Best Debuts of 2012

Nah, not strange at all.......

I always think its great when a band grabs you live, esp before hearing them on disc.

I always say too I don't care about how "great" people say a band is on disc.
If I see them live and am unimpressed I am not going to seek it out on disc.
 
Oh shit how could I forget 7Horns7Eyes. Fuck yeah. That disc RULES. And I only checked it out because of you pimping it hardcore on here, Aeonic.

I don't listen to a lot of djent bands, and I don't necessarily consider 7Horns djent, but there is a Meshuggah influence pretty prevalent. They are likely my favorite new band that has such a heavy Meshuggah influence.

They remind me more of bands like Novembers Doom and (latter-day) Enslaved than Meshuggah imo, but I can see that for sure
 
Agree. I think they have more of the Meshuggah atmosphere than the disjointed polyrhythmic riffs. Vocals are definitely deeper and heavier than Jens' vocals in Meshuggah.
 
People keep talking about Jess and the Ancient Ones, but it just felt okay after one listen. Well done, but it didn't vibrate my soul. I'll give them another listen.
 
Damnation Angels and Huntress were my two favorites. Both of them were phenomenally well written and original albums, I have high hopes for both of their future careers. Trail of Murder, Beyond the Bridge, Eihwaz, and Burning Shadows are runner ups for really strong debuts last year.
 
I'd have to go with these:

(1) Headspace
(2) Beyond the Bridge
(3) Distorted Harmony

I was going to list Joseph Magazine's "Night of the Red Sky", too (would have been #3), but it came out in Sept 2011...just a tad too early for the list. :)

Good stuff, all...had an especially hard time deciding between Headspace and BTB for #1, though...

Craig
 
So it finally came out... and somehow I missed it! Sounds good.

yeah they had to get a new singer. I think this new guy makes it for me. He kind of sounds like Drew York from Stray From the Path whose voice I love. I joke that the Monuments album would have made my top 10 list if there were "BLEHS" in it haha.