Distorted Sound’s Albums of the Year 2019
And so, here we are, the end of another year. And what a year it has been. 2019 has been a stellar year for heavy music, and the sheer amount of quality albums released throughout the past twelve months have had us all well and truly floored. Whilst working out the albums of the year is difficult in any given year, 2019 has proved to be an enormous challenge, so much so, that we could have easily picked another 20 albums that would have made our final list. Alas, through the democratic nature of our editorial department, we can proudly present our albums of the year; class of 2019. Away we go!
20. Hvísl Stjarnanna – SINMARA (Ván Records)
Here to make sure Iceland is well represented alongside MISÞYRMING, SINMARA came storming out of the gate early this year. Released right at the start of March, Hvísl stjarnanna is the band’s second album, coming a full half-decade from their debut, Aphotic Womb. Right from the offset, the Icelandic quintet set the black metal bar incredibly high with Hvísl stjarnanna; offering a dark, melodic, tortured take on the fantastic Icelandic sound.
Hvísl stjarnanna rolls forward like a freezing fog, impenetrable and all-consuming right from the opening second. The melody in their black metal assault brings a huge sense of memorability, while also serving to drag the listener into a pit of melancholy, while the furious traditionalist riffing and vocal attack surrounds you in a maelstrom of sonic chaos. SINMARA may not be the biggest name in the world-beating Icelandic black metal scene, but make no mistake – Hvísl stjarnanna is one of the most emotionally charged and captivating black metal albums to see the light of day this decade. As the Icelandic scene is set to get ever-stronger in the 2020s, keep a fateful eye on SINMARA; they’ll be dominating it very, very soon.
Words: Fraser Wilson
19. To Bathe From The Throat of Cowardice – VITRIOL (Century Media)
If there is one band in extreme metal that should have caught your attention this year, it’s VITRIOL. Though the outfit, led by frontmen and creative masochists Kyle Rasmussen and Adam Roethlisberger, had been bubbling away in their local Oregon scene for most of this decade and garnered a fair bit of underground hype with 2017’s Pain Will Define Their Death EP, VITRIOL seemed to absolutely explode with their incredible debut album, To Bathe From the Throat of Cowardice.
Using intense technicality as a means to an end, rather than an end itself, To Bathe From the Throat of Cowardice is a deeply unsettling, emotionally charged and incredibly violent piece of music. Focussed, refined, and perfectly flawed, VITRIOL delivered one of the standout death metal albums not just of 2019 but of the whole decade with their debut. Rasmussen and Roethlisberger’s dual vocal attack is terrifying, while the former abuses his guitar in sickeningly delightful ways and the latter manhandles the low-end effortlessly. To Bathe From the Throat of Cowardice is a brutalising exploration into the darkness of the human condition, lyrically and musically obliterating the listener at every turn. Oblivion has never sounded so sweet.
Words: Fraser Wilson
18. Algleymi – MISÞYRMING (Norma Evangelium Diaboli)
One of two bands from the incredible Icelandic black metal scene to make Distorted Sound Magazine’s Top 20 albums of 2019, MISÞYRMING laid down iron-clad proof that the hype surrounding Iceland’s incredible black metal scene is far more than a passing fad with their sophomore record Algleymi. Following on from their critically acclaimed debut Söngvar elds og óreiðu, Algleymi reinforces MISÞYRMING’s place of honour in the Icelandic black metal pantheon.
Bringing a more mature, expansive sound than its predecessor, Algleymi has far more to offer than a blistering, bestial assault on the senses. Stronger song-writing sensibilities see MISÞYRMING bring a melodic black metal edge to much of the record, even injecting a simpler black and roll influence in places. Though it was another unexpected record, appearing with little fanfare, Algleymi proves to be a masterclass in the expansive, genre-bending qualities of modern black metal. Eviscerating when called upon, melodic to bring the hooks in and emotional when needed, Algleymi may have fallen under more than a few radars upon its release this summer, but looking back with hindsight it more than deserves a place of honour here as one of 2019’s strongest offerings.
