20.5: 2019 Best of Metal Review Guide (Part Two)
75. Exumer - Hostile Defiance
SCORE: 6.5
Genre: Thrash Metal
Label: Metal Blade
Place in Discography: Fifth album
Tags: Safe, Competent
Review: Exumer plays an aggressive form of thrash metal but they keep things interesting with lots of classic heavy metal melody. This album beat out the other thrash albums because it has great quality control with no filler and most of the songs have at least one memorable riff or movement. I don't even know if it is possible for thrash metal to progress or be any more interesting, but I did appreciate this album's variety and it was strong from start to finish.
74. Wristmeetsrazor - Misery Never Forgets
SCORE: 6.5
Genre: Metalcore
Label: Prosthetic
Place in Discography: Second album
Tags: Rager
Review: Holy shit this is a crazy album! Crazy short, crazy loud, crazy crazy. Very close to my favorite metalcore release of the year, "Misery Never Forgets" stumbles a bit with some questionable melodic elements, but really the band sounds best when they are going full steam ahead with metalcore riffing. The other elements didn't really work for me but the actual metal on this album is some of the best this year from the chugga-chugga realm of metalcore. When everything comes together on this record it sounds fantastic.
73. Cattle Decapitation - Death Atlas
SCORE: 6.666
Genre: Death Metal
Label: Metal Blade
Place in Discography: Ninth album
Tags: Safe
Review: I still can't wrap my head around how Cattle Decapitation became one of the biggest death metal bands in the world! It seemed to happen overnight for someone who hadn't listened to the band since their first album and of course this is the band's ninth album. This was at or near the top of a lot of best of lists, and there is definitely something accessible and mainstream about the band's sound. The vocals range from bottom of the grave cookie monster growls all the way to deranged wizard high register singing. The scoring for this came down to personal enjoyment; I can clearly hear that this is an album of impressive scope and accomplishment, I just didn't enjoy it as much as I "should" have.
72. Martyrdöd – Hexhammaren
SCORE: 6.666
Genre: Crust/Hardcore
Label: Century Media
Place in Discography: Seventh album
Tags: Rager
Review: I've been a moderate fan of the band's for a long time, and although I've been underwhelmed the past several albums, I'm always excited to hear their full throttle crust punk. This album felt like a big step up for the band in the songwriting department. The songs felt more interesting in general and the album was much less of a chore to listen to in one sitting. With "Hexhammeren", I even started it over and listened to it again! No real surprises, marginal growth, but the band still manages to get by on energy and passion alone. This album's stronger songs are a welcome bonus.
71. Cloak - The Burning Dawn
SCORE: 6.666
Genre: Black Metal/Heavy Metal
Label: Season of Mist
Place in Discography: Second album
Tags: Standout Songs
Review: Based on internet comments, this should be a guilty pleasure. Cloak plays a very recently popular version of "black and roll", a more melodic and mid-paced version of black metal riffing that is much more accessible and dare I say catchy. For only their second album, Cloak has absolutely nailed the style. The instrumentation and atmosphere is awesome and, somewhat surprisingly, the songs themselves are really strong. I can definitely hear the various influences being borrowed from a little too clearly, but that doesn't detract from the enjoyability of these headbanging songs.
70. Totaled - Lament
SCORE: 6.666
Genre: Thrash/Hardcore
Label: Profound Lore
Place in Discography: Debut album
Tags: Competent, Rager
Review: Mixed metal mania! An awesome debut album of thrash metal influenced hardcore with pretty much every other metal genre mixed in at some point. The intensity never lets up even as the genres blend together and the energy level matches what you'd expect from a band's debut. There are lots of punk/hardcore elements in the music but also the production, and the fact that the songs don't tend to drag on. Nothing crazy exciting or interesting but zero complaints about the songs themselves.
69. Mastiff - Plague
SCORE: 6.666
Genre: Hardcore
Label: APF
Place in Discography: Second album
Tags: Rager
Review: I tagged this as hardcore as opposed to metalcore because there is not really even an attempt to introduce much melody here. This is just sludgecore...or something nastier. "Plague" was one of the last albums I checked out from last year and even then it stood out for its heaviness and rage. I loved the almost frightening heft of these songs. Great quality control, eight strong songs that never wear out their welcome, including the epic closing track. We're getting very close to the best "core" album of the year. This Mastiff album will appeal to anyone looking to be leveled by rage.
68. Creeping Death - Wretched Illusions
SCORE: 6.666
Genre: Death Metal
Label: eOne
Place in Discography: Debut album
Tags: Safe, Standout Songs
Review: How can this be a debut album?! This is fucking awesome! A great meld of 90s death metal with modern touches, this is an incredibly solid collection of songs. I think the album was self-released because I did not hear a word about it. Luckily it was deservedly on a few best of lists. Chunky Bolt Thrower breakdowns abound but with a better variety of pace. Great production, too. What a debut.
67. Festerday - Iihtallan
SCORE: 6.666
Genre: Death Metal
Label: Season of Mist
Place in Discography: Debut album
Tags: Rager
Review: The last of the seven albums in my truly impressive "666 Pack", and somehow yet another incredible debut. Festerday's version of death metal is on the melodic side with lots of guitar interplay and memorable riffs. When the band explores more groovy hardcore influence metal, as in the above "Kill Your Truth" the results are really enjoyable, if a bit generic. This album gets stronger as it goes on and every song feels different enough to be necessary. I'll be enjoying this one for awhile and will be anxious to hear their followup.
66. Judiciary - Surface Noise
SCORE: 6.7
Genre: Hardcore
Label: Closed Casket Activities
Place in Discography: Second album
Tags: Rager
Review: Of all the old school albums on this list, I think this might be the oldest school. This is some seriously venomous hardcore punk...and it is actually interesting! Good riffs, good vocals, good rhythm section, and good quality control. Definitely the strongest entry in the hardcore realm in 2019 and highly recommended.
65. Abnormality - Sociopathic Constructs
SCORE: 6.7
Genre: Death Metal
Label: Metal Blade
Place in Discography: Third album
Tags: None
Review: Another album that far exceeded my expectations and earned a higher score because of it. I was expecting blasting techy death metal that went nowhere and I got blasting techy death metal that entertained the hell out of me. There's something pleasing about the medium level of technicality to the band's riffs. The songs are listenable and stand out among each other. I especially liked just how often the band was willing to switch up the tempo, keeping things interesting and showing off their ability without weakening the songs. This probably won't win any new fans to the genre but for an old head like me this was a seriously impressive album.
64. No One Knows What the Dead Thinks - S/T
SCORE: 6.7
Genre: Grindcore
Label: Willowtip
Place in Discography: Debut album
Tags: Rager
Review: This is the best grind album I've heard in years. No surprise the band is basically Discordance Axis 2.0. These songs are even better than the best DA songs. The production and instrumentation is truly incredible for a grind album - you can actually hear what is going on! And that's a blessing because between the end of the rope vocals, the warm and winding guitar riffs, and the varied and clear drums, I feel totally comfortable calling this a grind masterpiece.
