I think that very end of the chorus is a bit sloppy, but I like the way it builds to the louder release, and the "I know sometimes I let you down" line is pretty much my favourite thing on the album.

the new dragged into sunlight is pretty awesome.

Gotta say, i fucking love the new Cradle of Filth album, Manticore And Other Horros so far. Have been playing it nonstop, at car, at home etc. Of course it's just few days old and doesn't make much sense to "review" it just yet, but i'm pretty sure it's one of the best albums of 2012. I also love Kreator's latest, Phantom Antichrist. I don't get why so many others seem to hate it, maybe it's not "thrash enough", and maybe that's why i like it so much.

coz its bland as fuck...could be a million other bands in 2012...Kreator havent done anything remotely interesting in around a decade

The Swans - The Seer

great epic album in the tradition of past classics

Old Man Gloom - No

While everyone perfroms fellatio on Neurosis for releasing the same (overhyped) album yet again, OMG releases a devastatingly heavy doomy sludge/crust masterpiece. This is the kind of record that puts a smile on your face in the first 2 minutes and it stays there for the entirely of its apocalyptic expanse.

Well i have to say I'm not that familiar with other Kreator albums, and also not a big thrash metal fan. So i guess that is why i find it so great while most others dislike it, because it's kind of a "new thing" to me.

if you are interested, my rec is terrible certainty , extreme aggression and coma of souls (whihc is theri last bonafide classic album)

their last interesting (as in trying to do something different album) was endorama

but i get what you mean ... i can see how a newcomer would find the new album cool....newer kreator is pretty perfect extreme metal...over-compressed, triggered drums, zero dynamics ...generically perfect riffs and perfectly placed solos...everything just right

Finally had a spare moment to properly listen to the new Skogen album Eld today. Impressed.
http://youtu.be/hDbyJ_Almrg

Loved Svitjod but i wasnt impressed with Eld, sounded tedious to me.
Maybe i need to give it more time.

After a good start to the year (Asphyx, Alcest, 11th Hour), I haven't found more 2012 albums that really stuck with me. Grand Magus, Anhedonist, Solstafir, Der weg einer Freiheit were ok; I also liked the new Anathema but none of these albums got more than a few weeks playing time.

For now only the new My Dying Bride is really appealing to me. I like this style from MDB the best and don't mind the fact that some riffs are "rehashed".

Really? I actually think I'm enjoying Eld a bit more thus far.

Three standouts for the year:

Behexen
Master's Hammer
Mgla

I have to admit I don't download every damn thing that comes out, so it will take me years to appreciate some of the hidden gems of this year.

It's actually a great album. Their attention to great melody as well as great riffs creates an epic, warlike sound that most bands couldn't do the same way at all.

The sophomore album Moongod, by Aeternam, is excellent Symphonic/Folk/Death Metal. A little more melodic in some parts than their first album along with more harmonies, if you like Middle-Eastern flavors in your Metal then look no further than these Canadians.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn9yCWzf ... re=related

This. I think it's a great album. The songs are well written and the melodies, riffs and choruses are just so catchy and enjoyable.

I've listened to a fair few releases from 2012 and I need more time to digest them all before I come up with my "favourites" of the year but a few that have stood out are the new Threshold, Mgla, Ataraxy and Cattle Decapitation.

Striker's Armed to the Teeth is a supremely fun slab of speed metal. All killer, no filler. It doesn't top their debut though which, while it did taper off toward the end, gave me a diamond hard-on.

My top 5 up until now.

Anathema - Weather Systems

These guys never fail to disappoint. The album is a far stretch from the heavy, crushing brilliance of songs like "We, the Gods" but still captures their underlying emotion and atmosphere very well. The vocals are floating and the melody is a constant reminder of how artistic the Cavanagh brothers can be, even when delivering an album which can be easily considered, I daresay easy listening ? Lee Douglas is fabulous as usual.

Alcest - Les Voyages de l'Âme

Neige is the Iron Maiden of BM/Shoegaze cross genre. He just does not know how to make a bad record. Flowing melodies captured in a haunting atmosphere with lyrics bordering cheesy romance. Love it.