Words: Fraser Wilson
17. Futha – HEILUNG (Season of Mist)
With their self-described ‘amplified history’ neo-folk collective HEILUNG have been turning heads ever since the release of their debut album Ofnir in 2015. Four years later and with an outstanding live reputation to boot, Futha continues to establish HEILUNG as one of the best projects to exist within our world. Their primal and raw energy acts as the beating heart of the record as the band explore a range of natural instrumentation whilst Maria Franz gives a truly breathtaking vocal performance across the record’s duration. In an age where musical experimentation and creativity is rife within our world, a band like HEILUNG represent artistic experimentation to the absolute maximum. They are the definition of the word unique and with Futha, the band’s soaring ascension is only set to continue.
Words: James Weaver
16. Shaped By Fire – AS I LAY DYING (Nuclear Blast Records)
AS I LAY DYING have encountered their fair share of controversy and negativity following on from the events which led to the incarceration of frontman Tim Lambesis. Whilst their reunion was met with considerable apprehension you cannot fault his determination to right his wrongdoings. Shaped By Fire is AS I LAY DYING at their brilliant best. Enticing melodies and energetic riffing is delivered in abundance. The lyrics encompass the themes of self-reflection and personal development influenced by the struggles encountered along the way and this provides a particularly engrossing experience. Whilst the style of the music is particularly similar to the AS I LAY DYING of previous releases, this album appropriately feels like the beginning of a new chapter and it will be intriguing to see where this reincarnation leads them.
Words: Dan McHugh
15. Fear Inoculum – TOOL (Tool Dissectional)
We’ve all known the tedious wait for a band’s next album, but TOOL fans have had to go beyond the limit in their anticipation for Fear Inoculum. Having such a hype around it, it was going to take something special to be worth the thirteen-year gap from 10,000 Days. What was delivered is an album that feels transcendent and intentional, flecked with polyrhythms, unique time signatures, vocal layering and intense lyrical scope and something monumental. The feeling of familiarity to their previous work is apparent- it’s nostalgic and yet completely fresh, with some of TOOL’s best work sitting on this record. While there are debatably some more meandering moments, the build-up through each movement in Fear Inoculum is considered; the pull between melodic and technical as apparent as ever, shifting from serene and though provoking to full out progressive mind melting. Having taken their time to create something worthwhile, it’s evident from the complete musical scale and both the critical and popular acclaim that Fear Inoculum hasn’t been a flash in the pan, money grabbing comeback project. So, was it all worth the wait? Considering that TOOL have both pleased and perplexed their listeners once again, it would appear to be a resounding yes.
Words: Laura McCarthy
14. Spiritual Instinct – ALCEST (Nuclear Blast)
ALCEST are a wonderful band, who write wonderful music. Having started their career flipping the black metal genre on its head and opening up the floodgates of possibilities thanks to their shoegaze, post metal influences, on this year’s Spiritual Instinct they consolidated everything that made them so good, and just made it even better. With the riff-led Protection offering the first glimpse of what could be, no one could predict the near bottomless beauty of Spiritual Instinct. Le Jardin de Minuit, Sapphire, and the culminating title track all bear the instantly recognisable sounds of ALCEST whilst also pushing things even further that Kodama did. The near industrial influence L’ile De Morts gives the song a pounding heartbeat before evolving into another beautiful song for the band to put into their nearly untouchable back catalogue. With dichotomy always being a running theme with the band thanks to their strange, influential sound, Spiritual Instinct takes this to another level, highlighting even further the constant need for light and dark, happy and sad, in order for truly moving music to be made. Bands like DEAFHEAVEN wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for ALCEST, and on Spiritual Instinct the group deepened their own legend.
Words: Eddie Sims
13. Internal Atomics – STRAY FROM THE PATH (UNFD)
Internal Atomics may be looked back at in years to come as the first STRAY FROM THE PATH record where its quality relied more on music than its message. As solid as the band have been during their tenure – they have never managed to release a sustained period of quality like what sits within the bones of this record. From the skin removing breakdowns on Kickback and Second Death, to the fluctuating tempo of The First Will Be Last – STRAY FROM THE PATH have never sounded so adept at penning hits.
