Okay 6 months are up. What have been some of your faves from this year and what are you really looking forward to among what's yet to come. I have listed (and talked about) a few of my favourites here and graded the upcoming albums on the amount of anticipation I have:

Cathedral - The Guessing Game: The doomsters go prog and I like this album a LOT. It was a sensible move considering just how cluttered this space has become.

Pain of Salvation - Road Salt One An uneven album it must be admitted but I liked the good parts enough to buy this one. Fabulous even if not fabulous start to finish.

Nevermore - The Obsidian Conspiracy See above

Immolation - Majesty and Decay See above while downgrading fabulous to 'good'

Fear Factory - Mechanize See above

Burzum - Belus Not heard anything by these guys before but really liked this album a lot

Ratt - Infestation Fantastic album. Cock rock like it should be done. Lots of ballsy guitar playing and great choruses that never quit.

Scorpions - Sting in the Tail See above

Darkthrone - Circle The Wagons Takes off from where Black Flags left off. Very infectiously catchy, and cheerful black n roll.

Negura Bunget - Vîrstele Pamîntului Very oddball black metal that still manages to be very compelling and interesting.

Yakuza - Of Seismic Consequence The vocals still suck but this band seems a lot more comfortable in its Dillinger meets brooding melodic saxophone laced segments skin


Triptykon - Eparistera Daimones Terrific album. Everything I hoped the follow up to Monotheist would be like. Doomy and ferocious sounding.
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I'm sure I'm missing a few of my favourites from this year in the list but I'll probably add them later. Here's the list of my anticipation levels on albums that are yet to be released this year:

SAHG - III 7/10
Blind Guardian - At The Edge of Time 9/10
Iron Maiden - The Final Frontier 3/10
Helmet - Seeing Eye Dog 2/10
Angra - Aqua 6/10
Cephalic Carnage - Misled by Certainty 8/10
Paul Gilbert - Fuzz Universe 10/10

Castevet - Mounds Of Ash Awesome sounding 'riff-based' black metal album, produced by Colin Marsten, putout by Profound Lore. Must get if you're a fan of Krallice.

Ludicra - The Tenant Highly enjoyable.

Scorn - Refuse; Start Fires Great dark 'electronica' release from ex-Napalm Death member.

Fatso Jetson - Archaic Volumes Excellent.

Immolation - Majesty & Decay Though they've toned a tad down on the technicality this is still a great sounding album with lots of Immo's characteristic frenetic riffs.

Ihsahn - After I like.

Pain Of Salvation - Road Salt One I agree with what Ravi has to say on this.

Ufomammut - Eve HEAVY-as-hell.

Burzum - Belus I liked this a lot when I first got it but I got bored quickly. However, there are some really cool songs on this and its a good comeback album in my books.

Disappointments:

Nevermore - Bland as fuck.
Massive Attack - ditto.
Anathema - same (though I need to listen to this more)

Lots of good shit so far this year...

Ihsahn - After Fantastic extreme metal with the songwriting being at the same high level while trying out a few different things with that Shining dude coming in on the saxophone. Undercurrent is one of the most awesome songs I've heard this year.

Chumbawamba - ABCDEFG More acoustic folk rock with kickass lyrics, vocal harmonies and melodies. Easily their best album since a singsong & a scrap.

Ludicra - The Tenant Really difficult to pigeonhole this band with its blackish take on trad metal that somehow manages to avoid every cliche in the book and just be consistently entertaining from start to finish. Just one classy album.

High on Fire - Snakes for the Divine This is awesome. Ghost Neck doesn't do too much for me but the rest of the album is just killer and they've become a bit more old school heavy metal compared to the previous album and Bastard Samurai and See How Dark We Pray are two of the best songs this band has ever done.

Triptykon - Eparistera Daimones Crushing follow up to Monotheist. Tom G warrior is morbid and depressed and man does it show. Just perfect from start to finish.

Negura Bunget - Vîrstele Pamîntului Right from that opening flute I was totally hooked on to this album and it really is something special. Any fears that the band might become fuckall with Negru being the only original member left are forgotten and while a good deal different to Om its pretty much the same quality of music. Awesome.

