Just a little late to the party, but the early part of 2018 has been a busy (and productive!) time for me. All the better, because now I know which albums stand the test of time and were not mere flashes in the pan. Overall, 2017 was an outstanding year for metal in my books - easily surpassing 2016 in terms of quality, and helping me weather last year as well as this year's early storm of bustling activity. The downside was that picking only a select few albums was difficult! Hence, as opposed to last year's 15, here is a list of my twenty top records from last year, ranked in order of enjoyment (from "most enjoyable" at 20 and "incredibly-super-duper enjoyable" at 1). As always, click on the album covers for links to songs:

Honorable Mentions:

Blut Aus Nord - Deus Salutis Meæ: Another fine addition to Vindsval's impressive outpouring of ambient horror black metal.
Squalus - The Great Fish: A progressive/sludge concept album about Jaws.
Black Sites - In Monochrome: An impressive debut mixing Mastodon, Voivod, Pantera, and everything good about those bands.
Mastodon - Emperor of Sand: Still not Crack the Skye; However, still catchy, still relevant, still groovy.
Godflesh - Post-Self: Dirty, glitchy, and droning, a huge improvement from 2014's comeback album.
Morbid Angel - Kingdoms Disdained: Talk about coming back to life...
Iron Monkey - 9-13: Their first full-length in 19 years! As raw, crunchy, and punky as ever.
Pain of Salvation - In the Passing Light of Day: A matured, travelled band returns to progressive metal - awesome stuff.
The Great Old Ones - EOD: Lovecraftian atmospheric death metal has never been done this genuinely.
John Frum - A Stirring in the Noos: Technical death metal with all its structure and fury made "light" with post-metal and jazz passages.
Fleurety - The White Death: Dissonant, artsy, theatrical, nostalgic, quirky, and belligerent black metal.
Hellripper - Conjuring Darkness: Infectious black/thrash that injects new fuel to the field with riffs that would make Aura Noir and Venom proud!
Wolves in the Throne Room - Thrice Woven: The black metal soundtrack for Game of Thrones. Or it could be.
Bell Witch - Mirror Reaper: One one-hour long song of intricate funeral doom; exhausting and expansive.

20. Chaos Moon - Eschaton Mémoire

Haunting, hellish, and chaotic, *Eschaton Mémoire* is by far **Chaos Moon's** finest hour. The album veers between frenetic, technical tremolo-picked riffs and incredibly lush, rich passages structured around evocative melodies and gut-wrenching howls. Although there are several clones, there aren't many bands that are genuinely advancing the **Xasthur/Leviathan/Krohm** model of depressive American black metal like **Chaos Moon.**

19. Usnea - Portals into Futility

Dirge-like funeral doom is hard to do without putting the listener to sleep but **Usnea** excel at this art form. They manage to conjure up an utterly bleak landscape and hold the listener's interest by building on sorrowful melodies alongside slabs of thick sludgy riffs.

18. The Ominous Circle - Appalling Ascension

Hearkening back to the raw, buzzing guitars and bludgeoning wall-of-riffs reminiscent of early death metal classics such as *Onward to Golgotha* or *Osculum Obscenum*, **The Ominous Circle** create a 'blackened' atmosphere on *Appalling Ascension* with an aggressive and gritty edge.

17. Impure Wilhelmina - Radiation

Impure Wilhelmina's Radiation is exceptionally catchy, rocks out when it wants to, broods, purrs, and has multiple existential crises throughout its course. This album feels like the logical successor to **Katatonia's** *Discouraged Ones* with equal parts doom metal and equal parts **The Cure**, without losing the charm of either.

16. Dyscarnate - With all their Might

Although #16 on my list, *With All Their Might* wins the competition for Best Gym Music of 2017 as well as Best Music to Break Something and/or Everything. Admittedly, I'm not a big fan of self-styled "modern death metal" but my word, there are some riffs here that would make the most kvlt of old school death metal fans nod their head in wishful appreciation.

15. Elder - Reflections of a Floating World

I thought this album would feature higher on my list, especially after my self-proclaimed adoration for 2015's *Lore* - but that seemed to be the problem, that there was nothing like Lore before it, but *Reflections of a Floating World* is very much like *Lore*. I am unfair of course because **Elder** has put out yet another incredible album that ebbs and flows with free-flowing psychedelic melodies and seamlessly marries desert rock and progressive metal.

14. Archspire - Relentless Mutation

**Archspire** tread that fine line of overt virtuosity and brutality that borders on the tongue-in-cheek and the finesse of writing a technical death metal song remotely memorable and groovy (like **Martyr** or **Spawn of Possession**) --- and they do so really well on *Relentless Mutation*! Those still disappointed that **Necrophagist's** fourth album never materialized ought to be satiated by this offering.

13. Unearthly Trance - Stalking the Ghost

Claustrophobic sludge/doom delivered the way only **Unearthly Trance** can, *Stalking the Ghost* is a crushing, heavy, and destructive piece of work. It is an intense and grimy listen with slab-after-slab of filthy riffs that carry forward the legacy of *Morbid-Tales*-era **Celtic Frost** into a dark, relentless, and unforgiving future.

