Shady's Mega Epic Top 14 Metal Full-Lengths of 2012!

Well, it's about that time of the year; where basically every blog related to music, posts a list of their favorite albums. I did it last year (links of the lists are right on the front page), and of course I'm gonna do it again -- it's an unofficial music blog rule thing.
 

I'm gonna do things a bit different than last year though -- I'm gonna make separate lists for my favorite Metal albums and another one for my (everything) 8-Bit albums. I shall do Metal first... and without further ado, here we go! 

#14. Cartoon Theory - Cartoon 1.0 Theory

Genre: Progressive Metal / Djent / Experimental

Preview: "Hypnotic Nova Dance"
 

Spectacular synths, shred, groove and a Japanese-vibe -- that's all you need. So beautiful, but it got forgotten by many, since it was released way early in 2012. But I didn't, because I'm cool like that. Djent non-believers need to check this out, right now.

 

#13. Don't Worry I'm A Doctor - Create. Divide. Consume

Genre: Deathcore / Grind

Preview: "Queen Anne's Revenge"
 

Another one that just didn't get enough love, but this time it was possibly due to their stupid name. Ultra chuggy, with tons of groove and breakdowns, but still fast-paced with a plethora of blast beats to last you for a while. Great length too -- doesn't overstay its welcome; fans of heavy, fast-paced Deathcore need to check this out.

 

#12. Carthage - Salt The Earth

Genre: Deathcore

Preview: "Years & Darkness"
 

A surprise favorite for me, came out way late into the year and I was expecting just another Polyrhythmic Deathcore band - and it is. Sometimes it's not about originality though, sometimes it's about how well-done the job gets done and this just happens to be nicely done Deathcore with groove, soloes and... cleans? Clean singing in my Deathcore and I like it? How did this happen? WHAT THE HELL, MAN!?

 

#11. Clocks - The Dividing Line

Genre: Progressive Deathcore

Preview: "Progress"
 

This one flew VERY under the radar, which completely surprised me. Sure it's a bit rough-sounding and vocals are very one-dimensional, but the talent oozing from these guys is pretty damn easy to hear. Nice tasteful shredding, well-put breakdowns and... whoa... ACTUAL PROGRESSIVENESS?! Love it when bands call themselves Proggy and it's not just an over-abundance of Polyrhythms/Meshuggahcore.

 

#10. Black Sheep Wall - No Matter Where It Ends

Genre: Downtempo Hardcore / Sludge

Preview: "Torrential"
 

Ultra heavy stuff here, possibly the heaviest album on my list. Angry, dirty, down-tuned sludgy hardcore that makes Infant Annihilator seem like the new A Day To Remember. Could get boring to some, but the drummer manages to keep things fresh with his unpredictable drum fills. Sooooooooooooo heavy.

 

#9. Gaza - No Absolutes In Human Suffering
Genre: Chaotic Hardcore / Grindcore / Sludge
Preview: "Not With All The Hope In The World"
 
Possibly their most Technical release, up to date. Chaotic as ever and muddy as the waters on the Black Marsh -- this band has clearly perfected their "Sludgecore" style that they're so known for. Not saying everything else was bad, just saying this feels like it's their most complete album, so far.

 

#8. IDYLLS - Farewell All Joy
Genre: Mathgrind
Preview: "Swine / Virgins / Utopiates"
 
I listened to this last month (and it came out on May), and I deeply regret not checking these guys sooner. Pure insanity and chaos and super technical (like you expect on any Math band). My only qualm with this album is the length - barely pass the 20-minutes mark.

 

#7. Behold The Arctopus - Horrorscension
Genre: Technical Metal / Instrumental/ Progressive
Preview: "Horrorsentience"

Oh God, the amount of chaos and technicality displayed here makes Necrophagist seem like a chugfest ripoff of The Acacia Strain. Just wish it had 1-2 more songs but this type of stuff usually tires you out after a bit, so the length is perfect for this.

  

#6. Dysphoria - To The Perfect Form of Modern Species
Genre: Technical Deathcore / Mathcore
Preview: "Aftereffect" 
 
This is basically a winning formula for me, right from the get-go. Mix 2 of my favorite genres and what I get is crushing pulverizing heaviness with enough noodlies to make old Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza proud. Instant favorite, seriously.

 

#5. Between The Buried And Me - The Parallax II: Future Sequence
Genre: Progressive Metal / Experimental
Preview: "Lay Your Ghosts To Rest"
 
Uhhh yeah... one of my favorite albums this year has been featured in about 80% AOTY lists I've seen -- this album is that good. I don't even know what to label this as, so well, let's call it Psychedelic Progressive Death Jazzy Space Metal '70score. How do they manage to keep putting out Quality albums is beyond me. Their EP was kinda meh for me but this regained my faith on the band and ultimately putting them on my Top 5 Fave bands AGAIN.

 

#4. The Contornionist - Intrinsic
Genre: Progressive Deathcore / Experimental / Space
Preview: "Sequential Vision"
 
This album got hate due to this album not being Exoplanet 2.0. They could've easily made another Exoplanet and garner critical acclaim once again, but nope, they basically said: "Remember when we got Spacey on Exoplanet? Yeah we're gonna do that a lot more now and we're gonna listen to a lot of Cynic too". And it worked, the cleans are perfect and fit just right with the Spacey landscapes these guys create. One of my super unexpected favorites, since before this I wasn't a big fan of these dudes.

 

#3. Bermuda - The Wandering
Genre: Deathcore / Polyrhythmic
Preview: "Sachael" 
 
How did something this djeneric end up as Top 3? How did I end up liking it so much is a thing of wonder really. The distorted vocals, awkward chugs, the obnoxious leads and the breakdowns... my God, these breakdowns are pulverizing. Something about the vibe of this album though... I can't explain it, I just know I seriously love this album WAYYYYY more than I expected to.

 

#2. Cattle Decapitation - Monolith Of Inhumanity
Genre: Technical Death Metal / Grindcore
Preview: "Dead Set On Suicide"
 
What a beast of an album. Unrelenting all the way through and arguably their best work to date, and their most technical too. The soaring highs used melodically, the *INSANE* drumming, the bombastic slams, the soloes - everything about this album is a winning formula, that has tons of metal fans raving. Seriously, this album has been getting a ton of love and for good reason too.

 

#1. 7 Horns 7 Eyes - Throes Of Absolution
Genre: Progressive Death Metal / Sludge
Preview: "Delusions"
 
How the hell can these guys manage to be so sludgy and heavy, yet so GODDAMN BEAUTIFUL!? Man, I don't even care if the lyrics are Christian and preachy, I seriously couldn't care less about that. The vocalist is a *BEAST*, his lows are thundering and the occasional highs he does sound demonic. The crushing guitars and pounding drums, the amazing Autumn-vibe atmospheres and the soloes -- all of these and many other reasons make this my TOP favorite album of 2012.

Well, hopefully at least someone found this list enjoyable. STILL TO COME: Top 10 EP's (Metal), Honorable Mentions and Disappointments (Metal), Top 10 Full Lengths (8-Bit), Top 10 EP's (8-Bit).