The rules, such as they are, remain the same as ever – must be an original stadium album. No re-releases, no greatest hits, no live albums, no covers albums. Got it? Second rule – it goes to 11.
Moving on.
The list you see below, simply for informational purposes, was whittled down from approximately thirty semifinalists that ranged in genre, composition, production and release date. Thirty candidates is probably fewer than I’m accustomed to compiling, but this may not be a reflection of the year in music, at least not anymore than it is a reflection in my personal and professional life and the diminished time I had to spend with new albums on the whole. It is entirely possible that I missed something this year I would have really enjoyed, but I remain confident in the caliber and conviction of this list.
The one casualty of having less time, however, was my Little Album That Could award. I just didn’t get exposed to much local or truly independent music this year, so I have decided not to award that honor, rather than award it in a lackluster, half-assed fashion.
First out of the gate, EP Of The Year – There can be no other choice, it has to be Red Eleven’s “Fueled By Fire.” These guys are among the best bands working today, and their production is spotless for a group working with less than a full budget. Their guitars are sharp, the harmonies soar, and the songs click with a combination of ‘90s rock sensibility and new age pomp and circumstance.
HONORABLE MENTION– Fair number of bands just on the outside looking in this year, but honorable mentions still abound – The Browning followed up the excellent “Isolation” with “Geist,” and while this new record isn’t as groundbreaking or bombastic at its predecessor, it’s still an album of high merit. I enjoyed the grunge throwback overtones of Kobra and the Lotus’ “Prevail II,” actually significantly more than I enjoyed the original “Prevail” last year. Orange Goblin put out another Orange Goblin record, and I also found it was the year for ‘Black’ bands – Black Elephant, Black Royal and Black Wizard all held my attention for a moment. I had my requisite hour of fun with Parasite, INC, and they flirted with the list for a moment before ultimately falling short. The last album to be cut was Black Mirrors and their record “Look Into the Black Mirror.” It was the 12th man on an 11 player roster. So kudos to them in particular.
Without further ado –
#11 – KING WITCH – “Under the Mountain”
I spent a lot of time with this album when it first came out, and then as the year wore on, I found myself less and less attracted to it. Some of that was an influx of new material, and I think some of it is that the album doesn’t have a lot of secrets to unravel – the first listen and the twentieth are much the same experience. That said, this is as great a straight-ahead metal bulldozer as was released this year, and it should be treated as such. There’s got to be something to be said for being in my personal rotation for five months.
#10 – WITCHSKULL – “Coven’s Will”
It was a great year for doomy, drone-y artists, and Witchskull was no exception. Relative to the fine wines of high-end production and popular tastes, Witchskull goes down like grain alcohol, but that actually works in its favor. It’s too easy to draw parallels between this and the grand Black Sabbath albums of old, but sometimes the easy way out is the best way out. There’s a lot of bluesy dust covering every inch of this album, which makes it infectious. It’s entirely too easy to just start nodding your head and bob along with the strangled rhythms. Good stuff.
#9 – GHOST – “Prequelle”
Suck it, haters! This is a fun record. I know, I know, there’s a million papercuts of betrayal to all we thought Ghost or wasn’t, blah, blah, blah. I don’t care about any of that crap. Ghost has the right to do whatever they want. Is this a pop album? Yeah, maybe. Is the single a sugar-coated affair that leans way over the line? Sure is. But the recognition of that fact doesn’t make it any less fun. You do you, Ghost.
#8 – LORD OF THE LOST – “Thornstar”
I’ll admit it, this got by me on the first pass. On my running list of music I take in over the course of the year, I marked it down, but didn’t make any special notations next to it. On some whim in the late fall, I went combing through and tried it again, and that’s when it stuck. Part industrial, part dark rock, part melodic singalong, “Thornstar” does a lot right, and deserves its place on this list for “Loreley” alone. I say this through gritted teeth because I have such respect for the artist I’m about to impugn, but Lord of the Lost released the album that Emigrate should have released.
#7 – BLACK MOTH – “Anatomical Venus”
This album hit early and I just kept coming back to it. The cover art is….well, blech. But the album is freakin’ great. I’m starting to think that any band with “Black” at the front of their title is using the word as a family name – it’s their honorific tie to Black Sabbath, a band they all hope to emulate in some form or fashion. Black Moth takes that formula, injects some rock into it, and then combines the entire proceeding with a siren, hypnotic overlay. There’s something about this music that’s difficult to describe, something with the tone that’s new and original and haunting. Every couple months, this would work its way back into my ear.
