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!

Columbian black metal duo Inquisition has been blazing new trails since 1988. Originally working in the thrash metal vein in their native country, the band would soon relocate to the United States and turn their focus to creating some of the earliest second wave black metal. That is a course that they have stayed ever since. The band has honed and refined their evil attack with each of their ten albums, leading them to their current status as one of the world’s most respected black metal units.

In 2012, Inquisition signed with the highly prestigious underground metal label Season of Mist and released the critically acclaimed fan favorite Obscure Verses for the Multiverse. Now, we’re getting our first glimpse of the highly anticipated follow up. Inquisition’s eleventh album, Bloodshed Across the Empyrean Altar Beyond the Celestial Zenith, will be released via Season of Mist on August 26, 2016.

At the conclusion of last year’s edition of Knotfest, Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor promised the crowd that the weekend-long metal festival would be returning to San Bernadino, CA again this year. Well, it seems Taylor is a man of his word because it has been announced that the massive and eclectic production will, in fact, once again invade the grounds of the San Manuel Amphitheater and Glen Helen Regional Park October 23rd-25th.

Friday, October 23rd will once again have a small show exclusively for those purchasing 3-day camping passes. The lineup for this night has yet to be announced. However, the Saturday and Sunday lineups have been mostly announced and they do not disappoint! Details here below.