Metal Legends Mercyful Fate Announce First North American Tour in Over Two Decades! Tickets on Sale Friday, September 9!

Photo by Livia Zita

 Heavy metal icons MERCYFUL FATE today announce their first North American headlining tour in over two decades! The journey will commence on October 25th in Dallas, Texas and weave its way through fourteen cities, closing on November 16th in Atlanta, Georgia. The tour follows the band’s stunning headlining performance at this year’s edition of Psycho Las Vegas.

Vocalist King Diamond comments, “These will be the first MERCYFUL FATE concerts in North American theaters in over twenty years. Memories of a lifetime. Your special chance to see MERCYFUL FATE with the full European festival production, but up close and personal. You cannot miss this… I hereby respectfully invite you to Come To The Sabbath by which you may free your soul and feast with us in the dark Of Night. Witches and Demons, you may come as you are! Satanic Regards - King Diamond 666.”

Support for MERCYFUL FATE will be provided by Kreator and labelmates, Midnight. Various presales are available throughout the week:

Citi Presale: Tuesday, September 6th @ 11:00am ET | Password: Citi BINs

Mercyful Fate Fan Club Presale: Tuesday, September 6th @ 12:00pm ET | Password: EVIL

Ticketmaster Presale: Wednesday, September 7th @ 10:00am ET | Password: MELISSA

Live Nation Presale: Wednesday, September 7th @ 10:00am local time | Password: VENUE

Blabbermouth Presale: Wednesday, September 7th @ 10:00am local time | Password: SABBATH

Knotfest.com Presale: Wednesday, September 7th @ 10:00am local time | Password: OATH

 

All presales end Thursday, September 8th at 10:00pm local time. General onsale date is Friday, September 9th at 10:00am local time at mercyfulfatecoven.com. These shows will sell out! Don't miss it!

 

Additionally, multiple limited VIP packages will be available which will include Meet & Greets, photo opps, private Q&As, exclusive merch, and more starting Wednesday, September 7th at mercyfulfatecoven.com. Secure yours today. 

MERCYFUL FATE w/ Kreator, Midnight:

10/25/2022 Dallas, TX - The Factory

10/27/2022 Phoenix, AZ - Arizona Financial Theatre 

10/29/2022 Inglewood, CA - Youtube Theater

10/30/2022 Wheatland, CA - Hard Rock Live Sacramento

11/01/2022 Denver, CO - Fillmore Auditorium

11/03/2022 Gary, IN - Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana

11/04/2022 Cincinnati, OH - The Andrew J. Brady Music Center

11/05/2022 Detroit, MI - Masonic

11/08/2022 Silver Spring, MD - The Fillmore Silver Spring

11/10/2022 Brooklyn, NY - Kings Theater

11/11/2022 Laval, QC - Place Bell

11/13/2022 Boston, MA - MGM Music Hall At Fenway

11/14/2022 Philadelphia, PA - The Fillmore Philadelphia

11/16/2022 Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle

MERCYFUL FATE is currently working on a new album and recently gave fans a taste of the new material when they debuted a song called "The Jackal Of Salzburg" in Germany this past June as well as at Psycho Las Vegas. The band's current lineup is King Diamond on vocals, Hank Shermann and Mike Wead on guitars, Bjarne T. Holm on drums and Joey Vera on bass.



MERCYFUL FATE was formed in early 1981 in Copenhagen, Denmark by vocalist King Diamond and guitarist Hank Shermann. They were later joined by guitarist Michael Denner and bassist Timi Hansen, and soon thereafter drummer Kim Ruzz would join to complete the band lineup. The band recorded two demos in 1981 and later signed with Rave On Records in Holland for the recording of their successful self-titled EP, released in November of 1982. The Mercyful Fate EP was soon in heavy rotation around core metal radio stations, launching a new breed of heavy metal with their unique sound.

The band joined Roadrunner Records in 1983 and their debut full-length, Melissa, was recorded and released that same year. The following year, MERCYFUL FATE returned to the studio to record their now legendary Don't Break The Oath full-length, released in September of 1984.

MERCYFUL FATE embarked upon a two month US tour in support of the record, which took them across the States several times sharing the stage with the likes of Motörhead and Exciter. The shows had created a brush fire within the metal community. The band reaped recognition globally, closing the year with a five-date tour in Germany with Motörhead, Girlschool, Helix, and Talon.



