| 2012 |
| Apparitions Pre[CURSE]r | 4.0 |
| Slice the Cake Other Slices | 4.0 |
| Circle of Contempt Entwine the Threads | 4.5 |
| I Am Abomination Let The Future Tell The Truth | 4.5 |
| Crown the Empire The Fallout | 3.0 |
| Issues Black Diamonds | 3.5 |
| Drag The Lake I Am Violence | 4.0 |
| Parkway Drive Atlas | 4.0 |
| The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza Danza IIII: The Alpha - The Omega | 3.5 |
| Thy Art Is Murder Hate | 4.0 |
| The Haarp Machine Disclosure | 5.0 |
| There is so much I have to say about this album but I don?t know where to start. This is an absolute masterpiece of an album. I never listened to The HAARP Machine before they released "Pleiadian Keys,' but after I heard that song I instantly pre-ordered the album. I was anticipating that album for weeks and it did not disappoint once I finally got my hands on it. It delivered and then some. Mike Semesky is one of the best vocalists that I have heard in a long time. When I listened to "Esoteric Agenda" the first time, I literally got chills when his clean vocals entered at 1:19. I rewinded the song three times just so I could hear that part, and that is just the first song on the album. I get those chills every time I listen to the title track as well. Semesky's vocals on that song prove that he is the vocalist of the year. I would also have to say that the title track is the song of the year. It is so hard to associate a genre with this band because the whole album switches from technical to progressive. You have songs like "Lower the Populace," "From Vanity to Utility," and "The Escapist Notion," which shows the band's technical side. Then you have songs like "Pleiadian Keys," "Disclosure," and "Machine Over," which makes you think that this is a progressive band. The instrumentation behind Semesky is amazing with Alex Rudinger being one of the best drummers out there, Al Mu'min bringing some unbelievable guitar work to the album, and bassist Oliver Rooney adding to the already astonishing musicianship on album. |
| The Acacia Strain Death Is the Only Mortal | 2.5 |
| Converge All We Love We Leave Behind | 3.5 |
| August Burns Red Sleddin' Hill | 4.0 |
| Revocation Teratogenesis | 4.0 |
| Pathology The Time of Great Purification | 4.0 |
| As I Lay Dying Awakened | 4.5 |
| Elitist Reshape Reason | 4.5 |
| This album tickled my fancy the same way that Erra tickled my fancy last year. Just like Erra, it was the riffs that really grabbed my attention. Elitist, hands down, gets the award for the best riffs of the year. Guitarist Julian Rodriguez is an absolute master at the guitar, creating beautiful melodic riffs throughout the album. Throw in some stunning solos and equally good atmospheric passages and you have yourself one of the best albums of the year. Now it's not just Rodriguez pulling the weight, thats not the case at all. Drummer Ben Kazenoff shows a very strong performance in his debut with the band, as well as new vocalist Chris Balay. While Balay stays with the mid-range vocals on the vocals, he brings out the occasional deep lows every once and awhile. This album just never stops hitting from start to finish. The band made a music video for "Unto the Sun," but to be far, any song on the album could have been made into a music video. It's hard to pick just one single off the album because they are all equally great. |
| The Amity Affliction Chasing Ghosts | 4.0 |
| The Faceless Autotheism | 2.0 |
| Glass Cloud The Royal Thousand | 4.5 |
| Sleeping With Sirens If You Were a Movie, This Would Be Your Soundtrack | 4.0 |
| Memphis May Fire Challenger | 4.5 |
| Signal The Firing Squad Abnegate | 4.0 |
| Chelsea Grin Evolve | 1.5 |
| Dying Fetus Reign Supreme | 4.0 |
| For Today Immortal | 3.0 |
| Make Them Suffer Neverbloom | 4.5 |
| In a year when Australia has dominated the underground metal scene, one band stands above all. Make Them Suffer has shined brighter than any other band from "down-under" this year. The absolute best use of symphonic elements this year. Actually, not just this year, "Neverbloom" is the greatest use of symphonic elements I have EVER heard in an album. Usually, when there is a piano or keyboards on an album it is just used as another sound to accompany the rest of the instruments. The symphonies on this album actually dictate the music around it. The symphonies fit with the lyrical content, blending in with the album's concept of a past girlfriend. The vocalist has all the necessities of great range, showcasing his highs, mids, and lows on every song. The title track has got to be a contender for song of the year. It is just an unbelievable epic that incorporates the only clean vocals on the album. These guys need to be signed by an American label because they have a shot at becoming the next Parkway Drive, as in a Australian band having massive success in the US. |
| Beneath the Veil Circle City | 2.0 |
| Cattle Decapitation Monolith of Inhumanity | 4.5 |
| Job For A Cowboy Demonocracy | 4.0 |
| Adestria Chapters | 4.0 |
| I See Stars Digital Renegade | 3.5 |
| Ovid's Withering The Cloud Gatherer | 4.5 |
| Ascariasis Ocean of Colour | 4.5 |
| Veil of Maya Eclipse | 3.5 |
| Abominable Putridity The Anomalies of Artificial Origin | 4.5 |
| Sentenced To Dissection Between the Worlds | 4.0 |
| Point Below Zero Point Below Zero | 4.0 |
| Bury The Existence Programming the Herds | 3.5 |
| The Holy Guile FSU | 4.0 |
| Impurity of Mriya The Fourth Reich | 3.5 |
| Disfiguring the Goddess Sleeper | 4.0 |
