2018 in Review: Top Albums

Prepare for a long one folks.  After the jump is every single new album I purchased in 2018, listed in descending order of preference.  I did not buy anything truly bad, so just because an album is last on my list, does not mean it is terrible.  I should also note that I have several 2018 albums still coming in soon that obviously will not make the list because I have not heard them yet (Metal Church, Arsis) and I was never able to check out some albums by bands that I normally would have (Voivod, Skeletonwitch, Psycroptic).  So this should by no means be considered an exhaustive list. 

Enough of that crap, here we go:

2018 in Review: Demos and EPs

I know.  I know.  I have been gone for quite awhile and I have been mostly terrible about album reviews.  As such, my annual late year-end list will be broken into two parts and will show off all of the albums I have purchased from 2018.  I will list the releases in descending order of preference.  For example, of the four demos listed immediately below, the last one listed is my favorite.  This is in lieu of having a numbered system because I am not doing a simple Top 10 or whatever.  The top albums list will likely come out this weekend.  I just have to finish up a few reviews. 

So in this post, I am listing the demos and the EPs.  This is not a huge post.  The next one will be however.  The other thing I should note is that this entire year, I picked up just two CDs, one of which was included with a vinyl album and the other was one my wife bought, ripped, and then gave to me.  I already bought the cassette.  Yes, cassette.  That has been an obsession of mine lately.  Almost every single release in these two posts was purchased on cassette.  There are a few albums I have yet to buy from 2018 because they were never available on cassette and I did not get around to buying them on vinyl.  

So, without further ado, here are the demos and EPs.  I did not pick up nearly as many as I intended, but there are some solid releases here:

DEMOS

BLOOMING CARRIONS: NECROSIS TWILIGHT

Atmosphere is the name of the game for these Finnish death merchants.  Finland has a long history of being a breeding ground for off-kilter metal bands across all subgenres.  Blooming Carrions definitely qualifies.  They are much more concerned with presenting a sense of foreboding than with razor sharp riffs.  Their riffs are murky and the production murkier still.  The structures are meandering and not really headed in any real direction.  It is an interesting demo and their prior one was too.  They have a future.

TELEPORT: THE EXPANSION

I was sort of disappointed with this one, which is why it is placed where it is, moreso than about the quality of the music.  I had their Galactic Usurper/Stellar Damnation compilation and absolutely loved it.  It was a sort of black metal Voivod, a very unique take.  Unfortunately this album is much more straightforward prog death.  The music is very good and Teleport is the most polished of the four bands presented in this post.  Unfortunately they no longer provide anything new and different and are not that distinguishable from any other progressive death metal band.  A shame.  

NOOSE ROT: THE CREEPING UNKNOWN

Okay, now I think we are just taking two vaguely creepy-sounding words and throwing them together.  I'm not sure "noose rot" makes sense.  If it is a rotten noose, it's unlikely to be functional.  Is it rot caused by a noose?  Is that a thing?  Anyway, Noose Rot is an impressive doomy death metal band that has the kind of dark, cavernous sound that Incantation, among other bands, popularized.  It is full of heavy bottom-end and riffs that lurch and crawl.  Second track "Worship the Crypt" is a monster with a thunderous opening riff.  Time will tell if Noose Rot is able to do anything that will separate them from the rest of the Incantation-clone pack.

SUPERSTITION: SURGING THRONG OF EVIL'S MIGHT

The first of two demos from this New Mexico-based OSDM band. I am reminded of the time when one of the support staff women from the first law firm I worked for asked me what was the difference between Mexico and New Mexico. Anyway, Superstition's point of reference is most likely Morbid Angel, with their twisted, crawling riffs and sepulchral vocals, complete with the occasional haunting keyboard melody. They sound like a horror movie. I am certainly impressed with the band. Hopefully a full-length is coming soon, and I may have to find that second demo.    

