Top 20 Heavy Metal Albums of 2011

This year didn’t have as many big name releases as last year, but there was perhaps more depth on the whole.  There were plenty of quality albums in the death metal genre, but not enough albums that had a stellar atmosphere.  Overall, the year was pretty good, but could have been better. 

1. Primordial – Redemption at the Puritan’s Hand:  Many people prefer the band’s previous two albums, but the emphasis on atmosphere and strong vocals make it easily my personal favourite of the band’s discography, as can be seen through excellent tracks like “Bloodied Yet Unbowed”.  The amount of memorable material here makes this easily the number one pick.  

2. Omnium Gatherum – New World Shadows:  This colossal effort of melodic death metal is much more professional sounding and polished than the previous work the band, which was already solid to begin with.  The riffs are massive and the melodies are wonderful.  On the whole, the album is a masterstroke for the     sub- genre. 

3. Vader – Welcome to the Welcome to the Morbid Reich:   This is a powerful and crushing effort from a band that seems to be able to put out consistently good death metal on a regular basis.  A ferocious and blistering pace is maintained throughout the length of this entire album that makes it a beast of a release overall.

4. Anubis Gate – Anubis Gate:  This is an interesting futuristic sounding progressive metal album that recalls the likes of Nevermore and Fates Warning.  A combination of huge verse riffs and catchy chorus’ is found on the album.

5. Wolverine – Communication Lost:  Communication Lost is an atmospheric progressive metal album that recalls the likes of Anathema and Green Carnation, but still has tendencies towards the progressive metal genre.  Songs like “Pulse” stand out from the pack.  This release lost a little bit of luster as the year went on, however.

6. Insomnium – One for Sorrow:  This is another excellent melodic death metal offering from 2011 that offers folk elements in addition to a huge guitar crunch that is impossible to match.  The vocals are slightly buried in the mix, but overall it’s an excellent release.

7. Decapitated – Carnival is Forever:  This is a darker release from the Polish death metal outfit that has jagged riffs and a pummeling style.  Although it has a few inconsistencies, excellent songs like the title track make it another worthy release in the band’s discography.