![Siaskel – Haruwen Airen [Things You Might Have Missed 2016]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/SIASKELCOVER-768x696.jpg)
“Very few things impress me more than a band that knows how to incorporate ideas from their native lands or languages into their music. Take Orphaned Land’s beautiful incorporation of Middle-Eastern motifs in their message of unity, for example. I’m a sucker for this kind of sound.” Roots, bloody roots!
![Far Beyond – A Frozen Flame of Ice [Things You Might Have Missed 2016]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Far-Beyond-A-Frozen-Flame-of-Ice-768x768.jpg)
“Many have complained about 2016’s selection of great music, and not without reason; it can seem a bit lacking. Germany’s Far Beyond, the one-man project of Eugen Dodenhoeft, decided to roll with the simplest solution of all to 2016’s musical woes: stop releasing music that isn’t great. With this, A Frozen Flame of Ice was born. That was simple enough to fix.
![Astronoid – Air [Things You Might Have Missed 2016]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Astronoid-Air-768x768.jpg)
“Fearless. That’s the word I keep coming back to when trying to describe this Boston quintet’s debut. Sure, there may be better ways to describe the music – carefree, blissful, soaring – but nothing captures the spirit of Air quite like “fearless.”” Fear is the mind killer.
![Oak Pantheon – In Pieces [Things You Might Have Missed 2016]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/oakpantheonpieces-768x768.jpg)
“North America has actually developed into a great purveyor of folk metal in recent times: Wilderun; Panopticon; Nechochwen; Thrawsunblat. But a new challenger approaches.” Mournful wood.
![Cult of Luna and Julie Christmas – Mariner [Things You Might Have Missed 2016]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/cult-of-luna-julie-christmas-mariner-768x768.jpg)
“For me, the most compelling collaboration of 2016 was the transatlantic partnership of post-metal stalwarts Cult of Luna and post-hardcore siren Julie Christmas. Both acts on their own provoke ample curiosity — Cult of Luna for their orchestral post-metal machinations, and Christmas for her insanely talented and schizophrenic vocal acrobatics — but put them together and you have a recipe for something amazing.” It’s a post-Christmas miracle!
![EP Edition [Things You Might Have Missed 2016]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Cuervo-2.jpg)
“Another year, another influx of new readers and writers at this mighty blog. Yet compared to those previously, this year has seen a significant growth in the consistency of our posts. A sad consequence of this is that EPs have increasingly fallen by the wayside as reviews of shitty full-length albums are summarily assigned to the probationary writers with reckless abandon.” We fixed the glitch.
![Latitudes – Old Sunlight [Things You Might Have Missed 2016]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Latitudes-Old-Sunlight-01-768x768.jpg)
“Very few genres have as clearly identifiable roots as post metal. Without fail, musicians under this label are always traced back to the same key acts. Neurosis. Isis. Cult of Luna. These are the bands that defined post metal for decades. For many, they also acted as the gateway into the genre itself, but not for me.” Gateways to education.
![Protest the Hero – Pacific Myth EP [Things You Might Have Missed 2016]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Protest-the-Hero-Pacific-Myth-Cover-768x768.jpg)
“In the past, mentioning Protest the Hero among the trve resulted in long side-eyes or questions of “Are they really metal?” (I can’t wait to see how well this review goes over.) But since we let a certain fat-lipped band in here, you’re damn sure I’m going to feature my favorite Verb the Noun.” Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should.
![Sum 41 – 13 Voices [Things You Might Have Missed 2016]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/sum-41-13-voices-768x768.jpg)
“Being commonly lumped in with pop-punk, Sum 41 has justifiably been ignored by the vast majority of metalheads.” And so begins Diabolus’ annual attempt at career suicide.
![The King is Blind – Our Father [Things You Might Have Missed 2016]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/The-King-Is-Blind-Our-Father-Album-Cover-768x768.jpg)
“Apart from a few staples and hidden gems, most of the music I absorb tends to originate from America or Central Europe, so as a British native, I make sure to actively keep an ear to the ground for new and unheard greatness emanating from my own fair isle. Enter: The King is Blind.” God save the Queen and all that.
