40. FÖRN, “Repercussions of the Self” (Persistent Vision): We hadn’t heard from doom/sludge bruisers Fórn since 2018’s “Rites of Despair,” and in that time since, we’ve gone through a lot as people and a world. It’s clear its members, which now also includes Lane Shi Otayonii of Elizabeth Colour Wheel, also have developed into new forms as you can hear on their great “Repercussions of the Self.” “Soul Shadow” instantly enters into a deathly doom pall, Chris Pinto’s growls buried in a melodic miasma, Otayonii’s singing becoming an early factor, adding a chilling edge. “Regrets Abyss” starts clean before an elegant burst, growls menacing as the guitars pick up and eat through muscle, working into a haze that blankets the sky. Closer “Dreams of the Blood” haunts, a smoky essence unfolding, voices warbling before growls sink teeth into flesh. The playing lathers with heat, leads wandering into hypnosis, dissolving into a humid night. This reconfigured beast is a goddamn force. (Oct. 18)

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/Forndoom

To buy the album, go here: https://persistentvisionrecords.com/products/forn-repercussions-of-the-self

For more on the label, go here: https://persistentvisionrecords.com/

39. UNEARTHLY RITES, “Ecdysis” (Prosthetic): Finnish death metal power Unearthly Rites has plenty of anger and vitriol spread over their mangling debut record “Ecdysis,” but the goal behind it all is to make it possible for a brighter future that rises above all of the chaos. The band members themselves have taken up for environmental activism and have lashed back against mining and drilling actions that maim the earth and fresh water sources. That’s packed into these thunderous nine tracks that revel in filth and fight back against a power structure that only seems to care about how much money it can make. Tracks such as “Hellscape,” “Deep Drilling Earth’s Crust,” “Fuck Ecofascism,” and “Doom” are thunderous shots back as a system trying to strip the planet bare in the name of greed. (May 3)

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/unearthlyrites666

To buy the album (U.S.), go here: https://shop.prostheticrecords.com/

Or here (Europe): https://prostheticrecords.8merch.com/

For more on the label, go here:  https://prostheticrecords.com/

38. LUST HAG, self-titled (Fiadh Productions): Eleanor Harper’s Lust Hag project delivered its first full-length record, itself a dramatic concept record about a nameless hag who is battling through a fantasy world, trying to rescue her mother and deliver them both to the land of Verulica. Metal always has been rich ground for stories like these, but Harper also weaves in the realities she faces living as a trans woman in a small Montana town. Just reading through the lyrics makes the whole thing even more harrowing and enthralling, and then you take on the freezing black metal that drives at your like a magic blade in the night. Going from opener “Pursuit of the Nameless Hag” to rupturing “Dagger of Magdalene” to the daring closer “A Narrow Escape,” you get a raw, action-packed first full serving of this story, with the final moments setting the stage for what comes next, what awaits in Verulica. It’s a record I visit often, and with the days getting colder, it’ll be a go-to when I need something to heat up my blood in the dark days ahead. (April 26)

For more on the band, go here: https://eleanorharper.bandcamp.com/music

To buy the album, go here: https://fiadh.bandcamp.com/album/lust-hag

For more on the label, go here: https://fiadh.bandcamp.com/

37. GHUTS, “Regeneration” (Seeing Red): “Regeneration,” the latest record from Guhts, finds its inspiration from the idea that change and growth are vital elements, and pushing oneself to find the areas that truly bring contentment and happiness is life altering. There’s a noted difference from 2021’s eye-opening debut “Blood Feather,” as this music is more involved, darker, doomier, and certainly more emotional. And they always ran hot. “White Noise” starts with noise moaning and Amber Gardner’s singing immediately enrapturing. Doomy and breathy, the track moves through mystery until the bottom drops, heavy and sludgy playing darkening moods. “The Mirror” soaks in glimmering keys and warm leads. “Handless Maiden” pummels as strings agitate, and gazey ferocity spreads. And Closer “The Wounded Healer” has echoes chiming, deeper singing, and gazey moodiness hanging overhead. Suddenly, shrieks gut, the playing grows vicious and desperate, and a steamy haze overtakes your mind. (Jan. 26)

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/guhtsband

To buy the album (U.S.), go here: https://seeingredrecords.8merch.us/

Or here (U.K.): https://cargorecordsdirect.co.uk/products/guhts-regeneration

For more on the label, go here: https://www.seeingredrecords.com/

And here: https://www.newheavysounds.com/

36. GENITAL SHAME, “Chronic Illness Wish” (The Garotte): Debut full-length “Chronic Illness Wish” can bury you in rotting devastation and cause your most euphoric chemicals to race through your veins in a single song, something that Genital Shame accomplishes easily. The six tracks on this album can be razor sharp and flooded with melody, feeling like the initial germs planted by black metal three decades ago and filling some of the edges with occasional gaze and silver sparks. Helmed by Erin Dawson, she mischievously calls her style Transwoman Black Metal, though there is a lot more than just that going on here. Travelling from the effusive opening track “Become Someone Specific” through testy “Hermaphroditic Image” to the ashen, smoky closer “I Met Kerri Colby,” named after the well-known American drag performer, the record flexes its connective tissue from the church burning days of black metal but also keeps it mysterious and fluid. You never know where she’s going to turn, which is what makes this so intense. (Feb. 23)

or more on the band, go here: https://genitalshame.bandcamp.com/

To buy the album, go here: https://genitalshame.bandcamp.com/album/chronic-illness-wish

