I've been looking for one of these threads, but it seems like it hasn't been made yet. It's been one and a half month since the start of 2012 and I want to know some of the 2012 releases that you guys enjoyed. Hopefully this thread will keep on growing as the year go on and help people keep in touch with essential new Metal releases.

Here are some to get us started off (some of the stuff that I liked):

Ketha - 2nd sight
http://soundcloud.com/kethaband

Dodecahedron - S/T
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sJxnUR8b0Q

Eveyrthing Went Black
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whPF8je_VQw

Beyond the Bridge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDPNW8o3WSU

Psycroptic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RePiuFxp7H4

Er, yeah, it's been one and a half months... Why frame this discussion as "best of the year" rather than "good recent stuff"? Why not just pick something recent you have things to say about and just start a thread about that?

Good point, I should rename the thread name, it might throw people off. The reason I started this thread is because there was a thread like this last year where people posted bunch of new albums that they liked and wanted people to hear. I found that thread to be really helpful and I discovered bunch of bands that way so I'm hoping this thread could be that thread

Not metal, but the new Van Halen sucked. Rituals of the Oak's Come Taste the Doom on the other hand kicked solid ass.

New Goatwhore was awesome,so was new Earth. I can't quite wrap my head around that Dodecahedron record yet but I found it interesting.

I've only heard one song from it, but I got a feeling that ...To Open the Passages in Dusk by Profetus is going to be one of the best funeral doom metal albums of the year.

New Alcest and Al-Namrood are good so far. Excited to get a hold of new Van Halen, Swallow the Sun, Woods of Ypres and Earth

My favourite album so far has been Ketha's III-ia. I was very surprised at how much they have improved. Monolithe's Interlude Second is great too.

I enjoyed the new Woods of Ypres very much. New Lethian Dreams is excellent as well. I am surprised that Abigail Williams has come up with a new album for the first time that doesn't suck. In fact its a brilliant album. New Alcest also meets my expectation. New Paradise Lost song kicks ass as well. This year promises to be a great one for the kind of music I like

Horrendous' The Chills is a damn amazing old school death metal album, the vocalist sounds like a mix of Chuck and Van Drunen to me.

seconding Monolithe.
The new Waning (The human condition) is really good, I've been listening to that album for days...it's like they found a way to make atmospheric black metal catchy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpypnDmY ... ture=share

I second this, the album is very good!

Now to spread some hatred, as many of those in this list aren't even out yet, but I've been listening to them for a while now!

Aborted - Global Flatline -> best I've heard from them, pretty good mix of brutality and melody
Anguish - Through The Archdemon's Head -> great traditional doom in the vein of the forefathers of the genre, go easy on the vocals though
Asphyx - Deathhammer -> good lord this is going to be one of the best of the year, as good as Last One On Earth
Autopsy - All Tomorrow's Funerals -> a compilation but a great one, some new songs as well
Barren Earth - The Devil's Resolve -> I'm going to be sandblasted for saying this, but I've been listening to the album for over a month now and it's definitely best of the year so far
Dodecahedron - Dodecahedron -> a pleasant surprise and a good album to spin regularly
Drudkh - Eternal Turn Of The Wheel -> a fantastically moody album, it shows so much emotions that it's hard to ignore
Napalm Death - Utilitarian -> this is going to kill, so very much
Thunderkraft - Totentanz -> a great step up from their debut and another great surprise

Now that I look at it, only three albums from that list are already out... ah hell!

I like new Hesper Payne - The Strange Tale of Samuel Gonzalez, it's one of the projects of The Axis of Perdition members and I found this EP to be their best, most focused work so far, quite nice death/doom metal stuff.

In some extent I like also current EP of Polish death/black metallers Doombringer. Nice for a few listens, nothing revolutionary though.

Seconding Horrendous - The Chills. Really good OSDM. I haven't heard many other albums this year, but I did enjoy Nekromantheon's "Rise, Vulcan Spectre". Very solid thrash album.

So far, I'm really enjoying Eluveitie's Helvetios. Every once in awhile, I pop the album all over again. I loved Al-Namrood Kitab Al-Awthan. Great album from Saudi Arabia.

I currently heard the new Skylark and Liv Moon and I found them pretty pleasant. Abigail Willaims' Becoming is nice too worth checking out.

listened to the new master's hammer album today and i think i'm gonna need a few more spins for it to sink in

that's a good thing

Charon- Sulfur Seraph(The Archon Principle)

Guys, you must check this out. Sounds like Teitanblood playing BlackThrash. Best album of 2012 so far.

