Some of My Favorite Metal Albums So Far in 2016

Vektor - Terminal Reduction is a perfect mix of thrash and progressive metal. I hear a lot of Rush and even Pink Floyd influence in it. One of my favorite albums of 2016 hands down.



Dark Funeral - Where Shadows Forever Reign is a breath of fresh air in a fairly stagnant black metal genre. I was looking forward to this album and it surpassed all expectations I had. This will go down as a classic black metal album.



Abbath - S/T is another album I was looking forward to as a long time Immortal fan. I was a bit skeptical going into it though, only because I didn't want it to suck. Luckily I was pleasantly surprised and this is a pretty damn good album. Of course all the "black metal elitists" will trash it because it's more mainstream, but I don't care because if something is good I like it.



Megadeth - Dystopia is just an absolutely incredible album from beginning to end. To me it is one of their best albums ever, and MegaDave's voice sounds the best it ever has. If you are an old Megadeth fan and have not heard the album because you haven't cared for their recent albums I think this one will win you over (this is just the title track and not a full album like the first 3 in this post).

5 Sick Underground Metal Bands

I am always on the lookout for new metal, just a total metal junky. I need new music every week which keeps me on the lookout on and offline. A lot of my friends also depend on me to help them discover new music, and they always know that when we hang out I will have plenty for them to hear. These 5 bands are some that I love, but most I have been into for a while but I like them so much that I felt like I had to share. Hopefully some of you reading this will discover some new bands as well, and who knows, one of these 5 bands may become your new favorite band.

Coprolith


Mgla


Vengeful


Woebegone Obscured


Bane of Isildur

Upstate NY Extreme Metal Bands Live

The Capital District of NY, also known as the 518, is loaded with a whole lot of talent when it comes to extreme metal. The area has always had a good hardcore and metal scene, but only a few bands ever made it to an International level. One of the most well known deathmetal bands from the area is Skinless, who are now back and releasing a new album this year. Here is a brand new Skinless song live from their show January 18 in Clifton Park, NY.

Skinless - Serpenticide

I mentioned a lot of other local 518 talent, so here are some other sick extreme metal bands from the area.

Tentacles

Incontinence

The Final Sleep

Salvation Denied

Abhorrent Aggression

5 of the Most Important Bands to the Black Metal Genre

Black metal is a popular genre of extreme metal and the fanbase that follows the genre is growing all of the time. As with anything in history, it evolves from something else and changes as it grows. There were many bands in the 80s and early 90s that were the roots of black metal, but these 5 bands are extremely important  in the history of blackmetal. There are others, but in my opinion without these bands the genre would not be what it is today. I am sure some people will disagree with this list since there are other bands that were very influential to the genre, but in my opinion these 5 bands were essential to what the genre is today.

Mercyful Fate


Von


Hellhammer (later known as Celtic Frost)


Venom


Bathory

My 10 Favorite Extreme Metal Albums of the Last Decade

Over the last ten years fans of extreme metal have been spoiled rotten, and lately it seems like each year we are seeing more and more amazing releases. We have seen a ridiculous amount of heavy bands coming out of nowhere, whether they have been around for years or they are brand new bands many of them are taking metal to a new level.

There have been hundreds of albums over the past decade that I love, and probably still listen to quite often. These are 10 albums that stood out to me over that time, and they all still get a lot of play from me consistently. I think I listen to each one of these albums every week since I listen to music all day everyday while I am sitting at my computer working and also in my car during my hour drive to and from work.

If you have not heard any of these 10 albums and you enjoy extreme metal then I would highly recommend each one of them. I put them in order of how I would rank them if I really had to, with number 1 being one of my favorite albums ever and not just in the last 10 years.

10 - Carcass - Surgical Steel (2013)


9 - Watain - Sworn to the Dark (2007)


8 - Wolves in the Throne Room - Two Hunters (2007)


7 - Agalloch - Ashes Against the Grain (2006)


6 - Dragged Into Sunlight - Hatred For Mankind


5 - Hate - Morphosis (2008)


4 - Enslaved - Ruun (2006)


3 - Fleshgod Apocalypse - Oracles (2009)


2 - Anaal Nathrakh - Passion (2011)
This is my favorite song from the album, but I could not find the whole album in the format of the others. Here is a playlist of the full album though.


1 - Septicflesh - The Great Mass (2011)

Underrated Metal Bands

There are thousands of metal bands around the world that never really get the exposure that they deserve outside of their local and regional metal scenes. These 5 bands listed below have gotten a bit more attention than just a local band, and they are all on labels but they do not get the exposure that they really deserve. I am sure that some of you reading this will know of some of these bands, and if you do know them I am sure you will agree that they deserve much more recognition. If you like extreme metal and do not know these 5 bands then they are definitely worth checking out asap.

Vektor


Coffinworm


Dragged Into Sunlight


Endstille


Vengeful