MERCYFUL FATE’s first concert of 1985 was in their hometown of Copenhagen at an old movie theater with a large capacity. The show sold out and their stage show exhibited a new level of distinction. The night was a huge victory and a new highlight for the band.

By April of 1985 however, MERCYFUL FATE decided to part ways for each to pursue new challenges. The King Diamond band was born and reaped critical acclaim the following years with five studio albums on Roadrunner Records. King Diamond has since signed with Metal Blade Records and is going stronger than ever before.

In the Summer of 1992, MERCYFUL FATE decided to reunite and penned a new deal with Brian Slagel and his label, Metal Blade Records. In The Shadows was released in 1993 and was an instant triumph furthered by a sold out US tour.

MERCYFUL FATE has gone on to release another five studio albums and have toured Europe, the US, and South America multiple times. The highlight of 1999 was their critically acclaimed album 9 which was followed by a European tour with Metallica, where King Diamond and Hank Shermann joined the band onstage several times for the medley "Mercyful Fate" which Metallica had recorded on their Garage Inc. double tribute album the year prior. Tours in the US and in South America followed, marking the band's last live performances for over a decade. MERCYFUL FATE then went on hiatus, but made a brief appearance when members joined Metallica onstage in 2011 for their 30th anniversary show in San Francisco, California.

For live coverage inquiries, contact earsplitpr2@gmail.com.

http://www.mercyfulfatecoven.com

http://www.facebook.com/mercyfulfateofficial

http://www.twitter.com/MercyfulFate_HQ

http://open.spotify.com/artist/0W8edGiwAsv6HXF0Kyc2V9

http://www.metalblade.com

http://www.facebook.com/metalbladerecords

http://www.instagram.com/metalbladerecords

http://www.twitter.com/MetalBlade

Read More

The 20 Best Hard Rock & Metal Albums of 2017, Pt. 1: 20-11

2017 was a fucking awesome year for heavy music. Especially, for those into death metal, as it was rightfully declared the "Year of Death Metal" by Decibel magazine. Both new and old death metal bands put forth some great material. But, it was also another great year for thrash metal. As always making this list took a lot of thinking and, of course, the hearing of a lot albums. So let us not waste anymore time and get to it!

Honorable Mentions

Kobra and the Lotus- Prevail I

Overkill- The Grinding Wheel

Terrifier- Weapons of Thrash Destruction

Municipal Waste- Slime and Punishment

20. Necrot- Blood Offerings- An old school death metal album by a new band, that results in the best debut of 2017. My full review: http://themastergio.blogspot.com/2017/06/necrot-blood-offerings-album-review.html

19. Fit For An Autopsy- The Great Collapse- Fit For An Autopsy have delivered an angry and driving deathcore that showcase the subgenre at its very best. The music has a powerful and crushing grove and sounds like the soundtrack to complete and utter destruction.

18. Satyricon- Deep Calleth Deep- Heavy, hateful, and dark, this almost hypnotically sounding piece of black metal is best album of this style for 2017. Featuring the slow and driving sound that band has perfected in their last couple of releases it is the perfect music to listen as you are being dragged you into the very depths of hell!

17. Obituary- Obituary- The latest album from these death metal gods is one of their best in years. It features some great riffs that are catchy and have a really great groove to them. Some of these songs rank among the fastest and catchiest songs, the band has written in many a moon.

16. Kreator- Gods of Violence- The latest offering from Germany's greatest thrash metal export is crushing and devastating music. Some of the year's very best and most memorable songs come from here including the driving "Satan Is Real" and the anthemic  "Hail to the Hordes". Gods of Violence is one that I played a lot since the moment that I got it.

15. Winds of Plague- Blood of My Enemy- It's great to see a band genuinely seen as being rather silly, by some, like Winds of Plague mature and grow. Especially when the end result is the very best album of their career, thus far, and then some. Blood of Me Enemy is a more serious and musically complex work than their previous, but still enjoyable, output. and  Heavy and aggressive, it doesn't feel as interested in reminding just how cool or tough they are. Instead, the music speaks for itself and delivers multiple swift steel boots to your fucking teeth.

14. Cannibal Corpse- Red Before Black- Red Before Black is Cannibal Corpse's best album since Torture, possibly since Kill. It is a solid and heavy, slab of death metal that is unrelenting and uncompromising. Songs like "Code of the Slashers" and "Heads Shoveled Off" are some of the coolest and most memorable extreme metal songs of the year. In fact, this might be the most straight up fun death metal of 2017.

