What are the best Metal albums released so far in 2011?

Thought it might be a good thread to have to help with you journos compiling your end of year lists that might be due soon and of course for everyone to use in forthcoming EOY ilx polls.
Use the thread for listing/discussig the best albums of the year. Use the lists to discover stuff you haven't heard or just recommend albums to everyone.

If you want you can use this thread to post any EOY metal lists you find in the coming months.

A list I made last week. need to look through the metal thread to add to it but its a good start

40 Watt Sun - The Inside Room
A Storm of Light - As the Valley of Death Becomes Us, Our Silver Memories Fade
Absu - Abzu
Altar of Plagues - Mammal
Arenna - Beats of Olarizu
Argus - Boldly Stride the Doomed
Ash Borer - Ash Borer
Asva - Presences of Absences
Batillus - Furnace
Blood Ceremony - Living With the Ancients
Blut aus Nord - 777 - Sect(s)
Boris - Heavy Rocks
Caina - Hands That Pluck
Cathis Ord - The Far Shore
Cauldron - Burning Fortune
CHILDREN OF DOOM - Doom, Be Doomed, Ör Fuck Off
CIRCLE OF OUROBORUS - Eleven Fingers
Condenados - A Painful Journey Into Nihil
Corrupted - Garten der Unbewusstheit
Dark Castle - Surrender To Life Beyond All Form
DEVIL - Time To Repent
Dirge - Elysian Magnetic Fields
Elder - Dead Roots Stirring
EPHELES - Je Suis Autrefois
Falloch - Where Distant Spirits Remain
Fen - Epoch
GNAW THEIR TONGUES - Per Flagellum Sanguemque, Tenebras Veneramus
Grayceon - All We Destroy
Hell - Human Remains
Helms Alee - Weatherhead
Hey Colossus - rrr
In Solitude - The World. The Flesh. The Devil
Indian - Guiltless
ISOLE - Born From Shadows
KEN mode - Venerable
KODIAK - Rn-Xe
Krallice - Diotima
Lento - Icon
Liturgy - Aesthethica
Loss - Despond
Manilla Road - Playground of the Damned
Mastodon - The Hunter
Mitochondrion - Parasignosis
MORNE - Asylum
Old Silver Key - Tales Of Wanderings
Omega Massif - Karpatia
Orchid - Capricorn
ORDOG - Remorse
Pantheïst - Pantheist
Pentagram - Last Rites
Primordial - Redemption at the Puritan's Hand
RAVENTALE - Bringer Of Heartsore
Rwake - Rest
Serpent Venom - Carnal Altar
SÓLSTAFIR - Svartir Sandar
Subrosa - No Help For The Mighty One
Sungrazer - Mirador
TesseracT - One
The Atlas Moth - An Ache for the Distance
The Flight Of Sleipnir - Essence of Nine
The Gates of Slumber - The Wretch
THE WOUNDED KINGS - In The Chapel Of The Black Hand
Tombs - Path Of Totality
Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats - Blood Lust
Wolves in the Throne Room - Celestial Lineage
WOODEN STAKE - Black Caped Carnivore
YOB - Atma

obviously this list is for my tastes so please add your own

Thoroughly expect new albums by Esoteric and Hammers Of Misfortune to be among the very best albums this year. They should be out shortly I think.

jeff says i forgot blood stained child, but i didn't. but he wants it listed anyway.

A good start?

you disagree? you think i missed out a lot?

i dont get promos, so i need to rely on blogs n buying stuff. I just thought my list was a good start at listing some of the metal albums worth everyone checking out if they hadn't already.

markers hasn't added the metallica album yet?

Is anything on that list as catchy as the Ghost - "Opus Eponymous" album from last year? I'm a pretty shameless hipster-metal person who dips in and out for the occasional thing that seems to rile up my real metal friends (e.g. Torche; some Hydrahead stuff...)

That list looks kinda useful but a few descriptions would be even better!

Is anything on that list as catchy as the Ghost - "Opus Eponymous" album from last year?

Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats - Blood Lust (One of the best rock albums this year)

Sorry, im no good at describing things. I leave that to the pros

Things I'd add to that list (having already added in UA&TD):

Aosoth - _III_
Ensorcelor - _Crucifuge_
Fell Voices - _Untitled_
Petrychor _Dryad/Effigies & Epitaphs_

all, basically, non-trad Black Metal

Don't know those at all. Must check out

Disma-Toward the Megalith. Near perfect death metal. It glides between the sludged out crawl of Winter and the more uptempo stuff of their constituent bands, like Incantation and Funebrarum.

