As part of our LISTMANIA 2016 series, we’re re-posting a list of the “20 Best Albums of 2016” published by Revolver magazine yesterday.
Revolver bills itself as “the No. 1 hard-rock and heavy-metal destination in the world”. Their online site boasts 13 million page views over the last year, and the ad rate sheet for the print publication claims a total monthly reach of 300,000 readers.
I assume you’ve already guessed which album Revolver put at the No. 1 position on the list. I suppose it also won’t come as a huge shock to learn that they put Megadeth’s album at No. 2.
I don’t really have much more to say about the list other than to express some surprise that the Tombs album is on here, given the general tenor of the rest of the list, which is pretty much dedicated to crowd-pleasers, and OG crowd-pleasers in particular.
Here’s the Revolver list; to read their commentary about the selections, go here.
20. The Devil Wears Prada – “Transit Blues”
19. Tombs – “All Empires Fall”
18. Rob Zombie – “The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration”
17. Zakk Wykde – “Book Of Shadows II”
16. Killswitch Engage – “Incarnate”
15. Alter Bridge – “The Last Hero”
14. Every Time I Die – “Low Teens”
13. Opeth – “Sorceress”
12. Lacuna Coil – “Delirium”
11. Nails – “You Will Never Be One Of Us”
10. Gojira – “Magma”
09. Of Mice & Men – “Cold World”
08 The Dillinger Escape Plan – “Dissociation”
07. Volbeat – “Seal The Deal & Let’s Boogie”
06. Amon Amarth – “Jomsviking”
05. Deftones – “Gore”
04. Meshuggah – “The Violent Sleep Of Reason”
03. Avenged Sevenfold – “The Stage”
02. Megadeth – “Dystopia”
01. Metallica – “Hardwired…To Self-Destruct”
23 Responses to “LISTMANIA 2016: REVOLVER’S LIST OF THE TOP 20 ALBUMS OF 2016”
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There’s some real entry-level stuff on that list.
“Metallica”? That’s laughable! Gorguts put out the best METAL album this year – don’t deny it. Stop trying to be different – you’re only appealing to hipsters. Have fun with that. I thought i’d found a credible metal music site to frequent. Apparently not – laters!
In all seriousness though, I find these sorts of lists interesting because it lets me know what’s still considered “current” in the mainstream scene, what albums/artists sell magazines still, and what more underground artists (Nails, Tombs, etc) have “broken through” (for whatever reasons) this year.
My Top Ten next week is OBVIOUSLY going to be a lot more “underground” than this, but that’s not because I’m trying to be too cool for school (or too kvlt for… something that rhymes with kvlt), but simply because my remit is a lot wider, and because the more underground bands are where you tend to find the most creativity (for a variety of reasons). Though even then, that doesn’t preclude more “mainstream” artists from putting out an absolute blinder.
Let’s face it though. Revolver need to talk to their audience about bands their audience are likely to all know. So this list isn’t all that surprising.
My one issue with it I suppose would be that putting Meshuggah at no. 4 seems like a bit of a token gesture (particularly since it’s NOT necessarily their best work), as the BIG M ™ are just non-mainstream enough to seem “cool”, but no longer underground enough that their inclusion is going to generate a big “who???” response.
I don’t think anyone here is going to think you’re being too cool for school
Because you my friend are too kvlt to fault
Too kvlt for a revolt
More kvlt than snorting brimstone salts
(just don’t let anyone catch you reading Jodi Picoult)
So kvlt I wouldn’t put it past you to have a moat
And always carry a coin to pay for Charon’s boat
(ever wonder what Charon wears under his cloak?
Something kvlt, or something .. adult?
Perhaps best not to ask – he might take it as insult!)
If we’re gonna run with this, I think we’ll need to consult
If we want it to come away with a good result
So for now I’d just say “halt –
let’s just stick with ‘too cool for school’ shall we?”
