The Metal Wanderlust: Best of 2021 (So Far)

We’re more than half way done with season two of Pandemic Planet, and the soundtrack so far has been full to the brim with extreme Metal insanity! Release after release. Genre after sub-genre. It’s fucking awesome, but damn hard to keep up with as a writer. So, lists like these “best of so far” are an excellent way to get a few words written about some favorites that we haven’t gotten to yet, as well as share a few more about a bunch we can’t stop listening to or seem to shut up about. Beyond that, they’re a great way for readers to discover a heap of stuff maybe they missed or can’t shut up about, too! Everybody wins!

Well, we here at The Metal Wanderlust got a bit of a chat going about all of our favorites so far. As you can imagine, we talked about a shit load of records! So, we decided to make a list of our top five from several different categories: Death, Doom, Black, and Thrash. That’s twenty albums that we, as a group, have gathered for you. And as a special bonus, we also took a staff poll to discover what our pick for overall best album of the year so far might be. Any guesses? Need a hint? Tough shit, ya monsters! Keep reading (and listening-don’t forget the listening) to find out!

Death Metal:

1. Cannibal Corpse – Violence Unimagined

2. Crypts of Despair – All Light Swallowed

3. Casket – Urn

4. Bæst – Necro Sapiens

5. Asphyx – Necroseros

Doom:

1. Thronehammer – Incantation Rites

2. Soothsayer – Echoes of the Earth

3. Dread Sovereign – Alchemical Warfare

4. The Ruins of Beverast – The Thule Grimoires

5. The Sun and the Mirror – Dissolution to Salt and Bones

Black Metal:

1. Harakiri for the Sky – Mære

2. Noctule – Wretched Abyss

3. Yoth Iria – As Flame Withers

4. Grab – The Filth of Mankind

5. Plasmodium – Towers of Silence

Thrash:

1. Evile – Hell Unleashed

2. Paranorm – Empyrean

3. Enforced – Kill Grid

4. Angelus Apatrida – Angelus Apatrida

5. Flotsam & Jetsam – Blood in the Water

BEST OVERALL (So Far…):

Dordeduh – Har

There you have it, folks! Agree? Disagree? More to add? Let us know! Cheers!