| Vallendusk Fortress of Primal Grace | 4.0 |
| This band is from Indonesia!? FoPG is packed with epic European folk melodies floating on top of a blackened base that sounds more like a northern woodland than a tropical rain forest. One of the songs even had pagan chanting. The progressive songwriting is also wonderfully executed. The songs ebb and flow with seamless transitions and tasteful variations in intensity. Finally, the raw production grants this album a bit of a youthful innocence and excitement. |
| Dirty Shirt FolkCore DeTour | 4.0 |
| This is basically the live Eastern European version of Roots. The metal on its own isn't particularly unique, but when paired with the Romanian folk music of the Ansamblul Transilvania, the album is imbibed with a unique and outrageously fun character for all 20 tracks. Additionally, the producer manages to capture an energy that has been absent from live albums for decades. |
| The Crown Cobra Speed Venom | 4.0 |
| Viscous death-thrash with excellent riffs and earworm melodies. Impressively, this sounds 100% 80's influenced without sounding like a complete rehash of old ideas. It also is holding the title for Gym AOTY. |
| In Vain (NO) Currents | 4.0 |
| Hamferd Támsins likam | 4.0 |
| Tribulation Down Below | 4.5 |
| Tribulation perfects the sound they discovered on CotN by crafting catchier and tighter (i.e. shorter) songs without losing any of their trademark haunting atmosphere. |
| Barren Earth A Complex of Cages | 4.5 |
| Sad, doomy, proggy, and melodic with one of the best vocalists in metal (and in the Faroe Islands) right now. |
| YOB Our Raw Heart | 3.0 |
| YOB crafts a doom metal album skillfully blending sadness and pain with hope and beauty. However, the tracks linger too long and turn that pain and beauty into boredom. The closing track was the worst offender at 6 minutes longer than it needed to be. |
| Novembers Doom The Novella Reservoir | 4.0 |
| Novembers Doom Aphotic | 4.0 |
| Novembers Doom Bled White | 3.5 |
| Novembers Doom Hamartia | 3.0 |
| Aeternam Ruins of Empires | 4.0 |
| Crimfall Amain | 4.0 |
| Premiata Forneria Marconi Emotional Tattoos | 4.0 |
| I can only comment on the Italian version of this album. I found PFM's prog to be smooth and catchy without every feeling long winded. |
| Dyscarnate With All Their Might | 4.0 |
| This is easily gym album of the year. It's pounding, meat-head death metal with enough variety to keep things interesting. |
| Wormwood Ghostlands - Wounds From A Bleeding Earth | 4.0 |
| Lunatic Soul Fractured | 4.0 |
| Benighted Necrobreed | 4.0 |
| '68 Two Parts Viper | 4.0 |
| Cloak To Venomous Depths | 4.0 |
| These guys play the same gothic death as Tribulation, expect Cloak puts more emphasis on death and less on catchy melodies. |
| Milton Man Gogh Stress to Impress | 4.0 |
| A jazz trio consisting of a jazz saxophonist, proggy bass player, and metal drummer. |
| Jag Panzer The Deviant Chord | 4.0 |
| Replacire Do Not Deviate | 4.0 |
| Wode Servants of the Countercosmos | 4.0 |
| A wrecking ball of black metal that is as catchy as it is extreme. |
| Mastodon Emperor of Sand | 4.0 |
| Alestorm No Grave But the Sea | 4.0 |
| I never took Alestorm seriously until I heard this album. The lyrics may still be a joke, but the band now writes a legitimate power/folk metal songs. This is just too fun and catchy to hate. |
| Dawn Ray'd The Unlawful Assembly | 4.0 |
| Raging black metal with strong folk influences. The album varies the pace and intensity very well, and even incorporates some straight-up folk tracks. |
| Aether Realm Tarot | 4.0 |
| An American take on folkened Finnish melodeath. The excellent songwriting and catchy melodies kept me engaged throughout this album's extended run time. |
| Pagan Altar The Room of Shadows | 4.5 |
| Sounds like a cross between Manilla Road and Black Sabbath. The riffs are catchy and the production is excellent, especially on the title track. |
| Bufihimat I | 4.5 |
| Brutal tech-grind that manages to incorporate memorable and immediate riffs within Gorguts weirdness. |
| Legend (USA) From the Fjords | 4.5 |
| Thin Lizzy Black Rose: A Rock Legend | 4.5 |
| Pat Travers Live! Go For What You Know | 4.5 |
| How does this have so few ratings?! This is essential listening for non-metal double bass drumming, and the interplay between a bluesy hard rock guitarist and a sharper metal guitarist is extremely rare. |
| UFO Strangers in the Night | 5.0 |
| This was my first exposure to UFO, and the live energy captured on this album can make some of their studio tracks sound disappointing in comparison. |
| Judas Priest Unleashed in the East | 5.0 |
| Who cares where this was unleashed? This album was easily the heaviest of it's time and serves as powerful collection of Priest's 70's greatest hits. |
| Heidevolk Vuur Van Verzet | 4.0 |
