THE BEST METAL ALBUMS OF 2011, AS CHOSEN BY METAL MUSICIANS THEMSELVES — PART IV
FEATURING MEMBERS OF ARCH ENEMY, THAT METAL SHOW, BLACK ANVIL, ABIGAIL WILLIAMS, AND LEPROUS
Every year year, MetalSucks asks musicians from across the vast spectrum of the metalsphere (or, in a few cases, the almost-metalsphere) what their favorite albums of the year have been. Death metallers, thrash metallers, black metallers, stoners, grinders, and djenters alike graciously contributed lists to MS, and we’ll be running them in groups of nine to ten musicians at a time two to three times a day for the whole week.
After the jump, check out the next group… we hope you enjoy seeing what some of metal’s heaviest hitters were into this year as much as we have!
ANGELA GOSSOW, ARCH ENEMY
1. Morbid Angel, Illud Divinum Insanus
2. Spiritual Beggars, Return To Live: Loud Park 2010
3. Hell, Human Remains
4. Trouble, Revelations (Life Or Death) – Demos & Rarities Part 1
5. Trouble, Victim Of The Insane – Demos & Rarities Part 2
6. Skeletonwitch, Forever Abomination
7. Autopsy, Macabre Eternal
8. Macabre, Grim Scary Tales
9. Nader Sadek, In The Flesh
10. Obscura, Omnivium
10. Jim Florentine, Cringe ‘n’ Purge — Besides being my best bud, I love his angry, aggressive comedy stylings. Gotta love a comic who has a nine minute bit about opening for Slayer along with my favorite track, “Hip Hop Sucks.”
9. Charred Walls Of The Damned, Cold Winds On Timeless Days — Howard Stern madman and Tim “Ripper” Owens take what they did on the first Charred album and shoot it full of steroids. Heavy… Oprah heavy.
8. Crowbar, Sever The Wicked Hand — The Riffmaster General Kirk Windstein puts one of his heaviest, girthiest releases to date. Monstrous guitars with a thick groove.
7. Anthrax, Worship Music — Duh!
6. DC4, Electric Ministry –– A straight-up hard rock monster from Rowan Robertson (ex-Dio guitarist) and Jeff Duncan (ex-Armored Saint). Lots of levels to his album… balls-out rockers, killer ballads, and even a bona-fide rock anthem.
5. Amon Amarth, Surtur Rising — So hard to follow-up 2008’s incredible Twilight Of The Thunder God, but my favorite Vikings have done exactly that. Not to mention touring with a 2 1/2 hour stage show which included playing the entire album in sequence.
4. Black Country Communion, 2 — Some “super groups” don’t cut it no matter how talented the individual players are. This one does. On all levels. Glenn Hughes still a freak on vocals. Hear him play bass on Season 9 of ‘That Metal Show.’
3. Whitesnake, Forevermore — Heavy, blues-soaked rock from Coverdale & Co. Their best album since the 1987 classic (maybe better).
2. Saxon, Call To Arms — One of my favorite bands of all time still making amazing NEW music. The classic NWOBHM sound with a modern feel. Look for Biff Byford on Season 9 of That Metal Show.
1. Michael Monroe, Sensory Overdrive — Produced by the legendary Jack Douglas, it’s a highly-charged, addictive, punk-tinged, glam-infused solid ball of rock. Best album of the year for me by far! Look for Michael on Season 9 of That Metal Show.
PAUL DELANEY, BLACK ANVIL
1. The Devil’s Blood, The Thousandfold Epicentre
2. Insane Vesper, Abomination of Death
3. Aosoth, III
4. One Tail, One Head, S/T
5. Necroblood, EP
6. Saxon, Call To Arms
KEN SORCERON, ABIGAIL WILLIAMS
No particular order:
Wolves In The Throne Room, Celestial Lineage
Mogwai, Hardcore Will Never Die But You Will
Opeth, Heritage
Primordial, Redemption at the Puritan’s Hand
Altar of Plagues, Mammals
Explosions In The Sky, Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
Indian, Guiltless
Warpaint, Exquisite Corpse
Moonsorrow, Varjoina Kuljemme Kuolleiden Maassa
The Devin Townsend Project, Deconstruction
IAN JEKELIS, ABIGAIL WILLIAMS
1. Opeth, Heritage
2. Enslaved, The Sleeping Gods
3. Crowbar, Sever the Wicked Hand
4. Lake of Blood, As Time and Tide Erodes Stone
5. Nader Sadek, In the Flesh
6. Trap Them, Darker Handcraft
7. Earth, Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I
8. Moonsorrow, Varjoina Kuljemme Kuolleiden Maassa
9. Stratovarius, Elysium
EINAR SOLBERG, LEPROUS
1. James Blake, James Blake
2. Bon Iver, Bon Iver
3. The Devin Townsend Project, Deconstruction
4. Radiohead, The King of Limbs
5. Björk, Biophilia
6. Steven Wilson, Grace for Drowning
7. Mastodon, The Hunter
8. Nils Petter Molvær, Babbon Moon
9. Opeth, Heritage
10. Ulver, Wars of the Roses
TOBIA ØRNES ANDERSEN, LEPROUS
1. James Blake, James Blake
2. Bon Iver, Bon Iver
3. Battles, Gloss Drop
4. Montèe, Renditon of You
5. Bernt Moen, Cosure
6. Jøkleba, Jøkleba / Nu Jøk?
7. Jenny Hval, Viscera
8. Nils Petter Molvær, Baboon Moon
9. Radiohead, The King of Limbs
10. Veronica Maggio, Satan i gatan
REIN BLOMQUIST, LEPROUS
1. Bon Iver, Bon Iver
2. Pharoahe Monch, W.A.R (We Are Renegades)
3. James Blake, James Blake
4. Philter, The Beautiful Lies
5. Bernhoft, Solidarity Breaks
6. Montèe, Renditon of You
7. Eva & the Heartmaker, Dominoes
8. Wagonchrist, Toomorrow
9. Kaizers Orchestra, Violeta Violeta Volume 1
10. Foo Fighters, Wasting Light
ØYSTEIN LANDSVERK, LEPROUS
1. Mew, Eggs Are Funny
2. James Blake, James Blake
3. The Devin Townsend Project, Deconstruction
4. Mr Big, What If
5. Primus, Green Naugahyde
6. Radiohead, The King of Limbs
7. Steven Wilson, Grace for Drowning
8. Ulver, Wars of the Roses
9. Blackfield, Welcome to My DNA
10. Neal Morse, Testimony 2
TOD ODDMUND SUHRKE, LEPROUS
1. James Blake, James Blake
2. Synkoke, The Ideologist
3. Killl, Killl
4. Foo Fighters, Wasting Light
5. Björk,Biophilia
6. Hellebound, Vol. 3
7. The Devin Townsend Project, Deconstruction
8. Ulver, Wars of the Roses
9. Mastodon, The Hunter
10. Radiohead, The King of Limbs
