How ironic that this amazing 12 month period for metal comes two decades after what many consider to be its best defining year, 1986. All I can say is that 2006 has given 1986 quite a run for its money. Everyone and their headless corpse knows what an outstanding year the world of death metal had. From Deicide's old-school lightnening speed and newfound melodicism, to Suffocation'smethodical experiment in how to fit a killer breakdown amidst a flury of punishing speeds and riffs, all the active heavyweights of the genre put out some of the best material of their respective careers, while showing that theirs is a genre that has much more life than its name implies. The fact that Decapitated, Necrophagist, Suffocation, and Skinless have all been able to draw crowds in my hometown, which is THE mecca for country music, is saying something about how the genre's fans are growing.

Melodic metal also had a very strong showing this year.DragonForce's popularity with mainstream audiences is getting closer and closer to a breaking point, while their hyper-sonic power metal sound is holding its ground firmly. Gus G. has put his six string skills behind a very good honorable mention this year taht almost made my list, Firewind's Allegiance. As for Blind Guardian... well lets just say that their next album will have quite an act to follow after this year's A Twist In The Myth. Melodic death metal bands Amon Amarth and Into Eternity also put out some of the best material of their respective careers.

Metal just seems to be gettting bigger, catchier louder, faster, more varied, and better as each year goes on. There are dozens of sub-genre's to pick from, so many giants and rising bands releasing great material, which has led me to believe taht the golden age of metal is now. The 80's may have been it's defining decade, but there was not as much depth within the genre as there is now. Real metal in all it's forms is making a strong comeback fromm the mid-late nineties indeed.

Being as young as I am, I can't really describe how lucky I feel to have the opportunity to be involved with a site like metalreviews. I hope to improve on a lot of things next year to become a better listener and reviewer. The two releases next year I am looking forward to the most are Equilibrium's Sagas and Down's Down III, those two are going to slay for sure. Not much more to say about this year other than it ruled!