The year 2022 will go into the history books as the year of the rebirth after two barren years of restrictions. Live shows and festivals were back, and bands and fans were desperate to make the most out of it. In terms of new releases in 2022, there was a massive amount of new and exciting material. My top 20 list represents a mix of the albums, I was impressed most and I reviewed many of them. However, the list is only a snapshot and is far from being complete. Enjoy.

No. 20:

Band: Visions Of Atlantis
Album: Pirates

General information:

Year of Formation: 2000
Record label: Napalm Records

I have never been a big fan of VISIONS OF ATLANTIS. Yes, they have charismatic vocalist Clementine Delauney among their ranks, but I always thought that their sound is not distinctive enough, not unique. "Pirates" changed my view and in fact, it changed my view when I saw them performing the new songs live. They were full of energy and it was a joy seeing the band celebrating their songs. Most importantly, there are hardly any symphonic Metal albums out there with sing-alongs like "Melancholy Angel" "Clocks", or "Freedom".

No. 19:

Band: Moonlight Haze
Album: Animus

General information:

Year of Formation: 2018
Record label: Scarlet Records

There is a lot of melodic and symphonic Metal coming out of Italy. MOONLIGHT HAZE deliver a dynamic, positive and very energetic album. The sound of "Animus" is mature, melodic, catchy, easy to listen to, and has the right balance between Metal and orchestral arrangements. Songs like "It's Insane", "Midnight Haze", or "We'll Be Free" are simply fun to listen to. MOONLIGHT HAZE leave a serious mark in the symphonic Metal arena and "Animus" is one of the best albums that have been released this year.

No. 18:

Band: Deadscape
Album: Of The Deepest Shade

General information:

Year of Formation: 2015
Record label: Independent

"Of The Deepest Shade" is melodic Death Metal of highest quality. It is a remarkable album as it smartly combines different layers within the melodeath framework. Highlights are the guitars, the interplay of both guitarists, and the diversity in rhythm, melodies, and atmosphere. DEADSCAPE do not re-invent the wheel, but the way how they mix the variety of melodic Death Metal styles and influences deserves full admiration. It is the debut album of a young and promising band, and melodic Death Metal fans can look forward to the future releases of DEADSCAPE.

No. 17:

Band: Entrails
Album: An Eternal Time Of Decay

General information:

Year of Formation: 1990
Record label: Hammerheart Records

I love the traditional Swedish Death Metal sound! "An Eternal Time Of Decay" has all the attributes of it in abundance: the buzzsaw sound, the directness and aggressiveness in the riffing, and the bone-chilling melodies. ENTRAILS do not experiment; they use a well-tried concept of Death Metal, however, it sounds fresh and dynamic. Therefore, "An Eternal Time Of Decay" is one of the best traditional Death Metal albums of the year.

No. 16:

Band: Secret Rule
Album: The Resilient

General information:

Year of Formation: 2014
Record label: 7hard

SECRET RULE is one of the hardest working Italian melodic Metal bands as "The Resilient" is already their 8[sup]th[/sup] release and as many years. The album is an excellent record with anthemic choruses and bombastic sound. "The Resilient" represents everything what modern melodic Metal is about, including the crossing of boundaries. It is a very authentic album and highlight are the charismatic vocals of Angela di Vincenco as she keeps the different music of the album very well together and perfectly understands it to transport emotions. Songs like "One More", "The Illusion" and "The Hope" represent the very best of melodic Metal in 2022.

No. 15:

Band: KiaRa
Album: Archangel

General information:

Year of Formation: 2018
Record label: Independent

"Archangel" is a mix of modern symphonic Metal, symphonic Death Metal, and symphonic Black Metal. The melodic framework is grim throughout without compromise. The vocals are clearly the highlight of the album, Anna Moiseeva's vocal range, her power, and her capability to keep the music together and to lead from the front is very impressive. The compositions are highly sophisticated, showing a mature songwriting. Anna Moiseeva sets the bar very high with her project KiaRa and finally steps out of the shadows of IMPERIAL AGE.

No. 14:

Band: Esperfall
Album: Act I ' Origins In Darkness

General information:

Year of Formation: 2016
Record label: H-Music

The music on "Act I - Origins In Darkness" is an excellent mixture of Power Metal, symphonic Metal, and melodic Death Metal. ESPERFALL are not afraid to cross boundaries, which makes their music standing out from the rest. Album highlights are the lead guitars as well as the transitions between the genres within the songs. Key to the album is vocalist Nora Sima, who has an amazing talent in different vocal styles ranging from traditional symphonic Metal towards melodic Death Metal. "Act I - Origins In Darkness" has been a remarkable album and ESPERFALL is a name to remember for the future.