63. Lice - Woe Betide You
SCORE: 6.7
Genre: Post-Metal/Avantgarde
Label: Season of Mist
Place in Discography: Debut album
Tags: Weird, Standout Song
Review: If the album at spot #60 wasn't coming up hot I might call this the weirdest album of the year. Let me be totally clear: I absolutely loved this album but I have no idea what the fuck is going on. This is the strangest collection of instrumental post-rock, atmospheric black metal, and whatever else the band feels like doing. I listened to this album at three in the morning and I was totally transfixed, especially by the above "Towards Reality" the centerpiece and high point of the album. It is so rare for me to like an album this odd and almost aggressively varied as I typically find the avantgarde tag obnoxious because I'm looking for stuff to headbang to. Whatever this album is, I loved it.
62. Borknagar - True North
SCORE: 6.8
Genre: Heavy Metal
Label: Century Media
Place in Discography: Eleventh album
Tags: Standout Songs, Cheesy
Review: I have heard Borknagar off and on for a long time but I was never a big fan. It turns out this album is sort of a controversy because it is almost 100% clean vocals and radio ready metal anthems. I didn't know to expect otherwise, and I found several songs on this album that were among my favorite of the year. Along with albums #61, #55, and #54, "True North" was on a separate list of albums with some of my absolute favorite songs that also had some songs I couldn't really stand. Made it much harder to rate versus an album of similar quality throughout.
61. Bask - III
SCORE: 6.8
Genre: Stoner Rock/Psychedelic Rock
Label: Season of Mist
Place in Discography: Third album (duh)
Tags: Standout Songs
Review: My god did this album stand out! Partly because it isn't really metal and totally snuck onto the list thanks to Season of Mist releasing anything awesome. This band is from Asheville, NC and they pay a really refreshing blend of psychedelic rock with a strong classic rock bent. The second half of the album has some weak songs but my favorite songs on this album will be on rotation for the rest of my life; amazing, catchy, memorable, earthy rock songs with a unique voice both literally and figuratively. I'm incredibly glad I heard this album.
60. Pensées Nocturnes – Grand Guignol Orchestra
SCORE: 6.8
Genre: Avantgarde/Black Metal
Label: Les Acteurs De L’Ombre
Place in Discography: Sixth album
Tags: WEIRD
Review: Here we go boys and girls, the weirdest album of the year. Circus Metal. Not something you knew you wanted but an absolutely welcome addition to the endless rolodex of metal genres. I'm not sure what pops into your head when you read the phrase "Circus Metal", but whatever it is, it is correct. This is a long, insane, and surprisingly tight collection of musical movements and moments that never feels overly silly or obnoxious. Which is just shocking. I was curious but wary to check out a well received album that had been described as Circus Metal and I was very well rewarded for giving this insane album a shot.
59. Gaahls WYRD - GastiR - Ghosts Invited
SCORE: 6.8
Genre: Black Metal/Avantgarde
Label: Season of Mist
Place in Discography: Debut album
Tags: Weird
Review: I knew nothing about this album going into it. I found out later it was the solo project of the longtime vocalist of Gorgoroth, another other bands. This is a strange album of mid to slow paced black metal tinged explorations in atmosphere. While the songs themselves didn't particularly grab me (as I said, they are weird AF), the album as a whole was a great listening experience. Lots of vocal variety, great production, and even the longer songs didn't feel plodding or monotonous. Great debut!
58. Destrage - The Chosen One
SCORE: 6.8
Genre: Progressive Metal
Label: Metal Blade
Place in Discography: Fifth album
Tags: Weird, Standout Songs
Review: Damn what a weird album. And of course it is the fifth album from a band I've never heard of. There is such a huge mix of styles I can't describe the album very well. I usually can't stand that method of metal, but the songs here are pretty awesome. There are still some really cheesy ideas that do not go over well, but more often than not I found myself entertained and curious to see where the songs would go next. I think this is a guilty pleasure because there are segments of this album that border on nu-metal, but really it is every rock genre at some point. Pretty cool and very strange.
57. Insomnium - Heart Like a Grave
SCORE: 6.8
Genre: Melodic Death Metal
Label: Century Media
Place in Discography: Eighth album
Tags: None
Review: When I saw this album on a lot of best of lists, I had never heard the band and was expecting funeral doom or something similar. Instead I got a gigantic album of melodic metal and post-metal heavily reminiscent of the first few In Flames albums, only even more melodic. Like most albums that were very popular this year, it is highly accessible and VERY polished. If you're looking for something melodic and easy to listen to, this is quite the album.
56. Cerebral Rot - Odious Descent into Decay
SCORE: 6.9
Genre: Death Metal
Label: 20 Buck Spin
Place in Discography: Debut album
Tags: Weird
Review: This album is NASTY. There is a grime and darkness covering these songs that gives them a sense of decay and distance...there are moments on the album that feel firmly planted in another dimension. The top fifty or so albums on this list are jammed with incredibly enjoyable but only slightly differentiable death metal, a lot of it with a strong old school bent toward chunky riffing and strange, squealing lead guitar. To be honest, a lot of them could be interchangeable if there was an objective way to measure to quality of the songs - but we had to go with a gut feeling and personal enjoyment, and although this is toward the bottom of the best, it is still one of the best.
55. The Great Old Ones - Cosmicism
SCORE: 6.9
Genre: Black Metal
Label: Season of Mist
Place in Discography: Fourth album
Tags: Standout Songs, Wall of Sound
Review: "Cosmicism" and the album next up at #54 had several of my absolute favorite songs of the year. I'm talking A+ level of enjoyment, come home from work and immediately put it one kind of thing. And both albums had songs that really did nothing for me. I decided to pair up the album along with one other as the gatekeepers to the scores at 7.0 and above, where the albums didn't necessarily have any weak songs and it came down to personal enjoyment. I absolutely loved the majority of this album, from the gigantic riffs to the Lovecraftian subject matter to the band's measured use of both atmosphere and aggression.
54. Spirit Adrift - Divided By Darkness
SCORE: 6.9
Genre: Heavy Metal
Label: 20 Buck Spin
Place in Discography: Third album
Tags: Standout Songs
Review: Outside of some weak vocal moments and a slight sag in the album's second half, "Divided by Darkness" is a fucking masterpiece of guitar rock. I hesitant to even call it metal because the band clearly wants to explore every style of rock in as little time as possible. A lot of the best moments are Iron Maiden style galloping instrumentals set to triumphant vocals and futuristic lyrics. There is some utter nonsense bordering on alternative rock that sticks out like a sore thumb, but I flat out cannot stop listening to the songs that I did enjoy. The band already has a new album coming out and it sounds like another wall to wall wash to riffs and power. Very much looking forward to it after this one.
