Favs?

Metal (in alphabetical order):


AKERCOCKE Renaissance In Extremis

BODY COUNT Bloodlust

FLEURETY The White Death

GALACTIC COWBOYS Long Way Back To The Moon

INTEGRITY Howling, For The Nightmare Shall Consume

MASTODON Emperor of Sand

OBITUARY Obituary

OBSESSED Sacred

PARADISE LOST Medusa

WITH THE DEAD Love From With The Dead



General:


FLEET FOXES Crack Up

GRANDADDY Last Place

JAMIROQUAI Automaton

OXBOW The Thin Black Duke

PRIMUS The Desaturating Seven

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE Villains

SLOWDIVE Slowdive

ULVER The Assassination of Julius Caesar

WAR ON DRUGS 'A Deeper Understanding'

WPC Ogilala


Honorable mentions: Unsane, Iced Earth, Life of Agony, Morbid Angel, Living Color, Glassjaw (not enough time to judge), Quicksand (not enough time), Dead Cross, Septic Flesh, COF, Memoriam, Prong, Overkill

Disappointments: At The Drive In, Danzig (good but I wanted more)

Managed to narrow it down to 20, in aphabetical order:

Akercocke - Renaissance in Extremis
Attic - Sanctimonious
Black Magick SS - Kaleidoscope Dreams
Craven Idol - The Shackles of Mammon
Dool - Here Now, There Then
Enslaved - E
Grave Pleasures - Motherblood
The Great Old Ones - EOD: A Tale of Dark Legacy
Krallice - Loüm
Morbid Flesh - Rites of the Mangled
Night Demon - Darkness Remains
Nokturnal Mortum - Істина
Occvlta - Night Without End
Pagan Altar - The Room of Shadows
Powertrip - Nightmare Logic
Stalker - Shadow of the Sword
Vulture - The Guillotine
Wiegedood - De Doden Hebben Het Goed II
Wolfnacht - Ypervoreia
Wolves in the Throne Room - Thrice Woven

I enjoyed Paradise Lost's Medusa and The Ruins of Beverast's Exuvia from this year. That's about it.

I haven't listened to everything i want to, yet, but this is where I am, at the moment:

Enslaved: E (probably my AOTY)
Barrabus: s/t
Mastodon: Emperor of Sand
Converge: The Dusk in Us
Grave Pleasures: Motherblood
The Bronx: V (yeah, it may well be The-Bronx-by-numbers, but even that is pretty good)
Municipal Waste: Slime and Punishment
Unsane: Sterilize
All Pigs Must Die: Hostage Animal
Bell Witch: Mirror Reaper (I have to confess I haven't listened to this all the way through, yet, but I think it deserves it's place here as what I've heard is very good).
Odio: Ancora

Not released this year, but the award for best musical discovery, by me, in 2017, goes to........... Oranssi Pazuzu.

I think it's been a rather good year, from a musical perspective.

In alphabetical order:

Cannibal Corpse - Red Before Black
Converge - The Dusk in Us
Cradle of Filth - Cryptoriana...
Danzig - Black Laden Crown
Enslaved - E
Mastodon - Emperor of Sand (My #1/AoTY)
Morbid Angel - Kingdoms Disdained
Paradise Lost - Medusa
Taake - Kong Vinter
Wolves in the Throne Room - Thrice Woven

Biggest Disappointment - Kreator - Gods of Violence

Biggest Surprise - Morbid Angel - Kingdoms Disdained

Honorable Mentions:
- New QotSA (Villains) - Not metal, so wasn't listed above. Still a great record 4/5. The Mastodon EP (Cold Dark Place). All 4 songs are really good. Is a great listen 4.5/5.

Not in order, just as I've thought of them:
Porky Vagina - Astroschwein
Genocide Generator - III
Piggy - Porcogore
Alestorm - No Grave but the Sea
Cannibal Corpse - Red Before Black
Destructor - Decibel Casualties
Morbid Angel - Kingdoms Disdained
Ruins of Beverast - Exuvia
Texas Toast Chainsaw Massacre - Re-Loaded
Assaulter - Meat Grinder
Body Count - Blood Lust
Bloodrocuted - For The Dead Travel Fast
Chaos - All Against All
DragonForce - Reaching Into Infinity
Dying Fetus - Wrong One to Fuck With
Kreator - Worlds of Violence
Immolation - Atonement
Iron Reagan - Crossover Ministry
M.O.D. - Busted, Broke & American
Memoriam - For The Fallen
Obituary - Obituary
Overkill - The Grinding Wheel
Sepultura - Machine Messiah
Sinister - Syncretism
Steel Panther - Lower The Bar
Tankard - One Foot in the Grave
Warbringer - Woe to the Vanquished
Stalker - Shadow of the Sword
Autopsy - Puncturing The Dead
Wolfbrigade - Run With The Hunted
Monge - Monge
Hazzerd - Misleading Evil
Tengger Cavalry - Die on my Ride


Surprise of the year: Body Count. Was not expecting that to be so good!

Disappointment: Municipal Waste, Havok, Destruction, Venom Inc. (didn't expect much, but delivered even less), Dead Cross (Not a particularly super supergroup)

Yeah that Body Count. That's the first time they have really impressed since their debut all the way back in 1992. It's also the first time Obituary have made any list of mine since around that time.

