My Top 10 Albums of 2012

Hey guys! I hope your Christmas was filled with good food, good people, and good presents.  If you don't celebrate Christmas, then I hoped you enjoyed your movie and Chinese food or whatever other traditions you may have.  As I promised in a previous blog I am going to do my top 10 albums for 2012.

I have been doing a top 10 since 2006, if first started for my own fun, then in the last couple of years my friend and I would exchange our top 10 and now I am going to be doing my top 10 on the blog.  Since 2006 my top albums of the year have been as follows:
2006: Trivium- The Crusade
2007: As I Lay Dying- An Ocean Between Us
2008: Metallica- Death Magnetic
2009: The Black Dahlia Murder: Deflorate
2010: Cradle of Filth- Darkly Darkly Venus Aversa
2011: The Black Dahlia Murder- Ritual

Now that you know my previous albums of the year, lets jump right into this years top 10.

First off I would like to say that out of all the years I have done this top 10, 2012 has got to be the hardest year to form a list for.  Out of the 60 plus albums I listened to this year it was like all the bands decided to release great albums.  There were countless times when I would listen to two albums again just to see which one I thought was better and there were many albums I wanted to include but couldn't just because there were albums I thought were better.  In the end though I feel like, in my opinion I have the right list.  I would first like to list the 5 honorable mentions, these are the albums that were great, but either just not good enough to be in the top 10, or there were albums that were simply better then them and if I extended the list to a top 15 they would be the first 5 to be included, they are (in no particular order):
Korpiklaani: Manala
Dying Fetus: Reign Supreme
Veil of Maya: Eclipse
Signal the Firing Squad: Abnegate
Goatwhore: Blood for the Master
Alright without further delay, lets get on with the countdown.

10. Kontrust- Second Hand Wonderland (Napalm) 

 The best band you've never heard of but seriously need to check out released one of the best albums you've never heard, but seriously need to go listen to.  The songs are catchy, energetic, and have the right combination of poppiness and heavieness to appeal to fans of many music genres.  Sure some of the songs may get a little weird sometimes, but after the crazy Kontrust ride is over, you quickly get back in line to experience the fun again.

Click to listen to Sock 'n' Doll







9. Sabaton- Carolus Rex (Nuclear Blast)

 Before 2012 I did not know who Sabaton was or if I did, I didn't know many of their songs.  It wasn't until the lyric video for the title track of this CD appeared on my youtube feed that I became a little obsessed with the band and after I bought this album I bought a couple of previous albums that they did.  Carolus Rex is jammed pack with epic power metal anthems that begged to be listened to at very loud volume and will get stuck in your head.  If you never listened to Sabaton before, give this album a listen and I guarantee you it will hook you like it hooked me.

Click to listen to Carolus Rex 




8. Meshuggah- Koloss (Nuclear Blast) 

The four years Meshuggah fans had to wait between the release of 2008's Obzen and 2012's Koloss was well worth the wait.  Even though the songs are slower to an extent, they still pack that same Meshuggah punch that has been keeping fans around all these years.  The musicianship in this band is just down right outstanding, every one in the band could be classified as a metal virtuoso on their respective instrument. 

Click to listen to The Demon's Name is Surveillance






7. Abiotic- Symbiosis (Metal Blade)

I blogged about these crazy Florida deathcore guys earlier in the year (check that out for a more in depth review of the band and this album) and I said that I am excited to see where these guys go in the future because I believe they can be a great band.  Symbiosis is a great first release in what I hope to be a long career of great albums.  Abiotic has a sound that is unlike most of the deathcore bands you hear today.  It has the right amount of death metal and hardcore elements to appeal to the fans of both death metal and hardcore.  Their breakdowns are like a wall of bricks slamming into you every time not to mention all the musicians in the band, including the vocalist, are at the top of their game in their playing and they can only get better.

Click to listen to Vermosapien

6. Thy Art Is Murder- Hate (Halfcut)

Anyone who thinks that America is the leader when it comes to producing great deathcore bands will have their mind changed when they get a listen to Australia's Thy Art is Murder.  Don't get me wrong, I'm American and America does have great deathcore bands, but bands like Thy Art is Murder blows them all out of the water.  Hate is an all out brutal assault on the ear drums.  The lyrics are full of, well hate, and the break downs feel like a cannon ball is hitting you in the gut every time. If you like deathcore and want I new band to add to your library, do yourself a favor and buy this album.

