40. CONAN, “Violence Dimension” (Heavy Psych Sounds): Longtime doom battering ram Conan are as fitting as any band to take on our barbaric nature, and it’s splattered all over “Violence Dimension.” On this, their seventh record, they smear their bludgeoning energy over these seven (or eight depending which version you have) tracks that are weighty and hammering. “Foeman’s Flesh” opens with chugging guitars and a bruising pace, Jon Davis’ unmistakable howl stretching out over eons. The playing scorches while a rechanneled path pummels you, barbarian-like blows blasting air from lungs. “Total Bicep” is the song title of the year, and it flattens, howls strangling as a clobbering force makes its way across the earth. “Ocean of Boiling Skin” runs 10:03 and leads in with the guitars teasing, the pace flattening, and Davis’ wails bruising ribs. Riffs lap at the tempo beats you down, folding into weird cosmic winds, washing into eeriness as the drums explore the stratosphere. Another great Conan album. (April 25)

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

To buy the album, go here: https://www.heavypsychsounds.com/shop.htm#HPS341

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

39. LIGHTLESS, “A foreseen loss” (Fading Light Studio): Being staunchly anti-fascist isn’t a prerequisite for winding up on this list or for us liking a band’s music, but it’s a really good starting point to pique interest. Another is to play earth-scraping sludge and doom that lasts a long time and leaves you mentally devastated. That’s the case with German beasts Lightless, whose debut “A foreseen loss” packs 80 minutes of power into four tracks that can leave the ground around you melted. The shortest track here is the 18:11-long opener “Social pestilence” that drives you to spacious, menacing sounds that bask in cavernous power, vocalist/guitarist Dr. Christian Engelmann howling, “Your ideas are egoism, your faith is intolerance, your propulsions aren’t honest.” That blunt fury and long-form thunder spreads over “Alternating preeminence,” that pulls back on the pressure just a bit and floats overhead; and finale “Humanity’s closing chapter,” a track that laments the damage we’ve done to our own planet as money-sucking leadership scum fucks lie to keep their oppression in hand. “Evilness, severity, emptiness, darkness,” Engelmann concludes, the hammers dropping with fire. (April 30)

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

To buy the album, go here: https://lightlessdoom.bandcamp.com/album/a-foreseen-loss

For more on the label, go here: https://fading-light-studio.bandcamp.com/

38. LADY BEAST, “The Inner Alchemist” (Dying Victims): Distractions are nice about now, and putting on a heavy metal record that reminds you about your heart and fight could be the perfect antidote, at least for a while. That’s where Pittsburgh trad metal warriors Lady Beast come in with their fifth record “The Inner Alchemist.” “The Oracles Omen” rips out of the gates, Deborah Levine’s expressive singing in full command as always, the playing driving colorfully. “Through the Eyes of War” has a vintage Maiden feel at the start, I’m talking pre-Dickinson. “Starborn” starts slower and shimmers, channeling Rainbow, but it isn’t long until the guitars melt, and the beast tears through your chest, smoking like a chimney. “From the stars we’re born, and to the stars we return,” Levine belts. “Witch Light” is an urgent basher, twin guitars ruling, rocky melodies carrying the way. Closer “Off With Her Head” is a barnstormer, the vocals flexing, a fast, blunt chorus digging into your nervous system. Every one of their records kills. (March 28)