35. OXYGEN DESTROYER, “Guardian of the Universe” (Redefining Darkness): Pacific Northwest death metal monsters Oxygen Destroyer, named after the weapon that killed Godzilla in the original 1954 film, took their love of kaiju films even further by using them as an influence for their records. Their latest and third long player is “Guardian of the Universe,” the subtitle for the initial film of the Gamera trilogy, released in 1995. This nine-track, 33-minute beast follows the events of each of the three pictures, the other two being “Attack of Legion” in 1997 and “Revenge of Iris” in 1999. This beast stomps hard and never forgets to leave blood thundering through your veins with earth crushers including the thunderous opening title track; the crunchy attack of “Shadow of Evil”; fast and intense “Eradicating the Symbiotic Hive Mind Entity from Beyond the Void”; and techy and vicious closer “Exterminating the Ravenous Horde of Perpetual Darkness and Annihilation.” (Aug. 9)

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/KaijuConjuringDeathMetal

To buy the album (U.S.), go here: https://redefiningdarkness.8merch.us/

Or here (rest of the world): https://redefiningdarkness.8merch.com/

For more on the label, go here: https://www.redefiningdarkness.com/

34. VUUR & ZIDJE, “Boezem” (Prophecy Productions): Dutch power Vuur & Zijde (translates to “fire and silk”) brings the long-forgotten themes of love and intimacy back into our consciousness on their great debut “Boezem” (translates to “bosom”), a nine-track, 46-minute full-length. Conditional and unconditional love, intimacy, and the bonds of motherhood are major parts of this record, which is something you won’t find in many other places. Not in metal, anyway. There is a deep post-punk vibe interwoven into these songs, and they could just as easily find favor among metalheads as they could a goth audience or someone into Cocteau Twins. Famke Canrinus’ vocals are sung in Dutch and Frisian, a language still spoken in a few Dutch and German areas. Vuur & Zijde not only branch further than any metallic boundaries, they also refuse to back down from genre cliches by embracing the themes of love with enthusiastic darkness. “Boezem” certainly plays well in heavier music spaces, but there’s so much more going on here, a rushing world where nurturing and intimacy are embraced, celebrated, and put on full display. (July 12)

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/vuurenzijde

To buy the album (U.S.), go here: https://us.spkr.media/us/Artists/Vuur-Zijde/

Or here (Europe): https://en.prophecy.de/en/Artists/Vuur-Zijde/

For more on the label, go here: https://en.prophecy.de/

33. JUDAS PRIEST, “Invincible Shield” (Epic): Judas Priest don’t owe you shit, baby. Nothing. They could leave off piss bottle after piss bottle of a record if they wanted and just ride on their lofty accomplishments, and it would be FINE. But this is Priest. They don’t do that. They make crushers, and their 19^th record “Invincible Shield” actually is groundbreaking in a way: What does a band whose members largely are in their 70s do to create seismic waves in the metal world? They show up with their chops and confidence in tow, which they do over and over on this career twilight gem. The whole record is worth your time, and if other metal giants (hey there, Metallica and Megadeth) had half their heart, we wouldn’t be pining for the glory days. Priest’s glory days still are here, which they prove on  ’80s throwback “Panic Attack” that will lodge itself in your brain; the punishing title track; the brutally nostalgic “Crown of Horns”; and thrasher “Sons of Thunder.” Priest reigns supreme, and we are so lucky to live at the same time of these metal gods. (March 8)

For more on the band, go here: https://www.judaspriest.com/

To buy the album, go here: https://shop.judaspriest.com/

32. SUMAC, “The Healer” (Thrill Jockey): Taking on any record Sumac releases is an exercise in stamina, and “The Healer” is no exception. Over four tracks and a crushing 76 minutes, the band—guitarist/vocalist Aaron Turner, bassist Brian Cook, drummer Nick Yacyshyn—builds atmospheric sludge, glacial doom, and barreling improvisation on a record that weighs the wounds we all suffer, be it physically or mentally, and how the fight through that can result in newfound strength. “World of Light” is the opener and the longest track, running a healthy 25:54 and taking its time to form its ambiance. Noise builds as sounds vibrate, Turner’s growls punishing, feeling beastly and feral. “Yellow Dawn” opens with keys brimming, a psychedelic haze spreading, the playing eventually adding muscle as the howls rip. Then the pace mashes as blood races, hulking bass drives, and the guitars fry the senses. “The Stone’s Turn” is the 24:35-long closer, coming in charging and corroding, crazed wails meeting with frying guitars. Deep growls maul as the sinister intent increases, spiraling into dizzying playing before everything goes cold, the earth following suit. (June 21)

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/SUMACBAND

To buy the album, go here: https://thrilljockey.com/products/the-healer

For more on the label, go here: https://thrilljockey.com/index

31. BORKNAGAR, “Fall” (Century Media): Long-running black metal force Borknagar always have held nature in high regard, but maybe never more so than they do on their great 13^th record “Fall.” Here, the band—vocalist/bassist ICS Vortex, clean vocalist/keyboardist Lars A. Nedland, guitarists Øystein G. Brun and Jostein Thomassen, drummer/percussionist Bjørn Dugstad Rønnow—not only pays tribute but acknowledges the struggle many face when trying to measure up to a force larger than us all. “Nordic Anthem” is rousing and, well, anthemic, spirited singing punching, the rustic elements giving off folk pride, and it’s one of my favorite tracks of the year. “Moon” begins charging, keys drizzling, the singing pumping as every element comes to life. The leads melt before the soloing takes over, muscular singing stinging the senses, disappearing into a stormfront. “The Wild Lingers” enters amid humid guitars, singing spilling, and the steam thickening and rising. The chorus quakes the earth as symphonic glory spreads, the singing bellows, and a fantastical sweep captures minds. Closer “Northward” is balmy at first, but it isn’t long until molten rock flows, fiery howls rattle cages, and a fiery assault pulls into the lead. (Feb. 23)

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/borknagarofficial

To buy the album, go here: https://centurymedia.store/

For more on the label, go here: https://www.centurymedia.com/