{"id":3189,"date":"2017-06-30T14:14:56","date_gmt":"2017-06-30T21:14:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/articles\/?p=3189"},"modified":"2017-07-04T11:34:53","modified_gmt":"2017-07-04T18:34:53","slug":"2017-mid-year-recap-best-albums-editors-picks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/articles\/2017\/06\/30\/2017-mid-year-recap-best-albums-editors-picks\/","title":{"rendered":"2017 Mid-Year Recap: Best Albums (Editor&#8217;s Picks)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By Andrew Bansal<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It is that time of the year again, time for our mid-year recap of the best album releases so far. Year after year it&#8217;s proven that great new music is easily accessible to those who want to give it a chance, and 2017 is no different, as we&#8217;ve already seen some fantastic releases in metal. As usual, the selection criteria for this list is full-length studio albums of all new material only (no EPs, live albums, compilations, reissues and re-releases). Without further ado, here are the editor&#8217;s picks for the top 20 albums released between January 1st and June 30th 2017. (Also check out our S<a href=\"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/articles\/2017\/07\/03\/2017-mid-year-recap-best-albums-staff-picks\/\" target=\"_blank\">taff Picks<\/a> article). <!--more--><\/p>\n<p><strong>#20. Lecherous Gaze &#8211; One Fifteen: <\/strong>Oakland, California psychedelic hard rock \/ proto-punk outfit Lecherous Gaze started out in 2010 and had already garnered the admiration of the heavy music underground with their first two full-length albums, other releases and insane live performances, but they&#8217;ve really outdone themselves with their third LP &#8216;One Fifteen&#8217;, striking the right chord with ultra-trippy psychedelic jams boasting smooth flowing guitar work, raspy vocals and crafty rhythm\u00a0fills. This part punk, part psych masterpiece has absolutely no dull moments, and is a trip worth taking.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zLiYxxdNAzA\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>#19. The Drip &#8211; The Haunting Fear of Inevitability:\u00a0<\/strong>Following three EP releases, Richland, Washington grindcore quintet The Drip marked their tenth year as a band in 2017 with the release of the long overdue first\u00a0full-length, &#8216;The Haunting Fear of Inevitability&#8217;. &#8220;Crushing&#8221; would be an inadequate description, because 13-track, 31-minute monster is beyond that. This album would make grindcore legends such as\u00a0Napalm Death and Terrorizer extremely proud of what they&#8217;ve inspired, because The Drip has taken that influence and evolved the genre into an unrelenting\u00a0yet dynamic art form that retains its old-school values but stands strong in the modern-day. Breakneck fast grindcore meets ominous extreme metal and dark melodies, as The Drip put forth a fantastic debut LP that truly makes for an apt soundtrack to the inevitable apocalypse.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yR9VhiYYYvY\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>#18. Walpyrgus &#8211; Walpyrgus Nights:\u00a0<\/strong>Raleigh, North Carolina traditional metal group Walpyrgus was formed in 2012 but comprises musicians who have played (or are still playing)\u00a0in well-established bands in their area for several years, While Heaven Wept, Twisted Tower Dire and October 31 to name a few. They brought great pedigree to this new band and created an entity that deserves recognition far beyond their home territory. They kept teasing fans with singles and live albums through the past\u00a0three years, but their\u00a0first full-length studio release &#8216;Walpyrgus Nights&#8217; finally arrived in 2017, and has come as a breath of fresh air for fans\u00a0of Thin Lizzy\/NWOBHM-inspired old-school metal. Guitar harmonies, soaring clean vocals, galloping rhythms, blazing solos, catchy choruses. &#8216;Walyrgus Nights&#8217;\u00a0is nothing less than an instant classic.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gdpXtGfyezY\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>#17.\u00a0Grand Lord High Master &#8211; Self-Titled:\u00a0<\/strong>In their mere two-year existence thus far,\u00a0Los Angeles based hardcore\/sludge\/thrash\/psych\/noise quartet Grand Lord High Master has captivated hometown audiences\u00a0with their mind-numbing weirdness, and after honing their craft through countless live performances, they emerged with\u00a0their self-titled debut full-length in 2017. This band has clearly left no stone unturned in expressing themselves to the fullest in these 53 minutes of sheer sonic madness, but as wild\u00a0and violent they sound, there is method behind the mayhem. Passages of destructive brute force are intertwined with moments of delightful finesse.\u00a0Influenced in equal parts by bands like Refused,\u00a0genres like jazz fusion, and everything in between, the 14 tracks on Grand Lord High Master&#8217;s self-titled LP spin the same\u00a0sonic thread but differ so vastly from each other, the album as a whole reaches jaw-dropping levels of dynamism, and marks a stunning debut.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5wiWV_eK5to\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>#16.