JERMS TOP 20 OF 2016

Alright so its everyones favorite time of year. all the best of lists are coming out. unlike everything else that took place on this god forsaken rock this year, the music world had an exceptionally fantastic 2016. heres my top 20. let the arguing over omissions and inclusions and placement commence.

#20- Howls of Ebb

Cursus Impasse: The Pendlomic Vows

a nightmare inducing slab of black/death metal insanity. not recommended for children or those with weak stomachs

#19- Funeral Chic

Hatred Swarm

the debut ep was full on blackened rage. everythings on "hatred swarm" is stepped up to the nth degree from that debut

#18- LVTHN

Eradication of Nescience

scathing black metal. definitely one of the albums that pushed me further into that realm

#17- Cara Neir

Perpetual Despair is the Human Condition

black metal/crust/grindcore duo focus on black metal this time around and the results are as expected, fantastic

#16- Gatecreeper

Sonoran Depravation

this was a surprise for me. and really its the best bolt thrower style death metal album by anyone not named bolt thrower

#15- Okkultokrati

Raspberry Dawn

equal parts black metal, industrial, and post punk. and all parts great

#14- Zhrine

Unortheta

Icelandic black metal at its finest. just as ugly as it is beautiful

#13- Sect

Sect

my 2nd favorite colohan project. and the closest we will probably ever get to cursed again

#12- Ringworm

Snake Church

amazing how after over 25 years into their career they just keep getting better

#11- Atrament

Eternal Downfall

blackened d-beat perfection. and I do mean perfection.

#10- Palace of Worms

The Ladder

melodic twists and turns from crusty black metal to post metal and all roads lead back to palace of worms finest hour

#9- Grieved

Grieved

these guys were my first post on here and for good reason. angry and passionate and fantastic

#8- El-Ahrairah

El-Ahrairah

posted this a couple weeks ago. similar to okkultokrati but more melodic and less mechanical. I love this album more every time I listen to it

#7- Hierophant

Mass Grave

all those reviews you've ever read that included the word "brutal", yeah they were wrong. this my friends, this is brutal.

#6- Schammasch

Triangle

3 discs worth of the most ambitious black metal ever made by humans. at least I assume schammasch are human...

#5- Converge

You Fail Me Redux

ok so technically not a new album but fuck you its my list. with the vast improvement in sound, it might as well be a new album so I'm counting it

#4- Zeal and Ardor

Devil Is Fine

without a doubt the biggest surprise of the year. really can you think of a more eclectic mashup of genres that works this well? no? I didn't think so

#3- Nails

You Will Never Be One of Us

nails is a bulldozer of violence. no one else, and I mean no one, can cram as much rage into 40 seconds they way nails can.

#2- Zao

The Well-Intentioned Virus

damn...I hated the last zao-less 7 years. the world is whole again. they executed to perfection every aspect of why I love this band.

#1- Trap Them

Crown Feral

if you saw my post on ryan mckenney from a few weeks ago then this should be no surprise. but all those reasons aside, this album is great. its a more streamlined trap them and stands up next to darker handcraft as a worthy 2nd place on the list of trap thems greatest output

so that's my list. I can only hope that 2017 is as good or better than this year. and with black anvil, emptiness, and unearthly trance albums on the horizon it looks like it will be starting out great. I just hope that the secret, early graves, moral void, yaitw, and torch runner either end their silence or at least make more of an impact than just a split or an ep. and once again id like to thank adam for the chance to be a part of this and all the readers out there that keep coming back, thank you as well.