53. Consummation - The Great Solar Hunter
SCORE: 6.9
Genre: Black Metal
Label: Profound Lore
Place in Discography: Second album
Tags: None
Review: Good lord this is a crazy album. I couldn't quite give it a 7.0 because it is still sort of a mystery to me, but I loved how loud and wild the songs here are. Oh, and long as fuck, too. I have NO IDEA what is in the water in Australia, but along with South America I'm consistently hearing the most evil and odd sounding music from there. "The Great Solar Hunter" has everything: a badass album cover and title, long and winding evil black metal songs that actually hold your attention, and of course tons of evil atmosphere. The atmosphere beautifully closes in on you as the songs wrap around like vines. Embrace the darkness.
Editor's Note: Over a hundred albums in and we are officially at the point in the list where I loved every album and they are simply competing against each other based on how much I enjoyed them and how likely I am to relisten.
52. Hate - Auric Gates of Veles
SCORE: 7.0
Genre: Black Metal
Label: Metal Blade
Place in Discography: Eleventh album
Tags: None
Review: I know from a ton of listening experience that when a band puts out their eleventh album, you aren't usually expecting the world. I haven't kept up with Hate over the years, but I have to believe this album is a stunning achievement for the band. "Auric Gates of Veles" is basically easy listening black metal. The songs are polished, professional, and well performed. The production, specifically the drums, is both crystal clear and hard hitting. An awesome collection of highly listenable and dare I say accessible black metal.
51. Cult of Luna - A Dawn to Fear
SCORE: 7.0
Genre: Post-Metal
Label: Metal Blade
Place in Discography: Eighth album
Tags: Wall of Sound
Review: In 2001, someone on a message board recommended Cult of Luna's debut album to me because they knew I liked the band Breach, one of the very first bands to mix hardcore and post-metal. I was very into the band for about three years, but the post-metal genre absolutely exploded during that time and became totally boring and I lost track of the band. They are still doing their thing with gigantic highly doomy post-metal songs, and to be totally honest I don't hear any remarkable difference here as opposed to their first album from eighteen years ago. In this case that is a great thing because this album is amazing, huge, and amazingly huge. Get a good pair of headphones and put this on while brushing your cat. It'll be a great time for both.
50. Altarage - The Approaching Roar
SCORE: 7.1
Genre: Death Metal/Avantgarde
Label: Season of Mist
Place in Discography: Third album
Tags: Wall of Sound
Review: Like tying a microphone to a rope and lowering it into the depths of hell. I made the horrible mistake of listening to this album in the middle of the night not once but twice and it was so fucking good I forgave the nightmares and cold sweats that followed. I'm just in awe of the band's ability to make nebulous chaos sound so good. The production helps, the album is crystal clear despite being encrusted in filth. I couldn't score this album any higher because it isn't something I'd put on very frequently, but when I do put this album on in the future it will continue to be a spiritual experience with the void, so I had to ensure it top 50.
49. Blut Aus Nord - Hallucinogen
SCORE: 7.2
Genre: Black Metal/Avantgarde
Label: Debemur Morti
Place in Discography: Fourteenth album
Tags: Safe, Standout Songs
Review: One of the longest running bands on this list and one with a gigantic discography I actually know pretty well. This album was exactly what I expected from the band as they continue to evolve and craft their signature sound, fourteen albums in. From start to finish I think this is the band's most accessible album, filled with melodic riffs and long sections without anything too abrasive. Fans of the band should be satisfied if not thrilled with the quality of the songs. Although I found a few tracks unnecessarily long, the vast majority of this album is quality songwriting that sounds fantastic. I don't even mind that the band is becoming more and more accessible if the songs are this good. Crazy to think I'm looking forward to their inevitable fifteenth album!
48. Gatecreeper - Deserted
SCORE: 7.2
Genre: Death Metal
Label: Relapse
Place in Discography: Second album
Tags: Safe
Review: I listened to this album countless times. It is such a satisfying collection of mid-paced death metal songs, highly influenced by hardcore punk. There is zero nonsense and the atmosphere is facilitated by the music rather than being a replacement for it. Although the vocals lack variety, it doesn't matter because of how powerful they are, and a perfect fit for the band's Bolt Thrower worship. A no-frills, no surprises, no problem album recommended to anyone who likes heavy music.
47. Whitechapel - The Valley
SCORE: 7.2
Genre: Death Metal
Label: Metal Blade
Place in Discography: Eighth album
Tags: Standout Songs
Review: I was so impressed by this album that I forgave some of the worst clean vocals of the year. There's nothing I hate more than shoehorned clean vocals in heavy music and this album is no different. That should show you how strong the songwriting and atmosphere is elsewhere on this album for me to score it so highly. I guess this is a concept album and the visual arts involved in the album art and the album's many music videos is pretty stunning, a great compliment to the music. I was not expecting such a polished collection of actual songs and "The Valley" stuck WAY OUT this year as a cohesive vision and successful statement. The clean vocals have GOT to go though.
46. Blood Incantation - Hidden History of the Human Race
SCORE: 7.3
Genre: Death Metal
Label: Dark Descent
Place in Discography: Second album
Tags: Weird, Standout Songs
Review: When an album comes out very late in the year and it is still on countless best-of lists, you know it is going to be special. How can a band be this polished and tight on just their second album? "Hidden History" is sci-fi death metal at its best, with lots of techy riffs, strange interludes, and of course all the bizarre subject matter you could ever want. At its core the album is still old school death metal, and it came down to personal preference for me that this album's long, harder to digest songs were just a little less enjoyable than some of the other death metal. I still listened to this album a lot, and will continue to do so...it was just that great a year for death metal.
45. Dawn Ray'd - Behold Sedition Plainsong
SCORE: 7.3
Genre: Black Metal
Label: Prosthetic
Place in Discography: Second album
Tags: None
Review: I'm an absolute sucker for this style of melodic militaristic black metal. Dawn Ray'd style and songwriting really shine on this album. Yes, we've heard all of this before over the life of the genre, but that doesn't mean this album isn't a beautiful listen from start to finish. The black metal riffs are a notch above average when it comes to both originality and listenability. I especially enjoyed how often the band broke things up with quality melodic interludes and movements. That stuff usually feels like an afterthought on a black metal project but here they felt like part of the songs, an acknowledgement from the band that you can't just pummel someone over the head and get the same effect. Dynamics, songwriting, interesting instrumentation - this album has it all plus relistenability.
44. Asagraum - Dawn of Infinite Fire 🔥🔥🔥
SCORE: 7.3
Genre: Black Metal
Label: Edged Circle
Place in Discography: Second album
Tags: None
Review: I had to score this the same as Dawn Ray'd because they had a similar impact on me as old school black metal albums that I kept coming back to. Asagraum's style of black metal is both mid-paced and mid-level of melodic. There are lots of relentlessly pounding sections but there are also "black and roll" choruses and some guitar interplay bordering on Iron Maiden style heavy metal. The vocals and drums are the only average elements to the music, everything else is top notch and the songs are highly enjoyable. I was seriously impressed by this album and need to purchase an actual copy for how much I've listened to it at this point.
