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The Year In Review – Top 10 Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Albums of 2021

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“I wanted to play drums because I fell in love with the glitter and the lights, but it wasn’t about adulation. It was being up there playing.” – Charlie Watts

And there goes another year without a single metal concert in Canada. Another year full of uncertainties, fears, polarization, restrictions, and everything else we “love” so much. I honestly don’t know what to say about 2021 apart form the fact it was undoubtedly much better than 2020, but that means nothing considering the total nightmare that 2020 was. We lost a lot of huge names in the rock and metal scene such as Joey Jordison, Dusty Hill, Mike Howe, Johnny Solinger, Marsha Zazula, Alexi Laiho, John Hinch, John Lawton, Charlie Watts and Hank Von Hell, among many others. Tons of festivals including Download, Wacken Open Air, Hellfest, Bloodstock Open Air, Sweden Rock Festival and Dynamo MetalFest were scheduled to return this year after the 2020 editions of those festivals were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but unfortunately Sweden Rock, Hellfest, Download and Wacken Open Air were once again cancelled. With that said, why do we metalheads still believe in a better future? Is it because, despite all adversities, our favorite bands released some of their best albums from the past few years?

Hence, as new lockdowns are being imposed upon us in a never-ending pandemic loop, there’s not much we can do but enjoy The Headbanging Moose’s Top 10 Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Albums of 2021, excluding EP’s, best of’s and live albums, keeping us sane until this madness is finally over. Or maybe I should say if it will be over one day, of course. There’s a bit of everything for all types of fans, from classic Heavy Metal to the brutality of Death Metal, from the modern nuances of Melodic Death Metal to old school Thrash Metal, and so on, and in my humble opinions one of the most interesting facts about several albums launched in 2021 is their duration, with many of those surpassing the one hour barrier such as Senjutsu, Helloween, Persona Non Grata, Existence Is Futile and Blood on Blood, not to mention the over four hours of music from the Lordiversity boxset, which for me proves how much the bands responsible for those albums love their fans by offering them a lot of new music to enjoy during such difficult times. I would say that even if there are ZERO metal albums launched in 2022, we’ll still have a lot of great music to enjoy throughout the year thanks to all the amazing records released in 2021, don’t you agree?

1. Iron Maiden – Senjutsu (REVIEW)
Behold another masterpiece by the one and only Iron Maiden with its 82 minutes of tactics, strategy, war, resilience and determination.
Best song of the album: Hell on Earth

2. Helloween – Helloween (REVIEW)
A dream come true for all generations of “Happy, Happy Helloween” fans from all over the world.
Best song of the album: Skyfall

3. Trivium – In the Court of the Dragon (REVIEW)
It’s time to join Trivium in the court of the dragon to the sound of their magnificent new opus.
Best song of the album: Like a Sword Over Damocles

4. Exodus – Persona Non Grata (REVIEW)
Don’t be a “persona non grata” in the world of heavy music and get into the circle pit to the sound of this newborn thrashing beast.
Best song of the album: Lunatic-Liar-Lord

5. Cannibal Corpse – Violence Unimagined (REVIEW)
State of the art Death Metal played with passion and breathless precision by the most violent and unrelenting band of all time.
Best song of the album: Surround, Kill, Devour

6. 1914 – Where Fear and Weapons Meet (REVIEW)
Ukraine’s own doom infantry is back into the battlefield with another masterpiece, telling the gruesome tales of World War I.
Best song of the album: Pillars of Fire (The Battle of Messines)

7. Motorjesus – Hellbreaker (REVIEW)
Let’s drive through the fires of hell together with one of the best bands from the German rock and metal scene.
Best song of the album: Hellbreaker

8. Nervosa – Perpetual Chaos (REVIEW)
A deadly and thrashing lesson in perpetual chaos by four metalheads hailing from Brazil, Italy, Spain and Greece
Best song of the album: Time to Fight

