The past year was a rough time for this grumpy reptile, filled with personal loss, a grinding struggle to prove my worth at a new job and having trouble keeping my work in art going. I also had a hard time actually finding music that stuck with me long into the year and it is hard to say if this is because I was looking in the wrong places or if it was because of all the things I had to deal with. Needless to say, I have survived and so have these things in my playlist: music I wholeheartedly recommend. Thank you for taking the time to read!
Favorite EPs:
Gonemage - Master of Disgust...
Genre: War Metal / Chiptune / VGM Madness
Label: Independent
Rlease Date: 13-5-2022
Taking the price for making me laugh in disbelief and then pummelling me to death in 22 is Gonemage's excellent Wario-themed EP. Video game based Metal is usually a dull self-serving display of the musician's fandom. Not so here, as the mix of pitch black War Metal and hidden-smirk nature of the Chiptune influences is more potent than it has any right to be. Garry Brents' lightning-in-a-bottle writing approach has yet again produced some great results. Don't sleep on this.
Defect Designer - Neanderthal
Genre: Weird Deathgrind
Label: Transcending Obscurity Records
Release Date: 08-7-2022
If someone had told me that there exists a full grind version of Diskord's bass groovy Avant-Garde Death Metal I would have been on them like a Batman looking for his Rachel. Luckily for this imaginary person, I was surprised to find that this weird ass sounding Grindcore EP features actual members of Diskord on my own. I am sufficiently hyped for a full album and so should you be if you remotely like Grind or Diskord.
Honorable Mentions:
Ritual Dictates - No Great Loss (Goth Metal / Rock - Artoffact Records)
An uncanny mix of Goth, Rock and bursts of heavier Metal. Just when you think you've got it figured out it changes shape. The album is experimental in that it works in a lot of different ideas without sacrificing the cohesion. Very nearly made my main list.
Dawnwalker - House of Sand (Post-Metal / Progressive Rock - Independent)
A modern day Post Metal Pink Floyd. Truly intriguing mix that turned out to be just a bit too minimalistic to place on my list proper in the end. But you should definitely check it out as it is a very intimate album that has a fantastically natural sound with very few tricks behind it. The Post Metal mixes with the Progressive Rock in a way that caught me off guard.
Pyrithe - Monuments to Impermanence (Sludge Metal / Post Metal - Gilded Media)
Atmospheric Sludge Metal that was an early favorite in the year. It has an experimental sound that takes a few spins to fully appreciate. As I only returned to it based on mood it got less love than it deserved through the year, but it easily belongs here on this list.
Wretched Inferno - Cacophony of Filth (Slam / Brutal Death Metal - Frozen Screams Imprint)
The Slam that slammed hardest in 22. These kids have great potential if they can manage to make a whole album as good as the first few tracks on this album. But when the music hits it takes a chunk out of you.
Toxik - Dis Morta (Thrash Metal - Massacre Records)
Not one but TWO thrash albums on my list this year? I must be ill. But Toxik's bile-filled dislike of religion can't be denied. Some creative Thrash Metal that doesn't care for what year it is and smashes things like we're still in the 80's.
Favorite Albums of 2022:
#10 Messa - Close
Genre: Progressive Doom Metal
Label: Svart Records
Release Date: 11-3-2022
Despite bemoaning its length and uneven pacing, it is a testament to Close's quality that I keep returning to it. Its MENA inspired character does not hit me as hard as its predecessors but Messa is easily one of the best bands active in Doom Metal today. Close shows this off perfectly fine by being anything but what you expect it to be, to the point of pulling off a Grind track as a perfect transition between songs. It is an album that is more felt than heard, but when I stop to pay attention to the details, it holds up. Special mention goes to Sara Bianchin's vocals, which not only keep on being the balance of the music but get better all the time. The band follows suit with Close being one of the most lush listening experiences this year with every distorted riff and light acoustic touch being equally felt.
#9 Sadist - Firescorched
Genre: Progressive Death Metal
Label: Agonia Records
Release Date: 20-5-2022
Whenever you get tired of chilling in Messa's Italian lounge bar there is always Sadist, ready to stalk you on your way home. Catching a mood in music form is hard but Sadist pull off the Italian Horror Cinema feel like the pros they are. Right from the start, the monster-shuffling-towards-you riffs keep the tempo up and the tension high. Proceeding from a similar template, the songs on Fireschorched twist and turn with heft, flatulent bass and synth led atmosphere that sticks to you like your best friend's blood. There is something to these songs both in execution and in how they are felt that sticks. I can't quite put my finger on it but songs like the instrumental "Loa" show that Sadist know how to spice up their Death Metal with fun and meaningful progression. This album does not quite top the classic that is Above the Light but it is great to hear that these veterans still sound this vital.
