hundreds of influences found on the debut for a more folk oriented form of melodic black/death metal. This sound is the strongest point of the album but at the same time the one flaw. Around the last two 9 minute songs it does begin to tire. Still the album has a whole still feels fresh and lively jumping from one progressive epic to another. The instrumentation as always is another strong suit, just jam to the aptly titled instrumental "Confusion of Tongues" and tell me it doesn't fully engage you for its full run time. This album sees Cormorant trying and succeeding at nailing down a sound, in the future I expect them to even further perfect this unique take on metal. Best Songs: Funambulist, Confusion of Tongues, and Junta
Cough Still They Pray
Cranial Dark Towers, Bright Lights
Crowbar Broken Glass
The NOLA masters of crushing riffs and heaviness prove their worth yet again on this album. While some the songs do blur together, for the most part Broken Glass is a memorable album filled to the brim with crushing riffs, pummeling drums, gruff hardcore vocals courtesy of Kirk Windstein, and emotionally raw tracks. Definitely recommended for fans of NOLA sludge or just insanely pissed off albums in general. Best songs: Broken Glass, (Can't) Turn Away From Dying, and Reborn Thru Me
Cult Leader Lightless Walk
Cult Of Fire Life, Sex and Death
Cult of Luna The Raging River
Cult of Luna The Long Road North
Cynic Traced in Air
Cynic Carbon-Based Anatomy
Danzig Danzig
Darkest Era Severance
This album came as quite a surprise to me, since I had always written these guys off as being a second rate stuck in the confines of typical folk and heavy metal tropes. Well, as of Severance I can say that these Ire landers are truly running wild within these parameters. The songs found on this release are epic yet not cheesy and pay enough tribute to the classic purveyors of this cult heavy metal sound while still being memorable. This album doesn?t stray at all from this formula though however said formula epic it may be. This limits the albums scope a little bit shackling it to this top #25 spot. Still this release is an epic emotionally impactful listen and definitely a reason to keep Darkest Era on your musical radar. Best songs: Sorrows Boundless Realm, Beyond the Grey Veil, and Scavenger
Darkthrone Arctic Thunder
Darkthrone Eternal Hails
Dead Congregation Promulgation of the Fall
Deadbird III: The Forest Within The Tree
Deafheaven New Bermuda
Death Spiritual Healing
Death Individual Thought Patterns
Death Worship Extermination Mass
DECASIA DECASIA
While other bands are taking the sound of stoner rock in more complicated progressive directions (not that that's a bad thing) it's refreshing to hear a band that keeps it about as simple and groovy as possible. This is what the three piece DECASIA successfully accomplishes on their debut silf titled EP. Tracks sound rough and fuzzy in the best way and the vocal production especially does a great job making this album sound like it cam out of California in the 90s. Though it does lack originality at times DECASIA more than make up for it by sticking to their groovy riffs and fill fueled drumming. Best songs: Dive, Blue Love, and Dune
Deftones Around the Fur
Deftones Saturday Night Wrist
Demon The Unexpected Guest
Deserted Fear Drowned by Humanity
DevilDriver The Last Kind Words
Dio Dream Evil
Dominion (SWE) Born God And Aware
Dopelord Songs for Satan
Downfall of Gaia Ethic of Radical Finitude
Dragged Into Sunlight/Gnaw Their Tongues N.V.
Drown (US) Subaqueous
An absolute monolith of melancholia, the funeral doom found within this album does not feel sparse like on other releases but instead is drenched in reverb. This creates almost a suffocatingly lush environment. Drown easily live up to their namesake. Best Song: Mother Cetacean
Dwell (DK) Vermin and Ashes
Elder (USA-MA) Lore
Elder (USA-MA) Reflections of a Floating World
Empress Reminiscence
Emptiness Not For Music
Encrust From Birth To Soil
Enfold Darkness Our Cursed Rapture
This album is in the same vein as the faceless' planetary duality with great technical death metal that includes more black metal influences than PD which helps seperate it from the group. Also great dynamics here especially in our cursed rapture which is definitely the best on this great album.
Enforcer From Beyond
Entombed Wolverine Blues
Every Time I Die Ex Lives
Exhumed Necrocracy
Exodus Bonded by Blood
Extol Extol
Falls of Rauros Vigilance Perennial
Fallujah Nomadic
Honestly this is just a phenomenal accomplishment for these guys and really a statement from Fallujah about where they see their sound heading on their next full length album. Believe me when I say its an overall exciting and quite original statement as well. The addition of even more ambient atmospheres and even the completely ambient track Silent point to Fallujah being the possible new front runners of technical death metal and Atmospheric death metal that they seem to be currently pioneering along with Ulcerate. This is still an EP and wasn't really long enough to warrant a 4.5 but believe me when I say that this is a really strong 4 and anyone who is a fan of progressive death metal as well as glorious atmospheres needs to give this a spin. Check out Venom Upon the Blade m/!
Fallujah The Flesh Prevails
Last year with the release of their EP ?Nomadic?, Fallujah seemed poised to take technical death metal and even death metal in general into a new daring direction with beautifully atmospheric and emotionally impactful music. I guess on Flesh Prevails they deliver on this initial promise, but not without a few bugs in the machine. The main thing that held this album back from being a master work would have to be the overly compact production which really goes against what Fallujah were going for with this album. Everything feels tethered to earth instead of free to roam the soundscape as it should. The album does drag on a couple of tracks as well. Still, this is a truly amazing release which is about as ambitious as one can get and on tracks like Levitated, Alone with You/Allure one can see just exactly what these youngsters were going for and respect them all the more for basically achieving it. Best Tracks: Carved From Stone, Levitation, and Alone with You.
Fates Warning Parallels
Felled The Intimate Earth
Final Light Final Light
Fit for an Autopsy The Great Collapse
Foo Fighters Wasting Light
Frozen Soul Crypt Of Ice
Fulci Exhumed Information
Full of Hell Trumpeting Ecstasy
Full Of Hell and Primitive Man Suffocating Hallucination
Funeral Chic Superstition
Garganjua Toward the Sun
Genocide Pact Order Of Torment
Ghost (SWE) Infestissumam
Ghost continue to push their unique yet some what gimmicky retro style of 70s psychedelic rock on their Sophomore outing Infestissumam except this time they focus more on upbeat almost beach boys like melodies and less on Merciful Fate esque riffs. This works great and almost makes the fact that over the top of these happy sounding keyboard/guitar lines Papa Emertus places some truly well done satanic lyrics all the more twisted. Also when they do unleash the riffs and guitar licks it is with epic results such as in the latter of Year Zero and Per Aspera Ad Inferi. Best Songs: Ghuleh/Zombie Queen, Year Zero, Monstrance Clock.
Goatwhore Constricting Rage of the Merciless
On their latest release these New Orleans veterans finally knock an album out of the park pushed forward by their usual blackened deaththrash sound but spiced up a bit with some experimentation thrown in here and there. Now when I say "experimentation", I mean that one song displays melody while another flattens everything in its path with a crushing doom/death sound. I know that doesn't sound like much experimentation, but believe me for a band like Goatwhore, who prefer the ACDC route of progression, it is. Even the tracks where Goatwhore stick to their guns sound more inspired and memorable than usual. Just check out the opener which is on of Goatwhore's best songs released to date. Best tracks: Poisonous Existence in Reawakening, Cold Earth Consumed in Dying Flesh, Schadenfreude
Godflesh Streetcleaner
Godthrymm Reflections
Epic in the most somber of ways. A true testament to the beautiful might of doom. Songs like ?We are the Dead? and ?Blessed are the Few? easily stand as some of the best most emotive doom songs of recent memory.
Gojira Terra Incognita
Gojira Magma
Gojira Fortitude
Gorevent Fate
Probably one of the more one dimensional albums Ive heard this year. This has to be one of the
albums biggest assets however, as the 20 minute beatdown is short and to the point enough that you
immediately want more. The nonstop slamming groove of this album doesnt hurt either!
Gorguts Pleiades' Dust
Graveyard (SWE) Graveyard
Hail the Villain Population: Declining
Hanging Garden At Every Door
On their third album At Every Door, Hanging Garden create a massive majestic album full of slow crawling heavy as fuck riffs and some of the most well done gutturals I've heard this year. Another reason At every Door is such a success is the dynamics not just between songs but in the songs themselves, for a great example just look at the monster track that is The Cure. The album does drag in the middle but a solid later half more than makes up for it. This is definitely the first amazing album I've heard in 2013. Best tracks: The Cure, Ten Thousand Cranes, and Wormwood.
