 | Blog author: Alex Stojanovic After doing my top 10 list of albums from 2011 that turned five last year, I thought since we're in 2017 now, why not share my favourite albums of 2012 that turned 5 this year. |
2012 was another great year for me personally in my life, and many of the albums that came out that year were just incredible. I'm not going to get into the reasons why 2012 was another incredible year for me because I could easily do a whole article, but I will tell you that it was the year I turned 20 and entered the adult club and came into Metal Master Kingdom. It's been an amazing ride so far and I look forward to more great years here. Alright, so let's get down to the festivities. Down below are my favourite albums that turn 5 this year.
10. LAMB OF GOD - Resolution
I remember pre-ordering Lamb Of God's Resolution in person at HMV to be a part of the in-store signing the band was doing when they came through town early in the year. It was on a Friday too, so I skipped my last class of that day (something I NEVER did, but I had to for this) to get a spot at the front of the line and ended up meeting the whole band. Got two copies of the album signed and my brother got his guitar signed. It was awesome, but I digress. Anyway, while Resolution might just be your average Lamb Of God record, you can't deny that tracks like "Desolation", "Ghost Walking", "Guilty" and "To The End" are just awesome. It was also the first time that we hear Randy dabble with clean vocals on "Insurrection", which is something I think he should explore more in the future. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE LOVE his signature growl and always will, but after hearing how great he sounds with cleans on this track, as well as "Overlord" on VII: Sturm Und Drang, as well as "The Duke" off the EP of the same name, I can't wait to hear him do more.
I remember pre-ordering Lamb Of God's Resolution in person at HMV to be a part of the in-store signing the band was doing when they came through town early in the year. It was on a Friday too, so I skipped my last class of that day (something I NEVER did, but I had to for this) to get a spot at the front of the line and ended up meeting the whole band. Got two copies of the album signed and my brother got his guitar signed. It was awesome, but I digress. Anyway, while Resolution might just be your average Lamb Of God record, you can't deny that tracks like "Desolation", "Ghost Walking", "Guilty" and "To The End" are just awesome. It was also the first time that we hear Randy dabble with clean vocals on "Insurrection", which is something I think he should explore more in the future. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE LOVE his signature growl and always will, but after hearing how great he sounds with cleans on this track, as well as "Overlord" on VII: Sturm Und Drang, as well as "The Duke" off the EP of the same name, I can't wait to hear him do more.
09. DRAGONFORCE - The Power Within
Nothing against ZP Theart, but I find Marc Hudson to be the perfect vocalist for DragonForce. His debut with the band on the Power Within couldn't have been better. To date, I also feel that this is the band's best written album, especially with tracks like "Holding On", "Cry Thunder" and "Seasons", the latter being possibly the best DragonForce song in existence. It feels more diversified than any of the other records. Honestly, if I had to take only two DragonForce albums on a desert island with me, my first pic would be Power Within, but my second pick would be Ultra Beatdown, with all respect to the other albums, including the new one that just came out.
Nothing against ZP Theart, but I find Marc Hudson to be the perfect vocalist for DragonForce. His debut with the band on the Power Within couldn't have been better. To date, I also feel that this is the band's best written album, especially with tracks like "Holding On", "Cry Thunder" and "Seasons", the latter being possibly the best DragonForce song in existence. It feels more diversified than any of the other records. Honestly, if I had to take only two DragonForce albums on a desert island with me, my first pic would be Power Within, but my second pick would be Ultra Beatdown, with all respect to the other albums, including the new one that just came out.
08. CANNIBAL CORPSE - Torture
Honestly, any album from Cannibal Corpse is worthy of ending up in anyone's yearly top 10 albums list. With that said, how could you not love Torture. My only complaint about the album is that the drums sound buried in the mix. I will admit, I can get kind of picky when it comes to production, but I just wish that the drums were up front a bit more to match the massive crunch of the guitars. One other thing is that while George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher's vocals are still one of the best parts of the album, the bottom end of his voice is missing on this album. but he still sounds brutal. I love the odd time signatures that you hear in some of the songs. Pretty much every element you expect from Cannibal Corpse is present, making for a truly brutal and menacing album. Awesome!
Honestly, any album from Cannibal Corpse is worthy of ending up in anyone's yearly top 10 albums list. With that said, how could you not love Torture. My only complaint about the album is that the drums sound buried in the mix. I will admit, I can get kind of picky when it comes to production, but I just wish that the drums were up front a bit more to match the massive crunch of the guitars. One other thing is that while George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher's vocals are still one of the best parts of the album, the bottom end of his voice is missing on this album. but he still sounds brutal. I love the odd time signatures that you hear in some of the songs. Pretty much every element you expect from Cannibal Corpse is present, making for a truly brutal and menacing album. Awesome!
