2022 Top 40 Albums
(#31-40)
40: Tyler Childers - “Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven?”
Alt Country/Neotraditional Country
Tyler Childers is probably my favorite “new-to-me” artist that I was introduced to in 2022. Alt Country is breathing new life into the genre-at-large. While I won’t risk going near a country station, artists like Childers have huge followings online because they so gleefully go against everything mainstream Country music has become.
This album has a bit of everything - from gospel to funk - blended into this gorgeous appalachian folk/country style as Childers explores what his religion means to him and puts his faith on display in a fashion that seems to spit upon the concept of Tebowing. This album is intensely personal, and every track is a banger. Which is why, despite my issues with the overall gimmicky structure of the album which artificially lengthens it in an uncomfortable fashion, the album still scrapped its way into the top 40. Just barely. But listening back through it while making final decisions, what *is* here is goddamned brilliant. Childers is a powerful and raw vocalist, he puts his heart and soul into his music, and it shows.
39: Korn - “Requiem”
Nu Metal/Alt Metal
Nobody would blame Korn for hanging up their instruments at this point. Their first album released in 1994 - 29 years ago. And they’re still out here giving it their all. Nu Metal isn’t for everybody, but Korn is still one of the best acts in the genre.
This album isn’t as deep as their last effort, but it is filled with solid hooks and interesting production elements. Korn’s lyricism is as dark and desperate as ever, and the album is hard-hitting, musically and lyrically, from start to finish.
38: Rammstein - “Zeit”
Industrial Metal/Neue Deutsche Haerte
Speaking of almost-thirty-year-old-bands, here’s Rammstein. I’ve always had a fondness for this band. They’ve got their own style going, and they’ve made it successful. And, of course, there’s no vocalist in the world like Till Lindemann. Especially at 60 years old. Still, they’re also not a band who I would normally expect to rate this highly.
While this is *clearly* a Rammstein album, it also feels like a huge departure for Rammstein. It’s possible that I’ve missed portions of a gradual transition, but there are elements on this album that don’t register as things you hear on a Rammstein album. Electronic hooks? A song that sounds like a ballad? Autotune? Like…this is clearly a *different* Rammstein album. And it’s really good. You don’t need to understand German to enjoy good music. Besides, Rammstein has this knack for making themselves understood. Between Lindemann’s ability to insert emotion into his vocals and the aggressive instrumentation, you understand what the mood is, always.
Also, there’s a song praising boobs. We all love boobs.
37: Ghost - “Impera”
Heavy Metal/Hard Rock
Ghost is another artist I’ve only just discovered in 2022. I’ve yet to go through their old discography, so I can’t speak to how this album fits their typical sound. Normally, I don’t really go in for bands with gimmicks. Like KISS. Even if the music is good, it’s like…why? Ghost’s gimmick is very *Satanism*, like anti-Catholicism sort of thing. The vocalist, Tobias Forge, plays a lineage of characters who are basically the anti-Pope, Papa Emeritus (we’re up to Papa Emeritus IV now). The rest of the band is anonymous, generally just known as “Nameless Ghouls”. The goal for that is, seemingly, to get the audience to focus on the art. And they all perform in costume and facepaint.
It’s a whole thing.
But the crux is that the actual music is incredibly good. It’s heavy metal, but with a heavy focus on melody. There’s sections with heavy bass and guitar, but also sections with, as in “Darkness At The Heart of My Love”, a harpsichord front-and-center with finger-snapping percussion. Several of these songs WILL get stuck in your head as a result. Further, the lyricism, within this box the band has put themselves in, is downright brilliant at times. Talking about the “spillways of your soul”? Fuck, that’s good.
I want to finish with a caveat - while there have been some absolutely mind-blowing opening tracks in 2022, this album does not follow that trend. “Kaiserion” isn’t *bad*, but it’s definitely one of the weakest tracks on the album. If you decide to give this one a listen (which I encourage), skip on past that one to get to “Spillways” and “Call Me Little Sunshine”.
36: The Gathering - “Beautiful Distortion”
Symphonic Rock/Prog Rock
The Gathering is a Dutch rock group with a penchant for harmony and complex arrangement. There’s a lot going on, yet it’s very vocals-forward, so often seems simpler than it is at first glance. This album released at the same time as Eye of Melian’s debut offering. Both albums have similar sounds and do a lot of the same things, but The Gathering does it better and has a bit more variety throughout.