Other highlights:
Desecravity- Implicit Obedience
Plague Widow- Plague Widow
Abyssal- Denouement

Couple other albums that I listened to

Lamb of God - Resolution: this album was good. I liked it more than their previous release.

Les Discrets - Ariettes Oubliees: Solid release. Not as good as their debut, but definitely worth your time.

Lacuna Coil - Dark Adrenaline: this album was not really good. Couple of enjoyable song, but not recommended.

Well this year has started weakly in my eyes. Les Discrets is pretty nice, everything the shitty new Alcest should have been. Horrendous and Abigail Willams were solid efforts also. Monolithewas good but not as thrilling as prior albums. Everything else I've heard has been dull

Pandaemonium: The Last Prayer
Just as good as there previous albums.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsD5V62O4E4

Also looking forward to Trick Or Treat's(Italy) new album as of yet untitled to the public, and Unisonic's full length release.

I'm really liking Nekromantheon's Rise, Vulcan Spectre. It's pretty much the same as Antichrist's Forbidden World. And since I dug the shit out of that album, I'm sure I'll do the same for this one. That Hesper Payne is pretty cool too.

It would be:
Aborted - Global Fatline
Venom - Fallen Angels

I wasn't really impressed with Les Discrets. Lacuna Coil and Eluveitie didn't disappoint. I'm not saying those albums are great but I didn't have great expectations from them either. However I did find Swallow the Sun to be rather weak. But I've never been a huge fan of them. Their new album doesn't have one single doom metal riff.

So far Aborted's global flatline. Can't wait to listen to the new Asphyx. Have the new Kryptos CD in my hands now and pretty sure it is going to be brilliant

I agree about Les Discrets. It has about the same number of standout tracks as Alcest's newest (3), but since the latter is shorter (i.e. less filler), I'm actually inclined to think that it's better. Doesn't change the fact that both are still 'meh' though.

Oh man, thanks for Hesper Payne. Exactly my kind of band, didn't know them.

Not metal, but I was extremely surprised at how good the new Van Halen is. I never cared much about the band, but checked this album out mainly for the purpose of bashing it on the internet. It was surprisingly fast for VH, borderline speed metal at times, and aside from the mediocre first song, was very consistent and enjoyable.

Ya'll also need to check out Liberteer. Among the best grind I've ever heard. http://liberteer.bandcamp.com/
And if it hasn't been mentioned yet, the Swedish trad metal resurgance band Ram. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkQMBe-1VgI

Earth, Orange Goblin, Horrendous, Nekromantheon, Proclamation, all been pretty good.

4 Arm - Submission For Liberty
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbR7q0GiZ_0

Pretty solid thrash.

Well you sure love off-kilter doom, don't you?

Anyway, Sorrow and Extinction by Pallbearer is sweet.

thanks for this, never head of them before

I slowly started to like new Aptorian Demon album. Usually I dont like such a ordinary black metal but this has certain charm...

The only 2012 release I have heard so far has been Goatwhore. And I love Goatwhore so I was definitely not disappointed with this one.

Yeah, so far, (2012) Orange Goblin - A Eulogy For The Damned.
What do you think about (2012) Earth - Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light II comparing to I?
My first impressions are that it's inferior to I.

Out of the 76 albums I've heard from this year so far, Pharaoh is taking home the crown. Amazing power metal from a band that's never done any wrong. Dissona falls into second place with their amazing debut offering. Don't miss out on the new full-lengths by Aborted, Horrendous, or Christian Mistress either.

76 albums???

Feast your eyes upon this: http://www.metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=2004

Damnit, you need a life!

Yeah, Christian Mistress' Possession is awesome.
So far Pallbearer - Sorrow and Extinction is my favorite of the year along Horrendous - The Chills. SIGH IS COMING SOON THOUGH.

Ha! Very true.

Yeah, all three of those rule. I haven't listened to Sigh yet, so hopefully the next album will be a good introduction.

And here I was thinking that I was already listening to too many new albums this year. Thanks a lot for dismaying that thought!

I've been constantly listening good things about Christian Mistress, maybe I should definitely check it. Typical 80's heavy metal with modern day production and sexy singer right?