The best metal albums of 2018
Image: Photo: Zeal & ArdorPhoto: WindhandPhoto: High On Fire Graphic: Libby McGuire Music Features Best Of 2018
No sane, decent person could get through this year without experiencing at least a few flashes of rage or despair. Both are integral, of course, to the emotional language of heavy metal. In 2018, the genre provided a sturdy soundtrack to our collective meltdown, offering commiseration by the blast beat and power chord. These days, metal is a spectrum, spanning numerous subgenres, moods, and styles, and this year’s best fit no single template—it moved at a gallop and a crawl, dabbled in grunge and gospel, touched on the very real problems of the real world and paid its respects to a slug god from outer space. What the cream of the crop had in common was an ability to channel extreme feelings into thrilling, even beautiful music. Below, we’ve singled out our 10 favorites of the year, plus 10 honorable mentions for the truly ravenous. Because a bad year for the world was a good one for metal. Maybe that’s not a coincidence.
Churchburn, None Shall Live… The Hymns Of Misery
Over the past decade, some of the most exciting metal has offered a seamless blend of subgenres. Founded by Dave Suzuki of Vital Remains and Ray McCafferty of Grief, Churchburn effectively marries death metal’s frantic nature with the plodding intensity of doom. While the band’s debut showed promise, None Shall Live… The Hymns Of Misery truly defies categorization, providing triumphant lead parts that never sully its mournful atmosphere. [David Anthony]
High On Fire, Electric Messiah
Matt Pike’s first stoner-metal band, the legendary Sleep, hogged all the hosannas this year, thanks to rapturously received comeback album The Sciences. But the perennially shirtless ax man saved his best riffs for his more ferocious day job, paying tribute to late guitar god and Motörhead frontman Lemmy with a typically awesome collection of blistering anthems. As usual, you’d have to be stoned out of your gourd to bet against High On Fire. [A.A. Dowd]
Mammoth Grinder, Cosmic Crypt
It’s been five years since the last Mammoth Grinder album, and in that time the lineup has changed almost entirely, with Chris Ulsh—of Power Trip and Impalers fame—welcoming new members from crossover-thrash act Iron Reagan. But the band hasn’t changed its sound so much as dug in its heels and made a record that perfectly encapsulates its mix of metal chops and punk ethos. A dense assemblage of riff-fueled aggression and D-beat fury, Cosmic Crypt proves, most impressively, that Ulsh is in no danger of running out of steam, no matter how many different bands he squeezes into his busy schedule. [David Anthony]
Primal Rite, Dirge Of Escapism
With the rise of bands like Code Orange and Power Trip, the gulf that once separated punk from metal has all but closed. It’s at the midpoint between those two sounds that Primal Rite thrives. Though released on Revelation Records, the label responsible for any number of New York hardcore classics, Dirge Of Escapism plays as much like a crossover metalcore record; full of mosh-ready grooves and shredding leads, it offers a profound statement by throwing out the rulebook. [David Anthony]
Skeletonwitch, Devouring Radiant Light
Losing a lead singer can topple the mightiest band. Rather than try to continue down the path paved with ex-frontman Chance Garnette, this eminently moshable Ohio outfit took off in a new direction, trading its signature party thrash for a sweeping, grandiose style of black metal. Remarkably, the reinvention slays. By the end of the album’s rousing opening track, “Fen Of Shadows,” any grief over the band that was has been swallowed up by a triumphant hellfire. Skeletonwitch is dead. Long live Skeletonwitch. [A.A. Dowd]
Slugdge, Esoteric Malacology
Slugdge is blender music: In goes death metal and prog, out comes an ooze true to its name, thick and slimy. As demanding as the songs on Esoteric Malacology can be in length and virtuosity, they’re built around a blissfully nerdy mythology—the gospel of a godlike space slug named Mollusca—and enough sly humor to title a winding epic “Crop Killer.” Mastodon’s maritime and sci-fi epics seem straightforward by comparison. [A.A. Dowd]
Thou, Magus
Only listing Magus as one of the year’s best metal records undervalues the breadth of work Thou put out in 2018. Arriving at the end of a self-described “Summer Of Thou,” during which the band released a trio of EPs of varying musical styles, Magus synthesizes the sound of all three into a cohesive whole, sprawling in length and ambition. It’s not as singular as 2014’s Heathen, but maybe singularity would be antithetical to the band’s vision: The culmination of over three hours of music from this year, Magus is one part of a larger story, even if it’s still a great stand-alone piece. [David Anthony]
Tomb Mold, Manor Of Infinite Forms
Toronto’s Tomb Mold has carved out a nice little niche for itself, playing death metal of the Finnish variety and focusing its lyrics around role-playing games like Bloodborne and Dark Souls. On Manor Of Infinite Forms, the band has moved away from some of its early influences and begun openly embracing the genre at large, aligning itself with late-period Gorguts in its ability to make open space feel just as consuming as a crushing riff. The album succeeds by loosening the reins, allowing Tomb Mold to find its own voice—and, maybe, to become the next big thing in death metal. [David Anthony]
Windhand, Eternal Return
Eternal return indeed. On its fourth full-length, Richmond, Virginia’s most accessible doom-metal titans hook up again with veteran producer Jack Endino (Nirvana, Soundgarden) to go digging around in grunge’s graveyard. It’s lead singer Dorthia Cottrell’s spellbinding croon that give these songs, fuzzy and tuneful, their throwback appeal; she’s a dark goddess rising from rock ’n’ roll’s crypt, like Frances Farmer at last having her revenge on Seattle. [A.A. Dowd]
Zeal & Ardor, Stranger Fruit
Black metal can be a bubble: a misty, mythological forest to flee to while the world burns. On his second Zeal & Ardor album, Manuel Gagneux doesn’t just boldly, controversially blend the genre’s massive sound with the surprisingly simpatico trappings of gospel, soul, and the blues. He also redirects its sorrow and fury, its anguished apocalyptic emotion, toward the realities of a racist American now. Stranger Fruit, in other words, pulls black metal out of the forest, creating something resonant and urgently current in the process. [A.A. Dowd]
Honorable mentions
Anicon, Entropy Mantra
This New York supergroup featuring members of Krallice and Yellow Eyes makes technical, experimental black metal without sounding anything like those other bands. [David Anthony]
The Body, I Have Fought Against It, But I Can’t Any Longer
Calling The Body metal may be a bit of a misnomer, as it occupies so many different spaces that it defies classification. But the band built a home in the metal world and still resonate within it no matter how far it strays. [David Anthony]
Bone Sickness, Theater Of Morbidity
If Spazz played death metal, this is what it would sound like. If you miss the sound of early extreme metal, when it was largely recorded on boomboxes and dubbed poorly by some hesher, this will surely scratch that itch. [David Anthony]
Bosse-de-Nage, Further Still
The Bay Area genre tinkerers of Bosse-de-Nage toy with black metal a little differently than their friends in Deafheaven: Working in angular indie-rock influences, they offer a more anxious, self-examining racket, looking inward instead of aiming for the stratosphere. [A.A. Dowd]
Conjurer, Mire
The first album from British four-piece Conjurer is vicious, complex, and at times disarmingly lovely. No metal debut this year hit harder. [A.A. Dowd]
Glorior Belli, The Apostates
You’d never guess swampy bangers like “Hangin’ Crepe” were cut in Paris rather than south of the Mason-Dixon line, given the Skynyrd-meets-Mayhem boogie of the band’s sound. [A.A. Dowd]
Panopticon, The Scars Of Man On The Once Nameless Wilderness
Although splitting the black metal and Appalachian folk sides of the Panopticon sound into two separate discs doesn’t always flatter the latter, this is still an ambitious, affecting manifesto from Austin Lunn, one of the towering giants of the genre. [A.A. Dowd]
Revocation, The Outer Ones
Equal parts technical death metal and supercharged thrash, Revocation’s latest is proof that the Boston band has only gotten stronger with age. [David Anthony]
Sumac, Love In Shadow
The experimentalists in Sumac make a lengthy, largely improvised work that’s incredibly consuming and constantly compelling. [David Anthony]
Tribulation, Down Below
The Byronic dandies of Tribulation continue to go their own idiosyncratic way, offering another graveyard smash that’s as hooky as it is heavy. [A.A. Dowd]
Listen to songs from these albums and our other top picks from 2018 on Spotify.
