Where does the time go and how the hell are we already at the end of 2022? Each year goes by quicker and also seems to produce more metal to discover and listen to. While I am certainly not one to complain about the abundance of metal, I do wish I had more time to let some of these records breathe. Ultimately, they will but not before a year-end, best of list needs to be compiled. I'm saying this because there are certainly some records that were just an oversight and I didn't get around to hearing. Having said that, feel free to tell me what I missed and need to re-listen to or check out in 2023 that came out this year.
I'm a bit all over the place when comes to a Top 10 list. Sometimes I go by the way of the albums I feel are truly the best from the year. Other times, I go by what my favorite 10 records of the year were. Sometimes, they're meshed together.
Onto the list and in no particular order...
1. Phobophilic - Enveloping Absurdity
I feel like if you're not into the latest crop of up and comers, the year wasn't as significant for you, seeing that we didn't get records from the titans this year (Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, Obituary, etc.). If you are into the underground death metal scene, it was a solid year for the sub-genre. This band was introduced to me by Obscene's Kyle Shaw in late November and I have certainly have made up for lost time by the number of spins I've given this album since hearing about it. Hailing from North Dakota, these guys aren't trying to re-invent the old school death metal sound but just give a hint of knuckle-dragging modernization. Their sound brings you in and pushes you down like quicksand. Thick, crunchy guitar riffs accompany the album while still staying on the tracks and not coming unhinged.
What's interesting about this album is the pacing. Majority of the record starts off at a mid-level pace before picking up to a gallup, and then slowing down a bit to round out the tracks. Pushing BPM's they are not. Instead, they opted for quality head-banging riffs, drum patterns that alternate that pace I mentioned, with intense death metal guttural vocals that consume you. While nothing ground-breaking is on this record, there's certainly enough fresh ideas to make for an interesting listen all the way through. If the newer crop of death metal bands aren't your thing (see Vomit Forth, Sanguisugabogg, Frozen Soul) and you prefer the more traditional sound, these guys may be up your alley.
2. Sumerlands - Dreamkiller
If the name Arthur Rizk doesn't ring a bell, perhaps you know his producing credentials with Enforced, Creeping Death, Sacred Reich, Power Trip, to name only but a few. You may also be familiar with his other band Eternal Champion. Sumerlands is one of many credits Arthur can add to his resume and this record is quite a bit different than the previously discussed Phobophilic. In fact, this is arguably the most accessible album on my list. I generally gravitate to minimal to zero clean singing when it comes to metal but the style with which Sumerlands plays lends itself to where an actual clean singer is needed. I guess if there's a "feel good" album on my list, this is it.
Taking a page out of the traditional metal scene, the songs on Dreamkiller often times have that Iron Maiden gallop to them. I also hear some Ghost-esque riffs on this record and thankfully, Sumerlands sounds far less hokey than Ghost does. Dare I even say a bit of Hammerfall influence can be heard here. This is that band you heard playing at your local metal watering hole squeezed in between Suffocation and Dissection that you had to ask the bartender who it is because you suddenly realize that you've been nodding along the entire time to something that sounds different than everything else on the playlist but have no idea who it is. It's that band that piqued your curiosity after one listen. Take Queensryche, add a dash of Iron Maiden, a pinch of power metal, a healthy dose of the 70's/80's hard rock sound of Blue Oyster Cult, Thin Lizzy, and the Scorpions, shake until well blended, and pour yourself a nice Dreamkiller.
3. Exhumed - To the Dead
Matt Harvey is not a man to hide his influences with the bands he is in. The Death influence is apparent with Gruesome and the Carcass worship is heavy with Exhumed. With that being said, at least he does it well. Exhumed is one of those bands that I've always heard the name but never really dug into until this year. I discovered Gore Metal and revisited the solid last album of Horror from 2019. This year, we To the Dead, a thrashier version of Exhumed which can possibly be attributed to playing with the Death act Left to Die in 2022. While still maintaining their goregrind core, there's definitely a thrashing energy that puts this album in a death/thrash/grind category. The album sounds fresh and familiar at the same time.
One thing that is noticeably different on this album over the others is the clean production. That's not to say that it's overproduced, at least in my opinion. I'm sure the death metal purists out there will hate being able to hear each instrument with anything being muddled and I can appreciate that to some degree. I also can appreciate a cleaner approach while still blasting ears away and that's what they have here. If you're a big Exhumed fan, I don't think there are any surprises here with the way they've been going on their last few releases. Similarly to the Phobophilic record, there's nothing life-changing here. Just a damn solid release for death metal.
4. Wake - Thought Form Descent
The problem with releasing a record that's your best to date is creating your next record that tops it. 2020's Devouring Ruin was so goddamn good and at least for me, unexpected, that you knew after one listen how good it was and simultaneously, that it was going to take several more listens to truly get the whole thing consumed from a mental capacity standpoint. Thought Form Descent takes Devouring Ruin and gives it a logical successor. Whether or not it's better than Devouring Ruin may not be a good way to approach this record, as you will probably miss out on the treasure that is TFD.
The thing that Wake does so well is take the listener on a journey and with most songs being over five minutes long, it's certainly no quick trip to the local bodega and back. Peaks and valleys, ebbs and flows, crashing waves, striking lightning, and pulsating thunder. If you're looking for the eye of a storm, this is it. The band blends elements of black metal, noise, death, grind into something that feels both powerful, desolate, abrasive, and beautiful at the same time. The drumming in particular stand out to me as you hear interchanging patterns, fills, blast beats, and some technically proficient rhythms. I think this band definitely has a bright future and considering how many times I saw their name on a bill this year, is probably destined to hit a market near you in 2023. Go check them out.
