(Our old friend from Ohio, Professor D. Grover the XIIIth, has called the class to order again for the purpose of laying out his quite diverse year-end list of Top 20 albums (though actually more than that), and here they are.)
Greetings and salutations, friends. Another year has passed, and we are all of us another year closer to death. The world is generally shit, fascism is somehow on the rise again because time is a fucking flat circle, and the rich continue to conspire to get richer while making life miserable for the rest of us poor bastards. And yet! There is still an abundance of good music being released, so it’s not all bad.
As always, I am usually busy doing Dad Shit, which now includes Teaching A Teenager To Drive and also Dealing With That Same Teenager Having A Boyfriend, in addition to the usual Trying To Attend Sports Stuff For Three Kids, Sometimes All At Once. It’s exhausting! But it’s also, honestly, very rewarding. I love my life as it pertains to my family and would not change any of it. I’ve been a parent almost as long as No Clean Singing has existed, and it’s been a pleasure to watch the site grow along with my kids.
I’ve also been posting on Bluesky (@ruinerxiii.bsky.social), which is a lot like Twitter except that it’s not run by a Nazi and there’s a lot less racist fuckwits. You should follow me there, if you want to, and also make sure you’re following the official No Clean Singing Bluesky account. I talk a lot about music, and this year I counted down the album list you see here in the weeks leading up to this post.
As with previous years, this list kicks off with a whole assload of honorable mentions, presented in alphabetical order. A good number of these albums garnered serious consideration for the final top twenty (which was initially in the thirties even after the initial cut-downs). These are all albums that I enjoyed on some level and can definitely recommend, and it was very difficult to have to exclude some of these.
After Earth – Dark Night Of The Soul
Alienist – Introspectio, Sui Exitium
An Abstract Illusion – The Sleeping City
Ancient Death – Ego Dissolution
Atdemacia – Order Of The Black Rose
Behemoth – The Shit Ov God
Blackbraid – Blackbraid III
Brainblast – Colossus Suprema
Caustic Wound – Grinding Mechanism Of Torment
Celestial Scourge – Observers Of The Inevitable
Chainsword – Chapter XII
Changeling – Changeling
Christian Mistress – Children Of The Earth
Coffin Feeder – Big Trouble
Coroner – Dissonance Theory
Crimson Butchery – Stalker
Cryptopsy – An Insatiable Violence
Dead Heat – Process Of Elimination
Demon King – Death Knell
Despised Icon – Shadow Work
Dormant Ordeal – Tooth And Nail
Drain – …Is Your Friend
Dream Theater – Parasomnia
Dwynell Roland & P.O.S – RELAY RELAY!!
Eluveitie – Ànv
Eschaton – Techtalitarian
Exterminatus – Echoes From A Distant Star Part I
Fleshbore – Painted Paradise
Fragments Of Unbecoming – Dawnbringer: Chapter VII – The Amber Emperor
Galactic Empire – Cinemetal
Ghost – Skeletá
Grima – Nightside
Grog – Sphere Of Atrocities
Harvested – Dysthymia
Ho99o9 – Tomorrow We Escape
Human – Concetto Transeunte
Hypermass – Apparition Day
Impureza – Alcázares
In Mourning – The Immortal
Katatonia – Nightmares As Extensions Of The Waking State
King Parrot – A Young Person’s Guide To
Lamp Of Murmuur – The Dreaming Prince In Ecstasy
Lik – Necro
Nine Inch Nails – Tron: Ares
Obscura – A Sonication
Ominous Ruin – Requiem
Orbital Gate – Demonstration Of Post-Apocalyptic Warfare
Pendulum – Inertia
Perturbator – Age Of Aquarius
Retromorphosis – Psalmus Mortis
Sage Francis – A Sick Twist Ending
Saor – Amidst The Ruins
Scalp – Not Worthy Of Human Compassion
Shadow Of Intent – Imperium Delirium
Sick Destroyer – Sick Destroyer
Spire Of Lazarus – Those Who Live In Death
Spiritworld – Helldorado
Stillbirth – Survival Protocol
Subterranean Lava Dragon – The Great Architect
Synaptic – Enter The Void
Terror Corpse – Systems Of Apocalypse
The Algorithm – Recursive Infinity
The Omen Machine – Criminals
The Reticent – Please
Tribal Gaze – Inveighing Brilliance
Tyler Childers – Snipe Hunter
Unaligned – A Form Beyond
Unreal Overflows – Slaves Of The Inhuman Future World
Valhalore – Beyond The Stars
Vertebra – The Same
Werewolves – Ugliest Of All
Whitechapel – Hymns In Dissonance
Wormrot – TNT
Zeicrydeus – La Grande Heresies
And now, the list itself. As is tradition, I cheated on a number of these and they feature two albums that I generally felt went together on some level. Enjoy!