Solace - AD Awesome stoner metal with its roots in hardcore. Sort of reminds me of a heavier Monster Magnet at times and maybe even what Soundgarden would have sounded like if they came from the hardcore scene.

The Melvins - And the Bride Screamed Murder Just completely perfect from start to finish. Of the more recent albums by them I think this might be a bit better than A Senile Animal and overall just a fantastic album with all of the bands trademark quirks in tact and the songwriting kicked up a notch.

Integrity - The Blackest Curse Dwid and the boys came back and this is probably my most listened to album of the year so far. Just really heavy dirty and very groovy metal core like it was meant to be with the seamless mix of Motorhead, punk rock, hardcore and thrash metal. At times the punk spirit is so manic and charged up with this band that they start to take on an air of black metal's dissonant spirit and at other times they slow things down with some unsettling melodies and truly tortured vocals from Dwid.

Starkweather - This Sheltering Night More American metal core from when that term actually meant something. Long dirge like songs with math rock precision and some more tortured vocals and this is one harrowing but very rewarding album.

Hawkwind Triad - Minsk, US Christmas, Harvestman 3 way split in tribute of Hawkwind and all 3 bands do a stellar job covering these songs in their own unique manner. US Christmas doing Psychedelic Warlords, Harvestman doing The Watcher and Minsk doing Children of the Sun should be all anybody needs to know but they also do a few more songs. Fantastic.

Those Poor Bastards - Gospel Haunted Another album thats been on repeat since I got it and this duo has really upped the ante on this one. Where previously the band would have 3-4 really great songs on an album, here its pretty much every single song. Goth country sounds stupid but what else would you call this racket?

Thou - Summit After last years spectacular split with Salome, the band is back with a full length that carries on from where they left. This is some severely downer stuff but easily the band's best so far. Like a slowed down Crowbar with keyboards, strings and a touch of black metal.

Other honorable mentions would be Hooded Menace's Never Cross the Dead, Coffinworm's When All Became None, Howl's Full of Hell and Rotting Christ's AEOLO.

I'll go with Kaustubh on the disappointments except that I'd add Immolation's new one to the list. Found it really boring and the same old shit after the first couple of listens and also the new Sigh which was just annoying at times with the stupid horn section going unnecessarily mental and turning things into some sort of circus or carnival.

Looking forward to the new Septic Flesh, Ulver, Necrophagia, Weedeater and hopefully a new Orange Goblin.

Haven't heard a lot of new stuff so far...

Rotting Christ - AEALO: Although it moves away from the dark space of RC's earlier albums a wee bit, it still manages to hit the spot

Cloudkicker - [[]]]: 15+ mins of pure instrumental bliss

Scribe - Mark of Teja: Didn't like the album at first listen, but then it just grows on you, on and on

Deftones - Diamond Eyes: I like

Ihsahn - After: Second GK

Veil of Maya - Id: Trippy

Asmo wrote:

Cloudkicker - [[]]]: 15+ mins of pure instrumental bliss

Wot it is?

These are my picks of this year. I'd give them all 4 and above. That's the only criteria.

Jeff Beck
The Howling Void
The Melvins
Stone Axe
Harvey Milk
Ufomammut
Y&T
Sasquatch
Coffinworm
Las Cruces
Hour of 13
Triptykon
Brant Bjork
High on Fire
Ludicra
White Hills
Solace
Ratt

Not heard, and been meaning to: Pain of Salvation, Castevet, Across Tundras, Yawning Man.

Absolute best is between the Jeff Beck, Solace, Coffinworm, Stone Axe and Las Cruces.

CrypticMyth wrote:
Asmo wrote:

Cloudkicker - [[]]]: 15+ mins of pure instrumental bliss

Wot it is?

See Hear for yourself: sites.google.com/site/cloudkickeruk2/

i dont own or have heard anything released in 2010 yet! :D

Asmo wrote:
CrypticMyth wrote:
Asmo wrote:

Cloudkicker - [[]]]: 15+ mins of pure instrumental bliss

Wot it is?

See Hear for yourself: sites.google.com/site/cloudkickeruk2/

Nobbad. That was pretty cool - but I easily tire of these math metal albums. How's the older stuff? Similar vein?

Srikanth Panaman wrote:

The Howling Void

Should be getting this album in about 2 weeks, can't wait!