Some favourites that I didn't see mentioned so far

Dimmu Borgir - Stormblåst
Edge Of Sanity - Crimson
Opeth - Morningrise
Tool - Ænima
Ulcus Molle - Roles (not because it's especially good, but I got it when it was released, before anyone knew who they were, and I really loved it)
Ulver - Kveldssanger

Brutality - In Mourning

Just Gonna run through the missed ones I like a lot because None So Vile, Here in After, Fathers of An icy Age, and Psychostasia are just gonna shit all over anything in terms of quality.

Vomitory - Raped in Their Own Blood. Sure, not on Blood Rapture or Revelation Nausea levels, but hey, it's Vomitory.
Inquisitor - Walpurgis. Way overlong, but insanely brutal and hyperspeed thrash, should have been half the length for increased impact.
Bloodstone - Hour Of The Gate. Pretty sweet, not really anything to call life changing, but it's got riffs and energy for years.
Abramelin - Abramelin. See Above
Sabbat - The Dwelling. It's an hour long black/thrash song, that's pretty cool.

Looking around at the albums released that year it stands pretty clear that it basically was a shit year for metal.

Don't know about hidden gems, but these are at least some of the albums I enjoyed from 1996.

Alice in Chains - Unplugged
Probably the best unplugged album I know of.

My Dying Bride - Like Gods of the Sun
A album that there never will be any consensus about. Is it fantastic or boring crap? Or even mediocre. I however, like it a lot.

Tool - Ænima
Yes, yes I know it's not "metal" - and it's Tool that everyone and their mother has an opinion about. It's a fucking good album though.

Dark Funeral - The Secrets of the Black Arts
It's a fast motherfucker of an album. So there's that.

Cemetary - Sundown
Well, not as good as my favorite album from Cemetary - Godless beauty. But I like that melo-goth-death vibe they got going here.

It also was a year that featured two great songs from albums that were pretty bad otherwise; Type O Negative - My Girlfriend's Girlfriend and Prong - Rude Awakening.

Two more:

The Darksend - Unsunned
and
Solhverv - Tågernes Årtusinde

both great bm/dm albums.

with regards to black metal only, it's pretty obvious that, while the time for real genre/2nd wave classics was basically over, there was a shitload of albums of outstanding quality released in 1996. most notably, not counting demo releases and off the top of my head:

dark funeral - the secrets of the black arts; this classic sort of became the blueprint of "fast swedish black metal for Him"
sort vokter - folkloric necro metal; this album is so unique and weird, it's insane. takes the best from, umm ildjarn and some sick mind, to melt that into, well sort vokter.
darkthrone - total death; even though this later turned out to be a transition album into a DT era I don't like too much, this was arguably the last really great DT album
gorgoroth - antichrist; although this one is weaker than its predecessor and successor, it has the s/t song, which is one of the most epic Bm songs of all time
vlad tepes/torgeist; vlad tepes, enough said
arcturus - aspera hiems symfonia; fuck later arcturus! this one is definitely among the best from 90's norway
arkona - imperium, the strongest arkona material together with zeta reticuli, albeit vastly different. amazing sense of melody.
burzum - filosofem; well, it's filosofem
ildjarn - forest poetry; the strongest ildjarn material in my book; chill of the night (returning), whispering breeze, no gleaming light are all fucking awesome!

nothing more needs to be said when someone is wrong about the year of a release. I mean this is not hard to look up ON THIS VERY SITE. if you don't bother looking it up, you deserve to be called out (and yes, I've been there and learned that the hard way myself)

Cryptopsy - None so Vile
Dark Funeral - The Secrets of the Black Arts
Neurosis - Through Silver in Blood

Listen to all of these from time to time, so for me they're the obvious choices.

What the fuck kinda call out was "hmmmmmmm"? That could mean anything.

There's actually several sources that list '96 as the release year. Discogs, RateYourMusic, the band's own Bandcamp (they make a call out to it on this EP http://luxinframundisproductions.bandca ... l-of-death).

well, then the info on this site should be corrected if it's really wrong. I would in general trust here over discogs or bandcamp as a rule of thumb.

The original release was on a now defunct Mexican label with no exact date. Considering that Bandcamp is Luxinframundis Productions which is run by The Chasm's Daniel Corchado, I'd rather trust his own judgement.

Monstrosity · Millennium

I had no idea this is from '96. I always assumed it came out in 1999. Great pick!

I quite like the idea of "overlooked gems" but not of "albums of the year."

