NOMINATIONS AND DISCUSSION THREAD FOR 2016 METAL/HEAVY ROCK POLL (Nominations end December 7)

We need to run this now as seandalai cant help out after xmas, so a big thanks to him for helping us with all the hard work.

We only have a week for nominations and a week for voting because we need the week before xmas for the rollout. That shouldn't be a problem since everyone waits until the final week to vote anyway.

Please nominate below in the usual Format Artist - Album

I will start us off

Alcest - Kodama
Aluk Todolo - Voix
Bölzer - Hero
Cobalt - Slow Forever
Dysrhythmia - The Veil Of Control
Entropia - Ufonaut
Hammers of Misfortune - Dead Revolution
Mesarthim - Isolate
Oranssi Pazuzu - Värähtelijä
Schammasch - Triangle
Subrosa - For This We Fought The Battle of Ages.
Sumac - What One Becomes
Thy Catafalque - Meta

Spreadsheet will be updated daily
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16yRJl7C_FiuzCxzED07e1mV-0h3NxJjmC2NLDfoahBE/edit?usp=sharing

Spotify playlist of nominations which everyone can add their nominations to
https://open.spotify.com/user/pfunkboy/playlist/5jWlgqW5pvNHmO7BTqXIT7
spotify:user:pfunkboy:playlist:5jWlgqW5pvNHmO7BTqXIT7

Nominations end December 7.

Everybody welcome to take part.

Blut aus Nord/Ævangelist - Codex Obscura Nomina
ColdWorld - Autumn
Chthe'ilist - Le dernier crépuscule
Deftones - Gore
Eight Bells - Landless
Fuath - I
Gojira - Magma
Plebeian Grandstand - False Highs, True Lows
Terra Tenebrosa - The Reverses

Astronoid - Air
Deathspell Omega - The Synarchy of Molten Bones
Ecferus - Pangaea
Ehnnahre - Douve
Forgotten Spell - Epiphaneia Phosphorus (Angel, God or Insanity)
Fyrnask - Fórn
Geryon - The Wound and The Bow
Glyptoglossio - GLYPTOGLO5510
Gorguts - Pleiades' Dust
Hail Spirit Noir - Mayhem in Blue
Helms Alee - Stillicide
Krallice - Hyperion
Neurosis - Fires Within Fires
Nocte Obducta - Mogontiacum (Nachdem die Nacht herabgesunken)
Ophidian Forest - Susurrus
Palace of Worms - The Ladder
Temisto - Temisto
Urfaust - Empty Space Meditation
Vektor - Terminal Redux
Virus - Memento Collider
Wormed - Krighsu
Zealotry - The Last Witness

phew

Anaal Nathrakh - The Whole Of The Law
Ancestors Blood - Hyperborea
Asphyx - Incoming Death
Autumn, Leaves, Scars/Dreams Of Nature/Lumnos - A Desolate Landscape (split)
Basarabian Hills - Attraction
Brutus - Murwgebeukt
Countess - Fires Of Destiny
Death Angel - The Evil Divide
Departe - Failure, Subside
Desaster - The Oath Of An Iron Ritual
Destroyer 666 - Wildfire
Draugnim - Vulturine
Entropia - Ufonaut
Eternal Champion - The Armor Of Ire
Forteresse - Thèmes Pour La Rébellion
Gehennah - Too Loud To Live Too Drunk To Die
Graveyard - ...For Thine Is The Darkness
Heimleiden - Mysterium Melancholie
Is - Glimpses Of Sorrow
Krater - Urere
Lethargic Euphoria - Standstill
Mare Cognitum - Luminiferous Aether
Megadeth - Dystopia
Melankoli - Fallen
Metallica - Hardwired...To Self Destruct
Nokturnal Mortum/Graveland - The Spirit Never Dies (split)
Moonsorrow - Jumalten Aika
Mortualia - Wild, Wild Misery
Mourning Sun - Último Exhalario
Nonsun - Black Snow Desert
Nordjevel - Nordjevel
Old Forest - Dagian
Pensées Nocturnes - À Boire Et À Manger
Recitations - The First Of The Listeners
Ripper - Experiment Of Existence
Saor - Guardians
Skyforest - Unity
Soulburn - Earthless Pagan Spirit
Testament - Brotherhood Of The Snake
Trna - Lose Yourself To Find Peace
Waldgefluster/Panopticon - Split
Wildernessking - Mystical Future
Winterhorde - Maestro
Witte Wieven - Silhouettes Of An Imprisoned Mind
Wode - Wode
Zhrine - Unortheta

V/A - Ancient Meat Revived (A Tribute To Cold Meat Industry)

IIRC last year it was mentioned that we could nominate stuff from Dec 2015, right?

Cadaveric Fumes - Dimensions Obscure EP
Khanus - Rites of Fire EP
Head of the Demon - Sathanas Trismegistos
Wakedead Gathering - Fuscus: Strings of the Black Lyre
Darkthrone - Arctic Thunder
Void Meditation Cult - Utter the Tongue of the Dead
Cultes des Ghoules - Coven, or Evil Ways Instead of Love
Ghoulgotha - To Starve the Cross
Skáphe - Skáphe²

ok then, this 2015 leftover:
Batushka - Litourgiya

Wormed - Krighsu

hell yeah

updated
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16yRJl7C_FiuzCxzED07e1mV-0h3NxJjmC2NLDfoahBE/edit?usp=sharing

I will leave it up to you all if you want to allow the Baroness album from last year since it wasnt out when voting ended last year so only those with promos had heard it

It already made the 2010-2015 poll, right? That feels like recognition enough.