It’s a story of all the stars aligning at the right time for STRAY too – right when the worldwide political conversation is as poisonous as ever, they’ve produced an album here that speaks for youth, and throws down insatiable rhythms at the same time. They’re a band that have deserved your adoration for over a decade, but Internal Atomics is the first time the New Yorkers have demanded your attention. You can’t help but feel like this is the record that takes the quartet from beloved hardcore band, to beloved metal band full stop.
Words: Kris Pugh
12. A Different Shade of Blue – KNOCKED LOOSE (Pure Noise Records)
How do you follow one of the landmark hardcore releases of the decade? By releasing another one. KNOCKED LOOSE shook the walls of alternative music when Laugh Tracks was let out of its cage in 2016, three years later and A Different Shade Of Blue is the album certain to take the band into another stratosphere. If the wincing tones of Bryan Garris surrounded by crushing breakdowns and turns of pace weren’t enough – here KNOCKED LOOSE incorporate elements of death, thrash, and straight up metal into their arsenal.
The result is an album that creates as much blood shed as it does memorable moments of euphoria. The genius guest vocal from EVERY TIME I DIE‘s Keith Buckley on Forget Your Name and the soul removing mosh call of “I have a bone to pick with death, he still follows me around” on Guided By The Moon are merely two examples from an album littered with hardcore excellence. It’s hard to think where the Louisville five piece go from here, but they’ve give you absolutely no reason to think it would be anything other than a road to even greater success.
Words: Kris Pugh
11. Heart Like A Grave – INSOMNIUM (Century Media)
There’s a fair case to be made that INSOMNIUM released one of the most ambitious albums in heavy music with 2016’s Winter’s Gate. The Finnish powerhouse threw caution to the wind with Winter’s Gate, crafting the album as one 40-minute song lyrically based on a short story written by frontman Niilo Sevänen and musically driving forward the band’s trademarked epic melodic death metal stylings. Winter’s Gate took INSOMNIUM to stages the world over, the band playing the monolithic track in its entirety, alongside some fan favourites. Having been pushed to another new level of success, the pressure was on for the Finns’ eighth full length, Heart Like a Grave.
But they more than lived up to the challenge. Taking a more standard approach to song-writing this time around, Sevänen and co. delivered a conceptually fascinating, emotionally devastating reminder of exactly why INSOMNIUM are the premier melodic death metal band on the planet with Heart Like a Grave. Delving into the roots of Finnish misery, the quintet bring melancholy and brutality in abundance, taking the listener on a journey through the most sombre of atmospheres. Heart-wrenching, but captivating.
Words: Fraser Wilson
10. SO WHAT? – WHILE SHE SLEEPS (Sleeps Brothers)
When WHILE SHE SLEEPS established themselves as an independent force of nature within the wider music scene on You Are We there was a real sense of excitement as we all speculated where they would go next, and how far they would leap with their next steps. What followed was SO WHAT?, a raging combination of the riff-led metal that erupted SLEEPS to the forefront of the genre coupled with the melodic and harmonic side of their sound that has been developing since Brainwashed. SO WHAT? proved that WHILE SHE SLEEPS are as confident as they have ever been, and are as wildly creative as ever, with synth and sample led tunes like I’VE SEEN IT ALL and THE GUILTY PARTY featured alongside socially aware mosh pit anthems like ANTI-SOCIAL and the emphatic title track. With this being their first release since Brainwashed working alongside a major label in Spinefarm, SLEEPS utilised the best of both worlds in SO WHAT?, crafting an album that benefited from the global reach of big labels whilst maintaining the vibrant and deep running creativity that constantly grows within the band across each release. WHILE SHE SLEEPS continue to be a real driving force in the heavy music scene, and long may it continue.