It’s a largely atmospheric album, rarely solidifying itself, so the songs are haunting and ethereal, with the melody dancing closer, then away, then closer, and slowly building up before fading altogether. The instruments swap in, so even where the melody goes away, there’s still a lot going on in any given track. It’s a beautiful album. Not one to dance to, but if you want a good mellow, this one should do it for you.
35: Elder - “Innate Passage”
Sludge Metal/Doom Rock
Elder is my favorite jam band. Like, they just go. And it’s great. Especially when I need something in my ears to help me focus on a task for work, nothing beats Elder. The bass drones enough to help me tune out distractions, and it’s complex enough to keep the bit of me that goes looking for distractions from leaving the task I’m trying to focus on. The band is always tight, everything feels intentional when you listen close, but also like they’re just playing.
This album also has the most vocals of any Elder album to date. And the best. It’s just five tracks, but almost an hour in length. This one is going to get a lot of play from me.
34: Battle Beast - “Circus of Doom”
Power Metal
Battle Beast is a band I first heard of in 2019. They were touring in support of Kamelot, and I managed to get tickets for their Atlanta date. So I listened to some of their music before the show and it was great - but man, this band is wild live. Frontwoman Noora Louhimo was wearing Tiefling horns and keeping the energy through the roof. We only saw a few songs from their set (we were running late), but holy crap they were great.
How does that relate to this album? Why is that relevant? Because every track on this album sounds like it would be absolutely balls-to-the-wall phenomenal live. There’s so much energy on this album, and every song is a banger. It’s a fun listen, start to finish. It just lacks some deeper cohesion, which is why it’s only 34th overall. But if you’re looking for good power metal (which I lamented the lack of last year), this is a great place to start.
33: Roser - “Roser”
Indie Rock/Alt Soul
Full disclosure here - the vocalist and bassist are my neighbors and friends. I know the band and have gotten to hear them live three or four times.
But, guys…this band is incredible. Like, they’re still getting their feet under them, and they all have lives and things, which is why the album doesn’t break thirty minutes. But they’re so in-sync. Like, listening to a Roser song is really the epitome of listening to all of the individual parts come together to make the best possible whole. Everybody in the band gives their role everything, and you can hear where each element of the song fits in. On the album and live. Not many bands can really pull that level of blend off - old Sonata Arctica (like, albums released prior to about 2009) was really the last band to scratch that itch this well.
Several of my favorite songs from 2022 are from this album - “Little Stitches”, “Low”, “Drip” - heck, even “Wandering”, despite the weird metaphor. (Maybe Mary can explain that one to me…?) I’m incredibly excited to hear what they come out with next - hopefully in 2024, because I definitely don’t want them to rush. As the band grows, I think they have really incredible potential and my ears and I really hope they reach it. I mean, if *this* is their debut album, it’s really exciting to think about.
32: Dragonland - “The Power of the Night Star”
Power Metal
It really was a good year for Power Metal. Dragonland is the sort of band that I enjoy, but I still never expected to get a full album from them worthy of making this list. They’re good, but their previous efforts have lacked cohesion - not just for the album, but within each track as a band. This album turned all of that around. This is a sprawling, epic metal space opera about a peaceful civilization being threatened by a much larger aggressor and how they survive and overcome.
And the music behind it. The band has stepped up their game in every aspect. The instruments work together in perfect harmony, providing a soaring, sweeping backdrop for the story woven by the vocals. I mean, this is what power metal is meant to be. This is why I fell in love with the genre. Dragonland is definitely on the rise. Their lyricism could still use some work. But they impressed me with this one.
31: Alter Bridge - “Pawns & Kings”
Alt Metal/Prog Metal
Alter Bridge stepped it back up a notch with this album. I’ve come to view Alt Metal as the metal version of Post-Grunge. Like, it’s generic. That’s where every mainstream band in the genre is, which is why the Butterfly Effect album was *such* a disappointment. However, Alter Bridge knows how to put together good melodies with good hooks and make a fun album. “Holiday” and album-opener “This is War” are two of the best illustrations of this skill.
But that doesn’t cover the whole album. Because there are a few standout tracks that deepen the experience a bit: “Sin After Sin”, “Fable of the Silent Son”, and the title track, “Pawns & Kings”. These are also the three longest tracks on the album, and bring in a lot of Prog elements. Frankly, they might be three of the best tracks that Alter Bridge has ever made. “Last Man Standing” is shorter, but also utilizes a lot of prog elements.
Maybe this duplicity is intentional as an illustration of the “Pawns & Kings” title? I don’t know, for sure. What I do know is that this is the best AB album in a long time.