(Here’s the second part of TheMadIsraeli’s multi-part rollout of his list of 2012′s best metal. Sample songs are at the end of the post. And you can find the first 5 albums on his list here. Despite the numbering, the albums are presented in no particular order.)

Alright, here is the tonnage of br00tz edition of my top 20 of 2012.  This might seem short compared to the previous part of this list, but really, death metal is either really fucking brutal, technical, and memorable all at the same time, hence making it good, or it’s not, am I not right?  Let’s get this underway eh?

6: Cryptopsy – S/T

Not only did Cryptopsy manage to prove that the Cryptopsy name still had life left in it, but Jon Lavessuer also came back and helped the band write one of their best since None So Vile.  It’s a mangled, twisted, bloody stump that beats your skull in mercilessly from second one onward.  Definitely an undeniable win. Continue reading »

(In this, the longest post we’ve yet had the temerity to publish, DGR provides many 2012 lists, several awards, and assorted musings about the year in metal.)

This list initially started as something of an archive of my time spent at NoCleanSinging this year, since I was over at another site when I began writing it. I wanted to archive all the stuff that I thought that you guys would be into, so it started as a list of all the great death metal and doom metal I listened to throughout the year – plus a list of disappointments, so I could say it was “DDD” and make a whole bunch of boob jokes throughout the whole thing in order to highlight the sheer level of class with which we conduct ourselves here.

Well, things change…and now I’ve sat my fat ass down here with a full list. That, and due to the fact that there’s so much music I want to talk about this year, I feel that by separating the albums into genres that I enjoyed and explored this year, I can at least show that there was a ton more great music than just the scant ten that we limit ourselves to throughout the year. Some of these may pop up again in the actual Top Ten list you’ll find at the end of this post, but know that a lot more of them would’ve been there had I not enjoyed myself so much throughout the year.

I’ve patterned this after the list I did last year where I not only provided the actual top albums that I enjoyed but categorized a bunch of others, because I am so goddamned wishy-washy that I can’t fathom trying to name just ten. 2012 was a weird year, too, because it seemed like it was going to be slow in the beginning, but then every album that was released seemed to be just killing it. New bands, established bands, pretty much everyone with the exception of the usual garbage and a couple of bands that “Disappointed” me (underwhelmed, more like) were absolutely killing it. Because of that, this list became something more of a 2012 year in review with a Top 10 albums for myself and a whoooooole lotta bullshit to fill the space between. Continue reading »

(We welcome back guest contributor BreadGod with his list of the year’s best albums. I’ve taken the liberty of adding links where bands on his list were previously mentioned at NCS.)

2012 came and went, the world didn’t end, and everyone felt like an idiot for believing in all of that apocalyptic bullshit. One thing’s for certain: this was one of the best years – if not the best year – in metal history. The number of awesome metal albums released during this year is unprecedented. It was really hard for me to make this list, but after much listening and pondering, I narrowed it down to ten albums I feel are the best of 2012. First, my honorable mentions:

Abominable Putridity – The Anomalies of Artificial Origin

Abyssal – Denouement

Axis of Light – By the Hands of the Consuming Fire

Aylwin – Soil And Cold

Barrowlands – Demo 2012

Bitwa – Glory To Swietowit

Buried – The Only Promise
Continue reading »

(As our Listmania series continues for this rapidly closing 2012, we welcome guest writer Fork Tongue and his list of overlooked gems from the underground.)

Hello faithful NCS readers! 2012 was a helluva year in metal. When I hear old school metalheads say that we will never see another era like the mid 80’s through the early 90’s, it gets under my skin a bit. Old school metalheads talk about the days of yesteryear with a gleam in their eye and a chip on their shoulder. As well they should, as it was a great time for the music we all love. But after a bleak period from the mid 90’s through the mid 2000’s (at least in the mainstream) there has been a metal renaissance.

It’s been building and building, and in 2009 it hit what I thought would be it’s pinnacle. I was wrong. 2009, 2010, 2011, and now 2012 have all been unbelievable years that rival or better “the good ol’ days”, and anyone who doesn’t think so isn’t looking hard enough or is just an old fuddy duddy. There are tens of thousands of metal bands, so yes, there is more crap to wade through, but the law of averages tells you there’s also more truly great stuff out there than at any point in metal’s relatively short history. My list will show this, as it’s all about the overlooked gems of the year. Long live the renaissance!

No long-winded descriptions here. I’ll let the music speak for itself. Continue reading »

(In this guest post, NCS supporter Kazz lights the way through his list of the Top 40 metal albums of 2012, with selected commentary.)

This is a top 40. But instead of just writing some stuff about the top 10 (or, frighteningly, all 40) I just picked out a few releases that I felt were under the radar and needed to have some more words on the internet about them (except for my number one pick, which I couldn’t resist adding my 2 cents on). I’ll start at 25 because all the albums I wanted to write about are in that portion.

25.  Arkhamin Kirjasto– Torches Ablaze

24.  Six Feet Under– Undead
 

23.  Forefather– Last of the Line

Forefather isn’t reinventing the wheel here, but they’re playing a style that they’ve been one of the leaders in for over ten years. Their melodic/epic take on Viking/folk metal is full of memorable and stirring hooks. Vocals alternate between competent rasps and soaring cleans while keyboards add some texture to their driving Anglo-Saxon anthems. Continue reading »