Yob-Atma. Vaguely mystical doom metal with some absolutely beautiful acoustic sections counterbalancing the Om-esque droney sections.

Craft-Void. Darkthrone worship. Slightly dissapointing considering it's been 6 years, but not too many bands can do this sound without sounding like a retread.

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats-Bloodlust. Such a badass album. I love everything about this.

Blue Hummingbird on the Left-Bloodflower (this came out on 7" this year) Mesoamerican mythology inspired Bathory worship. Full length coming out on HHR later this year.

Circle of Oroborus-Eleven Fingers. While these guys have been fairly prolific in their releases, I feel like this is the first album that captures the weird post-punky route they've gone down.

Departure Chandelier-The Black Crest of Death, The Gold Crown of War. Four track cassette released on TDG and Hospital by Dom Fernow and Kris Lapke. Tongue in cheek french war metal (think Peste Noir or Kristallnacht without the racism) Absolutely epic sounding, complete with synth choir, organ, church bells.

Raspberry Bulbs-Nature Tries Again. RB from Bone Awl doing blackened punk (emphasis on the blackened). Very unique sound with great vocals.

markers hasn't added the metallica album yet?

― Armand Schaubroeck Ratfucker

LOU REED & METALLICA - LULU

my favorites so far:

Ulcerate - Destroyers of All
KEN Mode - Venerable
Fen - Epoch
Krallice - Diotima
Virus - The Agent That Shapes the Desert
Morne - Asylum
Dark Castle - Surrender To All Life Beyond Form
Decapitated - Carnival is Forever
Rotten Sound - Cursed
Vastum - Carnal Law
Book of Black Earth - The Cold Testament
Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats - Bloodlust

the newest circle of Oroborus stuff coming out on tape is more bm than recent stuff apparently
xposts

oh and i second that Virus album, excellent stuff. Knew i'd forgotten something

Ones I've liked (in more or less descending order -- further down you get, the more marginal. Also, I'm going by U.S. release dates. And there's probably a couple here that aren't metal enough for you.)

Cauldron – Burning Fortune (Earache)
Gentleman’s Pistols – At Her Majesty’s Pleasure (Rise Above)
Nazareth – Big Dogz (Eagle Rock Entertainment)
Blood Ceremony – Living With The Ancients (Rise Above)
Argus – Boldly Stride The Doomed (Cruz Del Sur)
Ghost – Opus Eponymous (Metal Blade/Rise Above)
Badmouth – Heavy Metal Parking Lot (RamboMusic)
Opeth - Heritage (Roadrunner)
Woods Of Ypres – Woods 4: The Green Album (Earache)
Premonition 13 – 13 (Volcom Entertainment)
Gates Of Slumber – The Wretch (Rise Above)
Black Spiders – Sons Of The North (Dark Riders)
Elder – Dead Roots Stirring (MeteorCity)
Hedvig Mollestad Trio – Shoot! (Rune Grammafon)
Jim Jones Revue – Burning Your House Down (Punk Rock Blues)
Saviours – Death’s Procession (Kemado)
Electric Wizard – Black Masses (Metal Blade/Rise Above)
Wolf – Legions Of Bastards (Century Media)
Korpiklaani – Ukon Wacka (Nuclear Blast)
Black Tusk – Set The Dial (Relapse)
New Keepers Of The Water Towers – The Calydonian Hunt (Meteor City)
Elks – Destined For The Sun (Tee Pee EP)
Mastodon – The Hunter (Reprise)
ICS Vortex – Storm Seeker (Century Media)
The Fucking Wrath – Valley Of The Serpent’s Soul (Tee Pee)
Revocation – Chaos Of Forms (Relapse)
Red Fang – Murder the Mountain (Relapse)
Lou Reed and Metallica – Lulu (Warner Bros./Vertigo)

That Hedvig Mollestad Trio disc is pretty hot. I don't think I talked about it on here, but I definitely brought it up on Twitter.

I'd like Saviours a lot more if they got rid of their singer. He fuckin' sucks.