EPs

FUNERARY DESCENT: OV CHASMS BEYOND

At almost 40 minutes in length over four songs, this is hardly an EP, yet that is its official designation. Black metal and doom metal do not get crossed over all that often, but Funerary Descent is certainly up to the task. The music is morosely slow, sometimes barely moving at all, with rasping, shrieking vocals as is typical for black metal. It is an incredible dark and evil sounding release, which is definitely what the band is going for. Funerary Descent has not been around long, releasing just a couple of demos prior to this EP, but they are unusual enough to potentially catch on, particularly with the recent wave of atypical doom metal bands. Funerary Descent definitely belongs on a play list with Bell Witch.

PROFANATICA: ALTAR OF THE VIRGIN WHORE

Profanatica, the vile and filthy black metal project of former Incantation member Paul Ledney, re-emerges once again to spread its hateful message.  Profanatica has never had a pretty sound, and this EP is no different.  The production is murky, the riffs fast and simple, and the vocals delivered in a typical raspy shout.  This is evil as music gets.  This is a quick and dirty EP, which is frankly how I would prefer Profanatica's releases.  Much longer than 20 minutes and things become a little tiresome from the band.  This is eight songs and less than 20 minutes in length.  It comes on, blasts away in complete chaos, Ledney spouts out some Anti-Christian lyrics, and then it is over.  Just like that.  Profanatica is fun.

DESTRÖYER 666: CALL OF THE WILD

First of all, any year Deströyer 666 releases new music, you can bet they will find themselves near the top of my list. Secondly, if this were a full-length, instead of a four song, 20 minute EP, you can bet this would have been near the top of my Top Albums list. Instead, it is at the top of EP list. The band has ramped up the traditional metal and 80's thrash metal influences on this release, particularly during "Call of the Wild" and "Violence is Golden", respectively. They also close things out with the slow-burning epic "Trialed by Fire". Incorrect conjugation aside, it is a terrific song. This is probably the release I listed to most often this year, it helps that it is so short, but the songs really are some of the best this band has ever released.

Best of 2016

I should qualify this here.  Honestly, I have not heard that many new albums in 2016.  In fact, it is the fewest I have heard since well before I started this blog.  Because I checked out so few albums, all of the bands are safe bands for me.  I did not experiment with any groups I was not already familiar with and already enjoyed.  So this list is going to have some limitations.

ROTTING CHRIST: RITUALS

Rotting Christ has been declining for several years now.  And this is my least favorite of their albums so far.  Aealo, their 2010 album was their last really good one.  The biggest problem is that this album is more of a collection of ideas than actual songs.  The band seems more interested in playing soundtrack scores for movies like 300 than in crafting real songs.  The spoken word sections and samples used throughout the album certainly add to the soundtrack feel.  It is a credit to the band's ability that even this sounds interesting enough.  There are definitely some good moments throughout the release, but this album is largely a disappointment.  

SKELETONWITCH: THE APOTHIC GLOOM

Skeletonwitch is easily one of the best metal bands going right now.  And this release shows why.  Every song on it is perfect, with great vocals, face-melting intensity, and infectious riffs.  The only problem is that it is an EP, and I had no idea that it was not a full-length album.  It seems a little cruel to hold that against the release, but it is my blog and I can do what I want.  So, because this is just an EP, it falls pretty far down the list.  I am just looking forward to the next album.

DEFEATED SANITY: DISPOSAL OF THE DEAD/DHARMATA

This is a weird one.  The title gives away that this is basically a split album, but it is a split album by just one band.  Let me explain.  Defeated Sanity has always been a little bit strange, combining some of the most brutal slam death with some bizarre jazz-like sections.  So the band took both sides of its sound and split them up.  The first six songs are straightforward brutal death/slam.  The next five emphasize the more experimental oddball side of the band.  Still brutally intense, but with some absolutely off-kilter moments.  It is an intriguing idea, and Defeated Sanity succeed.

