Rory’s Top 20 of 2022
Rory’s Top 20 of 2022
By Rory Bentley
I’ve been doing top 20’s for years for no other reason than that I’m a nerd, so it feels good to make an album of the year list that was actually solicited for once! Although the convention of Ever Metal tradition is to do a top 10, I found that too painful and ended up begging Beth for a full 20. She yielded to my pleading partially to shut me up and partially because ultimately these lists don’t actually matter outside the context of a bit of fun and chance to reflect on a bunch of great releases. One non-negotiable was that I had to limit my selections to Rock and Metal, so if you want my all genres list, you’ll have to hit me up on the socials or slide into my DM’s you creep! With that being said here are 20 things that I’ve listened to and loved this year-
20. Avantasia- A Paranormal Evening with The Moonflower Society
So here’s the deal- Avantasia are incredibly silly and unfashionable but I kind of love them. I’m a very late convert to Tobias Sammet’s Power Metal Opera format, having only really got into them on 2019’s fantastic “Moonglow”, but their bombastic brand of Steinman on steroids composition and the revolving cast of Metal Royalty guest singers makes for an irresistible combo. Plus, Floor Jansen’s on two songs which never hurts. ‘Misplaced Amongst the Angels’ is pretty much solely responsible for this album’s presence on the list.
19. Avatarium – Death, Where is Your Sting?
One of my favourite bands of the last decade is still kicking out albums of the highest quality, which gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside. Getting this one in advance and having the honour and pleasure of writing the review is one of the many reasons I’ve loved writing for Ever Metal this year. A lush combination of crushing Doom and Psychedelic Rock with a heavy dose of Pop hooks, this one deserves all the plaudits in the world.
18. Parkway Drive – Darker Still
One of the finest examples of a band shifting their sound to fit bigger venues while still progressing and experimenting. Nobody in 2022 does a massive arena-crushing hook like Parkway and to see them continue to build on the Nick Cave-like atmospherics of the previous album at the same time is inspiring and heart-warming to me. While every other Metalcore band is ripping off Bring Me The Horizon to boost their profile, Parkway are combining NWOBHM with Tom Waites and topping festival bills, you love to see it!
17. Mantar – Pain Is Forever and This Is The End
Greasy Black and Roll stuffed to the gills with shrill-throated anthems and evil grooves. This was my feel good summer album and a nice throw back to my younger days spinning Satyricon’s ass-shaking necro masterpiece “Now Diabolical” on repeat. If you miss Darkthrone’s Biker Boogie phase, then these guys will see you right.
16. Ashes of Ashes – Traces
The moment I saw the words ‘Skaldic Metal’ on the release spreadsheet I knew this would be for me. The perfect mix of rustic authenticity and clinical songwriting precision, “Traces” is an epic journey distilled into a lean 40-minute runtime that grips you from the regal opening to the gorgeous melancholy of ‘To Those Long Forgotten’, Folk and Epic Heavy Metal done to the highest standard.
15. Blind Guardian – The God Machine
For someone who’s supposed to hate Power Metal isn’t it strange that this is the second entry from that genre in my 20 favourite albums of the literally hundreds I’ve listened to this year? It’s almost as if most of the genre is derivative, cringey bollocks and I’ve been basing my opinion on the quality of the music all along, eh? Blind Guardian are one of the greatest Metal bands to ever string up and after such a long career that was increasingly tipping towards the Symphonic side, it’s an absolute thrill to hear them sounding so fired up and youthful this late in the game. This is a taut, fat-free beast that retains the epic feel of the band’s latter-day work while injecting the core sound with the pace and aggression of their earlier Speed Metal days. Hansi sounds better than ever and ‘Secrets of The American Gods’ is already a classic in a back catalogue bursting with all-time greats. They’re basically like latter day Iron Maiden if all the praise was actually accurate and deserved.
14. PUP – THE UNRAVELLING OF PUPTHEBAND
Another absolute worldy from a band that never miss. Sarcastic, abrasive Power Pop with a serrated Punk edge, Pup’s latest album is bursting with huge melodic hooks and played with pissed off vigour. It’s funny, it’s sad and it puts 90% of Rock song-writing to shame. The delightfully bonkers ‘Robot Writes A Love Song’ and the anthemic literal guitar worship of ‘Matilda’ are yet more singalong fodder for one of the strongest live set lists in any genre. The snarky piano interludes coupled with the lyrical angle of faux artistic maturity are a particular favourite of mine, PUP are incredibly meta without appearing insincere which is an unbelievably difficult trick to pull off.
