10.
The Tony Danza Tap Dance Extravaganza - Danza III: A Series of Unfortunate Events
After losing 3/4's of their members, TTDTDE have released arguably to best math metal record to date. Technical, groovy, heavy and most of all tasteful; this record makes you want to break shit, which is always a good thing in my book.
Favorite song: There's a Time and Place for Everything
9.
Enslaved - Axioma Ethica Odini
I've never been a big black metal fan before, but something about "progressive black metal" intrigued me, so I picked this up. Boy am I glad I did. This record is absolutely beautiful. Atmospheric, dark, and orchestral at its core, the images this record conjures in my mind are vast and oddly peaceful. Weird using the word 'peaceful' in a metal review, I know, but there's just something about the spacious and moving songs on this record that really gets me. I'll definitely be keeping my eye on these guys in the coming years.
Favorite song: Ethica Odini
8.
Kill The Client - Set For Extinction
You like grindcore, you'll like this CD. Never relying on over production to capture their chaotic anger, it just pummels you from start to finish with every ounce of its being.
Favorite song: As Roaches
7.
Deftones - Diamond Eyes
Back in middle school I was obsessed with these guys. Around the Fur was probably my favorite record during my tween years and, even now, I still like it. But I lost touch with Deftones for a while after White Pony, and hadn't listened to anything of theirs since. Then Diamond Eyes came along and I decided to give it a go. Woah. It kind of blew my mind. I REALLY like it. It's a sonic journey that's simultaneously heavy, beautiful, and tasteful. Further proof that Deftones really are the only band who survived the nu-metal extravaganza that raped the world a decade ago.
Favorite song: Sextape
6.
Misery Index - Heirs To Thievery
The best straight death metal release of the year. I wasn't really into these guys' older material, but they really got me with their last release, Traitors. Heirs to Thievery is the perfect progression since then and has taken everything from their days as a metalcore band and blended it seamlessly with their new death metal side. Fantastic. And they've really stepped it up in the realm of musicianship as well. I remember watching drummer Adam Jarvis at a show a few years back and noticing how strained and awkward he looked behind the kit. Now it's hard to imagine that it's the same guy pummeling out the inhuman beats on this record. Heavy as fuck.
Favorite song: You Lose
5.
Intronaut - Valley of Smoke
I've been a fan of these guys since their inception. Hugely talented dudes playing "progressive metal" better than almost anyone out there. Valley of Smoke really steps it up a notch, too. This is easily one of the best prog metal records ever made, and the inclusion of clean singing, however detestable the thought is, really works. It's like taking a trip through the old west if the indians listened to metal.
Favorite song: Valley of Smoke
4.
Ihsahn - After
I got this record because of the unrelenting praise it was getting from a website I frequent. I was skeptical at first--knowing that it's the side project of the lead singer of Emperor, who I'm not a fan of--but after hearing it, and then listening to it again and again, I fell in love with it. Perfectly arranged and moody as all hell, it's an approach to "progressive" like I've never heard before. And there's saxophone. Lots of it. So it wins.
Favorite song: A Grave Inversed
3.
Nails - Unsilent Death
Where the hell did this record come from? Straight, to the point, fast and brutal grindcore in all its glory. Probably the best grind release I've heard in a while. With a hardcore mentality, Nails have seriously stepped it up a notch in a genre bogged down by the lack of evolution and creativity.
Favorite song: Suffering Soul
2.
Fleshgod Apocalypse - Mafia EP
This is probably my favorite working band right now. Fuck. It's so heavy it's almost incomprehensible. I've heard death metal being compared to classical music a thousand times before but these guys are the first band that I think actually make classical music in a death metal fashion. Italians are god damn insane. I love them. I usually wouldn't put an EP on my year end list but the 5 songs on here are by far some of the best of the year.
Favorite song: Thru Our Scars
1.
The Ocean - Heliocentric/Anthropocentric
I've listed these album together because, though they were released separately, they ostensibly are one giant concept album. Admittedly, Heliocentric grew on me, since the toned down, almost mellow approach some of the songs take came way out of left field for me. After repeat listenings though, I've grown to love it. Robin Staps is an unmatched songwriter and The Ocean transcend genre so well that it's sometimes hard to even call them a metal band. The orchestrations and layers on these records are stunning and way beyond what most people think when they hear the term 'heavy'. Even the two piano ballads on Heliocentric are great.
Anthropocentric is really the record of the year in my book. It's The Ocean at their very best, and their approach to it is so unlike their previous material that I really wasn't expecting something so phenomenal. Instead of using an entire orchestra, or really anything but guitars, bass and drums, the record feels way more organic. Though even with the absence of symphonic instruments, the arrangements are still as complex and layered as anything on Precambrian or Fluxion.
The concept behind the albums is also very intriguing to me. Heliocentric takes you on a journey from the most ancient forms of christianity up through Darwin's theory of evolution, while Anthropocentric is one giant critique on christianity heavily inspired by Dotsoyevsky's The Brothers Kamazarov. Metal has always been known for its not so intelligent hatred of christians, but The Ocean have put a spin on that notion and taken a critical and intellectual approach to dissecting and ultimately condemning christianity and its effect on humanity as a whole. A+
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Favorite songs: The First Commandment of the Luminaries & The Grand Inquisitor I: Karamazov Baseness
Honorable Mentions
-Keep of Kalessin - Reptilian
-Cephalic Carnage - Misled By Certainty
-Defeatist - Sixth Extinction
-Kvelertak - S/T
-Rotten Sound - Napalm EP
-Hour of Penance - Paradogma
-Aborted - Coronary Reconstruction EP
-Cloudkicker - Beacons & ]]][[[ EP
-Fleshwrought - Dementia/Dyslexia
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