#6 – SUNDRIFTER – “Visitations”
The desert rock is strong with this one. Yet, it’s companion is doom, and so the combination of those elements makes for an unique experience. “Visitations” isn’t solely colored by the red and yellow hues of a sunset among the sand, nor it is entirely given to a black, forested midnight, but lives at the twilight of both those images. If Witchskull released an album that was easy to fall into the groove of, Sundrifter gave us all an opportunity to zone out entirely, a chance to separate from time itself and just be swept by the undulating wave of music. This entire paragraph has been too dramatic in general, but it should illustrate the point.
#5 – FEAR OF DOMINATION – “Metanoia”
Many years ago, I reviewed an album by a duo called Alien Vampires, and I think at one point I think I said something like “grab your many-buckled leather pants, colored dreadlock extenders and gas masks, we’re going dancin’!” I feel the same about this album. I remain eminently fascinated by the revival of industrial metal that seems to be hand in hand with the rise of EDM, and the fact that those train tracks are colliding with increasing frequency has led to the creation of something entirely new – Alien Vampires, The Browning, Kontrust and 6:33 have all toyed with varying aspects of the idea, but Fear of Domination seems to have found the most complete synthesis of the metal and the electronic. “Metanoia” also feels the most like a recording of a live experience of any album on this list. “Sick and Beautiful” might be my favorite song of 2018, and also might be the most fun metal song of the year.
#4 – ALIEN WEAPONRY – “Tu”
We’re getting into the big hitters now. This is the separation point, where the albums before now were one caliber and this one and on are the gems of the season. When I first heard this band described as a bunch of teenagers making metal, I shuddered involuntarily as horrible, uninvited memories of the hype machine surrounding Black Tide came swarming back into my brain. So it was with considerable caution that I hit play on “Tu”…and was instantly taken by it. Make no mistake, these kids have a lot of work to do, because the music rough around the edges at the best of times, but the core is a diamond. There’s one album every year that cracks my list just because it’s so impossibly heavy, and this is it this year. “Tu” is a straight-ahead banger, a wrecking ball of noise and chanting. The incorporation of the Maori verses and heritage works to give the band a novel feeling in much the same way as culture works in favor of Tengger Cavalry. Musically, there’s not a lot new here, but the accents make it feel different and unique.
#3 – GRAVEYARD – “Peace”
I feel a little bad about this, only because as late as October, I was really convinced this was finally going to be the Graveyard album that made it to #1 for me. This is one of the three or four best bands active in modern music, regardless of genre, and I really felt good giving them the top spot….but then as time went by, two albums edged ahead. Graveyard, if you’re reading this, I am sorry. I am out of superlatives to describe this band – they’ve never disappointed me, and every song on this album, and the three albums before it, gives us another piece of an amazing puzzle yet to be completed. Graveyard does everything right, and reaches across a hundred aisles to attract fans from all walks of music. “Peace” is a masterpiece, but then, four of the band’s five albums are (and the first one is still good, but not as iconic as the others.) If you’re not a Graveyard fan yet, I don’t know what to tell you at this point. Get on the bandwagon, damn it!
#2 – CLUTCH – “Book of Bad Decisions”
Clutch is still teaching masters classes on how to write music. For a few years there, I was leaving them for dead (my full apology can be found in my formal review of this album,) but now here they are, having hit a double with “Earth Rocker,” and two home runs with “Psychic Warfare” and “Book of Bad Decisions.” While different in craft and sound, this is some of the band’s best work since “Blast Tyrant,” and Clutch’s impact and command of the genre can’t be undersold. These boys from Maryland are still a force to be reckoned with and they’re not done yet.
#1 – CANCER BATS – “The Spark That Moves”
What strikes me the most about this album is that Cancer Bats appear to have dropped all pretense of anything else and have gotten back to having fun. “Searching for Zero” was a fine album, but it lacked a certain human quality that made “Dead Set on Living” such an instant classic. “The Spark That Moves” is just that, full as ever of piss and vinegar, but also grinning from ear to ear, punching out a combination of styles that still remain harmonious and catchy. It’s a difficult niche to live in – the speed and simple hooks of punk, the abrasiveness of hardcore and the edgy gravitas of metal must exist in their proper balance, and more bands that we care to recount have tried and failed, or at their best only managed to carry two of the three. Cancer Bats, by contrast, have found the secret formula. Much like “Sick and Beautiful” mentioned above (though for wildly different reasons,) if you can’t get up and feel your pulse quicken for “We Run Free,” then you’re abusing the privilege of music. Every song on this album feels much the same, leaving us with a glorious album that rolls and rumbles with power and conviction. Find it. Buy it. Then buy it for a friend.
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