The Top 10 Doom Albums of 2022

We are still seeing who can take the slow burn of the world ending and 2022 offered no more hope than the previous year. We need music to match this feeling. I celebrate death, that is why I listen to doom. I mean the name of the genre says it all. If you are not down with despair, then get the fuck out of here. Ok now that that is out of the way, much like in years past sort through the genre lists before making the overall top ten of the year list. The fact these artists made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, 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. You can bitch and complain about your favorite band not being on the list. 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 do 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. Anyways here are the top 10 Doom albums of 2022

10-Candlenass - "Sweet Evil Sun" 

It is clear these guys are still master of the genre, that does not mean they are putting out the best doom music these days as the next 9 albums will attest, their original singer Johan returns with a lower grittier tone than the more operatic bellow of Messiah Marcolin. This gives the band a heavier more modern sound. Sometimes they easily live up to their legacy and benefit when they open things up and allow Johan to take on more of a croon.  Even when they color by numbers, they get the job done better than most, but not better than all..

Abysmal Hymns: November is Doom - Candlemass: "Sweet Evil Sun"

9-Mournful Congregation-The Exuviae of Gods-part 1" 

This Australian band is one of if not the best funeral doom bands. This set expectations high. I wanted a full length and got an Ep. One of song is a reworking of a song from their 1995, demo tape. Which was 27 years ago makes this for all practical purposes a new song. The first song is fourteen minutes long and the last is almost sixteen. With funeral doom it is easier to swallow since it's played at slower tempo the drone is in the hesitation. They do what they are great at I wish there was more. That is why it did not place higher. 

Abysmal Hymns: Mournful Congregation: " The Exuviae of Gods - Part I"

8-Sundowning- "In the Light of Defeat , I Cease to Exist " 

2022 was the year for atmosphere in sludge and doom, this German band meets at the crossroads of the two, there is a darker more mournful sound to the music and less of a punk rock aggression seething. The music often more minimal, under the growls that are traded off for actual singing. A beautiful album that is as sonically heavy as it is heavy metal.

Abysmal Hymns: Sundowning : "In the Light of Defeat, I Cease to Exist"

7-Famyne - "II-the Ground Below"

Candlemass pot the honorable mention slot this year, and truth be told these guys sound more like Candlemass than Candlemass did this year.  They do not dwell only on the past and care a great deal about the songs, with the help of very impressive vocal power, it all adds up to earn their place here. 

Abysmal Hymns: Famyne : "II: The Ground Below"

6-Shape of Despair - "Return to the Void" 

One of my favorite bands from one of my favorite sub - genres. They continue to not be bound within the confines of the sub-genre in terms of the sonic colors brough to the table in the song writing process yet are very consistent in being consistent for their fans. Sure, there is a doom gazing element to the ambiance, but this is a pretty stunning album overall.  

Abysmal Hymns: Shape of Despair : "Return to the Void"

5-Mother of Graves - "Where the Shadows Adorn" 

Emerging from Indiana of all places with some killer death doom. They find the right balance of death metal grit with the somber melodic nature of doom. The riffs are catchy and serve the songs, while trudging forward with the deep growl of the vocals continuing their narrative. There are some powerful doom-colored punches being thrown, though the mood is one of the most impressive things the guitars capture. They hold your own against icons of the genre like Paradise Lost

Abysmal Hymns: November is Doom- Mother of Graves :"Where the Shadows Adorn"

4-the Otolith-"Folium Limina" 

Made up of former members of SubRosa. They employ strings and folk inflected vocals. The drumming grooves and drones in equal doses to summon a dirge like quality as the storm brews. One of the key selling points is how the heaviness comes from the expressive drone of the atmosphere and hit you in that sonic sweet spot of the darkness making things heavy rather than just crunching out metal

Abysmal Hymns: November is Doom- the Otolith : " Folium Limina"

 

3-Dream Unending- "Song of Salvation" 

Progressive doom, with a mood more like funeral doom and plenty of shredding done in the most tasteful way.  They weave some really beautiful reverb-tinged guitar sounds that drift over lingering drums and a low guttural growl crawling under it all. Sumerland drummer Justin DeTore handles both the drumming and the vocals, show of not only impressive chop but manage to write songs that shimmer with dynamics.

Abysmal Hymns: November is Doom- Dream Unending :"Song of Salvation"

 

2- 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"

1-Hangman's Chair- "A Loner"

The French band's 2018 album took the top spot as 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.

Abysmal Hymns: Hangman's Chair : "A Loner"

Sundowning : "In the Light of Defeat, I Cease to Exist"

This is the year for atmosphere in sludge and doom, this German  band meets at the cross roads of the two, though just judging from the opening song, there is a darker more mournful sound to the music and less of a punk rock aggression seething under the surface so I am going to say this leans more in the doom direction but things could change after all this is just the vibe I am getting as I listen to the first song. The change the song takes is unexpected and further supports my doom theory. The music becomes more minimal, and the growl comes in. The sung vocals return as well, with a slightly different context. The second song finds it shifting into a more feral pounding of death doom. This changes as there is a weird vocal part that reminds me of Leonard Cohen , before it shifts to a more soaring climax. 

One thing I enjoy about this band are all the colors of sound they bring to the table. The song "A Prison, A Cage" opens with a more thundering stomp of crusty sludge riff then they float off into a more melodic place that reminds me of a heavier Woods of Ypres. The vocals are lower baritone than the singing we heard in the first song. After further listening I gain appreciation for the atmospheric guitar tricks that abound. The death metal vocals feel more doom as well.  "Armour of Indifference" is a turn to abrasive noise in how it churns. Spoken word comes int midway into this more experimental piece.  There is something unnerving and almost Swans like in how they go about this.   

For what they are doing here it is impressive that these songs all manage to stay under the ten-minute mark ,so they are never droning you to death. The last song lingers in the atmosphere. Of course when they build it up into a pounding that is more sonic than metal despite the growl of the vocals in the distance it is hitting my sweet spot. This is the most sludged out moment on the album as it is big and apocalyptic rather than despairing. They do not relent in this attack ,which is fine in the context of the album. The slow burn at the beginning of the song paid off/.  I will round this up to a 9.5, aside from the experimental song it is pretty much a perfect album, if you are looking for doomy music that is sonically heavy this is the album you have been waiting for.  

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