1) Gojira, L’enfent Sauvage (Roadrunner)
A Gojira album is nothing less than an event – careening rhythms, catchy choruses, and instrumental acrobatics. The band’s Roadrunner debut is no exception. While Meshuggah managed to release a fine album this year, I think Gojira out-Meshuggahs it, in that there are hooks to go along with the syncopated grooves. And while anyone reading any metal blog knows who this band is, they’re really only getting started in terms of the larger metal audience.
Honorable:
Pig Destroyer, Book Burner (Relapse)
Neurosis, Honor Found in Decay (Neurot)
Prong, Carved Into Stone (SPV)
Black Breath, Sentenced to Life (Southern Lord)
The Faceless, Autotheism (Sumerian)
Nachtmystium, The Silencing Machine (Century Media)
Enslaved, RIIRIIR (Nuclear Blast)
