We have needed heavy music more than ever this year. This is the culmination of all the other metal lists. Yes, I have done other metal lists for other blogs, and I see them as being a refining process for when I make this list. So, while the result may have varied, this is the final word. I know many of you are ready for 2022 to be over with. Hate to break it to you but nothing is getting better next year. The very fact these bands made it on the list means they are the cream of the crop so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all, we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. Sure, you can bitch and complain about your favorite band not being on the list. However, I listen to five new albums a day so yes, I heard your favorite album and was not impressed. No, I do not care what you think about it. I hope you can find your next favorite on this list and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out audio on these guys. Anyway here are the top 10 Metal albums of 2022
10-Candy- "Heaven is Here"
When it comes to extreme music most of it came from some early crossroads where death metal met hard core. The bands Relapse Records debut finds the noise ridden grind core being refined into a dense and perhaps even more punishing monster while fully aware that they have a job to write songs. The vocals are the most hard-core thing about this band. They are less spastic than Napalm Death. When they lock into a grinding chug the results are very powerful. This album is fucking intense.
Abysmal Hymns: Candy : "Heaven is Here"
9-Goatwhore- "Angels Hung from the Arches of Heaven"
One of the best American metal bands going today is back. They are continuing to storm the burning gates of heaven with a sound that offers few surprises, yet seldom feels like they are recycling sounds already beaten into the charred earth. Their songwriting that continues to excel as they blend more melodic guitar work to create a creepy throb. They continue to grow as a band 8 albums and two decades into their career
8-Darkthrone- "Astral Fortress"
Darkthrone put out an album I did not expect from them and that is how they earned their spot here. On their 19th album it's good to hear these guys get back in the direction of black metal. If they had pumped out another tribute to Celtic Frost or a Venom sounding punk album, I would have been less surprised. This more blackened offering is not them trying to recreate what they did in the 90s, but a darker turn from where they were already heading.
Abysmal Hymns: Darkthrone : "Astral Fortress"
7-Acid Witch- "Rot Among Us"
6- Messa -"Close"
A logical progression in the next step of the band's songwriting, there are new tricks up their sleeve as forays into jazz and progressive rock color the dismal blues inflected exploration of their shadowy souls. Morose trippiness gives way to a more aggressive explosion than anything we have heard from them yet. Snake charming brass and Middle eastern passages are the norm to a backdrop that allows their singer to explore her upper register as well as go into harsh vocals at times. They jam out into some fairly remarkable guitar solos and pretty much have it all going for them here.
. Abysmal Hymns: Messa : "Close"
5-Black Anvil - "Regenesis"
New York's blackened trio charged out of the gates with a great deal of power, but the scope of what they do and how finely keened their songwriting is this time around is what earned them the number one spot over bands that I might be a bigger fan of. So, it speaks very loudly that repeat listens to this album were able to sway me away from fine albums by band's I am more connected to. These guys were always ok in my book, and I enjoyed what they did, but this time they have taken it to the next level when it comes to the epic scope of the black metal they have created here
Abysmal Hymns: Black Anvil : "Regenesis"
4-Decapitated - "Cancer Culture"
When I first reviewed the Polish band's 8th album, I said this was top contender for album title of the year, which it still deserves, but I did not realize at the time how additional listens were going to high light some of the subtle details in the songwriting. With this album they blend enough groove to balance out the more technical elements of what they do. Not the most brutal when it comes to death metal, there is a fair amount of melody buried in the guitar with the drumming the most technical aspect of their sound. Considering the dude has been playing since he was 12 that makes sense. The vocals on a harshness scale falls somewhere near Sepultura. They are coarsely shouted more than growled in a guttural fashion, but they are not an afterthought and serve as a purposeful narrative to an amazing album.
Abysmal Hymns: Death is June - Decapitated : " Cancer Culture"
3-Wormrot -"Hiss"
Grind core is typically not my thing, though in saying that there are a few bands who incorporate grind core into their sound that I love, like Portrayal of Guilt and Nails. Singapore's Wormrot is one of the more polished acts in the genre, they also prove themselves to be one of the best songwriters as well. A great deal of credit goes to the vocals which use a chaotic variety of vocal colors. The penchant for hooky thrash influenced riffing plays hand in hand with this as well to create an album that is not only intense but worth countless listens.
Abysmal Hymns: Wormrot : "Hiss"
2-(16) - "Into Dust"
After 2020's "Dream Squasher" proved to be a slab of sonic devastation I am still listening to 2 years later, the bar could not be higher for this California band. The continued to bring it with this album firing from all cylinders with their foot to the gas of this tank. The weighty sludge rolls over you, but with a bit of swing and hook. There is more rock n roll flowing through their veins this time around. It is most commonly bled out on the frets of the guitars. Catchy song writing does not mean they are any less in your face or forceful in their intentions.
Abysmal Hymns: November is Doom- (16) : " Into Dust"
1-Hangman's Chair- "A Loner"
The French band's 2018 album took the top spot as the doom album of the year. Their reign of bleak continues, even though the more over metallic edges is dialed back. They make up for this is the mood they have captured which is as dark as the glory days of Katatonia. There is a driving riff when the opening track kicks in once the clouds of atmosphere have lifted. The lead single "Cold & Distant" is more accessible than anything we have heard from them thus far. Driving hooks with being too poppy. Songwriting is where they dominated and just because there is a more accessible slant to this album it is not a sign of weakness.
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