Music

My Top 12 Albums of 2018

Steven Indzeoski

• 7 min read

Turns out having a toddler running around the house makes it hard to get things done when you want to. Here's my (over two weeks late) list of favourite albums that came out in 2018.

12. Khemmis - Desolation

Genre: Doom Metal
Origin: Denver, Colorado, USA
Track Listing:

  1. Bloodletting
  2. Isolation
  3. Flesh to Nothing
  4. The Seer
  5. Maw of Time
  6. From Ruin

When I first heard Khemmis, I never thought I'd like them like I do now. It's not really a type of doom that I usually like, but something about them just keeps bringing me back. Seriously, some of their songs get stuck in my head for days.

11. Zeal & Ardor - Stranger Fruit

Genre: Black Metal / Soul / Spirituals
Origin: New York City, New York, USA
Track Listing:

  1. Intro
  2. Gravedigger's Chant
  3. Servants
  4. Don't You Dare
  5. Fire of Motion
  6. The Hermit
  7. Row Row
  8. Ship on Fire
  9. Waste
  10. You Ain't Coming Back
  11. The Fool
  12. We Can't Be Found
  13. Stranger Fruit
  14. Solve
  15. Coagula
  16. Built on Ashes

Still probably the most unique band around the last few years. If anyone still hasn't given them a chance, I highly recommend giving the whole album a listen. It's not too often you here two such drastically different genres mixed together so well.

10. The Ocean - Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic

Genre: Progressive metal/post-metal
Origin: Berlin, Germany
Track Listing:

  1. The Cambrian Explosion
  2. Cambrian II: Eternal Recurrence
  3. Ordovicium: The Glaciation of Gondwana
  4. Silurian: Age of Sea Scorpions
  5. Devonian: Nascent
  6. The Carboniferous Rainforest Collapse
  7. Permian: The Great Dying

I've loved The Ocean ever since I first listened to Heliocentric almost 8 years ago. They continue to do their thing with this album. If you liked the last several albums, you'll probably like this one.

9. Author & Punisher - Beastland

Genre: Industrial
Origin: San Diego, California, USA
Track Listing:

  1. Pharmacide
  2. Nihil Strength
  3. Ode to Bedlam
  4. The Speaker is Systematically Blown
  5. Nazarene
  6. Apparition
  7. Night Terror
  8. Beastland

I'd never heard of Author & Punisher before this year, but wow has he blown me away. Author & Punisher is a one man project, by a former mechanical engineer turned musician, who custom made most of his instruments. Watching any live video of him is absolutely incredible. I'm posting the music video for Nihil Strength below since it's quite a good song and the video shows off how he performs, but I actually think The Speaker is Systematically Blown is my favourite on the album and would recommend checking it out as well.

8. Mirrors For Psychic Warfare - I See What I Became

Genre: Experimental / Electronic
Origin: USA
Track Listing:

  1. Animal Coffins
  2. Tomb Puncher
  3. Body Ash
  4. Flat Rats in the Alley
  5. Thing of Knives
  6. Crooked Teeth
  7. Death Cart
  8. Coward Heat

Scott Kelly, of Neurosis fame, seems to be a busy guy, and has a lot of side projects. I've really liked everything he's done but I think this is my favourite aside from Neurosis. On Spotify it looks like this album barely has any plays which really surprises me, as I think it's really good.

7. Pig Destroyer - Head Cage

Genre: Grindcore / Deathgrind
Origin: Alexandria, Virginia, USA
Track Listing:

  1. Tunnel Under the Tracks
  2. Dark Train
  3. Army of Cops
  4. Circle River
  5. The Torture Fields
  6. Terminal Itch
  7. Concrete Beast
  8. The Adventures of Jason and JR
  9. Mt. Skull
  10. Trap Door Man
  11. The Last Song
  12. House of Snakes

Pig Destroyer has been one of my favourite bands for a long time, and every time they come out with a new album "the internet" likes to complain that they've gone soft, or that it "isn't grindcore enough". I fully appreciate a band that evolves over time; I don't just want to listen to Prowler in the Yard over and over again every few years. It's not even like it's a completely new sound, a lot of the album reminds me of Loathsome, and that was over 11 years ago. Pig Destroyer is still great, and still making great albums. I also have no complaints about the repeated guest appearances of Agoraphobic Nosebleed members on the last couple albums.

