New Ea? I must get on that, didn't hear about it until now.

New Ensiferum is solid but inconsistent, as usual. I always seem to like their energetic openers and lengthy epic towards the end of each of their albums, while find the other tracks from slightly below average to just good.

New Ensiferum starts off really bad but does well to redeem itself at the end. The first like, three or four solid tracks all sound like dull reimaginings of "Wanderer" from Victory Songs, but once "Retribution Shall Be Mine" starts, the songs actually start to get some damn energy, and the not immediately aggressive ones at least build up to something by that point. So it's about half good, with the good songs being excellent Ensiferum songs and the not good songs being really, really boring Northland songs. "Pohjola" is great and the 17 minute long song actually keeps my attention this time, unlike the two really long songs on the previous album.

Also that bonus track fucking owns, oooooowwwwwns.

Very few good albums this year. The ones I have listened to:
Cannibal Corpse`s 'Torture' -Solid slab of death metal but nothing to write Metal Archives about, I would rate it 7.5/10.

Kreator`s 'Phantom Antichrist' -Well executed fast-paced thrash metal with some good solo`s. I'd say 8/10.

Spawn of Possession 'Incurso' - I now have a second tech-death band that I really appreciate, Origin being the other. This is my favorite album this year. Some nice classical pieces to the music. It`s very fast, complex riffing with my only complaint being the guitar tone(a little too wanky), tight drumming, long songs that don`t get boring, a lot of time signature changes, and ripping solo`s by Christian Munzner. Vocals are average. This is my second favorite tech-death album behind 'Antithesis', I think this deserves a 9.2/10

Unleashed`s 'Odalheim' - Best death metal album I have heard this year. Good riffs, very nice soloing and lyrics that I personally like. Catchy songwriting as well. I give this an 8.2-3/10.

You disliked In My Sword I Trust? I'm pretty much the opposite, I didn't find much to like in the mid/late-album tracks. Also didn't think much of the clean singing and the opera girl. At this stage all I want is really reimaginings, since they've always been able to do the epic soundtrack metal well. After 2 listens it's probably their weakest album.

I also hated the bonus cover song, but then I've never listened to Gipsy Kings before.

That's how I feel too. I would love for them to do something akin to to the intensity of Victory Songs again. Those first three tracks on VS are just awesome and the rest of the album is great as well. Don't get me wrong, there are some great songs on the new album, I just know Ensiferum is capable of so much more...

Puteraeon - Cult Cthulhu

Okay, another swedeath worship in the vein of dismember but its done right.
Nice atmosphere, good tremolo riffs.
Songs like Walking With Shadows and Liberation stand out because of the variation in the riffing, wish they did that more often. Good album if you like swedeath.

Krallice's new album Years Past Matter was generally messy and boring, but I'll be damned if the final two minutes (out of sixty) aren't incredible.

The new Necrovation is one of my favorite releases this year. Probably in my top 3.

Krallice being messy and boring? NO WAY!

+1 to Necro.

Thanks for this. I might like that album better than the new Ignivomous. Certainly not very groundbreaking, but as you said: very well done. Clean, quality production is another plus.

You're welcome man. Cheers.

Lol. I might still get this later, for the sake of the final two minutes at least.

Well, they didn't use to be. Their debut had like 5 riffs per song and was very well-structured. Every album after that has been the same drivel though.

I know I'm a bit late to respond to this post, but I have to say that Gastrike is by far my biggest let-down of the year. I do recognize that a more black metal oriented sound is a natural progression from the utter perfection that was The End, but I can't help but feel that Gastrike's black metal elements are lackluster. Maybe Gastrike is such a letdown because The End was my favourite album of 2010, but I feel that the direction shifted from epic viking/doom to unoriginal, overproduced black/"epic" doom metal that only hints at what the members of Ereb Altor are truly capable of. That being said, the songs with more clean vocals certainly shone out (Dispellation and Mistress of Wisdom being prime examples) while I found that the harsh vocals found on most of the album seemed uninspired and downright generic.

Then again, this is just my opinion. Does anybody else feel as let down as I do?

That's a shitty ratio considering the song lengths on that terrible album. The longest is fifteen minutes.

