My Favorite Albums of 2022
- gagetolin
- Jan 25, 2023
- 7 min read
First, some comparison with last year (2021)
| 2021 Totals | 2022 Totals |
Albums | 241 | 439 |
Songs | 2,219 | 3,523 |
Time | 178 hrs and 28 mins | 298 hrs and 26 mins |
Countries | 39 | 49 |
Before I begin, I have to throw out a few disclaimers: I mostly stick with traditional heavy metal, melo-death, speed/thrash, and power/prog. I do occasionally step outside of my comfort zone, but it really depends on the artists at that point. Also, I obviously did not listen to every single metal release that released in 2022, so I'm certain that I missed some big ones. Finally, this is all just one metalhead's opinion, don't take it as gospel (though they are objectively correct opinions ;)).
2022 was a banner year for metal, with some longtime artists putting out bangers. While for me, NWOTHM (New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal) reigned supreme, there was some killer stuff all across the board. Oh, and I am officially declaring 2022, "The Year of the Debut", because boy howdy were there some insane debut records this year.
Without further ado, let's get started with the first award.
Non-English Language Song of the Year
Witch Blade- "Hellvetika" (Swedish)
Metal, like all music, is a universal form of language and art. While it's mostly limited to the English language, despite a sizeable portion coming from non-English speaking areas, every now and then an artist puts out a track in their native tongue. For this years award, I'm giving it to Swedish metallers, Witch Blade, for their track "Hellvetika". The chorus of this pseudo-70s hard rock ripper is an all-timer for this year in my opinion, and one that I'll be blaring for years to come.
Other Nominees: Animalize- "Samouraï de l'univers" (French), Fate Gear- "雨が紡ぐレクイエム" (Japanese), Nemophilia- "Seize the Fate" (Japanese), Luzifer- Hexer (In Dreiteulfelsnamen)" (German), Rammstein- Dicke Titten (German).
Best Cover-Art
Sin Starlett- Solid Source of Steel
Cover-art; it's one of the most important parts of an album. Despite the old adage, "don't judge a book by its cover", the album cover can truly make or break a record. Look at Iron Maiden's Dance of Death, for details. I don't know where to begin with this epic cover. It's a metal guy in front of a gold record, playing a metal guitar, while liquid metal music notes fly to the forefront; it's practically a masterpiece, purely for how insanely creative it is.
Other Nominees: Mourn the Light- Stare Into the Face of Death, Sanhedrin- Lights on, Parius- The Signal Heard Throughout Space, Steel Arctus- Master of War, Palantír- Chasing a Dream.
Best Cover Song
Spirit Adrift- "Everything Dies"
Who doesn't love a good cover song? The best covers are the ones that surpass the original, and while, we don't quite have that this year, we did have some great contenders. I settled on Spirit Adrift's cover of Type O Negative's "Everything Dies", solely because Type O is a tough band to cover and do justice. Peter Steele's melancholic morose voice is impossible to truly replicate, but Spirit Adrift knocked it out of the park, even if they didn't try to mimic the late frontman's voice.
Other Nominees: Fate Gear- "Soldier of Fortune", Luzifer- "Der Goldene Reiter", Sede Vacante- "Paint it Black", Seven Kingdoms- "I Hate Myself for Loving You".
Best 8 min+ Song
Aeternam- "The Fall of Constantinople"
I am admittedly biased to a lengthy epic, it's a song style that I think every artist should attempt at least once, and 2022 delivered mightily on tracks of 8 minutes or more. I must confess that the massive history nerd in me definitely influenced my choice for winner of this award. Canadian melo-death titans churned out an absolute belter with "The Fall of Constantinople". It really solidified for me that it was a gem, once the cleaner vocals kicked in and just meshed together perfectly with the harsher ones.
Other Nominees: Fer de Lance- "The Hyperborean", Parius- "Arecibo", Adamantis- "The Daemon's Strain (House Carpenter)", Halo of Catastrophe- "Symphony from Ruin", Locust Point- "Texas Switch".
Flag Bearer Album of the Year
Note: Best album released by a band with at least 6 studio albums
Soilwork- Övergivenheten
I thought it was a relatively down year for the usual titans of the genre, I found Megadeth's latest to be dull for example. Alas, I decided to create this award to celebrate the flag-bearers of the genre. I prefer to highlight younger, or up-and-coming artists, over the established acts, so this felt like a good way to praise them as well. For the inaugural award, I'm giving it Soilwork's twelth record, Övergivenheten. I confess, that prior to this record, my only real exposure to the group was 2005's Stabbing the Drama, but after hearing this release, I intend to go through their entire discography and see what else they've got to offer.
Other Nominees: Machine Head- Of Kingdom and Crown, Audrey Horne- Devil's Bell, Rammstein- Zeit, Wolf- Shadowland, Kreator- Hate Über Alles.
Chorus of the Year
Sleepwulf- "Satan is King"
I am an absolute sucker for this latest renaissance of occult metal/rock. Artists that sound fresh out of the 70s and 80s, but that sing about the devil and sex. It's a fantastic return to what made our genre so feared and respected. Sleepwulf, who I was actually turned on to by a fellow metalhead, gripped me tight and never let go, and a lot of that was this track. "Satan is King" kicks off their album Sunbeams Curl, and within the first minute, I was hooked.