Words: Eddie Sims
9. Melancholy – SHADOW OF INTENT (Self-Release)
2017’s Reclaimer made ripples in the underground but on Melancholy, SHADOW OF INTENT made a huge announcement to the scene. Sure, the Halo themes that were ever-present in their lyrical and artwork have gone by the wayside but their latest outing represented a band coming of age. The symphonic elements that complimented their brand of technical deathcore are ever-present but here, they feel more refined, bolstering their blend of brutality to unfathomable heights. From the bombastic and hair-raising opening salvo of Gravesinger, devastatingly tasty lead work on Barren and Breathless Macrocosm, and with Ben Duerr giving one of the best vocal performances on record this year, SHADOW OF INTENT deliver punch after punch. If you want to hear some of the most monolithically heavy metal this year, Melancholy is the record for you.
Words: James Weaver
8. Death Atlas – CATTLE DECAPITATION (Metal Blade)
CATTLE DECAPITATION have been raising the bar time and time again as each release has passed and Death Atlas is no different. They have pushed their boundaries once more to construct a thought-provoking concept intertwined with some of the most visceral onslaughts witnessed throughout the course of 2019. Frontman Travis Ryan is in mesmerising form as his varying vocal styles mesh together seamlessly to create a diverse tapestry of captivating carnage. This is arguably the strongest lineup in the history of CATTLE DECAPITATION and long may it last if the standard is going to be this jaw dropping.
Words: Dan McHugh
7. Rammstein – RAMMSTEIN (Universal Music)
Ever a controversial, artistic and tongue in cheek, RAMMSTIEN are often thought of as a pyro obsessed, tantalising and titillating sort of band. And in many ways, you’d be right. This self-titled record is a glorious anthem filled album that will bring together the industrial synth lovers, partakers in the camp and the glam, and those just down to butcher the German language as they sing along. Crammed with big moments, you can practically feel the fire these songs will accompany at their mammoth, sell-out shows. However, it’s also a politically charged, socially aware album that really isn’t afraid to pick the scab off and show the worst parts of society and human nature. Bringing on some of the most powerful, hard to listen to, but equally beautiful songs like PUPPE, and even in singles DEUTSCHLAND and AUSLANDER there are historically charged videos and messages. RAMMSTIEN have demonstrated on this latest record that recognising the worst parts of us as a society also allows us to embrace all the best parts of ourselves. The more we deny what we are, the worst we all are and the worst things get. In that message, and after more than ten years away, RAMMSTIEN remain unafraid to be solidly unique experience, an industrial giant towering in their triumphant return.
Words: Laura McCarthy
6. Mana – IDLE HANDS (Eisenwald)
Who would have thought that the marrying of goth rock with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal would work so well? Clearly IDLE HANDS knew something we didn’t, because Mana has been one of the standout debut albums of 2019 and its position in our Album of the Year list is testament to that. For a shade over forty minutes, the Portland outfit bust out catchy anthem after catchy anthem, from THE CURE-influenced Jackie to the MAIDEN twin-lead attack on Blade and the Will. Hell, with Dragon, Why Do You Cry?, they even managed to make a topic usually reserved for the cheesy power metal of MANOWAR and TWILIGHT FORCE somewhat credible and, dare we say it, cool. The stand out track though is the driving, pacey Give Me to the Night, with vocalist Gabriel Franco giving his best performance on the record – not an easy feat given how powerful he is throughout – and featuring a glittering showcase from drummer Colin Vranizan. They’ve already attracted big-name attention as well, with KING DIAMOND taking them out on his recent US tour which, if a sign of things to come in 2020, means IDLE HANDS could be massive before long.
Words: Elliot Leaver
5. Eternal Forward Motion – EMPLOYED TO SERVE (Spinefarm)
When The Warmth of a Dying Sun was released in 2017, EMPLOYED TO SERVE made a massive statement of intent for not just themselves, but for the British metal scene as a whole. Indeed what that album did was enormously successful so the anticipation for their follow-up record was rife. Eternal Forward Motion not only lives up to the hype but puts the band in pole position to become a leading force in Britain’s heavy music movement for years to come. From the second the title-track roars into life, the band keep the momentum surging across its eleven songs of hardcore meets metal and it is white-hot listening experience. Force Fed guns for your throat whilst Dull Ache Behind My Eyes‘ slick grooves keep you fixated throughout its frenzied assault With British metal surging once again this year, EMPLOYED TO SERVE have proved with Eternal Forward Motion, that they are up there with the best of them.
