Top 15 Albums of 2016
Kategori: Misc.
Nekrodelirium - Apocalypse
This Norwegian/Swedish Melodic Black Metal combo gets spot 15 for me. With Sandra Stensens shrieks and Erik Röjås great drumming this is a very solid release! Not many songs, but rather lengthy ones, which means they build up quite a lot for that melodic Black atmosphere you want.
14:
October Tide - Winged Waltz
I've known about this Swedish Doom band for a long time but never really listened to them. Seen them live a couple of times and it was nice and all... but then this fall when I saw them live again (in October of course) it just clicked with me. So I bought their latest album and found myself listening to it quite a lot since then. Really solid album!
https://agoniarecords.bandcamp.com/album/winged-waltz
13:
Be'lakor - Vessels
Australian Melodic Death Metal, a band I found out about last year when I was listening to bands in the Brutal Assault line-up that I hadn't heard about. And these guys was just an instant hit. Glad to say they continued it on the latest album as well!
12:
Fallujah - Dreamless
When I discovered these Americans first album some years ago it was the best new discovery I'd found for that year, so I was rather interested in the follow up to say the least! I'm glad to say they kept going strong, even adding some new elements like clean vocals here and there - but it still has that same drive like the first album. Really nice follow up!
https://fallujah.bandcamp.com/
11:
Technical Death Metal from Russia! When I first heard this album I was kind of blown away. I mean, it's what you expect from the genre, super fast blast beats and insane guitar playing combined with cookie monster vocals. But they do it so well. Great stuff!
https://uniqueleaderrecords.bandcamp.com/album/gravenous-hour
10:
Witchery - In His Infernal Majesty's Service
Witchery has returned! Legion and Axe has left unfortunately, but had some really good replacements in Angus Norder on vocals (from Nekrokraft (listen here) who also released their debut this year by the way, and it's really good - had it been a bit longer it'd probably made it into this list as well!) and Chris Barkensjö on drums (LIK). Angus sounds a lot like Toxine who sang before Legion, and well... instant hit. Awesome comeback!
9:
Entombed A.D. - Dead Dawn
You can say a lot of things about the Entombed situation... but you know what? This sounds like Entombed, but heavier. Personally I feel like this is what Entombed needed, this is great stuff! While the previous album had some downs I feel this is a lot stronger. Keep it coming!
8:
Hannes Grossmann - The Crypts of Sleep
So if you're into Technical Death Metal you probably heard about Obscura pretty much splitting up (only one member remained to later recruit new members to the band) some time ago. And well, they released their first album with the new line up earlier this year as well... which for me felt so bland. Luckily Hannes Grossmann also released his second solo album with pretty much all old Obscura-members on it, and as you can imagine it sounds great. This has all that groove, and the quirkiness of old Obscura that I really like. Really good stuff!
https://hannesgrossmann.bandcamp.com/
7:
Grand Magus - Sword Songs
So this is probably the odd one on my list! Cheesy Heavy Metal in a list of mostly extreme Metal? Well you know, it just works. Three guys, one guitar, one bass, one drumset and some amazing vocals. It's simple. It's Heavy Metal in it's purest form pretty much, and it just works so well. Love it!
6:
Insomnium - Winter's Gate
The finns have returned with their style of Melodic Death Metal! This is a great so... er, I mean album. It's a bit unusual in that it's a single 40 minute song on it, which tells the story of Winter's Gate (which is a award winning short story by vocalist and bassist Niilo Sävenen). Now, concept albums really need that atmosphere to work and drag you in. That's exactly what you get here. Atmosphere. And despite being a single 40 minute song, it doesn't get boring. Very good!
5:
Asphyx - Incoming Death
Dutch Death Metal! One of my favourite vocalists in Death Metal is Martin van Drunen, and I've always found him at his best in Asphyx. So always great to hear a new album! This one actually surprised me a bit, it has some new elements for Asphyx that I didn't expect like some piano parts (!). But make no mistake, this is still Oldschool Death Metal!
4:
Vektor - Terminal Redux
Oh man, this Canadian Tech Thrash band has been one of my favourite bands for many years and to finally get a new album by them is awesome! Because it really delivers that weird style of Thrash that only Vektor can do. The vocals in particular are clutch, and those wailing shrieks are just one of a kind. Combine it with superb riffing and blasting drums and you have a hit in my book!
3:
Deströyer 666 - Wildfire
Australian Thrash! Came out early in the year, and it has stayed on my playlist ever since. This is the kind of Thrash I really like, fast riffs and power. You can say a lot of things about KK Warslut, but he does produce really great riffs and aggressive vocals. This album also has some of those a slower songs that D666 usually includes, but they step it up one more step. Really great album!
https://destroyer666.bandcamp.com/
2:
Usurpress - The Regal Tribe
Okay, so Usurpress is a name I've heard thrown around once in a while but I didn't really check them out until this summer when they played the excellent DYI festival Howl from the Coffin. Unfortunately they weren't that great live... but luckily I listened to them beforehand and it just spoke to me. And when this album dropped a month or so later it was a must buy, and well... it was just awesome. I can't quite put a finger on what I like about this album, it just puts me in the right mood when I hear it. It's a rather sad concept story actually, and they really manage to catch that feeling. It's just one of those albums that after I heard it I just want to listen to it again right away.
https://agoniarecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-regal-tribe
1:
Saor - Guardians
And number one on my list comes from the rather unlikely place of Scotland! Now, this album has had some major issues with it's release... I saw just the other day that the printing company messed up three times, meaning it has pretty much just been sent out despite being released in September... luckily the digital release went well, so I've been enjoying this album for some time!
Now this album pretty much blew me away when I first heard it. It takes a concept, and it puts tunes on it. And it creates this atmosphere. You can almost touch it. Especially the last song, Tears of a Nation is just so good. Even after it has stopped I hear it in my head for hours. Really, do yourself a favour and at least listen to this one. So very good!
And there you have it! I've included bandcamp links to all bands I could find, so feel free to check them out if you see something you've not heard of before!
