LARRY ‘STAYLOW’ OWENS

Not the greatest year for me, as my metal listening (and reviewing) time was and still is seriously hindered for reasons I won’t divulge here. Despite this, I still got my hands on some good stuff. Quality wise, 2011 was every bit as strong as the last few years.

1. Vektor – Outer Isolation – Absolutely jaw dropping. Every time I listen to this, I hear something new to wet my pants over. Stunning musicianship and utterly unique. I can’t begin to put into words just how awesome this one is, just listen to it. Oh, and they’re from Arizona – say what?

2. Revocation – Chaos of Forms – This should probably be my #1, because no other album this year rocked me as hard as this one did. David Davidson is a guitar GOD. Technical without being wanky, they write honest to Dio songs, and killer ones at that. Their finest work to date.

3. Omnium Gatherum – New World Shadows – This band just keeps getting better and better. One of the few absolutely reliable melodeath bands around these days. This one took a few spins to truly appreciate, but when it clicked, I was hooked.

4. Skeletonwitch – Forever Abomination – Worship the Witch! I friggin’ love this band, and you should too, because they kill. And they’re metal as fuck.

5. Hemoptysis – Misanthropic Slaughter – Whats this? Another killer thrash act from Arizona? Whats in the water out that way? Major Kreator vibe here, mostly in the vocal department, but they also fuse in a healthy dose melody ala newer Kreator into their vicious thrash attack.

6. Amon Amarth – Surtur Rising – What needs to be said here? It’s Amon Amarth and they never fail to deliver. Sure, a couple albums may have been just a tad bit sub par, but they’ve never released a dud. It just so happens though that Surtur Rising is on the front half of their discography though.

7. Amorphis – The Beginning of Times – Man, I’ve become a huge fan of this band the past couple years. Sometime in 2010, Skyforger just clicked, and clicked hard. If I was to remake my list from 09, Skyforger would be near the top, and this one is every bit as good.

8. Decapitated – Carnival is Forever – I’ve seen alot of people call this a disappointment, but I think it’s one helluva comeback. I could do without the ambient track at the end, but otherwise, this just kills in pure groove-laden Decap fashion.

9. Exhumed – All Guts, No Glory – Holy fuck, where have I been? These guys remind me a lot of Misery Index whom I fucking love with their use of monster, crushing grooves. I need to exhume (hehe) this bands past discopgraphy, pronto.

10. Hatepshere – The Great Bludgeoning – I was sorely disappointed when Jonathan Albrechtsen replaced Jacob Bredahl on vocals. Bredahl is by far one of the more unique extreme metal vocalists around, and Albrechtsen is very nondescript and one dimensional. But then they picked up this Ebsen Hansen, and I’ll be damned if he doesn’t remind me quite of bit of Bredahl, as he reintroduces a uniqueness to the vocal department. That said, The Great Bludgeoning just fucking rocks.

11. Benighted – Asylum Cave – Despite the use of lame pig squeals, this album flattened me like no other. Absolutely brutal.

12. Obscura – Omnivium – Cosmogenesis was awesome, but Omnivium takes them to a whole new level of ruleage. The cream of the crop tech death.

13. The Black Dahlia Murder – Ritual – These guys have become one of the most consistently awesome bands in all of metal. Not quite as good as Nocturnal, but every bit as good as anything else they’ve ever done.

14. Witheria – Vanishing Order – One of the best death/thrash albums of the last several years, these Finns kill it.

15. Absu – Abzu – Absolutely ripping. The more of this black thrash stuff I hear, the more I like it, but none do it as good as Absu.

15 More I Enjoyed Quite a Bit:
The Human Abstract – Digital Veil
From Nowhere – Agony
Warbringer – Worlds Torn Asunder
Vreid – V
Dim Mak – The Emergence of Reptilian Altars
Deicide – To Hell With God
Demonical – Death Infernal
Krisuin – The Great Execution
Anatomy of I – Substratum
Darkest Hour – The Human Romance
World Under Blood – Tactical
Havok – Time is Up
Book of Black Earth – Cold Testament
Deceased – Surreal Overdose
Landmine Marathon – Gallows

Best EP:
Between the Buried and Me – The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues

Best Instrumental Album:
Christian Muenzner – Timewarp

Albums that may have made this list with more time/spins:
Hands of Despair – Hereafter
Beyond Creation – The Aura

Best 2010 release I missed:
Murder Construct – Murder Construct EP

Worst/Biggest Disappointments:
DISCLAIMER: Lulu is an obvious choice for worst album of the year, but it’s not really a disappointment – I mean, did anyone really expect it to be good? No, they didn’t. And if they did, they’re merely a delusional fanboy. Then there’s the new Morbid Angel – I’ve never been a fan, so I can’t say I’m disappointed – I just sat back and laughed at the madness that ensued after it’s release. The way a lot of people feel about MA is how I feel about The Haunted, so it’s my own equivalent to everyone else’ Morbid Angel letdown.

1. The Haunted – Unseen – Unseen should have been Unheard. Holy fuck, the levels of suck contained within are staggering. No words can describe just how horrendous this piece of shit is. Not even fit to be a beer coaster or frisbee. This travesty is every bit as horrifying as mid-90’s Metallica. Fuck.

2. Lazarus AD – Black Rivers Flow – So much potential wasted. Maybe they’ll come back with a killer album number three, but I think they’ll continue town this path of suck they’ve begun to tread. Game over, thanks for playing.

3. Mastodon – The Hunter – Someone said it best in the review section – this is like Mastodon lite. I’m glad they decided to drop the goofball concepts and deliver a straight up album, but it’s ultimately boring. Where’s the heaviness? I’d kill for another album along the lines of Leviathan or Blood Mountain.

4. Insomnium – One For Sorrow – Not necessarily a bad album, but it didn’t do a damn thing for me. Nothing grabbed me at all. Disappointing in comparison to their past works. Maybe I just need to give it more time to sink it, I dismissed it rather quickly. I dunno.

5. Megadeth – Thirteen – So, Dave Ellefson comes back and Chris Broderick is still on board, and this is the result? A collection of half-assed new tunes and half-assed previously released ones? WTF Dave, get it off autopilot and gives something good dammit!