Metal Awards

Cody's Top 15 albums of 2006

  1. Iron Maiden - A Matter Of Life And Death
    What a phemonenal album! Maiden never fail to surprise me. After a lackluster performance on Dance of Death, I was shocked and awed by the unbelievable progression of this album. By far, the best Maiden of the last decade, perhaps of all time (thus far).
  2. Amon Amarth - With Oden On Our Side
    By and far, this is Amon Amarth's greatest outing yet, and that is saying alot from a band that has only ever put out top notch material. This is so recommended its absurd. This album goes so far beyons and genre classification, it is just simply out and out good music. From beginning to end, you will be headbanging or you'll receive a money back guarantee.
  3. Blind Guardian - A Twist In The Myth
    A bad ass Blind Guardian album? Well, this hasn't occured in while! And not only that, there is a lot of progressive tendencies this time around too! Yes, Blind Guardian are still the power metal warlords that they have always been, but there is obvious progression on this album, and it pays off very well for this band. Congratulations to Hansi and company for having the balls to challenge themselves and their fans to something a tad different. I am not the biggest BG fan, but this album is quite enjoyable and definitely one of the best of the year.
  4. Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain
    For those who are familiar with Agalloch, you need no introductions. For the uninitiated, let me just take a brief moment to say this one thing: this osn the most beautiful and emotional band in metal right now. Borknagar comes close to reaching the perfection of Agalloch, but I don't believe they quite reach the level of these American atmospheric masters. These guys are magical and will continue to garner the following that they deserve.
  5. Kalmah - The Black Waltz
    There are only a handful of bands that I can rely on to have fantastic releases time after time; Kalmah is no different. The Black Waltz represents just another reason for me to realize why these guys are so much better than Children of Bodom.
  6. Dream Evil - United
    The day this album came out in the States, I went out and purchased it. In my mind, Dream Evil can do no wrong, and United proves me correct in every way. With uber amounts of melody and uber amounts of pure heavy metal wonder, I have been enticed yet again, and will be the first in line for their next release.
  7. Mastodon - Blood Mountain
    The best major label debut of a metal band in the last decade? Possibly, as most bands tend to bow to pressure from the execs, but Mastodon has not only retained their traditional sound on a major label, but they have also pushed their boundaries giving them heaping load of respect from the metal community. Mastodon, while not technicall rookies, probably deserve the rookie of the year award in the eyes of many who are just getting around to hearing this behemoth of a band. Any recognition these guys deserve is good, because they deserve every morsel.
  8. Napalm Death - Smear Campaign
    With fellow comeback grindsters Terrorizer failing with their own attempt at a regrouping, it was my hope that Napalm Death would lead in 2006 with some excellent grind, and my hopes were confirmed. Smear Campaign is a continuation of outright aggression and slaughter, just what any good grind fan comes to expect. This is one of the better extreme metal albums of the year, and truly a standout example of Napalm metal!
  9. Unearth - III: In The Eyes Of Fire
    The slayers of mainstream metal. While their peers continue to convert to the melodious half assed melo death tendencies so popular in the NWOAHM, Unearth continue the brutal assault they began with. This isn't quite as good as The Oncoming Storm but it provides some great riffs.
  10. Wolf - The Black Flame
    All hail, the masters of old school! Wolf has taken a formula, almost devoid of any modern sound, and absolutely obliterates everyone in their path with it. Evil Star was good, but this album far excels beyond any of their previous releases.
  11. The Sword - Age of Winters
    Combining a little Spiritual Beggars with some Grand Magus and Unida, the The Sword are leading an old school charge with a classic sound that just absolutely crushes with its complete catchiness and necksnapping doomy riffs. Outstanding release!
  12. Edguy - Rocket Ride
    What a fucking catchy album from beginning to end. I will never understand why this album catches so much flak. Rocket Ride was made to be fun from beginning to end. Yes, it is not Edguy of old, but who cares as long as the material is good?! And get this...I enjoy Trinidad too!
  13. Borknagar - Origin
    This album is just a fabulous piece of art, simple as that. The level of sophistication this band has is uncanny, and definitely one of the best in the industry. Borknagar has challenged the reigning masters of moody acoustic, Opeth, in a big way. This is a surprise, yet incredibly enjoyable.
  14. Firewind - Allegiance
    Everytime Firewind puts out a release, every other power metal band on Earth breaks out in a cold sweat because they know this band poses a real threat to knocking them off the top lists of the year. Firewind is just that good, and their new vocalist is definitely a worthy replacement to his predecessor. These Greeks have shown they cannot fail without trying. Oh yeah, Gus G for guitarist of the year!
  15. Jon Oliva's Pain - Maniacal Renderings
    Moody, evil, doomy yet undeniably traditional heavy fucking metal! Jon Oliva is one of the best songwriters in metal today with both Savatage and Trans Siberian Orchestra as successful ventures under his belt. As a side project, Jon Oliva's Pain acts more as a top notch main act, rather than just a space for someone's creative niche.
Cody's Top 5 surprises of 2006

