It might come as a surprise to many, but metal still gets played on the radio! In addition to channels like SiriusXM’s Liquid Metal and nationally syndicated shows like Full Metal Jackie, there are still hundreds of outlets for heavy music in the United States. A large number of college radio stations have at least a metal show or two, and there are also commercial rock stations around the country with a new music-focused metal show in block programming. Metal is alive and well over the airwaves, and to that end, we reached out to stations across the country to get their votes for metal radio’s top albums of the year.
After compiling nearly two dozen submissions, the votes are in! We took a look at each album that made it onto station lists, and recognized the album’s weight on a descending scale. For example, an album that was named #1 on one list received 10 points, while an album named #10 received 1 point (while “honorable mentions” counted as half a point). We then added up all the points each album received from each list, with a extra-collegiate twist: a #1 vote carries extra weight against the raw point score, kind of like Heisman voting for you football dorks out there who also happen to be into metal. Given that this is just a fraction of all the radio stations out there that play metal, this seemed like the fair adjustment.
Also, voting was by director preference and has no bearing on how much the albums were played. No record on our list was named by more than seven stations, which speaks to just how diverse metal radio is in the U.S.
So without further ado, here are metal radio’s favorite albums of 2013!
10. Skeletonwitch – Serpents Unleashed (Prosthetic)
9. Cult of Luna – Vertikal (Density) [1 #1 vote]
8. Black Sabbath – 13 (Republic) [1 #1 vote]
7. The Dillinger Escape Plan – One of Us Is the Killer (Sumerian) [1 #1 vote]
6. The Ocean – Pelagial (Metal Blade) [1 #1 vote]
5. Death Angel – The Dream Calls for Blood (Nuclear Blast) [1 #1 vote]
4. Amon Amarth – Deceiver of the Gods (Metal Blade)
3. Protest the Hero – Volition (Razor and Tie)
2. Carcass – Surgical Steel (Nuclear Blast) [2 #1 votes]
1. Killswitch Engage – Disarm the Descent (Roadrunner) [2 #1 votes]
If these contributing stations and reporters are in your area, explore further:
Commercial hosts
Chuck Loesch, KROX/Austin TX (Chuck also co-hosts the Metal Sucks podcast – scope his full list here)
Chris “Christoff” Lycholat, WIYY/Baltimore MD
College radio and non-commercial directors
John “Prez” Adams, WTSR/Trenton NJ
Michael Benson, WXVU/Villanova PA
Matt “Bucket” Boam, KGAR/Lemoore CA
Dylan Desmaris, WTCC/Springfield MA
Sam Hatch, WWUH/West Haven CT
Alec Howard, KZSC/Santa Cruz CA
Nikita Khrenov, WFCS/New Britain CT
Alex McGinnis, WODU/Norfolk VA
Kellin “Dually” Myers, WSUP/Platteville WI
Matt O’Shaughnessy, WVOX/New Rochelle NY
John T.K. Scherch, WWVU/Morgantown WV
Jeff Szczesniak, WDWN/Auburn NY
Jamie Theberge, WUML/Lowell MA
Lenny Williams, WXAC/Reading PA
Matt Zaniboni, WKKL/West Barnstable MA
Want to get your music to radio stations like these? Our parent company, The Syndicate, counts metal radio promotion among its specialties. For more information, submit your project to The Syndicate here.
