An’ lemme jus’ say: Fuck December 21st in it’s ass. Ain’t no ‘pocalypse, mutha’ fuckas.

Man, there were way to many good albums released this year. I listened to as many as I could but there were some that I just couldn’t get to. There are also some that I listened to, just not enough for them to make my final list. I can’t let this slide, however and I want to give a shout out to new releases by Marty Friedman, The Mars Volta, Birds In Row, Code Orange Kids, Downfall Of Gaia and Krallice. I really wish I could have settled down to check these albums out in full, but I just couldn’t get down to do it.

Before we get to my actual list I would like to thank each and every one of you readers. Without you, I honestly probably would have given this up a long time ago. Sure, on this site I give my opinion on music, but it is really you guys/gals that count. I don’t know how I could repay you all for visiting American Aftermath these past two years. You have really made it worth while. Even the haters who talked shit, I appreciate you fucks also.

Honorable Mentions:
Torch Runner – Commited To The Ground
The Chariot – One Wing
Bosse de Nage – III
Ash Borer – Cold Of Ages
Homewrecker – Worms And Dirt
Cannibal Corpse – Torture
Veil Of Maya – Eclipse
Hooded Menace – Effigies Of Evil
Author & Punisher – Ursus Americanus
Everything Went Black – Cycles Of Light

#20 Amenra – Mass V (listen)
#19 Old Man Gloom – NO (listen)
#18 War From A Harlots Mouth – Voyeur (listen)
#17 Standing On A Floor Of Bodies – Sacrilegious & Culturally Deficient (listen)
#16 Hivesmasher – Gutter Choir (listen)
#15 Early Graves – Red Horse (listen)
#14 Pig Destroyer – Book Burner (listen)
#13 A Life Once Lost - Ecstatic Trance (listen)
#12 Between The Buried And Me – The Paralax II: Future Sequence (listen)
#11 Bone Dance - Bone Dance (listen)

#10 The Secret – Agnus Dei (listen)
Italy’s blackened crust grinders The Secret are back and Agnus Dei is a force to be reckoned with. Bursting right out of the box with insanity and hyperblasts, how was I not going to put this in my Top 10? It’s a major step forward from Solve Et Coagula which I still adore.

#9 Serpentine Path – Serpentine Path (listen)
This debut from deathdoom supergroup Serpentine Path was a shoe-in for my Top 10 right from the start. I wrote a pretty gnarly review of the album (comparing it to the classic film Lord Of The Flies) and my brain has yet to stop hemorrhaging.

#8 Car Bomb – w^w^^w^w (listen)
How the fuck do you pronounce that album title?! Jesus H., man. Fuck it, I don’t want to know how to pronounce it. All I know is that this album is not only one of the hardest albums I have ever attempted to headbang to, it is also one of the gnarliest, grittiest slabs of complex whathaveyou to ever come across my speakers. Sure, Centralia is good, but w^w^^w^w is a fucking masterpiece.

#7 Bastard Sapling – Dragged From Our Restless Trance (listen)
This debut full-length from Virginia’s Bastard Sapling is one of the most captivating black metal releases I have heard in recent times. I kept this album on repeat for a few days and it was incredible. No bad marks for Dragged From Our Restless Trance.

#6 Kowloon Walled City – Container Ships (listen)
I had a nice long while to listen to this baby and I can happily place it as my #6 because it is an incredible release by a band that has grown and expanded since their inception. Each album has been great, but Container Ships exceeds all expectations and is a fantastic listen through and through.

#5 Column Of Heaven – Mission From God (listen)
If you would have asked my back in January if I thought an independently released grindviolence album would make my Top 5, I probably would have laughed and shrugged it off. I was so blown away by Column Of Heaven the first time I heard them that it felt wrong to leave them off of this list. Who woulda thought they would land in my #5 spot?

#4 Deftones – No Koi Yokan (listen)
I have anticipated this album since I first got wind of it. I have been a die-hard Deftones fan for over ten years and I have watched this band grow, nay, evolve and it has been beautiful. I don’t quite love this album as much as I do Diamond Eyes, but it is still a mind-blowing record and you should love it as much as I do.

#3 Gaza - No Absolutes In Human Suffering (listen)
Gaza fucking slays. I think that’s about all that needs to be said about this one.

#2 Converge – All We Love We Leave Behind (listen)
Converge are a band that, once your into it you are a lifelong fan. I have been a huge fan of this band for a long time now and anticipating this record was downright torture. When it erupted across my speakers, I knew it was made to be loved. It’s incredible.

#1 Coheed And Cambria – The Afterman: Ascension
When it comes down to albums I could not stop listening to this year, there is no other choice for me than The Afterman: Ascension. From the first time I listened to this album in it’s entirety, I knew it was going to land in my #1 spot. I have never been disappointed in a Coheed And Cambria album and The Afterman: Ascension is definitely not a let down. Coheed‘s greatest work by far and there is never a dull moment on this album.

Sure, this could be considered a rock album and could have been on my “Top 5 Alternative/Rock” list I posted on Facebook, but I think it’s too heavy for that.

Favorite tracks: “Key Entity Extraction: IV: Evagria The Faithful” & “Key Entity Extraction: I: Domino The Destitute”