  1. In Flames - Come Clarity
    In Flames have transitioned into a new period in their careers. The sooner opponents and proponents alike recognize this, the sooner we can get on with each our giddy lives. I have accepted this band's transition, and while their last outing was just plain bad, I think Come Clarity is a respectable release with some odes to their past glory, but undeniably modern in sound. I am glad In Flames is able to enjoy success, while also proving that they are not the turn coats that everyone makes them out to be. Good on you boys.
  2. Slayer - Christ Illusion
    Not their best album, but this is definitely listenable!! This album took me awhile to accept and get into, but after a few listens, this is the best Slayer of the past decade. Album of the year? No, but it is a step back in the right direction.
  3. Iron Maiden - A Matter Of Life And Death
    Oh man...this album had me grinning ear to ear from beginning to end! I was not expecting to hear such a monumental success from Iron Maiden, but these guys have truly proved why they will go down in history as being one of the best.
Cody's Disappointment(s) of 2006

  1. Trivium - The Crusade
    I have never been a Triv ium fan, but at least they had their own sound...until of course The Crusade came along. Members of the band are touting this off as the band's thrash opus, when in reality all it is is a rehashed Metallica album. Quit trying to prove you are true guys, the only thing you proved with this album is that the word "poser" applies within the metal ranks.
  2. Terrorizer - Darker Days Ahead
    Boring boring BORING! wtf?! Where the hell did Terrorizer go?!
  3. Dragonforce - Inhuman Rampage
    These guys are phenoms, simple as that. TGHey are crazy musicians, and know how to write a catchy tune, so why are they here then you ask? Inhuman Rampage is on this list because it sounds exactly like everything else they have done!!!! And this is coming from a guy that is of the vein "if it sounds good, originality doesn't matter", but Dragonforce are becoming a novelty act, and the band seems like they are pushing their sound to the distance to see how much they can extract from the speed vault. With more variation besides the relentless wall of speed and melody, these guys could get back into my top 15 easily.
Cody's words about 2006
  1. First and foremost: one of my New Year's resolutions (amongst lose weight and find a cool job), is to listen to more recent releases! This was an eventful year for me to say the least. I finally graduated from college and I moved into the "real world." I have a job now (which isn't the greatest in the world, not by a long shot), and am making a little money. Lucky for me, I have good friends, and a good city to live in, or else I'd definitely be going nuts right now. As for the music! This year wasn't a year of excessive exploration in the the realms of up and coming music. This year was a year of reflection, in which I took most of my time and money to listen and build up a back catalog of old school necessities. So while I didn't necessarily excel at building my 2006 reportoire of knowledge, I think I have bettered my tastes by examining the music that makes this genre great. I am looking forward to 2007 both in my personal life and for more of a musical exploration. Now that I have returned to MetalReviews, I know with all the bands and albums that roll through here on a weekly basis, that finding new music will be no challenge. As for my personal life? Well, I guess that is a whole other can of worms. Have a good year everyone!