AutorYno - Flauros: Book of Angels Vol. 29
Black Mountain - IV
Witchcraft - Nucleus
Myrath - Legacy
Serenity - Codex Atlanticus
Conan - Revengeance
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - Nonagon Infinity
Kvelertak - Nattesferd
King Goblin - Cryptozoology
Goat - Requiem
Cauldron - In Ruin
Khemmis - Hunted

Ppl don't sleep on the AutorYno.

Capra Informis - Womb of the Wild
Sinistro - Semente
The Body - No One Deserves Happiness
Église - Église
Oceans of Slumber - Winter
Dälek - Asphalt for Eden
Jambinai - A Hermitage
Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard - Y Proffwyd Dwell
Monolord - Lord of Suffering / Die in Haze
Comet Control - Center of the Maze
Ulver - ATGCLVLSSCAP
Helen Money - Become Zero
Okkultokrati - Raspberry Dawn
Wardruna - Runaljod - Ragnarok
Car Bomb - Meta
Oathbreaker - Rheia
Wormrot - Voices
Cult of Luna & Julie Christmas - The Wreck of S.S. Needle
The Dillinger Escape Plan - Dissociation
Three Trapped Tigers - Silent Earthling
Rotting Christ - Rituals
Vindland - Hanter Savet
Drudkh - One Who Talks with the Fog
Russian Circles - Guidance
Ivar Bjørnson & Einar Selvik - Skuggsjá

Oh and do call me out on any flagrant abuses of genre. I'm not accustomed to nominating in this and imago already had to stop me from adding all the emo

That Wormrot is awesome. I should listen to it more.

Yes! I first heard it this morning. Not usually a huge fan of grindcore, but its energy is all over the place in a weird and great way.

drumroll please

Jute Gyte - Perdurance

also, Thy Catafalque - Meta isn't even the best metal album called Meta this year, not that anyone here has any interest in Car Bomb

Moon Tooth - Chromaparagon
Warm - The Human Exemplar

Furia - Księżyc milczy luty
Interment - Scent of the Buried
Wrong - Wrong
Occult Burial - Hideous Obscure
Blizaro - Cornucopia Della Morte

Updated https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16yRJl7C_FiuzCxzED07e1mV-0h3NxJjmC2NLDfoahBE/edit?usp=sharing

Please remember to add nominations to
https://open.spotify.com/user/pfunkboy/playlist/5jWlgqW5pvNHmO7BTqXIT7
spotify:user:pfunkboy:playlist:5jWlgqW5pvNHmO7BTqXIT7

I'm relistening to the new Tanya Tagaq and y'know what

Tanya Tagaq - Retribution

otm

Good shout on Helen Money tangenttangent, Become Zero's definitely metal-adjacent and a very good album in any case

Thank you. Yeah, I like its gothic chamber vibe a whole lot and I'm always enamoured of anything where dark, heavy cello is involved.

Also thanks for the reminder about that Ophidian Forest LP. I had totally forgotten! Relistening now - it's lovely. The lo-fi production makes it feel truly wrought from the fibres of the forest.

Absolute Power - Absolute Power

(not too much of a stretch to include in this poll, I think)

Nécropole ‎– Nécropole
Arizmenda ‎– Beneath This Reality Of Flesh
Caverne ‎– Aux Frontières du Monde
Sapaudia - Sainte Nuit
Bestial Raids ‎– Master Satan's Witchery
Cultes Des Ghoules ‎– Coven, Or Evil Ways Instead Of Love
Deathspell Omega ‎– The Synarchy Of Molten Bones
Shataan ‎– Weigh Of The Wolf

Bekëth Nexëhmü ‎– De Dunklas Återkomst
Wormed - Krighsu
Qrixkuor - Three Devils Dance
Irkallian Oracle ‎– Apollyon
Mystik ‎– Dunkla Klangor... (Kapitel I)
Void Meditation Cult ‎– Utter The Tongue Of The Dead
Deviant Process - Paroxysm
Sorcier Des Glaces - North
Ride For Revenge - Thy Horrendous Yearning

is the Cultes Des Ghoules ‎– Coven, Or Evil Ways Instead Of Love out?

Ashbringer - Yügen
Echoes of the Moon - Elusion
Morphinist - Giants

Dälek - Asphalt for Eden

dälek is metal as fuck

Sure, but it's not metal.

good point

but but 'heavy rock' where do you draw the line yawn

Personally I dont care what we allow, we allow zombie,Earth, marnie stern, ulver (yes i know they are all metal or rock musicians making non metal which is why they get in and dalek are hip hop)

I will leave it for people here to decide if they should be added to the spreadsheet.

Same goes for emo. Screamo has always got in and you the voters can argue here what gets in and doesnt.

feel free to campaign for albums though or describe those albums so others might give it a listen and vote. Also please add your nominations to the spotify playlist

I recommend some of you check out the Schammasch album.

It actually intrigued Mark S enough to check it out and I think he did like it.

Its very ambitious and well worth giving it some time. Its a triple album but can also be listened to as 3 separate albums too as theyre quite distinct.

Schammasch - Triangle https://open.spotify.com/album/08pUbf5AYJ38OpjpPKoXpr

you can also find it in the spotify playlist

tangenttangent and glenn iirc loved the schammasch too

http://www.themonolith.com/music/review-schammasch-triangle/

on with the campaigning then. I mean description.