METALLICA: HARDWIRED...TO SELF-DESTRUCT

Probably the most anticipated metal album for a lot of people (though not for me, we'll get to mine).  For the most part, Metallica has put out one of their best albums in a very long time.  The songs are tighter and punchier than anything on Death Magnetic, and I actually liked that album.  There are definitely some terrific songs on this album.  It also helps that the songs don't linger for too long.  They are not nearly as long as some of the songs they have been putting out lately.  They are still mostly incapable of getting through a song in less than six minutes, but then, Metallica has always been like that.  This is absolutely one of their best albums in years, but it is just not as good as many of the other albums this year.

OMNIUM GATHERUM: GREY HEAVENS

Gothenburg-style melodeath has mostly disappeared into the ether over the years.  Many of the bands that popularized the form have changed their sound drastically.  But there are a few bands that still sound like the best that style had to offer and Finland's Omnium Gatherum are one of them.  I have only had this album for about a week, so it is still sinking in, but it is a good example of what made this style so interesting in the first place.  There is nothing much risky and ground-breaking here, it is just a solid piece of melodeath, similar to the best releases by In Flames, Dark Tranquillity and Soilwork.

FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE: KING

The Italian symphonic death metallers keep getting better and better.  At first their symphonic elements were a little unwieldy, threatening to take over the sound and sounding a little clumsy.  But over the next few releases, they have been able to incorporate the orchestration more and more to the point that their sound is much more all-encompassing.  The symphonic sections are grandiose while the death metal sections are properly brutal.  And the two mix together very well.  This is a style that does not make much sense on paper, but Fleshgod Apocalypse pull it off nicely and have been doing so for a few years now.

INSOMNIUM: WINTER'S GATE

One of the most ambitious albums of the year comes from the Finnish melodeath band Insomnium, who have put out a number of terrific albums.  This entire album is just one 40 minute long song.  Other bands have done that in the past (Edge of Sanity's Crimson comes to mind), and it is of course an extremely challenging thing to do.  The story is based on a short story written by the band's bassist.  The more I listen to it, the more this one grows on me.  It is extremely difficult to write a 40 minute song that doesn't completely lose the listener, but this one does a good job of retaining interest throughout.  It is more of a collection of movements than one cohesive song, but it manages to to not drift into the background.

WORMED: KRIGHSU

It has only been three years since Wormed's last album, which is damn impressive since their previous album to that was ten years earlier.  The technical slam death band from Spain has outdone themselves yet again.  Each of their albums seems to be better than the last.  Their sci-fi lyrics fit in well with the unconventional song structures and constantly shifting progressions.  The drumming is particularly impressive throughout.  The only constant on the album is the overall uncompromising brutality.  This is not an easy listen for someone not familiar with the band, but after several sessions, it sinks in and doesn't let go.

DENNER/SHERMANN: MASTERS OF EVIL

The long-anticipated full-length release of the original guitarists from Mercyful Fate finally dropped this last year.  After a terrific four-song EP in 2015, the full-length features all new songs.  Michael Denner and Hank Shermann have been doing this for a long time and they know how to write some damn good riffs.  This album is very good from beginning to end.  The only real complaint that I have is that vocalist Sean Peck is not quite the powerful vocalist that would sound best with this blackened heavy metal style.  Someone more like Harry Conklin of Satan's Host would work better.  Other than that, this debut full-length is damn impressive.

ABBATH: ABBATH

The long-time Immortal member Abbath Doom Occulta (probably not his real name) has formed a solo album after years of playing just about every instrument the black metal legends.  All he does for Abbath is sing and play guitars, and of course write all of the music.  Abbath has always had more of a melodic sensibility to his riffing style, as opposed to the blazing fast brutality of previous Immortal guitarist Demonaz.  That sensibility shines through here as he writes his own music.  It is an infectious, powerful album with the kind of classic metal-infused black metal that Abbath has been hinting at throughout his career with Immortal and I.  His ideas are now fully-realized on this release.