Harakiri for the Sky III: Trauma
Heaven Shall Burn Iconoclast (Part 1: The Final Resistance)
On Iconoclast part 1, Heaven Shall Burn truly create a phenomenal metalcore album. And really on this album Heaven Shall Burn come off as more of a melodic death metal band that knows how to effectively incorporate a breakdown without stopping the momentum of a song than a run of the mill metalcore outfit. They also incorporate a lot of dynamics throughout the songs. Just look at A Dying Ember and its almost ambient bridge that builds into an absolutely stunning an epic climax. It's still an hour long metalcore album though and kind of drags towards the end. Still if you want a catchy, adrenaline pumping, even epic metalcore album, Iconoclast is here for you. Best songs: Endzeit, A Dying Ember, and Atonement.
Heilung Futha
Helmet Meantime
High on Fire De Vermis Mysteriis
This release right here is an insanley strong 4, in fact the quality is like a 4.5, I just don't listen to it as much as my other 4.5s. This is definitley high on fire at their loudest and most pissed off. Just jam to Bloody Nuckles or Romulas and Remus. That being said amazing tracks like Samsara and King of Days add a nice extra dimension to all the fast pased stoner riffs.
High on Fire Luminiferous
Howls of Ebb Cursus Impasse: The Pendlomic Vows
Iced Earth The Dark Saga
Iced Earth's Spawn concept album The Dark Saga is a truly strong and consistent effort through and through. It mainly sees Iced Earth reigning in their sound a little bit after the overly epic Burnt Offerings. For example the longest song is the 7 minute master piece A Question of Heaven. All in all Iced Earth excel at making memorable complete sounding shorter songs. Also the dynamics on this album are really well done as well, and at times Iced Earth opt for a softer sound over thrashing riffs and pounding drums. Overall Spawn gets an excellent concept treatment on The Dark Saga. Best Songs: I Died For You, The Hunter, and A Question of Heaven.
Ilsa Corpse Fortress
Immolation Atonement
Imperium Dekadenz Dis Manibvs
In Flames Whoracle
In Flames Subterranean
In Vain (NO) Currents
Incubus (USA-CA) Morning View
Incubus (USA-CA) S.C.I.E.N.C.E.
Insomnium Winter's Gate
Intronaut Prehistoricisms
Intronaut Valley of Smoke
Inverloch Distance | Collapsed
Iron Maiden Dance of Death
Iron Maiden Iron Maiden
Although on their self titled debut Iron Maiden haven't quite turned into the band we all know and love they definitely made a splash with their catchy more hard rock version of heavy metal. Some songs do hint at what is to come how ever, the main one being the epic Phantom of the Opera, as well as the instrumental Transylvania. The more abundant hard rock songs work well on here as well though with original singer Paul Dianno's voice being the perfect fit for these kind of songs. Admittedly songs like Sanctuary, Running Free, and Charlotte the Harlot would feel weird on any other albums in Maidens discography but they all work great on this humble start of an amazing band. Best songs:Running Free, Phantom of the Opera, and Charlotte the Harlot.
Iron Maiden Piece of Mind
Iron Maiden The Book of Souls
Iron Monkey 9-13
Judas Priest Painkiller
Judas Priest Sad Wings of Destiny
Kampfar Ofidians manifest
Katatonia Dead End Kings
Another really really strong 4 this year, so close to a 4.5 due to amazingly slick production and some beautiful atmospheres. There just wasn't a song on here that really blew me away or just jumped out of the mold. Don't get me wrong there are amazing songs that form an amazingly dark yet beautiful album. Best songs are the one you are looking for is not here, racing heart, and ambitions.
Kauan Sorni Nai
Khemmis Absolution
Killswitch Engage Alive or Just Breathing
One of the most influential albums for metal in the early 2000's. Basically a release that has been aped by practically every bland metalcore band that followed...all of them falling short of the original. Alive or Just Breathing strikes the perfect middle ground between amazing catchy song writing and undeniably hardcore infused instrumentation. Best songs: Just Barely Breathing, Life to the Lifeless, and Fixation on the Darkness
Korn Korn
so yeah this is a 4, and more likely a 3.5 to 4, but as I said before, this is tribute to my younger self.
Kreator Gods of Violence
Kvelertak Splid
Kylesa Spiral Shadow
Kyuss Blues for the Red Sun
Lamb of God Ashes of the Wake
Truly thanks to albums like Ashes of the Wake Lamb of God as earned their right to be called a classic metal band and one of the few of this generation. Just listen to how iconic these songs are. You'll be hard pressed to find a metal head who doesn't know all of the lyrics or every riff to songs like Omerta and Laid to Rest. This album does deserve all of the praise it gets though and is truly a well rounded album full of amazing bluesy riffs, well written songs, and amazingly tight instrumentation all around, Truly this was the album that put real metal back on the map in the early 2000s. Best songs: Faded Line, Omerta, Break You.
Leviathan Scar Sighted
Live Throwing Copper
Loss Horizonless
Machine Head Unto the Locust
Majesties Vast Reaches Unclaimed
Malignant Altar Retribution of Jealous Gods
Mare Cognitum Luminiferous Aether
Mastodon Remission
Mastodon Leviathan
Mastodon Blood Mountain
Mastodon Once More 'Round the Sun
On their most recent release, "Once more 'Round the Sun" the modern metal juggernauts Mastodon have regained their footing and created a new identity for themselves at the same time. It's true, 'round the sun does signify the end of the progressive metal era for Mastodon but with insanely catchy and all around just good songs like the Motherload and Ember City I'm pretty sure the average Mastofan is Ok with this new hard rock version of Mastodon. This being said these Atlantians are still as weird as ever and don't hesitate to show it on songs like Aunt Lisa and closer Diamond in the Witch House. All in all this release more than makes up for the subpar "The Hunter" and once again makes fans excited for the future of Mastodon. Best Songs: The Motherload, Ember City, Aunt Lisa
Mastodon Emperor of Sand
Mayhem De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
This is a piece of black metal history. Though at times it blends together, the best parts are iconic for all the right reasons. Best Tracks: Funeral Fog, Freezing Moon, Pagan Fears, and Life Eternal. 4.4
Megadeth Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!
Meshuggah Catch Thirtythree
Meshuggah Immutable
Metallica Ride the Lightning
Midnight No Mercy for Mayhem
On their sophomore outing the masters of 80s throwback metal Midnight continue to rage harder than should be allowed. On "No Mercy for Mayhem" a perfect balance between high energy hardcore vibes and still fast but also melodic 80s first wave of black metal riffs. This is a fun album to say the least that will take you on a fast half hour ride and leave you going after the play button once again. Sure the album never steps out of its comfort zone, but on a release like this, that's perfectly fine. Best Songs: No Mercy for Mayhem, The Final Rape of Night, and Try Suicide
Midnight Rebirth by Blasphemy
Misery Index Heirs to Thievery
Misfits American Psycho
Monster Magnet Superjudge
An awesome stoner album with the energy of a hardcore band and riffs heavier than elephants. Best songs: Superjudge, Twin Earth, Face Down, and Black Balloon.
Monster Magnet Mastermind
Best songs: Dig that Hole, Time Machine, and Gods and Punks.
Monster Magnet Last Patrol
Morbid Angel Altars of Madness
Morbid Angel Covenant
Morbid Angel Gateways to Annihilation
Morbus Chron Sweven
Mountains Crave As We Were When We Were Not
Municipal Waste The Art of Partying
Mutoid Man Bleeder
Mystik (SWE2) Mystik
Nails Abandon All Life
On their Sophomore release, the perfectly titled Abandon All Life, Nails release one of the most pissed off and abrasive albums of the year. Even though it is hardcore at the heart, Nails adds a healthy dose of death metal heaviness and grind fury to make it more interesting than any other Hardcore released this year. The grindier songs keeps the albums momentum moving at all times, while ripping off your face in the proscess (Tyrant, the title track) but where Nail's truly excels is when they slow it down to an Elephants marching pace(Wide Open Wound, Suum Cique). Your bones are crushed to a fine powder after these mammoth jams. Best songs: Gods Cold Hands, Wide Open Wound, Suum Cique
Nails You Will Never Be One of Us
Napalm Death Apex Predator - Easy Meat
Nebula To The Center
Neurosis A Sun That Never Sets
Neurosis Fires Within Fires
Night Hag (USA-VA) Phantasmal Scourge
Nightfell A Sanity Deranged
Nirvana In Utero
Nite Voices of the Kronian Moon
Noctomb Obulus For Charon
This is probably the least well known band on this list, which is a shame because as you can tell by their placement on said list they are pretty damned good. Noctomb are a local act from Raleigh NC that I can only describe as being a blackened sludge band that has a fixation on jaw droppingly groovy and catchy riffs. What this young three piece ends up with on their debut ?Obulus for Charon? though, is a sound all their own and one of the most unique albums of 2014. Just jam to riff laden tracks like the title track or Soulrot and tell me if any signed acts on big labels possess song writing that good. You can tell these guys have some room to grow, but with a starting platform this good you can for sure say that success is what lies around the corner. Hopefully in 2015 these guys get the exposure they deserve. Rating: 4.4
Nokturnal Mortum Verity
Numenorean Adore
Oathbreaker Rheia
Obscure Sphinx Epitaphs
Outer Heaven Realms of Eternal Decay
Pagan Altar The Room of Shadows
Pain of Salvation In the Passing Light of Day
Paradise Lost Obsidian
Dark and emotive, Paradise Lost have crafted the perfect album for a dreary winter evening. They also finally balanced out their rival sounds of death doom and British goth music perfectly. Some of their best songs of their modern era are on this release. r
Parkway Drive Horizons
Parkway Drive The DVD
watched this on youtube and I have to say, it really made me respect these guys and what they do even if their music isn't the most original stuff out there.