07. RUSH - Clockwork Angels
I don't think and I certainly hope that Clockwork Angels isn't the last Rush studio album. Every time I listen to "Caravan", I'm transported back to the end of my senior year in high school because that song, along with "BU2B" were released two years prior to Clockwork Angels coming out. There are so many great songs on here like "Caravan" of course, but also "The Anarchist", "Carnies", "Headlong Flight", "Seven Cities Of Gold" and "The Garden". Geddy, Alex and Neil are firing on all cylinders on this album, as they always do. I'm sure you all know this, but for those that don't, if you look at the clock hands on the album cover, you'll notice that in the 24 hour period, it's set to 21:12 (get it?). A great album!
I don't think and I certainly hope that Clockwork Angels isn't the last Rush studio album. Every time I listen to "Caravan", I'm transported back to the end of my senior year in high school because that song, along with "BU2B" were released two years prior to Clockwork Angels coming out. There are so many great songs on here like "Caravan" of course, but also "The Anarchist", "Carnies", "Headlong Flight", "Seven Cities Of Gold" and "The Garden". Geddy, Alex and Neil are firing on all cylinders on this album, as they always do. I'm sure you all know this, but for those that don't, if you look at the clock hands on the album cover, you'll notice that in the 24 hour period, it's set to 21:12 (get it?). A great album!
06. DIRGE WITHIN - There Will Be Blood
I'm glad that I'm one of the people that got to see Dirge Within live as they were one of my favourite up and coming bands. It was during the tour for the Force Fed Lies album in 2009 when they were opening for Trivium (feeling old, haha). I love what they've also done under the name The Bloodline, but the Dirge Within albums bring back good memories. Between Force Fed Lies and There Will Be Blood, they went through three lineup changes with the addition of a new lead guitarist, new bassist and new drummer. For me, There Will Be Blood feels like a bit of a darker album. There's a number of awesome tracks on here like "For My Enemies", "Memories", "Absolution", "Without You" and "A.L.F (All Lights Fade)". Even though There Will Be Blood is a great album, I still think Force Fed Lies is their best. I'm a big fan of Jerms Genske's vocals and the chunky riffs provided by Shaun Glass and Chuck Wepfer. On a side note, I'm extremely excited that the band have announced a reformation and I really hope they come up to the Toronto area soon because I would love to see them again and I also look forward to hearing new music from them.
I'm glad that I'm one of the people that got to see Dirge Within live as they were one of my favourite up and coming bands. It was during the tour for the Force Fed Lies album in 2009 when they were opening for Trivium (feeling old, haha). I love what they've also done under the name The Bloodline, but the Dirge Within albums bring back good memories. Between Force Fed Lies and There Will Be Blood, they went through three lineup changes with the addition of a new lead guitarist, new bassist and new drummer. For me, There Will Be Blood feels like a bit of a darker album. There's a number of awesome tracks on here like "For My Enemies", "Memories", "Absolution", "Without You" and "A.L.F (All Lights Fade)". Even though There Will Be Blood is a great album, I still think Force Fed Lies is their best. I'm a big fan of Jerms Genske's vocals and the chunky riffs provided by Shaun Glass and Chuck Wepfer. On a side note, I'm extremely excited that the band have announced a reformation and I really hope they come up to the Toronto area soon because I would love to see them again and I also look forward to hearing new music from them.
05. ACCEPT - Stalingrad
2009 saw Accept return to the scene with current singer Mark Tornillo and 2010 saw them release their first album of new material in 14 years since Predator, the epic Blood Of The Nations, which received absolutely rave reviews. Following up that album seemed kind of impossible because it was so good, but only a year and a half after the release of Blood Of The Nations, Accept followed it up with Stalingrad and it just kicks your ass. There isn't really anything here that sets it apart from the previous album. It's just another solid slab of German metal of biblical proportions and it's chock-full of memorable tracks like "Hung, Drawn & Quartered", "Stalingrad", "Shadow Soldiers" and "Flash To Bang Time" to name a few. Can't really say anything else.