GRAND MAGUS: SWORD SONGS

Grand Magus can do no wrong.  Criminally underrated, the traditional heavy metal band just keeps putting out classic albums that almost no one seems to hear.  And that is a shame.  Heavily influenced by Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and so many of the titans of the genre, Grand Magus forges its own identity through songs about warfare and battle.  Their sound is masculine and powerful.  There is no room for cowardice.  This is pure fucking metal, plain and simple.  There is nothing soft here, no emotions shrouding things.  Pure.  Fucking.  Metal.

REVOCATION: GREAT IS OUR SIN

Revocation is currently one of my favorite bands.  It has been that way for quite some time now really.  The technical thrash/death metal band is about as close to late-era Death as bands can get, and honestly that was my favorite era of Death's output.  But they take things much farther with some unusual moments of their own.  Revocation continues to grow and continues to improve on their already unique sound.  Each album seems to get better and better.  Plus this album features one hell of a Slayer cover on it.  It takes a great band to do justice to a Slayer cover, and Revocation is a great band.

DESTROYER 666: WILDFIRE

It is pretty much a foregone conclusion that Destroyer 666 will make my Top 5 every year that they release an album.  The only frustrating aspect is that they don't do it nearly often enough.  This is their first full-length album since 2009.  One of the biggest surprises on the album is the inclusion of a few clean-singing moments.  That is definitely out of left field for this group, known more for its extremely brutal brand of blackened thrash.  Featuring incendiary lead guitars, frenetic riffs, shrieking vocals, and some of the best songs the band has ever written, this is up there with the absolutely perfect Cold Steel...For an Iron Age among the band's best albums.  An easy choice to be this high on the list.

MEGADETH: DYSTOPIA

Yes, Megadeth's newest album is that much better than Metallica's newest album.  But that really should not be that surprising.  I have seen Megadeth live twice this last year and they continue to put on an incredible live show.  This is quite possibly Megadeth's best album since Countdown to Extinction, and that is really saying something because they put out a number of good, even great albums during that time.  But Mustaine's guitar riffs and solos and his sneering vocal style have not sounded this good in years.  After a couple of lackluster albums, Megadeth has come charging back into top form.  This is a fantastic comeback album and one of the legendary band's best albums in years.

TESTAMENT: BROTHERHOOD OF THE SNAKE

I mentioned previously that the new Metallica album was not my most anticipated album.  That honor belongs to this one.  Sure it has only been three years, but anytime a new Testament album is coming out, I have to get it.  Testament is one of my favorite bands of all time, if not my favorite.  And this album definitely does not disappoint.  This is probably my favorite release by the band since they re-formed after singer Chuck Billy's successful bout with cancer.  The band's brutal blend of thrash, death, and groove metal has not sounded this good since 1999's The Gathering.  This is far darker and more intense than anything the band has done in years and it blows away most of the other albums I have heard this year.  Except for one.

2016 ALBUM OF THE YEAR:

VEKTOR: TERMINAL REDUX

I have been a fan of Vektor ever since I first heard the band.  They are the perfect blend of The Sound of Perseverence-era Death and Nothingface-era Voivod.  And this is their best album yet, which is really saying something as each of their albums have been incredible.  This one blows them away.  An intense, epic sci-fi concept album, this release is progressive and punishing at the same time.  Vektor has always been about pushing the boundaries of metal and they are in top form on this release.  All of the musical risks they take, and there are many, pay off.  This is an absolutely incredible album all the way through.  The very first time I heard it, I knew it would end up being the best album of the year.  It is hard for me to imagine anything topping this one this year either.      

Top However Many Albums of 2016

This is going to be kind of an ambitious post from someone who has barely posted in the last year and a half.  Because of that, I feel like I need to cover all of the albums I have picked up over the last year.  So there will be some less than good albums covered, don't take this to be a top albums list so much as ranking all of the albums I have bought over the year.  This is going to be a long one.  Even though I have not been picking up nearly as many albums this last year, there is still a pretty hefty stack sitting on my desk.

So, without further ado, abandon all hope ye who enter:

Year in Metal: 2010

I have finally come to the final post in this series. Go here for the larger post. As usual, here are five more albums that I missed covering in that post.