Pelican The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon...
Pelican effortlessly craft an instrumental journey through multiple seasons on their sophpmore album The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw. The album Starts off in the cold calm atmosphere of winter with the dense opener Last Day of Winter and works its way backwards to the first day of spring with the warmth of the closer Sirius. The Fire In Our Throats sees Pelican start to experiment a little bit by adding some acoustic guitars into thee mix and creating more atmospheric leaning music in general. All in all Pelican easily accomplishes the journey they set out to complete and surpass it despite dragging a little bit in the middle. Best Tracks:Last Day of Winter, Autumn into Summer, and Sirius.
Pig Destroyer Terrifyer
Pig Destroyer Head Cage
Pijn and Conjurer Curse These Metal Hands
Power Trip Nightmare Logic
Primus Sailing the Seas of Cheese
Quicksand Slip
Red Fang Murder the Mountains
On Murder the Mountains, Red Fang continue their upward climb towards commercial success by successfully balancing the fuzzed out heaviness of sludge metal with the fuzzed out catchy styling of stoner rock. This fusion helped to create one of the most fun records of 2011 with songs like Dirt Wizard and Painted Parade supplying the headbangable riffs while the catchier songs like Hank is Dead and Number Thirteen created a more fun atmosphere which will make even the most square person thirst for some beers. The Undertow and Throw Up do provide some variety from these two styles of songwriting. Overall Red Fang still leave some room to grow in the song writing department but still make a blast of a record. Best songs: Hank is Dead, Throw Up, The Undertow.
Red Hot Chili Peppers Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Revocation Existence Is Futile
What a great guitar album m/. Seriously this is like riffs, riffs, and more riffs. Accross Forests and Fjords, Re-animaniacs, and Deathonomics are all about the guitars winding and ultimitley captivating passages. On other songs though Revocation truly show themselves to not only be talented instrumentlists but also amazing song writers such as Leviathan Awaits, Anthem of the Betrayed, Existence is Futile, and a Tragedy of Modern Ages. Hopefully in upcoming albums we will see more of this amazing guitar prowess combined with equally amazing song writing ability.
Revocation Teratogenesis
Teratogenesis is Revocation really narrowing down there sound to really focus on the death metal portions of it. Songs like the Title track and spurn the outstretched hand could have been taken straight from deaths human. This actual lack of variety is tolerable though due to the eps 20 minute length which is why it works so fucking well. Definitely a must for any revocation fan or tech death/thrash fan. Best Tracks The Grip Tightens, Spur the Outstretched hand, Tetrogenesis.
Revocation Deathless
I don?t know how these Bostonians do it. This is the third year in a row they?ve made it onto my year end list (Last year they reached the lofty seventh spot) and if Deathless is any indication, they?re not slowing down anytime soon. Deathless shows Revocation stream lining their sound in the death metal direction even more. This has made the song writing tighter and more cohesive. Sadly gone are the days of crazy experimentation (such as utilizing a banjo or a horn section), but they?ve made way for crushing songs that are still quite capable of jamming like a mother fucker, just check out Labyrinth of Eyes or United Helotry. Also a quick shout out to Madness Opus which is one of the best tracks released this year. Best tracks: Deathless, Madness Opus, and Apex
REZN and Vinnum Sabbathi Silent Future
Rivers of Nihil Where Owls Know My Name
Rivers of Nihil The Work
Rotting Christ Kata Ton Demona Eaftou
On their 11th album, Kata..something I can't pronounce in Greek, Rotting Christ continue where they left off on their previous album, Aealo by continuing to push their greek influenced folk tinged melodic black metal. Except this time that sound is stream lined ten fold and the influence is more subtle, which is a nice change for these Greeks keeping their sound from stagnating. This fresh new turn plus some truly well written songs makes Kata a must hear album of 2013. Though the album does lag in the middle with the track Cine Ibusta really doing more harm than good it is still an all around amazing feat for these Greeks proving that their brand of melodic black metal is still some of the best in the genre. Best Songs: In Yumen - Xibalba, Iwa Voodoo, and 666.
Samothrace Reverence to Stone
A beautiful bluesy take on crushing funeral doom that brings out an excellent amount of sludge elements too. Both songs also have riffs far too epic to be ignored! 4.3
Sanguisugabogg Pornographic Seizures
Sanguisugabogg Homicidal Ecstasy
Scale the Summit The Migration
So I know I'm just repeating everyone else when I call this album lush and adventurous, but honestly I can't think of a better way to describe the journey that is Scale the Summit's Migration. The central focus of the album, guitar melodies, whisk the listener away to a jungle filled with progressive instrumentals and exciting atmospheres. To add to albums over all adventurous theme, it's backed by an amazing rhythm section which echos that of a jazz fusion band. If I had a complaint with this album it would be that songs don't individually stick out and the "wow" factor is not as high as it was on the Collective. Overall though, The Migration continues to see Scale the Summit, uh...scale the summit of the progressive music scene. Best Songs: The Olive Tree, Narrow Salient, The Dark Horse.
Schammasch Hearts of No Light
Scientist (USA) Barbelith
Septicflesh Communion
Sepultura Chaos A.D.
Shadow Of Intent Melancholy
Shadows Fall The Art of Balance
I can't believe it has taken me this long to rate an album that was so integral to my metal development. Just like the classic album that proceeded this, I don't know where I would be on my metal journey without it.. Best Song: Stepping Outisde the Circle
Shape of Despair Monotony Fields
Shi (?) Depressive Suicidal Stoner Doom
A band and album that pulls no punches and easily lives up to its namesake. Very much what you see is what you get: heavy, pissed off, lyrically brutal sludge. Some damn catchy tunes though!
Skaphe Skáphe²
Skeleton Skeleton
Speaking of fun rocking albums, the self-titled debut from Skeleton is the perfect blend between first wave black metal and hardcore punk pacing. It?s nonstop adrenaline and simplistic riffs in the best way. Best Song: Catacombs
Skeletonwitch Serpents Unleashed
Holy shit, the amount that this band has improved on this their fifth album is astounding. On previous albums Skeletonwitch pushed their good if somewhat unoriginal and overall tedious blackened death thrash sound. On serpents Unleashed Skeletonwitch still have the same overall sound but some how they make it all their own. This album pushes black metal like melodies via a thrash like approach with an amazingly open production thanks to Kurt Ballou which lets you see all the little details that Skeletonwitch put in their music. The short run time also works wonderfully for this album giving it a Reign In Blood kind of vibe. Overall this album is as close to a 4.5 as can be and really the only thing that holds it back is not enough truly genre defining tracks. Best Songs: I am of Death(Hell has Arrived), Burned from Bone, and Unending, Everliving.
Skinless Only The Ruthless Remain
Slayer South of Heaven
Sleep The Sciences
It's a total vibe.. The whole album is fuzz rained supreme on our minds. Let it flow through you 4.20/5
Smoulder Times of Obscene Evil and Wild Daring
Soilwork Verkligheten
Soreption Monument of the End
Soundgarden Badmotorfinger
Sourvein Black Fangs
Spaceslug Eye the Tide
Spectral Lore and Mare Cognitum Wanderers: Astrology of the Nine
The fact that this album is a spectacle beyond normal undertaking is its greatest strength and greatest weakness. One of the most expansive and dynamically ambitious pieces of metal of 2020 "Astrology of the Nine" is an epic journey through the cosmos that will not soon be forgotten, just certain parts will also be hard to remember..
