Everybody knows the worst album of 2018 my a galactic mile was Ministry though so really it doesn't matter.

*Yeargh-argh-ah-ahem*

I'm consigning myself to trawling through this entire thread to see what in the hell I missed, because as it stands, 2018 might be my most disappointing year for metal fucking ever. I was so excited for Priest, Riot, Saxon, Primal Fear, etc, but I haven't touched any of those albums for months now. I got trolled by Dave Carlo for the eighteen millionth time because that Razor album is just never going to happen. And when Ross the Boss became a serious contender for my top ten, I decided not to even bother with a list.

I wish I hadn't checked out a song off that album out of curiousity. Awful.

That is a good sign, a band that prefers quality to quantity. As much as I loved their debut though, I just did not feel Necrovortex to the same degree. I'm not quite sure what it is, but it just did not hit me the way Repurgation did.

I didn't listen to much from 2018 but the albums that have been getting heavy rotation from me are
Ice Sword-Dragon Magic (epic metal)
Necrytis-Dread en Ruin (Toby Knapp kills it on this album)
War Dogs- S/T ep (heavy,Speed metal from Spain)

Well, now guess why I was asking you this kind of question? Just asking for some reasoning, nothing more.

Calling the band "dull trad metal" is not exactly a comprehensible answer to my question but huh, to each his own.

Neither is their riff construction by-the-numbers nor is the way their songs are written pedestrian/standard fare. I've been listening to lots of different bands in various genres within the last decade and I've yet to hear a band with a truly similar approach. It took me a while to get into them and I'm glad that I'd started with "Life Sentence" because it is the most accessible of the new ones, but both "Atom by Atom" and "Cruel Magic" are even further removed from typical, traditional NWOBHM songwriting ("Who Among Us" is probably the best example of this).

But yeah, opinions - I'd rather listen to Brian Ross' mid-range for a week straight than to Bruce Dickinson high squeak for a mere 4 hours.

Burial Invocation, Svartidaudi and Hooded Menace are all in my top 10. Stellar releases.

Playing catch-up and just now listening to this Corpsessed record Impetus of Death. Killer shit that I haven't seen mentioned very much if at all. Anyone else into it??

See? Different strokes for different folks. I could listen to Iron Maiden all day. Probably if I was more versed in musicology I could think of some well reasoned criteria to go by, but I'm not. Also, I don't care all that much.

Hasn't he had some fairly serious health issues off and on over the last few years? Of course a new Razor album would make me quite pleased too, but I haven't had much reason to actively anticipate it like it's always been right around the corner, you know? Maybe some holdup with Relapse getting them booked for recording we don't know about.

I just remember he tweeted in June or July that he was rehearsing new material and getting ready to record. Not really "around the corner", admittedly, but it was enough to get my thrash-deprived hopes up.

...Yeah, you're right though. Dude's a cancer survivor and he's still kicking ass on stage. Can't ask much more than that.

Though there have been a lot of strong releases this year, I absolutely adore the quality of Black Metal that was out. Some superb releases that really should be talked about in top 10 list of most listeners, in my opinion. I'll just list my top 5 BM albums of 2018.

5) Spectral Wound - Infernal Decadence

Very solid, Quebec based BM. Layered guitars, decent enough drums and a fantastic atmosphere gives this album that 'Immortal' feeling which is something I really like. Plus, the vocals flow well with the music (Its something of a pet peeve for me, BM with vocals that don't complement the instruments). The album has enough variety in tempo and songwriting to keep you interested, yet maintaining the classic 'bleak' atmospheric BM sound. Excellent.

4) Cultes Des Ghoules - Sinister, or Treading the Darker Paths

Well, this was a surprise ! I love Henbane, but Coven, despite it getting some great reviews felt a bit contrived. It was like they were trying to inject some despair into their evil, atmospheric sonic attack sound. Sinister, though is a welcome return to the unhinged, riffy insanity that Henbane was. Plus, this album has some of the best bass guitar work in modern BM. Amazing atmospheres, stunning chanting style vocals and exemplary bass guitars. 'Day of Joy' gives me shivers. What an album !

3) Aorlhac - L'Esprit des Vents

I know these guys have been mentioned here often, but if anyone still has not heard this album, please do so ! This is the direction melodic BM should be heading towards. Them soaring lead guitars would not be out of place in a great thrash or a trad metal record, yet they still maintain the glorious sound of almost, uplifting BM. Love the drums on this too, the cleaner production taking nothing away from the overall atmosphere. Fantastic French BM !

