[Job For A Cowboy's Jon Rice Best-of 2011] I heard something on The Daily Show where there was a study that said “Seventy-five percent of people said 2011 was a bad year or one of the worst years of their lives.” I'm going to subscribe to the 75%. But that's okay because there were so many awesome records that came out this year that it balanced pretty well. You know it’s a killer year when quite a few relatively surefire bands don't make your list but still put out pretty awesome records (Decapitated, Wolves in the Throne Room, etc)...

[Dan Barkasi Best-of 2011] As 2011 dwindles to a close, we once again arrive at the inevitable year-end best-of list. How did this year treat us musically? After meticulously going through all of the great albums that were bestowed upon us in the last 12 months, the verdict can only be very well indeed! With heavy metal music being an insane mish mash of wonderful styles, this music has never been more varied and wide reaching as it is today...

[Sara Heitman Best-of 2011] As with life, this year in music has been filled with pleasant surprises, unexpected disappointments, and new discoveries. Each album expresses an artist's creative evolution; contributing to our ever-changing perceptions. These ten albums have helped to define this year for me, and will continuously remind me of memories associated with 2011...

[Mike Sloan Best-of 2011] Like in previous best-of lists, sometimes an album will place higher (or lower) even though a rating I’ve originally given the album might say otherwise, but naturally as time goes by and moods/attitudes change, an album or two has dropped or ascended the ladder. Either way, this was the toughest best-of list for metal albums yet because the competition was so stiff. Hopefully next year will be even tougher

[Matt Coe Best-of 2011] I feel very fortunate to be in a position to expose my ears to a lot of metal this year. A conservative estimate would be 500 albums passed through my laptop in one form or another for reviewing purposes or listening pleasure in these 12 months. You can debate whether most of them will still get airplay in 2012 or beyond, but for the metal follower, we can’t say that there isn’t a variety of styles and sub-genres right within a few keystrokes of your fingertips...

[Ken McGrath Best-of 2011] There was hardly a day this year that you couldn’t look at news station or website without being constantly reminded about what a state the world is in between economic issues and natural disasters. Good job then that there was some top-notch metal (and non-metal) albums released to rage along to and sooth the ears. It’s doubtful it’ll go down as a groundbreaking year for the genre, but it is cheering to know that when Metallica finally give up the ghost, Machine Head can step proudly into the breach, armed with an ever-growing back catalog of vicious riffage...

[Justin Donnelly Best-of 2011] 2011 has certainly been a busy year in terms of releases. And just like every year, the music released throughout the year brought on its mix of unexpected surprises, stunning gems, sad misfires and absolute barkers. As per usual, I’d like to point out that this is by no means a definitive list of what the best albums/songs of 2011 were. Instead, it’s a list of releases that got me excited, and reaffirmed my belief that even though the music industry is only a former shadow of its once glorious self, there’s no shortage of great music on offer...

[David E. Gehlke Best-of 2011] Every year we rattle on about how metal is oversaturated and is sure to eventually suffocate itself, yet 2011 ended up being a very productive year. With so many releases hitting the scene, you could drive yourself crazy if you tried to figure out the path metal is on, so it's best just to ride it out and let the chips fall where they may. Such an approach can also be applied to real life, yet we'll spare the philosophical discussions for another time. Upward and onward we go...

[My Dying Bride – The Beast O’ Burden] “We are surrounded by history up here in grey old Yorkshire, which we have rarely tapped in to and so we decided to have a little look into some of the many myths and legends that many a Northern European area have in spades. I'd heard of tales of a great black dog (a ‘Barghest’ it is called here) but none really set me on fire so I invented one, and why not? The initial lyric would suggest the hound is recklessly slaughtering its way through the populous at random, but between the lines a tale of vengeance can be found. This beast has a reason!” – Aaron Stainthorpe

[Red Fang – Over the Mountains] “It’s pretty tough when we’re on the road. We have days off, but they are for pretty long drives, so we’re usually chasing buses. We don’t have a heck of a lot of time out here; soundchecks are pretty short. We have written about zero music on the road for Red Fang [laughs]. Maybe at some point, we’ll get better at it. For now, it’s get up, get in the van, drive all day, unload your stuff and do the show. Maybe we’ll bring some guitars back stage, but we’re used to writing as a group, so maybe we shouldn’t – it would be really embarrassing because people would hear how bad we are [laughs].” – Aaron Beam

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