Spectral Voice Eroded Corridors of Unbeing
Spire Temple of Khronos
Spirit Adrift Curse of Conception
Stabbing Ravenous Psychotic Onslaught
Stone From The Sky Fuck The Sun
Stoned Jesus Seven Thunders Roar
Strapping Young Lad City
Suffering Hour The Cyclic Reckoning
Suffocation Pinnacle of Bedlam
On Pinnacle of Bedlam Suffocation seemingly without breaking a sweat create one of the best most brutal technical Death metal albums of 2013. Every song is a solid slab of dizzying riffs played over absolutely pummeling drums and apocalyptic lyrics, executed perfectly by Frank Mullen. That being said, Suffocation really hit their stride with the solos, thank you Terrance Hobbs. Every guitar solo possesses its own unique structure and actually has form and emotion to it making it more than plain old technical wizardry, just look at the title track. Suffocation while not reinventing the wheel once again show all the bands they inspired how to properly construct a memorable and brutal tech deth album. Best songs: Sullen Days, Purgatorial Punishment, Rapture of Revocation.
Sumerlands Dreamkiller
Suppressive Fire Nature of War
Sutrah (CAN) Aletheia
Sutrah keep technical death metal relevant in 2020 with one hell of an ambitious EP. Over its 30 minute run time, Alethia goes from a swirling ethereal beauty to riff filled savagery and then right back. It also possesses the best production of the year.
Sylosis Dormant Heart
On Dormant Heart, Sylosis create an album that expertly combines the brutality of underground more extreme metal with the accessibility of some mainstream elements. This makes Dormant Heart a fun and immediately rewarding listen. They balance these influences well enough to make Dormant Heart and engaging listen all the way through. Definitely a good album to properly bridge the gap for metal fans who haven't quite made the transition to more brutal sounds. Best songs: Leach, Harm, and To Build a Tomb
Temple of Void Lords Of Death
Temple of Void The World That Was
Temple of Void venture back into the doom realm with their third release and do so with some exciting experimentation on top of the now slower still very death metal focused riffage. There?s some nice added atmosphere, more interesting clean vocals, and even some maiden esque leads. r
Temple of Void Summoning the Slayer
Thaetas Shrines to Absurdity
An amalgamation of all things modern death metal. Shrines to Absurdity is..absurd: odd skronky riffs barrage over a grindlike intensity. There is definitely just the right amount of hardcore influence as well to make this album ridiculously fun. Best Song: Blood Distilleryr
The Atlas Moth An Ache for the Distance
The Atlas Moth Coma Noir
The Black Dahlia Murder Nocturnal
The Black Dahlia Murder Ritual
The Black Dahlia Murder Everblack
The Black Dahlia Murder Nightbringers
The Black Dahlia Murder Verminous
The Black Dahlia Murder prove to be one of the most consistent post 2000s death metal act by simultaneously sticking with their tried and true sharp melodic attack but at the same time shaking it up by adding some more NWOBHM oriented riffs here and there. Their ability to stick with a cohesive concept each album helps each release have its own flair as well.
The Black Keys El Camino
The Dillinger Escape Plan Miss Machine
The Dillinger Escape Plan Ire Works
The Faceless Akeldama
The Faceless Autotheism
I wouldn't call this a disappointment, just a failure to realize a sounds full potnetial. This is no Planetary Duality basicly. Accelerated evolution, in solitude and the autotheistic movements are all really well done though.
The Great Old Ones EOD: A Tale of Dark Legacy
The Obsessed Lunar Womb
The Obsessed Sacred
The Offspring Ixnay on the Hombre
The Ominous Circle Appalling Ascension
The Red Chord Fused Together in Revolving Doors
The Red Chord Clients
The Red Chord Fed Through the Teeth Machine
Phenomenal album: Hour of the Rats, Demoralizer, Mouthful of Precious Stones, Floating through the Vein; so many great tracks 4.3
The Sword Age of Winters
The Sword Warp Riders
The Sword Apocryphon
On Apocryphon the sword stick with their riff oriented sound that they had on warp riders and instead of applying it to make a concept album choose to create a song oriented album. These songs are some of The Swords best though with even a little bit of experimentation seen in songs like Apocryphon and the stoner jam Cloak of Feathers. All around the sword make their most consistent and badass album to date. Best songs are Dying Earth, Eyes of the Stormwitch, and Apocryphon.
Thorn Crawling Worship
Thou Summit
Thou Magus
Thou Rhea Sylvia
Thy Art Is Murder Hate
With this rating I have to come clean about a guilty pleasure of mine...I love a good skull crushing Godzilla sized break down. But there's a catch, it has to be unique, well executed, and can't interfere with the flow of the song as well. This catch generally stops most deathcore bands from gaining my fandom. Not Thy Art is Murder though. On their sophomore effort they create an engaging deathcore album which is a fun listen from start to finish which crushes all in its wake. While it does began to get a little monotonous towards the second half the closing two songs more than make up for it. Best songs: Reign of Darkness, Purest Strain of Hate, and Doomed From Birth.
Tomb Mold Manor of Infinite Forms
Tomb Mold Planetary Clairvoyance
Torche Admission
Torture Rack Primeval Onslaught
Energetic, nasty, and filled with a punk attitude. This is one of my death metal highlights for 2023. 8.6/10
Toxic Holocaust Conjure and Command
Toxic Holocaust Primal Future: 2019
Trappist Ancient Brewing Tactics
Twisted Tower Dire Wars in the Unknown
I don't give a shit! This album is epic, catchy, and filled with phenomenal riffs. This is one of those bands that keeps metal alive no matter what. RESPECT! Best Track: True North
Uada Devoid of Light
Uada Cult of a Dying Sun
Ulthar Cosmovore
Umbra Vitae Shadow of Life
A ferocious maelstrom of hardcore and grind influenced death metal. Excellent riffs and fist pumping moments abound across this release. A quick shot of adrenaline of an album.
Undeath Lesions of a Different Kind
This is a death metal tour de force of old school influence seen through a modern lens. It?s chunky groove laden riffage doesn?t take away from the gore soaked atmosphere. Some of the best death metal songs of the year are found on this release. Best Song: Kicked in the Protruding Guts
Van Halen Van Halen
Varathron Patriarchs of Evil
Vektor Terminal Redux
Voivod Synchro Anarchy
Weedeater God Luck and Good Speed
Weedeater Jason the Dragon
Though not quite as instantly recognizable and driven as the previous release, Jason the Dragon still holds its own with some tongue in cheek lyrical themes and an all around slower approach to song writing. Still has hits like Mancoon, the title track, and Long Gone. 4.1
Weeping Sores False Confession
Weezer Weezer
Weregoat Pestilential Rites of Infernal Fornication
While She Sleeps Brainwashed
Whispered Shogunate Macabre
This was one of my first loves of 2014. Insanely gripping melodic death metal with lyrics entirely about the honor of Samurais, and some amazing eastern folk instrumentation added in for good measure is what this album has to offer. Seriously, it?s as amazing as it sounds. Every single track is an epic slice of shogun infused fury and with insanely catchy tracks like Hold the Sword and One Man?s Burden you?ll keep coming back. It?s truly on the ballad esque Lady of the Wind that these samurai shine though. It?s an emotionally impactful epic the rises above the rest of an album as an example of what this band can truly be capable of. I look forward to seeing this potential fully realized, but for now amazing albums like this one are more than enough from these Finlanders. Best Tracks: One Man's Burden, Lady of the Wind, and Upon My Honor.
Whores. Ruiner
Wiegedood De Doden Hebben Het Goed II
Windhand Soma
Some Depressing doom was really what I was missing this year, thank God I found these guys back in November (before I was getting all depressed without the proper soundtrack). Windhand's Soma is bleak, atmospheric, and most of all...Slow and Heavy. 10+ minute songs slowly move across the landscape while vocalists Dorthia Cottrell wails overtop like some tortured banshee. I have to admit though my personal highlight is the all acoustic Evergreen which is a nice switch from the usual drone and hit me right in the feels more than the other tracks. Best Songs: Evergreen, Woodbine, and Cassock
Windhand Eternal Return
Wormhole The Weakest Among Us
Somehow this album perfectly straddles the gap between brutal ridiculousness and impressive ear melting technicality. It?s fun all the way through!r
Wormrot Abuse
I originally thought that it wasn't possible for a grind album to be unique or interesting. That was until I heard Abuse, this release takes the best of grind the murky riffage, unintelligible vocals and adds multiple influnces from Death metal to hardcore to make the ultimate grind album as far as I'm concerned.