295 Comments
These are all great albums and I understand that quibbling about specifics is completely missing the point of these sorts of articles, but this seems to be mostly be a list of a very particular variety of metal. I think broadening this list and including bands like Haken, Omnium Gatherum or Rivers of Nihil would have fleshed this out a bit more and given a fuller picture of metal in 2018.
So much this. What of Blue Stahli, Circle of Dust? I can’t wait to check these out, but both the former are prime examples of industrial leaning electronic-metal. Klayton practically invented the genre.
Its rare I see any mention of CoD anywhere. Kudos…
Please do expand the list. Especially for readers like myself who need the references but don’t know where to start.
Well, as far as my tastes are concerned, a bunch of the albums on the AV Club’s list would be on mine, along with the ones I mentioned above. I also would have added Sleep’s new album if I could still edit that comment. Some others that are personal favourites but likely aren’t across-the-board faves are the 2018 albums from Amorphis, Deafheaven, Riverside, and Kamelot (yes, it’s super corny symphonic metal but it’s very good super corny symphonic metal and I’ll ignore all replies to the contrary 🙂 ).
I’d have a lot more if we were talking about 2017. After writing this comment I realized I haven’t been as engaged with new music this year as I have been in the past but this will give you something to chew on!
“I’d have a lot more if we were talking about 2017.”I’m still listening.
Well, if only because I rarely get anyone who cares about my opinions on music, these are probably my favourite metal albums from 2017:
Caligula’s Horse – In Contact
Dead Quiet – Grand Rites
Elder – Reflections of a Floating World
Enslaved – E
The Faceless – In Becoming a Ghost
Fen – Winter
Goatwhore – Vengeful Ascension
Impure Wilhelmina – Radiation
Intervals – The Way Forward
Katla – Móðurástin
Leprous – Malina
Myrkur – Mareridt
Sólstafir – Berdreyminn
All the kudos for mentioning Kamelot! Such a fun band and really enjoyed their last album.
Wow, Amorphis is still around? I loved Elegy and Tuonela and even Am Universum back in the day. I remember hearing at some point several years ago that they went back towards the folk metal sound of Elegy at some point. What are they these days? I could Google it for myself, but I’m feeling commenty.
Gave you the star for suggesting Deafheaven.
FWIW, my ten favorite metal albums this year (in unranked order) were:Autokrator – Hammer of the Heretics
Chaos Echoes – Mouvement
Birushanah – 灰ニナルマデ
The Heretics Fork – Tormentore
Ulthar – Cosmovore
Myopic – Myopic
Death Karma – The History of Death & Burial Rituals Part II
Deceased – Ghostly White
Orphanofkos – Arcane Worship (Demo)
Oxygen Destroyer – Bestial Manifestations of Malevolence and DeathI don’t care much for more traditional forms of metal anymore, so I don’t tend to place many trad/speed/thrash albums in my top 10s.
Chaos Echoes never really fully cohered with me until the collaboration with Mats Gustafsson. I’m not a huge instrumental metal fan though.
I feel that. They’re certainly a mercurial group.
LOL, Myopic and Death Karma just barely dropped this week and you already have them on your list?
Yes. I’ve already listened to both a ton.
I’m going to have to check out the Birushanah album you mentioned. I haven’t listened to them since 淘汰 (Touta) and 赤い闇 (Akai Yami).I saw them live with Ryokuchi back around 04 in Honolulu and it was amazing!
It’s pretty wild! Not much else like it out there in metal.
none of those bands other the deceased are metal anyway I’m so sick of people commenting on metal and you dont even know what it is metal is slayer deicide the black dahlia murder annotations of an autopsy cryptopsy suffocation dying fetus abysmal dawn thy art is murder carnifex immolation incantation exhumed autopsy aborted those are some examples of REAL METAL you pussys
LOL
Birushanah is also A+ live, got their vinyl on their EU tour w/ Monarch one of the best metal shows I attended this year. Highly recommended to check them out wherever you can find them!
All the albums on this list are great, but here are some others I’d give a look from this year.Deafheaven – Ordinary Corrupt Human Love: Really good ambient black metal album. It’s heavy and intense and beautiful. Also give their previous albums, New Bermuda and Sunbather (especially Sunbather) a listenGhost – Prequelle: Ghost is really awesome, great stage show, great looks. Prequelle is probably my least favorite album of theirs, but it’s still an easy 8/10Sleep – The Sciences: Heavy, monolithic, the first Sleep album in 20 years. It’s slow, heavy, and groovyThe Ocean – Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic: Heavy and groovy, never really leaves the mid tempo. It’s very… aquatic. Rich, full, waves of sound and distortion. One of my favorites from this year
this seems to be mostly be a list of a very particular variety of metal
Well maybe you missed that they included one throwback death metal album, huh?
Yeah, this site’s sporadic metal coverage has always been comedy gold if you’re not heavily invested in all those Pitchfork-approved “future of metal (for this month)” bands.
I wouldn’t say comedy gold myself as I do enjoy much of the music in the list, I just find it a bit frustrating how limited the scope of metal discussion is on sites like the AV Club and Pitchfork. That being said, I’ll take this over ignoring the genre altogether!
I’d just as soon they ignored it. Metal was never in good taste, it is a very poor fit for tastemakers to attempt to talk about it in anything other than disparaging terms.
It’s a plainly boring and expected list. Anthony is obviously a hardcore/pop punk dude who dabbles in metal. Dowd and I just don’t share tastes. But the whole thing seems crowd sourced from the comments of a Stereogum article. I mean I don’t expect a NWNforum level of deep dive from this place, but at the same time why do they even bother?