\u00a0Crystal Fairy- Self-Titled:\u00a0<\/strong>Formed in 2016, Crystal Fairy was purely a result of an on-stage jam between the Melvins and Le Butcherettes when the two bands toured together. Buzz Osborne (guitar) and Dale Crover (drums) joined forces with Teri Gender Bender (vocals, guitar, keyboards), and the Crystal Fairy\u00a0dream team was complete when Omar Rodriguez Lopez (At The Drive In) entered\u00a0as bassist. The band&#8217;s self-titled debut surfaced in early 2017, and smashes every negative connotation surrounding the word &#8220;supergroup&#8221;. This somewhat unlikely, unexpected combination has succeeded in creating a sonically perfect album that is impossible to dislike, and constitutes some of the best work each of these musicians has done till date, even when pitted against their illustrious careers. Please\u00a0do not let this be a one-off, please do not let the Crystal Fairy vanish.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UzPP0P3l2ic\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em>Continued on Page 2 &#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>If you like what you\u2019ve read\/seen, <a href=\"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/shop\">buy a shirt<\/a> and help keep Metal Assault running full time!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>If you live in LA, San Diego or Sacramento, come to one of our <a href=\"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/events\">events<\/a>!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><strong>#15.\u00a0Zeal &amp; Ardor &#8211; Devil is Fine:\u00a0<\/strong>The most original, unconventional and unique concept to have graced the world of alternative, underground music in 2017 surely has to be the one-man project Zeal &amp; Ardor, the brainchild of New York based songwriter\u00a0Manuel Gagneux. For the debut album &#8216;Devil is Fine&#8217;, he decided to bring two massively disparate worlds together, as he set about blending black metal and African-American slave music.\u00a0But more than the strangeness of the concept itself, the most striking feature of this album is that these two genres, and some others in small parts, have been melded so beautifully,\u00a0it comes across\u00a0as\u00a0a sound that has existed for centuries, as if it was the most obvious thing no one dared to attempt. This can only be attributed to the brilliance of Manuel Gagneux. &#8216;Devil is Fine&#8217; exemplifies true musical innovation.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ggE3OwlPIYc\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>#14.\u00a0Vallenfyre &#8211; Fear Those Who Fear Him:\u00a0<\/strong>English death-doom outfit Vallenfyre features Greg Mackintosh on vocals and guitar, and was formed by him in 2010 in an attempt to present music more stripped-down, straightforward, violent and to-the-point as compared to\u00a0that of his main band, Paradise Lost. Vallenfyre certainly achieved as much on\u00a0the\u00a0first two albums, and the newest effort &#8216;Fear Those Who Fear Him&#8217; proves that it&#8217;s only continuing to get bleaker and darker with every album. Mackintosh has gone back to his roots to make music for this band, and has dug deep to resurface with this new album, a punishing barrage of 14 earth-shattering tracks. &#8216;Fear Those Who Fear Him&#8217; is instant gratification for fans of\u00a0all things sonically heavy and extreme.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XrfLIOnL1gw\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>#13. Unleash The Archers &#8211; Apex:\u00a0<\/strong>Canadian quintet Unleash The Archers celebrated ten years as a band in 2017 with the release of their fourth album &#8216;Apex&#8217;, a righteous slab of fist-pumping, face-melting heavy metal that excels in quality as well as quantity, with its hour-long duration. The band, seasoned and evolved in their songwriting prowess through the past ten years, has come up with short up-tempo songs as well as 7-8 minute long epic compositions, and has succeeded with both in equal measure. Every layer of the music is simply stellar and exudes musicianship of high calibre. Some albums take time to grow on the listener, but this is not one of them, as it makes maximum impact straightaway, and does so from the first note to the last. With all the right ingredients for a great heavy metal album, &#8216;Apex&#8217; comes as aptly named and highly recommended.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PfSL-6YExzk\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>#12. Night Demon &#8211; Darkness Remains:\u00a0<\/strong>Ventura, California old-school metal trio Night Demon released their second album &#8216;Darkness Remains&#8217; this year, and there is no disputing that it takes the band forward by leaps and bounds from their 2015 full-length debut &#8216;Curse of the Damned&#8217;. Even as\u00a0Night Demon continue to stay true to their NWOBHM-inspired roots, they&#8217;ve injected a far greater degree of variety into these songs, in a way that makes the album equal\u00a0parts catchy and progressive. This 10-song effort is\u00a0ablaze with tempo changes, not only from song to song but within almost every song. And yet, the\u00a0five-and-a-half minute\u00a0title track is the longest song and nothing else is longer than 4 minutes. Amidst all this is also an instrumental track, and a song with lyrics paying tribute to Iron Maiden. There is surely a parallel universe in which each of these 10 songs is a radio hit, such is their level of quality, catchiness and impact. Night Demon&#8217;s &#8216;Darkness Remains&#8217; is 2017&#8217;s\u00a0truest and finest ode to\u00a0traditional heavy metal.