Don't know if people have brought it up already, but I just found out about Anathema and their newest record. I've fallen head over heels for it. I don't have a single thing negative to say about. I think the music is moving and the lyrics deep. Great to just chill out to.

Yeah it's a really great album. That band has been going from strength to strength for like 13 years now. I love how they build on themes and how they decided to use the great female vocals more.

Anathema's newer stuff gets on my nerves a bit, but that new album is somethin' else. The "Untouchable" tracks are just aural euphoria.

Fear Factory's new album is really great.
Cattle Decapitation- Monolith of Inhumanity is probably my favorite album of 2012 so far
Chelsea Grin- Evolve was really good, a lot of people around here might not like them but i don't really mind a lot of deathcore
Cannibal Corpse- Torture was another solid album by CC
Cemetery Rapist- Tongue Punched in the Fartbox was a fun grind EP

still need to get around to listening to some of the other shit that came out in 2012 ( like Testament, JFAC, Dying Fetus, & Gojira) and i'm looking forward to the new Dethklok and Pig Destroyer in october

So far my tops are (off the top of my head):

Elysian Blaze - Blood Geometry
Mgla - With Hearts Towards None
Six Brew Bantha - s/t LP
Pizza Hi Five/Powercup - split 10"
Stabbed To Death - demo 2012
Wrathprayer - Sun of Moloch
Witchrist - The Grand Tormentor
Revenge - Scum.Collapse.Eradication.
Cellgraft - s/t LP
Anhedonist - Netherwards
Inverloch - Dusk|Subside
Panopticon - Kentucky
Desecresy - The Doom Skeptron

still waiting on: Gorguts, Neurosis, Swans, The Kill, Internal Rot, Sacriphyx, Portal, and I guess Pig Destroyer

Just tried to listen to Witchrist's the Grand tormentor and nearly fell asleep, man that guitar tone is weak as hell and the vocals sound like a wheezing old man underneath the already weak guitar tone- very shitty album. The new High on fire and Elysian Blaze were great though.

Yeah, I'm somewhat disappointed in the new Witchrist also. I really liked Beheaded Ouroboros so I had high expectations for their new album. I mean what the hell happened to the dual vocals? Definitely not as good as their previous album.

Oh my goodness, 2012 has been an amazing year for music.

For metal stuff we have:

A Light in the Dark's two album "Disharmony" and "One Day to Another" which are both amazing black metal with great synth work, truly atmospheric stuff.(Both are available for free download on the bands page by the way)

Alcest's Les voyages de l'âme which might be my favorite Alcest release, it just seems to be done the best. I think we all know what that sounds like.

Brendon Smalls solo album "Brendon Small's Galaktikon" is also really great. A great heavy metal concept album that's really full of energy.

Caves of Glass, a band from /mu/, released a single "Gone from Oceania". This is more post-rock but it's still pretty fucking good. The second track, "Barren Earth", is epic for lack of a better word.[Free download also available, just Google it, it might come up on a blog but it's band sanctioned]

Chaosweaver, holy shit. The new album "Enter the Realm of the Doppelgänger" is a fucking insane piece of black metal. It has sick(seriously) vocals, great guitar work, and some very nice and dominating keyboard work. Tracks like "Crystal Blue" or "Maelstrom of Black Light" blow me away.

Cityscape Drawn in Black Ink's "Line 0 EP" is a really good "shoegaze/post-black metal" album, not the best but it's still a stand out piece.[Also free download, Google it, there's a bandcamp]

Hypomanie released what is probably my favorite "shoegaze black metal" album this year with "Calm Down, You Weren't Set on Fire". It's not really even black metal but it's still a breathtaking album. It just works so well.[Also a free download, Google]

Les Discrets also released an album(as we all know) called "Ariettes Oubliées..." although not really metal it's still grouped with that scene along with Alcest and stuff. I prefer this over Alcest though, it's a very pretty album.

Umbah released "Enter the Dagobah Core" this year, some nice electronic black metal.

Vargnatt released something I've been waiting a long time for this year, "Durch die Stille...". A very good black metal album with some pretty good production and great vocals.

