Formed by Bolt Thrower vocalist Karl Williams and Benediction bass player Frank Healy I do not have to tell you what kind of music this is. The second song is heavier but falls along the lines of what you expect from the genre, where the guitar does more interesting things sonically on the more melodic opening track. War and conflict are the album's theme, which finds them not straying far from what Bolthrower was about. "I am the Enemy" takes a more deliberate approach, though three songs in none of the riffs have been too reliant on speed. There is a more ominous mood here which I appreciate. It took a few listens for the song itself to sink in. There is some rather dense chromatic riffing as the song progresses.
The occupy a sonic space that splits the difference between Slayer and Sepultura on " The Conflict is Within". Guitar melodies balance themselves out with pretty powerful chugging. Being veterans of classic bands, they are going to be highly skilled at what they do. Former English Dogs / Morrissey drummer Spikey Smith is on the kit for this one and proves he is into metal just as much as punk. By the fifth song I found myself having to go back and untangle what I heard as many of the songs begin to sound the same. The snarled vocals play into this to some extent. They are good at what they do, what they do just happens to work off of a very single shade aggression.
The driven riff that powers "Allis lost" is cool, but is anything new really going down here? The title track is catchy in its own way, especially when it comes to the coarse chant the song builds into. the main riff is pretty a typical colored by the more solemn melody that haunts it. The last song gives things room to breathe with the syncopated crunch. I will give this a 9, since it is so well done, there are not any songs that are ineffective, but just how fresh of a take on the genre is this? I guess it makes an attempt to fill the void left by Bolt Thrower, it drops February 3rd on Reaper Entertainment.
This German metal band marries the lumbering crunch of sludged-out doom with crusty punk attitude.This album was teased as early as 2019 so it has been at least 4 years in the making now. Some of the angular twists and turns the riffs make show their more dexterity-induced sense of adventure. The production of this album works well and is very natural in how the sounds are captured. They have a prog-like sense of wonderment when the songs sprawl out. Their fifth album took five years to bring to fruition, so every note is well thought out. The vocals are more sung than just yelled. Thought that changes on the more abrasive and aggressive title track. Things get crazy as far as where the song goes. Not what I would expect from a German band.
"Black Mother" finds the rough sonic crust edged on their brand of stomping sludge. Sludge has always been doom for punks and this album is another example of this. They are capable of summoning some creepy sounds, but it is just one color these songs are painted with. "Afterlife" takes three and a half minutes of atmosphere to build up into the metal driving the song. It rumbles in a pretty straightforward fashion. Even these more meat and potatoes moments of burly excess, as bookended with enough sonic emotion to balance it out. The riff going into "Universal Mother" has a darker doom like mood. It converges into a more head bang inducing groove. It feels more like "Souls at Zero" era Neurosis, with the creepy moodiness making it one of the album's best songs. The flowing arrangement to this one has a superb sense of dynamics.
The surreal dissonant blend of sounds that has proved to be this band's strength is further built upon with "Dog Headed God" even though it is more straight forward doomy rock. There is a 70s psyche rock feel to this. The strummed clean guitar used to create tension is very effective. While some of these occult flavor desert rock sounds are familiar, they are given a unique spin into the shadows of this album. After the first two minutes of noisey ambiance the song actually kicks in. There is a proggy King Crimson like cadence to the verse that leads into the song, with the vocals chanting more. It evolves into a more doom like drone with the mood almost like goth rock with the funeral feel of the organs in the background, Artfully capturing sound but less captivating in terms of song structure. I will give this album a 9.5, and see how it grows on, but it captures a unique mood to be sludge. This album is being dropped on Exile on Mainstream January 27th.
It is that time again. Here we take a look at the worst albums of the year. They come from various genres no one is unscathed... punk, metal, noise, prog , pop and hip-hop all released stinkers. One of the things that made rap great in the 80s and 90s was rappers calling each other out for being whack. It provided a form of quality control. Now people have grown too sensitive for that kind of hard truth. There are those who would argue this is all subjective, but music is something that can be defined in technical terms, as well as artistic, how does it hold up over time. Chances are if it is hard is get through one listen it is not going to stand the test of time. Most of these albums it was hard for me to write a full review of as I could not listen to the album as a whole and had to skip around to try to find something to worthwhile to listen to. Sure, some of these might have sold a ton of album but the Fast and Furious movies are garbage in terms of storytelling, so the sheep are not a great barometer. So here are the top ten worst albums of 2022
10-Coheed & Cambria-" Vaxis – Act II: A Window of the Waking Mind"
This piece of garbage sounds more like Michael Jackson meets Meat Loaf than any of the prog emo from their Myspace glory days. the over produced vocal layering only makes this worse.
