EXCLAIM.CA: Metal 2011: 18 Best Albums

Canadian music webzine EXCLAIM.CA have announced the zine's TOP 18 METAL RELEASES of 2011.

FROM EXCLAIM.CA:
Listen to our Best of 2011:

1. KEN Mode
2. Mastodon
3. Fuck the Facts
4. Wolves In The Throne Room
5. Today is the Day
6. Liturgy
7. Hammers of Misfortune
8. Opeth
9. Imbroglio
10. Brutal Truth
11. Graf Orlock
12. Black Tusk
13. Helms Alee
14. Prurient
15. The Atlas Moth
16. Flourishing
17. Retox
18. Tombs

4. Wolves In The Throne Room Celestial Lineage (Southern Lord)
Black metal might be the only genre of music where artists are vilified if they become too popular. In 2011, there were bands that got slammed for trying to make a name for themselves and bands that you desperately wanted to get more attention, as their music was, while an acquired taste, perfectly executed. Celestial Lineage falls into the latter not because it isn't for the faint at heart and not because it is "brootal," but because it is masterful, intense, beautiful and rich with wonder. After six or seven listens, you still find lush passages you never heard or felt before, amazed at the story that ― while difficult to articulate ― runs from "Thuja Magus Imperium" to "Prayer of Transformation." Sure the brothers Weaver live on a self-sufficient farm somewhere in the remote part of Washington state, and there are rumours that Celestial Lineage might be their last, but the band's fifth album has definitely made a lasting impression in the American black metal scene and they deserve to have a non-ironic moment in the spotlight.
Laina Dawes

Thanks-Stay Metal, Stay Brutal-\m/ -l-
CONGRATS TO TOMBS, WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM and PROFOUND LORE ARTISTS