Top 25 Albums of 2018****
25) Ghost (Se) - Prequelle
24) Horrendous (US) - Idol
23) Sulphur Aeon (De) - The Scythe of Cosmic Chaos
22) Stam1na (Fin)- Taival
21) Judas Priest (UK) - Firepower
20) Lucifer (Int) - Lucifer II
19) Khemmis (US) - Desolation
18) King Witch (UK) - Under the Mountain
17) Primordial (Ir) - Exile Among the Ruins
16) Graveyard (Se) - Peace
15) Satan (UK) - Cruel Magic
14) Ungfell (CH) - Mythen, Mären, Pestilenz
13) Kontinuum (Is) - No Need to Reason
12) Dee Snider (US) - For the Love of Metal
11) Haken (UK) - Vector
10) Sigh (Jp) - Heir to Despair
09) Uriah Heep (UK) - Living the Dream
08) Ihsahn (Nr) - Àmr
07) Saxon (UK) - Thunderbolt
06) Voivod (Ca) - The Wake
05) Rising (Dn) - Sword and Scythe
04) The Night Flight Orchestra (Se) - Sometimes the World Ain't Enough
03) Madder Mortem (Nr) - Marrow
02) UDO (De) - Steelfactory
01) Amorphis (Fin) - Queen of Time
YouTube links to sample songs have been embedded above.
Honorable mentions
Wytch Hazel - II: Soujourn
Angra - OMNI
Bane - Esoteric Formulae
Gorod - Aethra
Summoning - With Doom We Come
Usurpress - Interregnum
Necrophobic - Mark of the Necrogram
Striker - Play to Win
Witherfall - A Prelude to Sorrow
This was an insanely prolific year for aged veterans, especially those coming from the British Isles, whether it's triumphant continuations of their already amazing compendium of 21st century releases from bands like Saxon and Satan, or just straight up shockers from Uriah Heep and Judas Priest... it's almost as if the entire cadre of geriatric rockers decided to make a few last statements before calling it quits (even long timers like Heir Apparent and Fifth Angel made notable, if not particularly great, comebacks). At any rate, these records are all fantastic additions to some of the most legendary discographies in all of heavy metal, and serve as a surefire kick on the face for all the countless agglomerations of oafish retro stuff that's being churned out ad nauseaum by newer generations. But the veteran aesthetic is prominent across plenty of genres here, with melodic death, black metal and progressive metal variants generating all sorts of lofty impressions thanks to Ihsahn, Voivod, Madder Mortem, Sigh, Behemoth, and Amorphis. The Behemoth record might be questionable choice for two reasons: firstly because the band fails to explore any uncharted territory as they did with their groundbreaking 2014 opus The Satanist, and secondly because it feels like a B-side to its predecessor at times. Yet despite the controversy surrounding it, it was a well-balanced and fabulously produced record with a good few tunes that will definitely stand the test of time.
At the same time, there is disconcerting side to this list in the relative absence of any 'new' bands; in fact there are probably around 5-6 bands here which I would or have not included in any of my yearly lists at any point in time. This isn't all bad, though, and I was greatly elated by further solid outings by some of my favorite 'newsprint' acts, like Ghost, Sulphur Aeon, Khemmis, Haken and, most notably, Horrendous, who at this point have cracked the formula of penning compelling, melody-driven old school, splatter-thrash-induced death metal that channels anything from Finland's Sentenced to early Death. Beyond these, I was pleased that a list largely bearing the odor of classic heavy, power and progressive stuff could incorporate some genuinely resolute, unbridled evil and despair towards the tail end, and indeed there was also had a metric ton of archaic and mesmerizing death metal to boot, even if these weren't the crème de la crème as far as the entire glut is concerned.
2021 Update: Added the Dee Snider album, pushed back the Golgotha record.
2023 Update: Added the Ungfell and Primordial records, pushed back Evoken and Behemoth.
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