9. Gojira – Fortitude (REVIEW)
Let’s all face up the world to the sound of the new masterpiece by one of the most dynamic bands of the current metal scene.
Best song of the album: Amazonia

10. Blaze Bayley – War Within Me (REVIEW)
The man who will live for a thousand years is back, inspiring us all to fight the war within us and to take our future in our own hands.
Best song of the album: Pull Yourself Up

And here we have the runner-ups, completing the top 20 for the year:

11. Running Wild – Blood on Blood (REVIEW)
12. Lordi – Lordiversity (REVIEW)
13. Cradle of Filth – Existence Is Futile (REVIEW)
14. Diabolizer – Khalkedonian Death (REVIEW)
15. Angelus Apatrida – Angelus Apatrida (REVIEW)
16. Moonspell – Hermitage (REVIEW)
17. Lutharo – Hiraeth (REVIEW)
18. Unflesh – Inhumation (REVIEW)
19. Scarlet Aura – Genesis of Time (REVIEW)
20. Coiled Around Thy Spine – From The Ashes (REVIEW)

In addition to all that, let’s bang our heads with our Top 10 EP’s of 2021 to prove once and for all that not all great albums of the year have to be so long. The EP’s from this list are simply awesome, showcasing the band’s talent and their ability to sound epic even if the music lasts for only a few minutes.

1. Eonian – The Nomad (REVIEW)
2. Lady Beast – Omens (REVIEW)
3. The Agonist – Days Before the World Wept (REVIEW)
4. Tantivy – Eyes in the Night (REVIEW)
5. Grale – AGITACIÓN (REVIEW)
6. Bouquet of Dead Crows – Hemispheres Part 2: Cerebral (REVIEW)
7. Kadavereich – Radiance Of Doom (REVIEW)
8. Wolvencrown – A Shadow Of What Once Was (REVIEW)
9. Juliet Ruin – Dark Water (REVIEW)
10. Black Hole Deity – Lair Of Xenolich (REVIEW)

Do you agree with our list? What are your top 10 albums of 2021? Also, don’t forget to tune in every Tuesday at 10pm BRT on Rádio Coringão to enjoy the best of classic and underground metal with Jorge Diaz and his Timão Metal, and every Thursday at 8pm UTC+2 on Midnight Madness Metal e-Radio for the best of underground metal with The Headbanging Moose Show! And if you lost some or most of our special editions of The Headbanging Moose Show, including our Top 20 Underground Albums of 2021 – Parts I and II, go to our Mixcloud page and there you have hours and hours of the best of the independent scene, sounds good?

Metal Xmas and a Headbanging New Year! See you in 2022!

And before I go, I’ll leave you with some touching words by Mr. Lordi and his crew of monsters…

Something something blah blah to you
All the sincere wishes come true
I put vengeance on my wish list
And that’s what Santa brought
So have a merry something and a happy blah blah blah

Album Review – Diabolizer / Khalkedonian Death (2021)

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Turkish torchbearers of diabolical abomination return with their first-ever full-length opus, blasting our souls with eight tracks of unrelenting and savage Death Metal raids that will just leave you mouth-watering for more.

4.0rating

diabolizer-khalkedonian-death-2021Turkish torchbearers of diabolical abomination Diabolizer are finally back with their debut album Khalkedonian Death, the follow-up to their critically acclaimed EP’s Shadows Of Impending Decimation (2012) and Apokalypse (2016), offering fans of bands the likes of Sinister, Hate Eternal and Deicide eight tracks of unrelenting and savage Death Metal raids that will just leave you mouth-watering for more. Recorded, mixed, mastered by Ozan Yıldırım (Deadhouse Studio) and displaying a sick, demonic cover painting by Jon Zig, Khalkedonian Death is by far the most pulverizing and complete effort by this Kadıköy, Istanbul-based horde comprised of Abomination on vocals, Mustafa and Can on the guitars, Malik on bass and Aberranton drums, not only positioning the band as one of the driving forces of the extreme music scene in their homeland, but also helping spread the burning fires of Turkish metal to all four corner of the earth.

