Everyone that considers itself a metalhead at some point of their life have done a metal list, it was either a top 10 best album of the year, a top 10 favorite bands, a top 50 of unmetal bands, or simply the top 5 songs your girlfriend/boyfriend loves. We as a culture have the habit of putting everything in perspective of how good, how bad, how funny, or how terrible everything is. We will judge it all.
On March 18th the line up for the 6th annual Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival was announced during an open press conference at the famous Whiskey A Go Go in West Hollywood California.
For the first time in our little history as a metal webzine, We came out with a general top 5 best album of the year regardless the different metal taste of our writers, it were some records we enjoyed as a whole. So after looking at some albums featured on the top 10 lists by our different writers, we decided to joined on a small general list. Here are our top 5 albums of 2012:
#5 Napalm Death – Utilitarian
After being featured as #1 on Corri‘s list, she described it as: “The entire album is solid and diverse, filled with a very real and in your face kind of energy with everything from the freakouts on ‘Everyday Pox’ to the psychedelic guitar and wailing vocals on ‘Leper Colony’.” Also Jonathan mentioned the album as: “This album’s topped their earliest works, which is interesting because Time Waits for No Slave did the exact same thing only three years ago. Songs like “Quarantined” are going to stand the test of time with their other tracks, while songs like “The Wolf I Feed” show the band going in a natural direction yet sounding entirely different.” So we just had to agree and give Napalm Death‘s Utilitarian the spot that they deserved on our best of 2012
2012 indeed was a great year for metal music. Great bands returned to the spotlight, others put a great effort of make something creative and different. I had great difficulty making this list, it were many great records that were left out that I enjoyed over the course of this year, but i have to make my mind on which ones really made a huge impact on me. So here they are my top 15 metal albums of 2012. Enjoy them.
#15 Xandria – Neverworld’s End
German symphonic gothic metal band Xandria released their 5th studio album Neverworld’s End at the beginning of the year. The album is a rendition to the old symphonic metal era, that includes a lot of operatic voices, symphonic orchestrations, and really heavy riffs. The voice of their new vocalist Manuella Kraller gives the band a new personality, not only her voice is beautiful and powerful, but is also an enchanting and mysterious. This attributes gives Neverworld’s End a powerful new sound that is magical and epic at the same time.
We got the chance to speak with Xandria about Neverworld’s end, and the idea behind the album.
2012 was a great year for metal and I definitely had a hard time deciding what to put on my top 10. Pig Destroyer and Deftones were fighting for 10th before I saw that I’d forgotten Shining…but Behexen, Enthroned, Ragnarok, Naglfar, Drudkh, Ihsahn and a lot of other amazing artists released fantastic albums this year. I’m glad it was narrowed down to just metal, though, cos if it was a top 10 IN GENERAL it would have been even harder (rap happens to come second to metal, yes, I know, that makes me a horrible person~). Anyways, here is my top 10 METAL albums of 2012:
10. Mgła - With Hearts Towards None
Mgła isn’t one of those bands I listen to a lot, but this album definitely got my attention. It’s incredibly catchy, the vocals are great and some of the riffs are just awesome. With Hearts Towards None is true black metal and if you’re a BM fan, haven’t already listened or have never listened to Mgła, I suggest you give this record a try!
Favorite track(s): With Hearts Towards None IV, With Hearts Towards None VI
With so many brilliant releases this year, it became hard to pick just 10. My two favorite classic rock bands and some of my favorite black and thrash metal bands released albums, and not a bad one in the bunch (not including the album listed at the very bottom). Between these and tours, 2012 was an amazing year for metal, and if you don’t see that then…well…that’s kind of a personal problem you have there. Whatever the subgenre, there was something that even the most narrow minded person could enjoy. Unless you only listen to post-progressive-melodic-black-grind-technical-synth-funk-avant-garde-neo-mathcore, or something of the sort.
10. Enslaved - RIITIIR
Something with the style of RIITIIR wasn’t something you’d normally catch me listening to. I’m not a “progressive” fan at all, so it takes me awhile to get over that and appreciate the album for what it is. Much like everyone else, I was astounded at how good the album was….it’s so easy to catch yourself singing along to it (even if you can’t sing to save your life) as it envelops you in the riffs and alternating vocals. I’m glad I was able to be more open minded to a style of music that remains foreign to me, but since I’m still not a fan of anything that is prog-rock influenced, the album could only go up to #10 for me.
2012 was an incredible year for album releases. Looking through all the collection through various genres of metal it was nearly impossible to choose 10. But after lots of thinking this is the 10 that made the cut.
10. The 69 Eyes – X
Not cheesy but yes slightly romantic goth metal. Although completely different from everything listed on here its still a great album. Its one of those that you hate to admit but you actually really love. No shame here, everyone should listen to this album because it will get stuck in your head.
This year is the hardest year I’ve ever had to pick a top 10. So many good records came out, particularly from places I never would have expected.
Anyway, here are the best records released this year. And what an incredible year it has been:
10: Napalm Death – Utilitarian
You know, I don’t quite understand how a band can stay this consistent for so long. Granted this is Napalm Death we’re talking about, but even so, this album’s topped their earliest works, which is interesting because Time Waits for No Slave did the exact same thing only three years ago. Songs like “Quarantined” are going to stand the test of time with their other tracks, while songs like “The Wolf I Feed” show the band going in a natural direction yet sounding entirely different.
#10 CRADLE OF FILTH – THE MANTICORE AND OTHER HORRORS
Cradle Of Filth lost me somewhere after Midian so I was pleased as hell to hear The Manticore And Other Horrors. It has all of the mystery that early Cradle had me hooked with. A frantic orchestration conjuring up monsters and malevolence, wickedness and women. Good necromantic imagery. Everything a Cradle of Filth album should be.