YOHIO, a visual kei artist, also released his mini album "REACH the SKY" this year, not really metal but still good stuff.

Non metal stuff was also great this year.

Death Grips released "The Money Store" this year, a catchy as all hell rap album. Very nice vocals and great beats.

The Flying Batteries released a split along with New Motive Power called "Snescore", some very nice synthpop stuff, very catchy.

I believe Ghost Animals released their album "New English" this year also. Some very good indie rock.

Ghost Kollective released their "Part Way There - 61 moons EP" this year I think. I can't really describe it, it's some pretty chill electronic with vocals.

Glen Check released "Haute Couture" this year. Some very nice synthpop and nice vocals. I'd really recommend that.

Lola Kite released "I Start to Believe You" this year also. Again, some very nice synth stuff

Toys With Knives released a two song demo thing called "Siamese Cousin", also some nice synthpop

Zulu Winter released "Language" which is a very nice indie rock album.

きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ(Kyarypamyupamyu) released her album "ぱみゅぱみゅレボリューション(Pamyupamyu Revolution)" this year also. This is an extremely catchy J-Pop album.

Some highly anticipated albums I'm looking forward to are: Death Grips "No Love Deepweb" which I think is coming out October 23rd, Dethklok's "Dethalbum III" coming out October 16th, which is probably going to be my album of the year, and possibly Kid North's(indie rock) full length album, but I'm not sure if it's coming out this year.

Edit: aiieeeh, how can I forget? I'm also highly looking forward to Herbst's(Lantlos frontman) solo new wave EP from his project LowCityRain, and I'm also looking forward to the EP by blackgaze band Outlaw Wyvern.

I think that Puteraeon album undoubtedly crushes Horrendous, Ignivimous, Revel in Flesh and any other oldschool worship album I've heard this year. Just... damn.

I tend to agree with this, though Desecrecy and Binah are definitely considerations in the '2012 OSDM best of' mix for me, as well. That said, the Puteraeon album is really, really fantastic.

Humph, my love for Horrendous still remains. I remember hearing this once, but I must check this out again.

On another note, this year has been really, really shitty in terms of thrash. Only thing worth noting is Nekromatheon's album.

http://bloodshotdawn.bandcamp.com/
Bloodshot Dawn, a melodeath/thrash band with some pretty technical guitar work and really good leads.

http://artbynumbers.bandcamp.com/
Art By Numbers. Not metal by this sites standards, but some people may like it. Similar to The Human Abstract, but with clean vocals.

Personally, I'd say if anything's even gonna come close to crushing the new Ignivomous, I'd put my vote towards the new Necrovation, not another swedeath clone. Witchrist was enjoyable, Horrendous was meh, Wrathprayer was mostly hype. None of them can compete with Ignivomous or Necrovation.

Haven't listented to Binah yet, thanks for reminding me. And yes, the new Desecrecy is amazing, definitely in my death metal top 5 this year. The new Puteraeon was cool to listen to the first couple of times, but after that it became a little boring to sit through.... though I still listen to a couple of songs from time to time.

I love Puteraeon's Cult Cthulhu, currently third in my 2012 OSDM worship list behind Binah and Desecresy.
Binah's Hallucination In Resurrecture is awesome though. They competently combine the grooviness of Bolt Thrower with the crushing darkness of Incantation. An absolutely fantastic debut.

I am really enjoying Denial of God - Death and the Beyond. Different from most black metal, it focuses on playing a nice mid-paced atmospheric / melodic style and sounds quite beautiful, as opposed to being ultra raw or blast-beat infested. It has a more traditional metal catchy riffing style with good production and with acoustic interludes.

Good way to put it re: Binah.

So they sound like Slugathor's last album? I'm buying this immediately.

electric age.

I'm really enjoying Les Voyages de L'âme by Alcest, and a bunch of other albums. I just can't remember when stuff was released without looking it up, my collection on the computer is too big.

I have pretty much the opposite opinion, since I didn't like their first two albums that much, but I did like the third and last tone. It's just more listenable alltogether imo.

i have to add Rush- Clockwork Angels. so good.

You'll have to help me imagine an appropriate smiley, bloody phone wont let me post any.

Yeah, but slightly more aggressive.