Final Exam 2012: Stereogum's Top Metal Albums

Props to Stereogum for giving the metal world some coverage on a somewhat regular basis.  Although the site tends to overdo things with so much rap and hip hop (at least for my taste), it's nice to see that they've put out a list of the top 40 metal albums of the year.

The list is below, but head over here to read their interesting introduction, to hear samples from each album, and to find out why Converge, Baroness, Swans, and Torche are not on the list.




40.  Witch In Her Tomb: Witch In Her Tomb
39.  Horseback: Half Blood
38.  Kowloon Walled City: Container Ships
37.  Cannibal Corpse: Torture
36.  Kreator: Phantom Antichrist
35.  Horrendous: The Chills
34.  Wylve: Wylve
33.  Agalloch: Faustian Echoes
32.  Lord Mantis: Pervertor
31.  Rhinocervs: RH 12
30.  Neurosis: Honor Found In Decay
29.  Hooded Menace: Effigies of Evil
28.  A Pregnant Light: Live To Tell (split)
27.  Vattnet Viskar: Vattnet Viskar EP
26.  Secrets of the Moon: Seven Bells
25.  Incantation: Vanquish In Vengeance
24.  Circle of Ouroboros: The Lost Entrance of the Just
23.  Deathspell Omega: Drought EP
22.  Pig Destroyer: Book Burner
21.  Mutilation Rites: Empyrean
20.  Bosse-de-Nage: III
19.  Unsane: Wreck
18.  Black Breath: Sentenced To Life
17.  Pinkish Black: Pinkish Black
16.  Grave: Endless Procession of Souls
15.  Krallice: Years Past Matter
14.  Meshuggah: Koloss
13.  Indesinence: Vessels of Light and Decay
12.  Atriarch: Ritual of Passing
11.  Dodecahedron: Dodecahedron
10.  Evoken: Atra Mors
09.  Blut Aus Nord: 777-Cosmosophy
08.  Martyrdod: Paranoia
07.  Asphyx: Deathhammer
06.  Ash Borer: Cold of Ages
05.  Samothrace: Reverence To Stone
04.  Winterfylleth: The Threnody of Triumph
03.  High On Fire: De Vermis Mysteriis
02.  Dawnbringer: Into the Lair of the Sun God
01.  Pallbearer: Sorrow and Extinction