6. Sumac - Love in Shadow

Genre: Post-Metal / Sludge Metal
Origin: Canada / USA
Track Listing:

  1. The Task
  2. Attis' Blade
  3. Arcing Silver
  4. Ecstasy of Unbecoming

Sumac continues to put out great albums but didn't quite make it to the top spot this year. Their last two albums hooked me immediately, while this one took three or four listens before I really appreciated it. I think I still prefer their last two albums over this one but it's still a great album and gets my number 6 spot.

5. Azusa - Heavy Yoke

Genre: Metal
Origin: Oslo, Norway / Philadelphia, USA / Drama, Greece
Track Listing:

  1. Interstellar Islands
  2. Heart of Stone
  3. Heavy Yoke
  4. Fine Lines
  5. Lost in the Ether
  6. Spellbinder
  7. Programmed to Distress
  8. Eternal Echo
  9. Iniquitous Spiritual Praxis
  10. Succumb to Sorrow
  11. Distant Call

It feels like I was just talking about Azusa in my November Featured Album post. I think I like this album even more on each listen. I'm still not really sure what genre I would call it.

4. Black Moth - Anatomical Venus

Genre: Stoner Metal
Origin: Leeds, Yorkshire, England
Track Listing:

  1. Istra
  2. Moonbow
  3. Sisters of the Stone
  4. Buried Hoards
  5. Severed Grace
  6. A Lovers Hate
  7. Screen Queen
  8. Tourmaline
  9. A Thousand Arrows
  10. Pig Man

Stoner Metal often ends up boring me somewhat, but I really loved this album from the first time I heard it. I've probably listened to this album more times than anything else this year. It also has zero screaming, so even if you hate screaming, this one might be for you.

3. Sleep - The Sciences

Genre: Stoner Metal
Origin: San Jose, California, USA
Track Listing:

  1. The Sciences
  2. Marijuanaut's Theme
  3. Sonic Titan
  4. Antarcticans Thawed
  5. Giza Butler
  6. The Botanist

One of the albums with the most excitement surrounding it of 2018 also ended up being one of the best. The Sciences was their first album in almost 20 years, and was released on April 20th (of course). This album is incredible, and anyone who hasn't given it a listen should do it now!

2. KEN mode - Loved

Genre: Noise Rock
Origin: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Track Listing:

  1. Doesn't Feel Pain Like He Should
  2. The Illusion of Dignity
  3. Feathers & Lips
  4. Learning To Be Too Cold
  5. Not Soulmates
  6. Very Small Men
  7. This is a Love Test
  8. Fractures in Adults
  9. No Gentle Art

KEN mode just puts out great album after great album and this one is no exception. It especially makes me happy that after a rotating door of bassists, they seem to finally have a permanent one in well known member of the Saskatoon music scene, Skot Hamilton. I would highly recommend listening to any KEN mode album, and would especially recommend seeing them live.

1. Daughters - You Won't Get What You Want

Genre: Noise Rock
Origin: Providence, Rhode Island, USA
Track Listing:

  1. City Song
  2. Long Road, No Turns
  3. Satan In The Wait
  4. The Flammable Man
  5. The Lords Song
  6. Less Sex
  7. Daughter
  8. The Reason They Hate Me
  9. Ocean Song
  10. Guest House

Similar to Sleep, this is a reunion album, although much less time; it's been eight years since Daughter's last album. This album coming out was actually the first time I'd heard of them, but holy crap they're incredible. I've been listening to this album regularly since it came out and don't plan on stopping. I'm posting two songs below instead of one, because Less Sex is a really good song, but way more mellow than the rest of them.

I hope you enjoy my favourites, and feel free to suggest some of your own in the comments. I also have a full Spotify playlist of this list below.