DENOUNCEMENT PYRE: WORLD CREMATION
Denouncement Pyre was covered just a couple of days ago in an Initial Impressions post. The Australian band possesses a sound similar to other groups in the scene such as Abominator, Destroyer 666, and others. With good reason too as both of the current members and all of the band's previous members have been in a number of other Australian bands. That is one of the more interesting parts of that particular scene. This is a particularly brutal album, even for the scene.

GHOST: OPUS EPONYMOUS
Subject to a ton of hype in the latter couple of months of 2010, this album actually released in the U.S. early in 2011 but was released in Europe well before that. Ghost takes 1970's hard rock groups like Blue Oyster Cult and combines them with early doom metal for a surprisingly infectious sound. At this time, there is still no information out there about who the members of Ghost are or what the band is really trying to accomplish, but it is a fun ride.

GRAND MAGUS: HAMMER OF THE NORTH
I was just not able to get my hands on Grand Magus's 2010 release during the calendar year. That is a shame too because their 2008 album was my Album of the Year so I was definitely looking forward to this one. Grand Magus did not alter their approach too much. This is still a 1980's heavy metal-inspired album with some truly catchy tracks and the amazing vocals of JB. Grand Magus should be the next big thing in metal, but nothing ever seems to work out the way it should.

INQUISITION: OMINOUS DOCTRINES OF THE PERPETUAL MYSTICAL MACROCOSM
Inquisition has become known for long album and song titles, this one certainly takes first prize in that. What we have here is good old South American black metal. Inquisition's sound is rooted in second wave Norwegian black metal with sonic ties to groups like Immortal. This is true black metal at its best. Inquisition takes the black metal torch and runs with it here. Initial Impressions to come soon.

WITHERED: DUALITAS
This album could easily have been my Album of the Year if I had found it during the calendar year. That is how freaking good it is. I had missed out on this band for a long time but when I discovered how great this album was, I realized my mistake. Withered plays black/death metal but with some droning and post-metal qualities. All of that thrown together creates a harrowing and suffocating album that is cold and miserable. What a great album.

Year in Metal: 2009

Link to larger post.

My Top 10 as shown in that post:
10. Thanatos: Justified Genocide
9. Heaven & Hell: The Devil You Know
8. Amorphis: Skyforger
7. Dawn of Azazel: Relentless
6. Seance: Awakening of the Gods
5. Cauldron: Chained to the Nite
4. Goatwhore: Carving Out the Eyes of God
3. God Dethroned: Passiondale
2. Razor of Occam: Homage to Martyrs
1. Destroyer 666: Defiance

Again, the Top 10 has not changed, but I want to look at some different albums from 2009.

BARONESS: BLUE RECORD
I originally avoided Baroness. I had heard that Baroness was basically Mastodon, and I have not been nearly as impressed with Mastodon's material since Blood Mountain. However I heard some decent songs off the Baroness album, coupled with the fact that it was Decibel's Album of the Year, and eventually decided it was time to pick it up. I am glad that I did. This is a very good album. Though I am not the biggest fan of the recent surge in sludge/doom metal acts, much preferring the original sludge artists such as Eyehategod and Acid Bath, I do admit the songs on this thing are damn catchy. I am not yet sure whether I will continue to check out Baroness, but they got my attention.

COBALT: GIN
Cobalt was the subject of an awful lot of hype leading up to this album. The American black metal band had switched up their sound a little bit for this release, going with a more all-encompassing sound on this release. This is not a simple black metal album. It has elements of punk, rock, and sludge metal. Then there is the fact that vocalist/guitarist Phil McSorley was stationed in Iraq as a U.S. Army scout which adds an intriguing element to the band's music. This is an incredible album that is not like any other black metal album from the U.S. or anywhere else for that matter.

