Another year of metal music is passing us by. There were some really good albums, and the race to be in the top ten was a close one this year. It also took me quite a few spins to really determine the top five, but in the end, I think I have it, as there is a nice mix of thrash, death, progressive, alternative, and straight up rocking metal to please all rock and metal fans here. It was also nice to see bands put out some of their best work around. Anyways, let's starts this fucker, already!


9. Testament- Dark Roots of the Earth- Much like Overkill, Testament had a lot to live up to after their phenomenal return and last album, The Formation of Damnation. This album is almost as good as that one. This is a heavy and blistering fucker, that even throws in killer covers of Scorpions and Iron Maiden. And, Chuck Billy remains one of the best signers in all of thrash metaldom.



6. Kreator- Phantom Antichrist- This is Kreator's best album since Coma of Souls and considering how good the last few have been that's saying a lot. It just mixes the perfect amount of speed, heaviness, and brutality, with the just the right amount of melody to pull of the best thrash metal album from an old-school band of the year.


4. Dethklok- The Dethalbum III- The best death album of the year comes courtesy of a band that is cartoon band. Of course, said band has some real fucking talent behind it including Gene fucking Hoglan! This album is every bit as heavy, badass, and brutal as you would expect from one of these guys; who are one of the best selling death metal acts, ever. And, the songs and album only get better with each listening!


2. Halestorm- The Strange Case of…- I have heard of the dreaded second album curse, where it is said that a band who makes a great first album fucks up royally with the following album. Well that was not the case here. In fact, PA's Halestorm have released an album totally trumps their self-titled debut, which, in of itself, is one of my favorite albums to spin. I have listened to this album, God only knows how many times already. It's their biggest success, too, making them the highest charting for the first week sales of a female fronted metal/ hard rock act. Yes, this means they beat even acts like Evanescence! Both of the singles, "Love Bites (So Do I)" and "I Miss the Misery", they released this year are not only big hits, but my favorite singles of the year. The fact that band did this by actually sounding heavier than ever, makes it that much better. But, they still have a lot of heart and soul to them, with some moving songs ("Here's to Us", "Beautiful with You") as well giving us seriously kick ass music with some headbanging good shit ("Mz. Hyge", "Daughters of Darkness", etc.).

Honorable Mentions:
Huntress- Spell Eater
Meshuggah- Koloss
Sister Sin- Now and Forever
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