Final Exam 2012: Show No Mercy's Top 40 Metal Albums

Brandon Stosuy, who's in charge of Pitchfork's Show No Mercy metal column, recently made known his top 40 metal albums of the year.  Be sure to head over to the site to check out Stosuy's explanations for his top 25 as well as sample tracks from those records.  Go here for the detailed list.

Final Exam 2012: Le professeur de musique's Top Metal/Near-Metal Albums

And now it's time to reveal my top metal and near-metal albums of the year.  For the past few years, my music diet has consisted almost exclusively of releases from the metal world, and this year wasn't much different.  Although I didn't hear every metal record that came out this year, there were certain ones that ended up on heavy rotation.  And from these came my top twenty.

My number one pick came out of nowhere and blows me away every time I hear it.  This band's been flying under most people's radar, but it's about time these guys get the recognition they deserve.

So without further ado, here's my top metal/near-metal list.

Final Exam 2012: Le professeur de musique's Top Non-Metal Albums of the Year

Coming up with a list of my top 10 non-metal albums was a fairly easy exercise.  Coming up with a top 20, however, would have been much more difficult.  I didn't listen to a ton of non-metal records, mostly because there weren't that many that grabbed my attention and warranted repeated listens.  But the ones that did catch my ears are worth noting and are thus listed below.

Admittedly, I did not hear every record that came out this past year (nor do I wish to).  My number one pick is an album that got better and better each time I heard it early on.  And it's been a go-to record for much of the year.  The other releases from my top 10 are formidable and also merit your time if you're not already down.

Final Exam 2012: Le professeur de musique's Honorable Mentions

Later in the week, I'll be posting my top 10 non-metal albums and my top 20 metal/near-metal albums of the year.

In the meantime, here are 5 records that didn't quite make the cut for my metal/near-metal list.  Each of these releases is very solid and worth checking out if you haven't already done so.

There will be no honorable mentions for the non-metal list.


Le professeur de musique's Metal/Near-Metal Honorable Mentions
1.  Dawnbringer - Into the Lair of the Sun God
2.  Deserted Fear - My Empire
3.  Posthum - Lights Out
4.  Sylosis - Monolith
5.  Testament - Dark Roots of Earth

Final Exam 2012: The Year's Disappointments

Later this week, we'll take a look at the year's best albums, but let's focus on the year's disappointments first.  Here are five of mine:

1.  Band of Horses' Mirage Rock.  I saw Band of Horses open up a show for Iron and Wine in the summer of 2005.  This was before BOH even had a record out.  Despite the horribly talkative crowd, I enjoyed both sets.  Since then, I've thoroughly enjoyed BOH's first two records, but Mirage Rock is the point where I must think of this band as a thing of the past.

Final Exam 2012: MetalSucks' Top Metal Albums

The staff at MetalSucks have each posted their top 15 albums of the year, and you can check them all out if you go here.  You can also find out what various metal musicians have chosen as their favorite records of the year.  So when you get some time, browse the 20+ posts here - they're all conveniently listed on the same page.

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.

Final Exam 2012: Decibel's Top 40 Albums

It's not even Thanksgiving yet, but it looks like the end-of-the-year lists are already starting.

Decibel Magazine's list is the first major one that I've seen so far.  While I don't agree with everything on the list, they've managed to include some very good records.  I'll be posting my own top albums list later next month, so stayed tuned.

In the meantime, check out Decibel's top albums of 2012: