not the best of the year but the new Gorod was great. mastodon still have the most impressive album along with madulin of the Well. still waiting on suffocation augury and necro.
Blut Aus Nord, Isis, and Mono have been my top 3. Katharsis, Ulcerate, Mastodon, and Cobalt are up there. I have like 15-20 albums from this year, but haven't heard Absu or maudlin of the Well yet.
I'm sure there are plenty of albums that I haven't listened to that are excellent, but here is my RYM list. 1) Beherit - Engram 2) Candlemass - Death Magic Doom 3) Excoriate - On Pestilent Winds 4) Teitanblood - Seven Chalices 5) Katharsis - Fourth Reich 6) Absu - Absu 7) Heaven & Hell - The Devil You Know 8) Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta II: Dialogue with the Stars 9) Funebrarum - The Sleep of Morbid Dreams 10) Ribspreader - Opus Ribcage
Impressive: Amorphis - Skyforger Azarath - Praise the Beast Depressed Mode - ...For Death Obscura - Cosmogensis Týr - By The Light Of The Northern Star Minsk - With Echoes In The Movement Of Stone
Teitanblood - Seven Chalices Excoriate - On Pestilent Winds.. Embrace of Thorns - Atonement Ritual Graveland - Spears of Heaven Tribulation - The Horror Funebrarum - The Sleep Of Morbid Dreams Maim - From The Womb To The Tomb Minotaur - God May Show You Mercy...We Will Not Katharsis - Fourth Reich Beherit - Engram Denial - Catacombs of the Grotesque Archgoat - The Light-Devouring Darkness Amesoeurs - Amesoeurs Peste Noire - Ballade cuntre lo Anemi Francor Sacrificia Mortuorum - Damnatorium Ferrum Blut aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta II: Dialogue With the Stars Ribspreader - Opus Ribcage Graveless (Swe) - Condemned to a Nameless Death Vasaeleth - Demo MMIX Vorum - Grim Death Awaits Shackles - Traitors' Gate Sargatanas - Black Liturgies of Sathanas/I Observe from Under Assaulter - Sadistic Messiah / Beware the Wounded Beast
So far: Fleshgod Apocalypse - Oracles Gorod - Process of a New Decline Absu - Absu Lamb of God - Wrath Amorphis - Skyforger Excoriate - On Pestilent Winds CKY - Carver City Tribulation - The Horror etc
So far my favourites have been Shackles, Iron Man, Slough Feg, Metalucifer and Procession's EP. Yet to hear Argus, Altar Of Oblivion or Spiritus Mortis, but I'm sure these will be great. Destroyer 666 will undoubtedly be awesome and hopefully Demons Gate will put out an album this year.
A Norwegian extreme metal reviewer sure liked the album too: http://translate.google.com/translate?prev=hp&hl=no&js=n&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.heavymetal.no%2Fshow.article.asp%3Fmenuid%3D10%26artid%3D9543&sl=no&tl=en&history_state0= Review of the year
Also for anyone who likes blackened thrash check out Razor Of Occam's new album Homage to Martyrs. Really great stuff...
Nothing has come out yet that I was looking forward to but let me down. Everything has been fantastical. Isis - Wavering Radiant Cattle Decapitation - The Harvest Floor Devourment - Unleash The Carnivore Suffocation - Blood Oath Fleshgod Apocalypse - Oracles Gorod - Process Of A New Decline
so far for me: Altar of Plagues - White Tomb Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta II Borgne - IV Cobalt - Gin Fen - The Malediction Fields The Morningside - The Moving Crosscurrent of Time still need to check out new Archgoat, Teitanblood, Graveland, Klabautamann and a few others I've seen on others' lists