Cadaveric Fumes - Dimensions Obscure EP: French twangy death metal with a sinister edge, as if Soulside Journey was made right after listening to King Crimson's Red. also good synth stuff

Khanus - Rites of Fire EP: Finnish twangy death metal, as if they were going for a similar sound as the above band, but as they are orcs, it all came out like ritualistic mountain metal

Head of the Demon - Sathanas Trismegistos: blackened traditional doom, with odd tunings, introspective passages and old school necro feelings

Wakedead Gathering - Fuscus: Strings of the Black Lyre: straight ahead one-man death metal, but expertly written, arranged, performed. This faded a bit for me as the year went on, compared to the more original stuff above, but still really solid release overall.

Darkthrone - Arctic Thunder: yeah, the new Darkthrone album. Good for fans who miss the black metal sound, but still pretty much new school Darkthrone in execution.

Void Meditation Cult - Utter the Tongue of the Dead: just heard this recently, but very heavy, blackened death metal. For fans of the classic Incantation death doom sound, but even darker vibe.

Cultes des Ghoules - Coven, or Evil Ways Instead of Love: Ridiculously epic "play"/double album. Maybe not quite as immediately good as Henbane, but it's not like they changed their sound up or anything. You need to sit down and take this in, because CdG are clearly the kind of band who wants to hypnotize you.

Ghoulgotha - To Starve the Cross: unique, semi-technical death-doom. A bit overlong as an album, but the sound is cool, and the band is definitely one to keep an eye on.

Skáphe - Skáphe²: suffocating, surrealistic black metal, for fans of Darkspace/Paysage, or even Portal-esque abstract sounds. About as dark as it gets, but done well, and not afraid to let its sound bleed out into psychedelic spaces

(some of these are duped on spreadsheet)

I need to hear the cultes des ghoules, i thought it wasnt out til next year

imago kept telling me 'Dälek totally counts!'. The main guy gave us some metal recommendations last year when we saw them, which is I think why they are so closely associated with metal for me. I do not mind if they are axed from the nominations so much as I'm sure they'll pick up votes in the main end of year poll.

And yes, I was very into that Schammasch album at the beginning of the year, but haven't listened to it much recently so will need to be addressing that. Looking forward to listening to some of Dominique's recommendations too.

Will follow up with my own repping soon.

Elder - Lore

Moon Tooth - Chromapargon

Long Island prog-metal band, this album thrashes and croons and belts and grinds all in turns. Also there's a guest vocal by Roz Raskin, of the Rice Cakes, another great (non-metal) band who don't get enough attention.

http://www.heavyblogisheavy.com/2016/01/13/moon-tooth-chromaparagon/

Elder - Lore

last year?

the Elder was definitely 2015.

Sorry guys

but tbf Lore was better than anything that came out this year, so

The new DsO release has more interesting ideas in 29 minutes than both the Schammasch and Cultes des Ghoules albums have in their whatever too long running times, honestly.

FYI everyone I will be offering a **special metal mystery prize** to whoever most accurately guesses the top 20 this year (once the nom list is ready)

*N. Americans only, fuck intercontinental postage

Echoing Cosmic Slop's praise for the Schammasch album here, will be high up on my list.

do you have a particular favourite of the 3 discs?

just a reminder that nominations close on (this) wednesday (7th)

Poll had to be run before xmas or seandalai couldn't do it.
Voting will open as soon as seandalai can set up the forms etc and voting will definitely finish friday 16th with no extra days voting possible so make sure you do it on time as we cant have extensions.

The results will roll out the week before xmas.

(Xpost) I've only listened to it as a whole rather than any of the discs separately but I think maybe the first part is my favourite for the Diluclum/Consensus/Awakening... run at the end.

Mesarthim - Pillars

Nominating so I'll remember to listen to the whole thing:

Meshuggah - The Violent Sleep of Reason

Child Bite - Negative Noise
Venomous Concept - Kick Me Silly VC III

And the Cult of Luna/Julie Christmas album is called Mariner. Wreck of SS Needle is one of the songs on the album.

Oops, good spot. That's the best song on it in any case...

It's going to go high on my ballot so I wanted to make sure it got all the votes it could muster.

tt has put on Hail Spirit Noir and we're enjoying it loads

More organ in everything

we tried this with lychgate last year and look where that got us

161 albums nominated so far. Has it been a quiet year for metal?

First Fragment - Dasein
Sumerlands - s/t
Spell - For None and All
Harakiri for the Sky - III: Trauma
Blood Incantation - Starspawn
Be'lakor - Vessels
Insomnium - Winter's Gate
Latitudes - Old Sunlight
Katatonia - The Fall of Hearts
Babymetal - Metal Resistance
King Goat - Conduit
Anciients - Voice of the Void
Exmortus - Ride Forth
Messa - Belfry
Mistur - In Memoriam
Eye of Solitude - Cenotaph
Darkher - Realms
Oozing Wound - Whatever Forever
Candiria - While They Were Sleeping
Zao - The Well-Intentioned Virus
Every Time I Die - Low Teens
Anicon - Exegeses
Downfall of Gaia - Atrophy
Polyptych - Defying the Metastasis
Vader - The Empire
Norma Jean - Polar Similar
Obake - Mutations
Madder Mortem - Red In Tooth and Claw
Mithras - On Strange Loops
LLNN - Loss

I didn't think this year was that exciting for metal, but then I usually discover most of my favorites of a given year from the metal poll, so I guess I'm still waiting to be proven wrong. Each of the last two years there were a few albums that really floored me. This year there's a couple I like, but I haven't heard anything I liked as much as Elder or Mastery.

nom:
Imperial Triumphant - Inceste

I'm listening to this now and I don't really like it as much as Abyssal Gods. Seems silly to start a 20 minute record with a 2:00 intro track.

There hasn't been a lot of enthusiasm this year in metal thread (except for Vektor) but I dont know if that's because people are unimpressed with 2016 releases, fed up with metal in general, and/or fed up with polls. But rolling metal thread has been really quiet this year.