12. Planning for Burial - Below the House

*Below the House* is tough to pin down. Jon Rosenthal over at Invisible Oranges writes "Depression and depersonalization have historically set the stage for **Planning for Burial**’s idiosyncratic fusion of metal, slowcore, shoegaze, post-rock, and drone." I am surprised by how *warm* and nostalgic this album sounds despite its hardcore-tinged sound and psychotic disposition. I equate this album to the deranged *heavy music* doppelgänger of **Arcade Fire's** *The Suburbs*, recounting an altogether different perspective of suburban landscapes.

11. Dying Fetus - Wrong One to Fuck With

Nothing more to say about this than what the title says: do NOT mess with these battle-scarred veterans; they are at their peak performance. If you're a fan of anything even remotely close to death metal, there is no reason you will not enjoy this blisteringly fast, incredibly technical, and downright groovy album.

10. Power Trip - Nightmare Logic

These guys have come a long way since I saw them ~8 years ago at the old Emos in Austin, TX. *Nightmare Logic* is a catchy, catchy thrash metal album, plain and simple. Chunky guitars, neck-snapping riffs, in-your-face drumbeats, politically charged lyrics, and an "I don't care" attitude only found in pre-1995 albums make *Nightmare Logic* an absolute delight.

09. DVNE - Asheran

This album is an incredible journey, with a complex and elaborate approach to stoner metal songwriting. Although there are riffs aplenty for the seasoned headbanger, **Dvne** bring in an epic, vibrant, and theatrical atmosphere to the tried and tested formula. Although the comparisons to Elder are warranted, *Asheran* was a far more enjoyable (and heavier!) listen than *Reflections of a Floating World*.

08. Biblical - The City that Always Sleeps

This album caught me by surprise. Admittedly not (entirely) metal, *The City that Always Sleeps* is psychedelic rock that is progressive like a **Pink Floyd** album, memorable like a **Blue Öyster Cult** (or **Ghost**) album, jarring like a **CAN** album, and fluid like a **toe** album. It is immersive, relaxing, and highly intriguing.

07. A Pregnant Light - Devotion Unlaced

I simply do not know how Damian Master is as prolific and consistent (and peculier) as he is. Even though *Devotion Unlaced* is not a full-length, and is an EP, the material on it, like most of his other EPs is fantastic. **A Pregnant Light** makes music that brings together black metal, shoegaze, indie rock, and gothic rock, in a manner that's lush yet sparse, bleak yet hopeful, and gray yet vibrant. *Devotion Unlaced* is as good a place to start with **A Pregnant Light's** catalog as any of the other albums or EPs.

06. The Night Flight Orchestra - Amber Galactic

**Night Flight Orchestra** is pure, unadulterated fun. If you think that a group of Swedish melodic death metal musicians getting together to play late 70's/early 80's pop-rock would be a barrel of fun - you're absolutely right. And we're talking full. on. early 80s here - think Police/Toto/Supertramp/Billy Joel - yes, this is #6 on my 2017 "metal" album list. Go check it out!

05. Toke - (Orange)

*(Orange)* exemplifies the less is more formula: its an incredible thing listening to a band that doesn't stray far off from the major root of stoner/sludge/doom metal - **Black Sabbath** - and one that simultaneously manages to be unquestionably fresh in their approach. **Toke** unabashedly wear their influences on their sleeve and deliver catchy, Southern-rock-tinged sludge metal that you can't help but nod your head to and listen to them plod along. *(Orange)* is as if **Iron Monkey** released an album in 2017 - oh wait they did - this one is better!

04. Night Demon - Darkness Remains

This is sheer, good ol' classic heavy metal at its very best. Of course, you could write this off as **Iron Maiden** worship and enjoy it just as much, but you'd miss out on all the other NWOBHM tributes lurking throughout this riff-packed album including **Diamond Head**, **Thin Lizzy**, **Jag Panzer**, **Angel Witch**, **Satan**, and **Dio**. However, *Darkness Remains* is much, much more than a generic NWOBHM tribute and is an impressive album in its own right with a distinctive take on dueling guitars, galloping bass riffs, soaring choruses, and triplet drum fills.

03. Chelsea Wolfe - Hiss Spun

What an ambitious effort! Singer/songwriter experimental sludge doom - who knew that could be a thing done so well? *Hiss Spun* twists and writhes as **Chelsea Wolfe's** haunting voice and brooding lyrics crawl alongside the massive wall of sound created by Ben Chisholm's guitars, static noise, and industrial glitch.

02. Unsane - Sterilize

Unsane's latest addition to their unique noise-fueled approach to metal is best chronicled by vocalist Chris Spencer on the opening song of *Sterilize* (in his distinct, painful yows): "*Welcome back to this world of confusion*." **Unsane** are back and show no signs of slowing down since their debut ~26 years ago! This time though, their chaotic, manic, and aggressive breed of noise metal has a characteristic wistfulness and uneasy warmth about it. Rather than portraying a menacing mood throughout its course, *Sterilize* details the soundtrack of the moments of clarity oscillating between insomnia and insanity - a grand accomplishment!

01. Hell - Hell

Oh wow, this album came out of nowhere. Hell is the soundscape of the apocalypse rendered in sludge format. *Hell* consists of thick, viscous, *brownish* riffs repeatedly drilled into your cranium without any sign of subsidence, as the drums and bass summon up an ominous and ethereal background hellscape. The word *demonic* is freely used and abused in metal literature, but I cannot think of a more appropriate descriptor for the vocals on this record. *Hell* also shows signs of unexpected sophistication where the closing tracks utilize acoustic guitars and violins to color the hellscape with even more malevolence.