A list of all the metal albums I've really enjoyed this year, which is longer than I thought it would be:

Earth – Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I
Trap Them – Darker Handcraft
Dragged Into Sunlight – Hatred For Mankind
Red Fang – Murder the Mountains
Blood Ceremony – Living with the Ancients
Indian – Guiltless
Bruce Lamont – Feral Songs for the Epic Decline
Bloodiest – Descent
Liturgy – Aesthetica
Krallice – Diotima
Primordial – Redemption at the Puritan’s Hand
KEN Mode – Venerable
The Gates of Slumber – The Wretch
Born of Osiris – The Discovery
The Black Dahlia Murder – Ritual
Tombs – Path of Totality
Toxic Holocaust – Conjure and Command
Exhumed – All Guts, No Glory
Sungazer – Mirador
Scale the Summit – The Collective
Seidr – For Winter Fire
Disma – Towards the Megalith
Argus – Boldly Stride the Doomed
Dir en grey – Dum Spiro Spero
Symphony X – Iconoclast
Acid Witch – Stoned
Hail! Hornet – Disperse the Curse
Rwake – Rest
Black Tusk – Set the Dial
Opeth – Heritage
Skeletonwitch – Forever Abomination
Yob – Atma
Saviours – Death’s Procession
Falloch – Where Distant Spirits Remain
The Atlas Moth – An Ache for the Distance
Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats – Blood Lust
Mastodon – The Hunter
Wolves in the Throne Room – Celestial Lineage
Warbringer - Worlds Torn Asunder
MonstrO – MonstrO

40 Watt Sun - The Inside Room
Altar of Plagues - Mammal
Amon Amarth - Surtur Rising
Amorphis – The Beginning of Times
Anubis Gate – Anubis Gate
The Atlas Moth – An Ache For the Distance
Blood Stain Child – Epsilon
Boris – Attention Please
Bullet - Highway Pirates
Cauldron - Burning Fortune
Craft – Void
Deafheaven – Roads to Judah
Destruction - Day of Reckoning
Disma – Towards the Megalith
Evile – Five Serpent’s Teeth
Falloch – Where Distant Spirits Remain
Fuck the Facts – Die Miserable
The Gates of Slumber - The Wretch
Ghost Brigade – Until Fear No Longer Defines Us
Graf Orlock - Doombox
Graveyard - Hisingen Blues
Hammers of Misfortune – 17th Street
Hell - Human Remains
Iced Earth - Dystopia
In Solitude - The World.The Flesh.The Devil
Junius – Reports From the Threshold of Death
KEN Mode - Venerable
Krallice – Diotima
Leviathan – True Traitor, True Whore
Liturgy – Aesthethica
Locrian – The Clearing
Mastodon – The Hunter
Obscura – Omnivium
Opeth – Heritage
Origin - Entity
Portrait - Crimen Laesae Majestatis Divinae
Primordial - Redemption at the Puritan's Hand
Scams - Rock and Roll Krematorium
Shooting Guns – Born to Deal in Magic: 1952-1976
SubRosa - No Help For the Mighty Ones
TesseracT – One
Today is the Day – Pain is a Warning
Tombs - Path of Totality
Devin Townsend - Deconstruction
Trap Them - Darker Handcraft
Within Temptation – The Unforgiving
Wolves in the Throne Room – Celestial Lineage
Wolves Like Us – Late Love
YOB – Atma

Hmm, Spotify search for Ash Borer has an odd result.

That Hedvig Mollestad Trio album has me very intrigued, the samples sound cool. I have to hear the whole thing now.

oh god yes, Today Is The Day

That's a surprisingly solid list, Chuck! Here's a poorly-formatted list of 30 or so that I've enjoyed:

Turisas-Stand up and Fight
Blood Stain Child-Epsilon
Machine Head-unto the Locust
Opeth-Heritage
Today Is the Day-Pain Is a Warning
Primordial-Redemption at the Puritans Hand
PowerWolf-Blood of the Saints
Zombi-Escape Velocity
Book of Black Earth-the Cold Testament
Rotten Sound-Cursed
Scale the Summit-the Collective
Black Tusk-Set the Dial
Midnight Odyssey-Funerals from the Astral Sphere
Mastodon-the Hunter
Twisted Tower Dire-Make It Dark
Crowbar-Sever the Wicked Hand
Amon Amarth-Surtur Rising
Red Fang - Murder the Mountains
Trap Them-Darker Handcraft
Septic Flesh-the Great Mass
Wolves in the Throne Room-Celestial Lineage
Yob - Atma
Elder - Dead Roots Stirring
Gates of Slumber-the Wretch
Acid Witch-Stoned
Blood Ceremony-Living with the Ancients
Obscura-Omnivium
a Forest of Stars-Opportunistic Thieves of Spring
Giant Squid-Cenotes
Midnight-Satanic Royalty

its scary when jeff and i agree on stuff

I don't get why Zombi has ever been included on any metal list. Is it their label? Cool album, though.

I actually had Zombi on my list before yanking 'em, so not metal in the least at this point.

That was my long list for the Decibel year-end thing, and Zombi is one of the bands they cover. You're right, not metal in the least.

xhuck - you liking LULU then?