Words: James Weaver
4. Strength In Numb333rs – FEVER 333 (Roadrunner)
Given the current political shitstorm we are experiencing in the west, politics in music has never been more needed and FEVER 333 are here to incite radical change. Led by the ever charismatic Jason Aalon Butler, the band had whipped up a frenzy thanks to last year’s Made An America EP and a incendiary live reputation, so there is a lot riding on debut full-length Strength In Numb333rs to not just maintain the band’s reputation, but to ascend it to new heights. Fusing a blend of hardcore, metal and hip hop with Butler‘s impassioned vocals lying at the record’s epicentre, their ability to capture your attention is simply jaw-dropping; one listen to Burn It or Animal is clear evidence of that. Even when the band tone it down a notch, with the street-level approach of hip hop ballad Inglewood/3, FEVER 333 are striking a real and lasting connection. They are the voice of a generation.
Words: James Weaver
3. Age of Excuse – MGŁA (No Solace)
They may lack the world-beating commercial clout of BEHEMOTH, or the genre-creating legacy of MAYHEM, but nonetheless MGŁA are inarguably one of the outfits at the top of the international black metal scene. The Polish masters of misanthropy and nihilism had been bubbling away in the underground black metal scene since the turn of the century, but it was with 2015’s instant-classic Exercises in Futility the outfit found global cult acclaim.
Four years on from Exercises in Futility, MGŁA came storming back to the forefront of the black metal scene. With little fanfare – the album’s existence was announced accompanying a single, but no release date or press campaign could be seen – Age of Excuse dropped at the start of September and immediately made its presence felt as a contender for Album of the Year. Furious melodic black metal at every turn, MGŁA seriously upped their song-writing game here; from start to finish Age of Excuse is loaded with unforgettable hooks, glorious lead work and a career best vocal performance from M.. Sonically and emotionally eviscerating, Age of Excuse is the most captivating black metal album of 2019, and a perfect way for the Polish warriors to round off a decade that has seen them rise to the top of the genre.
Words: Fraser Wilson
2. Sundowning – SLEEP TOKEN (Spinefarm)
The enigmatic SLEEP TOKEN have continued to pave their way with beautifully cathartic compositions which are tinged with heaviness in all the right places. Sundowning has proved that they are not just a flash in the pan with its spellbinding experimentation that has assisted SLEEP TOKEN in evolving into one of the must witness bands on the live circuit. Whether drip-feeding the tracks prior to release was an effective method of promotion is up for debate but what is certain is that the combined product is a force to be reckoned with.
Words: Dan McHugh
1. Samsara – VENOM PRISON (Prosthetic Records)
The past three years for VENOM PRISON have been a whirlwind. Ever since the release of Animus in 2016, the band have never taken their foot off the gas, touring relentlessly to get their name heard. They represent what it means to not only be a hard-working band in today’s climate, but one with an incendiary sound to boot. Samsara, the band’s second album, had a weight of expectations leading to its release but after one listen, something is apparent right from the off; this is not just a continuation of the VENOM PRISON sound, but one in which is seeing the group ascend to enormous new heights.
Their brutal blend of hardcore meets death metal is still there, but on Samsara, their soundscape feels more refined, more precise in delivering the knock out blow. The guitarwork from Ash Gray and Ben Thomas sway from passages of hardcore-leaning fury to technical flurries on Uterine Industrialisation whilst Larissa Stupar establishes herself further as one of the strongest voices in the scene today with a phenomenal vocal effort from start to finish. For a lot of bands, after such an explosive debut, the second album can be a pitfall, but for VENOM PRISON they have not just met the level of expectation; they’ve smashed through the glass ceiling. 2019 has been the year in which VENOM PRISON capitalise on their hype and establish themselves as a genuine world-beating band. And they deserve every ounce of success.
Words: James Weaver
And that rounds off our Albums of the Year for 2019! It’s been a pleasure being part of a breathtaking year for metal, we’ve enjoyed every waking minute of listening to all the wonderful records released this year. Thank you for supporting Distorted Sound this year, we are already cannot wait to see what 2020 brings!