Exactly. This is bare minimum level of engagement. I’d rather they go deep on something they really care about than skim across the top of something they don’t.
It’s a sad but common gripe that this site has a lot of stuff written by people whose level of expertise is now only skin deep. No one would accept this from a hip-hop or country list, but here we are with metal. Just leave it alone already, guys.
Heh, you think anyone at the AV Club knows to write about hip-hop.
I wouldn’t know honestly, but I’ll take your word on it. I mean I doubt anyone probably comes here for insights into music, which makes it doubly weird they made a best of a niche music list here.
This list was very particular. Particularly sad because it ignored ENTIRE segments of metal.
Wow, almost like music writers have their own opinions, tastes and preferences… just like real people… wow…
Sure, except if you’re writing about the best albums from a genre and you only enjoy a very narrow and specific style of it, maybe you shouldn’t write an article like this from a position of authority on the genre as a whole?
Haken’s Vector is one of my favorites this year for sure, and deserves a mention. I think “metal” is too broad a term for this narrow a definition.
Yeah all I listen to is metal, and I’ve only heard of one of the bands on the list. And Rivers of Nihil not being on this list is a crime.
Ah, interesting list (in fact, spoiler alert, there’s a good chance that three of those Top Ten albums are going to make it into my own list in a few weeks).That being said, I’m still of the opinion that Z&A remains a better exercise on paper than it does in reality. The album is certainly miles better than his previous release (which was all hype and no trousers, as the made up saying goes) but to single it out as one of the BEST albums of the year, particularly when it still has its fair share of filler material, seems like giving it extra points for intention, rather than execution.Good to see that Conjurer album getting a mention too. Although I sometime despair at the weird fetishisation of Holy Roar Records (there’s a certain type of person who automatically, and ONLY, likes what HR put out, and dismiss everything else), that album is a fantastic piece of work. Although I fully expect/hope that the band will eclipse it going forwards.
I was very confused for a moment by the header image and thought Tyondai Braxton had made a metal album.
You goofuses forgot the new Hamferð. a harrowing and beautiful affair.
Also: Ancestors’ first album in 6 years, Suspended in Reflections absolutely slays.And I really liked Deafheaven’s Ordinary Corrupt Human Love. There, I said it.The absence of YOB on this list is an absolute crime.I also heard Torche play some new songs a couple of months ago, and 2019 is also going to be awesome (for metal; not much else).
I really loved Deafheaven’s album this year. Probably my favorite yet.I also think it’s worth mentioning Between the Buried and Me put out another great prog-metal concept album with Automata. They are consistently excellent.
I haven’t had a chance to dig into BTBAM’s latest. Shame on me. They’re touring with Astronoid early next year. Mmmmmm…
Yeah, the new Deafheaven was GREAT. It was a big relief after the last one was so “meh.”
Automata was a stellar album especially part 2.
I saw YOB play most of their new album live a few months ago. Such a killer show. Easily my favorite album of the year.
Deafheaven is AOTY for me, easily.
A best album list from a genre AV Club doesn’t even cover? Sounds legit.
yeah, it’s kind of amazing when neither of these guys would be in anyone’s estimation a metal expert. Not that we need experts, but these kind of lists are almost always at the mercy of the promo cycle and critic circles. Fans are almost always better at recommending metal because they actually dig deep.
You’re a pretentious ass and act as an anti-advertisement for the bands you endorse
ha, I’m ok with that.
Totally- I read these reviews and check out the albums if I don’t know them, but I come mainly for the comments that clue me in to them sleeper hits…
That’s so METAL!!
My thoughts exactly! No Converge album to dick ride so they gotta do something
One of the things I love about heavy metal (especially on the extreme edge of the genre) is that you can roughly estimate the sound of a particular band just by its logo.
You sure about that?
Party Cannon is the exception that proves the rule.
lol
LOL. I was actually there. Show was 10/10. See username for confirmation
I guess we’ll find out if anyone wants to blow you for going to a metal show in the priciest yuppie relocation zone in the U.S. right now
Well that seems quite unnecessarily hostile. What’s your problem?
he’s easily triggered by people who use words like “mainstream” and don’t like Thou or something else no one gives a shit about. I like his energy.
Weird because I was talking about a show that couldn’t be farther from main stream. It was all slam, brutal death, some porno grind etc. I guess maybe you can consider origin and cattle decap to be mainstream? I’d still say that’s a stretch in the grand scheme of things. No metal is mainstream in 2018.
Many of these band logos are indecipherable to the point of being indistinguishable form a pile of sticks found in a wooded area. Party Cannon absolutely nailed their intent in becoming instantly obvious from the rest and thus memorable in their own right. The fact they’re pretty awesome also helps.
I am sooooo late to this party that it is no longer a party; it is the next work week, but I don’t have enough stars for how that made me laugh
LOL, all those macabre fonts. It is all indistinguishable from each other.
Can they not all have the same designs for their names?
on a festival update i got from alestorm they showed one of their lists, and the over the top fonts were pretty funny. i was joking with a coworker that even more important to metal than vocals or guitar skills, its a really expressive typeface. I cannot wait to see Helvetica touring with comic sans.
American Dollar Bill – Keep Facing Sideways…Sumac – Love in ShadowPanopticon – The Scars of Man…I can get to three albums I’ve listened to from the genre and two are led by the same guy (would be three by the same guy if I could justify calling Split Cranium metal).Despite saying last year I’d try to listen to more this year I’ve utterly failed.
We’re really living in the Golden Age of metal…that said, yeah, I’m the same boat. Got kinda burned out with the constant deluge of new metal music a year or two ago, and I told myself I’d start listening to more new stuff this past year, but I still haven’t gotten around to it.
We’re really living in the Golden Age of metal
Wasn’t that the 80s? Priest, Maiden, Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer, Death, Dio all at the top of their game.
True, but there weren’t nearly as many excellent bands; I can think of maybe a dozen really good metal bands from that time period, but the past couple of years it seems like there’s at least a couple hundred metal bands that I’d probably listen to consistently, if I had the time.
I’d say that comics now are better written & better drawn than they were in the 40s, but nobody’s calling today the golden age of comics.
Good point; I don’t really read comics, although there’s something to be said about the advent of graphic novels and the various universes that you can choose from now, versus the OG’s. I guess furthering my point is the considerable proliferation of back-issues that can be chosen from, although I don’t really think that’s the argument here.
Missing Innumerable Forms – Punishment in Flesh on this. Easily the best death metal release I’ve heard in years.
The absence of Sleep’s The Sciences is inexcusable and either the result of shoddy journalism or poor taste.
also no Jesus Piece? Behemoth?
Well, they DID mention The Sciences in the blurb about High On Fire’s 2018 album. Presumably the writer didn’t want to put Matt Pike on the list twice, and had to choose their favorite of the two albums he played guitar on.Sleep is certainly more fun to write about, though. “Another consistently good High On Fire release” can’t help but pale in comparison to “The first album in nearly 20 years, and it’s a masterpiece on par with or surpassing their classics.”