| In a month when Tribulation and Hamferd blew me away, VVV is the album I could not stop listening to. Catchy melodies, heavy riffs, harmonized deep male vocals, and the Dutch language drive this album along. Impressively, the bonus drinking track is a perfect soft closer. My only complaint is that there is two many songs in English. Also, some people may find the mid-tempo monotonous after a while. |
| Saxon Thunderbolt | 3.0 |
| Solid classic heavy metal. The album isn't exceptional, but these tracks will be fun live. Only two elements on the album stand out to me: 1. Byford's voice has aged better than any other NWOBHM singer. 2. Hegg (Amon Amarth) does growls on "Predator". |
| Anthrax Sound of White Noise | 4.0 |
| Expander Endless Computer | 4.0 |
| Deceptively complex, heavier than expected sci-fi crossover thrash produced by Kurt Ballou. |
| Taylor Swift Reputation | 1.5 |
| I used to feel some remorse for occasionally making my car pool buddy listen to extreme metal when it's my turn. After being forced to listen to this in it's entirety today, I have no more sympathy. I wonder if the gas savings were worth it. |
| Artificial Brain Infrared Horizon | 3.5 |
| Caligula's Horse In Contact | 4.0 |
| Converge The Dusk in Us | 4.0 |
| Chelsea Wolfe Hiss Spun | 3.5 |
| Elder (USA-MA) Reflections of a Floating World | 4.0 |
| Iron Maiden The Book of Souls: Live Chapter | 3.0 |
| McBrain's kit is the highlight of this album. It sounds better than on The Book of Souls. The album also features a solid set list. Otherwise, the guitars sound compressed at times, I usually have a hard time hearing Harris, Bruce really sounds old, and the crowd interaction isn't as good as other live Maiden albums. |
| Lor In Forgotten Sleep | 4.5 |
| Unleash The Archers Apex | 4.5 |
| Canadian power metal with possibly the best female vocalist in metal finally figured out how to write a consistent album! Each superbly written song has its own identity, which is rare in power metal, and fits well into the entire album. Additionally, Apex is a concept album with a cohesive story that never feels forced onto the music. I also dare you to sit through this because it will be the happiest hour of your day (unless you hate epic, melodic music and just want to listen to post-metal and funeral doom all day.) |
| Akercocke Renaissance in Extremis | 4.5 |
| Proggy blackened death that can go from full on prog-rock to punishingly heavy. The clean vocals may take some getting used to though. |
| Pyrrhon What Passes for Survival | 2.0 |
| It is my understanding this is excellent avant-garde stuff. It seems I don't like avant-garde. |
| Illustrations Acts of God | 1.5 |
| The avant-gardeness can't cover up boring riffs. |
| Trivium The Sin and the Sentence | 2.0 |
| This album has some good riffs and will introduce many people to metal (I assume that's the source of the positive ratings). However, the sterile production and unoriginal songwriting are painful, especially those choruses. I only lasted 3.5 tracks before it became unbearable. Also, why is everyone raving about the drumming? It's just as generic as the rest of the album. EDIT: I tried listening to the rest of this (but failed). While the back half is heavier and features some excellent bridges/solos (see Sever the Hand), their uncanny ability to neuter metal amazes me. |
| August Burns Red Phantom Anthem | 4.0 |
| PA does sound like a typical ABR album. The songs are built out of the same in pieces in mostly the same orders as before. However, they have refined all those pieces. This album has some of the best riffs (and heaviest!), melodies, breakdowns, and rhythms I have ever heard from ABR. Also, the transitions don't feel forced they way they did on FIFAP (don't you hate it when a banjo interrupts an awesome riff?). All in all, this is one of their best ever. |
| Brand New Science Fiction | 4.0 |
| The Great Old Ones EOD: A Tale of Dark Legacy | 4.0 |
| Nova Collective The Further Side | 4.0 |
| Havok Conformicide | 4.0 |
| I wish every record had a rhythm sections sounding this good. Not only are the musicians some of the best in metal right now, but the production on this record is a clinic on drums and bass. |
| Mutoid Man War Moans | 4.5 |
| Fun, catchy stoner rock influenced by a variety of metal sub-genres, but this has a enough technicality hidden underneath the accessible sheen to keep things interesting. |
| Archspire Relentless Mutation | 4.5 |
| Tech death that doesn't get lost in trying to be as technical as possible. It features insane vocals, memorable melodies, excellent rhythmic interplay, and even dynamics! At only 30 minutes in length, you won't get bored before the end. |
| Metallica S&M | 2.5 |
| Hetfield's vocals ruin every song that they had originally written in the 80's. Metallica's song writing ruin every son they had written in the 90's. |