13. Suffocation- ...Of the Dark Light- Holy fuck this is one unrelenting and brutal release! Determine to pummel your fucking head with savage death metal, Suffocation continue to churn out some of the finest releases in death metal. From the very opening of the blistering "Clarity through Depravity" and beyond this is uncompromising and technical assault as your likely hear at this level of spectacular quality.

12. Darkest Hour- Godless Prophets and the Migrant Flora- Anyone who thinks that there are no more classic albums to be made in the metalcore world needs to get a listen to this major ass kicker. Darkest Hour have pulled all the stops and made rollicking and vicious release with great musicianship and pounding breakdowns. This fucker is guaranteed to kick your ass from here to the next fucking continent. Songs like "This Is the Truth" and "The Flesh and the Flowers of Death" are some of the most badass songs of the year!

11. Cradle of Filth- Cryptopia: The Seductiveness of Decay- While, I greatly liked the last Cradle of Filth album, Hammer of the Witches, Cryptopia: The Seductiveness of Decay blows it away. It is is without question the finest album CoF has made since Nymphetamine. The album is a dark and fully enrapturing piece of extreme gothic/ symphonic black metal. It takes all the things that make the band great and gives to us in droves. Honest to Satan, this is the first Cradle of Filth album that keep going back to listen to in ages and helped to remind me why I absolutely adored them many years ago. And, can I say that "Heartbreak and Seance" is one of my favorite extreme metal singles of the year? Another thing that is one of my favorites for this year is the amazing cover art! It is so fucking cool!

I would like to take this time to thank you all for your support in this year! May you all have a happy, fun, and safe New Year's! Stay tuned for the top ten albums of 2017!

Read More

15 Thrash Metal Albums That You Need In Your Collection

My latest article from Monkeys Fighting Robots, where I choose the 15 Thrash Metal Albums That You Need In Your Collection. Please read it here: http://www.monkeysfightingrobots.com/15-thrash-metal-albums-need-collection/

Read More

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 14: 30-21

30. Slayer- South of Heaven- Artist Larry Carroll and illustrator Howard Schwartzberg designed the cover for this the fourth album from these thrash metal legends. Both the awesome cover and the album itself are favorites of mine. The cool looking skull, leaning, inverted crucifix, and cathedrals dripping blood forming a pool of blood are just classic and the best cover Slayer has.






29. Testament- Souls of Black- The fourth album by these Bay Area thrashers saw the band try different types of influence in their sound. I so remember seeing this amazing cover with these dark phantoms and being completely captivated by it!








28. Morbid Angel- Domination- The fourth album by one of the greatest death metal acts in the world, saw them make their major label debut. The computer generated image of a desolate world with the huge pentagram that is the band's symbol, in the foreground really pops thanks to the vivid colors. 

27. Motorhead- Inferno- The seventeenth album by these British legends has amazing art by Joe Petango. The band's coolest cover, I think. 










26. Kreator- Pleasure to Kill- The second album by Germany's kings of thrash metal is a subgenre classic. And, the cover where their demon mascot battles skeletons is pretty badass and evokes a very metal version of a Sinbad/ Ray Harryhausen movie.








25. Dimmu Borgir- Godless Savage Garden- This compilation album by black metal band Dimmu Borgir features a haunting beauty sitting on a throne in a garden that looks like Batman villianess Poison Ivy would be right at home at it.








24. Mercyful Fate- Don't Break the Oath- The second album by Mercyful Fate has what might be their most iconic cover as Satan, himself, points to you from the very depths of hell!

23. Cannibal Corpse- Butchered at Birth- The second album by these death metal legends had what is one of their most, if not their most, controversial cover. This was enough so that it it in fact landed on WatchMojo.com's recent list of the most controversial covers, of all time. But, when you have a cover where two zombies are aborting an embryo from a butchered woman's body, while other dead and decaying embryos hang, well, that was bound to piss someone off! Not me though. I think it fucking rules!




22. Cradle of Filth- Midian- The fourth album from this extreme metal band was inspired by the novel Cabal by Clive Barker and the his subsequent film, Nightbreed, based on said book. Midian is where the monsters live, both sources tell us. The excellent cover by JK Potter has monsters, including a beautiful goth chick with bat wings (what else would expect from CoF?) and the entrance to Midian.