MEGADETH: ENDGAME
Well, since I covered Metallica's sort-of-return-to-form for 2008, I figured I should cover Megadeth's here. Of the two, Megadeth's was far closer to their early glory days. This actually sounds like thrash metal and all of the characteristics that made Megadeth stand out are present. Fast riffs, check. Amazing guitar solos, check. Snarling vocals, check. Angry, political lyrics, check. Love him or hate him, you have to admit that Dave Mustaine is one hell of a guitarist and that shows here. Ultimately, I prefer this album to Metallica's most recent.

NAPALM DEATH: TIME WAITS FOR NO SLAVE
Napalm Death keeps doing what Napalm Death does. And that is put out album after album of furious death/grind every 18 months or so. I have always been a fan of vocalist Barney Greenway, and although I prefer his work with Benediction, his ferocious roar sounds great with the crushing and grinding riffs of Napalm Death. I have in the last few months become a much bigger fan of this band and admit that this is one of their best albums I have heard.

SUFFOCATION: BLOOD OATH
Suffocation had a hand in the creation of several subgenres of death metal from slam to brutal death to deathcore. Their own music exists on a bit more of the brutal death side of things although there have been many bands that are clearly more brutal now. However, Suffocation still puts out great albums and though brutal still remain listenable. Suffocation has never had to change their musical formula and still remain as powerful now as they did on their debut.

Year in Metal: 2008

Link to my larger post.

My Top 10 that year was as follows:
10. Nocturnal Fear: Code of Violence
9. Holy Moses: Agony of Death
8. Septicflesh: Communion
7. The Gates of Slumber: Conqueror
6. Hail of Bullets: ...Of Frost and War
5. Lair of the Minotaur: War Metal Battle Master
4. Toxic Holocaust: An Overdose of Death
3. Mictlantecuhtli: Warriors of the Black Sun
2. Eluveitie: Slania
1. Grand Magus: Iron Will

So, let's talk about some different albums then.

CYNIC: TRACED IN AIR
Cynic came back after 12 years on hiatus. The band would have been an excellent example of a band for my One and Done series had they not decided to reunite, but they did and this album was released to a ton of hype in 2008. It was worth the wait. While abandoning their death and thrash metal roots, Cynic still managed to put out a great album with this effort. The music is actually surprisingly mellow, so much so that my fiancee really liked this release.

IHSAHN: ANGL
The great Emperor frontman released his second solo album in 2008 and built upon the ideas from the first solo release. What resulted was a fine progressive metal album with some black metal influences. He is a fantastic multi-instrumentalist and a gifted songwriter. Of course we already knew all this from his days with Emperor. This album simply emphasizes his gifts.

METALLICA: DEATH MAGNETIC
Possibly the comeback album of the year, with only Cynic as any real competition. This is unarguably the venerable band's best release since The Black Album. I actually kind of prefer it to that one. Songs like "All Nightmare Long" definitely call to mind some of the material from that classic mainstream metal album. Metallica still has a distressing tendency to write overly long songs, but the songs are still enjoyable.

NACHTMYSTIUM: ASSASSINS: BLACK MEDDLE PT. 1
Nachtmystium is one of the more well-known black metal bands from the United States, but this album goes in much more of an experimental and almost psychedelic direction. The title is a reference to Pink Floyd and that band's musical influence can be clearly heard on this release. The band is at its best when they combine their rawer black metal influences with the Pink Floyd-isms.

PHARAOH: BE GONE
A vastly underrated American power metal band, Pharaoh is much more similar to groups like Twisted Tower Dire than to Blind Guardian. It is American power metal, not overly melodic frilly European power metal. Metal that actually has power. Pharaoh crafted a fine album with this release. It's melodic, but not overly so, catchy and it has balls. I am looking forward to the next one.

Since I did a full write-up earlier for this year and subsequent years, I will not do the Honorable Mentions or Bands that Formed. Most newly formed bands from these years have not made much of an impact at this time anyway, with some exceptions.