| Metallica Garage Inc. | 3.0 |
| I loved this album until I heard all the original songs. |
| Uriah Heep High and Mighty | 3.0 |
| Voyager Ghost Mile | 3.5 |
| Djent covered with a layer of slick pop. All the components of the songs are very well arranged, and, as others have said, the vocals are excellent. My one complaint is some of the pop melodies and the djent rhythms sound all too familiar and a bit forgettable for me. |
| Ayreon The Source | 4.0 |
| I approached this album thinking, "Oh great, some Dream Theater wannabes think they can make 80 minutes worth of compelling music." (Clearly, unfamiliar with Ayreon). I was so wrong. Dynamics, infectious melodies, crunchy riffs, varied influences (folk, pop, Queen, grunge), and more guest vocalists than a hip-hop album not only kept me engaged for 80 minutes, but they also have me coming back for more. It's one of those albums that makes me feel when it's finished. |
| Havukruunu Kelle Surut Soi | 3.5 |
| This album is packed with epic catchy riffs; however, some of these riffs sound all too familiar and generic. I was ready to turn this off after two tracks, but the occasional explosions of brilliance (every song had at least one) pushed me onward to the magnificent title track. |
| Royal Thunder WICK | 3.0 |
| The Night Flight Orchestra Amber Galactic | 4.0 |
| This may not be the most original material, and 55 minutes is a bit long for a rehash of old ideas, but this record is an absolute blast. |
| Inglorious II | 3.0 |
| Solid hard rock/heavy metal throwback. Well done, but not particularly original. |
| At the Drive-In in•ter a•li•a | 2.0 |
| Boring is not a word typically used to describe At the Drive-In, but it sums up this album. It is repetitive, flat, and forgettable. This was a tough listen. |
| The Damned Damned Damned Damned | 3.5 |
| A 70's punk album with dynamics and some variation in songwriting. You could almost call this progressive punk. |
| Styx Pieces of Eight | 3.5 |
| On Side B, Styx dials down the cheese a tad and improves the songwriting. Renegade and Blue Collar Man are classic tracks. Side A sounds like a continuation of The Grand Illusion. |
| Styx The Grand Illusion | 3.0 |
| I'm a Swiss Wisconsinite, and this has a bit too much cheese for me. |
| Sex Pistols Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols | 3.0 |
| Starset Vessels | 2.5 |
| Wage War Blueprints | 3.0 |
| Sylar Help! | 2.5 |
| Alter Bridge AB III | 3.0 |
| AB should have spent some more time trimming fat on this one. |
| Alter Bridge Blackbird | 4.0 |
| Alter Bridge One Day Remains | 3.5 |
| Alter Bridge Fortress | 4.0 |
| The Charm The Fury The Sick, Dumb & Happy | 2.5 |
| The only somewhat unique thing about this band is one member has two X chromosomes. |
| Bush Black and White Rainbows | 2.0 |
| Sylar To Whom It May Concern | 2.0 |
| mediocre rapping, iffy singing, and boring riffs and songwriting |
| Motionless in White Graveyard Shift | 2.5 |
| As Lions Selfish Age | 2.5 |
| Kid Rock Devil Without a Cause | 2.0 |
| DOROTHY ROCKISDEAD | 2.5 |
| Attila Chaos | 1.5 |
| Attila Guilty Pleasure | 1.0 |
| He Is Legend few | 3.0 |
| Night Demon Darkness Remains | 3.5 |
| Night Demon manages to create a homage to traditional heavy metal without sounding exactly like any 1 band... usually. There are couple moments where they sound like Maiden, but it's not often enough to detract from the album. Besides, what's so bad about sounding like the greatest rock band ever? On the topic of Maiden, "Maiden Hell" lyrics are a listing of Maiden song titles in mostly chronological order. The album length is perfect and the title track is fantastic closer. |
| Motorhead Motörhead | 4.0 |
| Animals As Leaders The Madness of Many | 3.5 |
| Venenum Trance of Death | 4.5 |
| Death (not the band) goes prog-rock, but not in an Opeth way. This still has a grimy old school sound. |
| Pallbearer Heartless | 5.0 |
| Beautiful progressive doom. It's like floating on a cloud. . . from a coal power plant. |
| Power Trip Nightmare Logic | 3.5 |
| Nightmare Logic may not bring nothing new to the table, but it recreates old 80's thrash exceptionally well. |
| Cellador Off the Grid | 3.0 |
| Off the Grid is excellent... if you've never heard power metal before. |
| Pink Floyd The Wall | 3.5 |
| April Wine Harder... Faster | 3.0 |
| Whitesnake Lovehunter | 3.0 |
| This album is a bunch of cheesey pickup lines in a mainstream hard rock form performed by some excellent musicians. The musicians managed to save a lame formula from simply being average. |
| Led Zeppelin In Through the Out Door | 3.0 |
| Judas Priest Sin After Sin | 4.5 |
| ZZ Top Degüello | 3.0 |
| This album is packed with light, easy-listening blues. It's well done, but it sounds unoriginal and lacks energy. |
| AC/DC For Those About To Rock We Salute You | 3.0 |