And demographics must be changing because I havent seen many new metal posters in the past few years.

Just going to nominate everything on my 2016 Metal Spotify playlist.

Melvins - Basses Loaded
Mike & the Melvins - Three Men and a Baby
High Priest of Saturn - Son of Earth and Sky
Haxen - Haxen
Howls of Ebb - Cursus Impasse: The Pendlomic Vows
Khthoniik Cerviiks - SeroLogiikal Scars (Vertex of Dementiia)
Suspiral - Delve Into the Mysteries of Transcendence
Cough - Still They Pray
Earthless/Harsh Toke - Acid Crusher/Mount Swan split
Fleshgod Apocalypse - King
Fallujah - Dreamless
Begrime Exemious - The Enslavement Conquest

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16yRJl7C_FiuzCxzED07e1mV-0h3NxJjmC2NLDfoahBE/edit?usp=sharing

spreadsheet updated

you have 3 and a bit more days left to nominate

Here are some more. Still deciding how I feel about most of them.

Oneida & Rhys Chatham - What’s Your Sign?
Borknagar - Winter Thrice
Lycus - Chasms
Ritual Chamber - Obscurations (To Feast on the Seraphim)
The Body, Full of Hell - One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache
Sorrow Plagues - Sorrow Plagues
Haken - Affinity
Convulse - Cycle of Revenge
Respire - Gravity and Grace
Nails - You Will Never Be One of Us
Opeth - Sorceress
Ghost B.C. - Popestar
Inverloch - Distance | Collapsed
Mourning Beloveth - Rust & Bone
Uada - Devoid of Light
The Re-Stoned - Reptiles Return
Uxo - Uxo

There definitely seems to be less unique, stand-out metal from this year. In contrast, I'm still unearthing incredible things from last year. Excited for poll surprises though

I've not kept up myself this year and hardly bought anything compared to previous years because vinyl has shot up in price and im skint but I have been hoping there's some hidden gems out there.

I think a lot of the highly rated metal albums have maybe been death or prog metal which means im less likely to like them

Not into that album at #1 which presumably will walk this poll

http://tinyurl.com/Rateyourmetal-2016-Metal-list

I should give that Furia album a listen if its on Spotify though

Ditto, it's impressive from a technical point of view but at 73 minutes it's real tough job to sit through.

It doesn't help much that I've never liked thrash really. I see why people love thrash but its just not for me. Just like a lot of thrash fans could never like/dont like doom.

Still seems weird it didn't make the decibel list though.

I don't see albums as needing to be consumable in one sitting. 73 minutes would only be a bad thing if there were any filler.

It's not that, but such a frantic record would've made more impact over 40 minutes. And I really like thrash, but I'll happily take overlong Metallica over Vektor.

um, my friend just released a metal album kind of out of the blue and it's fucking amazing. also, it's on spotify?!

Dawnwalker - In Rooms

I'm not much into thrash but ended up really liking the Vektor record, at first I couldn't get past how much better the first/last tracks are than the rest of it but it did grow on me as a whole. Could've probably stood to have shed a couple of tracks, granted.

I've cooled on it since first listen and agree that it could have used an edit. There's really only three tracks that I like a lot and listen to now.

CS, you should definitely try the Re-Stoned and Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard if you haven't yet. Think they're both on Bandcamp.

oh ultros you should check out the Dawnwalker. HINT: we uh used to post to the same messageboard as him

xxpost

Yes - I can vouch for this! Very impressed

My provisional top three is a tossup between Asphyx (death), Urfaust (black) and Mourning Sun (doom) so I highly recommend everyone to give those a good listen.

Vektor could use an edit but it's ALL so GOOOOOD, just listen to it in two chunks like the Metallica record

Whoa, did not know that Oneida and Rhys Chatham collaborated.

Because I've listened to this band a fair bit recently to see if they were any good (my conclusion: only the first two albums are, really)

Dark Tranqillity - Atoma

And out of a sense of duty even though I'm not feeling this record at all:

Kayo Dot - Plastic House on Base of Sky

Listening to the Helms Alee now...it's excellent. Lovely proggy sludge

one more

Violet Cold - Magic Night

Checked and didn't see any of these posted already:

Abbath - Abbath
Bat - Wings of Chains
Coffin Lust - Manifestation of Inner Darkness
Cvinger - Embodied in Incense
Eerie - Eerie
Goatess - Purgatory Under New Management
Grave Miasma - Endless Pilgrimage
Horse Latitudes - Primal Gnosis
Inquisition - Bloodshed Across the Empyrean Altar (etc)
Inter Arma - Paradise Gallows
Krypts - Remnants of Expansion
Marsh Dweller - The Weight of Sunlight
Mutterlein - Orphans of the Black Sun*
Necrot - The Labyrinth
Nevoa - Re Un
Nox Formulae - The Hidden Paths to Black Ecstacy
Nucleus - Sentient
Phobocosm - Bringer of Drought
Savage Master - With Whips and Chains
Scorched - Echoes of Dismemberment
Setentia - Darkness Transcend
Sewercide - Immortalized in Suffering
Sheidim - Shrines of the Void
Spirit Adrift - Chained to Oblivion
Svlfvr - Shamanic Lvnar Cvlt
Trap Them - Crown Feral
Ur Draugr - With Hunger Undying
Usurpress - The Regal Tribe
Vanhelgd - Temple of Phobos
Venom Prison - Animus
Voivod - Post Society EP
Völur - Disir
Witchery - In His Infernal Majesty's Service
Withered - Grief Relic

Mutterlein might not technically count as metal, thus the asterisk. But I recommend it for people into heavy, Swans-y, doomy organ stuff with female vocals.

