It is with each year that we provide and then you all also deliver, and 2019 has proven to be no different as so many came out in droves to show us what you felt were the best records out of what we presented to you. What has resulted is an incredible list that ‘s filled with greatness, and I can do no more for you right now than to simply implore you to check all these albums out.
As always, thank you so much for being awesome!
1. Murder Van – Murder Van
There’s something to be said about any band that tries to do anything related to the old school of metal whether it be good or bad. No matter if they’re thrash or death metal, when it’s given the proper treatment with the right amount of spirit, it can become something that demands to be heard the likes of which Murder Van delivers a perfect example. Encapsulating anything and everything that people could hope for out of something old school, Murder Van delivers at every turn with this album!
2. Sacrilege – The Court of the Insane
The classic sound of heavy metal itself is something that will likely never die in any true capacity, and it’s only thanks to awesome acts like Sacrilege that we can still listen to it in awesome quality the likes of which “The Court of the Insane” displays magnificently! Taking every facet that has ever made heavy metal great to begin with, Sacrilege delivers an awesome work here without any hesitation when executing their craft.
3. Slipknot – We Are Not Your Kind
We all knew this album would be big whether we were going to love it or hate it. That’s simply the nature of every piece that Slipknot puts out, and it’s here with “We Are Not Your Kind” that we see Slipknot at their highest point that we’ve seen in well over a decade. This album is experimental, it’s emotional, it’s heavy, and it’s dynamic enough to keep the listener gripped from beginning to end, and by the end it’s no stretch of the imagination for one to dare think this is Slipknot’s magnum opus.
4. Aftermath – There Is Something Wrong
Punk rock can often get a bad wrap for it’s sheer sound and how uninteresting many of the bands can be, but it’s here with Aftermath that we get a very awesome take on it that’s just as electrifying as it is rebellious. “There Is Something Wrong” is a perfect name for an album like this that takes everything out of place that could be wrong with anything related to society and purges forth all frustrations about them in such a manner that is quite intoxicating to thrash around with.
5. Cult of Sorrow – Invocation of the Lucifer
Just seeing anything about this band at first glance whether it be the cover art, band name, or album title is decieving to a high degree. Whereas I was expecting black metal, these guys brought forth a truly classic concoction of heavy metal infused with plenty of riff-filled nasty rock the likes of which made many classic bands classic to begin with in the first place, and it’s in every single track that we see here with “Invocation of the Lucifer” that Cult of Sorrow provides the goods constantly and consistently.
6. Meltdown – Deadringer
There are many modern bands that don’t do well to stand out on their own power. But, when a band comes around that can actually stand on two feet and deliver something really f*cking good, they stand out like very few others and Meltdown takes that to a glorious extent. It’s in every track throughout “Deadringer” that we get a greatly balanced listen that has both intoxicating heaviness and great melody to provide us with a deadly work that’s just as modern as it is enjoyable.
7. Kobold – Masterpace
Thrash is something that can easily become something awesome as much as it can become something boring, and it’s luckily here that Kobold delivers something that can’t be considered to be anything other than exemplary for the style. Right from the beginning “Masterpace” sets the bar really high, and it’s by the end that this outstanding work simply makes us want it more and more.
8. Tool – Fear Inoculum
What is there to say about “Fear Inoculum” that hasn’t been said already? Such an extraordinary wait we had for this album, and to say that the reward was interesting in the least would be putting it absolutely mildly as Tool came to impress with this album, and they delivered wondrously. The whole of this work is truly something to behold and whether it’s your first spin or your twentieth, there’s always something new to find within the wide reaches of “Fear Inoculum” for us to sink our teeth into.
9. Belzebubs – Pantheon of the Nightside Gods
As a fan of the comics, this album was an absolute shocker and a treat to listen to as soon as I could get my hands on the first single and it’s only the rest of “Pantheon of the Nightside Gods” that this album truly impresses. Belzebubs could’ve gone in so many different directions, and it’s with this classic yet modern approach to the genre that this album becomes so much more and excels in areas where so many others tend to struggle as they do it without breaking a sweat.
