No. 10: SpiritWorld – Deathwestern
Label: Century Media
Do Metal and Spaghetti Westerns go together? You tell me! See Kreator’s Sergio Corbuccio Is Dead, the intro to their Hate Uber Alles album, or Karma To Burn’s classic Arch Stanton, to name but two. Las Vegas band SpiritWorld, fronted by fearless singer and horror/Western author Stu Folsom, wear their influences on their country-outfit, rhinestoned sleeves – Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone, The Evil Dead and (probably) Rob Zombie, Slayer and (to these ears) Mastodon. The result is a heap of fun, uncompromisingly rifftastic, full of raging, coruscating lead geetar and chugging grooves. From Relic Of Damnation: “I could’ve swore I saw the Devil on a sawdust floor/ In a honky-tonk in North Texas/ But maybe it was just the booze/ Or maybe all the mescaline.” You get “the picture”?
No. 9: Noctem – Credo Certe Ne Cras (“I believe with certainty there is no tomorrow”)
Label: MNRK Heavy
If you’re into the Black, the Death or the Blackened Death, you’ll know there are any number of outfits churning out this kinda thing – it’s almost a plague. Valencia’s Noctem, though, stand corpse-painted heads and blood-spattered shoulders above much of the competition. The Noctem modus operandi involves subtle, moody openings before howls and growls, guitars swirling down into the mire, into the mosh, driven ever deeper by a more-or-less relentless drum attack. From there, piercing, surprisingly melodic geetars soar upwards, above the rhythmic maelstrom, flying towards a cataclysmic, climactic conflagration. Mostly it’s about the speed and the force and the drive, but the expert production and those melodic guitars offer a vital sense of dynamic space. The playing chops, commitment and control cannot be questioned.
No. 8: Dorothy – Gifts From The Holy Ghost
Label: Spinefarm/Roc Nation
Grief is a powerful thing, an experience we all go through, a torture chamber full of Hell, a Hell full of torture chambers. At best, a rude awakening – revelations, loose ends, lethargy. That’s the “pretentious” version, the pretentious definition. For the simple, straightforward, everyday truth of grief, I give you Dorothy’s Close To Me Always: “Sometimes I can’t leave our bed in the morning when I wake/ To fix my own cup of coffee/ All these years you would make it/ It’s like I’m waiting for you to come home/ I shut the blinds so tight and I put that record on/ And dance to our favourite song … So long live the old days/ Your kiss in the doorway/ You’re close to me always, close to me always …” Epic, moving, gripping, ripping, unforgettable. But there’s more to this LA outfit’s third album than one song, of course. The whole record is really something special, bright and loud, the mixing, engineering and all-round production just so perfectly precise (take a bow, Chris Lord Alge).
No. 7: Machine Head – Of Kingdom And Crown
Label: Nuclear Blast x Imperium Recordings
Some bands rely and thrive on perceived technical expertise. Some rest on their laurels, while others simply pose in near repose. Robb Flynn’s Machine Head cranked back to life, climbed on stage and cut through the bullshit with a reaper’s scythe, this 10th record, one of their very best, giving fresh impetus to their already legendary shows (Electric Happy Hour, anyone?). The Oakland-founded outfit delivered a quality dystopian concept album, full of passion and commitment. Songs like No Gods, No Masters; Become The Firestorm and Unhallowed will surely be part of the live set for years to come – and I for one hope there will be many more years for Machine Head. Flynn has admitted he was somewhat taken aback by the “mixed” response to previous long player Catharsis, and memories of earlier incarnations of the band still linger, from classic albums like Burn My Eyes, The Blackening and Bloodstone & Diamonds. But this new line-up, including the ever-excellent Vogg (guitarist Waclaw Kieltyka, also of Decapitated), ruled and starred and shone in 2022.
No: 6 Joe Satriani – The Elephants Of Mars
Label: earMUSIC
Guitar maestro Joe Satriani, since Not Of This Earth in 1986, has established, re-established, energised, re-energised, imagined and re-imagined the instrumental rock guitar album as an art form. On his latest outing he bristles with vibrant creativity, like a steel and nickel-spined porcupine, flying through a wormhole of light-splitting versatility and virtuosity, a myriad of quills reaching out for combustive connections, setting off sparks. From compelling epics (Sahara) to magnificent mindscapes (Doors Of Perception) and sci-fi soundscapes (Sailing The Seas Of Ganymede), Joe has senses working overtime as he lights the way to the stars – LIGHT ’EM UP! His is a unique voice in guitars, and the way he makes his beloved instruments talk can eloquently, elementally convey much more than any one simple mood or single vibe. The Elephants Of Mars clearly states he still has a LOT to say.
