We've ploughed through this year faster than a queue of teenage lads at an Amsterdam brothel, and boy, did 2022 give us some absolute smashers, or WHAT?! So, without further ado, let's crack into my personal Top 10 releases and open up the floodgates of unadulterated metallic FILTH! Get your waterproofs on! it's gonna get wet!

No 10:

Band: Fury
Album: Born to Sin
Genre: Heavy Metal

General Information:

Year of Formation: 2010
Label: Broken Road Records

If there's one area us Brits have always nailed, it's good ol' pounding Heavy Metal. We might have bad teeth, an insatiable thirst for tea, and be pro-queuers, but we're a feisty bunch when it comes to delivering the Heavy Metal goods. West-Midlanders FURY managed to get my knickers in a twist earlier on in the year with "Born to Sin". Fired up with more sizzle than a spit roast and spicier than a "Reader's Wives" wife munching on a Carolina Reaper, the rollicking NWOBHM feeling energy, collective dirty riffs, filthier vocals and ' according to my review of the album - "the most erotic soundscapes your ears will ever enjoy; this is Fifty Shades of FURY." This is a fine specimen of high-quality British Heavy Metal, with the artwork ' perfectly executed by the talented Andy Pilkington of Very Metal Art ' topping off the filth-o-metre of this release magnificently.

No 9:

Band: BrainBath
Album: BrainBath
Genre: Death Metal

General Information:

Year of Formation: 2020
Label: Independent

OK, so this is *technically* an EP, but in reality, only a track or two short of being a fully-fledged full-length, therefore deservedly belonging on this list. If trve underground Death Metal ' especially an affinity with 80's-inspired OSDM - is your game, get in this grimy Glaswegian gift. The self-titled six track EP claws fearlessly into downtuned nastiness, soldering the slap of buzzsaw action into its backbone, rams in a hint of blackened crust D-Beat, thrashy overtones and displays a set of nasty growling pipes that will make you moist. This is the stuff of wastepipe nightmares and sounds like it would smell of your maw's unwashed blue waffle. Nasty filth.

No 8:

Band: Venom Prison
Album: Erebos
Genre: Death Metal

General Information:

Year of Formation: 2015
Label: Century Media Records

I'll spare my proclivity for vulgarities on this one, purely because "Erebos" is possibly the most heartfelt, introspective release that I fell in love with this year. The album is masked with allusions to Greek mythology to represent very real and contemporary issues, with my review for FEMALE FRONTED POWER stating that "Erebos" is "an album that will be pivotal to this generation's influence in music, becoming a mouthpiece for them and pertinent in expressing societal and political observations and musings." The album conjures scathing imagery through the execution of anvil-heavy death metal riffs and seriously uncompromising, bruising vocals from Larissa Stupar. A fine opus to the band's catalogue indeed and well worth your time.

No 7:

Band: Toxik
Album: Dis Morta
Genre: Technical/Progressive Thrash

General Information:

Year of Formation: 1985
Label: Massacre Records

A familiar ' yet grossly underrated ' 80's thrash band, TOXIK's last full-length release was back in '89, with the proggy technical thrash tones of "Think This". Despite another line-up change ' with Josh Christian the only remaining original member - their delicious 'technical arrogance' still fuels the thrash engine, whacking out nineteen-to-the-dozen riffs and blasts, with unconventionality as the beating heart of this ferocious beast. TOXIK showed that their thrash aged like a fine wine in "Dis Morta": tastier, filthier, full-bodied and to be savoured. Just like your mum.

No 6:

Band: Bloodbath
Album: Survival of the Sickest
Genre: Death Metal

General Information:

Year of Formation: 1998
Label: Napalm Records

Whilst BLOODBATH's earliest works "Resurrection Through Carnage" and "Nightmares Made Flesh" are untouchable firm favourites, there's no denying that the filthiest superpowers of the Swedeath extraordinaires are the earworm riff and gargantuan, gravelly vocals. The trifecta of Holmes/Åkvik/ Nyström beckons an effortless ability to have a deep down and dirty gyrate to these death metal badboys, just like the early days of the band. "Survival of the Sickest" blessed us with "Carving" (the equivalent to the marmite track "Eaten"), and despite moving like I've got a bad case of tapeworms when I grind my hips to it, I like to think the lads would approve.