Horse Latitudes is recommended for fans of weird Finnish metal. Occulty doom-sludge with some Moog, lots of noise, touches of 70s prog and space rock.

TS: Goat vs Goatess

Who do you pick, tom?

Me, I think I'd take Goatess at this point. Goat's second and third (what I've heard of it) are both kind of a letdown. Love the first one though.

I thought you would be more a Goatpenis guy

which reminds me:
Goatpenis - Apocalypse War

xp What is being implied here?!

(Really though, never cared for them... too blasty.)

can't believe I forgot Abbath!

Loving the Skaphe rn

Alright, Here are some albums I want to be able to vote for just in case I need to...

Sxuperion - Cosmic Void
Plasmodium - Entheognosis
Ahpdegma - Seolfkwyllem
Sordide - Fuir la lumiere
Sun Worship - Pale Dawn
Lotus Thief - Gramarye
Unru - Als Tier ist der Mensch Nichts
Kurushimi - Kurushimi
Crippled Black Phoenix - Bronze
The Cosmic Dead - Rainbowhead

Oh man I forgot Ahpdegma and Sxuperion! This is what happens when I don't buy physical copies of things.

Forgot these:

Amphisbaena - Amphisbaena (Antediluvian/Rites of Thy Degringolade project)
Book of Sand - Occult Anarchist Propaganda (black metal)
Dagger Moon - Citadel (weird sludgy doom w/keyboards)
Obed Marsh - Innsmouth (diseased funeral death/doom, crazed vocals)
Piss Vortex - Future Cancer (grind with LLNN member)
Vile Creature - A Pessimistic Doomsayer (crushing sludge)
Wretch - Wretch (ex-Gates of Slumber)

urgh please dont do that as i need to c&p

Sorry! Wasn't thinking.

Agatus - The Eternalist (Greek, trad metal with blackish touches, drummer/co-writer is the guy from Zemial)
Arria Paetus - Arria Paetus (Alaskan black metal? very USBM late 90s/early 2000s)
Fog, the - Perpetual Blackness (creepy doomy death from Germany)
Gevurah - Hallelujah! (roaring orthodox black metal with the dissonant arpeggios and tribal drumming, cinematic and overlong like a biblical epic, on Profound Lore)
Gjendod - 2016 demo (s/t) (impassioned second wave Norwegian bm revivalism, sometimes reminds of DHG's Monumental Possession, esp vox)
Hostium - The Bloodwine of Satan (droning and demented black metal with a ceremonial vibe, not dissimilar to Cultes des Ghoules)
Hyperion - Seraphical Euphony (from the Dissection/Sacramentum/Vinterland school of Swedish melo-black)
Lihhamon - Doctrine (the black/death metal that verges on war metal, noisy, hammering, etc, but not totally unrelenting, has pauses for breath)
Mortem - Deinos Nekromantis (evil occult death metal, think Altars of Madness/Seven Churches given some added grit)
Panphage - Drengskapr (some of the best, most banner-unfurling, tundra-galloping, riffy black metal to come along since the last Panphage release, Swedish and melodic but not in the Dissection sense)
Poisoned - Beyond the Gates of Fire (lunkheaded Polish thrash)
Sarcoptes - Songs and Dances of Death (modern symphonic blackish metal with some thrashing, somewhere between Dissection and Emperor but with some thumping percussion)
Sauron - Conquest Through Attrition (black thrash black thrash black thrash)
Teleport - Ascendance (somewhat morbid tech thrash, very Coroner-inspired, one of the surprises of the year)
Uskumgallu - Rotten Limbs in Dreams of Blood (highly unpleasant, paranoid black metal)
Vircolac - The Cursed Travails of the Demeter (another surprise, new school of OSDM, like Lantern or Domains, very well written/played, a storytelling feel like Wakedead Gathering)

oh my lol hang on, I'll put a new post under this one with just the band - album titles

Agatus - The Eternalist
Arria Paetus - Arria Paetus
Fog, the - Perpetual Blackness
Gevurah - Hallelujah!
Gjendod - 2016 demo
Hostium - The Bloodwine of Satan
Hyperion - Seraphical Euphony
Lihhamon - Doctrine
Mortem - Deinos Nekromantis
Panphage - Drengskapr
Poisoned - Beyond the Gates of Fire
Sarcoptes - Songs and Dances of Death
Sauron - Conquest Through Attrition
Teleport - Ascendance
Uskumgallu - Rotten Limbs in Dreams of Blood
Vircolac - The Cursed Travails of the Demeter

Ash borer - the irreparable gate
Graves at Sea - the curse that is
Anagnorisis - Peripeteia
Vermin Womb - Decline
Waldgefluster - Ruinen
Predatory Light - Predatory light

Inverloch - Distance Collapsed

that should be irrepassable gate for Ash borer.

Inverloch already nominated. Please refer to the spreadsheet when nominating

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16yRJl7C_FiuzCxzED07e1mV-0h3NxJjmC2NLDfoahBE/edit?usp=sharing

Mesarthim - .- -... ... . -. -.-. .

