This is late I know, but the hard copy didn’t make it to the newsletter, so anyone who’s curious can come here to see the best metal of 2011 as selected by your own loud rock director!

1. Skeletonwitch – Forever Abomination
-Ohio’s Skeletonwitch maintain their blackened thrash style while mixing in some rock n’ roll influence. Maybe not quite as good as Beyond the Permafrost, but still a great album, and points for getting creative.
2. Alestorm – Back through Time
-Everything about this band is goddamn silly. Back through Time is no exception. The opening track is about time travelling pirates having naval battles with Vikings. Needless to say, I can’t get enough. Alestorm goes so over the top as to provide a much needed reminder: metal is about having fun.
3. Motorhead – The World Is Yours
-Another album of Lemmy Kilmeister doing what he does best. Can’t go wrong with those bone-crushing basslines and gravelly voice.
4. Belphegor – Blood Magick Necromance
-Nice mix of death and black metal, having both the chaotic and evil atmospheric qualities of both, respectively. Sounds a bit too similar like Belphegor’s previous material to be called innovative, but that’s alright; the old material’s great too!
5. Blut aus Nord – 777: The Desanctification
-This will be a tough band (this album especially!) to get into if you’re used to Slipknot or whatever bullshit Hot Topic’s selling these days. Each track is titled Epitome VII – XIII, being the second part in Blut Aus Nord’s 777 trilogy. It’s a concept album so big it had to be broken up into three pieces. That alone is enough to be impressive, and as it turns out, they make some soul shatteringly great tracks as well. Avant-garde black metal with French artistic flair: how could it not work? Sadly, I feel obligated to put it towards the bottom of the top, because it feels incomplete without the other two parts. But seriously, acquire this album upon reading this.