Bolt Thrower - Those Once Loyal

with extreme metal descending into self-parody, this was the metal release of 2005 for me. how bolt thrower managed to write and record what is probably its best album ever, and certainly its finest and most consistent one since "the ivth crusade," is beyond me, but the band did just that. it was also the best-produced metal record i heard last year, which doubled the impact. nice to see it show up here.