Wormrot Dirge
WVRM Colony Collapse
What a fun grind record with plenty of hardcore influence. Some of the best breakdowns and samples I?ve heard all year!r
Xoth Interdimensional Invocations
Year of the Cobra Ash and Dust
Yes Fragile
Roundabout and Heart of the Sunrise are two of Yes's best songs! Where this LP falters a little is with the excessive amount of back to back interludes. One between each longer track would have work for this albums favor but having to sit through three or four of them between each proper track really takes away from the momentum of the album. 4.3 Best song: Heart of the Sunrise
YOB Elaborations Of Carbon
YOB Catharsis
YOB Clearing The Path To Ascend
Clearing the Path to Ascend: This year I can also say that I?ve officially found the awe inspiring soul crushing power of doom. Yob was one of the bands that helped me wake up to this slow meandering style of metal. And I?d say on the surface this album, is just your typical monolithic doom release. All the songs are longer than the ten minute mark and feature riffs that could crush an elephant. It?s only when closing track Marrow plays that you can see the true genius behind this album that helps to separate it from the pack of other albums released this year. Marrow makes the three tracks the marched before it seem like the long lasting suffering before the ultimate catharsis of Marrow hits you with its innate beauty. ?It?s time to wake up.? Best tracks: Nothing to Win, In Our Blood, and Marrow.
Zao The Crimson Corridor

3.5 great
1349 The Infernal Pathway
A Life Once Lost Ecstatic Trance
Ecsatic Trance shows A Life Once Lost trying to tackle Meshuggah with mostly positive results. Best songs are Something Awful, Empty Form, and The Blues.
Aborted RetroGore
Acid King Beyond Vision
Adele 21
AFI Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes
AFI's Shut your mouth and open your eyes is a fun album, simple as that. It doesn't possess any songs that really break out of the mold they were using at the time this was released but there are some really strong songs here such as Third Season, A Single Second, Let it Be Broke, and Triple Zero. Sadly it does suffer through some filler issues through its latter half. Still a solid fun album.
Afterbirth Four Dimensional Flesh
An eclectic unique album that is not quite the sum of its parts. Individual moments are top tier but added together the flow of the release feels uneven.
Amon Amarth Fate of Norns
Amon Amarth Jomsviking
Ataraxy Where All Hope Fades
Avenged Sevenfold City of Evil
Baroness Yellow and Green
Baroness Gold and Grey
Bestia Arcana Holokauston
Betrayed Betrayed / Champion
Between the Buried and Me Automata I
Between the Buried and Me Automata II
Black Tusk Set The Dial
Black Tusk TCBT
Bolt Thrower Honour - Valour - Pride
On Honour - Valour - Pride, Bolt Thrower make a deliciously groovy and crushing affair that basicly pummels you from the first track to the final track Pride. The only issue is that most of these tracks start to blend into one another and sound similar as the album progresses. Hell even some of the riffs sound the exact same here. Overall though this is still a pleasing listen. Just jam Inside the Wire and tell me that that doesn't get you moshing.
Cannibal Corpse Eaten Back to Life
Castle (USA-CA) Under Siege
Caustic Wound Death Posture
A solid 26 minutes of noisy death metal. And though it does blend together a bit, there?s a tasty collection of riffs throughout, especially on Ritual Trappings
Celestial Sanctuary Soul Diminished
Chevelle This Type Of Thinking (Could Do Us In)
Children of Bodom Something Wild
On their debut Something Wild Children of Bodom are quite a different wild beast than what they turned into on their later releases. Here Bodom almost sounds like a black Metal band in places especially in how they utilized the key boards which on this album is more used to add atmosphere than anything else. Lexi's vocals almost have a raw Black Metal sound to them as well. To add to this Children of Bodom also experimented a little with their neoclassical influences on some songs like In the Shadows and The Nail, in the end all of these influences aren't packaged as neatly as they are on Bodom's later releases so it is a tad messy sounding to say the least. Otherwise it is a rippingly fast album and a tease of the greatness to come. Best songs: Red Light in My Eyes part 1, Lake Bodom, and Touch like the Angel of Death.
Cirith Ungol Forever Black
Coffins Beyond the Circular Demise
punky doom infused death metal that engages all the way through. Insane might be one of the catchier death metal songs to come out this year!
Collective Soul Afterwords
Conan Blood Eagle
The literal musical incarnate of Conan the Barbarian (they definitely got their name right) Conan bring ball crushingly heavy atmosphere to the forefront on Blood Eagle. This album is just excessive in its goal of pulverizing the listener with slow lumbering songs. This is both a good and bad thing. Good because who doesn't want to have their ear drums trampled by Elephants for 45 minutes, bad because near the end it does get old and requires me to be in a very certain mood to actually jam to it. Still a great slab of crushing doom if there ever was one. Jam Crown of Talons now m/!
Conjurer (UK) Mire
Corrosion of Conformity No Cross No Crown
Darkest Hour The Human Romance
Darkthrone Old Star
Death. Void. Terror. To the Great Monolith II
This is a superb album of haunting soundscapes capable easily creating a mood of terror. It does come off as a little one note which holds it back from greater heights.r
Desolate Shrine The Heart of the Netherworld
Destroyer 666 Call of the Wild
Die Choking IV
A savage fun listen that doesn't stick out long term but is sure to shred whenever played. 3.7
Dimmu Borgir Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia
A fun album that's a little overblown by the symphonic elements. ICS Vortex's cleans are probably biggest highlight!
Dragged Into Sunlight Terminal Aggressor II
Dream Theater Images and Words
Druid Lord Hymns For The Wicked
Dwaal Gospel Of The Vile
Absolute atmospheric heaviness is the name of the game for Dwaal?s debut. It is absolutely crushing post metal with some nice death metal influence throughout. Dwaal definitely hit a couple of Morbid Angel notes.
Dying Fetus Reign Supreme
Dyscarnate With All Their Might
Exmortus Slave To The Sword
Holy hell, this is the guitar album of 2014 so far. Every guitar solo sounds like 4 guitar solos combined to make one terrific shredfest. Even the riffs alone contain more shred than one regular death metal song would. Other than the amazing guitar virtuosity though, the songs really are nothing new and start to somewhat blend together after the 5th track, at times even the shredtastic solos can sound to wanky and emotionally hollow. Other than that, this album brings the reffs and guitar solos this year. Best songs: Slave to the Sword, Moonlight Sonata, and Foe Hammer.
Feist/Mastodon Feistodon
The cover of Feist's song by Mastodon is seriously fantastic and like a 4 to 4.5, but I just can't get into the feist song at all. Probably just because its not my style of music but it just sounds nothing like it and to laid back so that brings it down a tad.
Fetid Steeping Corporeal Mess
Fit for an Autopsy The Sea of Tragic Beasts
Gatecreeper An Unexpected Reality
An interesting dynamic take on Gatecreepers hardcore-esque OSDM sound split into two halves. A fun 18 minute listen!r
George Ezra Wanted on Voyage
Ghost (SWE) If You Have Ghost
Ghost (SWE) Prequelle
Goatwhore Carving Out The Eyes Of God
To put it bluntly Carving Out the Eyes of God is a one sided attack of pure brutality and not much else. But this style is perfect for goatwhore, who's true goal is to make a face crushing record about carving off God's Face. And in that they succeed. Best songs are Carving Out the Eyes of God, Shadow of a Rising Knife, and To Mourn and Forever Wander Through Forgotten Doorways.
Gorod The Orb
Hath Of Rot And Ruin
Howl Howl
Hypocrisy Worship
Iced Earth Dystopia
Great stuff and a good come back! Maybe if I was a fan during their crappier couple of releases I would appreciate this more. Still great album. Reccomended tracks:Dystopia, Anthem, Dark City. and Age of Innocence.
Immortal Bird Thrive On Neglect
Incubus (USA-CA) Light Grenades
Indian From All Purity
This is one of the more toxic albums I've had the pleasure of listening too recently. The
atmosphere will suffocate you in a wall of sludged out sound, while the vocalist will
personally stab you multiple times in the face with a hot poker. This means that at times
this album is painful to listen too, but that's all part of its charm. I will admit that in
the beginning its a little monotonous but by the end it's picked up steam thanks to the
power of The Rhetoric of No and Disambiguation.
Ingested Revered by No One, Feared by All
Nothing super special here, but what is present on this all to brief EP is an all out vulgar assault on the senses which constitutes easy listening fun. This brings the mosh basically. Highly recommend giving Titanomachy and Endgame a jam
Ingested The Architect of Extinction
Integrity Howling, For the Nightmare Shall Consume
A very interesting explorative album for Integrity that sees them incorporate everything from black metal, to sludge, and even soul into their iconic caveman style of metalcore. Sometimes the experimentation lands perfectly such as on Serpent of the Crosses and String up My Teeth other it comes off as interesting on first listen but not memorable in the big picture of their catalog.