Poor Mesarthim are gonna be votesplit to fuck

yep

I don't know why "highly unpleasant" appealed to my sensibilities but that Uškumgallu record is not half bad so far. For a moment it sounded like A Umbra Omega being rerecorded by 12 year olds.

interested

High Spirits - Motivator

Demon Bitch - Hellfriends

Tarot - Reflections

Deiquisitor - Deiquisitor

Absolutely love this occult Indian bm on Tour De Garde:

DÉMONOS - From Sacred to Profane

Poor Mesarthim are gonna be votesplit to fuck

― Cosmic Slop, Tuesday, December 6, 2016 8:50 AM (four hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yep

― Dave Plaintive rapper with classical training (imago), Tuesday, December 6, 2016 9:11 AM (four hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i think the newest one is their best and i encourage y'all to stick with it

also feel like isolate should technically be considered a 2015 record but i get why it's here

Physical release trumps digital only on bandcamp

i'll relisten to the new one. Pillars (definitely 2016) is the one for me tho

40 Watt Sun - Wider Than The Sky
Aborted - Retrogore
Black Tomb - Black Tomb
Bloodiest - Bloodiest
Bossk - Audio Noir
Church of Misery - And Then There Were None
Crowbar - The Serpent Only Lies
Distant Sun - Into The Nebula
Djevel - Norske ritualer
Droids Attack - Sci-Fi or Die
Gadget - The Great Destroyer
Greenleaf - Rise Above the Meadow
Helion Prime - S/T
Hosanna - Flesh Of The Stars
Ihsahn - Arktis
In Mourning - Afterglow
In The Woods ... - Pure
Khanus - Rites Of Fire
Lord Vicar - Gates of Flesh
Magrudergrind - II
Mantar - Ode to the Flame
Meadow's End - Sojurn
Monolith - Primordial
Monomyth - Exo
Mountain Witch - Burning Village
Novembre - Ursa
Oak Pantheon - In Pieces
Obscura - Akroasis
Obscure Sphinx - Epitaphs
Pesta - Bring Out Your Dead
Revocation - Great Is Our Sin
Rising - Oceans Into Their Graves
Ritual Chamber - Obscurations To the Feast On The Seraphim
Sahg - Memento Mori
Serpentine Dominion - S/T
Shadow Of Intent - Primordial
Skaphe - Skaphe2
Slabdragger - Rise Of The Dawncrusher
Spirit Adrift - Chained To Oblivion
Subetroth - Native Alien
Subrosa - For This We Fought The Battle of The Ages
Suma - The Order Of Things
Sunburst - Fragments of Creation
Sunnata - Zorya
Temple Of Hallucinations - Mantis
Throes of Dawn - Our Voices Shall Remain
Uada - Devoid Of Light
Ulcerate - Shrines Of Paralysis
Virvum - Illuminance
Wake - Sowing the Seeds Of A Worthless Tomorrow
Whores. - Gold
Winterfylleth - The Dark Hereafter
Wo Fat - Midnight Cometh
Wolverine - Machina Viva
Mizmor - Yodh

I think a few of those have been nomm'd already, thanks for remembering 40 Watt Sun tho

Oh, if this didn't make it to the poll in time last year (December release), then:

Spectral Lore - Gnosis

Oh shit there was a new Wo Fat? Clearing some space at #1 here

Uskumgallu is quite good but is making me miss Thantifaxath really

couple more EPs I forgot: Spectral Apparition is UK black/death with some cool, emotionally charged guitars under all that howling, and Bizarre does the swampy, bouncy, keyboard dripping old school Finnish death thing really well (even if they're from Spain)

Bizarre - Inner Necropolis
Spectral Apparition - Manifestation

And speaking of Finnish dm, there's also

Serpent Ascending - Ananku

https://invictusproductions666.bandcamp.com/album/manifestation
https://xtreemmusic.bandcamp.com/album/inner-necropolis
https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/ananku

I think you sold me on that Bizarre...

I got the new Serpent Ascending and I'm not blown away... feels kinda groove-ish. Maybe he was listening to a lot of Samael's Ceremony of Opposites or something.

I can't say that 2016 has been a good year for "blow-me-away" metal. In fact only the Furia has gotten a reaction out of me stronger than, "huh, cool." That will be my #1 by many paces; I don't even know what'll come in second -- maybe Hail Spirit Noir or Panphage, both of which were just slight modifications on prior albums. Even the weird stuff on my ballot, like Howls of Ebb, sounds sort of routine by now.

Since I don't recognize like 3/4 of what's been listed so far, I'm thinking I'm spending too much time getting my metal news from the NWN and Metal Archives forums, two of the most cloistered and calcified communities on the net. I'll just start throwing invisible darts at this spreadsheet or something.

Maybe 3/4 is a little high. There's a lot unfamiliar to me, though. I guess that's the point of these ballots.

ok I just found this today and must nominate it

Xoth - Invasion of the Tentacube

https://xoth.bandcamp.com/album/invasion-of-the-tentacube

huh, cool

(no, I do like this)

OK one last one:

Coma Cluster Void - Mind Cemeteries

http://comaclustervoid.bandcamp.com/album/mind-cemeteries

"Like if Meshuggah lost their fucking minds at a Gorguts concert." With Mike "ugggh bring back Lord Worm" Disalvo.

I'm not even sure I like the CCV its' just... noteworthy. And I want to be able to vote for it if I need to.

Xoth is crazy btw, thanks for posting that.

