1.  Charred Walls of the Damned – Cold Winds on Timeless Days:  I was a big supporter of Richard Christie’s debut record and this sophomore effort keeps my attention. Charred Walls doesn’t break any new metal ground, but sticks to the basics of operatic vocals and thrashy riffage.

2.  Vomitron – No NES for the Wicked:  This one was released in September under my radar. The album consists of classic Nintendo songs such as the theme from Contra done with heavy metal bliss. It’s like DragonForce without all the crap.

3.  Thin Lizzy – Live in London 2011:  This live release came out in late September and features Scott Gorham, Brian Downey, Darren Wharton, Def Leppard’s Vivian Campbell, Whitesnake’s Marco Mendoza, and The Almighty’s Ricky Warwick.  It is really good, however not as great as 2009’s Live at the Tower Theatre featuring the classic lineup.

4.  Iced Earth – Dystopia: The classic progressive and operatic metal band from Tampa is still at it with another cool album.

5.  Five Finger Death Punch – American Capitalist:  Still can’t get into these dudes. Sorry. I get what they are doing, just not feeling it. Maybe I am getting too old.

and also Skeletonwitch released Forever Abomination which is worth checking out.