Hidden Gems: Top Ten Metal Albums of 2011

So, if you hadn’t guessed from reading my past articles and my contributions to our weekly music posts, I love metal. Unfortunately there aren’t many on this site that share this love and so our top picks for music this year will be mostly devoid of this wonderful genre. Well your lone true metal warrior says nay and here I present my top ten releases this year. Most of you will hate this but those adventurous few may find some awesome stuff they didn’t hear about this year.

Honorable Mention: Pentagram — Last Rites

So to be perfectly honest this wouldn’t even make my top 20 because there were way better things that came out this year. Considering when I saw these guys in 2010 they were a shell of their former selves, the fact that they brought their “classic era” guitar player back and released something as listenable as this is amazing. This is definitely a step up and their live show has greatly improved as well. Let’s hope they continue to rise and return to their former glory.

10. The Gates of Slumber – The Wretch

The Gates of Slumber has been exploring a lot of “true metal” territory on their last few albums so their return to doom metal with this one was surprising. But holy shit does it work. This thing absolutely rocks and shows that their time away from doom has only made them better songwriters. If nothing else on this list get your head bobbing uncontrollably, this one will do the trick.

9. Tombs – Path of Totality

So yeah this is a pretty pissed off record. Almost to the point that it’s hard to listen to. But if you really delve into it you’ll find an extremely unique and awesome band that combines just about every extreme metal styling into one extremely unique package. These guys can be crushing but moving at the same time and considering most of the vocals are what most of the site’s readers would call screamy bullshit, that’s pretty fucking excellent.

8. Electric Wizard – Black Masses

Alright yeah this came out last year technically but since it didn’t come out stateside until January 2011 I’m still including it. Fuck you, it’s my list. Anyway this sees Electric Wizard continue their transition from super fuzzed out, angry doom metal to groovy awesome doom metal. Seriously the riffs on here will get stuck in your head for days. I don’t partake in the marijuana but if any readers do, this is the album you want to smoke yourself out to.

7. 40 Watt Sun – The Inside Room

When I first heard this I wasn’t a fan. This band is made up of members from doom metal band Warning and when I heard the rampant shoegazery and quasi-emo lyrics I was turned off. Something brought me back though and through repeated listens I fell in love with this thing. It’s weird to have something so emotionally crushing that manages to be uplifting at the same time. I’ve gotten lost in this album on many occasions and each time has been awesome. Check this out.

6. YOB – Atma

I didn’t like Yob for awhile. I thought they were kind of meandering and spent a lot of time building up and not really getting to the point. This all changed with Atma. The opening track “Prepare the Ground” comes in like a bat out of hell with a crushing riff that gets you in the mood, then the rest of the album proceeds to make sweet love to your ear holes. Guitarist/vocalist Mike Scheidt is a zen like dude who spends a good amount of time meditating and introspecting and it allows him to write some riffs that sound instantly familiar but at the same time fresh and engaging.

5. Trap Them – Darker Handcraft

Aside from Tombs, this is probably the only other album that most people reading this will hate instantly. Barney Greenaway from Napalm Death said that these guys restored his hope in extreme music and on this one Trap Them finally lives up to that promise. This record is probably the most intense thing on this list but it’s also incredibly catchy. The drums and guitars will get you moving in the pit but vocal hooks (and a great use of gang vocals in some spots) will stick in your brain for days after.

4. Primordial – Redemption at the Puritan’s Hand

Primordial has gone largely unsung in the American metal scene but luckily that seems to be changing with this album. The Scottish band has long had influences in extreme metal, though they seemed to lose that on their most recent releases which consisted of a ton of epic metal songs with a clearly folk influence. On this album they brought that intensity back and it works incredibly. The prevailing theme here seems to be that seeking redemption is bullshit, stay true to what you are regardless of who says otherwise. “Bloodied Yet Unbowed” in particular got me through some of the hardest moments of my life this year, check that shit out when you need some inspiration to continue on your path.

3. In Solitide – The World, The Flesh, The Devil

Here we have our only “true metal” album on this list. These guys seemed to come out of nowhere this year and boy am I pissed I took this long to hear them. Their sound is reminiscent of Mercyful Fate but without the vocal histrionics that King Diamond employed. This is going to be a breath of fresh air to people who love old school 80s metal stylings and have been fed up with the ridiculous amount of death and black metal that has risen in the last few decades. If you love guitar solos, soaring vocals and just a smidgen of evil (and not a whole bucket of it) you will find a lot to love here.

2. Blood Ceremony – Living With the Ancients

Alright so it’s arguable that this is even a metal record. After all it prominently uses a flute. But if you strip away the extraneous instruments you’ll find a solid record of 70s style proto-metal that would make luminaries like Black Sabbath and Deep Purple proud. Going back to the flute, it along with the organ actually work incredibly well! I rolled my eyes when I first heard it show up but it doesn’t come off as gimmicky at all. Instead it works within the song, sometimes providing a melody where a vocal line would be otherwise and other times complementing the guitar in a glorious convergence of contrasting instruments. Also, in an attempt to show how progressive and awesome I am, this is the first of the two female fronted metal bands that top off my list.

1. Subrosa – No Help for the Mighty Ones

You’ll hear me talk about this one on an upcoming episode of the podcast but for now all you have to know is that it’s an excellent slice of female fronted doom metal. The evolution here from their previous album is astonishing. Before they were a very competent but ultimately generic band but here they’re absolutely jaw dropping. The use of violins on this shit adds a layer of depth to the music that sets it apart from just about everything that came out this year. I’ve listened to this thing at least 100 times since I picked it up and it never gets old. Each time I notice something new that the deceptively simple guitar riffs are doing. Any albums with continuing rewards like that deserves the top spot. Plus this gets extra props for having the balls to do a doom metal song that’s lyrics are basically a slightly altered version of Freebird. Check this out.

There you have it, my ten favorite albums of the year (plus one).  Most of you probably gave up before the first track and won’t even read this part but to those of you who went through this thing I hope you like what you heard and hopefully you check out some more heavy shit outside of your musical comfort zone. -ASW