23 Producers and 37 songwriters made this album, to give some perspective Pink Floyd's "Darkside of the Moon" album only had one additional songwriter outside of the band, which was the guest singer on "the Great Gig in the Sky" and 3 be assisting in engineering and mixing. You would think this assembly line of songwriters would have to make a flawless product. There is little substance when it comes to songwriting. I think if it was cut down to one album, they might have had something more fun without being dragged down from the boring drones of spoken word. Some albums grow on you with time, this one got worse.
This Polish post-punk project is very experimental. The percussive elements they are using over the drone of the opening track creates an unsettling mood. They make some interesting almost jazz inflected choices when it comes to the guitar under it all. In other words, this is not your typical band of Joy Division wannabes. By the end of the album the minimalist drone is pretty boring and vocals grating.
This Philly band reminds me of a punk version of the earliest version of Faith No More, as their singer has a singer cadence to his voice. The guitars are closer to indie rock in their jangle than punk. The vocals are a chaotic howling. Abrasive noise begins to win out, these kids are still more of a punk band when they do this. I am less impressed by this and more annoyed. The album proved to be one that I had to force myself through.
6-Bob Vylan- "Bob Vylan Presents The Price Of Life"
This odd British duo has a great deal in common with Death Grips. The first song is hip hop and they seem to have more to say in that mode than when they are trying to play punk. On "Take That" he just sounds stupid trying to take cracks at Elvis. Dizzy Rascal certainly did it better. That is even with Strange Bones contributing bass. To their credit they do not have a whole team of producers to make this, though it is more lo-fi than that Kendrik Lamar album. This album runs out of gas early on and proves they are a one trick pony.
The fact this band is on the Flenser was enough to make me want to check them out. They are a project from Brooklyn. They refer to themselves as black metal and in some way, this is true if you are thinking of what black metal out of Brooklyn might be prone to sound like. there is little that can be regarded as a song or music, there are abstract sounds being tortured. In scoring this album, I have to consider what is music and are they making it. If you like droning abrasive noise, then this might click with you, depending on what drugs you are doing at the moment. There is really nothing here that touches upon what I listen for in music
While there are three other albums that are worse than this one all for different reasons, when I started to review this album it felt like a waste of my time, it took 45 producers to write 12 songs for her, and then there are zero hooks on this, it's a jumble of awkwardly rapped verses with a little bit of soulless singing tossed in that forms nothing memorable. There are those who will say, well she should not be judged because she presents something that people need...blah blah blah. The bottom line is if you are selling music, what you represent does not matter if you are selling product of such inferior quality 45 producer can't shine your shit., this could be number one since it is a marketing machine vomiting out what is the problem with society
3- Ghost -" Impera"
I liked the Swedish band's 2010 album "Opus Eponymous". It felt like they were ripping off both Mercyful Fate and Blue Oyster Cult with their wanna be Satanic rock. Sadly the three albums that followed each got more watered down. The rock elements slowly faded into something that sound more like Abba meets Aldo Nova. They kept the same image in fact milked it as a cash cow. Are they selling more albums now? Yes, but the "Fast and Furious" movies rake in cash and are mind numbing in their vapidness. This album doesn't offer much more hope. It is hard to imagine that there will be an album worse than this in terms of lack of originality, sometimes it is to the point of stealing. Anyone who thinks this is metal, has proven to be they do not know shit about shit and their mind would be better flushed down the same toilet this album belongs in
Originally used as part of an art installation, the rule here is we are just listening to how the song stand on their own, when you strip away any pretenses that are attached to them. The theme is the inspiration taken from images of gargoyles that were left battered from World War I, given how things do not change and the locations of this kind of destruction simply relocate then it is a fitting theme for 2022 am a fan of Galas, but this is a trip to a museum that turned out to be an abstract haunted house. You might feel compelled to listen to this for an experience, but these are not songs that you will want to listen to more than once and even then, I had to break them up in ten-minute intervals to avoid the tedium, so based off songs and measuring this album against the standards we have for songs
This album could have had the few hipsters who are still pretending to be into metal, licking their porn staches. The first track is not even a song but feedback and noise. If it had not been for them blasting into business by the second song, then I would have questioned why I had wasted my time with this and to be honest, with the kind of grind core chaos that goes down on the second song I am still not sure this was a good decision on my part until it was to find a album worse than the new Ghost. This is for a different reason. You see Ghost cares too much about their songs so they are slick enough for the balls to fall off of them and become pop. These guys are just fucking around not even getting to songs, there are a few grooves that click together on the second song, but by and large I am not sure anyone knows what the other is doing
At the end of the day...year these are the albums I listened to the most. The reason that makes these the best is because I listened to over 2000 albums this year and these are the ones that endured the influx of new music that hit My inbox every morning and made me want to hear them again and again. Yes, this is the culmination of all the other lists done up to this point for other blogs and was refined down to this master list of all genres. So here ya go...
