THEMADISRAELI’S TOP 21 OF 2012 (THE SURPRISES)

(Here’s the fourth and final part of TheMadIsraeli’s multi-part rollout of his list of 2012′s best metal. Sample songs are at the end of the post. And you can find the first 16 albums on his list here, here, and here. Despite the numbering, the albums are presented in no particular order.)

Finally, the end of my LP’s of the year.  These are, for me, the albums that blindsided me with how good they were.  Mostly new bands that came out of nowhere are here.

17. Infant Annihilator –  The Palpable Leprosy of Pollution

An album that dare I say is deathcore’s resurrection.  Infant Annihilator brought a titanic atom bomb impact with a style of technical deathcore that just destroyed everything in its wake.  I can’t wait to see what these guys do next.

18. Konkeror – The Abysmal Horizons

Konkeror is a band I have yet to tire of in the slightest.  Not many bands write old school death metal that is just… so well written.  Everything feels purposeful, everything is memorable, yet it gnashes at you like the fangs of a wolf and cuts at you like the blades of Spartan warriors.

19. Stealing Axion – Moments

While I was already in love with this band’s EP and guessed the album would be good, it still took me by total surprise.  It’s not often that an album actually exceeds my expectations, but Stealing Axion’s did just that.  Their compelling brand of progressive metal, which borrows notes from both old and new schools, proved to be an epic masterpiece.  For me, this album is perfect, back to front.

20. Be’lakor – Of Breath and Bone

I honestly can’t give you a reason why, but I never found this band’s other work to be all that compelling, although it was quite excellent at its heart.  Of Breath and Bone is a compelling effort of frigid melodic death metal that’s full of gorgeous layering, frostbitten melodies, and bear’s roar vocals.  I love it.

21. Dyscarnate – And So It Came To Pass

This is mainly a surprise on the sheer merit of the fact I can’t stop listening to it.  Don’t get me wrong, I thought this album was excellent, solid stuff from the beginning, but Dyscarnate seem to have an element of infectiousness this time around from which I can’t escape because And So It Came to Pass gets put on repeat many times.  These guys bring such powerful grooves, and when they bring out the speed it’s pure butchery at its finest.

I’m going to skip on that top 10 EP’s list. With school starting I’d rather focus on relevant shit like new music.  Just know Revocation, Arsis, and GROT were on the list.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlpS3zWCFMc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyDjyH6qazE