20- Morke – To Carry On / Skjolden – Insouciant Metaphysical Grandeur
Here we are, the first entry on the list and I’m already doubling up. The theme here is Black Metal Albums That Are Obsequiae Adjacent Because I Love Obsequiae. Morke is a one-person band that I was previously unfamiliar with, but checked out because I had heard that sole band member Eric Wing was shifting from atmospheric black metal to “True Minnesota Castle Metal”, which is essentially Obsequiae worship. And goddamn if To Carry On doesn’t sound just like Obsequiae. As with most worship bands, the final product isn’t quite as good as the original, but the production and the guitar tone are spot on, and the album features several contributions from Obsequiae’s Tanner Anderson, which is as strong a stamp of approval as I can conceive of, and if you told me that this was some lost Obsequiae demos I would have taken you at your word.
Skjolden, on the other hand, is a melodic black metal project, helmed by Carl Skildum of Inexorum, Majesties, and Obsequiae’s live incarnation. It doesn’t sound like Obsequiae, for the most part, but it is some excellent melodic black metal, which is my favorite kind of black metal. Well, aside from the Bands That Sound Like Obsequiae subgenre that is now populated by two bands (and maybe more, although I haven’t discovered them yet).
https://morkemn.bandcamp.com/album/to-carry-on
https://skjolden.bandcamp.com/album/insouciant-metaphysical-grandeur
19- Angelspit – Red End
I’ve been a fan of Angelspit’s dark cyberpunk ever since I saw their album Hideous And Perfect mentioned on a list by the late, great Corey Mitchell back in 2009. I’ve been adding their albums to my year-end lists ever since, and this year is no different. Red End is more or less business as usual for Angelspit, with sole member Karl Learmont finding new ways to tweak his formula without straying too far from the sound that makes Angelspit unique, but it’s that distinctive sound that keeps me coming back — the heavy electronic beats, distorted synths and guitars, and anti-consumerist, anti-fascist lyrics that keep getting more and more relevant.
https://angelspit-official.bandcamp.com/album/red-end
18- Now I’ve Done It – An Ill Guest
The album art, created by the inimitable Eliran Kantor, was what first caught my eye (pun somewhat intended) on this, the first album from Now I’ve Done It, an avant-garde band comprised of a current and a former member of Lör. Musically, NiDi sit somewhere on the oddball metal spectrum between Diablo Swing Orchestra and Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, occupying at times a similar space to Carnival In Coal or öOoOoOoOoOo, with a guitar tone that strongly reminds me of Zoo Hypothesis-era Tub Ring and vocals that occasionally recall Nuclear Rabbit or (of course) early Mr. Bungle. It’s not exactly unexplored territory, but it’s weird as hell and really, really good if you’re into that sort of thing.
https://nowivedoneit.bandcamp.com/album/an-ill-guest
17- Larkin Poe – Bloom
I’ve mentioned the blues-rock-Americana sister act Larkin Poe a few times in previous lists, but I’m a goddamn huge fan. Rebecca and Megan Lovell are consummate guitarists (the latter playing the lap steel, the former playing electric/acoustic) and incredible singers, and Bloom is another fantastic example of the duo’s incredible skills and their knack for harmonies and counter-melodies. As always, this is not the kind of thing I typically listen to, but I’ll always make time for this band.