10-Vision Video- "Haunted Hours"
Athens based band won a spot on this list due to the catchy and melodic nature of what they do drew me in for more repeat listens. They remind me of the Twilight Sad, so I am fine with that. They are also huge fans of the 80s and pay homage while crafting wonderfully infectious songs.
One of my favorite singers of the past decade, I breathed a sigh of relief when I pressed play and found this album is another step into the darkness instead of taking a poppier turn. This time rather than taking everything on herself she worked with producer Randall Dunn, and former David Bowie drummer Matt Chamberlin. With each album she has become ore sure of herself as a singer and the songs continue to soar with the benefits of this.
Releasing album 13 at the ripe age of 73, Ozzy is holding up better than expected, especially when you consider the tour cancelling issues of the past few years. This album has less of a pop sheen and feels more like a rock record than "Ordinary Man". He brings Zakk Wylde back, along with Toni Iommi, Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. So, the big guns of rock guitar. They helped him crank out a batch of songs that I have not heard him get as catchy since "Ozzmosis"
Here is how punk should be done. Bleak and grim. It is brought to you by Noah Landis of Neurosis and members of Asunder and Dystopia. The songs deal with the impending apocalypse the world is heading toward. Dark and tense as post punk, but it has the middle finger pointed at the sky as punk should. An aggressive drive not unlike Black Flag with burning chug infusing the guitars. Thought at times they back off to create more of an atmosphere that is more Post-punk, which has always been one of the under currents that influenced Neurosis, but it fits into the cross roads where early punk came from and lines of sub-genres we define music now by where not yet common place. An album you can just leave on an let play.
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.
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.
Here is an album that grew on me with each listen. In some ways this is a Bush album in name only, as Gavin Rossdale is the only original member. It does still retain the gritty grunge feel of their 90s work. This band came across as a less of a band wagon jumper in their prime and had an emotional grit that told me Rossdale had deep personal wounds he was processing through his music. At the same time, he had record companies breathing down his neck and pressure on his to get radio hits. He has delivered more solidly than most of his peers from this era have yet to
Thankfully this Belgian band is back. I was a big fan of their last album. This time around they are leaning more into the atmosphere set against a bigger more rock like sound as the Bjork like quality still lingers in her voice. It can be hard to define what they are doing here, though at their core this is shoe gaze with a post-hard-core punch. This is run through a filter of matured songwriting. It is this song writing that earned the number one spot because not only is this the best of the shoe gazing album released this year, but these songs stand up against albums of other genres as well.
This French hard-core band is ready to live up to the anticipation for their newest album bringing all the explosive energy and urgent emotional catharsis. The shouted vocals are very serious even though their anguished screams at time sound more like punk than what we think of as hard core today, but the term hardcore, used to be hard core punk, and this is a good example of what that is, while not just sticking to the most commonplace blueprint. The sonic passages, feel more like what screamo bands have been doing over the past twenty years. Even in the fact of all the intensity they are expelling in these outbursts, they have still crafted dynamic, melodic songs. The nuanced interplay between the bass and drums, proves what great musicians these guys are. They do not need mathematic acrobatics but work of jerking grooves. This album is a must for anyone who wants emotional hard core with a sense of adventure
Imagine a pop album not overrun by an assembly line of producers and outside songwriters. Taylor has got you covered with that. Having started off as a musician and song writer before fully wading into the pop waters, she has an advantage over her peers with whom she shares the radio waves. Taylor continues to excel while making music in a genre that normally vomits up disposable jingles for audiences who fall for anything sold to them, so imagine pop music with some thought behind it, what a concept. She writes great songs with clever lyrics which carries an infectious nature that found her beating out everyone else.
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.
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
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.
They are one of my favorite metal bands, so the expectations are high. The first song is more of a spooky intro with enough metal to foreshadow what is to come, which is these guys rocking the fuck out with a pretty powerful title track. A great deal of it is dressed up like Spirit Halloween on drugs. They are really coming with the fucking riffs here. There is more of a sludge feel to the wall of guitars that empowers the songs though the overall tone is darker and more aggressive than their previous album.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
They crash right into the first song which is a mid-paced rocker with a big chorus, not unlike what they did on their previous album. For Jonas the verse in in a slightly lower register than where he normally sings. I like this approach as it carries a little more heft. Is it the hookiest song they have done in the past decade? No, but it works for what it is. I prefer the darker heavier mood to "Colossal Shade". This album is not at all produced like a metal album. This can really be felt on "Opaline". There is some interesting jazz like layers of guitars, blended with a wide scope of electronic sounds. This is clearly more of a progressive rock album and thankfully falls on the darker side of that genre.
