Many music fans and journalists claim that Metal—from Glam to Funk, to Progressive and Death—died in the 1990s. They’re wrong! Their interest in Metal music is the one that died, not Metal music itself; for Metal bands old and new of various subgenres continue to do concerts and release albums of new materials.
Here is a list of my recommended albums from various subgenres of Metal (Glam Metal, Death Metal, Folk Metal, Progressive Metal, including Progressive Rock and Blues-Rock) released this year. This simply proves that Metal is alive and pounding!
Alestorm – Back through Time
Alice Cooper – Welcome 2 My Nightmare
Anthrax – Worship Music
Anvil – Juggernaut of Justice
Black Veil Brides – Set the World on Fire
Cavalera Conspiracy – Blunt Force Trauma
Children of Bodom – Relentless Reckless Forever
Cruachan – Blood on the Black Robe
Deicide – To Hell with God
Destruction – Day of Reckoning
Dragonlord – Under the Grey Banner
Dream Theater – A Dramatic Turn of Events
Five Finger Death Punch – American Capitalist
HammerFall – Infected
Iced Earth – Dystopia
In Flames – Sounds of a Playground Fading
Journey – Eclipse
Korn – Path of Totality
Limp Bizkit – Gold Cobra
Loudness – Eve to Dawn
Mastodon – The Hunter
Megadeth – TH1RT3EN
Mr. Big – What If…
Nightwish – Imaginaerum
Opeth – Heritage
Primus – Green Naugahyde
Queensrÿche – Dedicated to Chaos
Rival Sons – Pressure & Time
Saxon – Call to Arms
Sebastian Bach (formerly of Skid Row) – Kicking & Screaming
Sepultura – Kairos
Seven Witches – Call upon the Wicked
Sixx:A.M. – This Is Gonna Hurt
Stryper – The Covering
Symphony X – Iconoclast
Uriah Heep – Into the Wild
Vader – Welcome to the Morbid Reich
White Wizzard – Flying Tigers
Whitesnake – Forevermore
Yes – Fly from Home
Final Note
In the Internet age, music enthusiasts no longer need to rely solely on commercial radio and the media spotlight; their passion for music, their initiative and resourcefulness, and their willingness to research let them know that Metal music—like perhaps any other genre—is alive and thriving.