After all, it’s the default
And I don’t think this kvlt idea’s gonna float
(not like Charon, in his sexy little boat)
Maybe it’s just a little too… occult?
Love to banter some more, but I’ve gotta bolt.
You have problems. Seek help.
I tried, but apparently there’s no fixing my problems. The psychiatrist mumbled something about “Dr Seuss syndrome”.
Revolver is more “Pussified” than the old hit Parader mag was by a long shot. People like what they like and I don’t mean to offend but Jesus in a Row Boat WTF!! Is nothing sacred in Metal anymore. At least make an effort in objectively listening to the Music before calling it the best. I guess everyone’s ears hears differently. Sorry for the rant, I work 3rd shift and this shit here is just laughable at best.
Megadeth at #2 is kind of interesting, mostly because I haven’t really seen much of a reaction to that disc outside of folks going, ‘Welp, sounds like Megadeth’. Which I guess is a feat since Dave had to get two new guys for that disc. But then, that kind of infers that had there been no Metallica disc this year, Megadeth would’ve been number one and I haven’t quite seen a huge reaction to Dystopia to justify that – although I will fully concede that I don’t run in the circles where both Avenged Sevenfold and Of Mice And Men would be on my list, either.
20 Safest Metal Albums of 2016
I feel like it’s a bit embarrassing to appear on lists like this one. I feel bad for Nails and Tombs, they didn’t ask for this.
It definitely puts a whole new spin on “you will never be one of us”.
I wonder how much those memes contributed to the album’s popularity. Shit was everywhere for a while.
This list is so shitty I have to suggest an awesome album to compensate : Exmortus – Ride Forth, or simply how to blow away Metallica and Megadeth with one shot.
The Zakk Wylde pick is unexpected, I haven’t even heard anything from that one yet. Maybe I’ll check it out. I’ve heard good things about the Deftones, Alter Bridge, and Volbeat albums, but I haven’t had a chance to check them out, either.
If I had to imagine an end of the year list for Revolver it would look just like this list. Theyre basically the print equivalent of your local hard rock station…there to be laughed at, then ignored
I think that pretty much says it all.
Wait. Metallica ended up as number 1? About half of these entries are questionable.
Its Revolver…Im impressed they found any actual metal bandsto put on their list
Metallica pays to be number one on sellout magazines.
These kind of lists just remind me that theres a whole other world of metal that i don’t even inhabit.
Its probably the main reason I don’t tell many metal fans I meet that I also like metal. I hate when people ask if I love Avenged Sevenfold.
This. Folks over at MetalCucks (couldn’t resist, it’s the funniest thing they have done spoofing their name) do not understand this. We live in completely different worlds musically, and in a lot of ways culturally because of this.
As someone who thinks Nails is good but not great, pretty awesome to see them on this list. Ahead of ETID, Killswitch and the artist formerly known as Mikael Akerfeldt. Just a hint of grey in Revolver’s shiny chrome glee.
Yes, I agree that this is just a horrible list.
How on earth did Tombs get on THIS list? To be fair I have not listened to many of these albums, but only because I already don’t like the bands previously work (Megadeth, Avenged 7-fold, Gojira, Deftones, Devil Wears Prada (and by the way what the heck is “Prada”?)). So at first glance it is a generally weak list. I am curious, does anyone remember–did Metallica’s album Death Magnetic get on year end lists in ’08 or whenever it was? Seems they could put out anything and it’d get on a list simply due to their legacy.
This list feels like name dropping, the bigger the band is the better and safer it is to name them on this list. Don’t get me wrong I listen to a few of those bands every now and then, especially The Devil Wears Prada, Tombs, older Killswitch Engage, Every Time I Die, older Opeth, Lacuna Coil, Nails, Gojira, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Deftones, Meshugga and on rare occasions older Metallica, but for me it’s hard to tell if Avengend Sevenfold can be still considered as metal. Megadeth? who cares? Volbeat? gross! That’s one of the reasons why I don’t stick with the big sites out there and enjoy myself on sites like these.