Those who know me know I have had a perfectly wretched July. This was the perfect soundtrack for it. Check it out when you have a miserable day/week/month going on and spread the feel bads.

This One Time, At FuneralCamp

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Endorsed by: X-Ray Rod

One word: album of the year.

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Endorsed by: Daniell, RaduP

Remember the amazing Pure Reason Revolution which split up about half a decade ago? Well, Bullet Height is the spiritual successor put together by the former PRR guitarist Jon Courtney, joined by Sammi Doll on vocals. It's a bit darker, a bit heavier, and somewhat more electronic, yet it unmistakably retains the vocal harmonies and songwriting hooks that made PRR so good. It is recognisable as a follow up to PRR's "Hammer and Anvil" and, if anything, advice to follow the musician has never been more apt.

Try "Bastion," "Hold Together," or "Wild Words."

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Endorsed by: BloodTears

Time waits for no man, but Time Lurker have waited a long timing waiting on this man to mash out a review. Désolé. Their s/t debut is 7 tracks of post-infused black metal with some great tremolo riffing, harmonies offset against posty-moments, tikatikatika drums and howling into the vortex vocals buried a bit in the mix to make everything sound even better.

BANDCAMP, Muthatruckas!

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Endorsed by: Paz

Anton Kabanen left the band, the last album failed to move me at all, and I thought I had grown tired of Battle Beast. When I learned that they were playing seven of these ten songs on tour, I knew that something had to be up. Turns out they had every reason to be that confident in Bringer Of Pain, which is in my eyes the most consistent and natural-sounding album Battle Beast has ever released.

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Whoredom Rife's debut album Dommedagskvad contains seven tracks, mostly clocking around 6 minutes, and that makes it a fun and easy listening. So, prepare your body for the Norwegian Black Metal, which is highly melodic. True believers shouldn't be disappointed. Terratur Possessions does it again.

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Are you ready for some top notch death doom? If so, you need to hear this debut full-length by the Dutch Façade. Loathe maybe isn't a groundbreaking material but it has everything that we love in this genre. The album's cover is also one of the best achievements this year. Don't miss it!

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Endorsed by: Marcel Hubregtse

Some of you might think that Venenum has no strong competitors in the death metal category this year, but here come the French Necroblood to prove you wrong. 10 tracks of truly evilish DM should remind you of the early works of Immolation and Convulse. So, do not expect any progressive vibes here. It's pure old school fun!

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In 2015, Belgian Bathsheba with their two-track EP, The Sleepless Gods, showed some great potential for the future. Two years after, the full-length has finally been released. Servus, as it is called, didn't disappoint and even exceed all the expectations. Michelle Nocon's haunting vocals are strong as ever, the riffs are heavy & memorable, and an occasional saxophone licks ("Ain Soph") just complete the whole musical experience. Servus definitely going to be a strong contender for doom metal album of the year.

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I rather enjoyed Darkness Sustains The Silence's excellent mixing of doom, trad, death and stoner riffs to create an album that I continue to enjoy years later. Now they're back, tossing a fistful of grunge into the mix. Among The Ruins has a lot of the swell things I enjoyed so much topped off with an Alice In Chains vibe. Maybe a little less harsh, but (insert Alice In Betelgeuze joke here)'s Among The Ruins is a very enjoyable album.

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Miasma, the debut full-length from the Warsaw-based sextet ROSK is a prime example of post-black metal done right. We get a decent dose of emotions with excellent centering between clean & harsh vocals. Of course, there is no lack of heavier parts and tremolo picking guitars. Everybody will find something to enjoy. This is just another proof that Polish metal is currently at the top.

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Endorsed by: Dream Taster, BloodTears

Raging torrent of black metal vaguely in the vein of Darkspace. Five unrelenting tracks combining breakneck pace, tragic harmonies, shrieked but buried vocals before the bottom drops out into more ambient territory. Maybe the aftermath of being sucked through the black hole? [Url=https://kassad.bandcamp.com/album/faces-turn-away]Another "One time at Bandcamp..." find.[/url]

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The year 2016 showed us that some old American thrash bands still have it in them. Kreator shows us that 2017 in Europe will not be worse. "Gods of Violence" is simply excellent.

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Endorsed by: Dream Taster, ScreamingSteelUS, D.T. Metal, Darkside Momo

With the departure of Jo Amore from the band, who better than to take up the reins than one of the best vocalists out there, Magali Luyten (Beautiful Sin, Virus IV)? Like injecting a new level of venom into a snake that's already bitten you once, Dead Sun wastes no time diving straight for your wrist in tracks like "Serpentine" and "Ikarus," leaving your fist only one option: to be raised in the air!

Listen here and Listen here

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Endorsed by: Dream Taster, Milena

Remember Taranis? Then you should remember the name Attila Bakos (presented in Hungary's traditional name orientation for this release). If you read any interviews with him post Kingdom's release, then you know he promised to make more music, but in a much less extreme format than Taranis.

This is that release. Imagine an entire album in the style of the melodic/non-extreme moments of Kingdom, with lyrics in Hungarian, and you get Aranyhajnal. And the artwork is, of course, just as epic as Kingdom's since it's the same artist.

Bandcamp

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Endorsed by: Dream Taster, BloodTears