20 Best Metal Albums Of Summer 2017

Continuing with the folk metal sub-genre, Æther Realm's sophomore record Tarot (which has also been blessed with such alternate titles as "Cheez-It", "Borat", "2 Very Expensive Milkshakes", "Kakarot", "DONK", "Skeletarot", "John Cena", "RuneScape" and "Landon's Ass") is the longest disc on this list. However, after an agonising four-year build-up following the band's debut One Chosen by the Gods (2013), that is exactly what long-time fans of these extreme metal mavens have been craving. Furthermore, with such immense compositions as the nine-minute "The Devil" and the twenty-minute "The Sun, the Moon, the Star", it is also an album that justifies its length and never once feels unnecessarily over-inflated.

Harmonic, grandiose, progressive and heavy-hitting, Tarot is the greatest folk metal release of 2017 so far, somehow managing to incorporate styles as diverse as melo-death, black metal, prog, thrash and, at times, even soaring, awe-inspiring cleans into its immense repertoire. Cuts like "The Chariot" and the speedy title track also perpetuate pure, gargantuan energy, getting down and dirty while the more lengthy entries in this enormous record off-set them with a sense of rowdy sophistication.

Add in a guest turn by Alestorm frontman Christopher Bowes on vocals and you have a release that, alongside This Is the Sound, is destined to be among folk metal's greatest for decades to come.