21. Vital Remains- Icons of Evil- The sixth album, and last to have Glenn Benton on vocals, of this brutal death band has a cover inspired by Mel Gibson's controversial The Passion of the Christ (a sample of which is used in the opener of the album). One difference from the film, though is that the one doing the hammering on Christ has a ring with a pentagram on it.

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 13: 40-31

 The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 12: 50-41

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 11: 60-51

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 10: 70-61

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 9: 80-71

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 8: 90-81 

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 7: 110-101 

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 6: 120-111 

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 5: 130-121

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 4: 140-131 

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 3: 150-141

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 2: 160-151

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 1: 175-16

Read More

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 13: 40-31

If you have been following this list since it's start, I'm sorry for all if the months where I did not continue it. Once convention season (Oct, with NYCC) started followed by the holidays, I was severely busy and couldn't continue to do this list. But, with all of that over now (well until I head out to Vegas for AEE, later this month), I can go right back to it. And, so let's not waste anymore time and get right back into it:

40. Cradle of Filth- Nymphetamine- The sixth album by this extreme metal act is actually my favorite of theirs. The title refers to the addiction towards a vampiric woman. Which is perfectly understandable in my book! The cover with a sexy and tempting vampire babe painting is truly beautiful, very cool, and captures the title perfectly.







39. Guns 'N' Roses- Appetite for Destruction- One of the greatest debut albums, and in fact one of the greatest albums period, in all of hard rock, this badass rocker is a must have. It's equally iconic cover was originally suppose to be a controversial piece of art with a robot rapist about to get his up and comings via a metallic monster. But, when stores refused to carry that cover they opted for this classic image of the band members represented as skulls on a cross. It was based on a tattoo by Billy White, Jr. I actually prefer the rapist cover, but at least that ended up on the inside sleeve. This image is still fucking awesome, though!!


38. Kreator- Terrible Certainty- The third album by these German thrashers is the one that I first bought from them. It's my second favorite of their albums and the cover with their badass demon mascot surrounded by statues of skull faced bishops on each side of him is fucking awesome!







37. King Diamond- Abigail- The second album, and first to be a concept album, remains the band's masterpiece. It also has one of it's most classic covers, evoking an old school, gothic horror movie with it's beautiful and creepy cover of a carriage being drawn by two horses.







36. Scorpions- Love After First Sting- This hard rock classic from the greatest band to ever come out of Germany features a truly classic photographic cover of a man tattooing a scorpion, of course, on a beautiful, partially nude woman. It was designed by Kochlowski.







35. Black Sabbath- Dehumanizer- The sixteenth studio album by these metal legends, was a return for metal god Ronnie James Dio at vocals. It's the first one that I ever bought with him signing for Sabbath. The cool looking cover features a robotic grim reaper turning a human into a machine. A cool image that goes perfectly with the title track.






34. Arch Enemy- Anthems of Rebellion- The fifth studio album by Arch Enemy is the first one that I ever bought of theirs. The cover depicts a man who pulls off the faceless visage that all the others have, rebelling and showing his own individuality.








33. Sodom- Agent Orange- The third studio release by this German thrash band had what might be their best cover, as it captures the inside of a large, flying war plane. It's badass and looks very eye-catching.








32. Suffocation- Blood Oath- This sixth studio album from this American death metal act, was actually the first album of theirs to chart on the Billboard 200. It's a killer one with a great cover by artist Jon Zig. It's pure classic death metal stuff with it's use of an otherworldly place and monk like phantom people with unseen faces.







31. Sepultura- Chaos A.D.- The classic and influential fifth album by Brazil's metal masters has them move away from thrash to groove metal. But that doesn't mean they have to stop having cool covers. In fact this another kick ass cover as a mummified man is tied to machines.

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 12: 50-41

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 11: 60-51

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 10: 70-61

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 9: 80-71

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 8: 90-81 

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 7: 110-101 

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 6: 120-111 

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 5: 130-121

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 4: 140-131 

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 3: 150-141

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 2: 160-151

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 1: 175-16

Read More

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 10: 80-71

80. Astarte- Demonized- The fifth album by this criminally underrated Greek black metal band had a suitably demonized rendering of the band's beautiful lead signer and multiple instrument player, Tristessa.







79. Anthrax- Persistence of Time- The fifth, and my favorite, studio album by NY's thrash metal masters has a desolate place with a clock that uses death to show time. 