"Birds" marks the second time I had to pause this album to see if I had left Pat Metheny playing in another window of my computer. It is somewhat upbeat with the kind of atmospheric nuance that a Pat Metheny fan might also mistake for the jazz icon to be noodling in the background. "Drab Moon" is the kind of classic melancholy we have come to expect from the band post- "Night is the New Day". "Author" builds off a similar mood, with more of a straightforward rock dynamic. Many of these songs took repeat listens to fully ingest everything that is going on here, the more power ballad like "Impermanence" being one of these songs that a few listens to wrap my head around. Jonas doing different things with his voice and the moody phrasing of the band swirling around him.
Every album has found the sound of this band progressing. This album marks another noted changed though a logical stepping off point when you consider the guitar heroics that could be heard on "City Burials". "Sclera" simmers on a more reflective tone that is perhaps more familiar than not. "Atrium" is one of the few straight forward rock tracks. It is no surprise this was one of the album's lead singles. It's more upbeat than the bulk of the album. The more progressive direction is even more obvious amid the groove of "No Beacon to Illuminate Our Fall". I am fine with this more progressive direction when it comes coated in slithering darkness like it heard on "Absconder" I will give this album a 10 as it finds the band evolving even this late in their career. This drops on Napalm Records January 20th
Pop speaks for itself. This list once includes hip hop, since that is basically what it has become. As a whole pop music has become a shit show, you have 40 producers working on one album and they are still recycling sounds from other artists. These albums broke from that factory of sounds and tried to do something different. 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. Perhaps 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 Pop albums of 2022
10-Pale Waves- "Unwanted"
My not so guilty pleasure band who pretty much falls in line with Chrvches in the frame of my listening habits. Even though this is more of a teenage angst ridden pop punk album it still holds plenty of common ground with their previous albums. More guitar driving the bigger hooks this time around. She does a really good job of harmonizing her vocals on the emo power ballad feel of these songs
I have not reviewed a great deal of hip-hop this year as the bulk of it has been garbage. However, I was really looking forward to this album and finally tracked it down, it came out without a great deal of fanfare. The first track is poppier than I expected with Snow singing more than rapping, though she does cut loose in a few places. The album is laid-back but really well done.
In a world where hip hop tends to take itself too seriously someone this ridiculous is needed to parody it. His voice is not drenched in effect and auto-tune, and he puts words together in a clever manner than puts himself ahead of the bulk of the industry. The Swiss born rapper tend to make a train of thought wish list for the kind of bitch he needs, which is pretty fun.
The thump of this album is pretty on point for what this artist does. She fuses future pop with dark wave, it has been a minute since I have given any of her work a listen as despite the goth trappings, she is pretty sugary sweet. Despite owing a huge debt to the 80s I think it works better than most of what is on the radio these days
This Finnish band gave themselves wide breadth to thrive in 2022. It is amazing for a band that has been around since 1994. Their singer does not sound 43. The symphonic elements are still in play and it's clear they do what Maneskin tries to do a great deal better.They have perfected the pop side of what they to and creates infectious songs that do not feel lost in the 90s.
You got to love a band that refuses to make the same album twice. This time they are veering off into more of a 90s electro pop sound in the vein of bands like Curve. The vocals purr over the bass driven grooves, while they shadow of the core sound have not fade but give room for upbeat pulse of the song. Fans of the band will embrace the new sounds.
Quirky British pop singer Charli XCX is back. This time she is showing us that she makes an album with a half dozen less songwriters and producers than the likes of the Weeknd or Lil Nas X . She does continue a slick 80s retro path and I am not sure any of the songs strike me as bumping as hard as she did on "How I'm feeling now". She has a knack of riding the beats with odd chanted vocal lines and they tend to grow on me.
Kennedy Ashlyn's former project Them Are Us Too were one of those bands whose influences they were paying tribute to was so apparent, in their case the Cocteau Twins, that if you are a fan of the said band then you welcome them. In the case of the Cocteau Twins they are not making any new music so I would welcome a band that was filling that void for me. There is a hint of that influence still lingers, but she has come into her own artist under the SRSQ moniker. Even more so with this album. She is no longer basking in ethereal darkness and stepping into an 80's themed neon. The brighter tone of the album still works and finds this to be a monument of growth for Ashlyn
After 18 years the silence has been broken. The duo that comprises this band went through their individual stressors that almost brough them to an end before they finished with the album, they began working on back in 2013. The record label pressure the band to work with younger artists, however they had the integrity to say " no, fuck that this doesn't sound like Tears for Fears. Sounding like Tears For Fears does not mean they are trying to recreate "Songs From the Big Chair", they pick up where they left off by venturing into folk and other dynamics.
