1) Asphyx (Nth) - Necroceros, a unique band here as I never got into their early stuff! Maybe the doom influence as I'm not a doom fan but in 2009 they put Martin van Drunen behind the mic with the great Death The Brutal Way album and hooked me! They followed that up with two more great albums then hit us with Necroceros in early 2021 and another superb release putting them high up on my favorite band list!
2) Humiliation (Mys) - XI: Triumphant, this is one great band! Many don't like that they stay the same, don't put any bullshit in their music but that fits my style and makes them one of my favorite bands ever. This is really a December 2020 release but was not put out until January 2021. These guys have gone 11 straight years with a new release, so far nothing since this so my fingers are crossed they will surprise us with another great album in 2022!
3) Cannibal Corpse (US) - Violence Unimagined, I've really liked this band since George Fisher took over the vocals 20 years ago, especially loved their previous Red Before Black which made #3 on my 2017 EOY list. To me these guys get better with every release and adding Eric Rutan is a big plus. One of the most solid death metal bands ever and one that I know will never give up their great sound!
4) Sepiroth (Nth) - Condemned To Suffer, a mild surprise here as these guys have a previous that made #4 on my 2015 list and I often wondered if they'd be back. Well, here they are, and what another great album that probably is a bit unknown to most and very underrated. They have changed vocalists but are still great and I hope they don't wait another 5 years to hit us up again and guess what, they are from the great land of Dutch Death Metal!
5) Dead Awaken (Swe) - The Princip Legacy, what we have here is probably my favorite "one hit wonder" death metal band! They had a great 2013 that I really love. I often joke I wonder what great band will surprise us with a new release and this one popped out of the womb. With all the social media it is rare that a band sneaks something out but this was easily my biggest surprise of 2021!
6) All Consumed (UK) - Rise Of The Godless, these guys had a great previous release that made #4 on my 2018 list. This is their 3rd release and what a great album. The Brits have done a great job in 2021 with Death Kommander, Terrible Claw, Mortuary Spawn, Seven Doors, Deliberate Miscarriage & Ravens Creed! Let us hope their greatest of all time, Benediction doesn't wait another 12 years to give us a new one!
7) Trigger (Rus) - Back To The Roots, what you have here is the perfect DM album! 41 minutes of nothing but great music, no samples, no intros, no bullshit! These guys are in a fistfight now with the great Ammonium to become my favorite band from Russia! Keep it up guys, great instrumentation, great vocals, great groove = great DFM!
8) Obscurial (Mys) - Funeral, Burial and Rites, from the land of the great Humiliation we have another slab of straight-up, no-frills, pure death metal! For you guys into progressive, different, fast or brutal death look somewhere else as this is a perfect DFM release with 10 songs at 39:09 and only negative, an intro of bullshit!
9) Macabre Decay (Swe) - Into Oblivion, I don't understand how these guys had a 2018 album that I have had but never gave much attention to and didn't even have on my list! This is a really good slab of Swedish death metal with some unique but good vocals! Damn, can the Swedes do Death Metal!
10) Massacre (US) - Resurgence, these guys had a 2014 that made #6 on my list and surprised me losing Kam Lee on vocals. They have had another resurgence here with Kam Lee back and adding the great Jonny Pettersson and Rogga to the band, so I guess no longer U.S. but now international. I guess Rogga needed some more to do as he's probably been on about 20 albums in this great year of 2021! Keep it up Massacre, you guys have ruled for 30+ years!
11) Oldskull (Tha) - Nether Hollow Of No Return, of all the bands I have in my iTunes there are not many Thailand bands, and these guys are easily the best of the bunch. I'm not good at comparing but it seems they have some of their great neighbors to the south, the mighty Humiliation in them and 9 songs at 45:44 make this an awesome listen!
12) Envig (Swe) - Gutwound, I discovered these guys back in 2015 with the release of their first demo Warmachine and they have been a favorite band ever since. This is 13 songs at 45:49 of nothing but great Swedish death metal.
13) Carnal Savagery (Swe) - Fiendish, what we have here is some more great Swedish death metal with 11 songs at 46:21 with not one second of bullshit! With 2 years of back to back albums, these guys are on a roll and while I was in the great cd store state of Florida I found this one on the shelf to add to my collection!
