It's that time of year again (Not exactly close, but there's not much left coming out this year) and I'm gonna list my favorite albums of this year. There's been a lot, so it's been pretty hard narrowing down what was the best. So here's my Top 11 albums of the year. Why 11? Because I like to go one step beyond.

11. Slipknot - .5: The Gray Chapter (Spotify, Youtube)



Slipknot latest entry since 2008 is a good one. It's still the same old Slipknot, which is fine, but I end up skipping more of the songs off this album than I ever did before. It's probably because my tastes have changed up, but it's still a dang good album to jam out too. If Rain Is What You Want is really a stand out track for it's mellow atmosphere and amazing vocals.

10. Toothgrinder - Schizophrenic Jubilee (Spotify, Youtube)



These guys are sorta new in the scene. They've been around a for a while, but they just commercially released their new EP. Schizophrenic Jubilee can be summed up as one of those classic mosh bands, but mixed with progressive metal. It's great to jam out to. Not to mention, these guys live was awesome. So much energy.

9. Within Temptation - Hyrdra (Spotify, Youtube)



Let me get this out of the way, just in case you do listen to this album. Xzibit is on this album. You know, Pimp My Ride? Yeah. Just go ahead and get that in your head when you hear him pop up on a symphonic metal album. It's a really good album and the vocalist has an amazing voice. She's really good.

8. Of Mice & Men - Restoring Force (Spotify, Youtube)



Fact: I have a soft spot for metalcore. Of Mice & Men have really changed with this album. It's a mix between nu-metal and metalcore and it surprisingly works well. This album also brought a change in clean vocals and less breakdowns. OM&M's old clean vocalist from The Flood is no longer here and the new guy kinda sounds better in my opinion. It's a great album to jam to.

7. Opeth - Pale Communion (Spotify, Youtube)



If you have listened to Opeth before, you know that Opeth really doesn't sound the same as they used to. They went from death metal to progressive rock. Lots of people don't like it but as someone who loves progressive rock/metal, I love it. It's such a light album and it works well.

6. The Contortionist - Language (Spotify, Youtube)



Language is a very chill progressive metal album. It's very technical, but chill. Also these guys are cool live. It's very nice to listen to when you want to wind down.

5. Foo Fighters - Sonic Highways (Spotify, Youtube)



Sonic Highways is a fairly unique album. Each song was recorded in a different studio across the United States. It's a good album, but... I hate to do it and I'm going to do it anyway. It's not that great compared to Wasting Light. It's still a really good album, but it doesn't have that same feeling that Wasting Light had. Outside of that, the album is composed really well. It's definitely worth a listen.

4. Intervals - A Voice Within (Spotify, Youtube)



I love Intervals. They are awesome. I saw them live. Met the vocalist, shook his hand, and had a conversation with him. Really chill dude. Too bad that will never happen again. :'( This album is unique to me, because it sets apart a lot of djent style bands. The amazing vocals and great riffs made it nice to listen to when I was in networking labs. Unfortunately with the vocalist's departure, I'm not sure how the band's style will change. Also Atlas Hour is an amazing song. The last part of the song is just pure instrumental bliss.

3. Periphery - Clear (Spotify, Youtube)



Oh Juggernaut here we come. Periphery released this as an experiment and to keep fans happy with something new until their concept albums (Juggernaut Alpha and Omega) come out. All the tracks, except the intro are written by each different band member. It's awesome, it's chuggy, and it's holding me over until Juggernaut. Also I'm seeing them live again in January on the first stop of the Juggernaut tour. Hype.

2. Skyharbor - Guiding Lights (Spotify, Youtube)



This is the first album since Protest the Hero's album last year that I helped fund. It was worth it. Guiding Lights is an ambient progressive metal album with some amazing vocals. Their first album was alright, but this album is so much better in so many ways.

1. Wovenwar - Wovenwar (Spotify, Youtube)



I. Love. This. Album. Scratch that, I love this band. Rising from the ashes of As I Lay Dying, Wovenwar brings about a catchy, heavy, and amazing album. I have had this album on repeat since the day it came out. It's that amazing. Heck, I'm pretty sure it's up there with Periphery's second album for times I have listened to it in succession. At the time of this post, I have had 663 scrobbles to Last.fm since August of this year. I feel like this album can appeal to anybody who like rock or metal. It doesn't have any growling or screaming (Well barely any screaming), which is a turn off for most As I Lay Dying fans, but it works so well and the dynamic is great between Shane Blay and Josh Gilbert. I honestly can't wait to see these guys with Periphery in January.