Top 10 Albums of 2012

Yeah, I know it's a little late.

But I haven't been posting enough about music and I've been thinking about the best albums released in 2012. I've said before that how "good" music is is an entirely taste-based thing, so this is in my opinion. Also, note that I don't listen to every single album that gets released so if you think I missed something substantial, I probably didn't ever listen to it.

Okay. Let's begin.

10. True Defiance by Demon Hunter

Demon Hunter has been around since the early 2000's and their one of the bands that got me into the metal scene. Demon Hunter made a full recovery since their slight disappointment of the previous title, The World is a Thorn.

9. Sedition by Hour of Penance

Demon Hunter is certainly a bit lighter on the spectrum of metal which makes this album a near 180. Hour of Penance has never been better with last year's Sedition; a raging explosion of some of the heaviest metal there is with tracks like Decimate the Ancestry sounding like the band was trying to find out just how heavy a song can be. It's vehemently anti-religion stance may be obnoxiously cliche, but it doesn't detract from the album's brutality.

8. The Royal Thousand by Glass Cloud

This band's debut album, The Royal Thousand is a just solid from beginning to end (insert dick joke here). With every song on it's track listings being memorable, save for maybe two of them, it's great. It has heavy usage of clean vocals, which may be a turn off for some listeners, but they sound nice without being too whiney so it works.

7. Abnegate by Signal the Firing Squad

This is STFS's second album and actually was the first I'd ever heard of the band. While tracks like Abominator and Into the Mouth of the Leviathan stand out to me, Abnegate doesn't have a single weak point. It's growling, earth shattering brutality through and through.

6. Emerald Forest and the Blackbird by Swallow the Sun

Swallow the Sun is one of the best names in Doom these days and their most recent album, Emerald Forest and the Blackbird, is among, if not, their finest work. It starts off with it's title song which is rather beautiful in my opinion and it keeps it's mood throughout which is, rather surprisingly, less melancholy as one would think, the telltale sign of a Doom band being gloomy and bleakness but it works and I like it. Furthermore, I really like the name of the album, Emerald Forest and the Blackbird. Puts a nice image in my head.

5. Throes of Absolution by 7 Horns 7 Eyes

You may notice that the top few slots are largely dominated by Prog metal, which is what I consider to be my favorite genre. The unknown seattle band, 7 Horns 7 Eyes debuted their first EP back in 2006. In 2012 they finally release their first full record, Throes of Absolution, a beast of an album that thrives heavily on it's atmospheric tones that are surprisingly uplifting at times. The growls are among the best I've heard and the guitars are fast and beautiful.

4. The Weight of Oceans by In Mourning

Just barely beating out 7 Horns 7 Eyes and equally unkown, The Weight of Oceans is by far In Mourning's best work. Taking heavy influence from both Prog and Melodic Death Metal, it's an amazing blend of melodies and growls. It's opening song, Colossus is only the icing on the cake that is The Weight of Oceans. Every song feels very connected, almost as if they tell a story which may not be far from the truth because every song is has the same subject matter: sailing. Don't confuse this with that dreaded Pirate Metal though, because that's not what this album is about. A fantastic work that deserves more recognition than it's getting.

3. Neverbloom by Make Them Suffer

Another debut, Neverbloom is such a flawless masterpiece that calling it deathcore is an insult. The album is relentlessly attacking and with tracks like Maelstrom and Weeping Wastelands barely gives you time to breathe. It's heavy usage of atmospheric tones make for a dark, dramatic experience and fully orchestrated sections and some of the best lyrics in metal only heighten that. Every song is a standout song. A pulse-pounding blast of in your face metal that goes way above and beyond deathcore's dreary standard. Can't wait to see more from this group.

2. Other Slices by Slice the Cake

If there was ever perfection in a metal band, it is the international trio with an unassuming name, Slice the Cake. The Prog metal band released it's first and second full album in 2012, the latter of which being Other Slices. This incredible symphony of music is everything it's been hyped up to be by other reviewals. It's practically perfection with multiple structured and creative instrumental interludes that add a great deal to the album rather than just existing for taking up space. The full songs are just as brutal as they are beautiful. A few songs have some clean vocals mixed in which work nicely with the rest of the music that transitions frequently, as is typical of Prog metal. An amazing work of art.

1. The Man With No Face by Slice the Cake

That's right, this band gets both the 1 and 2 slots because that's just how fucking badass they are. The Man With No Face is a masterpiece of music. It goes from angry to emotional to dark to emotional along with other dips and dives showing that this band can do more than the same thing over and over. It starts off strong with Rational Thinking and gets better and better from there with titles like Of Gallows which features some clean vocals being the more emotional part and As Written in Pnakotus being the darker side. It all crescendos flawlessly in the twenty-one-minute title song, The Man With No Face. This isn't some cheap five minute song with fifteen-minutes of silence and then a short joke track, it's a full arrangement that sports six movements and never does it disappoint. An amazing work of art.

This album stands at a daunting full hour but I guarantee that every minute is worth it. Barely a year old and I already know it backwards. The Man With No Face is nothing short of the best album of 2012.