Question: are you using an umbrella of 'death metal'; leaving out certain genres; or including some you may not otherwise have? For example, I'm not sure if I'll include strict genres like 'grindcore' but probably will include anything with 'death' in the genre and also BDM, slam, and perhaps death/doom. I won't be including melo death, or black metal. Curious what others are doing...

I just got the new Creator. It's surprisingly good, much better than Hordes of Chaos.

Never heard of them.

I'm pretty sure he was referring to Kreator.

I just got the new Creator. It's surprisingly good, much better than Hordes of Chaos.

A lot of good stuff was released this year

Asphyx - Deathammer (a mind blowing masterpiece and many agree on this one)
Fjorsvartnir - Legions Of The North (For fans of old Enslaved, old Satyricon, old Emperor,etc.)
Ketzer - Endzeit Metropolis (I discovered this band this year and it kicks some serious asses)
Overkill - The Electric Age
Striker - Armed To The Teeth


I now wait to receive the new Munruthel cd but didn't hear yet entirely yet.

Timor et Tremor - Upon Bleak Grey Fields
Very good Pagan Black Metal. Melodic yet aggressive riffing, intense drumming, very good harsh and okay-ish clean vocals.
This album does some serious ass kicking.

But as for something that I am going nuts over, Monolithe III is giving me parapism, it's something unlike anything in the funeral doom scene. It's like funeral doom with ADD, it just burns through riffs, I swear the first 12 minutes has at least 40 riff changes, and it doesn't let up til about the 35 minute mark. It's insane, I've never heard such densely packed doom as the first half our of this, jumping from rolling droning, the swaggering death doom, to melodic leads, to clunky tremolos, to atmospheric keys, the solos, to random piano breaks, to grooving tom rolls all crazy unending waves of riffage, hell even when a riff does last for more than 15 seconds a new instrument or a new keyboard harmony or lead guitar lick is added every few bars, it's absolutely relentless. This album has more going on in it than any funeral doom album ever made, hell it has more things going on than any doom album regardless of styling, it's amazing. At around 35 minutes there is a bit more of a traditional bit for four or so minutes with only two or three major riffs, then at 42 minutes you get an actually break from the metal with some ambiance for twenty seconds, and from about the 47 minute mark it gets a bit traditional again for the closing. And that's pretty much it for breathers on this album. Seriously, I've never even imagined a funeral doom band that would keep up the riffing and ideas for thirty five sustained minutes and only use ambiance for twenty seconds in a fifty two minute album, it's insane. And you'd think there would be no atmosphere here, but no, this thing can be dark and brooding, beautiful, and in the case of a lead melody based period around the 22-25 minute mark it can be downright triumphant. But who cares about moodiness, this is a funeral doom album that is all about riffs, and I've never heard anything as full of them as this, any ten minute period on this album has more riffs than the entire new Elysian Blaze, it's fucking incredible.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! Listening now and this is fucking great so far. Could be in my top 5 of the year if it holds up.

Just a top 10 albums of the year. Breaking up genres is probably not worth it for a single year. Mine is at 14 at this stage, with 15 more that are very likely to take spots on the list after one listen each.

Any good trad.(?) doom albums this year (apart from Hour of 13 - 333 and Black Pyramid's - II)?

Never heard of them.

I'm pretty sure he was referring to Kreator.

What gave it away?

Ok, I think I'll try to do a Top 10 of the year too even if I didn't have much time to regularly listen to much music in this shitty year.
P.S: Will we open a new thread for this at the end of the year or will we use this one as the time comes close?

Just heard the new Cannibal Corpse. One of their best and one of the most exciting releases of 2012.

In no particular order:
Orange Goblin - A Eulogy for the Damned
Saint Vitus - Lillie: F-65