I love High on Fire, and their stuff has been consistently good for their entire run. But The Sciences is a fucking masterwork.
“Presumably the writer didn’t want to put Matt Pike on the list twice,”Yeah but why the hell not? He’s got two hands, doesn’t he?
Minor correction: “Another consistently great High On Fire release”There is nobody in metal that just brings the riffs like Pike while Kensel is as underrated as metal drummers get and Matz is a versatile bassist who keeps things together (also noticed live he switches between pick and fingers based on the song’s needs which is just amazing).I love the new Sleep deeply, but I’ll give Freebooter the Matt Pike track of the year award.
The Sciences was my favorite album of the year, metal or not.
Same. And I’m assuming when they release their final year-end list, The Sciences will be on it.
Also, where the hell is Ghost’s Prequelle?
Metal, not rock.
I’m sure it will make their list of generic modern rock releases of 2018
Generic modern rock release? Zzzzing!
You have to be a metal band, to be in the 2018 best Metal releases.
The title said Metal..not pop
I love me some Ghost, but Prequelle isn’t metal by a long shot. Imagery/vibe regardless.
Prequelle is terrific, but I think one can make the argument it’s not metal. But I love it anyway.
Not on here, because ghost is neither metal nor any good. I’ll give you the first two albums, but prequelle is a goddamn joke.
Right where it belongs
Not metal to be honest. It’s great, but it’s really it’s own kind of satanic rock.Streching metal to cover Ghost we would potentially have to cover Greg Puciato’s work in Black Queen, Tommy Giles solo work and a maybe even some synthwave because all are metal adjacent.
I have to also point out The Ocean and Immortal’s latest efforts are absent….The Fuck?
You’re goddamn right.
It sounds like Isis jamming with Troy Sanders.
That is definitely not a bad thing.
How did I know when I clicked “the best metal albums of 2018″ I would be MASSIVELY DISAPPOINTED? I don’t want to say the writer missed a whole bunch of excellent metal over the year, buy yeah, this list sucks. lol
There is definitely some good stuff up there. But the snubs are fucking ridiculous. Sleep, Behemoth, Jesus Piece, and Daughters all released better music than any band listed in this article.
Ummmm no. The Sciences is pretty subpar and mediocre compared to everything else Sleep has ever done. No music journalist with any integrity would include it on a best of the year list unless it’s as “biggest disappointment.”
Hahahahah, snice.
You come looking for taste on Kinja? There’s your first mistake.
Yes. It’s the best album of the year, period. No genre breakdown required.
You’re an insufferable whiner and should leave the fucking hall
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I saw this and decided to check that album out.And I wanted you to know it was one of the worst things I have ever listened to.
Thanks for letting me know you have shit taste.
It’s the least I could do after suffering through that album.
This list runs counter to my tastes a fair bit – I’ve long owned that my tastes haven’t changed much since about 2002 – but it’s nice to see the genre get a little focused and sincere attention around here.
On the more trad/melodic end, this year I dugCauldron, New Gods (like Dokken, but good!)Warrel Dane, Shadow Work (posthumous, worth finishing, RIP)Holter, Vlad The Impaler (great dad metal with the Pagan’s Mind singer)Ghost Ship Octavius, Delirium (another post-Nevermore work)Augury, Illusive Golden Age (worth-the-wait return after a long absence, proggy tech death)
Oh, thanks for the reminder that Shadow Work is out. Nevermore is one of my favorite bands ever, and Dane’s last (new) Sanctuary album was fantastic.
Not sure if it’s everyone’s taste, but I really enjoyed Nekrogoblikon’s new album (if you like melodic metal). Actually, I like their older stuff, too.
I was about to complain about no honorable mention for Body Count’s Bloodlust, but that was 2017. As you were
You don’t have to “complain” at all just because something you like isn’t on one Web site’s list
“you don’t have to complain”Maybe take your own advice, you piece of human garbage.
Switch out the lackluster void of ideas that is the new Skeletonwitch with the new Aura Noire and you’ve got a decent list.
Professor Black (High Spirits, Dawnbringer, Superchrist) released three excellent metal albums this year.
But that would mean Dowd and Anthony would actually listen to a lot of metal.
I’m a fan of both Krallice and Yellow Eyes, but had somehow never heard of Anicon. And from the looks of it, they’ve got a deep discography to dive into. I’m excited to give them a try.
Anicon are pretty good. I’ve never gotten into many of the NYC pseudo-bm bands much; some of that feeling may come from the idea that most good bm is inherently not an urban music, and generally taps into a spirit that isn’t American (not hard rules, just a general feeling). I respect their level of musicianship and drive, but it mostly sounds pretty plastic to me. Anicon is less clinical than Krallice and Yellow Eyes imo. Sanguine Eagle (with a member from YE) is also worth checking out from that scene though.
I can’t deny that what got me into Krallice back in ‘09 was how they had mutated black metal into something else, something I hadn’t heard before. The “clinical and academic” aspect of it was par for the course with the musicians’ other bands, and I quite liked seeing them putting aside the rapidly-shifting math-rock and embracing something more stable and long-form, with gradual post-rock inspired shifts in texture more similar to what Wolves In The Throne Room had been doing on the other coast. Thanks for articulating the “lacks what makes the genre great” argument in such a calm and civil fashion (something the internet often lacks), and thanks for the Sanguine Eagle recommendation. I’ll add them to the “to-try” list.
hey, no problem. I don’t have any emotions riding on discussions like these, when it really comes down to taste; although as I’ve written in regards to this list, I can get testy when it doesn’t do justice to a genre. and Krallice is something I can probably need to investigate more objectively, rather than attaching baggage to it or putting it in a lineage. I think critics in general of their music have done it a disservice in so readily placing it in black metal, when it really shares only superficial elements.
THERE IS A CONCERNING LACK OF SLAM ON THIS LIST
Where is The Wake by Voivod?
On a different list that you wrote somewhere that no one read
Edgelord alert.
I laughed.
This site never has had any affinity for the classic bands, so it didn’t surprise me not to see any on here. That’s a real shame because Judas Priest’s “Firepower” is widely regarded as the band’s best record since 1990’s Painkiller. That album was heavy and anthemic with a top notch production reminiscent of similar work on the latest Accept records. No surprise since they share the same producer.I’d also like to give a nod to Saxon’s album, “Thunderbolt,” which was consistently heavy and proved that this band seems to have improved with age. The Motorhead tribute, “They Played Rock And Roll,” was a particular highlight.
It’s a shame that Firepower wasn’t included in this list. It definitely fits the definition of “metal.” On this plus side, it’s good enough to be mentioned as one of the best albums of the year, so I’m holding out hope it gets mentioned in the “big” list.