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tzapRl7UjX8\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>#11. Darkest Hour &#8211; Godless Prophets &amp; The Migrant Flora:\u00a0<\/strong>Washington DC metal veterans Darkest Hour released their ninth studio album this year, and even though they never really went away and have kept the band going for 22 years, &#8216;Godless Prophets &amp; The Migrant Flora&#8217; is a return to form, a comeback of sorts. This is the most raw and extreme this band has ever sounded, and not many people would have expected such an album from Darkest Hour. Their melodic elements are still prevalent but this is all about the unabated fury, fueled by their hardcore and Scandinavian death metal influences. Initially intended to be a self-funded, self-released effort and eventually picked up by Southern Lord Records, the D.I.Y. ethos is strong in this one, and Darkest Hour have exercised creative and sonic liberties in a manner they&#8217;d never done before. &#8216;Godless Prophets &amp; The Migrant Flora&#8217; is a raging beast of a record.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/msZDL0mOzH0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em>Continued on Page 3 &#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>If you like what you\u2019ve read\/seen, <a href=\"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/shop\">buy a shirt<\/a> and help keep Metal Assault running full time!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>If you live in LA, San Diego or Sacramento, come to one of our <a href=\"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/events\">events<\/a>!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><strong>#10. Goatwhore &#8211; Vengeful Ascension:\u00a0<\/strong>New Orleans extreme metal stalwarts Goatwhore have been an unstoppable force for 20 years, but have clearly kept the fire burning within. They have been prolific in their creative output, but every album has come with a sense of purpose and as a statement of its own. Their seventh full-length &#8216;Vengeful Ascension&#8217; was released in 2017 and\u00a0while it retains tendencies showcased on past albums, it presents the familiar Goatwhore sound in a manner the band couldn&#8217;t have presented in the past, simply because they are far more advanced in their abilities to create and express. When it comes to blending\u00a0black, thrash and death metal, Goatwhore is just about as good as it gets, and the hard-hitting &#8216;Vengeful Ascension&#8217; proves as much.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/eeW0tVaqYkE\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>#9. Tombs &#8211; The Grand Annihilation:\u00a0<\/strong>If one were to cite examples of bands that have evolved, progressed and improved the most in the shortest amount of time, Brooklyn NY group Tombs would definitely be at the top of that list, although their journey through the past 10 years of their existence has been very different and in many ways completely opposite to what you might expect upon seeing the term &#8220;evolution&#8221;. Shedding the avant-garde and post-metal elements that constituted their first two albums, Tombs went full-on extreme metal with their 2014 album &#8216;Savage Gold&#8217;, and it was no one-off, as they are only moving faster in the same direction. Tombs have mastered\u00a0this dreary black metal sound that they&#8217;ve made their own, yet do not get monotonic and throw in the odd variation to shock and surprise listeners, like the traces of death rock and clean singing on the new album. &#8216;The Grand Annihilation&#8217;\u00a0is among the finest extreme metal albums to have surfaced in 2017 so far.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qqvz-s2qZhI\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>#8. Kobra and the Lotus &#8211; Prevail I:\u00a0<\/strong>Following their high-flying self-titled debut in 2012, a worthwhile follow-up effort &#8216;High Priestess&#8217; in 2014 and a whole lot of touring in between, Canadian metal group Kobra and the Lotus took time out to stay off the road and find inspiration for the next batch of songwriting and it resulted their biggest creative undertaking yet, a double album called &#8216;Prevail&#8217;. Part 1 was released in May 2017. The band has achieved supreme balance between accessibility and craftiness, as the songs on &#8216;Prevail I&#8217; exhibit musical talent but are also capable of mainstream success. The guitar shred element is still there and the vocals continue to soar, but the band has explored their range and broadened their spectrum to come up with this diverse, multi-faceted slab of pure excellence. We&#8217;re yet to hear &#8216;Prevail II&#8217;, but &#8216;Prevail I&#8217; by itself stands as one of the strongest releases of 2017.