2009 saw Accept return to the scene with current singer Mark Tornillo and 2010 saw them release their first album of new material in 14 years since Predator, the epic Blood Of The Nations, which received absolutely rave reviews. Following up that album seemed kind of impossible because it was so good, but only a year and a half after the release of Blood Of The Nations, Accept followed it up with Stalingrad and it just kicks your ass. There isn't really anything here that sets it apart from the previous album. It's just another solid slab of German metal of biblical proportions and it's chock-full of memorable tracks like "Hung, Drawn & Quartered", "Stalingrad", "Shadow Soldiers" and "Flash To Bang Time" to name a few. Can't really say anything else.
04. SHADOWS FALL - Fire From The Sky
There's a high possibility that this will be the last album we get from Shadows Fall, but I hope I'm wrong, you never know. We'll just have to wait and see. I will say that if we don't get anymore albums from them, Fire From The Sky was a great way to close the book on the recording history of the band. It's a great summation of the band's entire discography featuring all the elements that made up the Shadows Fall sound like the thrash elements, the metalcore elements and of course some of the band's early melodic death metal elements. Some of my favourite tracks on here include "The Unknown", "Divide & Conquer", "Weight Of The World", "Fire From The Sky", "Blind Faith" and "Save Your Soul". Brian Fair is one of my favourite modern metal vocalists with great screams and great cleans, and his performances on this album are just as great as on the previous Shadows Fall records. You also can't ignore the talents of Jon Donais, Matt Bachand, Jason Bittner and Paul Romanko. Great stuff!
Note: This was the very first album I reviewed for Metal Master Kingdom. See it here.
There's a high possibility that this will be the last album we get from Shadows Fall, but I hope I'm wrong, you never know. We'll just have to wait and see. I will say that if we don't get anymore albums from them, Fire From The Sky was a great way to close the book on the recording history of the band. It's a great summation of the band's entire discography featuring all the elements that made up the Shadows Fall sound like the thrash elements, the metalcore elements and of course some of the band's early melodic death metal elements. Some of my favourite tracks on here include "The Unknown", "Divide & Conquer", "Weight Of The World", "Fire From The Sky", "Blind Faith" and "Save Your Soul". Brian Fair is one of my favourite modern metal vocalists with great screams and great cleans, and his performances on this album are just as great as on the previous Shadows Fall records. You also can't ignore the talents of Jon Donais, Matt Bachand, Jason Bittner and Paul Romanko. Great stuff!
Note: This was the very first album I reviewed for Metal Master Kingdom. See it here.
03. KREATOR - Phantom Antichrist
I don't think a Top 10 of 2012 list would be complete without having Kreator's Phantom Antichrist on it. Hordes Of Chaos was a great album, but when you compare it to Phantom Antichrist, it's like night and day. The songwriting and the production went up a few notches. As Mille Petrozza matured as a songwriter, he started incorporating more melodies into Kreator's music, while staying true to the band's thrash roots. Stand out tracks include "Phantom Antichrist", "Death To The World", "From Flood Into Fire", "United In Hate", "Civilization Collapse", "Your Heaven, My Hell" and "Victory Will Come", that's almost the whole album. Many of the riffs are just ridiculous, and I mean that in a good way. This album definitely sits alongside Endless Pain, Pleasure To Kill, Extreme Aggression, Coma Of Souls, Violent Revolution and Enemy Of God as one of the best Kreator albums ever.
I don't think a Top 10 of 2012 list would be complete without having Kreator's Phantom Antichrist on it. Hordes Of Chaos was a great album, but when you compare it to Phantom Antichrist, it's like night and day. The songwriting and the production went up a few notches. As Mille Petrozza matured as a songwriter, he started incorporating more melodies into Kreator's music, while staying true to the band's thrash roots. Stand out tracks include "Phantom Antichrist", "Death To The World", "From Flood Into Fire", "United In Hate", "Civilization Collapse", "Your Heaven, My Hell" and "Victory Will Come", that's almost the whole album. Many of the riffs are just ridiculous, and I mean that in a good way. This album definitely sits alongside Endless Pain, Pleasure To Kill, Extreme Aggression, Coma Of Souls, Violent Revolution and Enemy Of God as one of the best Kreator albums ever.
02. SAVAGE MESSIAH - Plague Of Conscience
Many people know that I've been championing Savage Messiah for the last 5 years. My first taste of the band was their debut Insurrection Rising, then I got around to listening to their sophomore Plague Of Conscience. Both albums are parralelled with each other in terms of brilliance, but the songwriting on Plague Of Conscience is more ambitious and mature and the album is more melodic than Insurrection Rising. There's definitely a lot of heavy stuff on here, but it's more melodic. I love to crank tracks like the title track, "In Thought Alone", "Carnival Of Souls", "Beyond A Shadow Of A Doubt", "Architects Of Fear" and "The Accuser". The Judas Priest and Iron Maiden influences can be found all throughout the album and I encourage all fans of thrash and classic metal to check out Savage Messiah. I think you will really dig them. One of the best up-and-coming bands out there.
