Ten Most Anticipated Metal Albums of 2013

2012 did not end with the bang promised by the Mayans. Fortunately, 2013 is gearing up to be the year of Heavy Metal. Some of the industry's oldest and newest legends are conjuring some tunes to help nurse the no-apocalypse blues. Here are the ten metal albums likely to get the most attention in 2013.

10. Killswitch Engage Disarm the Descent Release: Spring In 2012, the band parted ways with frontman Howard Jones and reunited with original frontman Jesse Leach, who left the band in 2002. "Truth be told, Jesse blew us away in auditions; the room seemed charged with electricity." The band's new album promises to please fans.

9. Black Veil Brides The Wretched and the Divine: The Story of the Wild Ones Release: January Do you miss the concept album days of ol' King Diamond? Or Iron Maiden's Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, a worthy partial concept album? Good -- this time they're going all the way through with the concept album. Not only does the cover art look like something from Walt Disney's nightmare, but it also sets the tone for a story that's sure to keep you up at night.

8. Alice in Chains Hollow Release: Spring Oh how we miss the days of Grunge Metal, when showering was frowned upon and greasy heroin-addicted rockers were sexy. In 2009, Alice in Chains released an album 14 years in the making and initiated a new chapter for the band. Now, with the release of their newest venture, the band may just have accomplished the impossible: resurrection.

7. Korn Title: TBA Release: TBA Much like many of their metal peers, the guys spent a majority of last year working on side projects - Love and Death and J Devil or J Dub or J something or other - but it's hard to escape the Kornfield. In a recent interview with Revolver, James "Munky" Shaffer said that the band had recorded 15 new songs and "have a big 2013 planned for our fans, for ourselves, and for our families."

6. Hatebreed The Divinity of Purpose Release: January If you're metal band who's been mistakenly labeled as a racist scum-sucking maggot by the folks at CNN, there's only thing for you to do: put out a great album. 5. Phil Anselmo and the Illegals Walk Through Exits Only Release: Spring/Summer Since his departure from Pantera and Superjoint Ritual, Phil Anselmo has been wandering the dark highway as a freelance lead singer, dabbling in black metal, stoner metal and death metal. His new album promises to take fans back to his more brutal days with Pantera when his vocals inspired gargantuan mosh pits.

4. Rob Zombie Title: TBA Release: Spring The godfather of horror metal is a man who promises to make 2013 a frightful year. His new film Lords of Salem is due in theaters early this year. And Zombie began recording his fifth solo album last year. "It's stylistically sort of a little bit of everything," said Zombie. "Fans of my really old stuff will love it. I feel like it's the best of all the things I've done."

3. Warbeast and Phil Anselmo Title: War of the Gargantuans Release: January When Texas thrash metal meets a Louisiana native, it's sure to be a collaboration of gargantuan proportions. This album not only offers Warbeast's best material to date but it also gives fans of Phil Anselmo a glimpse into his solo material, a venture that's been thirty years in the making.

2. Palms Title: TBA Release: Spring 2013 is also shaping up to be the year of supergroups with bands like Warbeast, Down, and now Palms unloading material for the masses. Former members of Isis Aaron Harris, Clifford Meyer and Jeff Caxide joined with Deftones' lead singer Chino Moreno to form a new sound that some fans are already calling "godlike."

1. Slayer Title: TBA Release: TBA Last year was a rough year for the band when a nasty spider bite sidelined guitarist Jeff Hanneman who contracted a flesh-eating bacteria. In the meantime, Gary Holt, guitarist for Exodus, is filling in for the guitarist. This year promises to turn things around. Hanneman is still recovering, but Kerry King announced on the band's website that they had two new tracks - "Chasing Death" and "Implode" - and planned to release a full-length album this year.

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