Reports from the Underground: 2022 Albums of the Year

Zach’s Picks

10. Psychonaut – Violate Consensus Reality (Belgium)
Style: Progressive Metal, Sludge Metal, Post-Metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: The Ocean, Neurosis, ISIS

How do you make an already pretty great debut better? Simple, you start by cutting the runtime by 20 minutes. Then you hone the songwriting to a razor sharp precision, and you have one of the best vocalists in the game right now scream about philosophy. Psychonaut lived up to the hype in spades. The riffs are outstanding, the drums are tribal and pounding, and the production makes everything heavy sound like rolling thunder, and everything soft sound like graceful raindrops. 

Recommended tracks: All Your Gods are Gone, VIolate Consensus Reality, Hope 
You may also like: Pull Down the Sun 

9. Tomarum – Ashes in Realms of Stone Icons (United States)
Style: Progressive Death Metal, Black Metal, (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Ne Obliviscaris, Opeth 

Upon first listen, this album was a completely indecipherable wall of noise. There were parts I enjoyed, but a lot of parts that just felt like meaningless meandering. But, with enough time and patience, Tomarum make their talent very well known. This is some kind of Frankenstein’d creation of atmoblack and tech death, and I have grown to love every single second of it. This has the thick, waltzing guitars of an Opeth record with songwriting more akin to Aquilus’s metal parts. Add in Inferi’s drummer Spencer Moore, and a fretless bass that pokes its head out for some virtuosity once in a while, and you’ve got yourself a masterpiece. 

Recommended tracks: Condemned to a Life of Grief, As Black Forms from Grey
You may also like: Aquilus, Izthmi

8. Arkaik – Labyrinth of Hungry Ghosts (United States)
Style: Technical Death Metal (harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Archspire, Inferi, Necrophagist, Spawn of Possession

Are you like me, and do you like absolutely disgusting riffs? Do you like to bang your head in frenetic motions while also thinking to yourself “how did humans write this?” Then boy do I have the record for you. Since their last release in 2017, Arkaik’s vocalist, Jared Christianson,  appeared to have a bit of trouble finding a consistent lineup. Joined now with tech-veteran Nathan Bigelow and Mr. Dessiderium himself, Alex Haddad, this proves to be their most varied and unique record yet. 

Recommended tracks: Broken Glass Apotheum, To Summon Amoria
You may also like: Sonivinos, Inanimate Existence, Exocrine

7. Ashenspire – Hostile Architecture (UK)
Style: Avant-garde Metal, Black Metal (Shouted vocals)
Recommended for fans of: A Forest of Stars, Sigh, Imperial Triumphant, White Ward 

In a very rare, not very humorous review, I tackled this absolute behemoth of a record. This has all the subtlety of a stampede of pissed-off rhinos, and all the songwriting talent to back that up. Ashenspire have a message that they want to drill into everyone’s head, and they have a far more interesting way of presenting it than just saying “fuck the rich”. They constantly tow the line between sprawling and claustrophobic, beautiful and brutal, just like the cityscapes they shout about. 

Recommended tracks: The Law of Asbestos, Plattenbau Persephone Praxis, Tragic Heroin 
You may also like: Dawn of a Dark Age, Voices

6. Aethereus – Leiden (US)
Style: Technical/Progressive Death Metal (harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Virvum, Inferi, Archspire, Vale of Pnath

This was the first record of last year I remember saying WOAH about. A friend of mine made fun of me for saying this was likely to end up on my top 10, despite it being a January release. Well, who’s laughing now? Leiden is a dark, disturbing, and more beautiful than it has any right to be, journey through human psychology. Each song becomes more and more dissonant, and the beautiful moments become sparse as you delve deeper and deeper into what Leiden has to offer. Aethereus mastered the blend of melodic and dissonant they were so known for on the debut, and utilized it in such a creative fashion. If this hadn’t been such a strong year, I could easily see it be my top pick for AOTY. 