43. Employed to Serve - Eternal Forward Motion
SCORE: 7.3
Genre: Metalcore
Label: Spinefarm
Place in Discography: Third album
Tags: Rager
Review: As I listened to all the metalcore albums on this list/ladder, it was always a countdown until I heard the first derivative song or riff that had already been done, and better, in 2000 when the genre was taking shape. Do not get me wrong, this album has tons of derivative moments and is still "just" a metalcore album. However, every song also has something unique in it. Every song has at least one moment that made me think, "Huh, that's better than some of the other shit I've been hearing." It kept moving up the list because of that.
42. Esoteric - A Pyrrhic Existence
SCORE: 7.4
Genre: Doom Metal
Label: Season of Mist
Place in Discography: Eighth album
Tags: Wall of Sound
Review: Luckily for me I have been listening to this band for years, so I knew what to expect going into this album. I think this is the longest album I've ever listened to, at almost an hour and forty minutes. That is completely fucking absurd and I absolutely hate the band for doing that, but I fucking LOVED this album. I dreaded listening to it for the first time in order to score it, I mean who has time for that shit, and wound up listening to it three or four times that week. It is so much better than a lot of the other doomy albums I heard this year and no one in their right mind would enjoy it.
41. Belenos - Argoat
SCORE: 7.5
Genre: Black Metal
Label: Northern Silence
Place in Discography: Ninth album
Tags: Wall of Sound
Review: As this fairly long album went on, I realized that it was holding the attention span of a dumb-dumb like me really well. It struck me that I almost never hear albums like this, with a medium amount of medium long songs. That made me see how good the quality control really was here, with the songs standing on their own and flowing well into each other. The production is clear, the drums are varied and never overwhelming, and there is a near constant entrance and exit of instruments, riffing with each other or simply appearing to color a moment. It feels like both professional and primal and basically impressed the hell out of me.
40. Vanum - Ageless Fire 🔥🔥🔥
SCORE: 7.5
Genre: Black Metal
Label: Profound Lore
Place in Discography: Second album
Tags: Standout Songs
Review: Vanum managed to just barely outdo Dawn Ray'd in the militaristic black metal genre this year. My favorite style of black metal played with impeccable skill, beautifully produced, filled with memorable riffs. For how incredibly old school the black metal on this album is, it still sounds fresh and relevant. I hurt myself badly headbanging to this album while doing the dishes. As the blood ran from my forehead into the sink and the crimson swirled into the clean dishwater, the savage drum beats raged on and I was as close as I'd ever come to the horrors of war. What a rush.
39. Essence of Datum - Spellcrying Machine
SCORE: 7.5
Genre: Instrumental Progressive Metal
Label: Season of Mist
Place in Discography: Third album
Tags: Standout Songs
Review: Jesus, this album is like Van Halen meets Iron Maiden. I was so into this album that I listened to the first half five or six times before I was finally ready to check out the second half. This band should change their name to "Riffs" and each album should be called "Riffs". There are moments of musical/mathematical perfection here that gave me chills. There are catchy moments, there are heavier moments, there are transitions that challenge the listener...and there are guitar riffs. Not that I want to mess with such a great sound, but this album especially made me wonder what adding a world class vocalist could do for the band's appeal. But for now this fucking rocks.
38. Haunter – Sacramental Death Qualia
SCORE: 7.6
Genre: Death Metal/Black Metal
Label: I, Voidhanger
Place in Discography: Second album
Tags: Weird, Wall of Sound
Review: After listening to this incredibly strange masterpiece of black metal oddness several times, I was pretty sure I had the band pegged as being from either Poland or Germany. When I found out they were from Texas I really, really lost my shit. One of most amusing aspects of this album is thinking that the people who made this straight-from-the-grave music probably have day jobs at Best Buy. The quality of this album is staggering when you consider the variety from start to finish, how many different tones and spaces the band explores, and all with at least some level of success. I knew the album was something special almost immediately but like most great albums it actually gets better as it goes on. I can't imagine this album going well with anything other than a great pair of headphones and an empty house because it really demands your full attention. Texas?!
37. Devil Master – Satan Spits On Children Of Light
SCORE: 7.7
Genre: Deathrock
Label: Relapse
Place in Discography: Debut album
Tags: Standout Songs
Review: Hahaha, holy shit, HAIL SATAN! Garage rock meets black metal. I assume the imagery and thematics are all for show because I would be afraid to know these people in real life LOL. Another debut that's so good I can't wrap my head around it. Song after song of catchy, memorable, and very hard edged "black and roll" or "deathrock" or whatever. To me, it is a punk album - and a truly incredible one at that. Variety, instrumentation, atmosphere, everything clicks pretty perfectly. The only thing holding this back for me was a fairly large sense of having already heard this kind of thing before, although not as well done over an entire album. Accessible and awesome, I could see this getting a lot of kids hooked on metal and SATAN.
36. Profanatica - Rotting Incarnation of God
SCORE: 7.7
Genre: Black Metal
Label: Season of Mist
Place in Discography: Fifth album
Tags: None
Review: I absolutely had to match this up with Devil Master. I liked them both equally (a ton) and they represent roughly the opposite sides of the satan spectrum within metal. Devil Master has fun with it, rocks out a bit, you can tell Satan is having a good time. With Profanatica, the devil himself suffers. And I mean that in the most beautiful way possible. This album is so dense and evil it demands your full attention, and listening to it becomes almost ceremonial. On top of all the fantastic satanic atmosphere, including the incredible cover art, we are treated to some absolute top tier black metal riffing and exploration. As you'll see, this is very close to being the best pure black metal album I heard all year, and that is truly saying something. STRONG B+, will probably wind up an A as I continue to listen to it even as we speak :)
35. Darkthrone - Old Star
SCORE: 7.7
Genre: Black Metal
Label: Peaceville
Place in Discography: Seventeenth album 👀💥
Tags: None
Review: Like Blut Aus Nord and Hate, Darkthrone seriously impressed me with an energetic and exciting album very late in a career. "Old Star" equaled Profanatica's album for pure old school black metal. As you'd expect for a review of a band's seventeenth album, I don't have much to say other than this is probably the band's best album in ten years and it is absolutely loaded with catchy riffs and well thought out songs. Anyone I'd recommend this to would already have it.
34. Nocturnus A.D. - Paradox
SCORE: 7.8
Genre: Black Metal
Label: Profound Lore
Place in Discography: Fifth album
Tags: Weird
Review: If you promise not to peek ahead, I'll tell you a secret: this album is like the baby brother of my #1 album of the year. It is filled to the brim with crazy ideas, riffy guitars, and atmospheric keyboards. The songs here are long, bizarre, and incredibly entertaining. By design, the whole production has an otherworldliness to it. It can border on cheesy but the songwriting quality keeps everything on solid ground. This is a comeback album from a rebranded group that I couldn't really understand the history of (typical) and that only added to my enjoyment. As enjoyable as it is weird.
