Although not particularly historic, 2017 actually turned out to be a pretty decent year for Metal etc.
So let's see what 2018 brings shall we.

1.Portal



The rest

The New Hooded Menace is really good.

Meh. You can hear the guitars properly now, so it doesn't sound like a rotting walrus dripping slowly from Satan's rectal passage into an underground cave inhabited by huge mutant pig monsters.
Lightweight commercial bollocks. Might as well do Bon Jovi covers for the next album.

JAN

1=


1=


3.


4.



Quite a decent start to the year tbh.

Others worth noting:
5. Corrosion of Conformity - No Cross No Crown.
Solid album, even if it is basically just Deliverance meets Wiseblood.

6. Grimner - Vanadrottning
Viking folkiness.
Oops. Forget that one. February release.

7. Black Veil Brides - Vale.
A bit ploddy and stodgy, but they find some decent choruses as usual.
Yes. I like some Black Veil Brides stuff. Stop dribbling.



Notable misses.

Philip H Anselmo and the Illegals - Choosing Mental illness as a Virtue.
If you could just go back to writing songs instead of producing aimless angry noise, that would be just great, thanks.

Machine Head - Catharsis.
Oh dear.
Oh deary dear.

Shining - X - Varg utan flock

Also enjoyed Orphaned Land, Tribulation, Аркона and Bulletbelt

Nasty shit.

Best band name I've heard for a while!

Did you like the first one?

Not really. Tbh, I tend to steer clear of Anselmo now unless it's a Down release. Everything else he does just seems to be the same angry noise. Only listened to this in case it was a little different. And tbf, it occasionally is. It just doesn't last long.

I admire him for sticking to his guns--that album title is wonderfully tone deaf--but I wish the results were better.

I didn't mind the first Illegals album though, so I might check it outm

A tad more refined than normal but somehow no less dizzying.

Well February was easy.

1.


And that's it.

The new Ektomorf is the same as the last Ektomorf which was the same as the previous Ektomorf which was the... yeah, you get it.

And the new Therion is, kindly speaking, a fucking chore.
Three discs, three hours long, and FORTY-SIX tracks of Opera Metal with some frankly hilarious vocals and more movements than a Chronic Diarrhoea Ward.

I've already heard my album of the month for March too, which makes things nice and easy for next month.

Scumpulse - Rotten


Ataraxy and Solstice where the other standouts this month.

Agreed. Top stuff.

The new albums by nahtrunar and blood red fog get my nod for march.

So far, Priest by an absolute fucking mile.

Priest
Ungfell