I loved the new Obsessed. Reckon it deserved more praise than it got.

Forgot to mention Powertrip and Sorcerer in honorable mentions.

Runespell
Blood stronghold
Perverse Ceremony
Pagan Altar
Vaal
Evilfeast
Fatherland
Bell Witch
Chaos Moon
Thangorodrim
Heathen Hammer
Devilry
Necrot
Undergang
Phrenelith

All released albums that gave heavy rotation, I am sure I'm forgetting a lot too.

In no particular order:

Power Flo - Power Flo
Rex Brown - Smoke On This
Sepultura - Machine Messiah
Cannibal Corpse - Red Before Black
Grid Iron - Exodus
Chernobyl's Uterus - Kill The Kardashians
Human Humus - The Obligatory Struggle
Venom INC - Ave
Morbid Angel - Kingdoms Distained
Godflesh - Post Self
Gorepot - A Friend With Weed Is A Friend Indeed
Possessor - The Ripper
Venom (Chronos) - 100 Miles To Hell E.P
Powertrip - Nightmare Logic
Kreator - Gods Of Violence.

I was disappointed by the new offerings from Primus and Annihilator. QOTSA was just shit.

You preferred Power Flo to Body Count? Interesting. What about Prophets of Rage?

Still haven't listened to the new Godflesh. Must get on to it.

Not heard Prophets Of Rage as I’m not a fan of Tom Morrello and the last Body Count album I enjoyed was Manslaughter, although I’ll give the new one another go.

I've no where near kept upto speed with new music this year. Below is all I can really remember.

Makthaverskan - III
Nokturnal Mortum - Істина
Stallion - From The Dead
Soror Dolorosa - Apollo
Dragonforce - Reaching Into Infinity
Slowdive - Slowdive

Forgot to mention the new ones by Satyricon and Arch Enemy. They have definitely grown on me, and are ones I'll keep listening to down the road. Still need to listen to the new ones by Aosoth, Immolation, Anathema, Power Trip, Pallbearer, and Grave Pleasures. I'm sure I forgot some.

1. The Great Old Ones - EOD: A Tale of Dark Legacy
2. Kreator - Gods of Violence
3. Ex Deo - The Immortal Wars
4. Battle Beast - Bringer of Pain
5. Iced Earth - Incorruptible
6. Cradle of Filth - Cryptoriana
7. Ne Obliviscaris - Urn
8. Enslaved - E
9. Overkill - The Grinding Wheel
10. Beast in Black - Berserker
11. Alice Cooper - Paranormal
12. Accept - The Rise of Chaos
13. The King Is Blind - We Are the Parasite, We Are the Cancer
14. Cannibal Corpse - Red Before Black
15. Morbid Angel - Kingdoms Disdained
16. Myrkur - Mareridt
17. Unleash the Archers - Apex
18. Goatwhore - Vengeful Ascension
19. Akercocke - Renaissance In Extremis
20. Venom Inc. - Avé
21. Mastodon - Emperor of Sand
22. Galactic Empire - Galactic Empire
23. F.K.U. - 1981
24. Annihilator - For the Demented
25. King of Asgard - Taudr

Yes it definitely should be on there! Never listened to many albums from this year, primarily over the last couple weeks in an end-of-the-year frenzy, but this would probably claim the top spot.

I do like the Akercocke, Pagan Altar & Root / Big Boss albums but have to be in the right mood.

My favourite this year has been The King Is Blind: We Are The Parasite, We Are The Cancer, great album. After that, in alphabetical order (top ten in green):

Cannibal Corpse: Red Before Black
Chelsea Wolfe: Hiss Spun
Entrails: World Inferno
F.K.Ü.: 1981
Godflesh: Post Self
Goldfrapp: Silver Eye
Hurray For The Riff Raff: The Navigator
Iced Earth: Incorruptible
Incinerator: Stench Of Distress
Kreator: Gods Of Violence
Lock-Up: Demonization
The Lurking Fear: Out Of The Voiceless Grave
Memoriam: For The Fallen
Metatron Omega: Illuminatio
Myrkur: Mareridt
Necrot: Blood Offerings
Obituary: Obituary
Overkill: The Grinding Wheel
Paganizer: Land Of Weeping Souls
Power Trip: Nightmare Logic
Ram: Rod
Royal Blood: How Did We Get So Dark?
Tau Cross: Pillar Of Life
Vampire: With Primeval Force
Venenum: Trance Of Death
Hans Zimmer & Benjamin Wallfisch: Blade Runner 2049 - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Singles/EPs/live:

Aborted: Bathos
Autopsy: Puncturing The Grotesque
Gruesome: Fragments Of Psyche
Iron Maiden: The Book Of Souls: Live Chapter
Jealous Of The Birds: Mrs. Dalloway
Schammasch: The Maldoror Chants: Hermaphrodite
Therapy?: Communion - Live At The Union Chapel

I tried it, and I couldn't finish it. I just got so bored! I can usually hack a bit of doomy shit, but that went a bit far for me. I also didn't like Spectral Voice - Eroded Corridors of Unbeing, which has been very highly rated in a lot of places, but I found it just to be a second rate, watered down version of disEMBOWELMENT. I did rate Ruins of Beverast - Exuvia though.