Metal Awards

Tony 's Top 15 albums of 2012

  1. Testament - Dark Roots Of Earth
    The vets return four years too late with another quality slab of Thrash!
  2. Behexen - Nightside Emanations
    A perfect and long-awaited offering from Finland's coldest.
  3. Cannibal Corpse - Torture
    The guitars and vox are always razor sharp. The key here was Paul's drums. Torture was his best performance ever.
  4. Carach Angren - Where the Corpses Sink Forever
    The symphonic elements can be a bit cheesy, but they add diversity and lend to the brilliance of the stories.
  5. Khors - Wisdom of Centuries
    Proud to be 12.5% Ukrainian!
  6. Kreator - Phantom Antichrist
    Another Thrash band whose mastery predates my lifetime. Awesome album.
  7. Lunar Aurora - Hoagascht
    Some of the most harrowing BM ever released over an illustrious career. This brief return from hiatus is in good form.
  8. Marduk - Serpent Sermon
    The "heaviest" Black Metal in Sweden. Mortuus delivery is terrific.
  9. Nachtmystium - Silencing Machine
    I thought Addicts sucked. This one is a great return to form.
  10. Nile - At the Gate of Sethu
    George Kollias with one stroke discourages me and with one stroke leaves me in awe. He sets that bar even higher on At the Gate of Sethu.
  11. Overkill - The Electric Age
    The years of the Thrash vets continues.
  12. Sabaton - Carolus Rex
    One of the only Power Metal bands I truly enjoy. Great record from Sabaton.
  13. Wintersun - Time I
    It took long enough!
  14. Wodensthrone - Curse
    These guys haven't screwed up yet. A rare gem from the British scene.
  15. Winterfylleth - Threnody of Triumph
    More British mastery.
Tony 's Top 5 surprises of 2012

  1. Midnight (US) - Complete and Total Hell
    I haven't been able to get into these guys. This might be a turning point.
  2. Antestor - Omen
    The first "White Metal" albums I've enjoyed in a while.
Tony 's Disappointment(s) of 2012

  1. Ensiferum - Unsung Heroes
    Too safe.
  2. Burzum - Umskiptar
    I'm hoping he picks up the guitar next time through.
  3. Korpiklaani - Manala
    These guys have slowed down since their first few.
Tony 's Joke(s) 2012

  1. Job for a Cowboy - Demonocracy
    #1 on the private high school charts.
  2. Cryptopsy - Cryptopsy
    We need Lord Worm back.
Tony 's words about 2012
  1. Maybe I don't deserve to fill this out since my reviews were so far and few this year. I'd say I've still maintained my collection and still know plenty about metal despite my sad lack of keystrokes. Kudos to the stalwarts on MR for keeping up with it and cheers to a brutal 2013.