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Ubq0Zt6GBWk\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>#7. Mutoid Man &#8211; War Moans: <\/strong>Boasting in its ranks Stephen Brodsky of Cave In and Ben Koller of Converge, Mutoid Man landed on planet earth in 2012 and stamped their arrival with a highly impressive debut effort &#8216;Bleeder&#8217; in 2015, as their mix of hardcore punk, hard rock, heavy metal and math\/prog rock took listeners by storm. Following up to an album of that calibre seemed like an insurmountable task, but in 2017 Mutoid Man have emerged with a fantastic new album called &#8216;War Moans&#8217;, a 10-track set of songs that is mind-blowing to the maximum. The Brooklyn NY power trio has pulled out all the stops to make this an all-killer, no-filler record and infuse an even larger number of vastly varying musical elements into a sound that years down the line will be identified only as Mutoid Man. As aptly alluded to in some of the lyrics, this record leaves you flipped upside down with a rush of blood to the head, positively perplexed by what you have been hit with. &#8216;War Moans&#8217; is a piece of musical genius.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/U2OBw-LhNto\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>#6.\u00a0Striker &#8211; Self-Titled: <\/strong>There are old-school bands, and then there is Striker. The Canadian quintet is prolific in a manner only classic rock and metal bands of the &#8217;60s, &#8217;70s and &#8217;80s were in their heyday, wherein they would release an album every year, and at times two albums within the space of one year. Striker released their fourth album &#8216;Stand in the Fire&#8217; in February 2016, and less than a year later, returned with the fifth LP, a self-titled effort. With Striker, it is most certainly not just about the quantity, and the quality of this new release proves that they&#8217;re a band that never runs out of creative ideas, and turns these ideas into great songs. This 9-song effort is a true album lover&#8217;s delight, as it flows seamlessly from one song to the next, and returns to Track #1 before you realize it. With one instant classic after another, Striker&#8217;s self-titled album embodies the beauty and staying power of unadulterated old-school metal.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/39j6gazeWKo\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em>Continued on Page 4 &#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>If you like what you\u2019ve read\/seen, <a href=\"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/shop\">buy a shirt<\/a> and help keep Metal Assault running full time!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>If you live in LA, San Diego or Sacramento, come to one of our <a href=\"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/events\">events<\/a>!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><strong>#5. Horisont &#8211; About Time: <\/strong>Already five albums deep in their 11-year existence, the Swedes in Horisont have established themselves as masters of modern-day vintage hard rock. With their style of music it may seem like they&#8217;re living in the wrong decade, but they&#8217;re putting a decidedly fresh spin on the kind of music they clearly love and are most passionate and dedicated towards. Their newest effort &#8216;About Time&#8217; sets the mental landscape right from the outset and takes you on an otherworldly journey you wouldn&#8217;t want to return from. The most amazingly striking feature of this album is that Horisont executes the &#8217;70s classic hard rock sound better than most bands of the &#8217;70s ever did, which is exactly why we can move on from those bands and listen to Horisont instead. &#8216;About Time&#8217; is more than just a time machine; it&#8217;s timeless.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Edn7N3r39po\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>#4.\u00a0Sepultura &#8211; Machine Messiah: <\/strong>Against all odds, Brazilian metal greats Sepultura have carved out a successful career for themselves even in their post-Cavalera incarnation, when not many were willing to give them as much as a semblance of a chance. This is no greater proof of this predicament than their 14th and latest album &#8216;Machine Messiah&#8217;. Released in early January 2017, this one will stay in rotation until the end of the year and beyond, and is by far the best album they&#8217;ve put out with Derrick Green on vocals. The songwriting is splendid, the performances on the recordings is second to none, and the songs are crushing yet progressive and diverse in true Sepultura style. But this band is still evolving, and not attempting to recycle their past work, and albums like this keep the band relevant and current in 2017, not a nostalgia act. &#8216;Machine Messiah&#8217; does as much justice to the Sepultura legacy as anything they&#8217;ve ever released.