I may be a little late to the burgeoning party, but sweet merciful fuck, am I glad to see the rally of support behind Bill Ward.

As Metal Director/DJ at WRUV, plus owner of this website, I get sent a metric shit ton of new music every year. I was once able to house my entire MP3 collection on a 160 GB iPod Classic, but as the inevitable digital shift progressed, my virtual library grew exponentially.

So Cole and Brad got my gears turning, but then I remembered—as annoying as the mushrooming chthonic categories and subterranean subgenres can be, they’re often necessary.

Cole not only hits us with his Top 10, but also includes reviews of All Pigs Must Die ‘God is War’ and Textures ‘Dualism’.

Willie’s rundown actually has a few great titles we never fully reviewed, plus a little PS with honorable mentions and non-Metal favorites.

The Breath of Mozym utters his infernal list for the tenebrous masses.

There are 53 bands represented, with 39 receiving short recaps of 21 words or less, in 12 different groupings.

Straight from Oslo into YOUR FACE, Mats Johansen reveals the fifteen Metal albums (and three non-Metal albums) that caught his eyes and ears in 2011.

Our first 2011 list from Brad Barratt, who sets ablaze a top 10 of doom legends, stoner stalwarts, and modern masters.

“War Pigs” set me down a ranting road, where I compare Black Sabbath to Drowning Pool (mostly in name) and then gush a little about ‘Vol. 4′.