Year in Metal: 2007

AMORPHIS: SILENT WATERS
I first discovered Amorphis in the late 1990's, around the time that Tuonela was released. However, I stopped listening to them after their follow-up album for several years. This was the album that brought me back to Amorphis. This album is hauntingly beautiful and surprisingly catchy. Gone for the most part are the psychedelic meanderings of their previous albums. These are full songs and they are delivered extremely well. New vocalist Tomi Joutsen fits very well with the rest of the band and they were rejuvenated on this release. I have been a huge fan of them once again ever since.

IMMOLATION: SHADOWS IN THE LIGHT
Immolation has steadily put out classic release after classic release. Their 2007 effort is quite possibly their best ever though, which is really saying something since the band had been around since the early days of New York death metal. Immolation's take on occultish, Morbid Angel-influenced death still sounds amazing more than 20 years later. This album actually finds the band exploring some new melodies that sound great with their usual twisted riffing style.

PRIMORDIAL: TO THE NAMELESS DEAD
Ireland's Primordial have been making quite a bit of noise just underground for several years leading up to this album, but this is when most of the metal world really stood up and took notice of the band. Rooted in black metal, but playing with Celtic folk influences, Primordial went for a much more melodic sound on this release. The result was one of the strongest albums of the year and an album that will stand as a true classic.

ROTTING CHRIST: THEOGONIA
This was the album that introduced me to Rotting Christ. It also still stands as my favorite release by the band. Rotting Christ is another band that consistently puts out great release after great release. It is a little more unusual for them though as their sound has changed frequently over the years. This release finds them adding black metal influences once again into their gothic, Hellenic style. This album would have made my Album of the Year in 2007 had I been doing it at the time. It is simply flawless.

SIGH: HANGMAN'S HYMN-MUSIKALISCHE EXEQUIEN
Sigh is a weird band. But most of you out there probably already knew that. Sigh does not produce the same album twice in a row. This album is much more of an orchestral thrash metal album. It has some truly impressive thrash riffs and some simply amazing symphonic elements. What results is a catchy and bombastic album that gets going quickly and never really falters. It is an easy album to sit down and listen to and become fully engrossed in. It's just unfortunate that Sigh will not release anything like it again.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Akercocke: Antichrist
Arch Enemy: Rise of the Tyrant
Behemoth: The Apostacy
Dark Tranquillity: Fiction
Helloween: Gambling with the Devil
High on Fire: Death is this Communion
Iced Earth: Framing Armageddon-Something Wicked Pt. 1
Machine Head: The Blackening
Marduk: Rom 5:12
Mayhem: Ordo Ad Chao
Paradise Lost: In Requiem
Skeletonwitch: Beyond the Permafrost
Slough Feg: Hardworlder
Symphony X: Paradise Lost
The Black Dahlia Murder: Nocturnal
Watain: Sworn to the Dark

BANDS THAT FORMED IN 2007:
Cavalera Conspiracy

Year in Metal: 2006

CELTIC FROST: MONOTHEIST
Celtic Frost returned in 2006 after several years away. This album is absolutely massive. It is extremely long at over 75 minutes and the sound is just incredible. Celtic Frost put together one of the most unusually creative and incredibly dense and dark albums of all time. It is eerie and intense at the same time. This is not an album to listen to in the dark. It is difficult to categorize as there is so much going on in this album. It is rare for a reunion album to be this different from the band's original material and still hold up well, but this one does.

DEICIDE: THE STENCH OF REDEMPTION
After the Hoffman brothers left Deicide, the band looked to be pretty stagnant. Not having released a decent album since the mid 1990's, things looked pretty bleak. However, the band was rejuvenated on this release. Ralph Santolla was brought on to provide amazing guitar solos and Jack Owen provided rhythm guitars. Deicide sounded like a completely different band. They were surprisingly melodic yet still deadly heavy. They were completely reborn. This was the best Deicide album in years.

DISSECTION: REINKAOS
Dissection, along with Celtic Frost, was another surprising return to the metal world. Jon Nodtveidt returned from prison with a lot of new ideas and recorded them. What resulted was a departure musically and one hell of a statement ideologically. The melodic blackened death sound was gone and in its place was a streamlined melodic death metal masterpiece. Compared to their earlier work, this is a disappointment, but alone, it's incredible. Nodtveidt committed suicide soon after.

