Metal Reviews

All of metal within the last five years, who is the best band?

Devin Townsend Project is solid but so prolific, that I don't even want to consider it. Deathspell Omega and maybe even DEP are also up there.

But my answer is Cattle Decap. I know people were a little iffy about the newest albums vocals but their last two albums have literally been the best two tech-death and deathgrind albums of the last five years. Their quality writing and creativity on top of their eccentric qualities really just make them appear to be the best band in metal right now. I'm not just being a fanboy either. They are truly that fucking good.

Want to say Opeth, but aren't really metal any more. Tempted to say Ihsahn, Enslaved are another good pick.

Overkill.

Their latest 2 albums could be considered, by some, to be their best 2 albums.

All of my favorite bands have either quit or are on a serious decline. That's sort of depressing.

Same picks for me. I would add Immolation to the list as well.

Aura Noir

5 years ago this would have been such an easy pick for me, but with Negura Bunget separating in two I am no longer sure.

Conservative pick: MDB
Liberal Pick: Ihsahn

Both have albums coming out shortly, so I guess whichever one I prefer would be my top pick. If you asked me 10 years ago, my answer would have been:
MDB, Emperor, Opeth. The more things change...

I have to go with Devy on Overkill.
Runner-ups are Solstafir, Slough Feg and Vektor.
Old formations such as Accept, Rage or Saxon are having a good run too.

At first I wanted to mention Agalloch but they only release an album every five years so it's a bit unfair to pick them I guess. But if we were talking about the past 10 years they would definitely be my first choice.
So I guess I'm with Zad on this one. I can't really choose between Opeth or Enslaved either. Both of them have put out absolutely fantastic albums every single time and have been evolving their sound constantly.
I'd also like to mention Septicflesh. Those guys made an incredible comeback and their last three albums have been absolutely mindblowing.

Overkill for sure.

I'm amazed at how fresh they still sound after over 30 years of thrashing it out!

No-one else seems consistent enough.

The newer bands are quite lacking in my opinion.

They seem to be unable to produce the level of quality older bands used to do with runs of 4-5 excellent albums. Today it's a miracle if a band has a run of 2 great albums.

A lot of innovation today is uninteresting unlike the 1980s and early-mid 1990s.

Easily Overkill. Slough Feg as well

Fucking Tankard. Haven't released a bad album in 30 years! And I'm sure the new one won't disappoint. Bring on July 27th.

Tankard? Meh.

While Devy is my favorite artist, I would be hesitant to label him strictly metal right now.

As far as metal goes, I would probably lean towards Overkill.

Meh to you too. Sure Vol(l)ume 14 wasn't groundbreaking and the production was kinda weak, but Thirst was huge. As was The Beauty and the Beer, Beast of Bourbon, and B-Day. A Girl Called Cerveza will again be awesome.

Protest the Hero are the only ones who jump to mind. Devy would be a close second except two of the albums he released aren't really metal. Slough Feg have a handful of goodies in the last five years, too.

Fanboy alert!

Nah, I agree. Tankard is awesome. While they were never better than Overkill, they have always been more consistent than everyone else. So yeah, I absolutely support DW here.

Can also mention Heathen if they keep it up.

Deathspell Omega, Akercocke (when they were making music, they were the best around and still Antichrist and Words are unbeatable by any band), Absu, come to mind. Plus, the obvious mention of Ihsahn.

I'm surprised by the mentions of Ihsahn. Yeah, After was solid (I listened to it today and wasn't in love with it like I was when it first came out. It seemed a bit weak.) And I don't remember people loving Angl like I did. And everyone generally dogged Adversary. And after one listen Eremita was rather meandering. Needless to say, I love Ihsahn but surprised by the mention of him given past judgments made on his work.