The 10 Best Metal Albums Of 2022
[Spin]
I could pretend that there’s some overarching theme that unites the best metal albums of 2022, but I’d just be kidding myself — and you. The only thing many of these records have in common is how different they are. They feature bursts of blinding speed and riffs that sprawl out like chasms, lyrics about zombies and demons and ones that tackle the horrors of harsh reality, moments of grotesque ugliness and passages of breathtaking beauty. And they come from bands formed in the past few years and veterans with decades-long discographies. But they do share one key trait: Like all the best metal of any year, they seize your full attention — with volume, density, technicality, theatrics and/or sheer ass-kicking power — and reward it handsomely.
Before I count down my choices, a quick note on what’s not included here. I heard a ton of great heavy releases in 2022 that even though I may have mentioned them in a prior Blast Rites rundown, just didn’t feel enough like metal to me to merit inclusion here. Chances are, if you’re a fan of the genre, you welcome in the best of its stylistic cousins — all manner of intense, riff-centric rock and punk. If that’s the case, then I strongly urge you to get your ears on Gospel’s The Loser (sci-fi screamo), Fleshwater’s We’re Not Here to Be Loved (hardcore heft meets alt-rock hooks), Drug Church’s Hygiene (more expertly crafted grunge-punk), Soul Glo’s Diaspora Problems (gloriously hyperactive protest-core) and Bleed’s Somebody’s Closer (a self-released 2021 EP, reissued this year through 20 Buck Spin, that plays like a fan-fic collab between Helmet circa Aftertaste and White Pony–era Deftones). Another high recommendation goes to Perfect Light, the latest from 40 Watt Sun, a band that started off playing a form of melodic doom metal but is now a vehicle for bandleader Patrick Walker’s chamber-style singer-songwriter fare.
And now, Blast Rites’ top 10 metal albums of 2022 (plus one extra: more on that later!), counted down from 10 to 1, followed by a quick survey of runner-up titles that very nearly made the cut.
1. (Tie)
Faetooth, Remnants of the Vessel
Messa, Close
I know, I know… ties are cheap. But this is a case where two albums are so exceptional, and in such similar ways, that including them in separate spots in the top 10 didn’t seem to make sense. And hey, even if you disagree with my logic, you still win, because both of these LPs are absolutely stunning.
Faetooth, “Echolalia”
There’s one musical tactic that young L.A. quartet Faetooth employ over and over on their outstanding debut: patiently building up a hushed, almost ritualistic mood through spare clean-toned riffs and dreamlike melodic vocals only to shatter it suddenly with the stygian crunch of a massive distorted riff. It’s a device at least as old as heavy metal itself, but in the right hands, it still works wonders, and the songcraft on Remnants of the Vessel is so uncannily strong — from the almost R&B-ish hook of “Echolalia” to the mournful refrain (“First the head and then the bod’/And half his blood spills down the jaw”) of “Saturn Devouring His Son” — that each dynamic shift feels like a revelation. Bands toil away across entire careers and never capture the enveloping occult atmosphere conjured by guitarists Ashla Chavez-Razzano and Ari May, bassist Jenna Garcia — who split singing and screaming duties among them — and drummer Rah Kanan; hear them now before the rest of the world catches on.