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/pCEe44CgyAM\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>#3. Iced Earth &#8211; Incorruptible: <\/strong>One of America&#8217;s finest and longest standing flagbearers of true heavy metal, Tampa, Florida legends Iced Earth have lived through several different lineups, and not many bands would have survived with as many singer changes as Iced Earth have. Fronted by their newest singer Stu Block, the band released two very solid albums in &#8216;Dystopia&#8217; (2011) and &#8216;Plagues of Babylon&#8217; (2014), and only time will be the best judge, but their 2017 release &#8216;Incorruptible&#8217; is not only their strongest Stu Block fronted effort, but might even be one of their best ever. With powerful vocal delivery, soul-soothing guitar harmonies, scorching solos and exemplarily old-school style of bass and drum work, &#8216;Incorruptible&#8217; flows through fast, mid and slow paced tunes that all make an indelible impact in equal measure. While each of the ten songs is a gem, the instrumental &#8216;Ghost Dance&#8217; deserves special mention, for it represents the finest 6 minutes of heavy metal to have graced the year 2017 thus far. Unlike most bands formed in the &#8217;80s that are now well past their prime, Iced Earth still delivers the goods with pure fist-raising metal.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Q_VbMVwVuhw\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>#2. Warbringer &#8211; Woe to the Vanquished: <\/strong>Thrash metal has existed for more than three decades and everything that could be done within the boundaries of this musical style has already been done. Enter Los Angeles based group Warbringer with their fifth album &#8216;Woe to the Vanquished&#8217;, to put a wrench into that notion. It takes special talent to successfully innovate in a genre like thrash metal while staying within its confines, and through their past four albums Warbringer honed their creativity to culminate into this new album which is certainly a step above the rest. To those who have followed this band&#8217;s career and listened to their past work, &#8216;Woe to the Vanquished&#8217; comes across as the album Warbringer was always capable of making and perhaps always wanted to make but couldn&#8217;t quite do so until now. This is the first release in the second decade of their career, and with this record they have completed the metamorphosis to become a band truly on their way to greatness. &#8216;Woe to the Vanquished&#8217; is what thrash metal should sound like in 2017.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Tr3rmfmzlr4\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>#1.\u00a0Power Trip &#8211; Nightmare Logic:\u00a0<\/strong>Dallas, Texas thrash metal\/hardcore crossover group Power Trip formed in 2008 and infiltrated the heavy music underground with a destructive debut effort &#8216;Manifest Decimation&#8217; in 2013. It remained to be seen what direction they&#8217;d go in on the follow-up album, if they&#8217;d be able to offer anything new or different, and whether or not they&#8217;d sustain their early success and hype. Sure enough, Power Trip ticked all the right boxes with their sophomore album &#8216;Nightmare Logic&#8217;, which landed in February 2017 and has pierced ears, crushed skulls and pummeled minds with its unmatchably devastating tunes. They channeled more of their thrash metal roots and influences for this one, and went for a more &#8220;listenable&#8221; production style that does their music greater justice. The result is what stands as the best album the year 2017 has offered thus far. In the present day, no band instigates a violent old-school mosh quite like Power Trip does, and the songs on &#8216;Nightmare Logic&#8217; have made them one of the fiercest bands on the planet. Speed, violence, heaviness, technicality. Power Trip turns everything to 11 on &#8216;Nightmare Logic&#8217;, and if one album had to be picked to represent metal in 2017, &#8216;Nightmare Logic&#8217; would be it. <\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TBQK4gnmDtQ\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>If you like what you\u2019ve read\/seen, <a href=\"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/shop\">buy a shirt<\/a> and help keep Metal Assault running full time!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>If you live in LA, San Diego or Sacramento, come to one of our <a href=\"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/events\">events<\/a>!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Andrew Bansal It is that time of the year again, time for our mid-year recap of the best album releases so far. Year after year it&#8217;s proven that great new music is easily accessible to those who want to give it a chance, and 2017 is no different, as we&#8217;ve already seen some fantastic &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/articles\/2017\/06\/30\/2017-mid-year-recap-best-albums-editors-picks\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;2017 Mid-Year Recap: Best Albums (Editor&#8217;s Picks)&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3194,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3189"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3189"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3189\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3249,"href":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3189\/revisions\/3249"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}