Oh, man. 2011 was a great year for new metal.

  • All Shall Perish - This is Where it Ends Hands down my favorite album of 2011 and probably their best work to date. Plenty of technically impressive riffs, nice melodies, and overall great musicianship.
  • The Black Dahlia Murder - Ritual This band just keeps getting better and better as they continue. Amazing riffs, impressive drum work, and a great atmosphere make for one awesome metal album.
  • TesseracT - One A new band I discovered a little while ago. Their debut album release and they've already shown they can hang with some of the larger names in metal. Has some very heavy and complex guitar work and the music is very atmospheric.
  • Between the Buried and Me - The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues Only an EP, but at 30 minutes it has more song than a lot of albums do. In fact, if it was a full-length album, it would probably have been my favorite release of 2011. Their music continues to impress, it's complex, catchy, and very emotional.
  • 3 - The Ghost You Gave to Me Another recent discovery of mine. This album has a bit of everything thrown in and it works well. The quiet passages complement and contrast the heavier passages quite well and the music is very impressive overall to say the least.
  • Trivium - In Waves They've gone back to their heavier roots after their previous release all while keeping some of the lighter melodies and singing. A very solid album all around and the bonus tracks are a great addition to a good album.
  • Symphony X - Iconoclast Symphony X never disappoints. They've continued pushing the envelope with their complex riffs and heavy riffs while keeping a very melodic sound. The vocals are amazing as well.