16- Propagandhi – At Peace / Dropkick Murphys – For The People
Another double-up, the theme here is punk stalwarts still making great music. I’m actually a relative newcomer to the work of Propagandhi, delving into their discography when I realized that the political climate after the election really called for some pissed-off punk. At Peace is, admittedly, not so much a punk album, although it’s still got all of Propagandhi’s unique technicality and wry, occasionally humorous lyrics, but it’s also got some truly killer songs, such as the title track, ‘Cat Guy’, and ‘God Of Avarice’. Plenty of older punk bands have slowed down and gone in a more rock direction in their later years, but Propagandhi have managed to keep it fresh even so.
Dropkick Murphys, on the other hand, are still putting out the same kind of Celtic folk-laced blue-collar punk that I’ve come to know and love. They’ve attracted more attention recently thanks to their anti-Trump antics, but their pro-union, pro-people messaging has remained consistent, and For The People has some great tracks, including a welcome reunion with on-hiatus co-vocalist Al Barr and tributes to the late Shane McGowan of The Pogues and the not-late Fletcher Dragge of Pennywise.
https://propagandhi.bandcamp.com/album/at-peace
15- Gruesome – Silent Echoes
Chuck Schuldiner’s legacy and importance to the death metal genre as a whole is not the kind of thing that can be understated. Death released arguably two of the greatest death metal albums of all time in Leprosy and Human, and on Human he basically invented technical death metal with help from Steve DiGiorgio and half of Cynic. Gruesome have been running down the Death discography, paying stylistic tribute to each stage of the band’s evolution. Silent Echoes takes on the unenviable task of emulating Human, and it does a pretty decent job ultimately. It’s not quite as good as the album that it’s paying homage to, but I don’t think ‘isn’t quite as good as one of the greatest albums of all time’ is too harsh a criticism.
https://gruesomedeathmetal.bandcamp.com/album/silent-echoes
14- Amorphis – Borderland
Amorphis’ output since Eclipse (aka the Tomi Joutsen era) has been remarkably consistent. They’ve settled on a style and have stuck with it, with minor experimentations here and there. How you would feel about Borderland is going to be largely influenced by how you feel about modern Amorphis, as it doesn’t really offer anything new to the formula, but I’m a fan of the band’s output, and Borderland is solid. It doesn’t quite reach the highs of some of their recent albums like Under The Red Cloud or Queen Of Time, but it’s Amorphis, and that means it’s pretty damn good.
13- Bloodletter – Leave The Light Behind
Bloodletter have been around for over a decade, but Leave The Light Behind was my first exposure to the band. The thing that stuck with me was that their mix of melodic death, black, and thrash metal really reminded me of the late, great Black Fast, thanks to an emphasis on great fucking riffs. Leave The Light Behind has those in spades.
https://bloodlettermetal.bandcamp.com/album/leave-the-light-behind
12- Buried Realm – The Dormant Darkness / The Halo Effect – March Of The Unheard
This year saw a lot of good melodic death metal, but these two albums stood out to me because of the involvement of some titans of the melodeath scene. Buried Realm, the solo project of Josh Dummer, always features eyebrow-raising guest stars, but The Dormant Darkness took this to the next level with multi-song contributions from Bjorn “Speed” Strid and Christian Älvestam, among others. (The latter actually led to an upcoming full-on collaboration between Dummer and Älvestam called Stillborn Fate, which I’m looking forward to.)
