1. Pestilence - Spheres
Most people think this is the worst Pestilence album but to me it's got some of the most innovative songwriting and arrangement choices in Death Metal.
2. Animals As Leaders - The Joy of Motion
Came out earlier this year, still digging it now.
3. Fallujah - The Flesh Prevails
https://s3.amazonaws.com/mno.products/26651/dcdadd0efadd0ec4ddc796a24e5e40a0.jpg
Another from earlier this year. Lives up to everything critics say about; truly perfect Progressive/Atmospheric Death Metal.
4. King Diamond - Them
Just actually saw the King in Pittsburgh this October and they were incredible. Surprised to find out that Andy LaRocque uses a PODHD500 live and still gets awesome tone. This is one of those albums I grew up on because my Dad was a huge King fan since MF; decided to revisit it and it's just as good as I remember.
5. Cynic - Kindly Bent To Free Us
Like most others on this list, I've already listened to this before but it continues to keep my attention still. Was so stoked to catch these guys in concert at the TLA in Philly with some friends and it was even better when they played quite a bit of their older songs as well. Sean Malone was on bass too!
6. Alarum - Eventuality
A band that has an odd similarity to Cynic, but still has something awesome to offer in terms of technicality and songwriting. Much heavier than Cynic as well. The only thing I think this band suffers from is the vocals, but even then I'm not bothered. Great release if you want some jazzy awesomeness.
7. The Number Twelve Looks Like You - Worse Than Alone
Sadly this band has since broken up but they left behind a pretty awesome catalogue for their fans to cherish. I heard this not too long ago (maybe a year or so) and since then I've been hooked. Crazy amounts of experimentation here, but it is probably more core than most metalheads would like. Still should check this out, it's phenomenal.