We are half way through another killer year for hard rock and heavy metal music. Here are my top ten albums for 2012 so far. These are 10 discs that I keep spinning over and over again. The albums below are ranked, more or less, according to the time I have spent listening to them.

1.  Van Halen – A Different Kind of Truth   —   A massive comeback album that I thought would have never happened in a million years. Completely blindsided by this one.

2.  Accept – Stalingrad   —   Fantastic followup to Blood of Nations. These guys are experiencing one hell of a renaissance.

3.  Overkill – The Electric Age   —   Best thrash record of the year. They never change, and never cease to amaze.

4.  Gojira – L’Enfant Sauvage   —   Heaviest of the heavy, a sick and brutal album.

5.  Slash – Apocalyptic Love   —   Most people are totally sick of Slash and I can’t blame them. But Slash with Myles Kennedy in front is a completely different ball game. This is a great hard rock record.

6.  Halestorm – The Strange Case of…   —   You can call it candy rock, pop metal, or whatever stupid ass name you can think of, but Lzzy Hale is a tremendous vocal talent. Solid band too. I could not get these songs out of my head for weeks.

7.  Fear Factory – The Industrialist   —   The best at what they do for sure. If they still had Gene Hoglan’s authentic drumming, this could have been higher up on the list. I still enjoy the tracks though.

8.  Corrosion of Conformity – Corrosion of Conformity   —   Look at the COC guys go man. Hard working band that does not get enough respect is blowing it up as far as I am concerned. And, they are doing it without Pepper Keenan.

9.  Orange Goblin – A Eulogy for the Damned   —   Catchy, groovy, and heavy as hell. Had a blast hearing this album for the first time. Solid set of tunes overall.

10.  Kill Devil Hill – Kill Devil Hill   —   Rex Brown with Vinny Appice is an unexpected recipe for a beastly album. I think Rex found a cooler band to join than Vinnie Paul.

Please, spew your bloody vomit below.