Panopticon - Kentucky

Genre: Black/Folk/Bluegrass
Country: U.S.A.
Year: 2012

1. Bernheim Forest In Spring
2. Bodies Under The Falls
3. Come All Ye Coal Miners (traditional song cover)
4. Black Soot And Red Blood
5. Which Side Are You On? (traditional song cover)
6. Killing the Giants As They Sleep
7. Black Waters (traditional song cover)
8. Kentucky

5th album by the one man band Panopticon. A. Lundr is bridging the gap between his favorite music (black metal) and his cultural roots (bluegrass/folk). Kentucky lyrically, takes an important look at the plight of the Kentucky coal miners, environmentalism and unions. Musically, it blends blackened screams with bluesy singing, electric guitar with banjo and generally old school black metal with country/folk.

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Mekong Delta - The Principle Of Doubt

Genre: Progr.Techn.Thrash
Country: Germany
Year: 1989

1. A Question Of Trust
2. The Principle Of Doubt
3. Once I Believed
4. Ever Since Time Began
5. Curse Of Reality
6. Twilight Zone (Lord Fouls Hort)
7. Shades Of Doom
8. The Jester
9. El Colibri
10. No Friend Of Mine

3rd album by Mekong Delta. It is, without a doubt, one of the band's most technical as well as diverse recordings. They have some of the best early progressive thrash songwriting, strangely catchy ideas and riffs and truly strange and ominous soundscapes.

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Entombed - To Ride, Shoot Straight And Speak The Truth

Genre: Death'n'Roll
Country: Sweden
Year: 1997

1. To Ride, Shoot Straight And Speak the Truth
2. Like This With The Devil
3. Lights Out
4. Wound 5. They
6. Somewhat Peculiar
7. DCLXVI
8. Parasight
9. Damn Deal Done
10. Put Me Out
11. Just As Sad
12. Boats
13. Uffe's Horrorshow
14. Wreckage

4th album by Entombed and highly anticipated. This is where the band totally changed its sound and nearly left their death metal past to a more rock'n'roll driven path. Entombed with the previous releases helped develop the swedish death metal sound as well as helped a lot to the death'n'roll 'movement' with this one.

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Exciter - Long Live The Loud

Genre: Heavy/Speed
Country: Canada
Year: 1985


1. Fall Out
2. Long Live The Loud
3. I Am The Beast
4. Victims Of Sacrifice
5. Beyond The Gates Of Doom
6. Sudden Impact
7. Born To Die
8. Wake Up Screaming

3rd album by Exciter. Loosing in power compared to their previous releases, this release was really underestimated by the fans. It's still a solid piece of speed/heavy, with slightly better production than before. The most important change between this and the previous is probably the vocal quality.

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Postmortem - Bloodground Messiah

Genre: Death/Thrash
Country: Germany
Year: 2012

1. Exordium
2. Under Attack
3. Down For The Count
4. Santa Muerte
5. Machinegun Preacher
6. Calling The Undead
7. Black Flame
8. White Raven Black Sun
9. Falling From Hell
10. Drowned In Black
11. Can't Wait To Eliminate

6th album by Postmortem. They are leaving away from the elements of their best (imho) album 'Constant Hate'. The death'n'roll moments are almost zero here. Modern, crystal-clear production, distorted growls and groovy sound are the elements that accompany the catchy and simple death/thrash songwritting.

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Okkultokrati - Snakereigns

Genre: Punk/Heavy/Black
Country: Norway
Year: 2012

1. No Ouroboros
2. Snakereigns
3. Invisible Ley
4. I Thought Of Demons
5. Acid Eagle One
6. Unconscious Mind
7. We So Heavy
8. Let the Sun Receive Her King
9. Nothing Awaits

2nd album by Okkultokrati. They still offer us ugly, crusty punk with a black n' roll, metal-punk aesthetic, but there are differences with their brilliant debut. This time they've slowed down a bit, imagine Darkthrone covering Celtic Frost in punk version, the production is clearer, but the songwritting is solid as hell.

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Planks - Funeral Mouth

Genre: Crust/Black/Hardcore
Country: Germany
Year: 2012

1. Inconsolable
2. Funeral Mouth
3. An Exorcism Of Sorts
4. Kingdom
5. Agnosia Archetype
6. Weak And Shapeless
7. I Only See Death In You
8. Scythe Imposter
9. The Spectre (Black Knives To White Witches)
10. Desolate, Once...

3rd album by Planks. It shows another leap away from their hardcore/sludge roots into more song-focused and melody driven spheres. The trademarks one loves about the band are still there, grinding guitars, throbbing bass lines and pounding drums. Vocals are still barked and the aggression is still there, but more darkened and with more melodies.