5. Tribal Gaze - The Nine Choirs
One of the newer crop of old school death metal worshipping revivalists to come out over the last few years. Maybe revivalist isn't an accurate adjective, as there are definitely some newer elements incorporated into their sound but there's a certain nod to the OSDM sound. The Bolt Thrower influence is evident but with a bit more of a doom and somehow Stockholm feel to their songs. The riffs are as thick as molasses and it's bands like this that make me second guess having short hair. Growing it out so I can properly headbang with hair flying everywhere is a must for this record. It's worth noting as well that this is the band's full-length debut. If you're a death metal fan, that's certainly encouraging to see how good these guys are at this stage in their career.
6. Ripped to Shreds - Jubian
I've been on the Ripped to Shreds bandwagon since Max Cavalera turned me onto to their 2020 release Luan. They have that old school Sepultura death thrash feel to them with an HM-2 pedal thrown in for a Swedish influence sound. These guys still aren't that well known but man do they rip. There's a certain page they're borrowing as well from Exhumed. One thing that's noticeable on this record is how quickly the pacing will change but it all blends together quite seamlessly. It never feels forced or out of line with the rest of the song structure. By track three (In Solitude - Sun Moon Holy Cult Pt. 3), we're hit with a 10 minute slab of a death metal smorgasbord and I can't think of many death metal tracks going that long. In a way, it feels like those shows where the bands do hardly any crowd banter and just play from one song to the next. You don't necessarily know where the first song ended and the second song started because it flows to effortlessly. That's a little bit how this track feels and it doesn't feel out of place at all. This is one of the more interesting slabs of death metal to come out this year. Don't sleep on it.
7. Nite - Voices of the Kronian Moon
Here's a quick break from reading about a great death metal release this year and instead, I'm going to talk about the band Nite. Their 2020 release Darkness Silence Mirror Flame made my year end list too and while I really wanted to compare this record to DSMF, I think it's best to take it at face value and go from there. At face value, the band continues to hone their craft of blending traditional, black, and heavy metal together to create something unique and fresh. For some reason, I picture this to be what the Headless Horseman listens to. The horse can gallup to their rhythm section and the vocals sound to me like how the Horseman would sing. I don't know what saying. The point is you have a piece of traditional metal at it's heart with some experimentation from other sub-genres thrown in. The "blackened" tag seems to be applied to a lot these days. Blackened thrash, blackened death, black n' roll. Which is odd to me, at least on paper since it's one of the lesser accessible forms of metal, but it seems to work many times. Nite is another band that still hasn't broken through but continues to release good music and is worth a spin of your time to check them out.
8. No/Mas - Consume/Deny/Repent
Hybrids of metal seem to be pretty popular these days and No/Mas has jumped in to that mix, combining grind, death, and thrash for an album of quick hits in the form of 15 songs in 21 mins. Grindcore is one of those metal sub-genres that can be a bit much, even for the seasoned metalhead. If that speaks to you, maybe give No/Mas a shot. There's a lot of catchiness to their grind approach and the riffs are pretty approachable. I think one of the biggest things that makes them a bit easier to digest is the vocals. It's almost a blend of Corpsegrinder and Randy Blythe. The vocals wouldn't sound out of place in a metalcore group. No/Mas cuts out the bullshit and hits you with the meat and potatoes of songs with every song. If you're the type of person who says "get to the good part already", this is the band for you because they're already there five seconds into the song.
9. Obscene - From Dead Horizon...to Dead Horizon
No lie, this was one of my most anticipated releases of 2022 and it didn't disappoint. It's easy to make a solid first record because you have your whole life to do it. It's very hard to release a follow-up to your solid debut album and have it be anywhere near as good. Oftentimes, bands hit that sophomore slump and can be exposed for not having the writing chops to do it again. Rest assured, that is absolutely not the case for Obscene. Album opener "I Shall Drink the Earth's Blood" gets the listener going with a trademark Kyle Shaw "Ough" and we're off and running. "Deathless Demigod' is probably my favorite track from the record and has an infectious riff to it. This is a track that you can't help but nod and head bang to. There's really not a weakling in the bunch here but "Children of the Static" is another ripper that has some pummeling rhythms to it. The band built on their previous release of The Inhabitable Dark, honed their craft more, and I can't wait to hear what the band has in store for their future.
10. Revocation - Netherheaven
Have you ever had a band that you've tried to like more than what you do but just like them at a surface level? Like, they've never released a bad record and you like what you hear when you're hearing it but once it stops, you don't go back and re-visit it? A band that when they're on a bill that you're going to see, you always get there in time to see them but you didn't buy the ticket specifically for them? If any of this sounds familiar to you, that's how Revocation has always been for me. Something just wasn't fully clicking. That something fully clicked with Netherheaven this year. Maybe a Revocation die hard can tell me what's different about this record and why is resonates more with me than their other releases (all of which I think have been solid, again, just didn't click with me). "Nihilistic Violence" sticks out as a banger on the album with a chugging riff. "Strange and Eternal" is an absolute ripper and a blend of technical death thrash in the best possible way. The album closer is also not to be missed, as we get both Corpsegrinder and Trevor Strnad making guest vocal appearances on "Re-Crucified". I'm not sure what this album will do to me in the long term in the way of making me a full fan but it certainly helped their cause.