The opening track Dawn Of Obliteration is absolutely infernal and devastating from the very first second, with Aberrant being merciless behind his drums while Abomination arises from the pits of hell with his trademark roars. Put differently, this is Turkish Death Metal at its finest, which is also the case in Maelstroms Of Abhorrence, where Abomination manically growls the song’s wicked lyrics (“As if trapped in singularity / Countless relics I behold / Seconds are aeons / My mind is drifting”) while Mustafa and Can extract sheer malignancy and hatred from their stringed weapons; and it’s time to bang your fuckin’ heads to the demented Cloaked In An Aura Of Madness, a lesson in Death Metal by the quintet where Malik’s rumbling bass and Aberrant’s classic beats bring the groove to the band’s usual demolition for our total delight. Then more of their demented and Stygian music invades our ears in the steamroller tune Mayhemic Darkness And Possessed Visions, living up to the legacy of old school Death Metal, and with the band’s guitar duo delivering sick Cannibal Corpse-inspired riffs nonstop.

And there’s no sign of slowing down for those ruthless metallers; quite the contrary, Diabolizer continue to crush our senses in Sulphuric Vengeance, another pulverizing lecture in Turkish Death Metal where Abomination’s gruesome growling walks hand in hand with the vicious drumming by Aberrant, whereas the riffage by Mustafa and Can will penetrate deep inside your putrid skin in Bringers Of Khalkedonian Death, a massive, disruptive tune that invites us all to slam into the circle pit like rabid metal maniacs. Spearfuck The Throes Of Treason, their second to last blast of obscurity and rage, will inspire you to break your neck in half headbanging, with Malik hammering his bass nonstop while Mustafa and Can alternate between sheer savagery and somber moments on the guitars. Lastly, ending such intense and hellish album of death it’s time for the quintet to haunt our souls with Perishing In His Oceans Of Blood, showcasing grim riffs, wicked solos, guttural vociferations and pounding drums, or in other words, everything we love in savage Death Metal.

diabolizer-2021If you consider yourself a true metalhead and are ready to carry the torch of Turkish Death Metal together with the guys from Diabolizer, you can start following the band on Facebook and on Instagram for news, tour dates and so on and, of course, above all that, purchase your copy of one of the best Death Metal albums of the year from the band’s own BandCamp page, from the Everlasting Spew Records’ BandCamp page or webstore, from the Me Saco Un Ojo Records’ BandCamp page, from the Desiccated Productions’ BandCamp page, and soon from Apple Music and Amazon. Diabolizer have been solidifying and perfecting their sound with each one of their releases, and their first ever full-length opus perfectly summarizes everything the band stands for. As a matter of fact, the band’s hometown Kadıköy used to be called Khalkedonia (which means “the land of the blind”) by the Byzantines, showing Diabolizer’s masterplan with their newborn spawn has always been to warn the entire world Khalkedonian Death Metal is among us to stay.

Best moments of the album: Dawn Of Obliteration, Cloaked In An Aura Of Madness and Bringers Of Khalkedonian Death.

Worst moments of the album: None, of course.

Released in 2021 Everlasting Spew Records / Me Saco Un Ojo Records / Desiccated Productions

Track listing
1. Dawn Of Obliteration 5:17
2. Maelstroms Of Abhorrence 5:23
3. Cloaked In An Aura Of Madness 5:11
4. Mayhemic Darkness And Possessed Visions 7:22
5. Sulphuric Vengeance 4:46
6. Bringers Of Khalkedonian Death 5:50
7. Spearfuck The Throes Of Treason 5:45
8. Perishing In His Oceans Of Blood 6:45

Band members
Abomination – vocals
Mustafa – guitars
Can – guitars
Malik – bass
Aberrant – drums