Metal Insider
  • News
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
  • Tours
  • Shop
  • About
Select Page

Metal Insider contributor Jordan Jerabek’s Top Ten of 2016

by Metal Insider | Dec 13, 2016 | Best Of 2016, Lists | 0 comments

everytimeidie_lowteensEvery Time I Die, Low Teens [hardcore/metalcore/punk] (Epitaph)

These guys can do no wrong. Low Teens has the band at their most focused and impassioned. Musically, it’s about what you’d expect – a savvy blend of southern rock, ravaging hardcore, and beer swilling rock’n’roll. The shitty circumstances surrounding singer Keith Buckley seem to squeeze the best out of him; his highbrow wise-ass lyricism is still in tact, but now there’s an unprecedented level of emotional connection that takes this one to another level. The band is still pushing themselves, “It Remembers” is the first ETID song with only clean vocals, “Religion of Speed” clocks in as one of their longest tracks to date, and “Petal” is likely their most emotionally-charged and powerful song of their career – and likely of this entire year.

Key tracks: “Glitches,” “Petal,” “Just As Real But Not As Brightly Lit”

 

inter arma paradise gallowsInter Arma, Paradise Gallows, [sludge/death metal/black metal] (Relapse)

Inter Arma are like a fucking black hole, just eating everything up and spitting out something completely new every time. It’s unfair how they can make new elements fit so well within their (already boundless) sound, but they pull everything off so convincingly, it’s no wonder they’re always a year-end favorite. The clean vocals, the desert rock psych, the even more intricate arrangements; it all enhances their range of expression, authentically. Paradise Gallows might as well be a movie score, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this syncs up at the lion’s third roar to some gloomy western flick. It’s truly awe-inspiring, a front-to-back masterpiece of an album, and yet I’m still left feeling, somehow, that their best days are ahead of them.

Key tracks: “An Archer in the Emptiness,” “The Paradise Gallows,” “Violent Constellations”

 

maethMaeth Shrouded Mountain [psych/sludge/post-metal] (Minnesconsin)

If there’s anything that comes close to capturing the sonic scope of Inter Arma’s Paradise Gallows, it’s Maeth’s Shrouded Mountain. Listening to this takes me to a different headspace (like post-metal should), but the expeditious and constantly evolving nature of the songs put this head-and-shoulders above more popular acts in the scene. Crushing guitars meet with balmy, tom-heavy polyrhythms and ambient textures, encapsulating ferocious screams and layered vocals, all circumscribed by majestic flute lines that highlight an impressive sonic breadth.

Key tracks: “Verne,” “Shrouded Mountain,” “Mammoth God”

 

sa-chained-lowresSpirit Adrift, Chained to Oblivion  [doom/psych] (Prosthetic)

There’s been swaths of doom records put out this year, and none of them come close to Chained to Oblivion. Nothing seizes the power and emotion that Nate Garrett captures on this album; he outclasses his peers that rely on tired tropes and stale conventions (and mediocre riffs), making them appear antiquated in comparison. The psych elements and the instrumentation alone put this one over the top, but Garrett’s lyrics and vocal performance take this to another level, drawing deep and personal connections with listeners, and ultimately cementing Chained to Oblivion as a modern classic.


Key Tracks: “Psychic Tide,” “Form and Force,” “Chained to Oblivion”

 

author avatar
Metal Insider
See Full Bio
Pages: 1 2 3

Follow Us

  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
Paradise Lost unveil “Serpent on the Cross” video
Paradise Lost unveil “Serpent on the Cross” video

Gothic doom legends Paradise Lost have released a video for their latest single, “Serpent on the Cross.” The track is the second single taken from their forthcoming 17th studio album, Ascension, scheduled to arrive on September 19th via Nuclear Blast Records. Nick...

read more
Babymetal drop “Kon! Kon!” video featuring Bloodywood
Babymetal drop “Kon! Kon!” video featuring Bloodywood

Babymetal have unleashed a video for their latest single “Kon! Kon!” featuring Bloodywood. The track is taken from their upcoming album Metal Forth, scheduled to arrive on August 8 via Capitol Records. The band is currently on their largest North American tour to...

read more
Playthrough Video Premiere: Matt Miller – “Descent into Violence”
Playthrough Video Premiere: Matt Miller – “Descent into Violence”

Technical death metal guitarist Matt Miller has teamed up with Metal Insider to premiere the playthrough video for “Descent into Violence.” The track is the first single taken from his upcoming seventh album, Fiber Tormentum, scheduled to arrive on September 12, 2025,...

read more
New & Noteworthy: Never Enough Insatiable Releases –  6/20/2025 – 06/06/2025

New & Noteworthy: Never Enough Insatiable Releases – 6/20/2025 – 06/06/2025

June 20, 2025 New & Noteworthy is Metal Insider’s weekly column highlighting some of the newest rock and metal releases coming out each week. This week’s new music includes albums from the likes of Badflower, Cryptopsy, Alestorm, Malevolence and Yungblud, among...

read more
New & Noteworthy: Songs of Last Releases – 5/30/2025

New & Noteworthy: Songs of Last Releases – 5/30/2025

New & Noteworthy is Metal Insider’s weekly column highlighting some of the newest rock and metal releases coming out each week. This final New Music Friday of May will see new music from the likes of Garbage, The Haunted, Rivers Of Nihil and Wolves At The Gate, as...

read more
New & Noteworthy: Origins of Releases – 5/23/2025

New & Noteworthy: Origins of Releases – 5/23/2025

New & Noteworthy is Metal Insider’s weekly column highlighting some of the newest rock and metal releases coming out each week. This week will see new music from the likes of Skunk Anansie, …and Oceans, Age of Apocalypes and Witchcraft, as well as cover and...

read more

Support Metal Insider: Donate Today

Find Metal Insider on…

  • Amazon
  • Bluesky
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Mastodon
  • Substack
  • Threads
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Discord

  • Metal Insider is on Discord! Join the Metal Insider community! 0

Metal Insider is a member of
LG Media

Privacy Policy

NEWS & TIPS

Have news you think would fit on Metal Insider? Send us a message at: tips@metalinsider.net

  • Facebook
  • X
  • Instagram
  • RSS