Diamond Plate - saw them open for Testament and was blown away. A great high-energy, thrash set. I love seeing bands have fun on stage, and these guys were loving it. Lots of hair flying as well!
Ghost - I thought of them as a total gimmick band until I took a little time and listened to the music. Simple, catchy, fun riffs and a throwback to the real old-school version of metal. Really looking forward to the second album!
Volbeat - I also had these guys written off as a gimmick until I saw a clip of Jon Schaffer playing with them over the summer. He wouldn't do that unless he really thought the band was pretty cool, so I gave them a shot and couldn't believe how awesome they are. My favorite bands are the ones that are truly unique, where nobody else can ever attempt to sound like them. Volbeat fits that description perfectly.
The Haunted - their debut ranks up there with the best thrash records of all time. A perfect combination of old-school riffing melded with the Swedish sound. I've been obsessed with this record for the past few weeks, along with One Kill Wonder.
Strapping Young Lad - Devin Townsend is one crazy mofo. Insane musicianship combined with a truly odd sense of humor and personality. I only have the greatest hits package, but it's slamming. Love the songs from City the best, and I need to explore this band some more.
Soulfly - I used to love the first record, then grew tired of the world music/tribal influence. I bought Enslaved this year after reading Max talking the record up of being heavier due to enlisting the drummer from Borknagar. I was really surprised and bought the prior 3 albums as well, back to Dark Ages. Right now, Max can do no wrong in my book.
Behemoth - I bought The Apostosy on a whim, just to see what they're about. It was alright, but Demigod knocked my socks off. I prefer death metal bands to inject some melody into the music, so these guys are one of the more brutal sounding bands that I enjoy.
I - I had heard a few songs from this band when the album came out in 2006, but never really cared. I got into Immortal about two years ago and realized that I needed to go back to it and give it a listen. Take out the blast beats from Immortal, and let Abbath sing more like Lemmy, and this is the album that you get.
Different Insania. I was talking about Insania Stockholm. Didn't realize there were so many. 