MELECHESH: EMISSARIES
This was an album that I fell in love with the minute I heard it. It was so different, so powerful, and so unique that it was hard not to. Melechesh's sound is rooted in black metal, but they have elements of thrash and death as well. And then of course there are the Middle Eastern folk elements. Playing with Middle Eastern scales and melodies, Melechesh found a way to truly stand out from many of their peers. This was truly the best album of 2006 and sure to go down as a classic.

SCAR SYMMETRY: PITCH BLACK PROGRESS
Being somewhat of a melodeath fan, I was excited when I heard my first Scar Symmetry song. The band blends melodeath with progressive structures and some surprising power metal-esque vocals. Singer Christian Alvestam possesses a very unique voice. Capable of a powerful death metal roar as well as some surprisingly good clean vocals, Alvestam's voice causes Scar Symmetry to stand out among the rest of the Swedish melodeath scene. A great album.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
All That Remains: The Fall of Ideals
Amon Amarth: With Oden on Our Side
Blind Guardian: A Twist in the Myth
Cannibal Corpse: Kill
Enslaved: Ruun
I: Between Two Worlds
Ihsahn: The Adversary
In Flames: Come Clarity
Into Eternity: The Scattering of Ashes
Iron Maiden: A Matter of Life and Death
Mastodon: Blood Mountain
Slayer: Christ Illusion
Vader: Impressions in Blood

BANDS THAT FORMED IN 2006:
Cauldron

Year in Metal: 2005

AKERCOCKE: WORDS THAT GO UNSPOKEN, DEEDS THAT GO UNDONE
London's strange progressive blackened death metal band has always had a style all their own, both musically and visually. Their scholarly take on Satanism and sexual depravity is complemented by the fact that the band wears suits when performing live and in video. Their music is extremely progressive and features a variety of different styles. The music is never boring and goes through frequent tempo changes and melodies. This is one of their best albums.

DECEASED...: AS THE WEIRD TRAVEL ON
By this time, Deceased... had eliminated most of the death metal elements that were previously present in their music. The vocals were still a little on the gruff side, but the music was now mostly in the realm of a blend between traditional metal and thrash metal. This is a true modern take on old school styles of metal and shows why Deceased... is perhaps the most unfairly underrated band in American metal.

KAMELOT: THE BLACK HALO
Kamelot's sixth album is the one that finally got the band the large following that they deserved. The Black Halo is a monumental album in Kamelot's history and truly one of the best power metal albums of the decade. It is not a terribly aggressive album, the band preferring to write powerful, melodic metal instead, but the songs are all incredibly infectious and keeps the listener coming back to hear it again. This is how melodic power metal should be.

KREATOR: ENEMY OF GOD
German thrash metal masters released yet another album of hyper-aggressive and punishingly brutal thrash. Kreator's music declined in quality in the 1990's, just like most other thrash metal bands, but that was due to their desire to experiment with styles such as industrial metal. This album was completely back in the brutal thrash style that they crafted in the 1980's. The incredible album-opening title track is an instant classic and sets the stage for the rest of the album.

NILE: ANNIHILATION OF THE WICKED
Nile's fourth album is my personal favorite. The Egyptian-themed death metal band really perfected their style on this release and found the perfect mix between their brutal style of death metal and the Egyptian-sounding musical interludes. Earlier in their career, Nile was somewhat more focused on the brutality and fast songs while later, they became more plodding and focused on the Egyptian aspects. This album combined them perfectly.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Arch Enemy: Doomsday Machine
Candlemass: Candlemass
Dark Tranquillity: Character
God Forbid: IV-Constitution of Treason
Hypocrisy: Virus
Judas Priest: Angel of Retribution
Meshuggah: Catch Thirty-Three
Opeth: Ghost Reveries
Scar Symmetry: Symmetric in Design

BANDS THAT FORMED IN 2005:
Ihsahn