10 best metal albums of 2017, so far
We’re only halfway through 2017, but it has been a damn good year for metal. From brutal hardcore to ripping thrash and utterly relentless death metal, 2017 has been absolutely killing it. Now, approaching the second half of the year, we wanted to share 10 metal records you should be listening to. The albums are in no particular order, with each one promising its own head-banging good time.
Read more: The top 5 albums of 2017 so far, chosen by you
Forever – Code Orange
This was one of the first records to come out this year, and holy hell, does it hit hard. Since the album’s release in January, the buzz around Code Orange has not stopped. Touring with the likes of Killswitch Engage, Anthrax and Gojira (just to name a few), these Pittsburgh hardcore lovers have not stopped. Forever is a tight treat of delicious breakdowns and crushing delivery. Its industrial tinges play on the line of experimentation, drifting from ambient atmosphere to chaotic adrenaline. After the release of Forever, Code Orange are surely a band to keep both eyes on.
Machine Messiah – Sepultura
Another January release, this time from Sepultura, one of heavy metal’s greatest acts, releasing brutal records for the past 30 years. Machine Messiah brings back the best sounds we’ve come to know from the band, playing off their excellent blends of thrash and hardcore. Vocalist Derrick Green lets loose on the primal screams as guitarist Andreas Kisser mesmerizes us with his intricate guitar playing. Machine Messiah takes the best of Sepultura’s heavier records and thematic work and mashes them together to present a captivating album of hard-hitting aggression.
The Great Collapse – Fit For An Autopsy
Who says deathcore is dead? While the genre has received plenty of backlash, our friends in Fit For An Autopsy pushed aside all that noise with The Great Collapse, which tackles everything from climate change and war to issues surrounding the Dakota Access Pipeline. While the album makes for a solid work of crushing delivery, the instrumentals serve to evoke emotion from the stories. Fit For An Autopsy take the sound of deathcore and create meaningful and impactful work.
Crossover Ministry – Iron Reagan
While it’s a politically charged record in some spots, Iron Reagan’s Crossover Ministry is a balls-to-the-wall party rage. The band has one mission here: to entice mosh pits through ridiculous shredding. Crossover Ministry captures both the speed of thrash and the relentless beat of hardcore, each song on the album promising fun and adrenaline. Iron Reagan do sprinkle in some seriousness amongst that fun though, taking on lyrical themes that involve corrupt politics, all while telling your neighbors to fuck off.
Trumpeting Ecstasy – Full Of Hell
Trumpeting Ecstasy is a gritty, repulsive, dark treat that drags you down to its dingy depths. Full Of Hell’s fifth studio album blasts away with metallic rage and anxiety-provoking guitar trills. This is a quick and dirty record, hitting the listener and leaving a sense of dread. It is here Full Of Hell proficiently craft a work that exudes emotion, tapping into the utter darkness of anger, mixing it with a despair that rages and rips with brutality.
Wrong One To Fuck With – Dying Fetus
This album is devastating. The instrumentation alone is so sharp, it feels like it can cut you. Dying Fetus have not only put out one of the best records of the year, but easily the heaviest record of the year. Their chaotic grind utterly rips with evil. The drums pummel away as the vocals go off in their iconic guttural fashion. Wrong One To Fuck With is severely heavy, capturing the essence of pure and unapologetic death metal. Not for one moment does the record ever take pause; it continues with each song to utterly annihilate the listener’s eardrums.
Dance And Laugh Amongst The Rotten – Carach Angren
There really isn’t any other band that pulls off horror like Carach Angren. There’s no maniac with a meat cleaver, no satanic gimmicks — just a rich, haunting tale in Dance And Laugh Amongst The Rotten. The album tells the story of a girl’s obsession with an Ouija board and the terrifying horrors she must face due to her choices. What the record pulls off so successfully is luring the listener into the story. Like a really good audiobook, you feel like you’re there. Like Carach Angren’s captivating live show, Dance And Laugh Amongst The Rotten is full of spine-tingling horrors that will make you keep your nightlight on while you try to sleep.
The Grand Annihilation – Tombs
Tombs are perhaps one of the smaller acts to make this list, but they’re on the way up, having recently signed with Metal Blade. They are easily one of the most unique bands around, and their new record The Grand Annihilation proves it. It isn’t just the blackened sludge that does the trick, but how frontman Mike Hill weaves storytelling and instrumentation into a massive aura of darkness and intrigue. The Grand Annihilation produces strong black-metal vibes: the sense of the outsider and a sense of cold, loneliness and discovery within the dark. It’s a record that pummels, it’s a record that lashes out, but it’s also a work that lingers with atmosphere and mystery.
Vengeful Ascension – Goatwhore
The NOLA boys have released one of the most unique albums of their entire discography in Vengeful Ascension. This time around, the band tread literary waters, taking direct inspiration from John Milton’s famous epic poem Paradise Lost. The poem tells the tale of Lucifer’s fall from heaven and touches on man’s sense of free will. The album roars with the classic Goatwhore sound of searing shredding and screams of rage. The material also tries some new things, tossing in a bit of blackened atmosphere, adding to the philosophical questions the music dives into.
Unparalleled Universe – Origin
For those who love their technical death metal, Origin are where it is at. Unparalleled Universe is like a LSD trip in the middle of a mosh pit. Each cymbal clash rings like a pinball game in outer space. The album booms with metallic echoes and vibrant melodic riffs. The vocals are rich with anger and chaos, looming with an otherworldly mass. Unparalleled Universe is just a blast of technical mastery that keeps everything fresh from beginning to end. With fluid song structure and brutality, Origin are able to mesmerize listeners with some of the most speed-driven and cataclysmic metal to hit this year.
What metal records have you been listening to this year?