Internal Rot Grieving Birth
This is nasty, riff filled fun that gets right to the point. This is a great grind rekkid for the year that is 2020
Iron Maiden Fear of the Dark
Iron Reagan Spoiled Identity
This EP is a quick yet undeniably fun listen. With a total of 13 songs and a whopping 5 minute run time this release is a great addition to Iron Reagan's modern take on crossover thrash. There are sick riffs and even sicker solos darted across this short burst of adrenaline. Best songs: One Shovel Short of a Funeral, Cops Don't Like me: I Don't Like Cops, and the title track. Seriously give the whole thing a listen though.
Katatonia The Fall of Hearts
Knocked Loose A Different Shade of Blue
Korn Life Is Peachy
Korn Follow the Leader
Like Rats Death Monolith
Super solid hardcore leaning death metal that perfectly balances fun moshing riffage with a classic old school brutality.r
Lycosa Lycosa
Machine Head Through the Ashes of Empires
This album shows Machine Head slowly finding their way back to the path of well constructed epic songs and riffs. It of course still a journey in progress on Ashes and some of the songs are still dragged down by immature lyrics and over the top Nu Metalish angst. That being said, some of the songs hit harder than a truck with their meaty groove oriented riffage and will pulverize you like no other with thrash like speed. This is definitely when Machine Head found their way back on track.
Magic Circle Departed Souls
Marduk Viktoria
Mastodon The Hunter
So originally when this album was released, I considered it a misstep for the might Mastodon, but now due to the release of "Once more 'Round the Sun.." I can see the bigger picture and realize that this album definitely has a place in their discography as a kind of awkward stepping stone from their proggy sludge sound to their now infectious arena rock sound. Overall though, this album feels disjointed and all over the place at times which takes away from the total enjoyment of it. Still there are some tracks that truly standout like: Curl of the Burl, The Octopus Has No Friends, and All the Heavy Lifting.
Miasmal Cursed Redeemer
This is the definition of if shit ain't broke, don't fix it. In this case, it is the classic early 90s Swedish death metal with a dash of roll sound. Miasmal play this crushing sound to a T, complete with anguished vocals, distorted buzz saw riffs, and an atmosphere that feels similar to that of desolate swamp like cavern. That being said that is all this album is good for, a fitting tribute to the classics of the 90s but no more. Cursed Redeemer does do some intense jamming at some points though m/! Best track: 2013
Mo'ynoq Dreaming in a Dead Language
Monolithian The Finest Day I Ever Lived...
With their debut album, The Finest Day I ever Lived, Monolithian definitely show that they have what it takes to break into and make a hopefully spine crushing career in the doom/sludge scene. This is mainly due to their approach to the genre, utilizing a dual approach to the instrumentation of only bass and drums. Thanks to the production as well as the bass riffs, this unique tactic pays off in spades and Monolithian sound huge on songs like the title track and Barren Sea. An incorporation of hardcore and death metal doesn't hurt either and makes the record all the more savage. Though not all the songs truly stand out and make their mark (some wander around aimlessly), this debut is definitely a sign of great things to come from this duo. I'll definitely be watching! Best Songs: The Finest Day, Barren Sea, and Second of the Istari
Mortiferum Preserved in Torment
Motley Crue Dr. Feelgood
Mudvayne Mudvayne
Mutilation Rites Empyrean
Natur Natur (split)
I just saw these guys recently and they put on a great fucking show filled to the brim with classic metal riffs and melodies yet it still sounded fresh. Really this is the kind of jams that this new new wave of british heavy metallers should be trying to make. It properly salutes the classics while at the same time not copying them riff for riff or concept for concept. This is a really promising demo from these guys and will definitely make me check out their full length. Best song: Goblin Shark
Necrot Mortal
While still being a superb and above average death metal album, Necrot?s latest steps down the memorability a bit from its predecessor. Besides the insanely catchy Sinister Will, every track blends together. r
Nekrogoblikon Power
This E.P. is a disorganized mess of different genres and influences, and it's better for it. Although admittidely some songs are to off the wall to take seriously at all..*cough* Giraffe *cough* other songs are undeniably a good kind of crazy:Powercore and Friends (in space).
Nirvana Nevermind
Noisem Cease To Exist
Noisy Neighbors Derailing the Hype Train
Obduracy Sunday's Autopsy
Omnium Gatherum New World Shadows
Opeth Heritage
Heritage sadly sees Opeth more than anything taking a slight misstep in their overall great career. On Heritage the main goal is to emulate and pay tribute to the multitude of progressive rock bands from the 70's like Camel or Gentle Giant while dropping their death metal influences entirely (I'm not gonna lie I missed them). And Opeth do indeed pay a pretty good tribute to these bands but while doing so they construct a somewhat disjointed and seemingly sporadic album. In the latter portions dynamic songs pop up that really do nothing besides being maybe providing one singular riff throughout the song and over all seem underdeveloped and not executed to their full potential. That's not saying that their aren't good songs on the album though and overall it's still an interesting if somewhat disjointed/boring listen, hopefully next album they can really tighten things up a little bit. Best songs: I feel the Dark, Slither, and Folklore.
Paladin (USA) Demo 2017
A great balance between both epic and savage fury. Great guitar virtuosity and impressive song writing ability for a demo. Bury the Light is definitely one hell of an anthem!
Parkway Drive Ire
While being a perfectly alright addition to one of the best discographies in the modern metalcore genre, some cracks and inconsistencies are starting to appear in Parkway Drives sound. What's surprising is that these inconsistencies don't arise from a rehashing of old ideas but instead the incorporation of uninteresting new ones. For instance, this more arena rock approach they're taking while exciting on the first listen just doesn't seem to deliver upon multiple returns. Also the dilution of their sound with slower and catchier tracks and melodies really stops there from being much of an oomph! factor which is what made previous Parkway albums so exciting. Still some tracks are noteworthy additions to their discography: Fractured, Crushed, Dying to Believe
Pathogen Miscreants of Bloodlusting Aberrations
This album is basically an old school Florida Death Metal tribute album. Many of these songs will conjure up memories of altars/covenant Morbid Angel or Scream Bloody Gore era Death. This is seen in the vocals and relatively thin production. Of course these influences aren't a bad thing it just keeps this album from being all that original. The last track Uranium Messiah is this sound perfected though. So all in all if you're looking for an old school throw back album for your 90s DM this is your album. Best Jamz: Uranium Messiah and Leviathan.
Pelican Ataraxia/Taraxis
Pentakill Smite and Ignite
I would call Pentakill a huge success for Riot and the League of Legends brand. Though this album is nothing new and doesn't even try to break out of the commercial power metal niche it's placed itself in, it does succeed in being a fun listen with above par instrumentation. These songs will pump you up for a nerdy as hell video game with your friends but nothing more. This alone though makes this album worth a listen.
Pig Destroyer Book Burner
Pissgrave Posthumous Humiliation
Queensryche Empire
Quest of Aidance Misanthropic Propaganda
This album contains a weird hodge podge of genres and influences such as grind, melodic death metal, hardcore, some thrashy riffs here and there, and even symphonic elements thrown in for good measure. This yields mainly positive results. And even though it suffers from being all over the place the epic moments are well...epic. Jam to Like Shadowing Suns.
Quicksand Triptych Continuum
Revulsion (FIN) Revulsion
A fun, groovy death metal album with a superb bass tone that gets the job done but not much else. Best Song: Wastelands
Rob Zombie Hellbilly Deluxe 2
Rotting Christ Khronos
Rotting Christ The Heretics
Sanguisugabogg Tortured Whole
Sannhet So Numb
Shadows Fall Fire From the Sky
Skid Row Skid Row
Snorlax The Necrotrophic Abyss
Social Distortion Social Distortion
Sourvein Aquatic Occult
Stone Temple Pilots Stone Temple Pilots (2010)
Sulfuric Cautery Suffocating Feats of Dehumanization
Summoning Lost Tales
Lost Tales while not designed to be anything else than a chance to listen to two unfinished rsummoning tracks turns out to work really quite well and the quality of these two guitar-rless vocal less pieces of music almost serve as ambient music instead of anything close to rblack metal. They are great pieces of ambient music at that and serve as a great contrast rto the rest of summoning's discography. For example, the build up in Arcenstone is something rany fan of black metal or ambient should be able to appreciate. I definitely recommend rlaying back to the soothing melodies and atmosphere of Arcenstone.
