Mutoid Man – War Moans  (Sargent House, USA)

Metal can be dead-serious — and basically everything on my list this year is dead-serious — but it’s important to remember that it can also be really fucking fun, right? The most fun metal album I heard all year was Mutoid Man’s War Moans. They employ a Motorhead-style chug, and Stephen Brodsky and Ben Koller still find time to work in the technical nuances of their main bands (Cave In and Converge, respectively). Brodsky’s bluesy wail and endless riffage is perfect for this kind of beer-fueled, party-ready heaviness, and Mutoid Man up the shredding even more when they bring in Marty Friedman for a solo on the title track. It’s the kind of album you can play again and again and it revs you up every time.

Listen here.

Full list by Andrew Sacher via Invisible Oranges