Albums of the Year: 2006

[Hatebreeder]

Seeing as 2007 is just around the corner, I believe it's time to make nominations for album of the year. Feel free to drop any names you believe deserve this title.

Some of my nominations:

Amon Amarth - With Oden On Our Side
Blind Guardian - A Twist In The Myth
Bal-Sagoth - The Chthonic Chronicles
Enslaved - Ruun

 

[Mort Divine]

11. Forest of Fog - Abgrunde [Black]
10. Persefone - Core [Symphonic Death]
9. Spawn Of Possession - Noctambulant [Technical Death]
8. Negura Bunget - Om [Black]
7. Negative Plane - Et In Saecula Saeculorum [Black]
5. Mirrorthrone - Carriers of Dust [Symphonic/Avant-garde Black]
6. Hellveto - Stos [Symphonic Folky Black]
4. Saturnus - Veronika Decides To Die [Gothic Death/Doom]
3. Architects - Nightmares [Metalcore]
2. Indesinence - Noctambulism [Death/Doom]
1. Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain [Folky Post-Rockish Metal]

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

10. Unreal Overflows - Architecture Of Incomprehension
9. Drottnar - Welterwerk
8. Gorod - Leading Vision
7. Maroon - When Worlds Collide
6. Textures - Drawing Circles
5. Scythe - Decay
4. Dismember - The God That Never Was
3. Raunchy - Death Pop Romance
2. Tool - 10,000 Days
1. Gory Blister - Skymorphosis

 

[Killbot]

My top 10 favourite metal releases this year

10. Genghis Tron - Dead Mountain Mouth
9. Dismember - The God That Never Was
8. Sterbend - Dwelling Lifeless
7. Asmodeus - Imperium Damnatum
6. Vorkreist - Sublimation XXIXA
5. Clandestine Blaze - Church Of Atrocity
4. Altoriu Seseliai - Ir Nusinese Saule Miskai (It's actually a demo rather than an album, but whatever)
3. Xasthur - Subliminal Genocide
2. Krux - II
1. Drawn & Quartered - Hail Infernal Darkness

I get the feeling that when I hear the new The Ruins Of Beverast album, that will move everything down one place.

 

[Orfanos]

My final (?) top-10 for 2006:

1. Antiquus - Eleutheria
2. Crescent Shield - The Last of My Kind
3. Solitude Aeturnus - Alone
4. Obsession - Carnival of Lies
5. Saturnus - Veronica Decides to Die
6. Pharaoh - The Longest Night
7. Katagory V - The Rising Anger
8. Tyr - Ragnarok
9. Riot - Army of One
10. Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime II

 

[Krigloch the Furious]

all the top 10's that have been made this year I really havent been a part of. guess I'll join in on this one.

my top 5.

1. Heavenly - Virus
Amon Amarth - With Odin On Our Side
Bal-Sagoth - the Chthonic Chronicles
Drudkh - Blood in our Wells
Tyr - Ragnarok

other good/solid releases.
Belenos - Chants de Bataille
Cannibal Corpse - Kill
Dominion - Born God and Aware
Ensiferum - Dragonheads
Feyd - Eld
Fimbultyr - Ändlösa Frågor demo
Helheim - The Journeys And The Experiences Of Death
I - Between Two Worlds
Into Eternity - the Scattering of Ashes
Kalmah - the Black Waltz
Kroda - Towards the Firmaments Verge of Life
Kroda/Velimor - By a Hammer of Spirit and Identity of Blood
Månegarm - Urminnes Hävd - The Forest Sessions
Negura Bunget - Om
Nomans Land - Raven Flight
Psycroptic - Symbols of Failure
Pyramaze - Legend of the Bone Carver
Suffocation - st.
Thundra - Worshipped by Chaos
Unleashed - Midwinterblot

Dissapointing as fuck!
Blind Guardian - A Twist In the Myth
Elvenking - Winterwake

 

[Hell Awaits Us All]

suffocation - suffocation
mastodon - blood mountain
dismember - the god that never was
sodom - sodom
cannibal corpse - kill

 

[Eyes Of The Insane]

Either Amon Amarth, Slayer, Zyklon, Ministry, or Celtic Frost.
Legions of the Abyss Polls

 

[Blue_Jay]

5. Pyramaze - Legend Of The Bone Carver (provided I only had it for a month)
4. Moonspell - Memorial (Moonspell's albums always make it in my top 10 each year, except for The Butterfly Fix, there should be more gothic metal bands.)
3. Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain
2. Scar Symmetry - Pitch Black Progress (a lot of melodic bands have a pale sound (Arch Enemy, and the new Arsis are good examples) with them, Scar Symmetry changes this trend by creating one of the best albums I have ever heard. Best melodic album this year considering that a lot of melodic metal bands this year came out with below average albums)
1. Deicide - The Stench Of Redemption (their best yet, I have yet to hear any guitar shreding as powerful as this on any album)

 

[SweptbackFlame]

Deicide - The Stench Of Redemption
Amon Amarth - With Oden On Our Side
Kalmah - The Black Waltz
Into Eternity - The Scattering Of The Ashes

 

[Matt]

Bal-Sagoth - The Chthonic Chronicles
Scar Symmetry - Pitch Black Progress
Satyricon - Now, Diabolical
Enslaved - Runn
Drudkh - Blood in our Wells
I - Between Two Worlds
Summoning - Oath Bound

I can't think of any more right now.

 

[byrne]

I'm in the middle of creating my list for HailMetal.com's top 25 albums of the year. That will be released in early January for those who are interested.

My only issue this year is I haven't really enjoyed much, Agalloch and Colour Haze being the highlights I think.