Suppressive Fire Hellwraith
Swallow the Sun When a Shadow Is Forced into the Light
System of a Down System of a Down
Testament Dark Roots of Earth
The Black Dahlia Murder Miasma
The Crown Cobra Speed Venom
The Drip The Haunting Fear of Inevitability
The Isolation Process The Isolation Process
On their debut album, this group of swedes has already made waves in my book by latching on to a unique sound. Monolithic post metal combined with the catchiest moments of modern progressive rock gives you this self titled release in a nut shell. Though sometimes this release lacks variety, on certain songs they truly out do themselves like opener "A Simple Gesture" and heavy as fuck rager "It Will Burn". I definitely recommend fans of post metal as well as creative music in general give this album a jam m/!
The Police Synchronicity
Tribulation Down Below
Werewolves What A Time To Be Alive
Windhand/Satan's Satyrs Split
Windhand?s two songs are perfect. One song by Satan?s Satyrs is..
Within Destruction Deathwish
A straightforward yet enjoyable romp through alien conspiracies, BREE BREES, slamming riffs aplenty, and very ignorant yet fun to scream along with group vocals. Can't go wrong with this if slightly commercial slam is what you're looking for.
Wode Wode
Wolfmother Cosmic Egg
Yuri Gagarin The Outskirts of Reality
This is one hell of a trip. Though it does meander in spots, Yuri Gagarin gets the job done by crafting a groovy psychedelic trip to the outer reaches of stoner rock expression.r
Zao (Self-Titled)

3.0 good
10 Years Feeding the Wolves
AC/DC Black Ice
Alabama Thunderpussy River City Revival
Bad Religion The Dissent of Man
Bent Life Full Skull EP
Black Tusk Tend No Wounds
On their EP Tend No Wounds, Black Tusk seem to go after the more laid back stoner rock influenced sludge metal that Red Fang has popularized thanks to Murder the Mountains. Catchy fuzzed out guitar melodies and Red Fang inspired vocal lines dominate the EP's short run time. Sadly copying a more successful band does not make up for a lack of memorable song writing which means that most of the songs go nowhere. Still Truth Untold and In Days Of Woe have some good instrumentation.
Blessed by a Broken Heart Feel The Power
Bring Me the Horizon Sempiternal
I guess props for these guys doing something different with incorporating some post rock atmospheres into there brand of genericore. So its easy to say these guys have definitely gotten better, but that's not saying much honestly and practically all of these songs are nothing memorable. And hey guess what! These guys now do meshuggah riffs too, more originality.
Cannabis Corpse Nug So Vile
Chimaira Resurrection
Crossfade We All Bleed
Defeater Empty Days and Sleepless Nights
Demisery Hive of Mutation
Disembowel (USA-OR) Echoes of Terror
Disturbed Indestructible
Drowning Pool Drowning Pool
Elder Druid Golgotha
Solid riffs all the way through, but that?s about it
Embrional Evil Dead
Evanescence Fallen
Exhumed All Guts, No Glory
Foo Fighters Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
Godsmack The Oracle
Halestorm Halestorm
Impaled Nazarene Tol Cormpt Norz Norz Norz
Good for an interesting listen every now and then, but ultimately the bad production generic riffs and black metal cliches are to much to warrant multiple listens.
In Flames Sounds of a Playground Fading
It's hard for me to truly enjoy an album like "Sounds of a Playground Fading" at this point in In Flames career. As they continue to embrace their slightly brand of nu metal inspired electronic metal I can't help but continually look back to the past where glorious guitar driven albums were the usual. That being said, some of the epic classic In Flames does bleed through on some of these songs (Ropes especially), and it is always a treat when it does. So in the end it's not a bad album, just the sound of a classic band nearing irrelevancy.
In Mourning Garden of Storms
Incubus (USA-CA) If Not Now, When?
Job for a Cowboy Gloom
Korn The Paradigm Shift
Korn releases and album that actually sounds like Korn again for the first time since Untouchables. I guess 1 con is it still sounds like Korn. But I am not going to lie, this does scratch that nostalgia itch I have considering Korn was at one point one of my favorites.
Lazarus A.D. Black Rivers Flow
Megadeth Th1rt3en
Motley Crue Girls, Girls, Girls
Mutiny Within Synchronicity
The main focus of Mutiny within's new album synchronicity is obviously their singers classically trained vocals, which while they are good it's kind of the only selling point of this album. Other than his vocals there is nothing else really tangible or memorable about this album, no extraordinary riffs or guitar melodies. Because of this, the album gets boring real fast. Still, Machines is a good song which deviates a little bit and Mutiny Within doesn't do anything actually wrong.
Napalm Death Logic Ravaged By Brute Force
Nausea (USA-CA) Condemned To The System
An entertaining grind album that just falls short of being memorable due to a lack of
variety and original sound.
Necrowretch Putrid Death Sorcery
On their debut album with the some what cliched title Putrid Death Sorcery, Necrowretch show some promise in the Swedish Death metal riff writing department. On the whole though the album gets bogged down by poor production and a lack of memorable songs and material overall. These guys might be someone to watch for in the future though.
Papa Roach Infest
Periphery Periphery
Rotten Sound Species At War
On Species at War, Rotten Sound do nothing specifically wrong, they really don't try to do ranything relatively unique either. To say the least this EP grinds hard for 6 minutes and rthen its done leaving you with nothing really memorable besides a generic grind sound. This rEP is still an adrenaline rush, even if you can't differentiate songs.
Rotten Sound Abuse to Suffer
Sevendust Cold Day Memory
Slash Slash
Slipknot All Hope Is Gone
Snorlax II
Svarttjern Shame Is Just A Word
The Crown Death Is Not Dead
While "Death Is Not Dead" doesn't even attempt anything new it still successfully shows off The Crown's solid song writing ability. Many a riff shall be stuck in your head after giving this a listen. Laughable lyrics and some tedious moments sadly keep this album from truly shining. Still this is a good album for any bands discography. Best Songs: Godeater and Meduseld
Them Crooked Vultures Them Crooked Vultures
Three Days Grace Three Days Grace

2.5 average
Adrenaline Mob Omerta
This album is the definition of uninspired. Really boring and just not inventive at all. Being with Avenged Sevenfold must have really fucked Mike Portnoy's musical integrity up. There are some relatively decent guitar solos though and the cover of Coming undone with Lizzy Hale was decent.
Assassin Bestia Immundis
Nothing too special, solid Testament influence here
Bullet for My Valentine Fever
Bury Your Dead Mosh n' Roll
Carach Angren This Is No Fairytale
Chelsea Grin Evolve
You can tell this band is at least trying to experiment a little on this new one with clean singing' operatic vocals, and born of osiris esque guitar harmonies. It still couldn't be saved from some of the shittiest screamed vocals around and for the most part generic chug a chug riffs.
Earth Crisis Neutralize the Threat
Five Finger Death Punch War Is The Answer
Fliege The Invisible Seam
Frostland Darkness Ad Moriendum Dei Gratia
This album is as cliched and generic as the name of this band. Before you even hear the
first thin tremolo picked riff from this album you already know every trick these black
metallers try to pull. There's thin relatively crappy production, tremolo picking out the
ass, it sounds like the whole album was written and recorded in a snow bank, and the vocals
are nasally to the point of being a nuisance. Every instrument of this album is just there
and nothing really stands out, the drums also sound really weak at times. All in all this is
a very unoffensive if albeit boring listen.
Korn Korn III: Remember Who You Are
Legion of the Damned Ravenous Plague
You don't even have to hear any of the music to know just exactly what you're getting with this release. There are no surprises on Ravenous Plague nor is their truly anything remotely memorable. This is the definition of calculated Death thrash by numbers.
Megadeth Super Collider
While I honestly don't think it's as bad as everyone makes it out to be, to say Super Collider is anything but a huge misstep for the Deth would be lying. What really happened here is that Dave and the gang explored the song writing style of classic rock and ended up churning out some of the most boring Megadeth songs I've ever heard, and half the album sounds completely uninspired. Really the only laughably bad or what the fuck moments occur early on in the album with the title track, Burn!, and the incredibly lazy/stupid Built for War. You can tell that the actually talented Megadeth is there somewhere while listening to Kingmaker, or Forget to Remember. Hopefully next Megadeth Dave gets his head out of this classic rock slump and back into rage fueled thrash.
Mushroomhead Beautiful Stories For Ugly Children
OneRepublic Dreaming Out Loud
OneRepublic Waking Up
The definition of unoffensive radio friendly pop rock right here. Ain't nothin' wrong that, course there ain't much right with that either.
Primate Draw Back a Stump
This is the most generic and mediocre album this super group could possibly release. To put
it bluntly this album does not equal up to the sum of its parts. This is a fairly boring
and fairly disappointing listen.
