This month, we revealed that Mastodon’s Emperor Of Sand was named Metal Hammer’s album of the year for 2017. It’s a truly staggering album from one of contemporary metal torchbearers, proving that they’re still masters of the riff and creating expansive, heart-wrenching worlds for us mere mortals to lose ourselves in. But that’s their seventh album, what about the new kids on the block? The records that came out of nowhere and blew our stinking socks clean off. Well, let’s take a look!
Here are the eleven best debut albums of 2017 from the world of rock and metal. You might have just found your new favourite band.
Zeal & Ardor – Devil Is Fine
What we said:
“Black metal is perverted through Come On Down’s tremolo-picked fury and shrieking, but then it’s into gorgeous blues croons, classic metal riffing, and back to Satan squeezing Manuel’s knackersack. Whether the genres run in tandem or successively, the blend’s never jarring. Children’s Summon is basically In Flames at their melodeath best channelling Rotting Christ.”
Read full review | Buy from Amazon
Creeper – Eternity, In Your Arms
What we said:
“This isn’t just a collection of songs; it’s a true journey, a tour de force of narrative songwriting. The kind of album you want to listen to again as soon as it’s over, Eternity, In Your Arms cements Creeper’s place as the UK’s most exciting new band.”
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Prophets Of Rage – Prophets Of Rage
What we said:
“The record swaggers and bounces around like it owns the place, straddling the line between grit and bombast, as it tackles the subjects of homelessness, surveillance and solidarity. It’s surprising to hear B-Real lead proceedings throughout when you consider Chuck’s stature, but the play-off between the two is a masterclass in using lyrics as a weapon.”
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Spectral Voice – Eroded Corridors Of Unbeing
What we said:
“Spectral Voice’s crepuscular debut is equally atmospherically tense and unmercifully heavy. A modern death-doom monument.
The Lurking Fear – Out Of The Voiceless Grave
What we said:
“Named after an HP Lovecraft short story and featuring At The Gates’ Tomas Lindberg and Adrian Erlandsson alongside members of Disfear, The Haunted and Skitsystem, Out Of The Voiceless Grave is an urgent and intense opus that’s just as ferocious as their pedigree suggests.”
Read full review | Buy from Amazon
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Wear Your Wounds – WYW
What we said:
“While everything Converge have ever created is steeped in emotion, this album is Jacob at his most exposed, dismantling Converge’s wall of noise and devoid of his usual possessed barking, this is honest and raw, a powerful combination with the psychedelic soundscapes that ebb and flow throughout.”
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Here Lies Man – Here Lies Man
What we said:
“The formula is simple: loping, Afro-funk beats that recall Fela Kuti and huge, turbo-fuzz riffs redolent enough of Sabbath to lure in a few rivetheads to scare the hipsters who will inevitably embrace this. Fortunately, Here Lies Man is enormously enjoyable.”
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Vuur – In This Moment We Are Free - Cities
What we said:
“Not just the single finest female voice our world has to offer, but a songwriter of startling depth and skill, she has truly excelled in this new environment, with an album full of dark, dramatic and dynamic prog metal that embraces both the singer’s wildly varied past, her long association with Devin Townsend and the crunch’n’churn of the 21st-century tech metal movement.”
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Sons Of Apollo – Psychotic Symphony
What we said:
“It’s prog metal full of intricacies, yet also brimming with brooding riffage as virtuosity nestles against rampaging metal. Mike Portnoy shines on drums, Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal unleashes stunning guitar licks, Billy Sheehan offers concise bass touches, Derek Sherinian crafts keyboard explosions and Jeff Scott Soto complements the heavyweight musicianship with melodically effortless vocals.”
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Ho99o9 – United States Of Horror
What we said:
“This New Jersey freakshow, comprising vocalists theOGM and Eaddy, establishes itself as a primal, pissed-off snapshot of modern life. It’s dirty, discombobulating, spitting fluid rap and screams through the speakers.”
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Bokassa – Divide & Conquer
What we said:
“This debut full-length is just over 32 minutes long but it’s intense, unpretentiously creative and relentlessly rhythmic. If Bokassa’s earlier EPs were a tad disorganised, they’ve now synthesised their style to perfection, riddled with excellent melodies, fuzzy guitar lines, deep Southern groove and hooky riffs.”
Read full review | Buy from Amazon
You can read the Top 100 Albums Of 2017 in the latest issue of Metal Hammer – on sale now. Buy it directly here or become a TeamRock+ member to read it right now.
Metal Hammer name Mastodon’s Emperor Of Sand best album of 2017