It’s funny to me that people now have to say things like “fits the definition of metal” about Judas Fucking Priest of all bands! Metal gods for sure. So many of these bands with their indecipherable Cookie Monster vocals are just weak compared to bands like Priest and Maiden. Sorry old man rant over.
No, as a 40-something metalhead I get it. There’s nothing worse than picking up what appears to be a great metal album by a newer band. And for about 2 minutes, it hits all those metal sweet spots – the punishing riffs, the massive dynamics, and the pulverizing percussion. You grin and nod on. … and then the singing hits. And it’s either the “Cookie Monster” or banshee-style screaming. And then you think to yourself “I can’t listen to 50 minutes of this guy’s voice.”
I agree with you completely. I tried to make up for it by tracking down some all instrumental metal playlists on Spotify.
… and then the singing hits. And it’s either the “Cookie
Monster” or banshee-style screaming. And then you think to yourself “I
can’t listen to 50 minutes of this guy’s voice.” When I first got into metal, I hated growled vocals. First time I heard In Flames, that was my reaction. But then I heard some more, a while later, and I realized that the music was too good for me to ignore, vocals aside. And then that style of vocals grew on me.But generally, I agree with you. My main issue with newer bands isn’t the playing or the songwriting, it’s the singing.
I don’t want to have to Google the lyrics to every fucking song
I don’t want to have to Google the lyrics to every fucking song
Then don’t. The lyrics don’t really matter anyway.
I agree. I will not argue with a metalhead about Converge or Deafheaven’s Sunbather. They have been routinely touted as “best of genre” style bands and releases. I will just willfully say “I totally respect the consensus, I just don’t get it.” I think it’s one of the reasons Baroness’ first two records stuck with me – I was able to get the brutality music-wise, and the vocals were not off-putting in the least.
Agreed, and how can we not discuss Dee Snider’s For the Love of Metal, produced by Jamey Jasta and chock full of guest appearances from a wide range of metal royalty???
Agree on Firepower.
Yeah, any Best Of 2018 list that doesn’t start with Firepower is not worth reading.Firepower is fucking awesome.
This is the comment and replies I was looking for! My fave album this year was “Burst into Flame” by Haunt.
That’s a real shame because Judas Priest’s “Firepower” is widely regarded as the band’s best record since 1990’s Painkiller.
I gave that accolade to Redeemer of Souls, I loved that record. And then Firepower came out & blew me away.
100% just my opinion, but those classic bands you mentioned in my mind are “heavy metal” and the list in the article is definitely focused on “extreme metal” which is not the same genre of music. It might seem like splitting hairs, and heavy metal definitely has influenced the extreme metal genre, but they’re just not the same. The author could have clarified that better I guess.
Just felt the need to mention that KEN Mode’s Loved is my favorite album of the year and criminally underrated, although they do like to mix up genres, so it’s somewhere between sludge, hardcore and noise.
After listening to all of the above selections, I’ve decided that I’m too old to be a metalhead anymore. I grew up in the Big Four era. Phil Anselmo and Max Cavalera are two of my favorite “vocalists”, but this screaming bullshit has gone too far. Other than the Windhand and Zeal & Ardor cuts, it’s just noise. I like the other music, but the vocals are shyte. You can still have a mosh pit on my lawn, but try to wrap it up by 10:00. I have to be at work in the morning.
I could never be in a metal band, partly because I can’t play an instrument and have no talent, but mainly because I could never come up with a band name.
I’d rate coming up with a name for a metal band as one of the easiest versions of the task. Speaking honestly, a lot of metal bands have really, really, really dumb names, like high-school-binder-scribbling dumb, and no one cares at all because it’s one of those scenes where “grubby middle-aged dudes in dark-wash jeans who can’t make eye contact off-stage” is considered a viable image if even one of them can shred
Just take two very cool, or very aggressive-sounding words and put them together. Preferably, anything associated with violence and/or darkness. Presto, you’ve got a metal band name. Anything that sounds like it could be an indie horror movie works, too. Bonus Wheel of Fortune Points for the letters R, S, V, Z, W, or D in there somewhere.
Just pick a random reference from Diablo or Dark Souls. For example:Helltrapper
Aether Walker
Venomhusk
Hellrack
Natalya’s Vengeance
Unhallowed Essence
Rain of VengeanceAbysswalkerKnight ArtoriasMalthael
Thunderfury
Gavel of Judgement
Wizardspike
Azurewrath
Blade of the Windseeker
Those seem pretty damn solid IMHO. You may be on to something. One I heard and was always fond of was “3 Inches of Blood.” I have some friends in the industry and they used to send me stuff all the time; I always loved “3 Inches of Blood.”
I honestly can’t tell the difference between your list and the one in the article.
No love for prog metal :(Sonder by Tesseract is a lean release but has incredible songs nonetheless. Automata I & II by Between The Buried And Me has some of their best work in years. The Last One by Circles has so many great songs. Haken and others as well.And not prog, but Holy Hell by Architects is…very good.
No “Prequelle” by Ghost??
Came here to say this. Their exclusion pretty much destroys the credibility of this list.
Something you like not being on a list doesn’t “destroy” anything. Learn to cope with people liking different stuff and you might learn something
Or it’s inclusion would.Anyone with a list like the one above likely barely sees Ghost as metal.
Hahahaha…. I love this kind of humor.
Why in the heck would you care, anyway? Do you love it? Great.
“Best Metal Albums” not best “metal makeup and stage show, but really weak ass pop music” for the year. That list is coming later.
GONNA DIE CLOWN
Weak ass pop music? How about weak ass hot take?
This is adorable.
Dude. Good for you, tryin to make other people feel bad about music they like. Everyone thinks you’re super hard and edgy now…Ghost is pop. Ghost is also metal. I don’t even like Ghost, but their music is bigger than you and your tiny shitty gatekeeper opinion.
Uh huh.
lol I just checked this album out and your description is spot on.
This list should be renamed then because this is far from the best metal of the year. I found 2 bands worth listening to more than once. The rest were the typical edgy “can’t read their logo” garbage you can find at any local metal bar.
This comment made me go straight to spotify and check it out. And while I agree that it’s not BROOTAL it is still metal. Definitley more 80s hair metal than everything else mentioned, but it’s metal.
You know what, I take that right back. Yeah that’s basically pop
First thing I looked for. Prequelle is amazing. Granted, I’m not a huge metalhead, so maybe all of these albums really were better, but c’mon now!
Is it better than their first couple, because I have those and I am mostly “eh.”
Depends on what you like. If you like a more “pop” sound, you’ll like it. Its very accessible for the subject matter and the sounds are catchy.
I grew up in the 80’s and went to see all big 4 thrash bands back then, I also was into what is now derogatorily referred to as “hair metal, “ so I like a catchy hook. But Ghost present themselves as Mercyful Fate and they sound like AOR rock half the time. It’s that gap between imagery and sound that gets to me.
They present themselves as successors to Alice Cooper and Blue Öyster Cult and that is what they mainly sound like, with some early eighties metal stuff thrown in. Prequelle has more of the eighties (hair) metal influences (‘Rats’ is very Ozzy Osbournesque) and less of a seventies sound though.