14) Nocturnal Hollow (Ven) - Triumphantly Evil, here we have more of what I like, 11 songs at 41:48 of nothing but pure straight up no bullshit death metal! Easily my favorite Venezuelan band and a very consistent band with a good 10-year history of solid releases. Keep it coming guys and don't change a thing!
15) Deathswarm (Swe) - Forward Into Oblivion, we have some more great Swedish death and a band that had a great previous release 2 years ago that made #7 on my list. This one is great as well but with so much competition it just hasn't climbed the list like I thought it would. It will get lots of attention in the future for sure!
16) Death Kommander (UK) - Pro Patria Mori, listed as a UK band but Metal Archives says they are Scottish, German, Greece, Poland, and Swiss so no wonder they are so good at death metal! This is more pure death with 12 songs at 49:35 so wow! We get a lot of short albums in the 25:00 range so it is great to get this long of an album of pure death metal!
17) To Descend (Swe) - Exorcism Of Hope, another good new Swedish band with their first full length and it is good! These guys give us good hope for the future with the only negative a little short at 30 minutes and guess what, another Rogga band.
18) Deimler (Esp) - A Thousand Suns, here we have another good newer band from the land of Spain and these guys have joined my list with Neter, Mass Burial, Lapidated, Unbounded Terror & Aposento to name a few from this great death metal country! More of the same with nothing but pure straight-up death metal and I love it!
19) DeadSoulAlliance (Can) - Behind The Scenes, other than some Cruel Fate and Spirit Of Rebellion Canada has been a bit slow to my tastes in death metal the last few years. Well, here they come, back with a vengeance as this is one solid slab of just what I like, with the only negative a little short at only 34 minutes!
20) Vistery (Blr) - Doomfall, here we go again, just what I like with 11 songs of 41+ minutes of nothing but pure death metal! With Posthumous Blasphemer being so quiet in recent times these guys have become my favorite Belarusian band!
21) Mass Burial (Esp) - Soulless Legions, full-length number 4 for this really solid pure death metal band! Some really good headbanging riffs and a good year for Spain with Deimler, Nasty Surgeons, great new band Impur and next hopefully some new Unbounded Terror!
22) One Day In Pain (Swe) - Doomsday Congregation, another good surprise here for fans of Swedish death metal! These guys came out of the womb in 2020 with a good solid debut and have followed it up very quickly with another slab of pure death metal!
23) Grand Cadaver (Swe) - Into The Maw Of Death, another brand new Swede band and these guys put out a good 4 song EP in February that I wore out. Then they surprised us with this 10 song full length in late October that I've somewhat ignored with only a few listens. I definitely have to get back to these guys once things settle down.
24) Saprobiontic (Ger) - Apocalyptic Retribution, a very underrated band here! These guys (& gal) had a great 2017 that I like a lot and this is a great follow-up. Some straight-up, slightly to the brutal side of pure death metal!
25) Nihilistikrypt (Est) - Diemension, another great release from this very good band with the best female death metal vocalist out there, in my opinion. They do it perfectly with 10 songs at 40+ minutes and no bullshit!
26) Eteritus (Pol) - Rotten Transition, of all the bands I love, if I had to name one that has been my favorite of the last 3 or 4 years it would without a doubt be these guys. That makes me a little disappointed in this one. They have changed vocalists, but not a negative as the guy is good but a shame this one isn't grabbing me like their 3 previous releases did.
27) Slithering Decay (Bel) - Aeons Untold, here we go, just what I love with 10 songs near 40 minutes and from a new band with only a couple demos so far. These guys from the land of the great Predatoria and Carnation have a good solid sound of death metal in them and will hopefully give us more in the future!
28) Chainsword (Pol) - Blightmarch, here we go again, 10 songs at 42+ minutes and some very good pure straight-up death metal! Maybe the great Poles are making a comeback with Eteritus, Uerberos, Disarm, Deathspawn & Vishurddha.
29) Kruor (Fin) - Aberrations, these Finnish guys are on their 4th release in 10 years and I have completely neglected them, until now. This is a very solid pure death metal album and the number of songs and length is perfect!
30) Guzarat (Idn) - Algoritma, some more good, pure, straight up what we now call "Old School" death metal from a band with no other previous releases, so hopefully, there will be more to come. The only negative to this is the length of 27 minutes.
31) Murder Worship (Bra) - Doomsday, big favorite band here, but with only 1 previous full length back in 2013 that I loved. Really great to see them back with something new and a good solid album of pure death metal from the land of our buddy Lord Frost.
