2016 was certainly an eventful year in metal and music in general, with new albums from both Megadeth and Metallica among many other highly renowned bands. There was of coruse the loss of many famous musicians throughout the year, but that's not what this shit's about, okay? This is just me naming my favorite albums from this year and giving a bit of why I liked and picked them. Then, if you like or can be bothered, you can comment on my list and/or list your own. Okay? Okay.

10th: Winter’s Gate - Insomnium

I think I respect this album more than I like it; it was an interesting idea to make an album consisting entirely of one 40 minute epic, and it's something I think they pulled it off really well. Winter's Gate does a good job balancing atmosphere, pacing and just being an awesome melodeath song. I think it's a pretty good example of the things Insomnium are capable of, so it does make the list, but because it is one song stretched out for so long, it's a bit hard to give the whole thing a proper listen, and it's not like the average CD where you can just stop at a given track and pick it up later. Still though, it's good shit.

Favorite track: Winter's Gate. ;P

9th: Tsar - Almanac

This partly makes the list because I'm a sucker for symphonic metals, but there's also plenty of excellent riffs and vocals to make the album stand out and above the numerous albums I've heard this year. It makes the list for having really great stuff, but it's placed here for not clicking particularly well beyond some songs. But yeah, at least I can just go to those songs whenever I want rather than hunt around in Winter's Gate for the parts I REALLY like.

Favorite track: Flames of Fate

8th: Lust & Loathing - The Unguided

I have to admit, I'm not too crazy about this band, almost entirely because of vocalist Richard Sjunnesson; there is not a single thing I like about this guy's harsh singing. In fact, it outright agitates me because it sounds like the noise people make when their imitating/mocking harsh vocals. Thankfully, he's my only problem with the band. Guitars, drums, keys, all good. Lyrics/story, also good and interesting. Sadly, shit vocals hold things back and 8th is as far as I'm letting this son of bitch get.

Favorite track: Mercy

7th: Trust No One - DevilDriver

Never been a huge DevilDriver fan, even as I've greatly enjoyed The Last Kind Words and Pray For Villains and even thinking Winter Kills was pretty good, but Trust No One is definitely my favorite DevilDriver album and one of my favorites of the year. I was pretty pleased with Daybreak, the first song released from Trust No One, but it wasn't until I heard Testimony of Truth and Trust No One that I really wanted to have this album. I think this is everything DevilDriver fans want and should totally at least listen to it on Spotify.

Favorite track: Trust No One

6th: Brotherhood of the Snake - Testament

Testament's easily my favorite of the big four ( ) and my favorite thrash metal band overall. I don't think I've run into a Testament album that I didn't like - I found First Strike Still Deadly and The Formation of Damnation to be okay albums - and Brotherhood of the Snake certainly keeps that streak going. This album is everything I want from Testament; heavy, fast, and full of riffs I'll be futilely air-guitaring to in no time.

Favorite track: The Number Game

5th: The Ages Will Turn - Thunder And Lightning

I'm not gonna say too much about this album here because I wrote an entire review of the album on Metal Archives, but I will say that I agonized a bit trying to decide if this was my 5th favorite of the year or Brotherhood of the Snake was. Ultimately, I gave the spot to The Ages Will Turn because it offered a bit more variety, having a ballad and some cool, slower sections.

Favorite track: Mary Celeste

4th: Selves We Cannot Forgive - Black Crown Initiate

I don't remember how I can across this band, but it was probably a Spotify recommendation. I was pretty happy with their previous album "The Wreckage of Stars" (which is a much cooler album name, by the way), so I started following them. Sometime later the song For Red Cloud was released and I was instantly anxious for the album. Once I got it and started playing, For Red Cloud stopped being a song I'd listen to because I'd always put on Belie the Machine or Sorrowpsalm instead. It's a face melter for sure, and I'm basically always in the mood for this album.

Favorite track: Belie the Machine

3rd: A Frozen Flame of Ice - Far Beyond

The only reason I even know about this band is because its founding and only member, Eugen Dodenhoeft, is one of the members of my favorite band, Euphoreon. When I first started listening to Far Beyond, the only music under the name was the debut release "An Angel's Requiem" and the EP "Songs of Hope and Sorrow." An Angel's Requiem I listened to once and then never cared for again, while Songs of Hope and Sorrow was quite a good selection of songs, my favorite of them being Tempus Fugit - Part 1. It was enough for me to keep an eye on the band until their next release. I am so happy I did; this album is fucking beautiful with awesome guitar work and symphonics that really emphasize the scale and emotion brought to the table.

Favorite track: A Frozen Flame of Ice

2nd: Proponent for Sentience - Allegaeon

I haven't bothered to listen to Allegaeon's first two releases, but this and Elements of the Infinite are great examples of the skill contained within this band. I really like the grand, orchestral opening the album has before it descends into the kinda of fast, technical guitars fans of Allegaeon have come to expect and love. If you're into Exmortus and/or Spawn of Possession, you'll like this.

Favorite track: Proponent for Sentience 3 - The Extermination

1st: Sojourn - Meadows End

This album might have gotten its place by what I said back at Almanac; I'm a sucker for symphonic metals. Meadows End gets bonus points for also being melodic death metal, my favorite genre of metal. Though, the synths aren't always played up as a mock orchestra, rather they accurately sound like a grand piano, which is a nice touch. Aside from that, I like how it works with the guitar, and the album's concept is cool. Did I mention it's a concept album? Well, it is. The concept being a human who is meant to become king of the demons/heathens and lead them against the light. Not that the human's on board with that, having lost his home to demons and joining the group responsible just to catch their leader off guard. That's not really the point though. The point is that grand piano + melodeath + interesting story = my album of the year. You wanna know more, listen to the damn thing yourself; I'm going to bed.

Favorite track: Soulslain

Where's Sabaton?

5710285
Making a better album, hopefully. Germany, I think.

5710267
That Be'lakor song sounds a lot like Insomnium.

5710366 *Cocks shotgun* I'm sorry, I didn't hear you, could you please repeat yourself?

5710369 Yourself yourself yourself yourself yourself
I
hope
Sabaton
is
making
a
better
album

5710372
I'd say it was more "meh" than bad.

Well for me the Highlight was definitely the new Metallica Album. (guess where my name comes from ) We waited 8 long years, but it was worth it!!

I also like to mention Disturbed's Album "Immortalized" here. "The Vengeful One" is one of the best songs I ever heard of them.

And last but not least: FiXT. A label founded by Klayton (Celldweller). And he decided to rebuy the right for this first project "Circle of Dust". And so he remastered all 5 of them, bought a shit tons of bouns material with them and produced also 3 new albums. (1 as Celldweller, 1 as his 80's retro project Scandroid and finally a new Circle of Dust one) So in total he released 8 (!!) (new) albums in one bloody year!! I can't tell any artist who has done something like him.

With that being said: I wish all of you a happy new year!!

Cheers and stay awesome!
\m/

5710408
I need to ask... you do know Immortalized is from last year, right?

5710542
Ops.^^

But my rest still stands. Tell me another artist who can bring out 8 albums in 1 year. :P

Testament's easily my favorite of the big four ( )

wat

5760836
is a joke, bruh

5710185
Late to the party but to not have Jomsviking - Amon Amarth on the list is so heretical I can't even look at this thread without yelling 'Exterminatus.'

5801564
Well to be fair, I've never heard that album. :v

5801574
Then get a listening! Unless you don't like Amon Amarth ... then you're a lost cause