Top 35 Album Of The Year 2022
Just my favorite ones in ranked order. |
| 1 |  | In Aphelion
Moribund
In my opinion this is the ultimate melodic black metal album. Two Necrophobic guys started In Aphelion as a project and they show that they are pretty damn masters in metal music. The duration of Moribund is 1 hour long but it feels much shorter. Production is clean & crystal clear to highlight the precision of the music. Highlights are for sure the excellent guitar leads and an overall fun heavy metal feeling. If a metal fan who isn't into black metal has to listen to only one black metal album, then it has to be this. It is also very accessible. |
| 2 |  | Birds in Row
Gris Klein
The first listens were okay and left me thinking that i don't need to revisit this album. A strong wish to come back to it came out of nowhere and let me instantly fall in love with it. Birds In Row changed their direction slightly with every album. It was an constant and impressive development which is now peaking in Gris Klein. Production and songs are so dense and tight. |
| 3 |  | Scarcity
Aveilut
Scarcity are mixing totalism drone with black metal vocals and spirit. Aveilut is existing as a one and only 45 minute song which is digging into your deepest and then holding something tight there until your listen is over. Because of records like Aveilut music means the world to me. |
| 4 |  | VR Sex
Rough Dimension
High class post punk gothic hymns for everybody. |
| 5 |  | Devil's Witches
In All Her Forms
A wonderful doomy and psychedelic trip through the occult. |
| 6 |  | Sum of R
Lahbryce
Experimental wall-of-sound metal sounding like Cult Of Luna went maniac. Fantastic and haunting vocals. |
| 7 |  | Black Fucking Cancer
Procreate Inverse
Devastating, relentless and sludgy black metal. This record is a merciless and intense listen. |
| 8 |  | Aeternam
Heir of the Rising Sun
Masterful orchestral and proggy death metal. |
| 9 |  | Gaerea
Mirage
Never thought that Mirage will climb up my charts this high but i find myself listening to Mirage over and over again. Its production is too compressed which is a shame because Gaereas approach to black metal with longer post metal-ish songs needs air to breath. Besides that con the band steps up with this album to the biggest names in modern black metal. It is not a spectacular album but a very confident and therefore very strong one. |
| 10 |  | Show Me The Body
Trouble The Water
Exciting, noisy, emotional and highly accessible post hardcore. I am sure that this will slay live. Show Me The Body chose to sound raw like they are a noise rock band and buddies in Soul Glo while staying post hardcore especially because of that awesome angry spoken word vocals. My only complaint is that the album is so easy to understand and not in a single way challenging. Usually i need this in music. |
| 11 |  | Gehenna (USA)
Negative Hardcore
This is a phenomenal comeback album. Gehenna are a hardcore legend and Negative Hardcore comes as a big surprise. The band didn't lose a thing on it. This is furious muddy blackened hardcore at its best and my timeless genre favorite of 2022. |
| 12 |  | Imperial Triumphant
Spirit of Ecstasy
This album sounds like a soundtrack of an old occult satanic movie. The band has a cinematic eye while creating music and you can hear that again on this record. It is a little bit different than its predecessor with creating a better hypnotic flow which shows what this band is capable of at the highest level of musicianship and creativity. This is my most compelling and outstanding listen in 2022. |
| 13 |  | Fleshwater
We're Not Here To Be Loved
Some Vein(.fm) guys are playing a post-hardcore, alternative metal, grunge, 90ies-whatever mix which triggers your emotions. This is wild, creative and inspiring music. |
| 14 |  | Ellende
Ellenbogengesellschaft
Beautiful austrian post black metal. Most of its time you can call it blackgaze also. Ellende did a great job on being melancholic and harsh at the same time. Production is awesome from sound to artwork. A suprise of the year for me. |
| 15 |  | Long Knife
Curb Stomp Earth
Portland is a great place for music. The hardcore punks Long Knife returned with a new album after a very long time which brings legends like Poison Idea to mind. Curb Stomp Earth is a tight punk masterpiece with a lot of surprises like horror-synths, a jazzy horn, some rock'n'roll and metallic stuff. Oh yes, for sure this is one of the greatest punk records of the year. |
| 16 |  | FJORT
nichts
German post hardcore with great variety. It will grow on you. |
| 17 |  | Ultha
All That Has Never Been True
My favorite band delivers an album which came as an surprise for the world on 1 april. You find all the strengths of the band here again. Ultha never did a mediocre album. All of them are highlights which makes a ranking hard to handle. |
| 18 |  | Pestilength
Basom Gryphos
Totally underrated record. This is fine and twisted death metal but production is a little bit too melty. |
| 19 |  | Ashenspire
Hostile Architecture
Totally awesome avantgarde metal with a black metal spirit which sounds like nothing else. Ashenspire created a raw and artistic experience of extreme music here. The atmosphere is intense, dark, depressive and kind of angry. |
| 20 |  | Brutus (BE)
Unison Life