No. 13:

Band: Ardours
Album: Anatomy Of A Moment

General information:

Year of Formation: 2015
Record label: Scarlet Records

It was the second full-length album of Mariangela Demurtas band ARDOURS and they established their very own signature sound further. "Anatomy Of A Moment" is a mix of modern Gothic sound and sound elements of the 80s. This symbiosis is possible due to excellent songwriting and the outstanding vocal qualities of vocalist Mariangela Demurtas. I always loved her vocal strengths: her ability to transport emotions and her versatility ranging from being powerful towards being very fragile, which enables her to interpret the melancholic elements to perfection. All those elements make the ARDOURS sound so unique. "Anatomy Of A Moment" is a statement for modern Gothic Metal, but also for the good old 80s.

No. 12:

Band: Victoria K
Album: Kore

General information:

Year of Formation: 2019
Record label: Rockshot Records

I always have a soft spot for concept albums and mixtures of sound elements. "Kore" is a concept album taken from the Greek mythology and it does not follow a common approach to symphonic Metal. It has a lot of elements from different genres and VICTORIA K is not afraid to experiment and to cross boundaries with the sound. The melodies have a lot of middle-eastern influence and flashes of traditional Greek Folk music shine through. Vocalist Victoria Knight calls it "dark symphonic progressive Metal". Well said! The highlight of the album is Victoria Knight herself: her vocal range, versatility, and power is simply stunning. "Kore" is among the very best symphonic Metal albums this year if you are ready to expect the unexpected.

No. 11:

Band: Municipal Waste
Album: Electrified Brain

General information:

Year of Formation: 2001
Record label: Nuclear Blast

MUNICIPAL WASTE albums are always fun to listen to and "Electrified Brain" is no exception. As a Thrash Metal fan, I struggled a bit this year and I have not been impressed by most of the Thrash releases this year. "Electrified Brain" is different. It sounds fresh, dynamic, aggressive, and it has all the classical Thrash Metal and Crossover ingredients, the listener would expect from such album. MUNICIPAL WASTE do not do something groundbreaking new. They have their own niche, they stick to it, and that makes them unique. So here we go: MUNICIPAL WASTE top my Thrash Metal album list in 2022.

No. 10:

Band: Amon Amarth
Album: The Great Heathen Army

General information:

Year of Formation: 1992
Record label: Metal Blade Records

There have been a lot of new albums released by the big boys like KREATOR, MACHINE HEAD, or MEGADETH, but I was disappointed by many of them. Not so by AMON AMARTH! They delivered another master class in crushing riffs, epic melodies, and anthemic choruses. "The Great Heathen Army" is a seamless continuation of the AMON AMARTH trademark sound, which is so much loved by their fans all over the world, and it is of course one of the best Death Metal releases in 2022.

No. 9:

Band: Behemoth
Album: Opvs Contra Natvram

General information:

Year of Formation: 1991
Record label: Nuclear Blast

BEHEMOTH have always been a band that progressed. They arguably had their most creative phase during the Demigodian era and, besides "Demigod", albums like "The Apostasy" or "Evangelion" were always their landmark albums for me. "Opvs Contra Natvram" reminds me on this era and with that album, BEHEMOTH are back on track after the mediocre "I Love You At Your Darkest". "Opvs Contra Natvram" has the rawness, the anger, the genius in songwriting, and songs like "The Deathless Sun" "Ov My Herculean Exile" and "Off To War" are real bangers!

No. 8:

Band: Empress
Album: Fateweaver

General information:

Year of Formation: 2018
Record label: Independent

There were a lot of very good symphonic Metal albums this year and my top 20 lists a few of them. "Fateweaver" is for me the pick of the bunch as it is symphonic Metal at its best with the guitar riffing, the lead guitar solos, the drumming, and the vocals. EMPRESS were able to find a very good symbiosis between heaviness, bombast, epic elements, and orchestral arrangements. Key to the symphonic Metal sound is vocalist Barbara Blackthorne, whose vocal range and versatility keeps the EMPRESS sound perfectly together. Her ability to transport emotions to the listener is an extra asset. Given that the journey of EMPRESS has just started, I am wondering where that will end? The sky is the limit.

