With our general list for 2016 out of the way, we can now shift the focus from our aggregate opinion to individual ones. Both outlooks have their own merit; the former provides us with an overview of our year in music. However, the latter shines a light on something we’re extremely proud of and that’s the varied and eclectic nature of our staff these days. We used to have a very certain type of music associated with Heavy Blog and while we still have a long way to go, we feel like we’ve done a good job at expanding our palettes and the representation of different kinds of music and metal in our staff. The lists below reflect that; you’ll find black metal, avant-garde, technical thrash metal, hip hop, rap, noise, ambiance, post metal and rock, melodic death metal and much more throughout these lists.
We know such a large amount of albums (especially in the wake of our previous list) can be overwhelming so we recommend you use the few initial entries in each list to get a taste for a writer’s direction. If you find it interesting enough or in common with your own, consider diving into the entire list. You’re sure to find some gems on each and every one of these, so we encourage you to explore! Thanks for making this a possibility for us; we love music and we love sharing it with you. Here’s to an amazing 2017.
David Aleksov
1. Orphx – Pitch Black Mirror
2. Swans – The Glowing Man
3. Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool
4. Roly Porter – Third Law
5. Skee Mask – Shred
6. David Bowie – Blackstar
7. Gorguts – Pleiades Dust
8. Lustmord – Dark Matter
9. SubRosa – For This We Fought The Battle of Ages
10. Mouth of The Architect – Path of Eight
Kit Brown
1. Nails – You Will Never Be One of Us
2. Vektor – Terminal Redux
3. Slice the Cake – Odyssey to the West
4. Meshuggah – The Violent Sleep of Reason
5. Gorguts – Pleiades’ Dust
6. Ulver – ATGCLVLSSCAP
7. Sumac – What One Becomes
8. Wormrot – Voices
9. Revocation – Great Is Our Sin
10. Kayo Dot – Plastic House on Base of Sky
Ryan Castrati
1. Kanye West – The Life of Pablo
2. The Avalanches – Wildflower
3. Dance Gavin Dance- Mothership
4. Childish Gambino – “Awaken, My Love!”
5. Frank Ocean – Blonde
6. Knocked Loose – Laugh Tracks
7. Astronoid – Air
8. clipping. – Splendor & Misery
9. Issues – Headspace
10. Nick Jonas – Last Year Was Complicated
Nick Cusworth
1. The Dear Hunter – Act V: Hymns With The Devil In Confessional
2. Thank You Scientist – Stranger Heads Prevail
3. Cult of Luna & Julie Christmas – Mariner
4. Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society – Real Enemies
5. Aenaon – Hypnosophy
6. Three Trapped Tigers – Silent Earthling
7. BADBADNOTGOOD – IV
8. Latitudes – Old Sunlight
9. O’Brother – Endless Light
10. VIRTA – Hurmos
Karlo Doroc
1. Obscura – Akroasis
2. Slice the Cake – Odyssey to the West
3. Virvum – Illuminance
4. Ihsahn – Arktis.
5. Schammasch – Triangle
6. Vektor – Terminal Redux
7. Aeneon – Hypnosophy
8. First Fragment – Dasein
9. O’Brother – Endless Light
10. Fountainhead – Reverse Engineering
Kieran Fisher
1. Dinosaur Jr – Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not
2. American Football – American Football
3. Saor – Guardians
4. Jimmy Eat World – Integrity Blues
5. Neurosis – Fires Within Fires
6. Cult of Luna & Julie Christmas – Mariner
7. Deftones – Gore
8. The Avalanches – Wildflower
9. Gold Panda – Good Luck and Do Your Best
10. Aesop Rock – The Impossible Kid
Simon Handmaker
1. Inter Arma – Paradise Gallows
2. Kashiwa Daisuke – program music ii
3. Aesop Rock – The Impossible Kid
4. Astronoid – Air
5. Young Thug – JEFFERY
6. The Dear Hunter – Act V: Hymns With The Devil In Confessional
7. Trap Them – Crown Feral
8. Car Bomb – Meta
9. Danny Brown – Atrocity Exhibition
10. Saor – Guardians
Ahmed Hasan
1. Car Bomb – Meta
2. Wormed – Krighsu
3. Obscura – Akroasis
4. The Dillinger Escape Plan – Dissociation
5. Protest the Hero – Pacific Myth
6. O’Brother – Endless Light
7. Gorguts – Pleiades’ Dust
8. Thank You Scientist – Stranger Heads Prevail
9. Kendrick Lamar – untitled unmastered.
10. Meshuggah – The Violent Sleep of Reason
Aly Hassab El Naby
1. In Mourning – Afterglow
2. Fallujah – Dreamless
3. Fleshgod Apocalypse – King