As for The Halo Effect, they’re a band entirely comprised of former members of In Flames (from various points in that band’s career) spearheaded by Dark Tranquillity frontman Mikael Stanne, and as you’d expect, their take on Gothenburg melodeath is outstanding.
https://buriedrealm.bandcamp.com/album/the-dormant-darkness
11- Between The Buried And Me – The Blue Nowhere
I was initially relatively unimpressed by The Blue Nowhere, or at least as unimpressed as I can be with a Between The Buried And Me album. It grew on me after a couple months, although in my recent ranking of the BTBAM discography I did on Bluesky it only made it up to number 7. Still, that’s more a testament to how much I like the band’s other work. The Blue Nowhere feels a little more disjointed than other albums, but it’s got some excellent songs, like ‘Things We Tell Ourselves In The Dark’ and ‘Beautifully Human’.
10- Igorrr – Amen / Neural Glitch – Convinced To Obey
When it’s done well, I love artists who find ways to mix metal with electronica. The Algorithm came very close to making this list, but with the new album only having been out for a couple weeks as of this writing, it’s simply too new to have made enough of an impact. Igorrr’s Amen, on the other hand, made a significant impact over the back half of this year. Amen is very much in line with Igorrr’s last couple albums (which is to say his Metal Blade Records releases), mixing crushing metal riffs with all manner of electronic oddness to create something original and unique.
Neural Glitch, on the other hand, is a relatively new band, with Convinced To Obey standing as the project’s debut, and while it shares a lot of DNA with Igorrr, the end result is fascinatingly different. The resulting mix of technical death metal and sample-heavy glitch electronica is as catchy as it is weird, and the cover of The Police’s ‘Synchronicity II’ (here labeled ‘Synchronicity Too’) sounds like Devin Townsend at a rave while on mushrooms. This was one of my biggest surprises of the year.
https://neuralglitch.bandcamp.com/album/convinced-to-obey
9- Renunciation – Make Babylon Great Again
Speaking of surprises… I had never heard of Renunciation prior to listening to Make Babylon Great Again, the band’s second full-length, but I was impressed at how quickly the riffs and melodies hooked themselves into my brain. Renunciation play a mix of tech death and black metal, heavier on the tech death side of things, with some absolutely stellar production. I was not prepared for how hard this album would hit, but I’m glad I listened to it.
https://renunciation.bandcamp.com/album/make-babylon-great-again
8- Allegaeon – The Ossuary Lens
I was, shall we say, disappointed when Riley McShane departed Allegaeon. I’m a huge fan of his vocal range and his albums with the band are my favorites of theirs, with Damnum standing as my AOTY a couple years back. And so I was attempting to temper my expectations for The Ossuary Lens, even with the return of original vocalist Ezra Haynes, whose energy is undeniable even if he doesn’t quite have McShane’s vocal range or clean vocals. The Ossuary Lens manages to find a middle ground between the two eras of the band thanks to the usual razor-sharp riffs and some excellent clean vocal contributions from guitarist Michael Stancel.
7- …And Oceans – The Regeneration Itinerary / Tómarúm – Beyond Obsidian Euphoria
I do love me some experimental, progressive black metal. …And Oceans have been on something of a heater since their reformation in 2019 with Finntroll vocalist Mathias “Vreth” Lillmåns, releasing now three excellent albums of electronically-augmented progressive black metal. The Regeneration Itinerary is absolutely loaded with meaty drums, blistering riffs, and enough electronic moments to keep you on your toes.
Tómarúm absolutely slapped me in the face with their previous album, Ash In Realms Of Stone Icons, and so I was extremely excited for Beyond Obsidian Euphoria. There aren’t a lot of bands that do technical black metal, but Tómarúm have a much more progressive, atmospheric take as compared to Stortregn or Vale Of Pnath, at times venturing almost into Thy Catafalque territory. Beyond Obsidian Euphoria took some time to really settle in for me, but it’s one of the most beautiful albums of the year.
https://andoceans.bandcamp.com/album/the-regeneration-itinerary
https://tomarum.bandcamp.com/album/beyond-obsidian-euphoria
6- Fallujah – Xenotaph
Fallujah’s uniquely atmospheric version of technical death metal, fueled by sustain-heavy guitar melodies and Kyle Schaefer’s ethereal cleans and versatile harsh vocals. Xenotaph is an excellent follow-up to 2022’s Empyrean, although the decision to bury Evan Brewer’s bass in the mix after his brilliant contributions to the prior album is highly questionable. Still, Xenotaph is a whirlwind and a brilliant album.
