11. Culture Abuse - Peach
Super catchy alternative with a hint of punk. "Heavy Love" and "Don't Worry" are true standouts. There jut wasn't enough room in the Top 10 to include everyone, but Peach certainly came super close. Live the band is a bit of a jumbled mess, but we're talking records here and their full length should most certainly make your radar if you enjoy Turnstile and Citizen.
12. Periphery - Periphery III: Select Difficulty
With each Periphery album getting more eclectic than the last, it's hard to see where this will end up: Misha and company brew up another batch of excellently produced, mind altering tracks after their epic Juggernaut saga, which at the time seemed to be everything the and had up their sleeves. III is more effective than the double disc could ever be, and album closer Lune is one of the strongest tracks of the year.
13. After The Burial - Dig Deep
It's been an interesting time for the band, with a big twist in personnel and the death of one of their primary songwriters. Toss in a new album and it's a probably been one of the wildest stories in metal history for any band within such a short time frame. Dig Deep is Justin's lasting contributions to the band, and the album is their most abrasive since Forging A Future Self blew us all away. The band has been clinging onto the Sumerian tours this year, which hasn't helped them get in front of a new audience, but hopefully 2017 is the fresh start the band is looking for.
14. Eternal Sleep - The Emptiness Of
Any one who's heard this album won't question it landing in the Top 20. Awesome grooves, ultra convincing delivery, Eternal Sleep have everything Harms Way has struggled their entire career to achieve. This is arguably the best hardcore album of the year.
15. Nothing - Tired Of Tomorrow
This album has some charming elements to it with Nineteen Ninety Heaven and Eaten By Worms being gems of enough delivery. Many call this shoegaze, which I hardly understand, but the album itself stands out in the Relapse catalogue and is a very different sound than what's been heard from hardly anyone in the past decade. Expect big things from Nothing with a 2017 tour alongside AFI which should catapult them to popularity. Let's see.
16. Richardson - I
The mastermind that brought the prog to Chelsea Grin and Born Of Osiris releases his shackles and gives us everything he's got on his solo debut. The album is everything you'd think the guy who helped put Ashes To Ashes and The Discovery on the map would sound like, with a few fun guest spots to up the ante. The guitar sorcery here set the bar for the whole year and it never seemed to be topped.
17. Rotten Sound - Abuse To Suffer
One of the silkiest release in death metal history, Abuse To Suffer is very accessible while still being unrelenting and brutal. For a genre that's hard to convert new listeners, Rotten Sound have composed a masterpiece that should aid anyone looking to get their friends into a sound they haven't been able to understand.
18. A Day To Remember - Bad Vibrations
How this band from Ocala became one of the biggest acts in the world will be anyone's guess, but in Bad Vibrations it's obvious that contagious hooks and epic sing alongside are the key. "Naivety" is an album highlight, adding to an already impressive collection of classics that can easily have them headline festivals for the next five years. The fact that they haven't had a proper U.S. tour aside from their Blink-182 support slot in as many years as I can remember is an offensive move, but perhaps there's a bigger play at hand. Good for them.
19. Sinistro - Semente
For something completely different, start with "Corpo Presente" then jump right into "Reliquía." Prepare to be blown away with a soothing voice and doom loaded riffage. Sinistro are a sound of their own with a female vocalist that plays her skills uniquely to the and, creating something that hasn't been done before. This EP was essential when it plopped on the blog, and it's still more crucial than ever. Again, do not overlook this one.
20. Deftones - Gore
It's obviously landing much higher on many lists, but I just don't think the album by itself was that effective. Aside from album closer "Rubicon," the rest just kind of falls into that Deftones wasteland giving them more to chew, as they tour endlessly without control. This is a band that needs to go away for a while. Seeing them once a year and getting a new album every two has lost its momentum
and Gore is watered down like Saturday Night Wrist. We don't get that turbo charge that Diamond Eyes presented, but then again, their self-titled is my favorite release of their catalogue when many claim it's their worst. Of course anything Deftones release will instantly get inhaled by the masse and it wouldn't be a year end list without their efforts. But boy, I sure do miss Chi. Here's to him and their legacy.
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