- Dreadful Shadows | Buried Again
I remember dubbing this on a used tape from a friend's dubbed tape -- the shittiest sound quality you'd ever imagine. Didn't stop me from playing it for days on end.

- Poverty's No Crime | The Autumn Years
Melodic German prog. Not their best but their most unaffected effort. I still play this when I'm feeling nostalgic, if ever.

- Memento Mori | La danse macabre
Not only because I like the band, but this one featured Kristian Andren from Tad Morose, another band I really like. This is music I grew up with...

Contender for a spot in the top 10:
EverEve | Seasons
Gothic metal done right. Perfect every which way.

Contender for a spot in the top 20:
- Solitude Aeturnus | Downfall
Dark with a whiff of musk and a pinch of cinnamon. Incense to the ears - dazzling, enchanting, and beautifully sombre.

The list goes on and on, and many have already been mentioned.

I'll throw in some more traditional albums from my favourites (in no particular order). They're not overlooked and may definitely not be considered gems by many of you but they're among my personal albums of the year.

Manowar - Louder than Hell
I know, I know... This album gets a lot of hate but I love it as it contains one of the first Manowar tunes (perhaps the first one) that really got me hooked. And I love the instrumental - Today is a good day to die - to death.
Favourite tracks: All.

Grave Digger - Tunes of War
Classic riffy heavy metal. Nothing more to say.
Favourite tracks: Scotland united, The Bruce, Cry for Freedom, Rebellion, Culloden Muir

Anvil - Plugged in Permanent
Except their first few albums this band doesn't receive much praise and PiP is definitely not their strongest output but I can dig it.
Favourite tracks: Doctor Kevorkian, Killer Hill, Face Pull, I'm trying to sleep, Guilty

Motörhead - Overnight Sensation
First: the cover sucks (beardless Lemmy? fuck that...); Second: the music doesn't. Good Motörhead tunes everywhere.
Favourite tracks: Civil War, I don't believe a Word, Love can't buy you Money, Them not me, Murder Show

Solitude Aeturnus' Downfall has already been mentioned. A good one as well but I think their previous albums are better.

Needless to say that there were better years for Metal than 1996. Ten years earlier for example.

1996 is when Death Metal started going a bit downhill for the next decade or so, but there are some solid releases. Traumatic Voyage's "Trauma," Inverted's "The Shadowland," two Asphyx albums, Crust's "Shapes Of Inner Urge," Fallen Christ's "Abduction Ritual," and a few others who aren't of much notoriety.

Nice one! I'll add Repudilation's demo "Purging of impurity", also in 1996.

speaking of overlooked gems from 96, I'll throw in azag-thoth's "reign supreme". quite traditional BM from switzerland, but this is really a good one that hardly anyone knows.

Nice thread idea, I actually think we should do 1997 next year on January 1, then 1998 January 1 of the next year and so on and so forth.

Anyway. Cradle of Filth unleashed two masterpieces of black metal that year. Dusk and V Empire are some of the best metal albums I've ever had the pleasure of hearing.

Carcass with Swansong made a very kick ass death n roll album. This album is not too popular, but I love it anyway.

Same story with Metallica's Load. Good kick ass hard rock that gets criticized immensely for some reason.

Filth Pig - Ministry (sludge metal)
Okay, whenever there's a "best of x year" thread and Ministry have released an album in that year I'm probably gonna mention that album. That said, this is a very good album and probably one of their best, actually deserving the title. It's Ministry's dabble in sludge metal, which sounds a lot better than you would expect. Tracks like "Dead Guy" and the title track kick so much ass that I really can't see why you'd dislike them. Of course since most Ministry fans aren't sludge metal fans, this got a bad rep but it's undeserving. Good music and good music, regardless of the genre.

I'll edit this with more later.

Speaking of Industrial, I forgot about KMFDM with XTORT. I like this album a lot. Especially songs like Power, Apathy, Inane. Its been a while since I heard this one, will have to relisten some time in the future.

Will try my best not to repeat albums previously mentioned.

Damnation - Rebel Souls - Dark, evil sounding death metal. One of their best releases.
Deströyer 666 - Unchain The Wolves - One of their best! Epic hymns.
Dødheimsgard - Monumental Possession - Raw black metal the way the way it should be played.
Grotesque - In the Embrace of Evil - More of a compilation, but the 2 tracks that were recorded in 1996 alone are well worth it.
Immolation - Here in After - A massive beast of an album.
samael - Passage - They might of started changing musical direction from this point, but still an amazing album nonetheless.

