Jason Edwards' Top Five Metal Albums of 2019
I haven’t listened to as much music this year as I probably should have. That being said, there are definitely a few albums that stood out among my (admittedly limited) listening this year. With that out of the way, here are my top five Metal albums of 2019 in no particular order. If you see something you like, make sure to support the bands by visiting the links provided.
1. Rotting Christ, The Heretics
Some would say that Greek Black Metal outfit Rotting Christ have been on autopilot since 2004’s Sanctus Diavolos, I would say that this is an incredibly myopic perspective. Yes, The Heretics explores many of the same musical themes and textures as Rotting Christ’s previous work, but there really isn’t any other band out there that sounds quite like Rotting Christ. The Heretics is arguably the band’s most cohesive, epic album to date, it may not be your favorite Rotting Christ album, but it may be the best realization of the sound the band’s been courting since 2004.
Hanzel und Gretyl have been producing solid, catchy and cheesy Industrial Metal since the stylistic shift of their 2003 release Uber Alles and Hexennacht continues that tradition. What you get here are driving, no-frills, industrial headbangers with a healthy dash of tongue-placed-firmly-in-cheek Satanic lyrics. Sure, it’s not the most innovative album in HuG’s discography, but it doesn’t need to be. Hexennacht is Industrial Metal done right. Besides, if HuG decided to never try anything new musically after having a fucking amazing banjo in “Ironstar Outlaws” off 2012’s Born to be Heiled, they’ll still have contributed plenty.
Kushfrost’s debut full-length, Axis of Evil, is a seriously impressive piece of work. What stands out the most about this album, other than the welcome bits of humor sprinkled throughout, is that the entire thing (save for one Satanic Warmaster cover) was improvised. Axis of Evil embodies the “fuck you, we’ll do it ourselves” attitude of Black Metal perfectly and is every bit as raw as you’d expect. I can’t wait to hear what else this band puts out, especially since they’re moving away from improvisation with their next release.
Opinions on Mayhem’s output since their 1997 EP Wolf’s Lair Abyss have been mixed, you either love or hate the experimental turn the band took after that album. Daemon, however, sees the band return to the familiar soundscapes of their classic De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas to great aplomb. In the hands of lesser musicians, revisiting past glories oftentimes comes off as rehashed or contrived, but Mayhem knock it out of the park. The whole album is dripping with esoteric, Satanic atmosphere and loaded with kick-ass riff after kick-ass riff.
I may be cheating a bit by including a live album, but who cares when it’s this good? Alive & Dead at Södra Teatern is a phenomenally well-produced dive into cuts from Tribulations last two albums, Children of the Night and Down Below, with the band at the top of their game musically. The only knocks I have against it are the exclusion of my favorite song from CotN (Holy Libations) and the total neglect of any of the band’s catalog from The Formulas of Death and The Horror. C’mon, guys, I like your newfound “Metal Sisters of Mercy with harsh vocals” sound as much as anyone else, but it’s borderline-criminal to pretend like those albums don’t exist. Those personal hang-ups aside, Alive & Dead at Södra Teatern is an album that deserves to be in the collection of every Metal fan.
If you enjoyed this article and are interested in more Macabre Media, check out J.R. Young’s article The Supernatural Files: Aliens and Apparitions, only on Monsters, Madness and Magic.