33. Idle Hands - Mana
SCORE: 7.8
Genre: Heavy Metal
Label: Eisenwald
Place in Discography: Debut album
Tags: Standout Songs, Cheesy
Review: When I saw this album plastered all over best-of lists I assumed it was doom metal or some sort of modern metal wankery. Instead, it is one of the catchiest albums of heavy metal I've heard in years. A mixture of NWOBHM guitar interplay and early 80s goth-rock melody and atmosphere, "Mana" is a near perfect blend of light and dark. It is depressed but triumphant and my GOD are the melodies catchy. Can you imagine in this day and age having a hard time picking a favorite song on an album? As a debut, as a callback to classic heavy metal, and as a suggestion of an even better version of modern heavy metal, "Mana" is pristine and incredibly powerful. This album is probably the most accessible on this list, and unless the (relative) cheesiness bothers you as a metalhead, I can't imagine not finding something to like here.
32. Monolord - No Comfort
SCORE: 7.8
Genre: Doom Metal/Stoner Rock
Label: Relapse
Place in Discography: Fourth album
Tags: Standout Songs
Review: While I was probably crying while listening to quite a few of these albums, this is the first one that I recall bringing me to tears. There's something incredibly beautiful in the band's fuzzed out stoner rock, and I really appreciate that the songs go melodic places that the serviceable but flat vocals cannot. The guitar solo and refrain on the above "The Last Leaf" brings me to my knees with power and emotion. For a band that so fully embraces the most classic elements of the stoner genres, the songs on this album still felt somehow unique and powerfully memorable.
31. Immortal Bird - Thrive on Neglect
SCORE: 7.9
Genre: Death Metal/Metalcore
Label: 20 Buck Spin
Place in Discography: Second album
Tags: Rager, Standout Songs
Review: I fell in love with this album the first time I heard it. After two or three listens, I thought of it as the best metalcore album of the year and one of my favorites over all. Great cover art, a title that may or may not reference my favorite Starkweather song, a frankly stunning array of metal stylings all done with passion and precision...it had it all. There came a point during a repeat listen at basically the halfway point of the album, a breakdown section in the middle of the above "Avolition", where it really sunk in for me just how good this album is. I'm so glad the band is on 20 Buck Spin, because I know this is going to reach all the diehard fans it needs to. They are from Chicago and I'm hoping for a chance to see them live eventually. Incredible album.
30. Obsequiae – The Palms Of Sorrowed Kings
SCORE: 7.9
Genre: Folk Metal
Label: 20 Buck Spin
Place in Discography: Fourth album
Tags: Weird, Standout Songs
Review: OK, 20 Buck Spin is just on a roll at this point. "Palms" is one of the most listenable and interesting albums of the year. The band has really polished instrumentation but the songs themselves have an endearing primal and aged feel. As far as variety of tone and songwriting, this album gets an A+. The songs flow beautifully from acoustic minstrel passages to melodic black metal to baroque interludes. When a band tries to throw this much stuff together it is usually a mess, but listening to this album is a cohesive and meaningful experience.
29. Urn - Iron Will of Power
SCORE: 8.0
Genre: Thrash Metal/Black Metal
Label: Season of Mist
Place in Discography: Fifth album
Tags: Rager, Standout Songs
Review: Yet another album I listened to countless times that just kept moving up the list. Urn's style of thrashy black metal is definitely more on the straightforward and melodic side, as in the downright catchy "Malignant Strange Vision", linked above. The measured balance between aggression and melody in the band's songwriting and instrumentation took me by complete surprise. It is so rare for this style of metal to remain interesting over the course of an entire album but the song quality on "Iron Will" is so incredibly high that the album feels short at forty minutes, and I was left wanting more. I highly recommend pairing this album with exercise, cleaning, or competitive gaming :)
28. Tomb Mold - Planetary Clairvoyance
SCORE: 8.0
Genre: Death Metal
Label: 20 Buck Spin
Place in Discography: Third album
Tags: Weird, Standout Songs
Review: Absolutely unreal old school death metal with just the right amount of modern technical/progressive touches. By design, this album sounds like it was made by an alien race with some seriously fucked up intentions. There is a tremendous mix of moshy breakdowns, old school speed riffing, and weird atmosphere. Although the second half of the album is a slight letdown, the best tracks here are A+ territory. Interesting, memorable, and catchy death metal in 2019. I saw this album frequently paired with Blood Incantation at the top of many best of lists, and of the two I felt this album had the better collection of songs.
27. Fetid - Steeping Corporeal Mess
SCORE: 8.0
Genre: Death Metal
Label: 20 Buck Spin
Place in Discography: Debut album
Tags: Weird...really weird
Review: My favorite album title of the year LOL. The incredibly stiff competition in the death metal category continues, and I paired this with Tomb Mold because they both had a similar mind-bending sinisterness. Oh, and they are both fucking incredible. Fetid adds a lot more dissonance and horror to the mix, along with a dash of weird that was likely unmatched this year. I was really impressed with the dynamics of the songwriting on this album: tempo changes, solos, and of course lots of from the depths riffing. The fact that this album is not even close to the best debut on this list is unbelievable and a great sign for the future of metal. 20 Buck Spin does it AGAIN.
26. Dreadnaught - Emergence
SCORE: 8.1
Genre: Post-Metal
Label: Profound Lore
Place in Discography: Fourth album
Tags: Wall of Sound, Standout Songs
Review: I wish I could have squeezed this into the two 25 because it was one of the most interesting and unique albums I heard all year. So close! I would describe the band's sound as post-metal because there is a lot of wall of sound guitar fuzz and moody atmosphere, but they actually do have a sound all their own. Seriously awesome hardcore style screams, actually in key clean vocals, and a long list of "guest" instruments create songs that are both interesting and powerful. The long songs held my interest and impressed me with lots of serious instrumentation, but it was the vocals that made this album special for me. The variety and quality of all the vocals on this album puts it in a special class. I'm sure it is way too weird for most people but I can guarantee it doesn't sound like anything else you've heard.
TOP TWENTY-FIVE
25. Abyssal - A Beacon in the Husk
SCORE: 8.2
Genre: Death Metal
Label: Profound Lore
Place in Discography: Fourth album
Tags: Wall of Sound
Review: Holy shit. I truly believe if you listen to this album loud enough you will open a wormhole into another dimension. I came as close as I could several times and absolutely melted my brain...and I loved every minute of it! "Beacon" is a hulking colossus of an album. I hesitate to even call this death metal because clearly it comes from a place far beyond death, past human understanding. The fact that human beings created it while here on earth is baffling. I would absolutely recommend this incredible album to my worst enemy. Close your eyes and see.
24. Downfall of Gaia - Ethic of Radical Finitude ❓❔❓
SCORE: 8.3
Genre: Post-Metal
Label: Metal Blade
Place in Discography: Fifth album
Tags: Rager, Wall of Sound, Standout Songs
Review: It took me a few listens but I came to love this album's mix of first wave screamo and first wave post-metal. There are so many awesome headbanging screamo sections of rare emotion that take me right back to being sixteen and getting into heavy music in the first place. The band explores countless styles and moods here, all with great success, but the searing emotion never wavers. And like the best albums of both genres, listening to the album becomes a cathartic and powerful experience. Something bigger than enjoying the songs and nodding your head, although I did that as well. This likely would have been my favorite album every year from 1999-2009.
