Wow! What a suck-fest 2016 was, huh? Lemmy goes and dies in the waning moments of 2015 and it’s all gone to hell since then. Bowie, Brexit, Prince, Trump, Mohammad Ali, ISIS, Leonard Cohen, Glenn Frye, Harambe, Keith Emerson AND Greg Lake, Standing Rock… the list of death, destruction, and atrocities goes on. Hell, The Cubs even won the World Series, so you know the end must be near! Thankfully though, we metalheads had a treasure-trove of great new music in which to drown our sorrows. There were so many great albums released that it was more difficult than ever for me to work up my year-end best-of list! Who would’ve though that Anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica, and Darkthrone would all drop their greatest albums in decades? Perhaps another seal of the apocalypse breaking? I’ll let you decide that one for yourself. And as for the younger bands, there seem to be great ones crawling out of the woodwork everywhere.

So, without further ado, I present to you my favorite metal albums of 2016 from across all of the myriad subgenres. Keep in mind please, that this is exactly that… my favorite albums of the year. Yours are undoubtedly different. You probably even strongly disagree with some or all of my selections. Which is perfectly fine. Go write your own damn column!

It has been seven long years since we were blessed with a new album from Dark Funeral. The kings of Swedish black metal have undergone several lineup changes in that time, including the addition of new vocalist Heljarmadr. In December of 2014, the band released their first track to feature the new lineup via the “Nail Them to the Cross” single. That track also appears on the band’s upcoming album Where Shadows Forever Reign which will be released on June 24, 2016 via Century Media.

I recently got my hands on an advance copy of the record and while I can’t honestly say that it’s my favorite effort of theirs, there are definitely some gems on there. One of the standouts is the track that I have chosen to feature on this Black Metal Friday. This is “Temple of Ahriman.” Give it a listen and if you like what you’re hearing check out the band’s back catalog and give Where Shadows Forever Reign a listen when it drops on June 24th.

Swedish black metal merchants Dark Funeral have just released the official video for the first song to feature their new lineup . The video is not accompanied by any details about the new members, but if this track is any indication, Dark Funeral are back with a vengeance! This is the first new music from the band since their 2009 album Angelus Exuro Pro Eternus in 2009.

Watch the video for “Nail Them To The Cross” here below.