Click to listen to Reign of Darkness




5. Cannibal Corpse- Torture (Metal Blade) 

Like a new Slayer album, Cannibal Corpse fans know what to expect when they buy a new album from the band, but if you've got a formula that has been working for 25 years, why try anything different.Cannibal Corpse's Torture is anything but torture to listen to (see what I did there?).  The death metal veterans of now 25 years (in 2013) still prove that they can still write some of the best death metal in existence today.  Torture does carry the sound of their last release Evisceration Plague but in my opinion is an all around better release.   Torture may not be Cannibal Corpse's best release of their career, but it is definitely near the top.   

Click to listen to Demented Agression



4. Eluveitie- Helvetios (Nuclear Blast) 

Now some could say that I liked as much as I did this album because when I preordered it I got the bundle that came with a t-shirt and an autographed poster.  That is just simply not true, while I did like getting a t-shit and autographed poster, the album was only going to make it to the top 10 if I thought it deserved it.  Boy did it deserve it.  The first two singles from the album "Rose for Epona" and "Havoc" while they may not be the best songs from the album, really got me excited for it.  Helvetios lived up to any high expectation I had put on it.  To put it very simply, it is a 17 track album that never lost my interest and there aren't too many albums that long that I can say that about.

Click to listen to Helvetios


3. As I Lay Dying- Awakened (Metal Blade) 

As I Lay Dying has always been one of my favorite band.  They were one of the first metal bands I listened to and I have stuck with them ever since.  I will be honest I liked The Powerless Rise, but it still felt like it was missing something, and it is hard to follow a masterpiece like An Ocean Between Us.  Whatever gaps were left open from Powerless, Awakened helped fill them and then proceeded to overflow into other gaps that I might have had.  While Awakened maybe a dark album, the songs are still amazing.  All the musicians have only gotten better, and Tim's vocals are becoming clearer and clearer (even though he is using growls) to understand as the band gets older.  Not to mention, as always, the song writing is superb.  Awakened is sure to please As I Lay Dying fans old and new.

                                                                                    Click to listen to A Greater Foundation

2. Cattle Decapitation- Monolith of Inhumanity (Metal Blade)

This album is a prime example of why I wait until after Christmas to do the top 10.  Now I did not get it for Christmas, but I did get it the night or two before.  I had heard all the rave reviews about it and finally decided to check it out for my self.  Monolith is nothing short of a technical death metal masterpiece.  If you don't know anything about Cattle Decapitation but like tech- death, buy this album.  It is a non stop assault from beginning to end.  I was not a fan of Cattle Decapitation before this album, but Monolith has gotten me hooked and has led me to discover the crazy brutalness that is Cattle Decapitation.

Click to listen to Dead Set on Suicide  




1.  Between The Buried and Me- The Parallax II: Future Sequence (Metal Blade)

If there was one band I was obsessed with this year, it was Between the Buried and Me, and this album is a big part of the reason.  I will be honest when I first bought it, I was not expecting to like it as much as I did, but upon listening to it a second time I was hooked on this album and on this band.  In my opinion this album is just as good if not better than Colors and after a few listens and comparisons to other albums, I decided that it was the most technical, crazy, enjoyable and, best album that was released in 2012.

Click to listen to Lay Your Ghosts to Rest





Well there you go! My top 10 albums of the year.  I hope you enjoyed and I want to know if you agree or disagree.  Were there albums you think were better than the ones I put here? What was your album of the year? Let me know by leaving me a comment or tweeting me @zachktheanimal.  I am interested to hear what you guys think.

Also this will probably be the last blog post of 2012.  I am currently on break and will be going on a brief choir tour and will be back on January 12th so I will start blogging again around that time.  I would like to thank everyone who reads the blog, even though it is only a few months old.  I am excited to do the blog for a full year and see what happens.  I wish you guys a great and safe new year and I'll see you in 2013.

Thanks guys!
-Zach

Remember if there is an album you want me to review or a band you want me to talk about, leave a comment below or tweet me @zachktheanimal.