Zombi do have a mostly metal fanbase though. plus metal fans are pretty open-minded these days. Generally that kind of thing isn't in the ilm metal eoy poll incase non metallers decide to vote for it and the metalheads get pissed off. But zombi always get spoken about in the rolling metal thread.

xhuck - you liking LULU then?

I've got mixed feelings (which should be obvious from where it is on my list above), but think it's "interesting." At least. My Rolling Stone review comes out in the next week or two, I presume, but it went through some edits, so it's changed a bit from what I originally gave them. Will try to run outtakes in a Rhapsody review, assuming they carry the album.

Real good to see you posting on the thread chuck btw

incase noone saw this on the zombi thread i'll repost here

Press Release:

Pittsburgh progressive duo Zombi has released a free digital EP featuring the track "Slow Oscillations" as well as four fan-made remixes of the song. The remixes were hand-picked by the group as part of a Self-Titled Magazine contest and include a version by Ipecac recording artist, Dälek. The EP is currently available for free download exclusively via Amazon MP3 at this location http://amzn.to/pDlLf6.

"Slow Oscillations" is taken from Zombie's fourth full-length album, Escape Velocity, which was released this past May and can currently be streamed via their Bandcamp page here http://zombi.bandcamp.com/.

from the top of my head :

disma - toward the megalith
ulcerate - the destroyer of all
djevel - dødssanger (early 90's norwegian bm worship from the guys in kverlertak or khold. some silly spoken word passages, tho)
yellow eyes - silence threads the evening's cloth (all in all, better than 'roads to judah' or 'aesthethica' imho)
krallice - diotima
autopsy - macabre eternal
vastum - carnal law
epheles - je suis autrefois
volahn/tukaaria - split (not the best black twilight circle record by far, but still pretty decent. looking fwd to hear the volahn/kallathon split)

really looking fwd for somthing new from dispirit

Really have been enjoying that Botanist record, I: The Suicide Tree / II: A Rose from the Dead. Black metal on hammered dulcimer. Monotonous as hell, but after 5 tracks or so it completely fucks with your mind. One of the best of this year in my book.

finally heard the Altar of Plagues record - will rep pretty hard for it I think. sometimes the atmosphere seems generic, really wish bands would dig in hard to find a sound that truly belongs to them in metal, but they do better than most lately

Blood Ceremony album is almost as catchy as the Uncle Acid album.

one album I haven't heard a lot of but am digging somewhat is the Weedeater album.

Hammers Of Misfortune can definitely be added to this list!

Really looking forward to new Esoteric, anyone apart from jeff heard it yet?

oh and will add Ulver to the list, even if they dont make metal anymore. They still belong here.

what should i check out from here? I tend to only go for sludgy stoner metal and droney stuff, and definitely go for the more gristly trad rock voices over black metal squawks. Also, things that sound badass

I plan on using this list as a buying guide now that I am a consumer.

Thank you all in advance.

a brave consumer

what should i check out from here? I tend to only go for sludgy stoner metal and droney stuff, and definitely go for the more gristly trad rock voices over black metal squawks.

The Elder album is really good imo.

Merked: By that description, I'd go for Brain Oil, Yob, Gentlemen's Pistols, Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, Black Spiders, Mastodon, Black Tusk...

Maybe also Argus, Gates Of Slumber, Premonition 13, Blood Ceremony.

Haven't heard Premonition 13 yet, but I'll rep for all of xhuxk's other picks.

Blood Ceremony seemed a bit weedy to me, maybe need to give it another go. Looking forward to hearing the Premonition 13 record though.

the blood ceremony was great. much better than the debut

Stuff I've enjoyed that hasn't made anyone's list thus far (some will definitely make my year end short list, but were I to do a top 100 or so I think they'd all make it):

Across Tundras - Sage
Ancestors - Invisible White
Anubis Gate - Anubis Gate
Ape Machine - War To Head
Het Droste Effect - Het Droste Effect
Ildra - Eðelland
Maligno - The Funeral Domine
Orthodox - Baal
Rhapsody Of Fire - From Chaos To Eternity
Serpentcult - Raised By Wolves
Solstafir - Svartir Sandar
Tyr - The Lay Of Thrym
Unleash The Archers - Demons Of The Astrowaste
Weirding - Each Birth Is A New Disaster
Wight - Wight Weedy Wight
Witch Mountain - South Of Salem
Wo Fat - Noche Del Chupacabra

SO into the new Yob.

Who is going to be this years Hellbeard?

Gentlemen's Pistols. Unless you know who their guitarist is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJrkA5G_h7Q

really been enjoying the Elder album, thanks NickB