| The individual tracks on BIB may dwarf FTATR; however, FTATR is more enjoyable to listen to in its entirety because it displays variety. |
| Budgie Nightflight | 3.5 |
| Budgie draws influences from some of the NWOBHM and traditional heavy metal acts of the day with mixed results. The last couple tracks brought this down a notch for me. |
| Demon Night of the Demon | 3.5 |
| This is basically two EPs in one album. Side A is excellent NWOBHM. Side B is more mainstream and composed of hard rock/heavy metal typical of the 70s. |
| Tygers Of Pan Tang Wild Cat | 3.5 |
| Blue Oyster Cult Cultösaurus Erectus | 3.5 |
| Kreator Gods of Violence | 3.5 |
| Def Leppard On Through the Night | 3.5 |
| Oneohtrix Point Never Garden of Delete | 3.0 |
| Liturgy The Ark Work | 1.5 |
| The Devil Wears Prada Transit Blues | 3.0 |
| Astronoid Air | 4.0 |
| Eternal Champion The Armor of Ire | 4.5 |
| Chevelle The North Corridor | 3.5 |
| Napoleon Newborn Mind | 3.5 |
| Silent Planet Everything Was Sound | 3.0 |
| Car Bomb Meta | 4.5 |
| Whores. Gold | 3.0 |
| Hyperion (SWE) Seraphical Euphony | 4.5 |
| SUMAC What One Becomes | 4.5 |
| Haken Affinity | 3.5 |
| Mithras On Strange Loops | 4.0 |
| Death Angel The Evil Divide | 4.0 |
| First Fragment Dasein | 4.0 |
| Trophy Eyes Chemical Miracle | 4.0 |
| Ihsahn Arktis. | 4.0 |
| Khemmis Hunted | 4.5 |
| Zao The Well-Intentioned Virus | 4.0 |
| Insomnium Winter's Gate | 4.5 |
| Norma Jean Polar Similar | 4.0 |
| Alcest Kodama | 4.0 |
| Gorguts Pleiades' Dust | 3.5 |
| Cult of Luna and Julie Christmas Mariner | 3.5 |
| Be'lakor Vessels | 3.5 |
| Moonsorrow Jumalten aika | 4.0 |
| Thank You Scientist Stranger Heads Prevail | 4.5 |
| The Dillinger Escape Plan Dissociation | 4.5 |
| Fightstar Behind the Devil's Back | 3.0 |
| The mixture of genres is interesting, but many of the parts within a specific genre are rather bland and have been overdone elsewhere, particularly the choruses. |
| Source Return to Nothing | 3.5 |
| Anciients Voice of the Void | 3.5 |
| I agree with the Mastoolopeth comparisons, but these guys have yet to write anything as engaging as their influences have. That said, they have huge potential. I can't wait to see what they do next. |
| Destroyer 666 Wildfire | 3.5 |
| Metal Church XI | 3.5 |
| Black Peaks Statues | 3.5 |
| Megadeth Dystopia | 3.5 |
| Chthe'ilist Le Dernier Crépuscule | 3.5 |
| Omnium Gatherum Grey Heavens | 3.5 |
| Witchery In His Infernal Majesty's Service | 4.0 |
| Revocation Great Is Our Sin | 3.5 |
| Obscura Akróasis | 3.5 |
| Novembre Ursa | 3.5 |
| Russian Circles Guidance | 3.5 |
| Bolzer Hero | 3.5 |
| Latitudes Old Sunlight | 4.0 |
| Hope For The Dying Legacy | 3.0 |
| Messa Belfry | 3.5 |
| Based on the cover, I was expecting a snooze-fest. Then, I hardly made it through the droning first track. But on the second track my patience was rewarded with fat, fuzzy guitars and full soulful female vocals. Fans of Witch Mountain should definitely check this band out. |
| Palace of Worms The Ladder | 3.0 |
| Solid black metal that dips into doom/sludge and atmospheric at time, but failed to captivater |
| ZAUM Eidolon | 3.0 |
| Krallice Prelapsarian | 3.5 |
| Redemption The Art of Loss | 3.0 |
| Outside of the guitar and keyboard solos, this album just feels flat. I wish this were just and instrumental showdown of the Megadeth guitarists. They bumped up my rating half a point. |
| Schammasch Triangle | 3.0 |
| There is an excellent album buried somewhere in here. Some critical editing could have found it. |
| Brujeria Pocho Aztlan | 3.0 |
| Good mix of hardcore and death metal. Solid, but nothing too original. Probably more entertaining to a Spanish speaker who will understand humor/political commentaryr |
| Mistur In Memoriam | 3.5 |
| Vainaja Verenvalaja | 3.5 |
| Departe Failure, Subside | 3.5 |
| Jeff Rosenstock WORRY. | 3.5 |
| Howls of Ebb Cursus Impasse: The Pendlomic Vows | 3.5 |
| Mantar Ode to the Flame | 3.5 |
| Seriously fun blackened doom n' roll. They take the best of mainstream hard rock and bury it in the underground. |
| Borknagar Winter Thrice | 3.5 |
| Sumerlands Sumerlands | 3.5 |
| Some very well done 80's revival; however, I do not understand why this album has received more praise than the releases from Eternal Champion, Grand Magus, and High Spirits. It lacks the fun the other albums have. |
| Nocte Obducta Mogontiacum (Nachdem die Nacht herabgesunken) | 3.5 |
| Experimental German black metal. Mogontiacum is experimental to the point of hardly sounding like black metal, but it's sound is dark throughout. At times the album sounds more like doom metal or industrial. I found the material on this album engaging and unique. I would have preferred a shorter run time though. |
| Halestorm Into the Wild Life | 3.0 |
| Touche Amore Stage Four | 2.5 |
| This will sound cold, but his venting got annoying after a while. It lowered my rating by 0.5. |
| Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds Skeleton Tree | 3.0 |
| Aborted RetroGore | 3.5 |
| The album art mostly tells you what to expect. This is one disturbingly fun and surprisingly catchy record. |
| Ulcerate Shrines of Paralysis | 3.0 |
| I think I would rather listen to an instrumental version of this album. |
| Violet Cold Magic Night | 3.0 |
| Above average atmospheric black metal. I'd rather spend my time listening the music that Alcest, Astronoid, and Harakiri for the Sky put out this year. |
| Unfathomable Ruination Finitude | 3.0 |
| Amazing music. It's relentless brutality will appeal to some, but it's lack of space made this a tough listen for me. |
| UXO UXO | 2.0 |
| Bad hardcore-ish vocals and average stoner rock riffs. |
| The New Black A Monster's Life | 2.5 |
| Exactly what you would expect from a post-grunge album |
| Mesarthim .- -... ... . -. -.-. . | 2.5 |
| Black metal vocals and drumming put to the soundtrack of an inspirational movie trailer. Sounds epic at first, but gets boring quickly.r |
| Plebeian Grandstand False Highs, True Lows | 2.5 |
| This is not an average album, but rather I found it highly enjoyable at times, but those times very evenly balanced with when the atonal guitar work became irritating. Better than the Deathspell release in my opinion. |
| Deathspell Omega The Synarchy of Molten Bones | 2.0 |
| I wanted to like this album and enjoyed most aspects, but usually the guitar work was just too unpleasantly jarring.r |
| Oranssi Pazuzu Värähtelijä | 2.5 |
| Reading all the acclaim this album receives is like watching two people laugh at their own inside joke. By no means is this an average album, but I enjoyed about half of it, and the other half was painful. What did I miss? |
| The Reticent On the Eve of a Goodbye | 3.5 |
| Wow, a 1-man-metal-band that doesn't make black metal! I didn't know these existed. I was blown away on my first listen by this prog-metal concept album. At times it has a 90's alt-metal sound, other times there's a NWOBHM influence, and then it sometimes sounds like Opeth. Unfortunately, it sounds way too much like Blackwater Park for too many songs. But if you're going to sound like someone else, you may as well try sounding like one of the best. |
| Spiritus Mortis The Year Is One | 3.5 |
| Solid old school doom metal (think Saint Vitus) with somewhat evil lyricsr |
| Sum 41 13 Voices | 3.5 |
| I was very surprised by this. Definitely worth checking out. I would have rated it higher if it weren't for it's poor use of generic pop on some songs.r |
| Wardrum Awakening | 3.5 |
| Well-done power metal. Soaring (and sometimes even aggressive) vocals and catchy melodic guitar work, what more do you want? Maybe a bit more speed. This is a tad slow by power metal standards, but it's not a bad thing. I'd have to disagree with Trevor though. Theocracy released the best power metal album in 2016 (imo). |
| Asphyx Incoming Death | 3.5 |
| Discharge End of Days | 3.5 |
| Wreck and Reference Indifferent Rivers Romance End | 3.5 |
| Mellowish hanting music with shouted vocals. Sounds sad and passionate, but gets exhausting. Some of the rhythms are interesting though.r |
| Harakiri for the Sky III: Trauma | 3.5 |
| Exceptional atmospheric black metal and quite possibly the best production I have ever heard on a snare drum imo; however, it's run time is not justified. |
| Lotus Thief Gramarye | 3.0 |
| Oathbreaker Rheia | 3.5 |
| I can see why people are calling this combination of black metal and post-hardcore AOTY, but her clean vocals are so off-putting I cannot love this album. |
| Every Time I Die Low Teens | 3.5 |
| Exmortus Ride Forth | 3.5 |
| Bossk Audio Noir | 3.5 |
| Dark Tranquillity Atoma | 3.5 |
| Excellent songs but they start to run together after a while. |
| Kyy Beyond Flesh - Beyond Matter - Beyond Death | 3.0 |
| The Dear Hunter Act V: Hymns with the Devil in Confessional | 3.0 |
| Josh Garrels The Light Came Down | 4.0 |
| Josh Garrels Love and War and The Sea In Between | 4.5 |
| Enslaved The Sleeping Gods – Thorn | 3.0 |
| Enslaved In Times | 4.5 |
| Destrage A Means to No End | 3.0 |
| The band is obviously skilled, but none of the segments the band madly hops to and from manage to capture my interest. |
| Metallica Hardwired...To Self-Destruct | 2.5 |
| Unfortunately, this album was written by Mehtallica, and not the band in the 80's that was one of the greatest metal bands. Hardwired has some great riffs and few funky bass lines, but not enough to keep anyone awake for 80 minutes of otherwise OK music and painfully boring drumming. |
| Saor Guardians | 3.0 |
| The music is beautiful, but I found myself getting bored frequently. The melodies tended to all blend together, and many of the transitions seemed arbitrary and awkward. There was too much fluff (but it was pleasant fluff) between any stirring and memorable moments. |