32) Disarm (Pol) - Erode, wow! 13 songs at 49 plus minutes, and as I've said the Poles are making a comeback! Great new band with some good technical aspects in this from their guitarist and a first full length. Let's hope for more in the future.
33) Frozen Soul (US) - Crypt Of Ice, what we have here is more of what I love, straight up, pure, groove-oriented death metal! This album has some crazy reviews on Metal Archives, 11 of them ranging from 95 to 0. I don't understand the naysayers and the bad comments. If you don't like it, skip it but in my opinion, this is more solid good death metal, but...nothing special, different, progressive or whatever the naysayers want.
34) Concrete (Bgr) - Ethereal Atrocities, a mild fan of this really solid Bulgarian band but I have to say this is their best to me! I just wish there was more time to give these guys the listens they deserve as I enjoy this release a lot. Maybe, if death metal dies before I do I'll have albums like this to come back to!
35) Blood Red Throne (Nor) - Imperial Congregation, I was a HUGE fan of this band in the past. I have 7 of their CDs and really loved them but in 2007 when they came out with Come Death things changed. They went to a dual vocal style and you guys know my opinion on that! Well, surprise surprise! They went back from the future and their old style with pure death metal vocals.
36) Diaroe (Ger) - Willkommen In Der Desolation, fair to an average fan of these guys for 15 years now and this is another good one! I'm not good at the genre thing as Metal Archives has them as Grindcore/Death Metal but I hear pure death metal. This is a late in the year release so needs more time!
37) Arcane Dread (Grc) - A Path Befouled, really good 2 man band with some great riffs and vocals are good as well! They have a previous one that I had no idea about at the time! They do a great cover of Asphyx song Deathhammer so definitely give that a listen!
38) Corpse Worship (Rus) - Horror Chronicles, we have a new band here but guess what, guitarist and vocalist are from the great Trigger! This explains why I like it so much and guess what! Nothing but pure straight-up no-frills death metal. The only negative is opening and closing songs at 2:00 each that aren't even music.
39) Terror Sound (Dnk) - Warrior Or Victim, some more very underrated pure death metal from a one-man band and WOW, 19 songs at 1 hour + 10 minutes & 33 seconds!
40) Gravecarver (US) - Spectral Carnage, good new US band that does it right! Straight-up death metal, good vocals, nice instrumentation, and quality sound! Damn, so much good new stuff!
41) Soulinpain (Chl) - Evil, some really solid death metal from my favorite South American death metal country but with so much other great stuff this gets neglected. A good long time running band that deserves more attention. Also, 13 songs at 46+ minutes is much to my liking.
42) Terrible Claw (UK) - Disaster Catalyst, the UK has some good stuff in 2021, and let's hope they keep it up! This is more pure death metal and over 51 minutes makes it a great listen from a newer band with only one previous release that I missed in 2018!
43) World In Ruins (Swe) - In Misery, another new Swedish band with a handful of EPs out in the last couple of years. Awesome band name and a perfect album title for me right now! Let's hope we get more from these guys in the future, Swedish death metal rules!
44) Stormgrey (Ltu) - DNA Of Chaos, another newer band from the land of Lithuania that hasn't given us much death metal. These guys are good, with one previous release and this is a solid slab of pure death metal.
45) Treyharsh (Fra) - Eternal Cycles, another slab of pure death metal, nothing special or different, just some solid same old same old DFM!
46) Tortharry (Cze) - Altars Of Ignorance, these guys are death metal legends having been around now for 30+ years with a plethora of really good releases! This is no different, very solid and more of the same. It definitely deserves more attention as my iTunes says I've only given it 9 listens.
47) Entrenchment (Rus) - Across The Red Lines, good solid new Russian band here with their first full length, and other than being a little short this is damn good! Really good vocals and some nice groove!
48) House By The Cemetary (Swe) - Rise Of The Rotten, more good Rogga stuff with Monstrosity vocalist Mike Hrubovcak doing vocals. Rogga is one death metal machine for sure!
49) Inhuman Condition (US) - Rat God, what we have here is a new US band formed by past members of the great Massacre, also 2 guys that are in Eye Of Purgatory with Rogga and current members of Ribspreader! So we have some good talent and a solid, nothing new, nothing special but good album.