If you read the interviews, that is pretty much what he’s going for. While he is a metal head, his goal was to create those big stage/arena shows from the 70-80s with the full theatrics.
Ghost are probably the band whose sound I find the most disappointing. They have such a cool look and their music sounds like Dokken or some shit. i expected some Dimmu Borgir sounding symphonic black metal and instead I got…yeah, Dokken.
I mean, the kids are into them, that’s good for them. But for my own tastes, Ghost is really blah, with a great image/look.
How is Ghost a metal band????
I liked Tune In Turn On And Free Tibet.
I like Ghost, but let’s be real: their music is pretty mellow rock.
Yes!!
Ghost isn’t metal. Ghost is theater. The two can coexist, just not when Ghost is involved.
So I guess I have to check out that Skeletonwitch now. I’ve never been much into thrash but that sounds promising. 2017 was a great year for the type of metal I like, 2018 less so. Here’s a few I really enjoyed:Panopticon – The Scars of Man…Deafheaven – Ordinary Corrupt Human LoveAn Autumn for Crippled Children – The Light of September (do these guys count anymore? I dunno.)Bosse de Nage – Further Still
Some stuff not mentioned in the article, or by others:Black Peaks – All That Divides- Probably my favorite album this year, regardless of genre. Mixes metal, hardcore and rock and into something fairly unique. Big step up from their debut album. One of the most versatile singers out there, and they really nailed the mix of melodies with lots of hooks and agression and energy.The Ocean – Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic Look past the silly title, and it’s another quality album by The Ocean.Gorod – AethraTech-death that’s also really catchy.Greyhaven – Empty BlackPretty much “Every Time I Die too”, but they do it very well.Octopus – Supernatural AllianceRetro heavy rock done good!Fiends – Me TimeMaybe what Slipknot would sound like if they still did interesting stuff.Night Verses – From The Gallery Of SleepThese guys lost their singer, but then somehow managed to release their best album so far, in my opinion.
FUCKING FANTASTIC LIST
Well done
RIP live Skeletonwitch being a fun party time I guess
Yeah…I get why he had to go, but Chance was probably the most charismatic metal frontman I’ve ever seen.
They were excellent. However, the new album and recent EP announcing their tonal shift appeal to me more than any of their old stuff. Worth it.
Skeletonwitch lost a lot of fans. The turnover in the band has weakened them. Some people want to accept it and herald the new sound but I just can’t. They weren’t just “party thrash” – they had a soaring, inspirational sound that’s gone now. They should’ve worked on bringing Chance back.
Hard to replicate that Athens magic. They’re still making great music, and for that I am thankful.
Kind of impressed, this list is not bad actually.Here’s my top records of the year.1. Necropanther-Eyes of Blue Light2. Vreid – Lifehunger3. Wolftooth – S/T
4. Skeletonwitch-Devouring Radiant Light
5. Lucifer- Lucifer II
6. Haunt- Burst Into Flame
7. Tribulation-Down Below
8. Forming the Void-Rift
9. Slugdge-Esoteric Malacology
10. Deafheaven-Ordinary Corrupt Human Love
11. Necrophobic-Mark of the Necrogram
12. Temple Desecration-Whirlwinds of Fathomless
Chaos
13. Khemmis-Desolation
14. Mantar- The Modern Art Of Setting Ablaze
15. Watain-Trident Wolf Eclipse
16. Thron- Abysmal
17. Ails-The Unraveling
18. LLNN-Deads
19. Lik-Carnage
20. Gaerea-Unsettling Whispers
21. Svartkonst-Devil’s Blood
22. Agrimonia-Awaken
Nice. Too lazy for album names or item order, but for 2018 releases I’d go with:DrudkhYOBMournful CongregationRivers of NihilSummoningThouTribulationDeafheavenFinnr’s CurseSear BlissMy list is super short this year for me…everything else on the AV club list struck me as a solid B/C+ when they came out.
Totally forgot about the new Sear Bliss, need to get on that.
And I forgot about the new necrophobic…man, it’s pretty killer.
Ails! Thanks for reminding me to check them out, I know one of those dudes but I never see him around since the exodus to oak town :/
It begins…‘twas (sort of) nice to know you, 2018.
This list is missing one of the best releases in Rivers of Nihil.
No love for the sax.
I’m digging the Windhand and Zeal & Ardor.The trouble with this list for me is that I love the thrashing power sounds, but I need more than the unintelligible growling in my vocals. Like how I can appreciate Cannibal Corpse, but my thing is more in the vein of Rhapsody or DragonForce. Melodic stuff, really, and adventurous vocalizations.That’s not to crap on this list, tho. I just have different requirements.
I cant get into Tomb Mold, I’ve tried but just not feeling it.
Never heard of Slugdge, but will check it out.
For what it’s worth here’s a few of my favorites for the year in no specific order:
Vouna “Vouna”Sumac “Love in Shadows”Though “Rhea Sylvia”NIN “Bad Witch”
Abstracter “Cinereous Incarnate”Sleep “The Sciences”
Tomb Mold has a lot of elements that I normally like, but comes off as sort of boring and lacking in personality.
So it is more like Dark Souls 2 than say Bloodborne. Shame.
Indeed….spotify recommended a 2018 release by Ritual Necromany after I kinda sorta dug Tomb Mold’s latest for the Nth time, and it scratched the itch a lot better.
Ritual Necromancy is pretty good from what I heard. DD generally releases good to great dm. 20buckspin had dm albums I enjoyed more from this year like the Ghastly and Extremity and Ulthar (all of which are different, but just seem more consistent). I dunno. A lot of people dig Tomb Mold, and I’m ready to chock that up to different strokes too.
Thanks for the recommendation. All have been added to my metal 2018 playlist. Also, just found out Abyssal released something this year after a multi year hiatus, which I’m going to go binge on.
Oh nice, I didn’t know that. Thanks. I dunno if you’ve heard Grave Upheaval, but they’re really interesting, off-putting, DM… they got shoehorned into the Portal/Abyssal thing but are way more… murky? I guess.
“Bad Witch” is pretty damn awesome.
Well, at least I’m not being “that guy” as a lot of these comments have already been made by “that guy” this time; and they’re largely right: this is a boring list made up of the exact same picks we’re all likely to see from Pitchfork, Stereogum, etc. It also displays a distinct lack of reference and knowledge of the genre: Anthony likened Bone Sickness to Spazz…But that’s not to say some of these records aren’t good: Sumac, and Mammoth Grinder and the aforementioned B.S. are decent to spectacular. Tomb Mold is apparently every mainstream blogs’ idea of progressive dm right now, but it sounds exactly like hardcore dudes who listen to too much Demilich (that said I like it fine but no more than that); Ghastly’s lp was a far better dm album on 20Buckspin if you need to go that route. The Body, Thou, blah blah blah are fine but not everything they fart out each month requires such lauding-nothingness; but I guess they fulfill the narrative of being the future of metal or something. Oh well, at least it’s predictable.