Puddle of Mudd Volume 4: Songs in the Key of Love and Hate
Terminal Nation Holocene Extinction
The Acacia Strain Death Is the Only Mortal
"Oh man, they're trying to sound like Meshuggah naow. They're evolving so much as a band!"
The Smashing Pumpkins Zeitgeist
Throwdown Intolerance
Well this is how I've chosen to start my 2014 album rating experience(thankfully I've already heard great albums from Iskald, Nausea, and the Isolation Incident to start off my listening experience) and I couldn't have chosen a more monotonous album if I tried. For example this is only a 28 minute album, not long by any standards, and by track 6 I was already bored to tears. Other than writing the same song 11 times in a row, Throwdown don't necessarily do anything wrong. They ape Hatebreed perfectly and stick to their guns the whole time, and I give them props for that. Also the closing breakdown on the final track is actually pretty fucking sick.
Unbounded Terror Faith In Chaos
Starting 2020 off very inoffensively. Nothing really memorable here but I remember liking a riff on ?They Will Come from the Pain?..
Upon a Burning Body Red. White. Green.
Winds of Plague Resistance

2.0 poor
Attack Attack! This Means War
Bring Me the Horizon There Is a Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It...
Bring Me the Horizon That's the Spirit
Bullet for My Valentine Temper Temper
Bullet continue down the path of mediocrity and cheesiness that they started with Fever and take it to the next level of shittiness. Good for them I didn't think it was possible to get more cringe inducing than Fever but with songs like Temper Temper, Dirty Little Secret, and Leech they succeed. The album does have some moments where I actually found myself headbanging though. For instance the second installment to Tears don't fall(How original Bullet, Unforgiven much?) and the opening track Breaking Point is Ok.
Disturbed Asylum
dredg Chuckles and Mr. Squeezy
Emmure Speaker Of The Dead
Five Finger Death Punch The Wrong Side of Heaven and The Righteous Side of Hell, Volume 1
I don't want to say that these guys are one of the big problems with modern commercial metal, but lets just say that if they just disappeared entirely the metal scene would seem a lot less sophomoric, generic, and all around less cliched to the popular eye. Basically this album is made up of two different types of songs the cringe worthy "come at me bro" style of angry just for the sake of being angry and the slightly less cringe worthy but still boring as fuck ballad. Also these fucking lyrics...I mean "Burn Mother Fucker Burn"..are you serious Mr. Moody? Some of the guitar riffs and solos are good and it makes certain songs not half bad like the title track, other than that hopefully this commercial piece of garbage fades away real fucking soon.
For Today Prevailer
This is the definition of generic ass metalcore. To say this band overuses bass drops and breakdowns would be one of the bigger understatements you could make.Also lyrically these guys have got some major Jesus crush going on. Admittedly besides the most generic chuggs and screams for Jesus you'll hear this year their are some August Burns Red esque guitar melodies that sneak in every now and then which add some nice dynamic.
Guns N' Roses Chinese Democracy
Imagine Dragons Night Visions
In Flames Siren Charms
I'm beginning to find it harder and harder to find anything enjoyable in In Flames sound. On the past couple of releases there was always a song or two (Ropes, Alias, Where the Dead Ships Dwell) that stood out as redeemable but on this uninspired mess, there's not much. Parts of songs stick out, like the clean guitar in the intro of Rusted Nail and a memorable solo every now and then. Other than that though, all these songs are a variation of the same alternative metal template with an even more sub par singer than usual. Seriously Ander's performance is one for the history books.
In This Moment Black Widow
Iwrestledabearonce Ruining It for Everybody
Miss May I At Heart
Morbid Angel Illud Divinum Insanus
Jesus Fucking Christ.....these are some of the worst songs ever...I mean come the fuck on, Too Extreme, Existo Vulbore, Destructos vs. earth, Radikult...what the fuck?! And they are all like 6 or 7 minutes of utter shit. Luckily for this album Blades for Baal is acctually good, and 10 more dead and Nevermore are solid as well other wise I'd try and .5 this shitfest.
Ozzy Osbourne Scream
The Acacia Strain Wormwood
The Human Abstract Midheaven
Easily one of the most pretentious things I've ever listened to. There are certain ways to combine metal and alt rock...this is definitely not it. Sounds like Dillinger had an autistic kid with Incubus and not the savant kind. The vocalist must've thought he was Mike Patton before going in to record this, Patton would eat this little shit for breakfast. ...Okay I'm done with the insults. But seriously the vocalist practically single handedly ruined this album.
Theory of a Deadman Scars and Souvenirs
X Ambassadors VHS
Though admittedly an inoffensive yet still 100% unoriginal listen, some of the lyrics found on here are quite terrible.. Look at Naked, Gorgeous, and basically half of this release. Also these guys have a real penchant for just putting too much noise in there music, overcrowded and unnecessary doesn't even begin to describe some of the random samples that pop up throughout this release.

1.5 very poor
Adema Topple the Giants
All That Remains The Order of Things
This is an embarrassingly bland album and just a terrible work of music in general. If not for the heavier parts of closer "Criticism and Self-realization" and an occasional so so guitar solo this would be an instant 1. Even that almost wasn't enough to deter me from rating this shit heap the 1 star when I heard the mega bitchfest that is "Tru-Kvlt-Metal".
Black Veil Brides Wretched and Divine
So I start off my listening experience of 2013 with seemingly the most generic and played out album ever in Black veil bride's (shitty fuckin name) wretched and divine. Every song is a blatant rip off of Avenged Sevenfold with a Children of Bodom inspired riff thrown in for good measure. And on some songs it even sounds like the vocalist is trying his best to channel Nickelback. At the end of the album you will literally have no recollection of this shit, which is one positive way to look at it I guess.
Emmure The Respect Issue
Hollywood Undead Notes From the Underground
This band is a fucking abomination with their shitty rapping and scene image, one of the main problems with the music industry today. As for the music itself, the influences and idea on this album are thrown together so sloppily and in such sophomoric manner you'd have to be fucking 12 to not feel embarrassed by it.
Jason Derulo Talk Dirty
Miss May I Rise of the Lion
Owl City All Things Bright And Beautiful
The Agonist Five
The Wanted Battleground
Three Days Grace Human
The words trivial and boring don't even begin to do this stale recycled album justice. You know every riff and chorus before it happens and every song though all in the 3 to 4 minute mark seem much longer. Also the new vocalist lacks all conviction and power of the older one making the lyrics sound even more immature and half hazardly thrown together than they do on their own. The only memorable part of this whole release is the chorus of Painkiller
Weezer Raditude

1.0 awful
Annotations Of An Autopsy Dark Days
Attack Attack! Someday Came Suddenly
Attack Attack! Attack Attack!
Blood on the Dance Floor Evolution
Blood on the Dance Floor Scissors
Chris Brown X
Design the Skyline Nevaeh
Ed Sheeran x
A boringly uninspired release that at points becomes an abomination when trying to combine hip hop and folk. Also this dude ruined the closing song for the Hobbit.
Emmure Felony
Falling in Reverse The Drug in Me Is You
Falling in Reverse Fashionably Late
The shittiest shit since shit was shitted. Honestly I only was able to listen to two songs before I realized that the WHOLE album is embarrassing on every level. It serves as a testament to the talent less dickhole of a human being behind this dreadful band. Ronnie,that's you!
Jordan Blake and Etienne Sin The Legend, The Leader
Justin Bieber My World
Justin Bieber My World 2.0
Justin Bieber Believe
Kevin Federline Playing with Fire
Lil Wayne Rebirth
With all of this drama about Lil waynes health coming up recently I thought that I'd add in my two cents about his musical legacy. If he died, it would be terrible for the music community because then he would become some kind of fucking hero for his many shit brained fans. Better to let him and his shitty excuse for music age and hopefully with time people will actually realize how untalented this so called musician is.
Lou Reed and Metallica Lulu
Nickelback The Best of Nickelback Volume 1
The fact that this is a nickelback greatest hits CD (which is a contradiction) is the only reason I need to give this a 1.
One Direction Take Me Home
The definition of a group designed by a record company with the sole purpose of making money. Not one ounce of artistic integrity.
Ronnie Radke Watch Me
Six Feet Under Graveyard Classics IV: The Number Of The Priest
Skrillex Recess
Svedhous Despair Poetry
Train A Girl A Bottle A Boat
Woe, Is Me Genesi[s]
Holy shit, these guys are basically a fucking boy band. I mean the terrible top 40 RnB clean singing, the coordinated dance moves, and the shitty posturing. To top it all off, when One Direction here, do decide to go heavy it's the most yawn inducing experience ever. Woe is me for even trying to listen to this album.
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