No. 5: Ashenspire – Hostile Architecture
Label: Code 666
Not wishing to sound too hard done by, I’d just like to put on record that this “making up a Top 10” mularkey can be a tough row to hoe. While trying to avoid too many “obvious” candidates – Slipknot, Lamb Of God, Meshuggah? Behemoth, Megadeth, Undeath? – my only “rule” is to make sure I include something a bit “different”. So take a bow, Glasgow-based Ashenspire. Politically, Hostile Architecture is confrontational, targeting Capitalism’s control of the masses via urban oppression (“Grenfell burns again and again and again!”), while championing pro-community initiatives, possibilities and responsibilities (“Desperate times … call for disparate measures!”) Musically, it’s Metal to the max, jazz and sax, klezmer and kitchen sink (“A thousand spinning plates and nobody’s doing the dishes.”). The hymnal How The Mighty Have Vision takes it up a notch. Cable Street Again recalls At The Drive-In but ploughs a new furrow, forming its very own resistance. There’s so much here, and it all must be heard. This colossal and cathartic collective includes, among others, drummer/singer Alasdair Dunn, guitarist/singer Fraser Gordon, Matthew Johnson on saxophone.
No: 4: Druids – Shadow Work
Label: Pelagic
Iowa trio Druids upped sticks from hometown Des Moines to relocate to Salt Lake City, Utah, for this record. Maybe it was the sight of the Rockies that opened up vistas, and projected perceptions on to a bigger screen, while keeping the roots earthy and emotional. The three-piece consists of brothers Drew (bass) and Luke (guitar) Rauch, plus drummer Keith Rich, who simply revel in the sheer, ecstatic GRIND GROWL GRIST GRAFT GROOVE. Opener Aether reaches down to the obsidian origins of the heart of darkness, drums epic and tribal, a barbarous battering. Aether bleeds into Path To R, vocals with a punky edge, guttural and confrontational, like Killing Joke. Cloak-Noir Bloom seems to vanish into a synth-time-wormhole-vortex, but then fresh blossoms appear via acoustic, pastoral guitar notes, dripping, dropping, spraying down like blessed rain … before it all kicks off again, exponentially.
No. 3: Ghost – Impera
Label: Loma Vista
If you want Metal bangers, you got ’em. But ask yourself, are you … RIGHTEOUS?!
Thank God for the miracle that is Ghost, turning on swine with pearls of wisdom, turning others’ whine into a sonic waterfall. It’s the theatrical audacity of it all, and the ambition. Few of the lyrics lack an enigmatic layer of meaning or humorous counterpunch, or a surprising, brow-raising flourish. And no, it’s NOT all about anti-religion or Satanism. Call Me Little Sunshine (a song for the ages) tackles the prickly perils of the worldwide web, its influence on the sweet, sweet youngsters, ya dig? Spillways (Job 10:1) is one of the very best post-pandemic songs to tackle mental health. Twenties sounds like the greatest anti-Trump song of all time. Or am I missing something? (Twenties also sounds like The Dark Parade, by Mordred – discuss!?) You never know with Ghost, and that’s part of the fun. The very idea this is an “occult” band is an interesting and debatable one. If Griftwood, for instance, is perceived as “anti-clergy”, it also seems to contain a large amount of sympathy/empathy for Papa’s cloistered comrades in charms. The balance of light and dark, good and evil, music and “philosophy” … it’s Ghost, that’s all it is.
No. 2: Cave In – Heavy Pendulum
Label: Relapse Records
Cave In, of Methuen, Massachusetts, are no strangers to adversity. After the tragic loss of bassist Caleb Scofield in 2018, and the ominously-titled Final Transmission, the fact that they delivered an album at all this year was something of a special achievement. For Stephen Brodsky & Co to craft a record with the depth, scope, eclecticism and quality of Heavy Pendulum is something else again, with immense credit due to their Converge collaborators, Nate Newton on bass and the venerable Kurt Ballou at the production helm. Brodsky, of course, featured last year on Converge and Chelsea Wolfe’s epic Bloodmoon: I, more evidence that it’s all one big “happy” family, if “happy” means being able to keep going, whatever occurs. Heavy Pendulum highlights include New Reality, Floating Skulls, Blinded By A Blaze and Wavering Angel – but it’s all good. Music heals.
No. 1: … And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead – XI: Bleed Here Now
Label: Dine Alone
It shouldn’t really be a surprise how good XI is, given this Texas outfit’s history of commitment and excellence, but Jason Reece, Conrad Keely and the rest have forged a modern-day masterpiece, highly personal but global in outlook and relevance. Not all ToD followers instantly embraced this 22-track heavyweight but there is great depth and variety here – mythic, elegiac, contemporary. Golden Sail, vocoder and all, is pure prog. Penny Candle? Gabriel? Genesis? Genius. Don’t get me started on Water Tower, or the superb Millennium Actress, with Amanda Palmer. Much of XI is sorrowful, wistful – doubt and disillusionment looming as dark shadows on the face of a still bright sun of hope and inspirational creativity. The rock and the rumble of it builds to an intense grandeur and, then, serenity.