Kudos for mentioning the Arcturus, The Chasm, Vomitory and Psychotic Waltz albums.

Pantera - The Great Southern Trendkill

The best Pantera album, it has some heavy pissed off tracks and some really nice mellow tracks like Floods which is just amazing and this is maybe the last album where Phil sounds good doing his harsh vocals

And I will second Katatonia as well

Now here's one that almost never gets mentioned! I really ike its fury, simplicity and the atmospheric parts towards the end.
And although it isn't officially known who's behind Azag-Thoth, I've long harboured a suspicion based on their guitar production, which sounds exactly like that of another Swiss band whose name I shall not mention here out of respect for the assumed musicians.

1996 was a very good year for grindcore. Four of my top 10 albums got released that year.

C.S.S.O. - Nagrö Läuxes VIII
If Pink Floyd sounded like Carcass? More like if Pink Floyd gets raped by Carcass! Very Japanese!

Nyctophobic - War Criminal Views
Possibly the slowest grindcore album of all time.

Noiseslaughter - Greed
Crossoverish grindcore. The best grindcore album no one has heard. Only released this album (and a bunch of tapes before that).

Ipekakuana - By-Product
This is a demo tape with 50 songs in just over 37minutes, but damn this is the best grindcore demo tape ever recorded. (yup even better than the Warsore demo also released this year)

The grind splits/EPs and tapes from this year that are very good. i Spoiler'd this one.
I hope these count, since most of this bands playing this kind of music release their shit on tapes or 7" eps.



Damn! And that's only stuff released in 1996! (1997 was a even better year. )

And finally the first Liquid Sound Company album, the one featuring Robert Lowe (Solitude Aeturnus) on guest vocals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWARS4oD8x0
This is a criminally overlooked LP. Psychedelic rock i guess?

Bethlehem - Dictius Te Necare
I love everything about this album, from the doom and gloom mixed with bursts of speed of the darkly melodic music to the twisted, over-the-top vocals. I prefer the 2004 rerelease which includes the track "Schuld uns'res knöch'rigen Faltpferds" from the Gummo soundtrack, which is probably my favourite Bethlehem track. None of the imitators have ever come close.

Cool thread.
Im gonna second "plugged in permanent" as someone mentioned earlier. Anvil are already overlooked as it is, let alone any one post-80's album of theirs.

As for extreme metal...

Abhorer from singapore was fuckin awesome. They are purportedly one of the first extreme metal bands of asia. Their one and only full-length album "zygotical sabbatory anabapt" is an instant black death classic.

Angelcorpses' "hammer of gods" deserves a mention here as well. Very epic, destructive shit with a bit of a morbid angel feel and plenty of black metal leanings.

Sacramentary Abolishment is Chris Ross' first band before revenge and axis of advance. Their 96 album "river of corticone" sounds a little like order from chaos but with much more variation in drumming with more faster and sometimes slower parts, adding a doom feel occasionally which really works. And I usually am not too big on doomy sounds.

I'll think of more later.

And now you can check again. http://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Th ... rs.../1559

So yeah, this album rules. And here's the strongest track on it. It has so much ancient sounding mystique swirling around it.

UP! for Forgotten Woods. Totally underrated and overlooked gem of black metal. Forgotten Woods do Burzum better than Burzum. These guys get played a lot in my house. Very LISTENABLE black metal if ya know what i mean?

Eye Hate God - Dopesick
Grief - Miserably Ever After
Gorgoroth - Antichrist
Katatonia - Brave Murder Day
Opeth - Morningrise

Great album but it was released in 1997.

Abscess - Seminal Vampires and Maggot Men
Joyless - Unlimited Hate
Judas Iscariot - The Cold Earth Slept Below
Mythological Cold Towers - Sphere of Nebaddon

Ablaze My Sorrow - If Emotions Still Burn
Ancient - The Cainian Chronicle
Ancient Rites - Blasfemia Eternal
Angelcorpse - Hammer of Gods
Arch Enemy - Black Earth
Bathory - Blood On Ice
Behemoth - Grom
Christ Denied - ...Got What He Deserved
Gates of Ishtar - A Bloodred Path
Limbonic Art - Moon In The Scorpio
Panzerchrist - Six Seconds Kill

I'm gonna be that guy and say Marilyn Manson - Antichrist Superstar.

This album is darker and more evil than most black or death metal albums from any era. Arguably, this could be called an Industrial Metal album, though I think the album is beyond categorizing. The pinnacle of Manson's career for sure, though the following two albums were also good, especially Holy Wood.

