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Metal Storm Awards 2012


 
So February has come and gone, as did, undoubtedly, several of our voters.

Alt Metal, Death, Folk/Pagan, Gothic, Melodeath, Melodic Black, Power, Prog, and Thrash all exceeded 1,000 votes.

We had our share of the usual Big Band Beat Downs where the winner was a foregone conclusion about six minutes into voting? Saturnus, Be'lakor, and Enslaved pummeled the opposition, Meshuggah received almost 60% of the vote in Djent with over 500 while no one else came close to cracking the century mark, and Gojira racked up almost as many votes as the entire Stoner/Sludge field?

We also had perhaps our tightest race yet, with Neurosis and Atoma changing pole position repeatedly, and only a two vote gap between 'em as I started typing this a couple hours before votes close.

Wintersun almost pulled the dubious double, winning "Biggest Surprise" (most likely because the album was actually released? certainly not what the album sounded like), and were spared another win in the "Biggest Letdown" category only because the unsung heroes of Ensiferum managed to disappoint more of their fans.

Congrats to Atoma and Immensity, best debut and best Clandestine Cut, respectively, for leading a promising pack of bands. Metal's future is bright indeed. And congrats to all of the bands that were nominated, whether by MS staff or written in, as well as the fans who took the time to check out the lesser-known acts to see what the excitement was about.

After all the fans finding new bands and bands gaining new fans are the real winners.

\m/



The Best Alternative Metal Album



The Best Avantgarde / Experimental Metal



The Best Black Metal Album



The Best Death Metal Album



The Best Djent / Math Metal



The Best Doom Metal Album



The Best Extreme Doom Metal Album



The Best Folk / Pagan / Viking Metal Album



The Best Gothic Metal Album



The Best Grindcore Album



The Best Hard Rock Album



The Best Hardcore / Metalcore / Deathcore



The Best Heavy / Melodic Metal Album



The Best Industrial / Cyber / Electronic Metal Album



The Best Melodeath / Extreme Power / Gothenburg Metal Album



The Best Melodic Black Metal / Metalgaze



The Best Post-Metal Album



The Best Power Metal Album



The Best Progressive Metal Album



The Best Sludge / Stoner Metal Album



The Best Symphonic Metal Album



The Best Thrash Metal Album



Clandestine Cut Of The Year

1. Immensity - The Lonely Aquarelle 46
2. Fever Sea - The Deluge 40
3. Spelljammer - Vol. II 33
4. Autolatry - Of The Land 31
5. Yama - Seaquake 27
  Schematics For Gravity - Schematics For Gravity 27
7. Morito Ergo Sum - Moonchild 18
8. Morality Crisis - North 15
9. Unbodied - Unbodied 14
10. Defecto - Defecto 13


The Best Cover Song

1. Sabaton - Twilight Of The Thunder God (Amon Amarth cover) 38
2. Testament - Powerslave (Iron Maiden cover) 34
3. Ensiferum - Bamboleo 24
4. Xanthochroid - Land of Snow and Sorrow (Wintersun cover) 19
5. Kreator - Number Of The Beast (Iron Maiden cover) 14
6. Luca Turilli's Rhapsody - March Of Time 13
  Enslaved - Immigrant Song 13
8. Lacuna Coil - Losing My Religion (R.E.M. cover) 12
  Dordeduh - Ruun 12
  Metallica - When A Blind Man Cries (Deep Purple Cover) 12


The Best Debut Album



The Best DVD



The Best Video

1. Kamelot - Sacrimony (Angel of Afterlife) 54
2. Swallow The Sun - Cathedral Walls 31
3. Carach Angren - The Funerary Dirge of a Violinist 29
4. Sólstafir - Fjara 28
5. A Forest Of Stars - Gatherer Of The Pure 26
6. Devin Townsend - Lucky Animals 25
7. Storm Corrosion - Drag Ropes 21
8. Nekrogoblikon - No One Survives 18
9. Cattle Decapitation - Forced Gender Reassignment 16
  Testament - Native Blood 16


The Biggest Letdown



The Biggest Surprise



Drama Of The Year

1. Lamb Of God - Randy Blythe charged with manslaughter 102
2. Nightwish - Vocalist issues again 59
3. Black Sabbath - Failed Reunion 43
4. Wintersun - About f***in' 'Time' 30
5. Queensrÿche - The tale of the two Queensrÿches 27
6. Suicide Silence - Mitch Lucker's sudden death 14