The Top 20 Metal Albums of 2011
01. Vader (Poland) - Welcome to the Morbid Reich
02. Antichrist (Sweden) - Forbidden World *debut of the year*
03. Flourishing (USA) - The Sum of All Fossils
04. Septic Flesh (Greece) - The Great Mass
05. Virus (Norway) - The Agent That Shapes the Desert
06. Deceased (USA) - Surreal Overdose
07. Negative Plane (USA) - Stained Glass Revelations
08. Infera Bruo (USA) - Infera Bruo
09. Sabbat (Japan) - Sabbatrinity
10. Burzum (Norway) - Fallen
11. Morbus Chron (Sweden) - Sleepers in the Rift
12. Doomsword (Italy) - The Eternal Battle
13. Arch/Matheos (USA) - Sympathetic Resonance
14. Pagan's Mind (Norway) - Heavenly Ecstasy
15. Barbarian (Italy) - Barbarian
16. Midnight Odyssey (Australia) - Funerals from the Astral Sphere
17. Sonne Adam (Israel) - Transformation
18. Vektor (USA) - Outer Isolation
19. Leprous (Norway) - Bilateral
20. Oranssi Pazuzu (Finland) - Kosmonument
Overall 2011 was not a match for either 2009 or 2010 in terms of sheer quality, but it's clear that the various genres are continuing to expand, and in some cases, contract. Old school death metal is back in full force, and we saw a few old friends return in spellbinding configurations. Unfortunately, a lot of letdowns as well. No perfect 10 scores for the first time in many years, but the Vader, Antichrist, Flourishing, and Septic Flesh were all pretty damned close, and have not left my normal rotation since I first experienced them. This list of 20 is drawn from a pool of approximately 614 new 2011 full-lengths & EPs I've listened to, at least once, through completion; around 370 of which I actually reviewed. You can find an expanded list of great 2011 titles over on my RYM page, if you're so included, or just scroll through the blog here using tag '2011'.
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