2) Akitsa - Credo

Yes, yes, I know. It should have been my no 1 pick any other year, so its a testament to the quality of the top pick that these Quebecois BM stalwarts get 2nd place. Credo is a little more refined than Goétie, so its not as chaotic, but still retains its crusty, thick sound that absolutely overwhelms the atmosphere in the album. It also retains its up tempo punk based riffs yet goes down to almost HLTO era Burzum tempo which flows smoothly into layered guitar sections. Beauty in chaos. An exceptional album which will be in my 'best of' lists for a long time.

1) Mare - Ebony Tower

Finally ! They have a full length album, after more than a decade. And what a debut it is ! Its no wonder these guys are from Trondheim, because their sound is reflective of somewhere close to the Arctic. Its cold, its atmospheric, its absolutely brilliant. A lot of reviews have compared this to DMDS, which is fair because that is the closest comparison to those specific type of vocals. In true Mayhem tradition, Ebony Tower is full of innovative, complex riffs yet create an atmosphere complemented perfectly by loud, unhinged Atilla style vocals. The interludes flow smoothly and the production is on point for a bleak, raw Norwegian BM record. An exceptional album and well worth the no 1 spot in the list.

Eadem - Luguber EP
https://youtu.be/efaD-gIeoE8

This little EP will for sure find its place in my top 10 of 2018
Truly inspired fucked-up weirdness, they sound little bit like more occult LUGUBRUM.
Dissonant guitars, occasional clean vocals, chants and howls and lots of beautifully weird moments.

Didn't see any mention of it, but Mathieu Marcotte from Augury has finally released the sophomore Humanoid album after teasing it for years.

https://humanoid3.bandcamp.com/album/door

It's different from Remembering Universe, more diverse and less techy. It has an enormous atmosphere and a complete spacey vibe all the way through. Proggy ambient at its best. So far it's digital only but on FB he mentioned that a physical release is in the works.

I'm glad to see people here discussing the latest Chapel of Disease album. I've been listening to the band since their debut full-length, which was admittedly nothing new musically, but the conviction behind it was strong. They have progressed with each successive album but their new one took a huge step forward and I enjoy it immensely.

Reconsider Your lists, these two monsters just came out last week:
Odious Devotion, Finnish Black Metal, raw, melodic, atmospheric
Gjaldur, Aaskereia sideproject

Ontogeny just released their new album "Antisocial Media" and it's VERY worthwhile! Fans of Anomalous' OHMnivalent are going to lose their pants when they hear this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22au9fOPkMk

I've played it a few more times now and it's seriously awe-inspiring to me. Real genuine composers it feels like - much better than many bands I've heard try similar things to this.

This is my AOTY. Really excellently written metallic hardcore with huge doom atmosphere and death metal/crossover riffs. The clean vocals are apparently an acquired taste to a lot of people, but anybody who listens to a lot of metal should be able to appreciate the unusual approach here. Better than the albums Vein, Homewrecker, Harms Way, Jesus Piece, etc put out this year. All I can hope is that they're not relegated to the Random Corner in the poll this year, like Thy Art is Murder was last year.



Also, I think this year was pretty good for trad metal. Haunt, Wytch Hazel, the Lethean debut, Manacle, and Blade Killer were all great. Even Gatekeeper and Visigoth, which I might call very sliiiiight disappointments compared to previous material, were a lot of fun and still very consistent and memorable. Although these new bands might have a slightly different feel compared to old trad metal bands for the reasons outlined, I don't mind it at all. As someone who loves USPM and trad metal, I have no problem with new bands who live and die by that passion. I know the Gatekeeper guitarist is super into a lot of jazz and classical guitar stuff anyway.

Top 10 of the year

1) Mare - Ebony Tower - Just amazing. Forget Taake. These are the front runners of Norwegian BM right now. Most complete BM album I've heard after Exercise in Futility. It has everything. Production, riffs, songwriting, vocals all turned up to the max in quality.

2) Tribulation - Down Below - A glorious record. Never realized how fresh these guys sound in every album of theirs. One of the most versatile bands of recent years.

3) Akitsa - Credo - Sensational BM. If Craft at their peak were a wall of evil, crusty, heavy atmosphere, Credo captures the best of it. Plus there are very fun punk elements as well !

