SparksFury’s Top 10 Heavy Metal Albums of 2011

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Another year of heavy metal is gone and there were some great albums and some not so great albums, I’m looking at you In Flames.  My list this year features a little bit of every sub genre of heavy metal.  Albums that almost made the list are Moonsorrow – Varjoina Kuljemme Kuolleiden Maassa, Falconer – Armod and Cauldron - Burning Fortune.   Now I present to you SparksFury’s Top 10 Heavy Metal Albums of 2011.

 

10. Toxic Holocaust - Conjure and Command

Released: July 19th

Toxic Holocaust, love them or hate them.  Love their albums or hate their albums.  This one falls into the love category.  This album is more serious than their other albums and it's just good old fashion Trash Metal.  This is also the first album that was recorded with a full band in a professional studio. The hard work paid off. For those who love Thrash Metal this one is for you.

Best Songs: Judgment Awaits You, Agony of the Damned, Red Winter

 

09. Turisas - Stand Up and Fight

Released: February 23rd

Stand Up and Fight! This is a full album of great songs that get stuck in your head for days.  This album would probably fall into the Folk Symphonic Metal / Metal Orchestra category. What you will find is a full album of instruments that surround you while you listen.  I'm not sure who to target with this album, just take a chance and listen to it.

Best Songs: Stand Up and Fight, Take the Day!, The March Of The Varangian Guard

 

08. Demonaz – March Of the Norse

Released: May 17th

For those who don’t have Black Metal in their arsenal, you should think twice about this album.  Demonaz' known to produce black metal has brought this album which isn’t quite as Black and it could be.  Demonaz still offers you cold guitar riffs, great songs, transitions and great lyrics.  This album is recommended to all heavy metal fans ready for the upcoming cold season.

Best Songs: A Son of the Sword, all Blackened Sky, Over the Mountains

 

07. Immortal Souls - IV: The Requiem for the Art of Death

Released: October 11th

Immortal Souls took their time on this latest album, four years if you were wondering.  This album brings you the Melodic Death Metal that we all grew up with.  With deep distortion, fast riffs and strong double bass pedals.  This album is great for anyone that loves Melodic Death Metal.

Best Songs: Evil Believer, Nuclear Winter, Last Day on Earth

 

06. Argus – Boldly Stride the Doomed

Released: May 3rd

Argus known for their Traditional Doom Metal, released a great album this year entitled Boldly Stride the Doomed.  This is just their second full length album, but the band has shown great maturity in their music.  For the most part this album is calm but well thought out lyrics, great guitar riffs and vocals.  If you lean more to the Traditional side of metal music you should definitely check out this album.

Best Songs: Wolves of Dusk, A Curse on the World, 42-7-29

 

05. DevilDriver - Beast

Released: February 22nd

DevilDriver once again has pumped out another album.  Thankfully it was better than their last couple of releases.  They had a mind set of "Making it Heavy", which for the most part it was heavier than their last album.  Overall it brought back some of their roots from what made them DevilDriver.  Check it out if you are a fan of their earlier albums.

Best Songs: Talons Out (Teeth Sharpened), Dead to Rights, Blur

 

04. Suidakra - Book of Dowth

Released: March 25th

Another strong album from Suidakra, the only drawback that this album has compared to their past albums is that there is less folk instruments included in the songs.  They didn't completely take them out, just less of it.  They still offer great melodies and progressions in their music.  For those who aren’t big fans of folk instruments in their death metal this album is recommended.

Best Songs: Battle-Cairns, The Dark Mound, Birog's Oath

 

03. Insomnium - One for Sorrow

Released: October 12th

Oh Insomnium how I was planning to put you number #1 when you released "Weather the Storm" with Mikael Stanne.  But then your release came out and there weren’t any songs that compared to it.  With that all being said the album is great and the music is amazing.  The growls are perfect but the melodic singing falls short (Through the Shadows).  If you are an Insomnium fan you will probably sit 50% / 50%.

Best Songs: Weather the Storm*, Unsung, Through the Shadows

 

02. Amorphis - The Beginning of Times

Released: May 27th

Amorphis - The Beginning of Times is a great Progressive metal album.  It brings a nice change of pace from Death, Black or Thrash metal.  This album is full of great song progressions and instrumentals.  This album has some catchy songs and is a great listen.  If you want to kick back and listen to an album with strong metal features, Amorphis is ready to go.

Best Songs: Mermaid, Escape, My Enemy

 

01. Amon Amarth - Surtur Rising

Released: March 29th

Amon Amarth has made number one on my list for the year 2011.  This album is full of Melodic Death Viking metal that starts and ends strong.  After seeing an "Evening with Amon Amarth" and seeing the full album played live just sweetened the deal.  The album does include a terrible System of a Down cover "Aerials", just pretend that song never existed.   Congratulations Amon Amarth, keep on battling in the "War of the Gods" to become the "Destroyer of the Universe".

Best Songs: Slaves of Fear, War of the Gods, The Last Stand of Frej

 

There you have it, SparksFruy's Top 10 Heavy Metal Alubms of 2011.  Let me know what you guys think of my list below, love it or hate it, I want to know.

Average: 5 (5 votes)
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About Cody Sparks

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Writer and Developer for Metal CallOut.  Favorite sub genre of heavy metal includes Melodic Death, Thrash and Traditional. Sparks can be found at @SparksFury or at Google+.

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