| Testament Brotherhood of the Snake | 4.5 |
| Theocracy Ghost Ship | 4.0 |
| With Ghost Ship, Theocracy proves that they CURRENTLY are one of the best power metal bands. The album is filled with exactly what you'd expect in power metal: speed, catchy melodies, soaring choruses, and face-melting solos. The band also works some pop (tastefully) and thrash influences into a couple songs. Also, the album features a couple ballads, which are my only complaint because they feel like filler compared to the heavier tracks. All in all, Ghost Ship is nothing new, but it is exceptionally well executed. |
| Alter Bridge The Last Hero | 3.5 |
| This album has many flashes of brilliance (the riff in My Champion, most solos, and The Last Hero) and overall is very solid, but about halfway through I found myself losing patience. |
| Korn The Serenity of Suffering | 3.5 |
| Watchtower Concepts of Math: Book One | 4.0 |
| The instrumentals are easily a 4.5, but the vocals and lyrics seem like an awkward afterthought in comparison (especially Arguments Against Design and Technology Inaction). After a few listens, they grew on me enough to give this a 4. |
| Meshuggah The Violent Sleep Of Reason | 3.5 |
| Excellent musicianship but very monotonous. Compared to Obzen and Koloss, this album is a chore. |
| Deftones Gore | 4.0 |
| Katatonia The Fall of Hearts | 4.5 |
| Thrawsunblat Metachthonia | 4.5 |
| Ridiculously catchy and melodic black metal-based folk metal. Fans of maritime folk music will particularly enjoy this one. |
| Dunsmuir Dunsmuir | 3.5 |
| Dunsmuir is a supergroup composed of Neil Fallon (Clutch) and Vinny Appice (Black Sabbath, Dio). Their album sounds exactly you'd expect. It's Clutch with a mid-80's heavy metal influence. Be careful: these songs will get stuck in your head. |
| Grand Magus Sword Songs | 3.5 |
| Highly recommended for all fans of Manowar. This band takes the best of 80's heavy metal (I'm using heavy metal as a sub-genre here) and bundles it into one glorious, catchy, cheesey package. |
| Allegaeon Proponent for Sentience | 3.5 |
| Allegeaon once again manages to write technical death metal songs that are actually catchy and don't get stuck in a morass of endless wankery. However, they can't write 72 minutes of compelling material. "The Extermination" is a perfect album closer. Unfortunately, it is followed by an OK Rush cover that should have been a bonus track. Removing "Subdivisions" and at least 1 other track would have made this a 4 or better. |
| Exciter Heavy Metal Maniac | 3.0 |
| ZZ Top Eliminator | 4.0 |
| Anvil Metal on Metal | 4.5 |
| Anvil Forged in Fire | 4.0 |
| Led Zeppelin Coda | 4.0 |
| Not the best song writing by Zeppelin standards, but the album features great production (fat bass and a very clear drum set) and great instrumentation, Bonzo in particular. His performance alone makes this album worth listening to. |
| Riot Restless Breed | 3.0 |
| This is a glammier style for Riot, but they do preserve enough grit to make it palatable. The record starts solid, but eventually suffers from too much cheese and songs begining to sound the same. |
| Twisted Sister Under The Blade | 2.5 |
| Full disclosure: I have never made it past track 2 (I have tried). The band is tight. Production is good. Dee Snider is good. Songwriting is painfully generic. |
| Uriah Heep Abominog | 3.0 |
| Heep's blend of their 70's sound and the stuff Kerslake and Daisley had been writing for Ozzy is hit or meh on this album (even within a song). It's a catchy and upbeat album that is worth checking out for fans of both styles. |
| Black Sabbath Forbidden | 1.5 |
| Black Sabbath Heaven and Hell | 5.0 |
| Black Sabbath Vol. 4 | 5.0 |
| Black Sabbath Sabbath Bloody Sabbath | 5.0 |
| Black Sabbath Paranoid | 5.0 |
| Black Sabbath Master of Reality | 5.0 |
| Black Sabbath Black Sabbath | 5.0 |
| Michael Schenker Group The Michael Schenker Group | 3.5 |
| A must listen for any fan of hard rock from this era. Schenker's guitar is definitely a highlight. As a metal fan, this is a bit too mainstream and the production is a bit slick for me to give a higher rating. |
| Megadeth Endgame | 4.0 |
| Devin Townsend Project Transcendence | 3.5 |
| Goatess Purgatory Under New Management | 3.5 |
| The whole album is Sabbath worship, but they do it exceptionally well. They are masters of groove. Unfortunately, they Sabbath worship for too long, and I start losing interest towards the end. |
| Hammers Of Misfortune Dead Revolution | 4.5 |
| Imagine if someone threw 70's hard rock, NWOBHM, thrash metal, progressive metal, a dash of doom, and a dash of folk metal into a blender. Dead Revolution is the delicious musical smoothie that would result. A 5/5 may seem like hyperbole compared to the other ratings, but I have never heard anyone combine so many amazing things all in one album quite like this. |
| Disciple (USA-TN) Attack | 2.5 |
| Islander Power Under Control | 3.0 |
| As a fan of Violence and Destruction, this album is a letdown. The potential for a 4-star album is here, but too many average and cringe-worthy moments bring it down. |
| Islander Violence and Destruction | 4.0 |
| Periphery Juggernaut: Alpha | 3.5 |
| Periphery Juggernaut: Omega | 3.5 |
| Periphery Periphery III: Select Difficulty | 3.0 |
| Orbs Past Life Regression | 2.0 |
| Superb instrumentals ruined by horrible vocals. I got through half of track 7 before turning it off (I actually breathed a sigh of relief). I highly recommend all fans of post-hardcore or progressive metal check this out though. If you can tolerate singing more abrasive than death and black metal vocals, you will love this. |
| Billy Talent Afraid of Heights | 3.5 |
| Biffy Clyro Ellipsis | 3.0 |
| Viva What the Hell Is Going On! | 3.0 |
| What the Hell Is Going On falls somewhere between Breaker and Animal Magnetism on the heavy metal spectrum. It features some nice solid riffs that are pretty catchy too. The rhythm section is tight. Vocals are raw and energetic (usually). Barabara Schenker's (yes, she is related to them) keys are a nice touch that separates them from many of the other metal bands at the time. I initially rated this a 4; however, after subsequent listens, the repetitiveness of the songs - particularly lyrics - and the cheesy/lame one-two punch of "Screaming for Your Love" and "Give It to Me" forced me to lower my rating. |
| Judas Priest Defenders of the Faith | 4.5 |
| Judas Priest British Steel | 5.0 |
| Judas Priest Screaming for Vengeance | 5.0 |
| Judas Priest Angel of Retribution | 4.0 |
| Judas Priest Redeemer of Souls | 4.5 |
| Judas Priest Painkiller | 5.0 |
| Tygers Of Pan Tang Crazy Nights | 3.0 |
| On this album, Tygers ditch some the punk influences heard on earlier albums in favor of a more straight forward hard rock sound. The riffs solid, but the mid-tempo pace gets a bit monotonous on the B-side. However, the album changes pace closes on a fantastic note with "Raised on Rock, " |
| Anvil Hard 'n' Heavy | 3.0 |
| Lynyrd Skynyrd Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd | 5.0 |
| Venom Welcome to Hell | 1.5 |
| Historically this is a classic, highly influential album. When removed from the context of the history of metal, the album's title warns daring ears (and souls) of the questionable musicianship and horrible production they will face should this be given a spin. |
| Samson Shock Tactics | 4.5 |
| My Iron Maiden fanboy bias may cause me to overrate this a tad, but albums such as this and Head On allow me to appreciate the influence that Dickinson brought to Maiden. |
| Billy Squier Don't Say No | 3.5 |
| This is a surprisingly fun bluesy 80's hard rock album. It's best when it's rocking, such as Lonely Is the Night. However, this album looses at least half a point for occasionally drifting into the realm of 80's cheese, in a glam way. |
| Praying Mantis Time Tells No Lies | 2.5 |
| Praying Mantis creates a rather bland take on NWOBHM. The flashes of brilliance are weighted down by the overwhelmingly mediocre content and dragged into an abyss of boringly unlistenable music. |
| Rainbow Difficult to Cure | 2.5 |
| O'Brother Endless Light | 4.0 |
| Imagine if Thrice's music hadn't atrophated over their hiatus, but instead gotten better. This is the album they would have made. |
| Thrice To Be Everywhere Is to Be Nowhere | 3.0 |
| Admittedly I got into Thrice in their post-hardcore days; however, this is their first disappointing album for me. In Beggars and Major/Minor, Thrice managed to still have some form of heaviness or aggression, but it seems their sound got neutered in their hiatus. Despite all the negative things I have said, this is still an above average alt rock album. For those of you who haven't given up on hearing "Deadbolt" again, this album puts another nail in the coffin. |
| Vukari Divination | 4.0 |
| I'm typically not a big black metal guy, but my prejudices were overwhelmed by strong melodies and flowing dynamics. Also, these guys are on the more atmospheric side of black metal which makes this album a bit more accessible. |
| Cobalt Slow Forever | 4.5 |
| I avoided this album at first because I generally don't like black metal. But after listening to it, I thought this was AOTY (until I listened to Terminal Vortex). Now I just think this is an amazing album. Get ready to hear some atypical influences for a metal album. |
| Anthrax For All Kings | 4.5 |
| For All Kings is not as thrashy as 80s Anthrax, but it demonstrates that 29 years since Among the Living they are still one of the best. With this album, they continue to be one of the (if not the) most fun and upbeat thrash metal bands around. It's one of my favorites of the year. |