You’re trying way too hard dude… never pays to follow up a nitpick with opinions that seem to have been assembled on the spot through Google search
you’re kinda obsessed with me. I like it. Keep going.
Fuck off.
No Jethro Tull album released this year?
DIMLIM’s “CHEODARA”
Christ on a cracker. You know what metal doesn’t need? More Pig-squealing and Acid on gravel vocals. Very few on this list without it. There’s a place for it, just not every vocal track.
No Rolo Tomassi or Daughters.
Guess it’d be a late entry but “Let Pain Be Your Guide” by Portrayal of Guilt is phenomenal and belongs here, as well as Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats’ “Wasteland” and Pig Destroyer’s “Head Cage.”
WAY too much death metal for my taste but thanks for letting me know that metal is still relevant somehow.
Eric Andre has a metal album?
Mol – JordThe Agony Scene – TormentorRemembrace – Home l Hope l HollowOkant – Hemlangtan
I was only aware of a few of these, But I will be bookmarking this as there are albums I want to buy.
Vile Luxury by Imperial Triumphant
This is a pretty solid list, but the absence of YOB’s Our Raw Heart is disappointing. It’s one of the most emotionally compelling albums I’ve heard this year—you can feel Mike Scheidt’s confrontation with death in every track.
Excuse my ignorance, but is metal still, like a genre?
Excuse my ignorance No. No excuse for ignorance.
is metal still, like a genre? Yes. Fuck off.
I know they’re divisive and metal people love to hate them, but it’s messed up that Deafheaven’s Ordinary Corrupt Human Love isn’t even mentioned here. It’s their best and most sophisticated album, one that makes some of their previous material seem almost simplistic by comparison (and I love their previous material). Quibble with a couple filler tracks but it’s compositionally gorgeous, and features what I think is some of metal’s best drumming.
Author & Punisher
This list and the comments are really just ways to make me miss Heller and Metal Box and *ahem* Leonard, aren’t they?
Oh yeah, I miss that too. I actually forgot about that. Heller and my tastes didn’t coincide much but he had an honest love for the music and the comments weren’t taken over by weird blowhards trying to tell everyone that they shouldn’t have opinions about opinions.
I miss metal box. I’m betting none of the albums listed in the article were mentioned in any of their coming releases articles.
How about some love for:
Lucifer – Lucifer IIClutch – Book of Bad DecisionsUncle Acid & the Deadbeats – WastelandBrant Bjork – Mankind WomanWe Hunt Buffalo – Head Smashed In
Haunt – Burst Into FlameBrimstone Coven – What Was and What Shall BeAll Them Witches* – ATW
* More of a heavy-psych band, admittedly, but this album is a damn good listen.
I keep seeing people talk about that Tombmold album. It is a decent, but by the numbers death metal album. It isn’t especially creative nor beyond the technical skill that one would associate with the genre.
I’m partial to this one, tbh
No love for Pulver’s or Traveler’s demos? Or do those not count?
I rolled in hear ready to make a stink if the latest Skeletonwitch wasn’t mentioned and to my surprise it was on the list. Nice job!
Where’s the power metal, symphonic metal, hell most other subgenres? This is a too narrow a cross section to call it best metal albums of the year.
I really like Ordinary Corrupt Human Love by Deafheaven. It’s like death metal interspersed with Dinosaur Jr.
Local Metal Band from STL; The Lion’s Daughter had a solid album this year. Warning video is NSFW:
I dunno, I think Nekrogoblikon’s “Welcome to Bonkers” is better than many of these.
Metal does not mean growling voices only…
Fuck all this hipster metal. Unearth came out with the best “slam 40s and air guitar” of 2018
It’s a damn shame the latest Pig Destroyer album was a bit of let down after all this time.
Hello, Hi. I don’t actually listen to metal but my six year old really likes the band Powerwolf, can i get suggestions for similar bands ?
Somebody up above posted a video from a band called Visigoth which reminded me a little of Powerwolf, but I don’t listen to too much power metal so I might be mistaken. He might like other power metal like Blind Guardian or Crimson Glory (there’s so much, most of it is pretty cheesy). He’d have to love Iron Maiden. Play Powerslave for him.
Oh hey look Tool still isn’t on here.
Band- Maid…gonna go there, and there I mean Japan. Best thing to happen to heavy/hard rock in ages.
>metal>bestPick just one.
There’s some good ass records on here, but the absence of Imperial Triumphant, Cult Leader and Rolo Tomassi (amongst others) is a huge misstep imo.
No Sleep, no BTBAM, no Sigh, no Rivers of Nihil, no Ocean Collective, uhhhhhh what the fuck
The second Alkaloid album should be on that list as well.
That’s the beautiful thing about metal: My list is completely different and thats ok. I’d include albums like Heros by Sabaton, Epica vs Attack on Titan by Epica, Arcane Astral Aeons by Sirenia, Geist by The Browning and Palo by Kalmah. I’d like to see more articles like this. I’m always looking for recommendations.
Since Clutch usually gets lumped in with metal in the metal vs. rock side of record store classifications and music festivals, I nominate “Book of Bad Decisions” for an honorable nod.
I’m so very picky about good metal bands. Sludge have me slightly grab my taste. Take me somewhere around Gojira and Lamb of God and I am all ears.
I consider myself a big metal fan, was shocked that I didnt know any of the bands you posted about so I listened to a song from each band. . Quick review from one consecutive listen: Churchburn – : Cant stand Doom Metal, that was painful to listenZeal & Ardor – That was different? Cool I guess but I dont feel like listening to more of this stuffWindhand – Ugh more doom. This is slightly better than Churchburn I guess. Tomb Mold – Hell yeah this more up my alley, will definitely listen to more from them. Thou – Ok I get why I dont know most these bands, its all doom metal and its not my scene but man 3 out of 5 so far thats quite a lot guess its a good year for fans of the genre. Slugdge – This is fucking dope, technical and brutal. Me likes. Skeletonwitch – Love it! Extreme black metal with great melody. Primal Rite – Hardcore punk and some thrash, cool combination but I dont think i’d bother to listen to more.. Mammoth Grinder – This is alright. A little dull sounding imo. High on Fire – Only band I knew from the list. Not a fan. So thats 3 full albums I’ll definitely listen to which is alright I guess? I’d put the new albums from Amorphis, Judas Priest, BTBAM (controversial?), and Revocation on the list.
Noticing a distinct lack of Band-Maid’s album WORLD DOMINATION. They’ve been delivering some real legit J-Rock / J-Metal for years now.
Modern metal, I don’t give a fuck. I’ve got Visigoth! (Well, Sleep was great too. Sleep is always better than High on Fire, because Matt Pike keeps his mouth shut.)
eh, apparently Kinja doesn’t allow you to delete comments, only edit them.