13. Evergrey – A Heartless Portrait
Like Blind Guardian, Evergrey have also produced a late career triumph. Despite this being their thirteenth album and only a year removed from their last one, Tom and the boys have produced a fiery, modern-sounding record with a classic twist. The solos come thick and fast, the riffs are thundering and Tom S. England’s soulful, weathered pipes are as good as they’ve ever been. The whole record flies by in an elegant flurry of head banging and heartache.
12. Final Light – Final Light
If you’ve skipped to the top of the list you’ll know that I rate Johannes Person’s main gig incredibly highly, so when I heard he was collaborating with Synth-Wave maverick Perturbator my little brain began to spin with the exciting possibilities this union could bring. I knew they wouldn’t let me down and this terrifying electronic hellscape spread over 6 sprawling compositions is simply stunning. Like raw human suffering colliding with cold machinery, this is like a deep dive into a horrifyingly dystopian future.
11. Sumerlands – Dreamkiller
This one should probably be higher up but I’m not going through the mental gymnastics required to reshuffle the order, everything on here’s great so let’s not quibble about minor ranking issues! Not satisfied with producing 80% of the good Metal™️ around at the moment and kick-starting the New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal with Eternal Champion, Arthur Rizk also plays in the more melodic Classic Metal Throwback outfit Sumerlands. Their second album is a scintillating burst of soaring hooks, classic riffs and exhilarating solos. Think late 80’s Priest combined with Dokken and you’re on the right track, but rather than being pure nostalgia this is a lesson in masterful song-writing with gigantic Pop hooks for days.
10. Blood Command – Praise Armageddonism
Blood Command are 3 for 3 on both lead singers and awesome albums. The addition of former Pagan singer Nikki Brumen appears to be the final piece of the puzzle for the Bergen Deathpop squad. There are so many danceable riffs, slinky electro hooks and cool vocal one-liners that I can’t get out of my head. ‘A Villain’s Monologue’ and ‘Questionable Taste In Friends’ are top tier bangers that I’d kill to see live, the former single-handedly responsible for me reintroducing the word ‘sucker’ to my regular lexicon.
9. GGGOLDDD – This Shame Should Not Be Mine
I was absolutely over the moon that we got this one through for review, definitely more Metal-adjacent than actually Metal, but arguably the heaviest album of the year. Dripping with pain, trauma and pulsing electronics, this is an almost voyeuristic excursion into the darkest thoughts of Milena Eva as she opens the wounds of the horrific abuse she suffered in her teens. The fact that this is both relentlessly raw yet incredibly listenable and meticulously crafted is unfathomably impressive.
8. Rolo Tomassi – Where Myth Becomes Memory
I actually reviewed this one off my own back even though we didn’t get sent it! That should tell you how much I love the shit out of this band and this stunning conclusion to the cathartic trilogy that began with 2015’s “Grievances”. Slightly more optimistic and euphoric than its predecessor, the staggeringly brilliant but bleak “Time Will Die and Love Will Bury It”, this is a record capable of shimmering fragile beauty and caustic metallic venom, often in the same song. From their frenetic Mathcore origins Rolo Tomassi have evolved into a unique and fearless outfit completely in their own lane.
7. Zeal and Ardor – Zeal Ardor
One of the most fearlessly creative projects of the last decade produces their finest back to front album. The core element of chain gang Blues and Black Metal is still present, but Zeal and Ardor have now fully morphed into their own beast. Soulful, vicious and downright creepy in places this is an album that throws so many different influences and styles into the pot and somehow comes out with perfectly formed, cohesive songs. On their self-titled third album the band are able to have their cake and eat it with an album I could easily place at the very top of this list.
6. Cave In – Heavy Pendulum
A stunning return from one of the most criminally underrated bands in heavy music history, this is a sprawling masterpiece that spans every aspect of this incredible band’s expansive sonic palette. From the absolute riff storm of ‘Floating Skulls’, to the acoustic Gospel of ‘Reckoning’ to the gorgeous Prog opus ‘Wavering Angel’ this is a record we don’t deserve from a band we should have shown more love to before they disbanded. Thank god they gave us a second chance to give them their flowers.