Wytch Hazel – Prelude
Brimstone Coven – Black Magic
Troll – Troll
Cardinals Folly – Holocaust Of Ecstacy And Freedom
Dunbarrow – Dunbarrow
The Rare Breed - Looking For Today
Castle – Welcome To The Graveyard
Truckfighters - V
Asteroid - III
Kremlin - I
The Well - Pagan Science
Electric Citizen - Higher Time
Spidergawd - III
Greenleaf - Rise Above The Meadow
Blood Ceremony - Lord Of Misrule
Motorpsycho - Here Be Monsters
Baby Woodrose - Freedom
Vokonis – Olde One Ascending
Beastmaker – Lusus Naturae
Gygax – Critical Hit
Helstar – Vampiro
Spiritus Mortis – The Year Is One
The Order Of Israfel – Red Robes
Holy Grail – Times Of Pride And Peril
Spellcaster – Night Hides The World
Sinister Haze – Laid Low In The Dust Of Death
Denner/Shermann - Masters Of Evil
Dark Forest – Beyond The Veil
Grand Magus – Sword Songs
Lizzies - Good Luck
HammerFall – Built To Last
Elephant Tree – Elephant Tree
Haunted – Haunted
Curse The Son – Isolator
Altar Of Oblivion – Barren Grounds
Diamond Head – Diamond Head
Sabaton - The Last Stand
11Paranoias – Reliquary For A Dreamed Of World
Spider Kitten – Ark Of Octofelis
Horseburner – Dead Seeds, Barren Soi
Ghoul – Dungeon Bastards
Atomikylä – Keräily
Black Shape Of Nexus – Carrier
Red Fang – Only Ghosts
Bloody Hammers – Lovely Sort Of Death
Dunsmuir – Dunsmuir
Valient Thorr – Old Salt
Hellbringer – Awakened From The Abyss
Headless Kross – Projections I
Cardinal Wyrm – Cast Away Souls
Lucifer’s Hammer – Beyond The Omens
Attalla – Attalla
Amon Amarth - Jomsviking
Hypnos - Cold Winds
Mars Red Sky - Apex III (Praise For The Burning Soul)
The Hazytones - The Hazytones
Shadow Witch - Sun Killer
Bright Curse - Before The Shore
Svartanatt - Svartanatt
Black Rainbows - Stellar Prophecy
Mondo Drag - The Occultation Of Light
Blues Funeral - The Search
Admiral Sir Cloudsley Shovell - Keep It Greasy!
Turnip - Window Killer
Dreamtime - Strange Pleasures
Salem's Pot - Pronounce This!
Big Jesus - Oneiric
Moths & Locusts - Helios Rising
Blaak Heat - Shifting Mirrors
Wight - Love Is Not Only What You Know
Nightstalker - As Above, So Below
Child - Blueside
Pyrior - Portal

I completely missed that Truckfighters had one this year

Xoth is crazy btw, thanks for posting that.

Apparently they've been opening for Vektor, now that's a bill

Today is the last day for nominating

Okay really the last one here:

Demontage - Fire of Iniquity

nobody nominating babymetal this year? how fickle you all are

oh wait, its there

Oh man, this one. The singer can be kinda dodgy, and some of his high notes make me cringe, but otherwise he sounds like Jon Oliva back in the Sirens/Dungeons Are Calling days -- and the music is balls out thrashing speed metal. I remember listening to it a week or so ago, only to forget the band name and where I'd found the link. Add them to that Vektor/Xoth bill.

Armory - World Peace ... Cosmic War

https://armory417.bandcamp.com/

Cover art's pretty wicked, too.

Kerrang top 50

50 Electric Century - From The Night To Control
49 Alcest - Kodama
48 Vodun - Possession
47 Pup - The Dream Is Over
46 Descendents - Hypercaffum Spazzinate
45 Billy Talent - Afraid Of Heights
44 Black Peaks - Statues
43 Against The Current - In Our Bones
42 The Pretty Reckless - Who You Selling For
41 Swmrs - Drive North
40 With Confidence - Better Weather
39 Brian Fallon - Painkillers
38 Cane Hill - Smile
37 Bury Tomorrow - Earthbound
36 Sum 41 - 13 Voices
35 Russian Circles - Guidance
34 The Amity Affliction - This Could Be Heartbreak
33 Beach Slang - A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings
32 Modern Baseball - Holy Ghost
31 Letlive - If I'm The Devil.
30 Weezer - (The White Album)
29 Waterparks - Double Dare
28 Alter Bridge - The Last Hero
27 Asking Alexandria - The Black
26 Lonely the Brave - Things Will Matter
25 Beartooth - Aggressive
24 A Day To Remember - Bad Vibrations
23 Jimmy Eat World - Integrity Blues
22 Hellions - Opera Oblivia
21 The Black Queen - Fever Daydream
20 Nails - You Will Never Be One Of Us
19 Milk Teeth - Vile Child
18 Muncie Girls - From Caplan to Belsize
17 The Dillinger Escape Plan
16 Biffy Cunto - Ellipsis
15 Gojira - Magma
14 Moose Blood - Blush
13 Blink-182 - California
12 Pierce The Veil - Misadventures
11 Every Time I Die
10 Twin Atlantic - GLA
9 BABYMETAL - Metal Resistance
8 Panic At The Disco - Death Of A Bachelor
7 Deftones - Gore
6 Against Me - Shape Shift With Me
5 Avenged Sevenfold - The Stage
4 Frank Iero And The Patience - Parachutes
3 Architects - All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us
2 Metallica - Hardwired... To Self-Destruct
1 Green Day - Revolution Radio

hey brad is the frank iero album any good

There hasn't been a lot of enthusiasm this year in metal thread (except for Vektor) but I dont know if that's because people are unimpressed with 2016 releases, fed up with metal in general, and/or fed up with polls. But rolling metal thread has been really quiet this year.