No. 7:

Band: Krisiun
Album: Mortem Solis

General information:

Year of Formation: 1990
Record label: Century Media Records

KRISIUN delivered an excellent and authentic trademark Death Metal sound. "Mortem Solis" is a 40 minutes pummeling at a high level where the guitars, drums, bass, and vocals equally contribute. They kept their album fresh and dynamic by introducing complexity in the song structures and variation in tempo and rhythm. When I reviewed the album at the time of the release, I guessed that "Mortem Solis" would rank among the Death Metal albums of 2022 and here we are: I hardly heard any better Death Metal albums than "Mortem Solis".

No. 6:

Band: Morphide
Album: Anhedonia

General information:

Year of Formation: 2018
Record label: Independent

"Anhedonia" is an outstanding debut album and mix of extreme and progressive Metal. The guitars and the vocals are technically of high quality and in particular, the vocals of Eissa Zovnercuka have a huge versatility and the songs are tailored towards her vocal strengths. The "concept of breathing" is central to the album and the permanent switches between quiet and aggressive parts are the trademark sound of "Anhedonia". Is MORPHIDE a kind of SPIRITBOX next generation? The future will show. At least "Anhedonia" leaves an impressive mark with potential for even more.

No. 5:

Band: Strigoi
Album: Viscera

General information:

Year of Formation: 2018
Record label: Season Of Mist

Formed by PARADISE LOST and former VALLENFYRE mastermind Greg Macintosh and bassist Chris Casket (ex-VALLENFYRE, ex-EXTREME NOISE TERROR), STRIGOI's second album is a masterclass of a doom-laden Death Metal sound. "Viscera" has all ingredients of an outstanding album: it has aggression, a blood-freezing atmosphere, a signature melodic sound framework, as well as a perfect mixture of directness and complexity in the song structures. STRIGOI are not afraid to experiment with different sound elements and influences, yet they have developed their very own unique sound. "Viscera" is a beast of an album and goes rightly so into my top 5 albums of the year.

No. 4:

Band: Bloodhunter
Album: Knowledge Was The Price

General information:

Year of Formation: 2008
Record label: Independent

"Knowledge Was The Price" is among the very best melodic Death Metal albums in 2022. The classical BLOODHUNTER sound consisting of technically comprehensive guitars and the brutality of the growls of Diva Satanica were the basis for the album. Compared to earlier albums, BLOODHUNTER have improved in almost every department and especially in the songwriting. It looks like Diva Satanica's arrival in NERVOSA has released some extra qualities in BLOODHUNTER. Is it all so simple? "Knowledge Was The Price" would have topped my melodeath list of 2022, if there were not another one below...

No. 3:

Band: Bloodbath
Album: Survival Of The Sickest

General information:

Year of Formation: 1998
Record label: Napalm Records

BLOODBATH represents as no other band the Swedish Death Metal sound of the early years. It is the 6[sup]th[/sup] album release of the Death Metal icons and after the dip with "The Arrow Of Satan Is Drawn", "Survival Of The Sickest" is a celebration of Death Metal at its very best. There were a few guest vocalists supporting front man Nick Holmes such as Barney Greenway, Luc Lemay, or Marc Grewe adding different layers and vibes to the sound. For me, songs like "Zombie Infernal" "Dead Parade" "Malignant Maggot Therapy", and "Carved" are absolute Death Metal highlights and that is why "Survival Of The Sickest" tops my Death Metal list in 2022.

No. 2:

Band: Gwendydd
Album: Censored

General information:

Year of Formation: 2018
Record label: Drakkar Entertainment

GWENDYDD had an amazing year. They first signed for Drakkar Entertainent, then went on an extended European tour with DARK TRANQUILITY and followed up with their first European headliner tour. "Censored" is extreme Metal at its best and combines powerful guitar riffing, brutal growls, and crunching bass lines with playful melodic features as well as with progressive and groove elements. GWENDYDD are not shy to experiment with their sound and are ready to cross boundaries. "Censored" was one of the landmark albums this year and there is a lot of more to come from one of the most promising young Metal bands in Europe.

No. 1:

Band: Arch Enemy
Album: Deceivers

General information:

Year of Formation: 1995
Record label: Century Media Records

ARCH ENEMY are getting better and better over the years. Their trademark sound consisting of huge riffs, epic melodies, and anthemic choruses has never changed over the years, but they always managed to keep things fresh and dynamic, also thanks to vocalist Alissa White-Gluz. I often think, the arrival of Alissa brought out some extra 10% out of the band. "Deceivers" is an album packed with highlights and a smart mixture of epic sing-alongs and a more direct and faster melodeath sound. It seems that the riff library of Michael Amott never stops to deliver something outstanding. If you listen to songs like "Deceiver, Deceiver", "The Eye In The Storm", "The Watcher", or "Poisened Arrow", you will know why "Deceivers" is my metal album of the year.