No 5:

Band: Venom Inc
Album: There's Only Black
Genre: Heavy Metal

General Information:

Year of Formation: 2015
Label: Nuclear Blast Records

Ever wondered what music Satan gets Mrs Satan and her girlfriend sinfully wet to? It's THIS! An incarnation of the legendary VENOM, VENOM INC showcase the spirit of the early days; blistering, crushing, and tight as hell. "There's Only Black" is a punishing sophomore effort to "Avé", bundling nuances of black, thrash and speed metal into one mammoth heavy metal fireball. Time has only added napalm to Demolition Man's fire with his unyielding execution, and the ferocious energy, sharp riffs and colossal groove entwined drumming are a sure certainty to some epic satanic foreplay.

No 4:

Band: Decapitated
Album: Cancer Culture
Genre: Death Metal/Technical Death Metal

General Information:

Year of Formation: 1996
Label: Nuclear Blast Records

A band that requires little to no introduction, especially since they're one of the finest exponents of technical death metal, the mighty DECAPITATED. Technically devastating, sickeningly precise, and superlatively brutal, DECAPITATED produced one of the finest slabs of technical death metal of 2022 in "Cancer Culture". Creatively melodic, structurally challenging, brutally innovative, the extreme metal pioneers have managed to epitomise every ounce of death metal expertise mastered over the years and compacted it into one crushing album. Enjoy that feast of blasts, dark melodies and endless brutality until they waterboard you into oblivion.

No 3:

Band: Inhuman Condition
Album: Fearsick
Genre: Death/Thrash Metal

General Information:

Year of Formation: 2020
Label: Listenable Insanity Records

Created by two former members of MASSACRE, INHUMAN CONDITION came bounding in with its debut, "Rat God", a seriously high-quality melange of death and thrash metal. A mere year later, the sophomore release "Fearsick" once again struck a balance of OSDM with boisterous thrash overtones to complete a collection of absolute bangers, and a sure way to have you in a neck brace within minutes. Retro, catchy, and no-frills death metal spew effortlessly, all wrapped in the garish artwork created by the mighty Dan Goldsworthy. This, my friends, is filth of the highest order and will tear your sphincter in two by the first riff.

No 2:

Band: Municipal Waste
Album: Electrified Brain
Genre: Thrash/Crossover Thrash

General Information:

Year of Formation: 2001
Label: Nuclear Blast Records

All hail the mighty WASTE! For over twenty years, these Virginian crossover connoisseurs have immortalised many a rambunctious activity in music, delighting thrashers' lugs with their noxious blend of riotous crossover, influenced by greats such as D.R.I, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, and NUCLEAR ASSAULT. They've amassed legions of fans who appreciate life on the simple but LOUD side of things, and man alive, do they bring it in "Electrified Brain"?! The latest addition to MUNICIPAL WASTE's discography is just as thermonuclear and devastating as the rest! It's uncompromisingly dynamic, shreds like there's no tomorrow and turns the reprobate notch up to "utter fucking annihilation": what more could you want?! "Electrified Brain" is absolute proof that the masters of crossover have still got it and MUNICIPAL WASTE do, indeed, still FUCK YOU UP!

No 1:

Band: Fit For An Autopsy
Album: Oh What the Future Holds
Genre: Deathcore

General Information:

Year of Formation: 2008
Label: Nuclear Blast Records

And finally, to my one true love of 2022, a release that I instantly fell for when I reviewed it back in January and even exclaimed, "FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY deserve to be contender for AOTY!This intense wow-inducing masterpiece is by far the easiest 10/10 I've given." I stand by my proclamation: "Oh What the Future Holds" is, by far, FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY's best release and rightfully places at the head of the table in my Top 10. With its viciously corrosive compendium of crushing breakdowns, tight as hell caustic riffage, and badass vocals from Joe Badolato, it's easy to understand how I created an apocalyptic 'lady garden tsunami' when reviewing this fine full-length. Hell, the riffs and breakdowns on this badboy are THAT sexual that I could've got pregnant with octuplets had my ovaries not been a shrivelled up, decrepit shitshow. I've spun my vinyl of this album to the point of almost wearing out the grooves, I've had near-death experiences of drowning in the bath taking FFAA in there on my Spotify, and I plan on passionately self-immolating when I see them at BOA next year. If you've yet to experience a decent metal-induced orgasm, this'll have your pants full of more cream than a dairy farm. Fact.

And there we have it! If you can't possibly wait a whole year for more of my metallic vulgarities and profanities, you can get a fix all-year round on my Instagram account, "mcmetalmaiden" where every post is guaranteed to be uncompromisingly 100% FILTHY.

Here's to 2023 gifting us with plenty more metal muck!