Best Albums of 2019

This is a thing you do. So why not.

Flesh of the Stars- Mercy

The 18 minute opening song on this album is one of the prettiest songs I've ever heard, and it just keeps going after that. Ostensibly, Flesh of the Stars are a doom band, but that's a fairly limiting description. The vocal melodies on this album are so intricate as to defy belief. Probably my favorite record of the year and a real genre defying masterpiece.

Body Void- You Will Know the Fear You Forced on Us

This album is two songs: "Die Off" and "Fascist Cancer." That's most of what you need to know about it. Some of the ugliest doom I've ever heard, with amazing cover art and song title/album title synergy that can't be beat.

Lume and REZN- Live at Electrical Audio

Two Chicago bands coming together to make a beast of a doom/drone record. I got to see them play it live and it was easily one of the best things I've seen in my life.

Conjurer and Pijn- Curse These Metal Hands

The best Baroness album Baroness didn't write.

Baroness- Gold and Grey

The best Baroness album Baroness DID write.

Geist- Swarming Season

Full of Hell- Weeping Choir

Archivist- Triumvirate

Jøtnarr - Jøtnarr

Amygdala- Our Voices Will Soar Forever

Here's my "boundary pushing hardcore bands" category (stop it, Full of Hell is a hardcore band, don't pretend otherwise). Geist has been writing good, creative hardcore songs for a while but I don't think they've fully captured what they can do on an album until this beast. Jøtnarr, on the other hand, is newer, but really nailed it to the wall with this release. Archivist and Full of Hell are bands that have been delivering hardcore that goes in very different directions (long, post-rocky songs for Archivist and grind/death metal for Full of Hell) and I think each of them put out their best record to date this year. Amygdala is pretty straight ahead neocrust but they do it really well. Like... exceptionally well. I'm actually kind of mad at them.

Blood Incantation- Hidden History Of The Human Race

Cattle Decapitation-Death Atlas

I'm not always much of a death metal person, but when it's good, it's good. Blood Incantation and Cattle Decapitation are both death metal done weird, which I think really helps. Blood Incantation does that sort of slightly jazzy thing that some death metal bands do, but just nails it to the wall, with really complicated rhythms and riffs throughout. Cattle Decapitation does their usual politically righteous, sonically punishing wall of noise. Easily the best thing I think they've released. For a long, ugly album it goes down like sugar.

Krzysztof Drabikowski's Batushka- Панихида

All memes aside, this is a pretty good record. Memes not aside, I'm so glad this record exists so we can get all the memes. Also, this one is better than the "official" one. Obviously.

Chelsea Wolfe- Birth of Violence

I liked Hiss Spun, but in some ways I prefer Wolfe at her most quiet and introspective, which is a bit more of what you get on this album. I found this one wall-to-wall compelling.

Ethel Cane- Golden Age

Ethel Cain's first proper release is a confessional, whispering, beautiful cry for help that practically dares you to look up the lyrics.

Russian Circles- Blood Year

They've got their formula pretty nailed at this point, and this album delivers on it.

Dark-o-Matic- New Hope

Night Sins- Portrait in Silver

Two really great synthpop albums that are both heavy on the melody lines.

Wolfbrigade- Whatever the new Wolfbrigade Record is Called

Oh, hey. Another sweet Wolfbrigade record. I guess I'll put it in my top records of the year cause it sounds like all their other records, which is a good thing.

Nightfell- A Sanity Deranged

I guess it's a doom record, but to me it sounds like Todd Burdette doing the closest thing to HHIG that he's done since HHIG. Every song on it, to me, sounds like of like Fifteen Counts of Arson or Monuments to Thieves, just without the fast parts. Either way, good as hell.

Blood Command- Return of the Arsonist

What a weird album. It's five, completely incoherent songs, yet each one is good and it somehow comes together into a perfect art/noise/pop/punk oddity.

Esoteric- A Pyrrhic Existence

Slow- VI

Fvneral Fvkk- Carnal Confessions

Good year for straight up doom. Not much to say about any of these records except that they're all long, slow, heavy, and represent each band at their very best.

Sigils- You Built the Altar, You Lit the Leaves

Serial Hawk- Static Apnea

Year of the Cobra- Ash and Dust

A similarly good year for stoner rock. Year of the Cobra's first fully length completely delivers on the promise of their EP and more. It's a variety beast of a stoner rock record, pushing the boundaries of what two people can do with bass and drums. Serial hawk and Sigils both do the heavy riffs/guy singing in a near whisper over it thing really well, and both bands delivered pretty solid slabs of psychedelic stoner doom. Easily, three of the best I've heard in a while.

Downfall of Gaia- Ethic of Radical Finitude
In my head this came out in 2018. Oops. Adding it.