Top Metal and Hard Rock Songs of 2011 (So Far)

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Why wait until December? Noisecreep always likes to stay ahead of the curve, so we have been keeping track of our favorite songs of 2011 ever since the big ball dropped in Times Square. Throughout the year, we will keep updating this list of the loudest, riff-iest, scream-iest, most headbanging songs that rock our world.

'Cemetery Angels'

Crowbar

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Why This is a Top Song of 2011: Crowbar are a criminally underrated NOLA sludge band, and 'Cemetery Angels' is a haunting, dirt-caked dirge of a song bolstered by Kirk Windstein's gritty vocals. Despite the fact that you will feel like you've been smacked upside the head by a crowbar (natch!) once you listen to this tune, the song also features a melody that just won't quit. Noisecreep premiered the song at the tail end of 2010 and we haven't stopped cranking it since.

What Else You Need to Know: The song appears on the band's eOne debut, 'Sever the Wicked Hand.'

'Strength in Numbers'

Times of Grace

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Why This is a Top Song of 2011: Killswitch Engage's Adam D. and original KsE singer Jesse Leach have re-teamed as Times of Grace, which isn't just a redux of the classic Leach-fronted KsE album 'Alive or Just Breathing.' The song is a molten meshing of Leach's uplifting, spiritually inclined lyrics with his untouchable knack for passionate singing and screaming. His declaration of "One love! One truth! One destiny" is destined to bellow through 2011 and beyond. This song also showcases the softer side of Adam D., who brings his trademark harmonic guitar squalls to the track.

What Else You Need to Know: The song opens the band's debut album, 'The Hymn of a Broken Man,' which is filled with plenty more anthems.

'Born to Lose'

Motorhead

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Why This is a Top Song of 2011: Motorhead never disappoint. This is shaping up to be a banner year for vocalist/bassist Lemmy Kilmister, considering the runaway success of the documentary about his bad-ass, Clint-Eastwood-of-metal life. On 'Born to Lose,' Lem's whiskey-lubricated voice is as craggy and horns-up as ever, and the nasty, gnarly riffing that accompanies it makes this an undeniable rager that stands shoulder-to-shoulder with anything in the band's catalog.

What Else You Need to Know: Besides the fact that Lemmy is a God -- see 'Airheads' starring Steve Buscemi and Brendan Frasier if you need proof -- the song appears on Motorhead's 'The World is Yours' album.

'Savor the Kill'

Darkest Hour

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Why This is a Top Song of 2011: Darkest Hour have always incorporated a bit of a thrash, a bit of Swedish melodic death metal, and a bit of good ol' modern American metal into their unique style. The terrifying 'Savor the Kill' does not disappoint. If you play this anywhere near a park where little kids gather to play, expect them to disperse and run away in fear immediately. Unless, of course, they are a bunch of cool kids who prefer their playtime loud and scary.

What Else You Need to Know: This boot-to-the-nuts song is quite possibly our favorite aural emission from the band's eOne debut, 'The Human Romance.' Don't let the name fool you; there is nothing romantic or cuddly about this beast of a song, or the rest of the album.

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