| Gojira Magma | 4.5 |
| A bit softer and catchier than previous albums, but they definitely are still Gojira, a giant among best modern metal bands. Also, Magma is loaded with earworms that just follow you around all day. |
| Fates Warning Theories of Flight | 4.0 |
| I was skeptical of the positive reviews because I have never even been a fan of The Spectre Within or Awaken the Guardian, but I was impressed and pleasantly surprised by this album. |
| Vektor Terminal Redux | 5.0 |
| I almost shut this off halfway through the first track because I wasn't quite feeling it, but I am so glad I gave this a shot. Vektor has created a definite AOTY candidate and quite possibly the best thrash album since Rust in Peace. When this album finished, I had to pause and wonder, "what have I just heard?" |
| Carcass Surgical Steel | 5.0 |
| Carcass Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious | 3.5 |
| Carcass Heartwork | 5.0 |
| Demon Hunter Demon Hunter | 4.0 |
| Demon Hunter Summer of Darkness | 4.0 |
| Demon Hunter Storm the Gates of Hell | 4.0 |
| Demon Hunter The World Is a Thorn | 3.5 |
| Demon Hunter True Defiance | 3.5 |
| Demon Hunter Extremist | 2.5 |
| Demon Hunter The Triptych | 4.0 |
| Skillet Rise | 2.0 |
| Skillet Awake | 2.5 |
| Skillet Comatose | 3.5 |
| Skillet Collide | 4.0 |
| Mastodon Leviathan | 5.0 |
| 12 Stones Beneath the Scars | 2.5 |
| Thrice Identity Crisis | 4.0 |
| Thrice The Illusion of Safety | 4.0 |
| Thrice Vheissu | 4.5 |
| Thrice The Artist in the Ambulance | 5.0 |
| Thrice The Alchemy Index Vols. I & II | 4.5 |
| Thrice The Alchemy Index Vols. III & IV | 4.5 |
| Thrice Beggars | 4.0 |
| Thrice Major/Minor | 4.5 |
| Muse Drones | 3.5 |
| Muse The Resistance | 3.5 |
| Muse Black Holes & Revelations | 4.0 |
| Muse Absolution | 4.5 |
| Muse Origin of Symmetry | 4.0 |
| Muse Showbiz | 3.0 |
| Agalloch The Serpent and the Sphere | 4.0 |
| Helloween The Time of the Oath | 3.5 |
| Helloween Walls of Jericho | 4.5 |
| Helloween Keeper of the Seven Keys Part II | 5.0 |
| Helloween Keeper of the Seven Keys Part I | 5.0 |
| Nevermore Dead Heart In A Dead World | 4.0 |
| Meshuggah obZen | 5.0 |
| Meshuggah Koloss | 4.5 |
| Living Sacrifice Reborn | 4.0 |
| Living Sacrifice Conceived In Fire | 4.5 |
| Living Sacrifice The Hammering Process | 4.0 |
| Living Sacrifice The Infinite Order | 4.5 |
| Living Sacrifice Ghost Thief | 4.5 |
| Oh, Sleeper Son of the Morning | 4.0 |
| Oh, Sleeper When I Am God | 4.0 |
| Oh, Sleeper Children of Fire | 4.5 |
| Exodus Bonded by Blood | 5.0 |
| Exodus Fabulous Disaster | 4.5 |
| Overkill Under the Influence | 4.0 |
| Overkill Horrorscope | 4.0 |
| Overkill The Years of Decay | 5.0 |
| Overkill Ironbound | 4.5 |
| Overkill The Electric Age | 4.5 |
| Overkill White Devil Armory | 4.5 |
| Kreator Pleasure to Kill | 5.0 |
| Testament Practice What You Preach | 4.5 |
| Anthrax Worship Music | 3.5 |
| Anthrax State of Euphoria | 4.0 |
| Anthrax Spreading the Disease | 4.5 |
| Anthrax Persistence of Time | 5.0 |
| Anthrax Among the Living | 5.0 |
| Anthrax Fistful of Metal | 4.0 |
| Megadeth Risk | 2.0 |
| Megadeth The System Has Failed | 4.0 |
| Megadeth Youthanasia | 4.0 |
| Megadeth So Far, So Good... So What! | 4.0 |
| Megadeth Countdown to Extinction | 4.5 |
| Megadeth Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? | 5.0 |
| Megadeth Rust in Peace | 5.0 |
| Megadeth Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good! | 4.5 |
| Metallica Death Magnetic | 3.0 |
| Metallica Kill 'Em All | 4.5 |
| Metallica Ride the Lightning | 5.0 |
| Metallica Master of Puppets | 5.0 |
| Metallica ...And Justice for All | 4.0 |
| Metallica Metallica | 4.0 |
| Metallica Load | 2.5 |
| Metallica Reload | 2.0 |
| Metallica St. Anger | 1.5 |
| Saxon Denim and Leather | 4.0 |
| Not as good as either of Saxon's 1980 releases (I like their rougher sound), but it still shows they were one of the best NWOBHM bands. However, to call them better than Maiden or Priest is certainly hyperbole. |
| Saxon Wheels of Steel | 4.5 |
| Iron Maiden The Book of Souls | 4.5 |
| With a little bit of trimming this would be an instant classic, but even the tracks that feel a bit like filler on this album are excellent. |
| Iron Maiden The Final Frontier | 4.0 |
| Iron Maiden A Matter of Life and Death | 4.0 |
| Iron Maiden Dance of Death | 4.0 |
| Iron Maiden Brave New World | 4.5 |
| Iron Maiden Virtual XI | 2.0 |
| Iron Maiden The X Factor | 2.0 |
| Iron Maiden Fear of the Dark | 3.0 |
| Iron Maiden No Prayer for the Dying | 2.5 |
| Iron Maiden Seventh Son of a Seventh Son | 5.0 |
| Iron Maiden Somewhere in Time | 4.0 |
| Iron Maiden Powerslave | 5.0 |
| Iron Maiden Piece of Mind | 4.5 |
| Iron Maiden The Number of the Beast | 5.0 |
| Iron Maiden Killers | 4.5 |
| Iron Maiden Iron Maiden | 5.0 |