4. Winterhorde – Maestro
5. Allegaeon – Proponent for Sentience
6. Be’lakor – Vessels
7. Neurosis – Fires Within Fires
8. Meshuggah – The Violent Sleep of Reason
9. Insomnium – Winter’s Gate
10. Cult of Luna & Julie Christmas – Mariner
Andrew Hatch
1. Whispered – Metsutan – Songs of The Void
2. Saor – Guardians
3. Vektor – Terminal Redux
4. Blazon Stone – War of the Roses
5. Thy Catafalque – Meta
6. Oathbreaker – Rheia
7. Astronoid – Air
8. King Gizzard and the Lizzard Wizzard – Nonagon Infinity
9. Veldes – Ember Breather
10. Inquisition – Bloodshed Across the Empyrean Altar Beyond the Celestial Zenith
Jordan Jerabek
1. Cobalt – Slow Forever
2. Vektor – Terminal Redux
3. Sturgill Simpson – A Sailor’s Guide to Earth
4. Spirit Adrift – Chained to Oblivion
5. Maeth – Shrouded Mountain
6. Inter Arma – Paradise Gallows
7. Thank You Scientist – Stranger Heads Prevail
8. Every Time I Die – Low Teens
9. Deftones – Gore
10. The Central – Discovery of a Rat
Colin Kauffman
1. The Body – No One Deserves Happiness
2. Oathbreaker – Rheia
3. Car Bomb – Meta
4. Virta – Hurmos
5. Yndi Halda – Under Summer
6. Cult of Luna & Julie Christmas – Mariner
7. Dark Tranquility – Atoma
8. Vektor – Terminal Redux
9. Kayo Dot – Plastic House on Base of Sky
10. David Bowie – Blackstar
Brandon Klemets
1. Anciients – Voice of the Void
2. Devin Townsend Project – Transcendence
3. Protest The Hero – Pacific Myth
4. Plini – Handmade Cities
5. Dark Tranquility – Atoma
6. Fallujah – Dreamless
7. Vektor – Terminal Redux
8. Haken – Affinity
9. Alcest – Kodama
10. Billy Talent – Afraid of Heights
Eden Kupermintz
1. Yndi Halda - Under Summer
2.Aenaon - Hypnosophy
3.Katatonia - The Fall of Hearts
4.Thank You Scientist - Stranger Heads Prevail
5.Clipping. - Splendor & Misery
6.Vektor - Terminal Redux
7.Mouth of the Architect - Path of Eight
8.Anciients - Voice of the Void
9.65daysofstatic - Music for an Infinite Universe
10.Thrawsunblat - Metachthonia
Mike McMahan
1. Car Bomb – Meta
2. Astronoid – Air
3. Gojira – Magma
4. Alcest – Kodama
5. Obscura – Akroasis
6. Lady Gaga – Joanne
7. Drive-By Truckers – American Band
8. Virvum – Illumination
9. Opeth – Sorceress
10. Anthrax – For All Kings
Jimmy Mullett
1. David Bowie – Blackstar
2. Aesop Rock – The Impossible Kid
3. John Zorn – The Classic Guide to Strategy, Vol. 4
4. How To Dress Well – Care
5. The Dillinger Escape Plan – Dissociation
6. Protest the Hero – Pacific Myth
7. Merzbow/Gareth Davis – Atsusaku
8. Massive Attack – Ritual Spirit
9. The Frozen Ocean – The Prowess of Dormition
10. Chthe’ilist – Le Dernier Crépuscule
Scott Murphy
1. David Bowie – Blackstar
2. Chance The Rapper – Coloring Book
3. Bon Iver – 22, A Million
4. Danny Brown – Atrocity Exhibition
5. ANOHNI – Hopelessness
6. Leon Vynehall – Rojus (Designed to Dance)
7. Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool
8. Huerco S. – For Those Of You Who Have Never (And Also Those Who Have)
9. Battle Trance – Blade of Love
10. Wacław Zimpel – Lines
Jimmy Rowe
1. Periphery – Periphery III
2. The Dillinger Escape Plan – Dissociation
3. Car Bomb – Meta
4. Aesop Rock – The Impossible Kid
5. Clipping – Splendor & Misery
6. The 1975 – I Like It When You Sleep…
7. Deftones – Gore
8. Woven Hand – Star Treatment
9. Fallujah – Dreamless
10. Alcest – Kodama
Noyan Tokgozoglu
1. Obscura – Akroasis
2. Babymetal – Metal Resistance
3. Fallujah – Dreamless
4. Cyborg Octopus – Learning to Breathe
5. First Fragment – Dasein
6. Schammasch – Triangle
7. Aenaon – Hypnosophy
8. Oathbreaker – Rheia
9. Dark Tranquillity – Atoma
10. Ihsahn – Arktis
Mark Valentino
1. Trap Them – Crown Feral
2. Gatecreeper – Sonoran Depravation
3. The Dillinger Escape Plan – Dissociation
4. Nails – You Will Never Be One Of Us
5. Cult Of Luna & Julie Christmas – Mariner
6. Sumac – What One Becomes
7. Wormrot – Voices
8. O’brother – Endless Light
9. Astronoid – Air
10. Oathbreaker – Rheia
Dan Wieten
1. Frost* – Falling Satellites
2. Insomnium – Winter’s Gate
3. Bad Rabbits – American Nightmare
4. Textures – Phenotype
5. Periphery – III
6. Twelve Foot Ninja – Outlier
7. Car Bomb – Meta
8. Wormrot – Voices
9. Meshuggah – The Violent Sleep of Reason
10. Destrage – A Means to No End