#8 Turian - No Longer Human
Genre: Grindcore / Noise Rock / Hardcore
Label: Buster Room Records (CD), Wise Blood Records (Casette)
Release Date: 05-8-2022
Grindcore has had a surprisingly good year in 22 and Turian, while not strictly adhering to Grindcore alone, comes out in the top tier for their creativity and sense of momentum. There are some familiar ideas, like the uplifting Discordance Axis riffs in "Judas Tree". But what makes Turian stand out is that they, like the distorted figure on the album cover, can not easily be defined and shape-shift to fit different moods. They also possess a keen sense of contrast and it is this magic touch that makes songs like "Malfunction" and "American Dog" (or any of the songs really) truly pop with energy. Topping it off is a spirited vocalist who brings both fun and rasping fury to the table (I haven't chuckled this much at someone muttering a disdainful "fuck" in a while). No Longer Human is a light and breezy listen that is full of attitude and never forgets to slap you silly should your attention wander. Like a fun loving older sister to the neurotic Pupil Slicer, they are a band I will be keeping an eye on.
#7 SONJA - Loud Arriver
Genre: Heavy Metal / Goth
Label: Cruz del Sur Music
Release Date: 23-9-2022
When throwing on Loud Arriver I was prepared to dismiss SONJA as a gimmick band because of the BDSM thing, as I have recently seen a lot of bands grow popular on image alone. Thankfully, I could not stop spinning it because SONJA are the real deal and deliver a good, modern Heavy Metal album, something I find is disappointingly rare. The songs follow a similar template to Unto Others by keeping things overall simple while surprising with a deep attention to detail and feel for when to switch things up. While wearing amusingly dirty lyrics, songs like "Pink Fog", "Fuck, Then Die" and "Moans From the Chapel" feature emotional and powerfully driven riffs that are supported by bass and drum performances that refuse to be shown up by the guitar. The one flaw that marks the album is Melissa Moore's vocals, that unlike the album and the well written refrains, waver in their conviction. I hope that this is something that improves with time and experience as this trio have something special going on.
#6 Falls of Rauros - Key to a Vanishing Future
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal / Folk Metal
Label: Eisenwald
Release Date: 25-3-2022
22 is a year of growers, and Key to a Vanishing Future might be the heaviest grower of them all. It is a surprisingly delicate album for how heavy it actually is. Falls of Rauros have managed to create something unique since they manage to meld disparate moods in an unusual way. The album feels tranquil even while blast-beats are raging in the forefront of a song and without their impact being diluted by production tricks. Normally with Post- and Atmospheric Black Metal bands, I can't stand the sentimentality present in the melodies. Falls of Rauros completely sidestep this issue by not relying on tropes like cheap epic melodies, hazy production or constant blastbeats. Instead, the songs transition seamlessly between moods as the soft bass and contemplative melodies make for a surprisingly warm impression of the coldest of Metal's sub-genres. I enjoy warming up beside this crackling campfire of an album.
#5 Chat Pile - God's Country
Genre: Noise Rock / Industrial / Sludge Metal
Label: The Flenser
Release Date: 29-6-2022
Noise Rock is unfamiliar territory for me and hearing God's Country for the first time, I was unsure of what to make of Chat Pile's almost Industrial like builds and Grungy Rock digressions. But what kept me coming back was a creative powerhouse vocal performance and surprisingly good lyrics. Where a lot of bands that consider political topics dig deep into dry academic texts and concepts, Chat Pile just steamrolls the listener with different life stories meant to give a complete picture of their native state of Oklahoma, and indeed a more general picture of people suffering everyday existence. It comes off as an audio version of Twin Peaks, where everyone holds secrets and evil hides in the most human of emotions. The question that hangs over it all is simply "Why?", why is it all like this? Whether it is the paranoid rants of "grimace_smoking_weed.jpeg" or the monologue of the murderous husband (?) in "Pamela" - the music never fails to provide a equally dark impression. People rightfully call this a gut punch of an album that you should have heard whether you consider it to be Metal or not.