I found the absence of Ordinary Corrupt Human Love by Deafheaven a glaring omission.
Sepulcher, Ghastly, Embrace of Thorns, Satan, Khemmis, Scorched, Nachash, House of Atreus, Obliteration, Un, Sargeist, Terrorizer, Judas Priest, Scorched, Extremity, Portal, Varathron, Imperialist, Cemetery Lust, Sleep, Torture Rack, Drawn and Quartered– this list missed an incredible number of amazing albums.
Okay, never heard of them before today but I’m really digging Stranger Fruit from Zeal and Ardor.
Doesn’t anyone just sing anymore? I get all into the music and then out pops Cookie Monster. I know some people love it, but I just can’t get into it.
What is this nonsense!? Metal is for trump supporters, go hear some Hip Hop, Boooy!
Daughters – You Won’t Get What You Want. Give it a listen if you can. Then check out their older stuff.
No instrumental albums?
I can always count on these lists to make me feel old and out of touch with current metal, which I didn’t expect to ever happen when I was in my teens.I’m 41, I’ll just stick with the classics.
The new Ocean Collective album is my album of the year, it’s so atmospheric and awesome.
Is any of this Heavy Metal?
With the exception of Slugdge, Tomb Mold and maybe Churchburn, this is all beardy hipster metal.
A….anyone on here like Metalcore? Architects?….Polaris?….anyone?…..(*puts up shield)
For the most part, all these have Cookie Monster style vocals (hey- to each their own)- can anyone give me some recommendations of some metal that has clean vocals?
I tend toward the prog-metal usually- Caligula’s Horse, Fair to Midland, Socionic, etc…
Harm’s Way needs to be on here. Also, Deicide’s newest is pretty neat too.
AV Club offering up Music to Alt-Right To.
Bell Witch – Mirror ReaperYOB – Our Raw Heart
In no particular order (bar #1 & #2), and to no particular end – here’s my two penn’orth (N.B. a lot of these are ???-Metal – i.e. Prog-Metal, Math Rock/Metal, Post-Metal, Metalcore etc.). Oh – and if you’re looking for music for your 2018 flashes of rage and despair? Black Peaks.#1 Black Peaks – All That Divides#2 Polyphia – New Levels New Devils High on Fire – Electric MessiahArchitects – Holy HellKhemmis – DesolationMøl – JordRivers of Nihil – Where Owls Know My NameDeafheaven – Ordinary Corrupt Human LoveNight Verses – From the Gallery of Sleep
uhhhhhh where’s Daughters – You Won’t Get What You Want? i guess sure, they maybe don’t exactly fit a standard “metal” category, but it’s one of the best albums of the year, period, and if it has to be ranked in a genre list, metal is going to be it.
Architects’ Holy Hell being absent from the entirety of the list is a god damn travesty.
Also, no love for prog or djenty bois? Some variety in sound on this list would have been nice at least. BTBAM and TesseracT released very good albums this year, and Night Verses put out a stellar instrumental album.
You arent fooling anyone with this list, you dont really listen to metal. So many great albums came out this year and the only one you can “honorably mention” is Revocation’s new album…. hmu for metal suggestions
also, you didnt even have the decency to at least MENTION BTBAM’s new album(s). Shame on you. Shame.
Some of these I really don’t know so I made a Spotify playlist to listen to all of these albums, including the honorable mentions. You can check at https://open.spotify.com/user/nunobarreiro/playlist/0Hvu5nSfXg2gi8URinLS2e?si=nwXJsFUtRO-Q1O3Elhnfng
Ugh. All of this just makes me miss 80s metal more. Testament, Megadeth, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Death Angel, and Overkill were all infinitely better than any of these bands. There’s a reason most deathcore is underground. Hell, I’d rather listen to Psychostik than this stuff. Skeletonwitch is the only one in the list that gave me any desire to listen to more.
You missed The Agony Scene – “Tormentor”
I think that you ignored the most interesting thing about Zeal and Ardor (besides some great riffs and musical juxtaposition) is that the concept behind it was a fascination with how the Christian religion was forced upon pagan African slaves and what a societal and musical rejection of that along the lines of Norwegian black metal would sound like.I see a lot on the internet about about race, but find little of this kind of biting commentary that Z&A put forth. Outside of American Gods I can’t even think of something that references or acknowledges any pagan African belief.
Oh man that Skeletonwitch album certainly does slay. I’ve listened to it far more than any other album period, this year. It’s not just 2018 good. It’s, to me, one of the best metal albums in the past 5 years level of goodness.
How about Nekrogoblikon?
Zeal and Ardor is so good. Amazing to think it started as a joke because it’s so great.
I feel like Threatin should have made this list for some reason and I don’t even care why.
Zeal & Ardor kind of remind me of like the Modest Mouse of metal.Modest Metal?
No clue what this list is. I know of Sumac though. They raped my ears at a live concert. It was fucking terrible. Anyways, here’s my list 1) Rivers of Nihil – Where Owls Know my Name. Not much into death metal, but the technicality and song writing in this album is phenomenal. Not only that, you can honestly not call this a pure death metal album. It’s got around 5 sax solos for God’s sake. 2) Birds in Row – We Already Lost the World. French hardcore punk band comes out with their first full length, and it’s so damn good. As angry as ever with several different types of cleans, this is their best album yet. 3) Vola – Applause of a Distant Crowd. This I just started listening to last month or so, and it’s really blown me away. The synths and keyboards are so damn weird and unfitting, you would never assume this is a Djent album. 4) Dance Gavin Dance – Artificial Selection. As fun as ever, this album feels special because it feels like their last. It isn’t, but it sure feels like it’s their last. 5) Spiritbox – Perennial. This isn’t a full album. Its just a song. It’s damn good though. This band will probably be coming out with an EP soon with this song on it, and I’m highly looking forward to it. Djenty guitar. Incredible female cleans and screams.
No Brojob?Time to get kissed.(Actually, I don’t know if they put out an album this year. I just stumbled across them recently and wanted to pretend outrage.)
how did you possibly skip the memoriam album?
what about the new volahn ep?
One of my favorite records this year that I didn’t see mentioned on the list or in the comments:Dayburner by Haunted. If you like Windhand you should check them out. Maybe even kind of a Windhand ripoff, but really good
WHAT?? No Anal Trump?Seriously though, love the new Windhand and Sumac. Must add Sleep, not sure how this didn’t beat out High on Fire.
No Eagle Twin – The Thundering Heard?No Sleep?What the fuuuuuuuuck
im definitely a metal head … but i dont know any of these bands … .. ima go cry in the shower now ..
Uh, no Yob??
Ok, am I hallucinating this, or was Holy Fawn’s “Death Spells” on this list at one point? Because I ended up buying the album because I swore I saw it on here, and now its not…and if it wasn’t on this list, then where the hell did I learn about it?
Panopticon’s album was fucking amazing, and it’s a great continuation of what was started in Kentucky.
No mention of Judas Priest’s Firepower is just pathetic.