Shining - Redefining Darkness

Saxophones ? Seriously ? It sounds strange to call a depressive BM record "fun" to listen to , but that's what it is ! The arrangements on this one border ridiculous on some songs and yet are so reminiscent of the theme of Shining. Depression, Death and gloom. Very impressive.

Witchcraft - Legend

Catchy riffs, thoughtful lyrics and great vocals. These guys are the definition of underrated. Great record.

Binah - Hallucination In Resurrecture

ATMOSPHERE. Old School Death Metal worship at its best. Just a groovy, crushing beast of an album. Bolt Thrower will be proud !

Pig Destroyer's Book Burner could very well be in my top 10, and could be top spot for best packaging. If you get the digipack, you get a 2nd CD of covers which not only sound great, but I love the fact they're on a separate CD and not tacked onto the album itself. Plus you get The Atheist, a great short story from the vocalist which was a good read. The lyrics booklet also has illustrations and drawings of various things. The front cover is very well done, too. I can tell that a lot of thought and a lot of care has been put into it, and it makes me happy to see that.

each to his own. sounds like a severe case of generic 2012 extreme metal to me.

Aeternam - Moongod was awesome. I don't QUITE like it as much as their debut so far, but I can forsee that changing. Good use of orchestration, memorable riffs, powerful vocals (with much more clean singing this time), and just all around polished and well thought out. Middle eastern abuse done right.

I don't know if everyone considers them metal, but I heard Galahad's (UK prog band) Battle Scars, and it's great, really heavy and epic too. Only heard it online though, I'm going to seek this on CD or vinyl.

They also put out a second 2012 album, Beyond the Realms of Euphoria, only 2 songs on youtube, but seems great too. It seems to have more double bass drumming than Battle Scars from what I heard.

glad to see some love for Aeternam's newest on here (not sure if i've already posted about that one or not...), Listening to Dingir for the second time and it's sounding really, really good. I know opinions on Rings of Saturn and Techdeathcore in general are varied around here, but in a couple years I have a feeling it's gonna be the new norm in technical death metal... just a feeling.
Anaal Nathrakh's new one is still my album of the year, and at this point it's gonna take one hell of a surprise to change that, so yeah, Vanitas wins the number one spot for me. Bloodshot Dawn, Dyscarnate and Aborted are my runner-ups so far.

Knock on wood!

svartidaudi's flesh cathedral is magnificent, only had three/four listens thus far, but shaping up to be a real contender for black metal album of the year

Hmmm...Incurso by Spawn of Possession is awesome and well worth the wait. Much more brutal as well as more technical, not to mention, more variety this time around.

Time I was solid, but too short I felt.

The Agonist are getting closer to a more prog-melodeath band with clean vocals instead of a melodeath band with -core influences with Prisoners.

new flourishing EP is also definitely work checking out

Recent months have provide me this very enjoyable list. I can't stop listening to Aeon's Black...every single track brings it.

Aeon - Aeon's Black
Malignancy - Eugenics
Pathology - The Time Of Great Purification
Beheaded - Never To Dawn
Ataraxy - Revelations of the Ethereal
Sinister - The Carnage Ending
Unfathomable Ruiniation - Misshapen Congenital Entropy

Since you bring up Ataraxy again, what would you guys say the bands melodic work sounds like? Obviously the DM is very much Autopsy and Asphyx, but the melodic stuff reminds me of some other band, I'm thinking a doom band, but I just can't name it, and it's annoying me.

Cytotoxin - Radiophobia is some brutal slamming tech death. It's really kicking my ass. Fun album.

This album is really the quintessential example of an inconsequential and unnecessary BDM release. There is literally nothing that helps it stand out. It doesn't suck, but it's so bloody pointless that I almost wonder why the band exists. I can't imagine this being anybody's favorite band. Competent but so fucking bland.