#4 Imperial Triumphant - Spirit of Ecstasy
Genre: Avant-Garde Death Metal / Jazz Metal / Cursed Metal
Label: Century Media Records
Release Date: 22-7-2022
Yes, I made up that last tag, but how else to describe one of the 2010's best bands as they keep chugging along into the new decade with a record that sees them more confident than ever? Spirit of Ecstasy feels like a synthesis between the Death Metal of Abyssal Gods and Vile Luxury's more free form Jazz. It is not a repetition yet the music feels familiar in a way that is consistent for the band. Yet again, something old is turned into something new. While it does not reach the heights of the two albums before it, Spirit of Ecstasy still stands head and shoulders above most of the Metal genre's output this year. There are a lot of great ideas present like the amazingly gross moan in the breakdown of "Metrovertigo", the old school cinema feel in "Tower of Glory, City of Shame" and the Kenny G & son guest spot in "Merkurius Gilded" to name a few. But the one-two punch of mood-pieces "In the Pleasure of Their Company" and "Bezumnaya" show that Imperial Triumphant still are not afraid of taking risks, even as they release their work on a bigger label. Seeing them live this fall only further proved what amazing musicians they are. Here's to the future of our Abyssal Lords.
#3 Wormrot - Hiss
Genre: Progressive Grindcore
Label: Earache Records
Release Date: 08-7-2022
Wormrot's 2016 album,Voices, is likely my favorite Grindcore album ever and it is THE album that got me into the genre in the first place along with Gridlink's seminal Longhena. To say that the bar is set unfairly high for follow-up album, Hiss, is an understatement. To my surprise, Hiss almost matches Voices in all aspects. The band's "having a knife fight while falling down the stairs of an exploding building"-intensity is intact as well as their hunger to experiment which includes inspired guest performances on violin that only add to the intensity. The usual technicality, seamless transitions and bright Post Rock leads can be found here, yet Wormrot still manage to pack in more ideas than albums three times longer. At 33 minutes it is still way too long for a Grind album but I am always catapulted through it and it is hard to say what should have been cut, if anything. Special mention should go to vocalist Arif Suhaimi who retches, growls, screams, burps and shrieks his heart out in farewell as he is quitting the band. There could be no better work with which to do so with than this monolith of a Grind album.
#2 Hammers of Misfortune - Overtaker
Genre: Progressive Thrash Metal
Label: Independent (Vinyl by Cruz del Sur Music)
Release Date: 02-12-2022
With force the hammer smashes - right into my face. When I pressed play on the pre-release stream for Overtaker I was not ready for how often I would be replaying this album. It has a chaotic intensity that rivals that of a Sigh album and a lot of this might be down to a production that is soaked in effects and where everything fights for room. But it is also down to Prog Rock and feral Thrash Metal being forced into a cage that is too small for them both. This is the most maliciously fun album I have heard all year and it speaks volumes that it is even on my list as I dislike Thrash Metal in general. In keeping with a lot of the entries having vocals I enjoy, I can't help but mention Jamie Myers' stellar performance. I was a fan of her work in Sabbath Assembly already, but on Overtaker she sounds possessed and pushes her technique farther than before. Hammers of Misfortune have managed to wring tons of uncomfortable atmosphere and intensity from this simple idea of a kaleidoscopic combination of genres and they deserve props for even daring to go there. I understand this album is probably a bit divisive but this Witch Thrash won't budge from my playlist, nor the top spots on this list.
Album of the Year
2022
White Ward - False Light
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal / Post Black Metal / Jazz Metal
Label: Debemur Morti Productions
Release Date: 17-6-2022
I went into this with low expectations as White Ward's previous album could feel aimless with its winding tremolos and choppy transitions. At the time, I felt there was a lot of potential in Love Exchange Failure but ultimately dismissed it. It turns out this was a mistake as I was blindsided by this follow up album that shows no such faults. From start to finish, False Light is a scream of anxiety and every song has a clear identity. Here, White Ward's Post-Metal influence is utilized to its fullest with blazing crescendos and mournful atmosphere. But with a slight Melodic Death Metal influence (pointed out to me by a dear colleague) they never get lost like they could before. Coupled with some amazing Darkjazz moments and Goth vocals, White Ward now have an impressive set of tools to work with. Despite recognizing that the album is indeed very long, I have been spinning this album again and again since it released and I still want to hear it all over again. While the lyrics suffer slightly from an ESL problem that lessens their impact, the pictures they paint are convincingly grim and the anxious nature of this album is the most potent musical statement I heard in 2022.