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

To buy the album, go here: https://dyingvictims.com/index.php

For more on the label, go here: https://dying-victims.de/

37. ZEICRYDEUS, “Le grande hérésie” (Productions TSO): There are not many bands like Zeicrydeus operating fresh out there, and their debut “Le grande hérésie” is one you won’t soon forget if you take on this seven-track crusher. Helmed solely by Phil Tougas, who you’ll know from Atramentus and Chthe’ilist and Funebrarum among many other, the approach is more bass-powered than guitar (though they’re definitely present), and the record might take you back to metal’s true formative years when styles didn’t matter but heart and tenacity did. Think Running Wild, Manowar, early Rotting Christ in a blender. “Ten Thousand Spears Atop the Bleeding Mountains” has a huge open with the playing brawling, keeping an exciting pace as the bass bubbles and lathers, boiling and warping. “Profane Spells & Naked Swords in the Emerald Meadows of Nhaath” chugs as guitars contort, speedy leads ripple, and Tougas’ creaking speaking and swarming hells boil in echo. “Godsteel (Blood of the Third Son)” is murky before guitar and bass beam through the clouds, eeriness clouds, and the pace rampages, breaking out the dreams of the mid-1980s to present day, heaving glory and fire across the sky. It’s like a time capsule of menace and ferocity, a record you don’t get many of these days. So indulge. Heavily. (June 30)

For more on the band, go here: https://www.philtougas.ca/

To buy the album, go here: https://loudtrax.com/productionstso

For more on the label, go here: https://www.philtougas.ca/productionstso

36. RETURNING, “Numinous” (Bindrune Recordings): Olympia, Wash., black metal power Returning fall firmly into the camp of those defending our planet, and on their great second record “Numinous,” they unload three epic journeys on a collection that feels like your center point is reestablishing its ties to the earth. “Sacred Decay” opens immersed in atmosphere, the singing wafting as guitars drift, shrieks then knifing in as the pace combusts. A fury whips into a frenzy, howls calling, “Smoke rises skyward, a symbol of ruin,” as the ignition continues to get hotter. “Ancestral Shadow Portal” is a quieter, more mid-paced piece that feels like a spiritual experience. “Offerings to the Great Circle” runs 19:18, the longest of these three lengthy pieces, and it rushes in, howls already scarring, blistering before a wave of calm enters, and this push and pull is something we keep revisiting. It’s a stunning experience. (June 20)

For more on the band, go here: https://returning.earth/

To buy the album, go here: https://shop.bindrunerecordings.com/products/returning-numinous-lp-pre-order

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

35. GAAHLS WYRD, “Braiding the Stories” (Season of Mist): Gaahls WYRD, ever since its formation almost a decade ago, felt like one that didn’t seem to adhere to genre expectations, nor would it care to. Helmed by black metal legend Kristian Espedal, known also as Gaahl, this project through much different waters while keeping blackness in its heart. “The Dream” is aptly titled as the opening intro cut is clean and trickling, Gaahl’s speaking bubbling underneath the surface, soothing and fading into the title track that opens adventurously and stays that way. “Voices in My Head,” another short one packed with fluid psychedelics, soft singing, disarming warbling, and strange synth zapping into the beyond. “Time and Timeless Timeline” is menacing, a black metal burst that feels like all the energy palmed into a fist. “Root the Will” brings a steady riff assault, a boisterous attack, and the singing gliding as the momentum continues to build. This is a miasma. And a trip to another plane. (June 6)

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

To buy the album, go here: https://shopusa.season-of-mist.com/band/gaahls-wyrd

Or here: https://shop.season-of-mist.com/list/gaahls-wyrd-braiding-the-stories

For more on the label, go here: https://www.season-of-mist.com/

34. RITUAL MASS, “Cascading Misery” (20 Buck Spin): Pittsburgh death horde Ritual Mass have the brutality down to a science, but their aspirations lie beyond that, which they prove on their mesmerizing debut full-length “Cascading Misery.” “Obsidian Mirror” starts with synth beams that feel like they’re invading from another realm, and then the leads stir and the vocals scar, driving a wedge between realities. A furious pace erupts that amplifies the brutality, the pace eventually slowing some before a smearing, blurring finish. “Immeasurable Hell” has guitars snarling and blazing, howls menacing, and smoke rising dangerously. The title track attacks, raw growls digging under fingernails, gargantuan riffs flexing and making things uncomfortable. “Frozen Marrow,” which is a nice treat on a warm day, is mucky as hell, guitars mangling, the speed hulking as the bass chews. Closer “Disquiet” runs 14:32, and it starts in doomy waters, disorienting and landing relentless blows, the roars crushing as the playing turns maniacal.  (Sept. 5)