On the black metal side of things I'll of course mention Filosofem. This is Varg's definitive statement and masterpiece. Not much else really needs to be said about it.

Cradle of Filth released V Empire and Dusk and her Embrace this year also, which are two of the best symphonic BM albums ever I'd wager to say. Yes, this is BM.

Rotting Christ and Gorgoroth put out amazing albums as well, and I have a soft spot for Ildjarn's Strength and Anger. Just pure rage and misanthropy put to music.

Guys, it's not a list thread. Add some extra content to your posts.. talk about those alums a bit.

Cool description, it made me finally listen to it and I like it. Vocals remind me of Suffocation's demo a bit, sweet!
Edit: In terms of slowness, Corpse from Bulgaria might rival them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Nl0piVngxw
(track is from their 1996 album to keep it there). Also, Corpse's logo is among the most boring ones I can think of (unlike Nyctophobic).

And no one has mentioned the best band ever? Morgana Lefay released their second best album, Maleficium, in 1996.

Can't believe no one has mentioned these masterpieces yet:

Kataklysm - Temple of Knowledge

One of the most unique death metal albums ever. No one, not even the band, managed to repeat such a blaze of fury, riffs, chaos and a healthy dose of lyrical and vocal maelstrom. IMO, one of the pillars of death metal.

Slightly amusing story - first time in heard Kataklysm was in 1996 through a video for the song "The Awakener" (off this album) on a show called Metalla (german video channel Viva). It blew my teenager mind - deep, guttural vocals, technical and fast drumming, even some melodies in the guitar work, I needed to get this. When I eventually bought it a few months later, I realized that the video was fucked up, it was cca 30% slower than on the album - meaning the drum work was even faster and the vocals even madder than I initially thought - mind blow times ten!

Here is the fucked up version of the song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2MC69uVSgw
(Check out Maurizio stil playing bass then, in tracksuit and that silly hat )

And here's the normal version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nypZ19Vvcw

Jesus Christ, Kataklsym ruled so hard back in the day...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbFKKjDHIg8

Impaled Nazarene - Latex Cult

The ideal mix of punk and black metal. Add to this Slutti's vocal hysteria, and you get the perfect "fuck off" album.

Gorefest - Soul Survivor

The transitional album. Less death metal, more feeling in the guitar playing. Wasn't to keen on this when it was released, but later on found beautiful songwriting between the blue overtones of the album.

Decameron - My Shadow...

An underrated release, for sure. Considered as a Dissection copy back in the day, but this album is so much more. Detailed guitar work, gloomy and even emotional sometimes, in its evil way. Tons of riffs, melodies and solos in each song, flowing perfectly together. Check it out here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVLxCnexnTE

This is a fun thread. So much good stuff from 1996.

1. BLUT AUS NORD: Fathers of the Icy Age. Black metal perfection, ice cold riffs with absolutely no filler, vocals that sound like someone who is dying in a blizzard. Amazing atmosphere.

2. GORGOROTH: Antichrist. Not as good as the debut and also a bit short, but still timeless savage riffs that never get old.

3. ARKONA: Imperium. Only one person mentioned this in passing, but I genuinely believe it's in the top 3. They do the whole Polish black metal thing of creating dread with a highly dramatic vocal delivery and these swirling riffs with polka beats that invoke a battle atmosphere ala Graveland.

Honorable mentions: GEHENNA (not a single person mentioned this one but it's actually a really great focused work with intense riffs!), GRAVELAND, SACRAMENTUM, SAMAEL.

Releases that I know were great but just haven't stood the test of time, ie I hardly ever listen to them anymore include Judas Iscariot, Burzum, Abigor, Borknagar, Cryptopsy, Kvist.

d'oh, totally forgot to mention this overlooked/forgotten gem from 1996: impiety's blasphemic debut asateerul awaleen. this was before they went full-on retarded black/death/thrash/grind/whatever. this is a great piece of black metal with some nordic influences but also a very own special touch. proficient stringwork, very competent drumming, some very fitting choirs/chanting and great songwriting in general. this album is really surprisingly varied and never gets boring. I literally played my old CD copy to death in my youth. fortunately it was reissued on LP by agonia some years back, but unfortunately that reissue was spoiled by a new cover drawing instead of the old iconic one. anyway, this is a mandatory album, especially if you're interested in a skilled take on black metal from an "exotic" place on the black metal map.