4) Burial Invocation - Abiogenesis - Absolutely crushing, full of variety and has exceptional songwriting. Best DM record of the year.

5) Amorphis - Queen of Time - A wonderful album. Very strong return to form.

6) Aorlhac - L'espirit des Vents - French melodic BM of the highest quality. The leads on this are insane. Stunningly progressive yet maintaining the BM atmosphere.

7) Cultes Des Ghoules - Sinister, or Treading the Darker Paths - Filthy. I wasn't into Coven, but Sinister is all that Henbane was and more. A great , big filthy wall of sound.

8) Spectral Wound - Infernal Decadence - As close to 'Immortal' like sound as it gets, yet has originality with good songwriting.

9) Chapel of Disease - Chapel Of Disease - ...And As We Have Seen The Storm, We Have Embraced The Eye - Innovative ! Still can't believe wtf was happening in half their songs. Remember Camel ? This would be the result, if they made a DM album.

10) Deceased - Ghostly White - Such a weird, wonderful record. Riffs for days, as the expression goes.

i know a lot of people ditched twitching tongues saying they really dropped the ball, i havent listened myself however.

I'm a proghead who put Kingcrow #1 this year, and even *I* like RUR. Filosofem/Slaughtersun/Dance of December Souls is sort of my hand-waving description of at least the general mood & atmosphere of the album.

Last day of 2018 and time to summarise. As I do every year I have once again compiled a huge playlist on Spotify. In here you’ll find the majority of metal albums released this year. If they are on Spotify that is. But, really, most of them are. This year I have found very few releases that weren’t available on Spotify. The only one I can think of straight away is Solstice - White Horse Hill. Anyway enjoy browsing through 2018.

Right now there is 5800+ songs and about 500 hours worth of music.
https://open.spotify.com/user/a_l_x/pla ... iPm0WIZo-w

I caved on my earlier stance and put the RUR album in my top 10 as well. If BH says it counts I can't really ignore it as it's head and tails above most other albums released over the past year. I can't wait to see what the artist comes up with next.

Head-Banger Reviews Top 35 albums of 2018

Link and comments here - https://headbangerreviews.wordpress.com ... s-of-2018/

I'm digging the new Death Fortress. I like everything they've done. Not sure about the death growls but other than that, quality stuff.

Here are DutchMetalManiac's lists, including mine! \m/ http://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/2018/12 ... ists-2018/

Teeth of the Divine:
https://www.teethofthedivine.com/featured/teeth-of-the-divine-staff-picks-for-2018/

Anyone have an idea who should be getting/when Chapel of Disease will be stateside? or should i just order internationally. i need this.

I got it from their Bigcartel for a very reasonable price w/shipping to NYC

Did anyone else check out the new Terrorizer? I picked it up today out of morbid curiosity, and I'm pleasantly surprised! It's no World Downfall, but feels way more fresh and inspired than the previous two albums and actually lives up to their legacy somewhat.

Damn, looks like they arent shipping it to US currently, thanks for that though. Found a seller on ebay for the same price.

In Twilight's Embrace's 2018 album isn't bad melodic black/death. Maybe not as good as their melodic death album from 2017, but they're a pretty solid band for this style.

Speaking of shipping overseas, does anybody know where to get CDs from Dark Symphonies and Unspeakable Axe here in Europe? Shipping rates from the US are impossible (you pay more for shipping than for the actual disc) an the customs' import limits in my country have been lowered to a point where it's impossible to order from the US.

So if anyone can help I'd appreciate it.

http://memento-mori.es
Raul is supercool guy!

I don't remember seeing any hype for it but Chris Black from Dawnbringer put out 3 albums and an EP under the Professor Black moniker last year. All of the full-lengths were stylistically completely different, one was a weird experimental instrumental album with annoying sounding synths, one a Motörhead pastiche and one a continuation of the Dawnbringer style with some added viking era Bathroy. This last one has really grown on me after initial indifference. Definitely worth checking out for people who liked Night of the Hammer and the XX EP.

still have to listen, i enjoy most of his work

I gotta check those out - will do later. I guess I was just waiting for more Pharaoh or Dawnbringer instead but eh, shouldn't've slept on those.

You need to check out Create a Kill - Summoned to Rise if you haven't yet.

I'm glad to see it's received some love in these circles. My favorite track from it is hands down "Slaves to the Evermore".