23. Yellow Eyes - Rare Field Ceiling
SCORE: 8.4
Genre: Black Metal/Post-Metal
Label: Gilead Media
Place in Discography: Fifth album
Tags: Weird, Standout Songs
Review: Like most stuff Gilead Media puts out, this album was a complete surprise. Otherworldly old school black metal meets equally strange ethereal atmosphere. It sounds like a chore but the songwriting and instrumentation is incredible and the songs hold your attention despite being long and winding. There are big sections of the album that are just purely impressive black metal, and while all of that is awesome it is the other touches that take the album from great to one of the best of the year. A real listening experience filled with unique ideas.
22. Periphery - IV: Hail Stan
SCORE: 8.4
Genre: Progressive Metal
Label: Century Media
Place in Discography: Fourth album (heh)
Tags: Weird, Standout Songs
Review: I had never heard this band before and when I saw that they looked like they were 16 years old, I was very concerned for my first listen. I noticed the album was long as fuck, with a seventeen minute opening track and my heart sank even more. I decided I'd put the album on as I was falling asleep to get the ball rolling and wound up absolutely entranced from start to finish. I still cannot wrap my head around the amount of depth this album has. I tagged it progressive metal but there are songs that are pure emo bordering on pop and none of the metal is too crazy aggressive. What I'm trying to say is this is normally the type of thing I would absolutely despise. Instead, the album nearly cracked the top 20. Probably the most impressive album last year - not my favorite, but an almost shocking achievement.
21. Vitriol – To Bathe From The Throat Of Cowardice
SCORE: 8.5
Genre: Death Metal
Label: Century Media
Place in Discography: Debut album
Tags: Standout Songs, basically the definition of a Rager
Review: Damn, this is one of the most aggressive albums I've ever heard. The songs are technical death metal with some seriously high intensity guitar riffs. If you watch live/playthrough videos, the main creative force of the band plays guitar like he's choking the life out of it and it is a thing to behold. This album is such a chaotic experience that it demands multiple listens...a difficult ask considering the level of intensity. At first I found the album a little too noodly and pointless, for lack of a better word. On repeat listens, standout riffs and moments took shape and I enjoyed the album more and more. Yet again, a debut album that feels like a band at peak performance.
20. Allegaeon – Apoptosis
SCORE: 8.5
Genre: Progressive Death Metal
Label: Metal Blade
Place in Discography: Fifth album
Tags: Standout Songs
Review: I started attacking 2019 albums in alphabetical order, so I've been listening to this album for almost six months now and I'm still not sick of it. This was absolutely the best progressive or technical metal album of 2019, with a nod to my #4 album that is a bit of both but neither. I was a little surprised to see this was the band's fifth album - I'd never heard of them - but I was shocked to see them were from Fort Collins! "Apoptosis" is filled with metal variety but the band's main focus is fast, technical melodic metal. This is a very polished and modern sounding album, and even the death metal growls border on easy listening. There is a lot on paper I would never go for, but the songs are SO strong, with memorable moments and quite a few jaw-dropping musical movements. This feels like close to the height of the genre for matching catchy riffs with technicality.
19. This Gift is a Curse - A Throne of Ash
SCORE: 8.6
Genre: Hardcore/Black Metal
Label: Season of Mist
Place in Discography: Third album
Tags: Rager
Review: "Throne of Ash" impressed me with its intensity and overall composition. The album flows beautifully from one song into the next, and every song has a great sense of dynamics. There is nothing boring or self-indulgent here - it feels like a communion with the listener, or some sort of necrotic rite. I was absolutely not expecting the quality of the "post-" elements on this album. Spacey guitars, brooding atmosphere, and even some hardcore style breakdowns all color the band's black metal sound and make for interesting, enjoyable, and seriously evil songs. A fantastic and cohesive listening experience from start to finish.
18. Ceremony of Silence – Oútis
SCORE: 8.6
Genre: Death Metal/Black Metal
Label: Willowtip
Place in Discography: Debut album
Tags: Rager, Standout Songs
Review: I heard so much dissonant "blackened" death metal this year, and a huge percentage of it sounded like Immolation, to varying degrees of success. I was already a little annoyed with Willowtip when I got around to listening to this album because a lot of their releases in 2019 were 2001-era tech death metal that sounded like a million other things. Then this album completely knocked me on my ass and I didn't know what to think anymore. Yes, Ceremony of Silence is still firmly in the category of 2010's dissonant Immolation-meets-Portal death metal category. However, the songs on this album are actually unique enough and varied enough to SOMEHOW come through as memorable - something almost unheard of for this style. I listened to the album many times just to make sure I wasn't imaging it. There are no weak songs here, there is no filler, the band never seems to noodle for noodling's sake. Awesome.
17. Enthroned - Cold Black Suns
SCORE: 8.7
Genre: Black Metal
Label: Season of Mist
Place in Discography: Eleventh album
Tags: Standout Songs
Review: I had very low expectations going into this, Enthroned's eleventh album. I hadn't kept up with the band, but I remembered them as playing a fairly boring and thudding style of black metal. Either I had the wrong band (there are so many "En-blanked" bands in metal) or this is an incredible creative height for the band. "Cold Black Suns" is an epic album of textures and temperatures. The songs range from thrashy rock to old school black metal to ultramodern post-metal instrumentals, and everything sounds great. Not only do the individual songs stand on their own, the album feels like a complete thought and is a real journey to undertake. I don't know if I have to go back and listen to the band's ten other albums more closely now, but I will be listening to "Cold Black Suns" for years to come.
16. Ossuarium - Living Tomb
SCORE: 8.7
Genre: Death Metal
Label: 20 Buck Spin
Place in Discography: Debut album (seriously?!?)
Tags: Standout Songs
Review: Thank god we're almost done with this list because this is getting ridiculous. Another incredible death metal debut and yet again 20 Buck Spin knows what's up. This album is so old school and so competent and professional that I have very little to say about it. As another online reviewer said, the band doesn't try to reinvent the wheel, they just use the wheel in a more successful way than almost anyone else. I loved everything about this album, the songwriting quality is so incredibly high. Zero frills, all enjoyment.
15. Venom Prison - Samsara
SCORE: 8.7
Genre: Death Metal
Label: Prosthetic
Place in Discography: Second album
Tags: RAGER
Review: Angry, angry young people. Following up Ossuarium, this is a completely different take on death metal. Venom Prison incorporates elements from both hardcore and heavy metal in their thrashy death metal stylings. The songs here are an incredibly enjoyable compromise of simplistic aggression and technical exploration. In addition to the fiery and rhythmic vocals, the star of the album is the dual guitar interplay. Here there is a completely unhinged willingness to incorporate any and all genres of heavy music on the fly, never at the expense of the song's energy or purpose. Listening to this album in the middle of the night with no frame of reference, I became an instant fan of the band. With a little research, I was glad to see they may be poised to be one of the next big things - and with an album like this they definitely deserve it.