5. Venom Prison – Erebos
A lot of you would probably expect this to be my number 1 if you heard my constant declarations of love for this album earlier in the year. It’s one of only 2 perfect scores I’ve ever given, and it deserves to sit atop the list, as does everything from this point on, but you have to go with your gut in these situations. I still love this album to pieces and I still play it with alarming regularity, noticing cool new nuances every time I put it on. For a band on the rise to take so many new risks is admirable, to pull every single one of them off is miraculous. This is Death Metal with a heart and a soul, yet it will still break your stupid face!
4. Ithaca – They Fear Us
There’s so much to love about this incredible sophomore album. The angular 2000’s Hardcore worship of the band’s debut is still there, but there are glorious guitar solos, savage beatdowns, massive Metal riffs and full on Pop hooks. This is a band being completely unabashedly themselves without giving a fuck about trends, genre restrictions or what anyone thinks. The mad swing between spin-kick-inducing Converge sections that I’ve literally hurt myself listening to, and tear-jerking melancholic pop like the staggering closer ‘Hold, Be Held’ is pretty much everything I want from an album in 2022. I’d call this the best Hardcore album of the year, but Ithaca have become so much more than that.
3. Cult Of Luna – The Long Road North
In a career of towering monuments of Post-Metal majesty, this record may stand tallest amongst the band’s work. Expertly perfecting CoL’s core sound while pushing further sonic boundaries, this is an album that truly engulfs you and pulls you into a cold shadow realm halfway between the natural and the supernatural. There’s nobody like Cult of Luna, there are many imitators but none of them can match the cinematic, transcendental power they conjure when they hit their gargantuan peak. Bringing in composer Colin Stetson for two songs also proved to be a master stroke and one of the most successful collaborations in recent memory.
2. A.A. Williams – As The Moon Rests
This one crept up on me late, but its impact has been profound. I loved William’s 2020 debut album and its merging of Classical, Dark Folk and Post-Metal but I wasn’t sure how she could have improved on this formula for the follow up. The answer is more variety, longer compositions and a much larger emphasis on guitar. Her vocals are more powerful, the crescendos are even more heartbreakingly euphoric and the string ensemble bolsters the sonic canvas to new levels of tragic drama. ‘Pristine’ in particular is pure wounded agony on an epic scale and closing with the title track’s riff-heavy Tool-ism hints at a potentially exciting new direction for album number three.
1.Brutus – Unison Life
To have a truly original sound is one of the rarest qualities a band can possess in the modern landscape. The amount of perfunctory but tediously derivative music I’ve been exposed to this year has been one of the biggest drawbacks of reviewing, and to watch other writers and people in the scene heap praise on tedious recycled banality has been unbearably depressing. Thank fuck for Brutus, then, a band whose idiosyncratic sonic brew of Post-Hardcore, Shoegaze and Alt-Rock (for want of a far better description) is identifiable within seconds of hearing.
Like A.A. Williams, Brutus follow up an incredibly successful album not necessarily by reimagining their sound, but by magnifying all the best aspects of it. This is Brutus with more Brutus. The most Brutusy sound imaginable. None More Brutus. The riffs are nastier, the shimmering guitar melodies more pronounced and the always excellent drums sound thunderous and intricate in equal measure. Stefanie Mannaerts is a powerhouse on the mic as well as the kit, singing with commanding fiery defiance and endearing fragility when the moment calls for it as her voice cracks with emotion. Plus, there’s the songs.
The songs are so spectacularly energetic, well-constructed and life-affirmingly joyous that my head has been awash with cool vocal hooks and radiant guitar melodies from the moment I first hit play. ‘Liar’, ‘Victoria’ and ‘Dreamlife’ are as good as Rock music gets. In fact every song here is an absolute worldy and the PERFECT 42 minute runtime flies by in the blink of an eye and leaves me reaching for the play button again and again. After a rough few months, this album came at just the right time and will always mark a turning point for me mentally when I look back, where life started to look full of hope and excitement again. Because that’s what great Rock music can do for you and make no mistake, this is GREAT Rock Music.
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Rory Bentley and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