 

[unknown]

my favorite albums this year:

Agalloch - Ashes Against the Grain
Drudkh - Blood in our Wells
Negura Bunget - OM
Hammers of Misfortune - The Locust Years
Diablo Swing Orchestra - The Butcher's Ballroom
Zero Hour - Specs of Pictures Burnt Beyond
Madder Mortem - Desiderata
OSI - Free
Jesu - Silver
Six Organs of Admittance - The Sun Awakens
Khoma - The Second Wave
Tyr - Ragnarok
I - Between Two Worlds
Flat Earth Society - Isms
Estradasphere - Palace of Mirrors
Beirut - Gulag Orkestar
Bonnie Prince Billy - The Letting Go
Scott Walker - The Drift
Current 93 - Black Ships Ate the Sky
Tenhi - Maaaet
Faun Fables - The Transit Rider

Disappointment of the year: Disillusion - Gloria

this will, undoubtedly, be modified as I go over the stuff I've acquired this year and get around to the other fifty fucking billion cds released this year in order to formulate the final list

 

[SE7ENFOLD]

Dragonforce - Inhuman Rampage
In Flames - Come Clarity
Lamb of God - Sacrament
KsE - As Daylight Dies
I - Between two Worlds
Hammerfall - Threshold
Threat Signal - Under Reprisal
Hatebreed - Supremacy
Seemless - What have we become
Unearth - III - In The Eyes Of Fire
Tenacious D - The pick of Destiny

Trivium - the Crusade
Hostility - Uncompromised
Falconer - Northwind
Slayer - Christ Illusion
Heaven Shall Burn - Deaf To Our Prayers
Ministry - Rio Grande Blood

 

[Kutryer]

Arsis - United in Regret
Into Eternity - The Scattering of Ashes
Suffocation - Suffocation

 

[-Demonium-]

Favourites would be:
Decapitated - Organic Hallucinosis
Dissection - Reinkaos
Merrimack - Of Entropy And Life Denial
Vader - Impressions In Blood

OK ones would be:
Darkthrone - The Cult is Alive
Enslaved - Ruun
Jotunspor - Gleipnirs Smeder
Setherial - Death Triumphant
Sodom - Sodom

 

[swizzlenuts]

1. Negura Bunget - OM
2. Agalloch - Ashes Against the Grain
3. Great Coven - Viaticum
4. Hammers of Misfortune - The Locust Years
5. The Gates of Slumber - Suffer No Guilt
6. Fall of the Idols - The Womb of the Earth
7. The River - Drawing Down The Sun
8. Celtic Frost - Monotheist
9. Upward of Endtime - Sadly Never Fore
10. Ogre - Seven Hells

Other Great Albums:
Against Nature - Leer
Summoning - Oath Bound
Dolorian - Voidwards
Solitude Aeternus - Alone
Drudkh -Blood in Our Wells
Burning Saviours - Hundus
Wolves in the Throne Room - Diadam of 12 Stars
Asunder - Works Will Come Undone
Mirror of Deception - Shards
Isole - Throne of Void
Helheim - The Journeys and Experiences of Death

Next year I will find tons of stuff I'll enjoy more, including Warning and Pagan Altar.

 

[Ender Rises]

Amon Amarth, Dragonforce, and Agalloch.

 

[MasterOLightning]

You couldn't wait a week to allow for people to add in their Christmas stuff?

1. Drudkh
2. Agalloch
3. Mastodon
4. Nachtmystium
5. Xasthur

Okay stuff:
Isis
Darkthrone
Ihsahn

I think those are the only albums I bought or listened to more than once this year.

 

[VittraEternity]

So I've listened well over 300 albums this year and right now I'm trying to make a top 50 list...mainly consisting of black metal as well as death and doom - I don't care for power or -core, and not much thrash or melodic death.

Top 3:
1. Dornenreich - Durch Den Traum
2. Ahab - The Call of the Wretched Sea
3. Anti - The Insignificance of Life

Some other great albums that I can think of at the moment...
Anaal Nathrakh - Eschaton
Antaeus - Blood Libels
Dark Fortress - Séance
Funeral - From These Wounds (*released in 2006 in Norway I think)
My Dying Bride - A Line of Deathless Kings
Stielas Storhett - Vandrer...
Tool - 10 000 Days
Agalloch - Ashes Against the Grain
Belenos - Chants de Bataille
Belphegor - Pestapokalypse VI
Chrome Division - Doomsday Rock 'N Roll
Deicide - The Stench of Redemption
Enslaved - Ruun
Gorgoroth - Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam
IAMX - The Alternative
Ihsahn - The Adversary
Jotunspor - Gleipnirs Smeder
Kampfar - Kvass
Keep of Kalessin - Armada
Koldbrann - Moribund
Monarch - Speak of the Sea
Moonspell - Memorial
My Darkest Hate - Combat Area
Negurã Bunget - Om
Nortt - Ligfærd
One Man Army - 21st Century Killing Machine
Panzerchrist - Battalion Beast
Peste Noire - La Sanie des Siècles - Panégyrique De La Dégénerescence
Profundi - The Omega Rising
Sarkom - Aggravation of Mind
Saturnus - Veronika Decides to Die
Secrets of the Moon - Antithesis
Sombre Chemin - Notre Héritage Ancestral
Sunn O))) & Boris - Altar
Sykdom - Under Krigen

...and numerous others, those are just some other favourites. Maybe if I actually get around to making a proper top 50 list of some sort...I've listened to many of the albums already mentioned in this thread in regards to genres I like. My top 50 list will only include albums that I can truly say are excellent, and with all consideration it would seem that a given album pretty much has to score at least an 8/10 or higher to make the list - though an 8.5/10 would almost guarantee a spot.

Most disappointing album of 2006: Cradle of Filth "Thornography" - they were once my favourite band, but this album is far worse than any of their recent, more weaker efforts.