I actually thought this was a wonderful year for metal, though for me "a wonderful year" means four or five releases I really dig - I'm never going to listen to 161 albums in a year and get some huge-breadth sense of what's going on, but when I find a good handful that I think I'll be listening to next year & the year after that, too, then that's a good year for me. New Mithras, the underrated SVLFVR record, Skuggja, Skaphe, Moon Tooth, Defiled, a really nice Church of Misery album...not like a trailblazing year or anything but who cares honestly. Plenty to chew on for me

hey brad is the frank iero album any good

― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), Wednesday, December 7, 2016 7:06 AM (seven minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

never knowingly listened to a frank iero song, will report back

What about Mesarthim? Wasn't it you who tipped me off on them smithy?

xp

i listened to a lot less metal this year but what i found i really loved, so imo it's a good year! mesarthim, furia (seriously what a record), kvelertak, that ghoulgotha record is still surprising me, etc.

also wow i love the new vader, surprise

I didn't have my mind blown a lot this year but I look forward to being proven wrong when we do the poll

What about Mesarthim? Wasn't it you who tipped me off on them smithy?

I think so, maybe -- wow was that really this year? love it, but it feels so long ago!

digital release last year physical release this year and you messaged me on fb about about january i think. They've had 2 releases since I think!

Armory - World Peace ... Cosmic War

Nice find! I really like this.

Only Isolate is on Spotify fwiw (for some reason)

yeah they seem to be headed into a heavier keyboard direction while I head in a heavier metal direction. Isolate's good though.

pillars is super keyboardy but the morse code one feels real pared down to me. fav band of the year at least, easily

also the zao record is extremely good thank u simon

yeah it really comes alive in the middle section

I completely missed that Truckfighters had one this year

I love that band, could never miss a new release from them, though there's less fanfare I suppose since it's been only two years since Universe. Greenleaf is great but I still think Truckfighters do the desert fuzz thing best. I forgot to CTRL-F for Greenleaf, hopefully there's no other repeats in my list.

Abnormality - Mechanisms of Omniscience

Oh wow, I was completely misremembering Mesarthim as something else! This is the little space one. I like it a lot. Yeah, Pillars is beautiful. Listening to Isolate now for the first time - lovely majestic fuzz.

Mesarthim are the band that sounds like Summoning IN SPACE

It is also a bit like if Botanist were upset and tending to his greenhouse IN SPACE

Wow though, this is really too much.

Isolate is a 2015 record it seems

i really love that abnormality record, feel like they stepped it up all around, the riffs are better and even a little metalcore-y in parts, and the song structures occasionally get real abstract without losing their sense as songs (a problem in tech death)

Mesarthim did two EPs (Spire, Pillars) and an album (Absence) this year - that's plenty. Nominate Spire I guess

Isolate PHYSICAL release came out this year. It stays.

Oh OK! Will listen to it then ;)

O it's quite something

Vale of Pnath - II

Deceptionist - Initializing Irreversible Process
ALTARAGE - Nihl
Auroch - Mute Books
Ordinance - The Ides of March
Autokrator - The Obedience to Authority
Carnophage - Monument
Cognizant - Cognizant

If anyone needs more atmospheric black metal IN SPACE you should try Mare Cognitum - Luminiferous Aether, it's reet good

So glad someone nominated Xoth upthread. Saw them with Vektor and they stole the show. The bass player is a total character and also their producer. They seem to be on all the good metal bills in Seattle so I'm happy to have a rad local band to follow.

This year has been a giant leap for space metal.

All the metal is escaping this planet.

and not on horses

Caïna - Christ Clad In White Phosphorus

Have we got everything then?

Now closed and just waiting on voting form to be set up by seandalai.

Voting will end FRIDAY DECEMBER 16 regardless so I suggest forming your shortlists/listening now.

Dammit. Bloodiest.

just realized Khthoniik Cerviiks - SeroLogiikal Scars (Vertex of Dementiia) was nominated, came out Dec '15. This is a great record! For fans of the Cadaveric Fumes/Khanus end of weirdo death metal.

seandalai has told me he will set up voting tonight and sorry for the delay. If anyone has forgotten to nominate anything now is your chance.

I suggest you may want to start your shortlists anyway as voting will have to end next friday.

Nominations

I nominate:

Wrekmeister Harmonies - Light Falls

Ghold - PYR

Hemelbestormer - Aether

Woman is the Earth - Torch of Our Final Night

and Bloodiest - Bloodiest

which had already been nominated, actually

Listening to Cadaveric Fumes and finding it great fun. It's like a death metal Castlevania.

An Autumn for Crippled Children - Eternal
Psychonaut 4 - Neurasthenia

Sorry I didn't ask for those earlier, I didn't know this was happening -- I've been out of the loop.

Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - Wake to a New Dawn of Another Astro Era
Acid Guru Pond - Acid Guru Pond
Haikai No Ku - Temporary Infinity
Sun Drifter - Not Coming Back

Sendelica - I'll Walk the Stars for You
Sendelica - The Cromlech Chronicles
Rangda - The Heretic's Bargain
Horseback - Dead Ringers
Atomikylä - Keräily
Farflung - 5
The Spacelords - Liquid Sun
Cosmic Letdown - In the Caves
The Myrrors - Entranced Earth
Kandodo/McBain - Lost Chants/Last Chance
Mugstar - Magnetic Seasons
Vespero - Lique Mekwas
Sunwatchers - Sunwatchers

I was just about to ask after DA.M!

Ask what??

Oh! Just where you were. I hadn't spotted you itt. And then you arrived with some wonderfully named bands like 'Cosmic Letdown'

http://ilxor.com/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet?boardid=41&threadid=104977#unread

Here is another imo wonderfully-named stoner band:

Infinite Flux - Infinite Flux

Ohh never mind :(

it's ok. I can add late noms this year. Ive added it

👍👍👍

Inquisition - Bloodshed Across the Empyrean Altar Beyond the Celestial Zenith

I just found out about this band and haven't heard this yet but can we throw it on just in case it turns out to be good? Cheers

It's already nominated, vote with impunity.

Yeah, it's nominated under a truncated title. It's great, too. Probably in my top 10.