78. Dio- Lock Up the Wolves- The fifth studio album (jeez, lots of fifth albums in this part of the list!) by this heavy metal act has a gorgeous and cool cover with some sort of fantastical/ supernatural character and his two pissed off and bloodthirsty looking wolves.






77. Whitechapel- A New Era of Corruption- The third studio album by this deathcore act has a truly amazing cover! Portrayed on it are some cybernetic men. It's quite simply one of the best covers, if not the best cover, of the entire sub-genre!







76. Venom- Welcome to Hell- The debut album by this super influential group is a pure classic!! Also a classic is it's genre defying artwork of a pentagram/ baphomet cover. It is one of the most iconic and important covers in all of metal!!!!







75. Iron Maiden- Killers- Speaking of iconic, that description also goes to the second album from Maiden, with this classic Derek Riggs cover. In it Eddie is killing someone who seems to be almost begging for his life. The blood dripping hatchet is a cool addition. 






74. Overkill- The Years of Decay- The fourth studio album by New Jersey's Overkill has a cool as hell cover, as their winged skull mascot looks to be the entrance to some sort of ancient temple.








73. Kreator- Coma of Souls- The fifth (back to that number huh?) by the German thrashers is my favorite of theirs and their cover where we seem to look into the mind of their mascot is one of their best looking ones!!







72. Dissection- Storm of the Light's Bane- Like the first album Kristian Whalin did the cover for this release by these Swedish black metallers. In it, the grim reaper rides a black steed on a frozen and desolate place.







71. Slayer- Reign in Blood- Larry Carroll designed the cover to the third studio release by Slayer. The album, itself, is one of the most important and influential thrash metal albums of all time. The cover has a plethora of satanic and evil imagery. It's as iconic as the album itself. Sort of like Picasso goes to hell, this hits a 10 on both amazing art and the devil meter. A fucking classic all the way!!

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 9: 90-81 

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 7: 110-101 

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 6: 120-111 

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 5: 130-121

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 4: 140-131 

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 3: 150-141

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 2: 160-151

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 1: 175-16

Read More

The 10 Best Metal Albums of 2012

First off, I hope you guys had a very merry Christmas and that you got to celebrate it with your loved ones. Now onto the metal:

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!
 
10. Overkill- The Electric Age- After the amazing Ironbound, the best musical act to ever come out of Jersey release this fast and heavy hitting album that is even better! Songs like "Old Wounds, New Scars" rank among the most badass songs that they have ever fuckin made!!!






 
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.




8. In This Moment- Blood- Growing and maturing for a band is clearly important. Though change can alieanate fans, it can be quite crucial. In the case of In This Moment, a band not afraid to stray away from their metalcore beginnings, have done just that with what is their best work since their debut. In Blood the band mixes metal with some tinges of industrial and enough of a pop beat to sound accisable but never like sell-outs. Maria Brink sounds amazing and the tracks "Whore" and "Beast Within" ranks among the best of the year. Clearly people are agreeing cause this the band's most successful album, yet.


7. Fear Factory¬ The Industrialist- After all of these years Fear Factory have lost none of their edge. And, as great as their previous album, Mechanize, was; this one is even better. It's pounding, heavy music that pummels the listener. It's pretty much a jackhammer to your skull from beginning to the fucking end.
  
 



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.







5. Gojira- L’Enfante Savauge- Technically sound and aurally brutal France's progressive metal master's have released a juggernaut of an album. One that from the very first listen is clearly one of the year's finest albums. In fact, the opening track alone, firmly certifies that they righteously belong on this and every other best of metal list for 2012.

 


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!






3. Deftones- Koi No Yokan- Continuing with the sound and excellence of their last album, Diamon Eyes, the Deftones have provided us with another masterpiece. I still don't know which of the two albums I prefer, but I can say that this is my favorite album to write/ work to. And, I mean that compliment in all the best possible ways, since music is very important to me when I'm writing.

 

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.).

1. Shadows Fall- Fire in the Sky- The album to beat Halestorm out of my top spot comes from this Springfield, Mass band. Now, I have long liked these guys, but now I like even more. And, it is most definitely thanks to this album. Shadows Fall has long left the metalcore sound, they were first known for and come into a more thrash influenced style. The result had been some solid work, but this trumps any of those. With a good classic thrash sound and quality production comes an exciting, ass kicking, fast, heavy, and pounding release. One that maybe the one to even convert the haters. Yes, it's that damn good!!


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

 

Read More