The Worst/Most Disappointing Albums Of 2022

For being a year I found rather disappointing for music, the most interesting thing about it is how there are actually fewer outright bad and disappointing albums than I would have expected. The trend was to have fewer albums at the top end of the scale, but that did not come with the sediment collecting at the bottom of the barrel. Instead, we wound up with a bell-curve year, with the boring middle swelling more than ever before.

That being said, there are still some albums that raised my ire, and sunk my chest. These are the records from the year I will remember for reasons they will not be happy about.

The Bad:

1. Ashes Of Ares - Emperors & Fools

This record wins by TKO. It hits the trifecta of having terrible production, terrible songs, and a voice that is in obvious decline. Matt Barlow was once a metal legend, but he sounds like a shell of himself on these songs. Maybe it would be passable if it was a strong collection of songs, but instead this whole thing sounds like a demo that would have been rejected by a producer until the band could come up with some better material. I didn't like their previous stuff, but it was never as uncomfortable to listen to as this one. I truly cannot find anything good to say about it.

2. Serious Black - Vengeance Is Mine

This was also a strong contender. I ranted enough about this record before, so I won't go too deep into the weeds again. This record is fine if you don't understand English, but is absolute garbage if you do. The lyrics on this record, which were described by the band themselves as 'personal', are misogynistic bitching of the highest order. If you like calling women whores, and blaming them for everything wrong with your life, congratulations! Your incel self will think Serious Black is awesome. For anyone who understands women are people, and should be treated as such, Serious Black can seriously fuck themselves.

3. King's X - Three Sides Of One

These guys are legends, and from this first experience of mine with them, I don't understand why. This record has odd production that doesn't sound particularly good, and songs that don't make me want to listen through the poor sound. I'll give them credit that at least some of the vocals are obviously done well, but the record very much comes across like a band that hasn't made an album in fifteen years. Their writing muscles have atrophied, and perhaps they should have considered this a warm-up and waited until they found their groove again.

4. Porcupine Tree - Closure/Continuation

Steven Wilson's last solo album was dreadful, and bringing Porcupine Tree back from the dead isn't helping. Somewhere along the line, he stopped caring about writing captivating songs. The difference between "Deadwing" and this album is stark; the difference between a band that was trying to write songs, and a band that improvises around drum grooves. Listening to him go on and on about how many time changes are in a ballad that never sounds like it does anything progressive just illustrates this is music that wants to be smart, not music that wants to be good. I'll say it again; if you have to explain it, it isn't good.

5. Fozzy - Boombox

Fozzy has never been good, but I don't think they've ever been this annoying. As I get older, I find it harder and harder to put up with people who refuse to mature. Chris Jericho is fifty years old, and he actually sang a song with the lyric, "U.G.L.Y., you ain't got no alibi". I'm sorry, but if you're borrowing your lyrics from the neighborhood playground, you're not putting in the effort. I'm glad they have said this might be the last time they bother making a full album, because I don't know how many more of these I can sit through.


The Disappointing:

1. Taylor Swift - Midnights

I divide this list into bad and disappointing, because disappointments are not always bad. Case in point, I still like "Midnights". Taylor returns to pop, and there is a lot to the dark aesthetic I find quite appealing. She includes some gems, as she always does. The problem is that this isn't as good a pop album as "1989", and it sounds half-baked compared to the beauty of "Folklore". The flatness of the production doesn't give Taylor anywhere to go with her melodies, and there are a few songs where she gets swallowed in the electronic swamp. Compared to what I know Taylor can do, this falls far short, even if it's still better than just about all the pop music I'm accidentally exposed to.

2. Ghost - Impera

Ghost has never been an album band. "Meliora" is the only one of them I can enjoy as a whole, and "Impera" continues to divide things right down the middle. Half the record is great, doing everything Ghost is good at. The other half of the record is the worst music they've ever made. "Twenties" alone is an embarrassment, but it isn't alone as a disappointment. I should know better than to have expected Ghost to come through with a great album, but I still found myself deflated when I realized this would be another record I only remember for three or so songs.

3. Jorn - Over The Horizon Radar

I must be crazy. From the instant the first single came out, through my listens to the record, to my revisiting to make sure I wasn't in a bad place at the time, one thing has been true; Jorn's voice sounds weird. Jorn is one of the best singers in the world, and I absolutely love his voice, but he barely sounds like himself on this record. His bellowing roar is replaced by a thinner tone that sounds to me like he's struggling to push the air. And yet, I have not seen anyone else who hears what I hear from this record. Plenty of people have still said he sounds as good as ever, and I don't get it. Jorn's solo albums are never great, but at least you get to hear him do his thing. I couldn't with this one, and that made me sad. I wish I heard this the way everyone else did.

4. Slash - 4

Certain decisions don't work out. I have loved the three albums Slash has made with Myles Kennedy (I prefer this combination to Alter Bridge, to be honest), and they are among some of the best sounding rock records of recent years. Slash's guitar tones are phenomenal. But this record was recorded live on the floor, and it sounds like it. Those glorious tones are replaced by buzzier guitars that don't have the same punch or clarity. Some of Myles vocals are obviously first takes, and should have been given another pass. The whole thing sounds like a band fighting to control their sound at the volume they're playing at. Compared to what their previous records sound like, this one is almost unlistenable by comparison. It just sounds so bad, when they usually sound so good. A little bit of studio magic would have gone a long way.