Warcrab – Scars of Aeons
Warcrab gives us a dark, brooding masterpiece without flaw. Too few will hear this album this year, but it will certainly find it’s way high up on my year end list.
All Hell – The Grave Alchemist
By sticking to their aggressive, old-school evil and almost European style of metal, all while remaining ungodly catchy and heavy, they make it nearly impossible to catch your breath from track to track.
The Furor – Cavalries of the Occult
Musically, the album is so dynamic and unpredictable, it very nearly defies classification. To say that it is a mix of black and death metal, while true, does not do justice to what you hear when you listen.
Craven Idol – The Shackles of Mammon
This album caught me by surprise, to be honest. I loved the album art from the time I saw it, but wasn’t expecting a sound so uniquely vintage yet contemporary at the same time.
The Obsessed – Sacred
All in all, just a heavy, old school, meaner version of their younger selves.
She Must Burn – Grimoire (Review and Interrogation)
Entwining brutality and beauty, with eerie keyboards and unique rhythms, seeming to blend genres with ease.
The Brood – The Truth Behind
Death-grind, black metal, and crust all jump into the mix to create an abysmal groove that will have your head banging and the pit churning in no time.
Iron Reagan – Crossover Ministry
With 18 songs and the longest coming in at a whopping 3:37, the Virginia 5-piece rips through the album in the best crossover thrash tradition.
Grond – Worship the Kraken
If this balance of aggression, speed and groove doesn’t get your blood pumping you must be dead.
Dusius – Memory of a Man
With shades of many types of metal like Folk/Viking to Extreme/Death all the way to an almost progressive feel, this band shows they’re very well rounded and have many more stories for us all to hear.