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

To buy the album, go here: https://www.20buckspin.com/ritualmass

For more on the label, go here: https://www.20buckspin.com/

33. CHRISTIAN MISTRESS, “Children of the Earth” (Cruz del Sur): Ten years ago also was the last time we got a full-length from traditional metal power Christian Mistress, that being 2015’s “To Your Death.” This year, we finally had our friends return with the triumphant “Children of the Earth,” an eight-track, 33-minute bruiser. “City of Gold” opens shrouded in guitar smoke, Christine Davis’ leathery singing voice reminding us just why we fell in love with this band in the first place. “Voiceless” has strong leads and a defiance, showing a drive to stand up for those who cannot. “Use your voice, it’s what you got,” Davis pushes to those who have the ability, the guitars churning. Leads then blaze even harder, the spirit taking up arms, Davis asking, “What would the voiceless say?” “Mythmaker” is a killer, a righteous metal battle gem that reminds of Dio’s classics, and it starts with guitars chewing and Davis weaving through, commanding, “They say come see if it’s right for you, dance to death on the other side,” before declaring, “You are the mythmaker!” Closer “Shadow” is an end-of-record standout that should fire up every metallic cell in your body. Thrilled this band is back. (Feb. 28)

For more on the band, go here: https://christianmistress.bandcamp.com/album/children-of-the-earth

To buy the album, go here: https://www.cruzdelsurmusic.com/store/index.php?route=product/search&search=CHRISTIAN%20MISTRESS&description=true

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

32. KAYO DOT, “Every Rock, Every Half-Truth Under Reason” (Prophecy Productions): Kayo Dot is a project long helmed by Toby Driver that hasn’t even come close to making the same record twice. 11^th album “Every Rock, Every Half-Truth Under Reason” is no exception. Driver had AI on his mind when creating these songs, attempting to conjure something so bizarrely human that no machine could hope to duplicate it. Mission fucking accomplished. “Mental Shed” runs 10:53, and it starts with strange howls and keys slithering, ringing out in a strange aura that exists beyond this plane. “Closet Door in the Room Where She Died” has sounds swelling and manic screams, strings lathering as the feeling grows more deranged, unhinged moments weighing on you. “Automatic Writing” is the longest track here, running 23:06, and it really pushes you to the brink, dreamy lasers cutting through thick afternoon clouds. The guitars surge as the singing balances emotion, the sentiment feeling ashen and moody, the horns sweltering, the ghosts leaning into the misery. Closer “Blind Creature of Slime” is punchy and active, growls and snarls flexing, jarring as the playing jangles, and the sax bustles. Fuck off, Altman. (Aug. 1)

For more on the band, go here: http://www.kayodot.net/

To buy the album, go here: http://lnk.spkr.media/kayodot-everyrock

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

31. CORONER, “Dissonance Theory” (Century Media): Swiss thrashers Coroner helped formulate thrash’s brain, adding more technical and frostier notes to the art form, and on their comeback album “Dissonance Theory,” they put to rest whether this arm of metal remains relevant. Their first record in 32 years (the last was 1993’s “Grin”) is an open mouth into hell, a volatile, devastating, and much-needed reminder of what thrash can be and just how sharp its teeth are. “Consequence” gives you a real taste of what’s ahead, which is brutality. Riffs encircle as the pace properly mashes, feeling like they’ve purposely upped the ante. Ron Royce’s howls snarl, feeling animalistic, while the chorus wraps around you. “Sacrificial Lamb” starts in the shadows before trudging forward, lambasting religious fervor with tongue in cheek. “The Law” starts cleaner before the thrust pushes you back, though the pressure is a little less harsh, though just as heated. Nasty howls tangle with gray melodies, the leads pulling into the edge of the fog. “Trinity” drips in with wiry riffs, the playing pummeling as guitars rip, and even a darkening cloud coverage can’t obscure the anger. Incredible comeback. (Oct. 17)

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

To buy the album (U.S.), go here: https://centurymedia.store/

Or here (Europe): https://www.cmdistro.de/

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