This was a rather eventful year for Metal, bands breaking up, retiring or reforming, run ins with the law and not to forget some very unfortunate deaths. Not everything was bad though, there were hundreds of amazing releases put out from not just the 'knowns' but also from the 'unknowns'. Below you will find my picks for the best albums of 2013, we all have different tastes so don't judge mine too harshly.
Now I know these girls have had their fair share of hate but after I saw them at Mayhemfest I became an instant fan. Their sheer ferocity on stage made me want to give them a bigger chance and well I don't regret it.
https://www.facebook.com/ButcherBabiesMusic
This German power metal group just blew me away with this album. Having never listened to them prior, it was a great surprise, one that I listened to over and over again.
https://www.facebook.com/powerwolfmetal
Previous years have had these guys higher on my list and though I did thoroughly enjoy this album, it just couldn't compare to my love of 'Forever Abomination'
https://www.facebook.com/skeletonwitchmetal
Even though Monster Magnet has been around forever, it wasn't until I gave this album a spin that I decided to go back and listen to more of their material. If it wasn't for Last Patrol, I may of missed out for who knows how long.
https://www.facebook.com/monstermagnet
I've been a fan of everything these guys have put out, the mixture of genres, the atmosphere, the tales. Everything about Last Saga is just killer in my books.
https://www.facebook.com/theflightofsleipnir
I'm sure on a lot of other lists this album placed much higher, but for me I can't listen to it on repeat. Ghost invokes a type of atmosphere that I need to be in the mood for. Much like a horror movie, I just can't watch one every night.
https://www.facebook.com/thebandghost
and now it starts to get tough, these next albums I enjoyed the shit out of when they first came out, in fact I still do.
4. Avenged Sevenfold- Hail to the KingSay what you will about Avenged Sevenfold, I'll probably agree. Disliking most of their recent material it came to be a huge surprise that Hail to the King was good. Not just good, it kicked ass. They go back and pay tribute to many styles and forms of metal that listening to it was like a greatest hits of the late 80's and 90's. Now this could be a bad thing to some, but to me it was great.
https://www.facebook.com/AvengedSevenfold
3. Black Sabbath- 13Can anyone truly hate on Black Sabbath? I'm sure that is some sort of blasphemy. Yes, you could hate on Rick Rubin but the fact remains that Iommi knows how to bring about multiple eargasms whenever his hands grace a guitar. As for Ozzy, after all hes been through he can still bring it all to the table. This album could of been a huge failure but instead it has helped resuscitate a metal art form that the current generation was beginning to leave behind.
https://www.facebook.com/BlackSabbath
2. The Black Dahlia Murder- Everblack
Even though the band had a drastic line up change 'Everblack' was the perfect onslaught to the ears. Hell, I don't even know what else to say about this album. Whenever it comes on I start to drool a little and involuntarily bang my head.
https://www.facebook.com/theblackdahliamurderofficial
1. Volbeat- Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady LadiesI don't think I have heard a band from Denmark that I did not like. They do something on that site of the world that is so infectious and charismatic that you can't hate them. This album probably stayed on my iphones rotation the longest amount of time than any other. It dropped in April and I still listen to it at least once a week. Interesting fact about this album, "It is the first time a Danish act has charted in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 since Aquarium by Aqua charted at number seven in 1997"
https://www.facebook.com/volbeat
There we have it folks, my personal top list for 2013. It is brutally hard to narrow so much music down and I tried to add a little bit of everything. Hate them or love them it's your call, I'll keep listening to them until the releases of 2014 start rolling in.
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