Top 40 Metal Albums of 2012: 30-21

30.  WINTERSUN: TIME I
It has been a very long time coming for this release.  The band released its first album way back in 2004 and there have long been promises of a new one coming soon.  I myself have known about this for about four or five years now and anxiously awaiting it.  Of course it did not quite live up to the hype, but it is still an extremely impressive release all the same.  An incredible blend of a variety of metal styles into a surprisingly beautiful final product.

29.  CRADLE OF FILTH: THE MANTICORE AND OTHER HORRORS
Everyone's favorite gothic metal nutballs, Cradle of Filth have once again released an album in October of this year.  Just like clockwork.  The sound is a little different this time around with more of an emphasis on aggressive riffwork than on albums past.  Cradle of Filth has also focused on decreasing their song lengths making this a much tighter and punchier release than some of their more long-winded efforts to date.  It is easily one of the band's best albums in years.

28.  ENSLAVED: RIITIIR
Enslaved has received a surprising amount of criticism on this release.  I do not personally buy into all that much as this album has once again strongly impressed me.  It is not as dynamic as some of their other more recent releases, which is why it is in this position instead of closer to the top, but it is impressive in its own way.  Enslaved is a band that continually puts out terrific album after terrific album, and this one is no different.

27.  NAPALM DEATH: UTILITARIAN
Napalm Death has built one hell of a long career out of simply making eardrums bleed.  Their politically charged lyrics are sometimes lost in the cacophony of noise that they make but their anger is plain and obvious.  I have not always been the biggest fan of Napalm Death, but over the last couple of years they have become one of my favorite groups.  This release certainly shows why it is that the band has been able to last as long as they have.

26.  ABORTED: GLOBAL FLATLINE
Simply put, this is the best album that Aborted has put out, likely ever.  The Belgian bashers have long been attempting to add some measure of experimentation and more mainstream-influenced sounds into their brutal style.  On this release, Aborted abandon all of that and simply play to their strengths.  This is brutal and unrelenting grinding death metal the way that it should be.

25.  SATAN'S WRATH: GALLOPING BLASPHEMY
Departed Electric Wizard bassist Tas Donazoglou wasted no time in putting together his next musical project.  Fans of his former band will likely not find a whole lot to compare it to as this is a band looking towards other metal influences to guide his style.  Satan's Wrath is built upon the legacy of early Slayer, Bathory, Hellhammer, Possessed and other band at the forefront of extreme metal.  This is a tribute album with original material and it is one of the most impressive debuts of the year.

24.  NACHTMYSTIUM: SILENCING MACHINE
Nachtmystium lost me for a little while.  Their last album was far too progressive without enough of their prior black metal style for my tastes.  This album saw a return to their original black metal sound while also working to mix in the progressiveness that the band had been experimenting with.  What resulted was one of the band's best albums in their discography.  This album even saw a return of the band's black metal logo.

23.  ARKHAM WITCH: LEGIONS OF THE DEEP
This will not be the only traditional metal release that will be seen on this Top 40 release.  There were a number of terrific albums released this year dedicated to the early heavy metal masters.  Arkham Witch utilize a variety of styles on this album from doom metal to thrash metal to hard rock.  One thing stays the same throughout though, their ability to write damn catchy songs.

22.  SINISTER: THE CARNAGE ENDING
Sinister was once one of the most brutal death metal bands going.  They emerged from the Netherlands in the late 1980's and put out a couple of terrific and powerful death metal classics early on.  They faded a bit over the years but apparently never really lost their edge.  This is the best album Sinister has released in a number of years.  The brutality and power that once coursed through the band's veins is back with a vengeance.

21.  CHAOS INCEPTION: THE ABROGATION
There have been a lot of great death metal albums released this year from unexpected bands.  Chaos Inception is a recent project of Quinta Essentia guitarist Matt Barnes.  Just like his other band, Chaos Inception's biggest strength is the highly original and impressive riffwork.  It is a masterful death metal release that proves that there is still a lot of life left in the genre that many have believed has grown stale.

Initial Impressions: Nachtmystium: Silencing Machine

Once one of the U.S.'s premier black metal bands, Nachtmystium started to distance themselves from that style a little bit, adding more and more progressive and psychedelic influences to the point where there was hardly any trace of black metal on their last album.  Fans were divided about whether that was a good direction or not.  One thing that could be said though is that at least it was interesting.

This album has been hailed as a return to form for Nachtmystium, even the old black metal logo has returned.  That is not entirely correct.  There are still elements lingering from the Black Meddle albums.  For the most part the black metal sound has returned, though only superficially.  The band utilizes more tremolo riffs, blast beats, and harsh vocals, but underneath it all, it is clear that Nachtmystium has progressed beyond typical black metal.  Many of the songs feature some or all of these elements but also possess a distinctive post-rock or psychedelic sound as well.  Blake Judd maintains the harsher vocal style throughout the release however.

If anything, this album represents a coming-together of the sounds that Nachtmystium has put out over the years.  The black metal is present but so is the progressive rock, post-rock, and psychedelia.  The one constant is the cold atmosphere.

I really did enjoy this album.  I have liked prior Nachtmystium albums, but none as much as this one.

The Saxophone in Metal

I know there have been recent posts about this on Invisible Oranges and possibly some other places, but I do feel qualified to make a post about this because I played the saxophone for eight years. I was pretty good at it too, winning several awards at solo and small ensemble contests and being a member of a high school jazz band chosen as one of 20 groups from across the country to perform at a contest honoring Duke Ellington's 100th birthday at Lincoln Center in New York. I have experience playing the alto, baritone, and soprano saxophones.

The saxophone has not made frequent appearances in heavy metal, it is typically a complimentary instrument and requires a guest appearance. Sigh is the only band I am currently aware of that employs a full-time saxophonist, Dr. Mikkanibal. While it would be interesting to hear a band use the saxophone full-time, the instrument often adds an eerie atmosphere to the songs in which it does appear.

So, after an exhaustive search through my collection, these are a few examples of the saxophone in heavy metal:











Anyone know any others I may have missed?

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.