Imagine a pop album not overrun by an assembly line of producers and outside songwriters. Taylor has got you covered with that. Having started off as a musician and song writer before fully wading into the pop waters, she has an advantage over her peers with whom she shares the radio waves. Taylor continues to excel while making music in a genre that normally vomits up disposable jingles for audiences who fall for anything sold to them, so imagine pop music with some thought behind it, what a concept. She writes great songs with clever lyrics which carries an infectious nature that found her beating out the likes of Tears for Fears, who was great but perhaps not as inspired.
These albums are not aggressive enough to be metal. They do have more balls to them than the ones on the rock list. Ok now that that is out of the way, much like in years past I 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. 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 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 hard rock albums of 2022
10 -Infected Rain - "Ecdysis"
Some of this bands heavier elements are negated by the poppier hooks, this band from Moldova blends the elements well. This is their 5th album, so they have perfected both their melodic side and their denser more aggressive one. Bands like Jinger and Spirit Box have made impressive names for themselves by creating similar sounds. These kids have a more symphonic thing going that owes more to Within Temptation when she soars into clean vocals.
I was at first reluctant to cover this album as the buzz around it was this was some kind of Christian metal. I did some research and found that she is just in recovery, so all the religious trappings are not based in formal Christianity and lyrically it is just based in metaphor. While she does lay it on thick with the gospel influence and blues swagger. This is poppy hard rock, not far removed from say the Pretty Reckless sonically.
This band features singer song writer Joshua Strachan of Vaura. They infuse post-punk and goth atmosphere with the anthemic kick of hard rock. Working of a tension that is a subdued calm before the storm piece that feels more like an intro than what unfolds on the palm muted clouds gathering. To be a band from Brooklyn it is impressive that they are not so concerned with trying to be cool that they forget to rock out and even throw some guitar solos in.
Every metal band likes to go into the press gauntlet before releasing an album and tell them how this is going to be as heavy as one of their really heavy albums or it's their heaviest album yet is also another classic. None of these are close to true when it comes to the new Slipknot. They try to resurrect their classic sound at time completer with dj scratches. But Vended does Slipknot heavier, however these guys are better songwriters. It is clear they are doing what they set out to do even if there is some misdirection regarding what that is. They are still nu-metal but happen to be a band that proves nu-metal is not limited to ADIDAS flavored rap metal.
One of the few big commercial radio rock bands I have listened to. This is due to the fact their sound owes as much to Judas Priest as the nu-metal they came from. Everything is a huge anthem for these guys. They are great at this return to form that puts them head and shoulders above most of their peers
This Portland duo creates dark and driving rock that works of mesmerizing melodies. The drumming is influenced by metal, though the overall sound while ominous not broods more than it gets in your face. At times they conjure a retro-metal witchy feel that makes me think of the Devils Blood. The drummer really loves her double bass, which keeps trying to pull the songs in a more metal direction where the atmosphere of the vocals and guitar want to pull it back in a more 90s goth path.
Was not expecting this album to carry this kind of dark dense metallic crunch they pack here. The high thin reedy treble of the vocals feels like a mix of Billy Corgan and Tom Petty. This album rocks if you are into melodic grunge tinted hard rock with metal moments
Their last album was great, I am not sure how they are going to meet such a high bar. They choose to do it by getting a great deal heavier in the riffs department. They still have catchy choruses thanks to the croon of the strong baritone vocals. These arena rock anthems knock it out of the park, with bigger production value.
These guys made the Skid Row album that Skid Row should have made. Brandon Yeagley is not paying tribute to Sebastian Bach, but he captures his spirit much better than Skid Row's most recent singer. They play a style of high energy hard rock, that gives ample balls to the guitars. This album rocks to its own beat while bringing familiar sound of the era it pays homage to.
Here is an album that grew on me with each listen. In some ways this is a Bush album in name only, as Gavin Rossdale is the only original member. It does still retain the gritty grunge feel of their 90s work. This band came across as a less of a band wagon jumper in their prime and had an emotional grit that told me Rossdale had deep personal wounds he was processing through his music. At the same time, he had record companies breathing down his neck and pressure on his to get radio hits. He has delivered more solidly than most of his peers from this era have yet to
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