14. Funereal Presence – Achatius
SCORE: 8.8
Genre: Black Metal
Label: Sepulchral Voice/Anja Offensive
Place in Discography: Second album
Tags: Weird, Standout Songs
Review: The fact that one guy played every instrument on this album is absolutely absurd. "Achatius" is one of the best black metal albums I've ever heard. The album is four really long songs in just under fifty minutes, and each song has countless riffs and movements. The music ranges from straightforward old school black metal blasting to bizarre atmospheric instrumentals and everything sounds fresh and unique. The album felt unique in a year loaded with cool black metal. Memorable, weird, and very impressive for a second album.
13. Батюшка – Панихида (Batushka - Requiem)
SCORE: 8.8
Genre: Black Metal
Label: Spieratz/Self-Released
Place in Discography: Second album
Tags: Wall of Sound, Standout Songs
Review: More easy-listening black metal! There is a great sense of melody and purpose to the atmospheric and choral black metal here. The music is crystal clear even at its most chaotic. For the most part the songs are very melodic new school black metal with a massive Gregorian chant influence. The more melodic and reserved sections of the album are especially enjoyable; the songs absolutely nail the light/dark, loud/quiet dynamic within themselves and from song to song. I found myself putting this album on time and time again because of how accessible and layered it is, and I expect it to be a gateway into metal for a lot of people because of that.
12. Witch Vomit - Buried Deep in a Bottomless Grave
SCORE: 8.8
Genre: Death Metal
Label: 20 Buck Spin
Place in Discography: Third album
Tags: None
Review: We are getting so close to the top of the list, and old school death metal perfection continues to come into form! Along with my pick at the #9 spot, Witch Vomit gets extra points for succeeding despite a truly horrible band name. I was already getting over the band name when I saw the haunting (and RELATIVELY unique) cover art, and by the time the album was over I was like, "Hey, "Witch Vomit" isn't such a bad name!" No, but the album is fucking awesome. Again, there is absolutely nothing new here. Instead, what makes the album exciting is the level of precision bordering on perfection with which the band delivers moment after moment of headbanging delight. I feel spoiled that, for how much I loved this album, there eleven more I loved as much or more. Sorry, I just had to work the word "love" into a review for a band called Witch Vomit as many times a possible. Witch Vomit? THIS vomit!
11. Coffins - Beyond the Circular Demise
SCORE: 8.8
Genre: Death Metal
Label: Relapse
Place in Discography: Eighth album
Tags: Standout Songs
Review: Coffins plays an ultra-old school style of simplistic death metal with a big nod to hardcore and thrash. I always considered this band to be one of the most straightforward artists in the genre, so imagine my surprise when, song after song, this album caught my attention with unique moments and riffs. I think it is precisely because the band has such an old school feel that when they throw in a weird or off-meta moment it hits that much harder. Not to mention the band has a very consistent and talented ability when it comes to their foundational death metal. This album also had my favorite drums of the year, with a kick drum like a horror movie heartbeat that informs the dread of the music for the duration of the album. I can't imagine ever tiring of these songs, they are that solid. Great to wash dishes to...IN HELL.
TOP TEN
10. Abbath - Outstrider
SCORE: 8.9
Genre: Black Metal
Label: Season of Mist
Place in Discography: Second album
Tags: Standout Songs
Review: What made this album for me was the lead guitar. The songs themselves are already strong, polished modern black metal tunes with TONS of memorable melodic moments. But when the lead guitar takes over, time and time again the songs are elevated to something special bordering on pop-rock catchiness. That makes this some of the most listenable black metal I've heard, it is a genre that is known for being difficult to listen to. "Outstrider" has no weak songs, only good songs and great ones. The only thing it is lacking is vocal variety, and to be fair the vocals don't live up to the music. It doesn't really matter in the end though, because the instrumentation and production on this album is so varied and enjoyable. At #10 we have a highly listenable and VERY consistent collection of black metal bordering on "black and roll" with absolutely fantastic guitar work.
9. Pissgrave - Posthumous Humiliation
SCORE: 9.0
Genre: Death Metal
Label: Profound Lore
Place in Discography: Second album
Tags: Wall of Sound, Rager
Review: There is an H.P. Lovecraft story about a guy who, night after night, is drawn by some strange force to a deserted and forgotten crypt, often sleeping outside and longing to crawl inside the tomb itself. "Posthumous Humiliation" was my deserted crypt. Night after night I came back to this album to further decipher its hideous and decayed code of madness. I've been a death metal fan for more than twenty years and there is nothing I like more than an album that scares the shit out of me. There were long periods of working on this guide where this was my favorite album of the year, and it only fell a few spots in the final shuffle when taken in totality against the works below. This will join a list of albums where, if you like it, you're automatically a cool person. It's fucked up, disgusting, hard to hear and a truly moving listening experience.
8. Mylingar – Döda Själar
SCORE: 9.0
Genre: Death Metal
Label: Amor Fati/20 Buck Spin
Place in Discography: Third album
Tags: Wall of Sound, Rager
Review: "Döda Själar" (Dead Souls) is almost unbelievable. The monolithic and truly frightening swirl of death metal chaos Mylingar brings forth here is so impressive that the sounds sort of transcend music and take over your entire sensory perception. What is even more unbelievable is how frequently the band incorporates memorable and melodic touches into songs that might otherwise be unrecognizable. That songcraft set this album apart from so many other atmosphere-soaked death metal albums, creating a much more interesting listening experience. The depth of dread and darkness here is something to behold, if you can be sure you'll make it back.
7. Cloud Rat - Pollinator
SCORE: 9.0
Genre: Hardcore/Grindcore
Label: Artoffact
Place in Discography: Fourth album
Tags: Weird, Rager
Review: There was a period of time in this project where I got completely stuck checking out new music because I just kept listening to "Pollinator". I really didn't think a "core" album could be this interesting. Every chance the band has to do something generic or boring, they do something unique and captivating. "Captivating" was my keyword for this album after many relistens. The immediacy of the music is too powerful to ignore. Unlike most grind-adjacent albums, the songs on "Pollinator" never blend together thanks to memorable riffs and some seriously odd instrumentation and atmosphere. On top of being a near perfect hardcore album, that strangeness puts it in a class all its own and made it stand out as one of the best of the year.