Recommended tracks: The Living Abyss, Aberration, Upon Infinite Seas 
You may also like: Virulent Depravity, Arkaik, Deviant Process

5. Wilderun – Epigone (US)
Style: Progressive Death Metal, Symphonic Metal (Mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Ne Obliviscaris, Devin Townsend 

This is a really funny pick. Do you want to know why? Because when I first listened to Epigone, I thought, “wow, that sucked”. Veil of Imagination will forever reign as being one of the greatest prog-death notPeth albums ever, an absolute game changer in the world of prog in general, and this just had the unfortunate reality of coming out after. The unfortunate reality is, Epigone is just as good as Veil, sans one interlude track that really didn’t need to be there. This is an album that requires careful listening, patience, and repeated listens to fully grasp. So, don’t do what I did. Give this a little time to really show its stuff. 

Recommended tracks: Identifier, Woolgatherer, the Distraction suite 
You may also like: Lor, Iomair, Aquilus, Xanthochroid 

4. Brii – Corpos Transparentes (Brazil)
Style: Minimalist Folk, Experimental, Atmospheric Black Metal, Trance (Mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Fishmans, Kaatayra 

This year, I had my second brain cell join the blog, and his name is Andy. And now, I know of two really cool bands that are fronted by the same otherworldly musician. Kaatayra, the all acoustic black metal band, and Brii, the mishmosh of whatever the fuck this is. To put it simply, Corpos sounds like what looking into a kaleidoscope feels like. It’s music from another plane of existence, you question how one man is capable of creating something so complex and layered. I cannot do this song justice by writing about it, so I’m just going to say listen to it. You won’t be sorry

Recommended tracks: It’s one song. 
You may also like: Wreche, Plague Orphan

3. Hath – All That Was Promised (US)
Style: Progressive Death Metal, Blackened Death Metal (Mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Slugdge, Abiotic

Of Rot and Ruin, to this day, is one of the most promising debuts I’ve ever seen from a band. HM-2 guitar tone with Opeth’s writing sensibility and the pure aggression of blackened death is practically a match made in heaven. Hath rightfully made a name for themselves in the underground after an already impressive debut, but with All That Was Promised, they truly found their sound. This is more atmospheric, and less of an immediate shower than its predecessor. Despite being pretty backloaded, the first half grew on me massively with each listen. 

Recommended tracks: Kenosis, Iosis, Decollation, Death Complex 
You may also like: Hands of Despair, Warforged, Stargazer 

2. Disillusion – Ayam (Germany)
Style: Progressive Metal, Melodic Death Metal (Mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Insomnium 

Disillusion are what happens when Opeth majored in musical theater. After some missteps with their previous endeavor, The Liberation, they’re fully back on track with this masterpiece. The epic, grand atmosphere from Back to Times of Splendor has returned, but with a refined, less aggressive sensibility. The melodies are dreamlike, and the inclusion of horns add a whole new dimension to the music. My third brain cell, Christopher, put it so high on his list as well for a good reason. 

Recommended tracks: Am Abgrund, Driftwood, Abide the Storm 
You may also like: Wilderun, Descend, The Reticent

1. An Abstract Illusion – Woe (Sweden)
Style: Progressive/Atmospheric Death Metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Ne Obliviscaris, Kardashev, Insomnium, Kauan 

Yeah, you all probably saw this coming. It’s not Simulacra.  Because I’m sworn to bands only nerds have heard of, I cannot do a writeup on White Ward’s False Light, so this is the underground AOTY for me by a mile. Like I said in the rare double review with my best friend/music soulmate, this album is about as dense as it comes. You need a bunch of listens to let it all sink in, but from the get-go I thought to myself “this is a masterpiece”. This is what you should do when making a follow up. You go all out. Fuck it, make it one song. Make it have the most absurd riffs that Opeth never made. Make it have a recurring melody throughout. Congratulations boys, you’ve earned this top spot. 

Recommended tracks: Woe (it’s all one song) 
You may also like: Hath, Aquilus, Countless Skies, Amiensus, Hands of Despair, Wills Dissolve, Burial in the Sky

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