Articles : Rod Whitfield’s Top Albums of 2016

I say it every single year, and I’ll say it yet again in 2016, what a year for new releases! I ended up having a grand total of 28 releases that were in the running for a Top 10 spot, and I agonised over it for long, long moments. I don’t know about you, but when I went to school, 28 didn’t go into 10, so apologies to many bands whom I couldn’t quite squeeze in. But, without any further ado, here is my Top 10 albums for 2016:

10. Lacuna Coil – Delirium

Unexpectedly heavy, but still undeniably Lacuna Coil, this is their best album since Comalies way back in 2002. The fabulous Cristina Scabbia is arguably the best form of her career here. Their live show was magnificent too. Ageing like a fine Italian wine. Listen to: The House Of Shame

9. Be’lakor – Vessels

One of Aussie’s best and undoubtedly their best album so far. Ever a wildly interesting and different take on progressive melodic death metal. Should be massive on a worldwide scale. Listen to: The Smoke of Many Fires

8. Engine Three Seven – Metasiah

They say trial and hardship creates great art. This Aussie band has had a long and arduous journey to get where it is, and this excellent alternative heavy rock album is the end product of that painful process. Also massively underrated. Listen to: Elaborate Lie

7. Superheist – Ghosts of the Social Dead

There is always trepidation when a beloved but long departed band makes a comeback, but these Melbourne legends smashed that aside with Ghosts of the Social Dead. The album is killer, their new singer Ezekiel Ox is one of the top frontmen in the nation, and the live show is better than ever. Listen to: Fear Nothing

6. Haken – Affinity

Utterly flawless prog rock/metal album from these Brit prodigies. The track 1985 is a stunning tribute and a masterpiece unto itself. Listen to: 1985

5. Twelve Foot Ninja – Outlier

More of the same awesome stuff from one of Australia’s finest. This band doesn’t have to do anything different, album to album, because they cram so much into their music anyway. And it’s 120% convincing. Poised to dominate. Listen to: Sick

4. Plini – Handmade Cities

Plini is a young Aussie guitar prodigy making a name for himself across the nation and the world, and garnering praise in high places indeed. And with albums like this, why now? Handmade Cities is progressive, soaring, catchy and technically astounding all at once. A thing of beauty. Listen to: Handmade Cities

3. Periphery – Periphery III: Select Difficulty

It’s another incredible year for new releases if one of my favourite bands on the planet gets pushed back to number three. This trailblazing band are producing material of an unbelievably consistent high quality, and this album only adds further lustre to a stupendous body of work. Listen to: Flatline

2. Fallujah – Dreamless

This has become one of the greatest melodic progressive death metal albums of all time, in my humble estimations. Nothing more needs to be said. (Oh, and the fact that it kept Periphery out of the number two spot is very noteworthy and testament to its brilliance). Listen to: Abandon

1. Devin Townsend – Transcendence

It’s become tradition now, that any year that Hevy Devy releases an album it will go directly to my number one album of that year, and 2016 is no exception. Transcendence is probably not the absolute greatest album in his long and illustrious career, but that’s only because standards are so ridiculously high. It is still a unique and epic masterpiece, the way only the great man can do it. Listen to: Stormbending

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