Other Nominees: Doublegeddon- "On the Wings of a Dinosaur", Monarchist- "Niche", Naufragant- "Hoist the Colours", Savage Master- "Hunt at Night", Spell- "Ultraviolet", A Sound of Thunder- "Orb Weaver", Steel Cheetah- "Banish From the Sky", Visions of Atlantis- "Legion of the Seas", Seven Kingdoms- "Love Dagger".
Hook of the Year
Note: Best first minute of a song
Sleepwulf- "Satan is King"
"Within the first minute, I was hooked."- Gage Tolin, on Sleepwulf "Satan is King".
I really can't say more without repeating myself, "Satan is King" simply had the best opening minute of the entire year, though "Beyond the Blood Red Horizon" was very close to taking this spot.
Other Nominees: Midnight Rider- "Beyond the Blood Red Horizon",
Blood Python- "Witch Queen", Luzifer- "Iron Shackles", Savage Master- "Hunt at Night", Lord Vigo- "A Necessary Evil"
Best Overall Country
Using the law of averages, here are the countries which have the highest average score, out of 5, with a minimum of 5 albums.
Scotland (4.04/5)
Canada (4/5), Sweden (3.94/5), United States (3.89/5), Austria (3.82/5), Poland (3.81/5), Germany (3.75/5), Spain (3.75/5), Greece (3.73/5).
Albums Per Country
As you can tell from the previous award, and this one, we've reached critical mass, AKA, the unnecessary statistical portion of this year-end wrap-up. The US lead the pack this year with 87 releases, followed by Germany with 54, and then Sweden with 39. The usual suspects. It appears that the metal scene in Poland is really stating to kick off big time, with 12 releases this year. Little Slovenia continues to churn out a decent number of artists as well, despite their small size.
Metal Explorer
This isn't really an "award", so much as me showing off a collage of the countries that I heard albums from in 2022.
Debut of the Year
Luzifer- Iron Shackles
As I said above, 2022 is The Year of the Debut, and a huge part of that was this release from Germany's Luzifer, not to be confused with Lucifer (who is also from Germany). I work on a 0-5 rating scale, using like 0.25, 0.5, and so on, and Iron Shackles was one of only two records to score a perfect 5 out of 5. Every track is masterfully put together, all killer no filler.
Other Nominees: Doublegeddon- Geddon Dangerous, Sonja- Loud Arriver, Sordid Blade- Every Battle Has Its Glory, Pursuit- Loose Lips, Phantom Spell- Immortal's Requiem, Knight & Gallow- For Honor and Bloodshed, Bomber- Nocturnal Creatures.
Song of the Year
Knight & Gallow- "Men of the West"
I mentioned earlier that I'm a history nerd, well I'm also a massive Lord of the Rings fan. If grouped with the instrumental track "Middle-Earth" just before it on the tracklist, then "Men of the West" would be one hell of an opening track. The vocals are crisp, with just the right amount of wailing and roughness to them. With a vocal styling that reminds me of Dickinson in Iron Maiden or Deborah Levine from Lady Beast, where the vocalist isn't just singing, but telling a story. It's everything metal should be, storytelling through music.
Other Nominees: A Sound of Thunder- "Orb Weaver", Phantom Spell- "Dawn of Mind", Sonja- "When the Candle Burns Low...", Sumerlands- "Heavens Above", Kontact- "Heaven's Gate", Ice Howl- "Darkness From Beyond", Aeternam- "The Fall of Constantinople", Achelous- "Mithril Hall", Luzifer- "Iron Shackles".
EP of the Year
Note: I define an EP as between 15-30 mins, or less than 8 songs if it's like 25 mins
Mourn the Light- Stare into the Face of Death
This was the second toughest award for me to call, it was practically a toss-up between Stare into the Face of Death and Greyhawk's, Call of the Hawk, but ultimately I went with this one due to it being more unique in its sound (albeit not as unique as Kontact's, First Contact), this was still an absolute banger, with nearly every track staying in my regular rotation. "The Hunt" was a real standout!
Greyhawk- Call of the Hawk, Spirit Adrift- 20 Centuries Gone, Mourn the Light- Stare into the Face of Death, Sleeper Ship- The Gateway, Kontact- First Contact, Tailgunner- Crashdive, Dystopica- Deception.
Album of the Year
Luzifer- Iron Shackles and Knight & Gallow- For Honor and Bloodshed
Okay, I'm cheating here. Both of these albums are debut releases, but only one of them won Best Debut. So, why the tie here? Because it's my list, and I couldn't choose between them! Each of these records lays some sturdy groundwork for what should, hopefully, become two very storied journey's across the metal landscape for Knight & Gallow and Luzifer. These two young artists, from the US and Germany respectively, came out the gate at a full armor-covered steel-wielding sprint and they never let up.
Other Nominees: Doublegeddon- Geddon Dangerous, Sumerlands- Dreamkiller, Phantom Spell- Immortal's Requiem, A Sound of Thunder- The Krimson Kult, Sleepwulf- Sunbeams Curl, Aeternam- Heir of the Rising Son, Threshold- Dividing Lines.
Finally, here's my collage of the Top 60 releases of the year, be sure to support these artists on platforms such as Bandcamp! Then, as an extra special treat, I put together a Spotify playlist of the Top 465 tracks of the year, it's unordered (that's too much work), but check it out here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3oac2byuYkfgXWCnSTfRKb?si=d85953de9ae84a35
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