1. "Opulent Decay" Spell (Heavy Metal/Hard Rock)
As a whole album I think "For None and All" was a little better; but this album definitely has some really outstanding tracks that are some of the best the band has put out. In particular the title track and "Sibyl Vane" showcase the bands hypnotic metal sound the best.
Recommended Tracks: "Psychic Death", "Opulent Decay", "Sibyl Vane", and "Deceiver".
2. “Blood Hails Steel - Steel Hails Fire” Megaton Sword (Epic Heavy Metal)
Overall a very strong release, Megaton Sword is becoming the band I was hoping Eternal Champion would be.
3. "Subaqueous" Drown (Funeral Doom Metal)
Excellent funeral doom that reaches that point of gravity and elegance that makes this genre special. Recommended Track: "Drowned VI: Mother Cetacean"
4. “Ravening Iron” Eternal Champion (Epic Heavy Metal)
Overall a little better than “The Armor of Ire” but still has the same issues. Some tracks are really killer, but others are just good. They have potential to be one of my favorite bands but they just keep falling short, and it doesn’t help that my favorite track on this album is a re-recording of a track from their first demo, which makes me worried they are starting to stagnate.
Recommended Tracks: “A Face in the Glare”, “War at the Edge of the End”, and “Worms of the Earth”.
5. "Termination Shock" Traveler (Heavy Metal)
Seemed like it had less variety than the self-titled album but feels a bit more focused.
Recommended Tracks: "Shaded Mirror", "Termination Shock", and "Terra Exodus".
6. “Wilderness of Hearts” Lord Fist (Heavy Metal)
Very solid album, classic sounding heavy metal.
Recommended Tracks: "Sisters", and "Princess of the Red Flame".
7. "Servants of Steel" Ironsword (Heavy Metal)
A lot of Manilla Road influence but more straight forward heavy metal though it leans in epic metal territory. This is my introduction to the band but I will need to check out more from them at some point.
Recommended Tracks: "Rogues in the House", "Upon the Throne", and "Keepers of the Crypt".
8. “Flashback” Haunt (Heavy Metal)
I went into this album with the expectation that it was going to be bad given that “Mind Freeze” had just came out 5 months ago, and in my experience a bad releasing more then one album in a year is a sign that the album is rushed and not going to be well developed. But somehow Trevor William Church managed to do it. While I think “Mind Freeze” as a whole was more cohesive, when I compare the songs individually, I think I like “Flashback” better. I’m really glad Church keeps improving, especially with his voice. There was something off about his voice on the earlier albums that annoyed me, and that is completely gone on this album.
9."Fear" Valkyrie (Heavy/Doom Metal/Hard Rock)
Recommended Tracks: "Feeling So Low", "Afraid to Live", "The Choice", and "Evil Eye"
10. "Mind Freeze" by Haunt (Heavy Metal)
I’m glad to see Haunt keep improving, this was the first album where I think Trevor William Church really got things right.
11. “Stygian Crown” Stygian Crown (Doom Metal)
Overall a really great doom metal album, with a bit of death metal punch to the sound of the guitars. Also, a great vocal performance by Melissa Pinion who voice compliments the music really well.
12. “Pompei” Dark Quarterer (Progressive Metal)
It has less variety than “Ithaca” and no songs really jumped out at me the way they did on that album. But the tracks on “Pompei” have peaks at time that are quite outstanding.
13. “Refractions” Lowrider (Stoner Metal)
Good bit of variety between the songs. Unlike a lot of stoner bands that lose my interest because of the whole album blurring together.
14. "Blessed Be the Hunter" Eisenhauer (Heavy Metal)
The vocals are really outstanding on this album.
Recommended Tracks: "Priestess of Delight"
15. “Ladoga” Olhava (Atmospheric/Post-Black Metal)
Overall, a very solid album.
16. "Danse de noir" Lord Vigo (Epic Doom Metal)
This so a weird album and most of it didn’t really do anything for me but there was two really outstanding track that had me keep coming back to it and they were the songs I ended up listening to the most this year. They are written well but there is something off about them that just makes them more endearing to me.
Recommended Tracks: "Danse de noir", "At the Verge of Time".
17. “Placebo” Aktor Heavy Metal/Hard Rock
Aktor remain a very unique sounding band, A really good album but the one thing holding it back is the vocal delivery. The vocals just sound to ordinary and I feel it calls for a more unusual delivery.
18. “Computer Warrior” Oath (Heavy Metal)
Production is a big improvement over “Legacy”. Album is full of great melodies and energy.
19. “Apocalypse” Nightfear (Power Metal)
A good album but front loaded the second half was forgettable compared to the first half of the album. “The Stranger” was my favorite power metal song I found this year.
Recommended tracks: “We Are Back”, “Shine” “A Better World”, and “The Stranger”
20. "Hard Enough" Hitter (Heavy Metal/Hard Rock)
Rock/metal that’s pretty standard but with enough of a punch to it, and energy in the vocals to make it fun.
21. "Hypnotized" Midnight Dice (Heavy Metal)
Overall a pretty strong ep.
Recommended Track:"Starblind"
22. “Full Metal Jacket” Shok Paris (Heavy/Power Metal)
Has a few good tracks that make the album worthwhile.
Recommended Tracks: “Full Metal Jacket”, “Do or Die”, “Brothers in Arms”, “Black Boots”, “Up the Hammers”
23. "True Bearings" Freeways (Hard Rock)
The album is dominantly hard rock, but has enough NWOBHM influence to make it appeal to me. It was really the opening track that was really outstanding. The rest was alright.
Recommended Track: "Eternal Light, Eternal Night".
24. “Frozen Wastes” Gigafauna (Progressive Sludge Metal)
I really liked the title track but the rest of the album fell flat to me.
25. "...and She Leaves Town" "Brûlons une Sorcière" (Post-Black Metal)
There is potential but the whole album felt underdeveloped it only made the list because of "Rêverie...", for some reason that track just stuck with me.