6. Wallowing - Planet Loss
SCORE: 9.1
Genre: Doom Metal
Label: Black Voodoo/Sludgelord
Place in Discography: Debut album (wow)
Tags: Wall of Sound
Review: A debut album that sounds like the earth being set ablaze and destroyed by an invading alien race. From what twisted corner of hell did this album come from? England, it turns out. I first listened to this album while cleaning the bathrooms of the condo we were preparing to move out of. Our cat had just passed away and I was at an extreme low point. As is always the case, music made me feel better - specifically having some miserable company in the form of this INCREDIBLE album. With a name like Wallowing I was expecting one-man lo-fi black metal. Then I saw the album cover and figured stoner rock. Obviously the band wants people to be confused because the album itself is a somewhat confusing but always fascinating mix of the deepest, darkest of doom metal and up-tempo death metal breakdowns...not to mention ambient and atmospheric touches that serve to make the already gigantic sound even bigger. I was just blown away by the quality of this...for a debut album the band displays an enormous amount of confidence in their truly unique sound.
5. Rotting Christ - The Heretics
SCORE: 9.2
Genre: Black Metal/Heavy Metal
Label: Season of Mist
Place in Discography: Thirteenth album
Tags: Standout Songs
Review: I have not entirely kept up with Rotting Christ, but I wasn't surprised to see this was their thirteenth album. About twenty-five years ago my friend Dustin and I got a huge kick out of their name and logo; they were in a metal label mailer alongside the doom band Eyehategod and those two band named amused us to no end. I had no expectations going into this album and it wound up setting the competition ablaze on its way to the #5 spot. The foundation of this album is headbanging guitar riffs and solos. Nearly every song has a truly standout moment that makes you stop what you are doing to check what the song is called. For many of them, it is a guitar solo, as in the above "Fire God and Fear". By the way, I hope you like those three things because they are the only lyrical themes on this album. For how long they have been going, it is no surprise the band's production is crystal clear and that the instrumentation is on point. But it was a huge shock that the songs - all of them - are so good.
4. Hath - Of Rot and Ruin
SCORE: 9.3
Genre: Death Metal
Label: Willowtip
Place in Discography: Debut album (ARE YOU KIDDING ME?)
Tags: Standout Songs
Review: It is truly unfair that this is a debut album. Unfair to other musicians and likely unfair to the band because how can they possible top this? The songs on this album are so tight and coherent that they defy reason. I became numb to forgettable death metal as the year went on, so this album not only overcame that numbness, it raised the bar so incredibly high for any other bands trying to merge technicality with melody...and memorability. Now there still isn't much here you could hum in the shower without getting seriously dizzy, but the band delivers memorable songs in a different way, with standout riffs and truly jaw-dropping transitions, as in the above "Currents". The song opens with an almost Arabic acoustic guitar passage before taking us through a funhouse maze of wild and winding guitar riffs. Without warning, the chaos ceases and the acoustic guitar returns for a measure before morphing again. There are quality songwriting touches all over this album that you flat do not expect from a death metal album. It lost out to #3 because #3 is an easier and more straightforward listen, and it lost out to #2 because #2 is somehow even bigger and more impressive, but it is hard for me to call this anything but a perfect album.
3. Vastum - Orificial Purge
SCORE: 9.4
Genre: Death Metal
Label: 20 Buck Spin
Place in Discography: Fourth album
Tags: Rager, Standout Songs
Review: "Orificial Purge" has basically my favorite everything. It has my favorite metal album format, with a small amount of medium-long songs. It has my favorite vocal style for death metal, which is lots of variety and lots of at least suggestions of melody. Vastum has two lead vocalists, both with distinct styles and deliveries, and the melodic tinge to vocalist/guitarist Leila Abdul-Rauf's performance was my favorite vocal performance of the year. The songs are literally the best mid-tempo death metal I think I've ever heard, and going back to listen to the band's previous albums, I'm at a total loss as to how the band is not more successful. The songs are accessible and catchy and have a unique atmosphere and tone. This was one of the first albums I heard last year, and the YouTube algorithm absolutely loves Vastum, so I've probably listened to it close to a hundred times at this point. Six perfect songs - an album I'll be listening to for the rest of my life.
2. Devourment - Obscene Majesty
SCORE: 9.9
Genre: Death Metal
Label: Relapse
Place in Discography: Fifth album
Tags: Wall of Sound, Rager, Standout Songs (somehow)
Review: The entire top twenty-five is full of albums I loved and will buy immediately if I see them in person. As the competition got almost interminably close in my top five, it came down to semantics. Vastum's "Orifical Purge" was the album I most wanted to shout about from the rooftops due to its accessibility and perfection of a style. My eventual album of the year was my personal favorite and the album I listened to the most, what I'd call the most enjoyable album. But Devourment's "Obscene Majesty" was the best album of the year. Why? Because I firmly believe in my heart that you cannot top this album within its category. When you compare the band's intentions to what they accomplish on this album, there isn't even a sliver of doubt that they destroyed expectations and likely made void the entire genre of brutal death metal simply by succeeding to such an extent. The juxtaposition of the nastiness of this album and my schoolgirl level of fandom for it amuses me to no end. What I learned from listening to this album countless times is that it goes with any mood, every song is incredible, and somehow, someway, these distortion drenched industrial explosions are all recognizable and memorable. The riffs...my god, the riffs. Lots of bands do the slow-fast dynamic thing fine, but on "Obscene Majesty" Devourment explores tempos and instrumental interplay to a whole never level. These songs lurch, lumber, crawl, and inevitably collapse onto themselves. There was no other experience like "Obscene Majesty" in 2019, and the only bad thing I have to say about this perfect album is that it will be impossible to top.
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
1. Mystifier – Protogoni Mavri Magiki Dynasteia
SCORE: 10.0
Genre: Black Metal
Label: Season of Mist
Place in Discography: Sixth album (First in eighteen years!!!?!?)
Tags: Standout Songs
Review: I can't believe we made it. Six months, hundreds of hours, 155 albums reviewed and rated, well over 200 listened to, and we have a winner. I first heard this album on Youtube around 2AM and by 3AM I had ordered a CD for my car. The more I listened to it, the more it moved up the list. About a month ago, with this album holding fairly firmly around the #5 spot, I was lucky enough to get roped into taking my wife antiquing. That meant time enough to listen to this album three or four times in a row while waiting for her in the car, and by the time we had arrived home I was sweating bullets thinking about moving it all the way up to #1. The reality was, I had to. This was my favorite album of the year, it was the album that impressed me the most, and I feel it is the best collection of songs, actual songs, in years. The guitar riffs on this album are all over the place but they are awesome. The drumming is incredibly varied and the inclusion of timpanis adds to the epicness on a number of occasions. The band's lead vocalist also plays bass and keyboards, and when the band plays live he somehow does all three at once. Again, impressive. While I loved the instrumentation and production on this album, what pushed it over the top to the #1 spot is the songwriting. The guitars, drums, keyboards, vocals, interludes, intros, outro - everything is expertly crafted and seamless. It is a no-brainer to create a flawless and tight album of say, highly technical modern metal. But to create a flawless and tight album of strange and varied symphonic occult black metal? That's something I had not come across until "Dynasteia". Now I have, and unfortunately for all over artists, 2019's album of the year is going to be my new yardstick for metal songwriting, varied instrumentation, and simple pure enjoyment of listening. This album means the world to me and I'll never stop listening to it.
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