Every time I listen to this, I get about halfway through before switching to the new Hour of Penance album instead. I mean, it's good, but it's just so similar (even the album art is remarkably close) and I prefer HoP ever so slightly, so it almost always ends up getting shafted. I'd blame it on just poor timing.

I have not heard one album like Spawn of Possessions Incurso... That album is relentless and great. Brutal Technical and Original.

Hour of Penance's new album is pretty good but I would say that is a more bland release this year. Although I think it is their best.

I am stoked for The algorithm's cd this month should be entertaining

A doom band you say? They do bring up some recollections of Rippikoulu to the table but I think it's more than that. I can hear some Depravity and even Bolt Thrower in the more melodic leads, and I think they stand in a fine line between those bands and the ones you mention. Although I must say that their muscled parts owe a big deal to Convulse's debut.

On the Incurso discussion I have to say that it was a big disappointment after some expectations being raised on my end. The album and songs are much longer than anything the band has ever made before, and not in a good way. I'm not sure if anyone pointed this out already but I do miss Dennis on the drums, I really think he slayed on the first couple of albums. And then there's the Muenzner connection (or whatever the correct spelling is, damned German language!). I've never been a fan of neither Obscura nor his actual guitar sound, and you can definitely hear his influence in the band's sound. Maybe it's just me who hears this but I really think the band was far better without him as they sounded more "original" without his trademark guitar sound.

As a few others have said, the new Illdisposed is great. Definitely an upgrade over some of their previous efforts (which were OK in my mind anyway). Awesome riffing and song structures, plus Bo Summer has some of my favorite vocals of all time, though I'd love to hear more of his black metal shrieks - Panzerchrist's Battalion Beast is a prime example of the perfect mix of his vocals.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnKu53QNV60

@Bastardhead: The HoP and SoP releases sound nothing alike. Especially the guitar playing. HoP go for rhythmical bludgeoning and lots of blasting, while SoP go for lots of lead playing and wank.

He didn't say it was similar, only that he preferred one to the other.

Actually he did say they were similar using the exact word "similar".

On Ataraxy good call on Convulse, the meatiest riffs on the album are quite similar, when people mentioned Bolt Thrower I thought they were referring to those chunkier riffs, and I found the comparison quite flawed. I don't really jump to BT when talking about melodic leads, but I'll be sure to give Rippikoulu and Depravity listens to see how they fit, haven't listened to either band for a while, but they are quite doomy. I don't think Ataraxy's leads are straight up Finnish though which is got me goong for doom

Uh, I read it as in the album being too similar (samey) and not both being similar. Can't exactly comment then as I haven't heard Sedition yet, but from my previous knowledge of both bands I'd have to say that it's unlikely for them to be similar. I could be wrong though.

Ataraxy has more of a Realm Of Chaos vibe on the EP while on the album it's more like Mercenary onwards, with that Those Once Loyal type of melodic leads. Depravity is a name that immediately comes to mind as much as Convulse, and that's actually great because those kind of aspects are from two very different bands within the Finnish spectrum. Depravity is like a melodic Demigod whereas Convulse is bludgeoning and takes more queues from Incantation. I really love the way the band manages to sound like their influences but without sounding exactly like one or two bands. It's more like you notice they have traces of XYZ bands but they have their own sound.

Now I feel like listening to Revelations Of The Ethereal...

The statement comparing the covers made me think he was comparing the two. I agree that I can't see them sounding alike.

Indeed. There is a lot to like about that album, it has a great modern OSDM sound, both clear enough for modern standards of note differenciation yet heavy and low enough to still scream death metal, and the combination of the midpaced death metal ala Asphyx and Autopsy, bludgeoning slugging like Convulse, the as yet not fully identified melody , and cool restrained Van Drunnen vocals, it's certainly an interesting listen, and an enjoyable one.

Damn, you're leaving me curious now. Is it Finnish?!

As I said, I don't find it to be flat out Finnish melody for me, it's a bit too well structured and developed instead of just being a few twisted notes, but the twisted nature of the Finnish lead noodle is still present. It's probably nothing in particular and I'm combining the melodic qualities of a few bands and styles together.