https://fallujah.bandcamp.com/album/xenotaph
5- Aesop Rock – Black Hole Superette / I Heard It’s A Mess There Too
For my money, Aesop Rock is the best lyricist in hip-hop, and his output has been incredibly consistent over his career. He released two albums this year, starting with Black Hole Superette, a loose concept album much like its predecessors Integrated Tech Solutions and Spirit World Field Guide and featuring similarly maximalist production, guest stars, and an extensive track list.
And then last month Aes surprisingly released a second album, I Heard It’s A Mess There Too, with zero warning or fanfare. The album stands in stark contrast to Black Hole Superette with a much more minimal approach, and most of the tracks have pretty similar foundations of a more basic beat, a sample, and a little bit of instrumentation. Aes himself stated that the album feels “transitional” and was the result of experimenting with some new tools, but the result is a fascinating dichotomy in songwriting approaches with some typically brilliant Aesop Rock rapping.
https://aesoprock.bandcamp.com/album/black-hole-superette
https://aesoprock.bandcamp.com/album/i-heard-its-a-mess-there-too
4- Rivers Of Nihil – Rivers Of Nihil
I’ll admit, I’ve never been in on the hype around Rivers Of Nihil as much as a lot of people. I’ve enjoyed their music, I thought Where Owls Know My Name was very good, and I enjoyed The Work, but the band’s eponymous fifth album really hooked me. I think, honestly, the addition of Black Crown Initiate guitarist/vocalist Andy Thomas really made a huge difference. His clean vocals really push these songs to incredible heights. It’s fair to say that this is probably the band’s most accessible album, which could be a negative for some fans, but fuck it, I love it.
https://riversofnihil.bandcamp.com/album/rivers-of-nihil
3- Havukruunu – Tavastland
It’s not at all surprising that Havukruunu is heavily influenced by Bathory’s Blood Fire Death and Hammerheart albums. Their particular brand of epic, woodsy black metal has always felt like a direct descendent of those albums, and Tavastland is no different. The guitars are raw but weighty, the vocals brim with power and fury, and every time I listen to this album I feel a compulsion to take up a sword and shield and charge into battle. It’s beautiful.
https://havukruunu.bandcamp.com/album/tavastland
2- clipping. – Dead Channel Sky
In a year where Aesop Rock released two albums, I’m actually surprised that neither was my favorite hip-hop album of the year, but then again, there’s clipping. Aes may be my favorite lyricist, but Daveed Diggs isn’t far behind, and together with Jonathan Snipes and William Hutson has crafted a cyberpunk hip-hop masterpiece. Less a direct concept album than a mixtape for an alternate timeline, Dead Channel Sky explores a lot of different sounds, held together by Diggs’ knack for lyrical storytelling. Highlights include ‘Dominator’, ‘Change The Channel’, ‘Dodger’, and ‘Keep Pushing’. And speaking of Aesop Rock, he drops a first verse on ‘Welcome Home, Warrior’ that makes me want a full collaborative album.
https://clppng.bandcamp.com/album/dead-channel-sky-plus
1- Cytotoxin – Biographyte
This has been my front-runner for AOTY since it first came out, and never once have I wavered in that conviction. It takes something special to stand out in the technical death metal field, where everyone has some absurd amount of talent, and it’s usually the songwriting. Cytotoxin have both the talent and the songwriting acumen to elevate themselves, and Biographyte is the perfect example, mixing the precise riffing and beefy slams of Nuklearth and the balls-out guitar pyrotechnics of Gammageddon into a flawless distillation of everything that makes the band great. The production is immaculate, allowing every instrument to shine and to be heard. It is, without question, my favorite album of the year, an honor it richly deserves.
https://cytotoxin.bandcamp.com/album/biographyte
And there you have it! It’s been another great year for music. Let’s do this again next year!