As of right now Signs of the Swarm - Amongst the Low and Empty, Crown Magnetar - Everything Bleeds, and Cattle Decapitation - Terrasite have been my favorites. All are filled with nasty vocals, blast beats and everything else I want in my albums.

Feels like a pretty great year already. Some nominations:

Blood Star - First Sighting - Nothing we haven't heard before, but really well executed trad metal.
Sacred Outcry - Towers of Gold - As great as the rest of the musicianship is, Heiman is truly godly here. A ridiculous performance.
Ahab - The Coral Tombs - probably their best since their debut
Smoulder - Violent Creed of Vengeance
Shadows - Out for Blood - One of those albums that stands out for the versatility of the vocals, sometimes sounding slightly blackened, sometimes more glammy and a few other variations but always interesting.


And I still haven't checked the latest from Megaton Sword, Gatekeeper, Wytch Hazel.

Been kinda a weak year in music for me so far, guess ill go with 'black medium current', i really like that Voivod album 'morgoth tales' even though its mostly a collection of old tunes, also still really looking forward to new Afterbirth and Malignancy(hopefully 2023).