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Revenge - Vendetta

Genre: Speed/Heavy
Country: Colombia
Year: 2012

1. Vendetta
2. Deal My Soul With Satan
3. Maniac Behavior
4. Possessed By Devil's Music
5. Renegade
6. Wail From The Crypts
7. Sadistic Perversions
8. Riding In Hell
9. Confessa Tuoi Peccati

5th album by Revenge. The band continues spreading their speed metal, a year after their successful 4th album. This time they continue in the same levels of quality, producing another killer release (probably in my top for 2012 for this genre), with catchy as hell riffing, entertaining moments combining perfectly heavy with speed and sometimes thrash.

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Heretic - A Time Of Crisis

Genre: Thrash/Power
Country: U.S.A.
Year: 2012

1. The Divine Inquisition
2. Tomorrow’s Plague
3. Betrayed
4. Remains
5. A Time Of Crisis
6. For Your Faith
7. Raise Your Fist
8. Heretic
9. Child Of War
10. Police State
11. The End Of The World
12. Let Me Begin Again

2nd album by Heretic, a band that released a great album back in 1988, then dismissed and now reunited (with 2 past-members). Their music is most firmly rooted in the thrash metal genre, although there are plenty of slower paced elements that puts in mind of traditional heavy/power metal. Melodic without being wimpy, aggressive without being extreme. You’re not going to hear the next big thing, whatever that is, on this release.

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Spectral - Gateway To Death

Genre: Viking/Black/Power
Country: Germany
Year: 2012

1. Intro
2. Lord Of Fire
3. Tank Attack
4. Forces Of Evil
5. Gateway To Death
6. Into Oblivion
7. Dark Traveller
8. Death Of A King
9. Curse Of The Black Sea
10. Mountain Of Madness

5th album by Spectral. This release can be classified as melodic death metal, but restricting ourselves to this label would be to overlook the great work they do to sound like a mixture of different styles, such as black, thrash, folk, pagan and even power. The guitar riffs ranging from moments black, death coming to enter the thrash and power. The keyboards do not take center stage on guitar, maintaining an aggressive sound and powerful but largely give that point of pagan or viking with a dose of epic.

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Vacant Throne - Fall Of The Feathered King

Genre: Heavy/Power
Country: U.S.A.
Year: 2012

1. Summon The Gods
2. The Jaguar Knight
3. Sacrificial Prisoner
4. Harsh Empire
5. Burning Skies
6. Voyage To The New World
7. The Return Of Quetzalcoatl
8. Fall Of The Feathered King
9. Genocide

Amazing debut album by Vacant Throne. It's a concept album about the spanish conquest of the Aztecs in the 16th century and it combines heavy metal, epic in times, with '80s power metal.Each track has its unique traits, but the atmosphere fastens them together, forming a nearly inseparable merging of epic power metal songs. A really promising debut.

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Yakuza - Beyul

Genre: Progr.Heavy/Sludge
Country: U.S.A
Year: 2012


1. Oil And Water
2. The Last Day
3. Man Is Machine
4. Fire Temple And Beyond
5. Mouth Of The Lion
6. Species
7. Lotus Array

6th album by Yakuza. Over 7 tracks and 40 minutes, the band mixes thunderous riffs and prog-metal rhythms with elements of post-rock and even hints of eastern musics. If you’re open to experimental music that’s based on a heavy metal sound but explores worldly sounds, this should be a good listen for you.

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Disolvo Animus - Aphesis

Genre: Black/Death
Country: Greece
Year: 2012


1. Unorthodox Lament
2. Archetypal Liars
3. Aphesis
4. Illumination
5. Penitential Psalm
6. Holy Virtues
7. Words Of Regression
8. Particle Of God

Debut album by Disolvo Animus. After the successful 'Ep back in 2009, the band returns with its blasphemic blackened death metal. Full production, blastbeating, technical performance, interesting songwritting. Influenced by bands like Behemoth, Morbid Angel and Nile.

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Tygers Of Pan Tang - Ambush

Genre: NWOBHM
Country: England
Year: 2012

1. Keeping Me Alive
2. These Eyes
3. One Of A Kind
4. Rock & Roll Dream
5. She
6. Man On Fire
7. Play To Win
8. Burning Desire
9. Hey Suzie
10. Mr. Indispensable
11. Speed

10th album by Tygers Of Pan Tang. Lead by guitarist/founding member Robb Weir the band has managed to release an album that looks back fondly at their roots while still maintaining a modern edge. The production of the album, by the legendary Chris Tsangarides, is pretty solid and fitting well.

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