50) Ossuary (Col) - Addicted To Human Flesh, really solid death metal from a newer band with 2 previous full-lengths in the last few years. Nothing special, nothing different, nothing exciting....except to a pure death metal maniac!
51) Grisly (Swe) - Salting The Earth, don't know if it's me but this Rogga band has a previous from a few years back that I loved and had at #15 on my end of year list. This one just hasn't grabbed me like that previous although it is still good, just not great.
52) Coffin Creep (Swe) - Voids, another newer Swedish band with a solid previous release and some good death metal. The only negative to me is some of the songs are near 8 minutes long and get a little slow at times.
MORE STUFF THAT GOT SOME LISTENS, BUT NOT ENOUGH!
Deliberate Miscarriage (UK) - Mortuary Melodies, thanks to Thorne but too late to rank it.
Eye Of Purgatory (Swe) - The Lighthouse, more good Rogga stuff!
Heir Corpse One (Swe) - Fly The Fiendish Skies, more Rogga!
Baest (Dnk) - Necro Sapiens,
Demise (Ven) - Old Skull,
Visceral Slaughter (Bra) - Welcome to the Slaughterhouse,
Helslave (Ita) - From The Sulphur Depths,
The Generals (Swe) - To Hell,
Inherit Death (US) - Inherit Death,
Creeping Fear (Fra) - Hategod Triumph,
Altered Dead (Can) - Returned To Life,
Resuscitated (US) -Inches from Death,
Nasty Surgeons (Esp) - A Night In The Morgue,
Soul Massacre (Cze) - Despair Of Human Being,
Bloodland (Ger) - Torture Blood,
Endseeker (Ger) - Mount Carcass,
Laceration (US) - Demise,
Plagueborne (Ger) - A Blueprint For Annihilation,
Expunged (Can) - Into Never Shall,
Omago (Int) - Decrepitus,
Apophis (Ger) - Excess,
Diabolizer (Tur) - Khalkedonian Death
Requiem (Che) - Collapse Into Chaos,
Dauthuz (Nth) - Cold,
Offense (Pol) - You'll Never Rest In Peace,
Caedere (Nth) - Eighty Years War,
Navalm (Ukr) - Cursed Land,
Temple Of Dread (Ger) - Hades Unleashed,
Bloodmores (UK) - Too Close To The Sun,
Cerebral Rot (US) - Excretion of Mortality,
Crummer (Esp) - Deathwards,
From The Abyss (Cub) - Chaos Supremacy,
BEST EPs, Splits & Demos!
Impur (Esp) - Slaves Of Decay, if you love this 3 song EP as much as I do, look for these guys under a previous name of Cerosity who have a great 2017 4 song EP out. Easily the best 3 songs of 2021!
For The Pyres (Swe) - Arless, good 4 song EP from a new Swede band with just a previous 2020 demo!
Seven Doors (UK) - The Gates Of Hell, this UK one man band has an EP, a Split & Single all released in 2021 so put them together and you get a solid 7 songs at 33:18 of pure death metal.
Resurge (Prt) - Breeding In Vain, really solid 4 song EP from a good new Portuguese band!
Deiquisitor (Dnk) - Humanoid, good 6 song, 28 minute EP that gets combined with their 2020 EP of 2 songs at 8 minutes to give us a full length!
Death Reich (Swe) - Death Camp, what we have here is another great new Swede band with a cover of the great Metallica song, Fight Fire With Fire!
Malevolent Assault (Swe) - Blinded By Hate, a really great 4 song EP from a one man Swede band! If anyone listens to this song #2 Under The Red Sky it sounds so familiar to me that I feel it is a cover of another bands song but damned if I can remember who.
Mortuary Spawn (UK) - Spawned From The Mortuary, this new UK band has a really good 5 song EP here!
Trail Of Blood (Swe) - Trail Of Blood, great year for EPs and this might be my second favorite!
Under The Church (Int) - Total Burial, more good Swede death with 5 song EP!
More bands with good EPs, Comps, Splits or Demos!
Imperishable (Swe), Just Before Dawn (Swe), Deprived Of Salvation (Hun), Corrosive (Ger), Zombie Riot (Ger), Miseo (Ger), Ammonium (Ger), Grand Cadaver (Swe), Deadspeak (Nth), Melted Corpse (Can) & Cruel Fate (Can)!
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