As it is NYE, I am going to post some of my favorite metal albums from this very year. Lots of good death and black came out, and alot of great sludge too.
In no particular order:
Obliteration- Cenotaph Obscure
Obliteration puts out some of the best Autopsy worship to ever grace the earth, and their new album is no exception. Vile riffs and pummeling grooves aplenty, with a decidedly pyschedelic edge.
Revocation- The Outer Ones
Revocation is a band that I've liked for a while, but haven't ever really considered myself a huge fan (their guitarist's other band, Artificial Brain, however...). That being said, their 2018 output was a pleasant surprise in a year filled with great music.
Sepulcher- Panoptic Horror
Super cool death/thrash with a heavy hardcore influence, Sepulcher really stunned me this year. Never heard of this band before this album, but it got me to check out their other stuff as well. Music for beating skulls in to, plain and simple.
Misrule- Forced to Suffer
8 minutes of blasting, relentless, sludgy grindcore from some pit of hell somewhere. Definitely looking forward to see where this band goes, and hopefully more comes out soon.
Infernal Coil- Within A World Forgotten
Infernal Coil might have released one of the most chaotic and dense pieces of metal music ever recorded for their debut album this year. This is absolutely violent, pulverizing war metal that borders right up into deathgrind while still staying true to the Blasphemy influence. It doesn't get much more infernal than this.
Thou- Magus
Will Thou ever stop getting better? I really don't know. Consistently putting out fantastic smatterings of sludge album after album. Must hear for anyone looking for new sludge.
Imperial Triumphant- Vile Luxury
A dizzifying trek into discord and dissonance, with a surprisingly prominent aesthetic of roaring 20's flair. It's kind of hard to describe the music without just hearing it. Definitely checking out their other music while waiting for the next.
Sleep- The Sciences
Sleep decided to start making music again after 15 years, and we were once again graced with their legendary breed of stoner metal- and it's really good too.
møl: Jord
Haven't been as impressed with alot of blackgaze since Deafheaven's Sunbather was the cool kid on the block (even their own music), but this is a fantastic blackgaze release that probably got overlooked by alot of people.
Panopticon- The Scars of Man on the Once Nameless Wilderness
Panopticon is an atmospheric black metal/folk music project that has been around for a while. Who would ever have thought that banjos and black metal would sound so damn good together? Anyhow, his new album is a 2 hour endeavor of 2 sides: 1 half of posty, atmospheric black metal to freeze over the coldest of tundras, and 1 half of beautiful, authentic folk music.
Bog Wraith- Omen
If more deathcore bands sounded like these guys, I'd be into alot more deathcore. Doesn't forget its death metal roots, has some killer riffing, but still isn't afraid to lay down a fat groove either. Became an instant fan of these guys upon hearing this, and excited to see where they go.
Harakiri For The Sky- Arson
Harakiri For The Sky's newest album is yet another foray into their particular breed of melodic black metal, post-metal, blackgaze, and more, and it's highly recommended. While not my favorite album of theirs, it is still a worthy entry.
...Here comes the part where I start spamming a bunch of old school death metal revivalist albums from 2018. There has been a huge influx of bands trying to return the genre more towards its roots, while also incorporating some of the better aspects of more modern death metal in order to make something that is pretty damn ideal. All of these albums rocked my socks off.
Honestly, there's so many more that I didn't post because this is taking me longer than I anticipated... cheers to a great year of music and another one to come.