Top Albums of 2018

This was originally posted on my brother’s blog - so the wording is for his audience.

I have so much music for y’all. This year I decided to do two versions of my Top Albums list; one without any death metal and one with the heavy stuff. I’m considerate like that. For each album, I list the general genre and links to Apple Music, Spotify, or YouTube (some sources more official than others on YouTube).

I also call out a couple of EPs that I really liked and at the end are a list of honorable mentions (in no particular order).

The Heavy Stuff

  1. Rivers of Nihil - Where Owls Know My NameTechnical Death Metal: or or
  2. Omnium Gatherum - The Burning ColdMelodic Death Metal: or or
  3. Psycroptic - As the Kingdom DrownsTechnical Death Metal: or or
  4. Amorphis - Queen of TimeMetal: or or
  5. Slugdge - Esoteric MalacologyDeath Metal: or or

No Death!

Now, I also understand that a lot of people are not, shall we say, fans of death metal. This is for y’all.

  1. Clutch - Book of Bad DecisionsRock: or or
  2. Good Tiger - We Will All Be GoneRock: or or
  3. Andy James - ArrivalInstrumental Rock: or or
  4. Paul Wardingham - ElectromancerInstrumental Rock: or or
  5. Set and Setting - Tabula RasaPost Rock: or or

The EPs

I also want to call out a couple of EPs that came out this year that I though were really good.

  • Hespera - In AbsenceMelodic Death Metal: or or
  • Plini - SunheadInstrumental Rock: or or

Honorable Mentions

These are the albums that were in the running for the other lists but did not make it. These are still really good albums, but the lists have to be capped somewhere.

  • Alkaloid - Liquid AnatomyDeath Metal: or or
  • Beyond Creation - AlgorythmTechnical Death Metal: or or
  • Harakiri for the Sky - ArsonMetal: or or
  • Moonshade - Sun DethronedMelodic Death Metal: or or
  • Nita Strauss - Controlled ChaosInstrumental Rock: or or
  • The Ocean - Phanerozoic I: PalaeozoicPost Rock: or or
    • also the instrumental version: or or
  • Parasite, Inc. - Dead and AliveMetal: or or
  • Zeal & Ardor - Stranger FruitMetal/Soul/Experimental: or or