Top 20 Albums of 2012

2012 has been a great year for heavy & loud music, in all its myriad forms: from brutal, slamming death metal to torpid, lachrymose doom metal (and let’s not forget the timeless sound of good ol’ classic rock!), these past 12 months have bequeathed a veritable mountain of fantastic albums to the general public. So without further ado, here are the top 20 albums of the year for yours truly (which are not ranked in any order save for the album at #1):

1. Monolith – Sylosis

2. Honor Found in Decay – Neurosis

3. Weather Systems – Anathema

4. Les Voyages de l’Âme – Alcest

5. Atra Mors – Evoken

6. I Am Anonymous – Headspace

7. Eremita – Ihsahn

8. Phantom Antichrist – Kreator

9. Netherwards – Anhedonist

10. Utilitarian – Napalm Death

11. Blessed He with Boils – Xanthochroid

12. The Giant – Ahab

13.  Koi No Yokan – Deftones

14. Monolith of Inhumanity – Cattle Decapitation

15. The Seer – Swans

16. The Electric Age – Overkill

17. Dead End Kings – Katatonia

18. Head Down – Rival Sons

19. Torture – Cannibal Corpse

20. Deathhammer – Asphyx