Many people know that I've been championing Savage Messiah for the last 5 years. My first taste of the band was their debut Insurrection Rising, then I got around to listening to their sophomore Plague Of Conscience. Both albums are parralelled with each other in terms of brilliance, but the songwriting on Plague Of Conscience is more ambitious and mature and the album is more melodic than Insurrection Rising. There's definitely a lot of heavy stuff on here, but it's more melodic. I love to crank tracks like the title track, "In Thought Alone", "Carnival Of Souls", "Beyond A Shadow Of A Doubt", "Architects Of Fear" and "The Accuser". The Judas Priest and Iron Maiden influences can be found all throughout the album and I encourage all fans of thrash and classic metal to check out Savage Messiah. I think you will really dig them. One of the best up-and-coming bands out there.
01. TESTAMENT - Dark Roots Of Earth
This is a no-brainer for 2012. Dark Roots Of Earth was the first Testament album that I was anticipating for release after I became a fan a few months after The Formation Of Damnation was released. I first heard "True American Hate" when I was down in Dominican Republic with the family. No joke. Upon first listen, it took all my strength to keep from raging like a lunatic in the resort lobby. Aside from that track, each one is perfect in its own way. Right from "Rise Up" all the way through to "Last Stand For Independence", there is not one clunker to be found. All I can say is if Dark Roots Of Earth isn't one of your top 10 albums of 2012, something is wrong with your ears. I as a huge Testament fan was also incredibly proud when I read that this album was their top-selling debut ever by landing at #12 on both the U.S Billboard and Canadian album charts as well as charting at #4 in Germany and Finland, #10 in Switzerland, #13 in Ireland and even better, #1 in Hungary! On top of that, the music video for "Native Blood" was pulled in an nominated for the Best Music Video award at the American Indian Film Festival, and it actually won. With a strong message like that, it was really deserving. You can say that 2012 was a good year for Testament. The only downside about this album is that there's only 9 tracks. That's totally fine, but when an album is THIS incredible, you want more. Dark Roots Of Earth is easily one of my desert island discs. With the strong guitar work from Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick, the powerful vocals from Chuck Billy and the monster rhythm section Gene Hoglan on drums and Greg Christian on bass, how could you not love this album? This is why Dark Roots Of Earth wins the #1 spot on the list of my top 2012 albums.
This is a no-brainer for 2012. Dark Roots Of Earth was the first Testament album that I was anticipating for release after I became a fan a few months after The Formation Of Damnation was released. I first heard "True American Hate" when I was down in Dominican Republic with the family. No joke. Upon first listen, it took all my strength to keep from raging like a lunatic in the resort lobby. Aside from that track, each one is perfect in its own way. Right from "Rise Up" all the way through to "Last Stand For Independence", there is not one clunker to be found. All I can say is if Dark Roots Of Earth isn't one of your top 10 albums of 2012, something is wrong with your ears. I as a huge Testament fan was also incredibly proud when I read that this album was their top-selling debut ever by landing at #12 on both the U.S Billboard and Canadian album charts as well as charting at #4 in Germany and Finland, #10 in Switzerland, #13 in Ireland and even better, #1 in Hungary! On top of that, the music video for "Native Blood" was pulled in an nominated for the Best Music Video award at the American Indian Film Festival, and it actually won. With a strong message like that, it was really deserving. You can say that 2012 was a good year for Testament. The only downside about this album is that there's only 9 tracks. That's totally fine, but when an album is THIS incredible, you want more. Dark Roots Of Earth is easily one of my desert island discs. With the strong guitar work from Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick, the powerful vocals from Chuck Billy and the monster rhythm section Gene Hoglan on drums and Greg Christian on bass, how could you not love this album? This is why Dark Roots Of Earth wins the #1 spot on the list of my top 2012 albums.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS (No Order)
| Destruction Spiritual Genocide  | Overkill The Electric Age  | Suicidal Angels Bloodbath  |
| Tremonti All I Was  | Van Halen A Different Kind Of Truth  | Dying Fetus Reign Supreme  |
There you have it! Those are my top albums of 2012! Now it's your turn. What are YOUR top albums of 2012?
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