#10)
Rezn-Calm Black Water
Chicago-based stoner quartet, Rezn, follow up 2017’s Let it Burn with a sophomore effort illustrating a maturation in the group’s songwriting abilities. Rezn implements a jam-oriented sound with sprawling tracks seemingly influenced by nostalgic, groove-based psych rock with just enough fuzz in their tone to appeal to modern audiences as well.
#09)
Conan–Existential Void Guardian
The self-proclaimed pioneers of the “Caveman Battle Doom” genre are at it again. Conan returns for a fourth LP and it as absolutely crushing as any fan of the genre would hope. Existential Void Guardian finds the UK-based trio experimenting with faster, punk-drive tempos while remaining true with the unmatched heaviness of their earlier works and the results are absolutely filthy.
#08)
Vein–Errorzone
Local metalcore act finally Vein unveils the debut LP everyone was waiting for. Errorzone maintains polished production with unhinged instrumental insanity channeling even the likes of Iowa-era Slipknot or early Mudvayne with just enough modern flavor to win over fans of acts such as Code Orange, Knocked Loose, and so on. I have followed this band since they first stormed the scene with their demo about five years ago, and since then the Massachusetts hardcore scene has waited with great anticipation to see what this young act would evolve into.
#07)
A Pregnant Light–Lucky All My Life
The Michigan-based artist known as “Damian Master” maintains a tendency to flawlessly blend opposing genres in mysterious ways throughout all of his projects. For those who have been following this blog since the beginning, I did a piece a few years back praising a record Master had released under the Askumite moniker titled Rubber Room. I was heavily impressed by the way the record presented a hardcore punk sound with enough elements of black metal to make the record unique and more engaging. With his latest offering, listeners find Master this time revisiting the surname A Pregnant Light; illustrating a similar reunion of black metal and punk in what has been self-described as “Purple Metal.” Lucky All My Life features blackened post rock with aggressive, punk-like moments any fan of aggressive music is sure to love.
#06)
Bloodbath–The Arrow of Satan is Drawn
For those unfamiliar, Bloodbath is an insanely heavy Swedish death metal supergroup featuring members of Opeth, Paradise Lost, Craft, and Katatonia.
While most of the bands listed have been or are heavy in their own right, Bloodbath serves as an outlet for each respected member of more traditional death metal that makes up for its lack of experimentation with crushing brutality. With Mikael Åkerfeldt on vocals, it almost seemed like the answer for old Opeth fans that were upset with the group’s previous decisions to abandon all traces of heaviness in favor of becoming a Dream Theater clone. After Åkerfeldt’s departure a few years back, it seemed Bloodbath was no more. That is until Paradise Lost‘s Nick Holmes took over the helm.
The Arrow of Satan is Drawn is Holmes’ second LP fronting Bloodbath and perhaps serves as the strongest written release in the supergroup’s entire catalog.
#05)
Sectioned-Annihilated
Scottish metalcore act Sectioned unsheathe a mighty debut LP that successfully encompasses pure chaos. Annihilated is a bludgeoning listening experience with a lightning-fast pace featuring frequent yet effective uses of feedback, blastbeats, crushing riffage, drum and bass sections, and many more. This band is the whole package and this record will make your jaw drop. If you enjoyed Vein‘s debut this year, this is like that on steroids.
#04)
Thou–Magus
After multiple servings of sonic appetizers, Lousiana’s Thou presents their highly anticipated fifth LP (and fourth release this year alone). The three mini albums that built up to Magus each took an aspect of the groups’ massive sound and honed in respectively.
The House Primordial channeled Thou‘s drony tendencies, Inconsolable found the group delving into doomy folk music, and Rhea Sylvia emphasized the alternative rock elements generating what seemed to be an evil version of Alice in Chains.
Magus sees Thou returning full circle blending all of the unique sounds together into one massive, brilliant record.
#03)
LLNN–Deads
Copenhagen’s LLNN launch the listener’s consciousness deep into the furthest, darkest, loneliest limits of deep space with their sophomore LP. Deads is a science fiction-themed epic utilizing soundscapes and samples that provide the listener with a protagonist role in this layered, complex sonic journey across the galaxy. Their influences range from the staple avante garde approach of post metal titans Neurosis to the haunting scores of John Carpenter.
The juxtaposition of drony synth and attention-grabbing, powerful riffs create an overwhelming, abrasive ambiance will keep your mind heavily occupied from start to finish.
#02)
møl–Jord
Deafheaven‘s Sunbather was a cultural phenomenon whether the neck-bearded “trv” elitists want to admit it or not . While they weren’t necessarily the pioneers of the “blackgaze” movement, there is no doubt that their sophomore LP helped bring said musical style to the mainstream spotlight. Many bands have made their attempt to recreate Sunbather‘s success, and few have succeeded (cough Ghostbath). The movement has sadly become saturated in my humble opinion, and it has proven difficult to find hidden gems in the shuffle.
Denmark’s møl are the band I was searching for. Their debut LP is a brilliant, mesmerizing piece of music that doesn’t try to hard to be different but instead offers some of the finest, strongest, most-well written tunes the genre has to offer.
#01)
Sleep–The Sciences
On April 20th of this year, the legendary Californian stoner metal trio known as Sleep did the unthinkable: they released a comeback record. And not just a comeback record, but it was the comeback record everyone wanted.
I am a big fan of Sleep‘s entire discography, but there is no denying pre Dopesmoker era fits more comfortably alongside many of the other Sabbath worshippers. It wasn’t until 2003 that Dopesmoker saw the light of day and completely closed the book on the genre. There was a whole new dynamic introduced to the band’s sound, but the concept of a single track exceeding an hour for run time was not an idea meant for casual fans.
The Sciences takes everything that made Dopesmoker so monumental with more reasonable track lengths even listeners with ADHD (such as myself) can enjoy multiple listens. This record additionally comfortably welcomes the strengths of the two projects that rose from the ashes of their initial breakup in 1998 (High on Fire and Om).