Unison is another masterpiece of Brutus. Brutus should be the darlings of everybody who is into guitar driven music. Guitar tone and the fantastic vocals are sounding unique again and better than ever. What a lovely and passionate record. Unison Life sounds less wild and post hardcore than its predecessor and leans probably more towards alternative rock. |
| 21 |  | Persefone
Metanoia
Persefone always had been an exciting and excellent band. Their death metal driven progressive metal reached a new peak of quality with Metanoia. This album is like a compact journey and offers so much variety with its complex songstructures. Can listen to this all day long without getting bored just a second. It is a challenging listen. |
| 22 |  | Darkest Era
Wither On The Vine
An album for metal lovers. Totally fine metal mix which flows so well over its full duration. The vocals are awesome and the music itself could please heavy and black metal fans as well. It reminds me of a way more friendly version of Primordial. You can listen to this all the time and in every mood. |
| 23 |  | Chat Pile
God's Country
Sick and intense record noise metal record. I especially love the down tuned guitar sound and the emotional vocals. This has to be ranked high because of its creativity. Nothing sounds like Chat Pile in the wide world of music. |
| 24 |  | Asunojokei
Island
Fantastic post black metal with a blackgaze and post hardcore edge. You have to listen carefully that this long record can grow on you. A true genre gem. Do not overlook this. |
| 25 |  | Temple Guard
Spear of the Revenant
Not so known band but their Spear Of The Revenant must be heard! This is insane straightforward bolt thrower-like metalcore into your face. What a fun listen. The songs are hardcore-short for this kind of stuff which is great and shoots aggression on point. |
| 26 |  | Wilderun
Epigone
Yes, probably it is true that Epigone could be an album by Opeth before they became an all-in prog band. But does this matter? No, because Opeth never did that album. It is Opeth fiction! Wilderun have created one of the most beautiful and literally breathtaking metal records i have ever heard. They did it cleverly with adding a lot of artrocky and dreamy moments to their delicious prog metal. I can imagine the album has too much of perfection and pathos for some listeners. But music is a question of taste. |
| 27 |  | Petrol Girls
Baby
Disappointed at first listens because i thought this sounds too clinic and one dimensional and i missed the beloved spoken word and screamo influences of their previous two albums. But I was wrong. The now more straight songs of Baby fit perfect in these hard times of life that are straight into your face, too. Baby shows a more focused (on rage) side of the band without losing interesting breaks and lines to shout along with. Maybe the best Petrol Girls album. |
| 28 |  | Straw Man Army
SOS
Brilliant DIY-Punk with a lot of post punk, energy, groove and creativity. |
| 29 |  | OFF!
Free LSD
The hardcore punk supergroup releases their (late?) masterpiece after 8 years without a tone. Free LSD adds complexity and jazzy interludes to their sound bringing a band like Fucked Up to mind. This album rocks so hard and intelligent while bringing an old school and modern sound together. |
| 30 |  | Falls of Rauros
Key to a Vanishing Future
Falls of Rauros are an underrated band. How long will that be? Everyone who likes progressive metal and tolerates black metal vocals and a folky edge should listen to them. Maybe their songwriter lacks on creating highlights which makes it difficult to let this record grow on you. I especially love the earth warm production and this undeniable groove you will found after a few spins. So much is going on on this record. Love it. |
| 31 |  | Piri Reis
Ritma
I am a huge screamo fan and Piri Reis had one of my very favorite bands of this genre since their start. Ritma is their debut record and they totally delivered. Maybe their songs are a little bit tighter here than their previous ones which makes them losing a little bit of the jazz. |
| 32 |  | Rigorous Institution
Cainsmarsh
Original-sounding and exciting genre mix which combines crust-punk and black metal in a way that you have to think of the 80ies, UK sound and a long forgotten anarcho spirit. |
| 33 |  | Final Light
Final Light
The songs a bit too similar to rate this higher but overall this is a great atmospheric and unique album. Synths are epic and sounds like an movie soundtrack. |
| 34 |  | Just Mustard
Heart Under
Shoegazy pop (?) music with heavy noise and industrial beats in the backround. This is not so obvious pretty heavy music. |
| 35 |  | Yeule
Glitch Princess
Most real cyborg music ever made. |
| 36 |  | Kekht Arakh
Pale Swordsman
OUT OF THIS LIST:
This is a release of 2021 but it was re-released 2022 by Sacred Bones Records. As an album of 2022 it probably would be my number 1 of the year. Kekht Arakh is a ukraninian black metal one man show and holy lord, this man is a genius. Pale Swordsman is full of superhits and short but beautiful instrumentals. And it is that the accessible songs are as touching as the intrumentals are. For that there is an highly effective use of a piano or keyboard sounds. Pale Swordsman is packed as a personal and fragil lo-fi recording with an iconic artwork. 5 out of 5. |
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