The Fallen - 2022 Roundup

I'm having some issues with my 2022 list this year, so I'm going to try and break everything down by Clan to try and organize my thoughts. Here's my full, ordered list of Fallen albums I've checked out this year, I'd be interested to see anyone else's top 5 or 10 or whatever as we're going into the final month of 2022. Despite not checking out too many Fallen albums, the first 8 or so are extremely heavy hitters in my overall list this year. 

1. Messa - Close
2. Epitaphe - II
3. Cult of Luna - The Long Road North
4. Dvvell - Quiescent
5. Author & Punisher - Kruller
6. Mizmor & Thou - Myopia
7. Conan - Evidence of Immortality
8. Worm - Bluenothing
9. Shape of Despair - Return to the Void
10. Celeste - Assassine(s)
11. Dream Unending - Song of Salvation
12. Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard - The Harvest
13. Obsidian Sea - Pathos
14. Ard - Take Up My Bones
15. Tzompantli - Tlazcaltiliztli
16. Konvent - Call Down the Sun
17. Temple of Void - Summoning the Slayer
18. Absent In Body - Plague God
19. Druid Lord - Relics of the Dead
20. Crowbar - Zero and Below
21. Night Hag - Phantasmal Scourge
22. Oceans of Slumber - Starlight and Ash
23. Chat Pile - God's Country
24. Mizmor - Wit's End

It looks like we have a high degree of consensus on this year's Fallen releases, Xephyr, as your list does not look massively unlike my own. The Cult of Luna album seems like the main one that separates us and, to be honest, I think it is still a good album, but I am tiring of CoL's one-trick pony songwriting approach which is, basically,  build... build... build... build some more... RELEASE .

I may post a list in the lists section, but for now here is my Top 30:

1. Dvvell - Quiescent

2. Messa - Close

3. Epitaphe - II

4. Mournful Congregation - The Exuviae of Gods: Part I

5. Shape of Despair - Return to the Void

6. The Funeral Orchestra - Funeral Death - Apocalyptic Plague Ritual II

7. Conan - Evidence of Immortality

8. BlackLab - In a Bizarre Dream

9. Tzompantli - Tlazcaltiliztli

10. Temple of Void - Summoning the Slayer

11. Worm - Bluenothing

12. Boris - Heavy Rocks

13. Night Hag - Phantasmal Scourge

14. Friends of Hell - Friends of Hell

15. Mares of Thrace - The Exile

16. Deathbell - A Nocturnal Crossing

17. Cult of Luna - The Long Road North

18. Obsidian Sea - Pathos

19. Firebreather - Dwell in the Fog

20. Come to Grief - When the World Dies

21. Darkher - The Buried Storm

22. Druid Lord - Relics of the Dead

23. Ard - Take Up My Bones

24.Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard - The Harvest

25. Spiritus Mortis - The Great Seal

26. Ataraxy - The Last Mirror

27. Ufomammut - Felice

28. Dawn of Solace - Flames of Perdition

29. Hangman's Chair - A Loner

30. Fostermother - The Ocean

I can get that for Cult of Luna, I think since I much prefer their newer material over their older stuff (I gave Somewhere Along the Highway a 3/5, blasphemy I know), I'm still riding the high of not being quite tired of their style yet as I've found myself consistently going back to The Long Road North. 

Would you say that The Funeral Orchestra, BlackLab, and Mournful Congregation still deserve a listen for someone like me? I've heard good things about the Mournful Congregation release but I think it slipped by since it was an EP, so I'll 100% be finding time for that one. 

I can get that for Cult of Luna, I think since I much prefer their newer material over their older stuff (I gave Somewhere Along the Highway a 3/5, blasphemy I know), I'm still riding the high of not being quite tired of their style yet as I've found myself consistently going back to The Long Road North. 

Would you say that The Funeral Orchestra, BlackLab, and Mournful Congregation still deserve a listen for someone like me? I've heard good things about the Mournful Congregation release but I think it slipped by since it was an EP, so I'll 100% be finding time for that one. 

Mournful Congregation, definitely yes. It's 37 minutes long so EP is a bit of a relative term, but I think you would certainly find something to like here, Xephyr. BlackLab depend very much on how much you like stoner metal. If you are cool with Boris' stoner material then this may appeal. The Funeral Orchestra album only features one new track as the rest are re-recordings of older material, but it is all quality if you like ritualistic- sounding funeral doom.

Unlike the last few years, I can actually contribute here, having listened to a lot of 2022 albums. I should caveat this by saying I haven't listened to Dvvell of Funeral Orchestra yet, both of which have potential to sit towards the top of my list.

1 - Shape of Despair - Return to the Void

2 - Mournful Congregation - The Exuviae of Gods - Part 1

3 - Mizmor & Thou - Myopia

4 - Epitaphe - II

5 - Messa - Close

6 - Ataraxy - The Last Mirror

7 - Tzompantli - Tlazcaltiliztli

8 - Druid Lord - Relics of the Dead

9 - Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard - The Harvest

10 - Friends of Hell - Friends of Hell

11 - Primitive Man - Insurmountable

12 - Konvent - Call Down the Sun

13 - Night Hag - Phantasmal Scourge

14 - Hangman's Chair - A Loner

15 - Temple of Void - Summoning the Slayer

16 - Obsidian Sea - Pathos

17 - Mizmor - Wit's End

18 - Bog Body - Cryonic Crevasse Cult

It looks like it could be a good race for the Fallen album of the year this time around - Messa, Dvvell, Epitaphe, Shape of Despair and Mournful Congregation all have strong claims. I must listen to the Thou / Mizmor album too before long as that seems to be another well-regarded release.

I see you also have Bog Body as your least favoured Fallen release of the year Ben, as did I.

There are still a couple of big Fallen releases to go through before year end - namely the new Candlemass album, Sweet Evil Sun, and one I am really looking forward to, the new Monolithe, Kosmodrom.

I recently saw Monolithe released a new one, despite me not enjoying them all too much from the Fallen Feature Release a few months back I'm intrigued to see what they come up with. I'll have to try and fit it in this week.

I can't say I'm too excited for the new Candlemass regardless of the band's stature. 

OK, so what, at one point as we passed from summer to autumn, felt like a very lacklustre year for doom metal, has picked up quite considerably and ultimately has produced some sterling releases, albeit the year as a whole is lacking depth of quality. My current top ten now looks like this and I would have no problem recommending any of them to a fan of Fallen-related metal:

1. Dvvell - Quiescent (10/10)

2. Messa - Close (9.8/10)

3. Monolithe - Kosmodrom (9.1/10)

4. Epitaphe - II (9.0/10)

5. The Otolith - Folium Limina (9.0/10)

6. Mournful Congregation - The Exuviae of Gods: Part I (9.0/10)

7. Shape of Despair - Return to the Void (8.8/10)

8. The Funeral Orchestra - Funeral Death - Apocalyptic Plague Ritual II (8.7/10)

9. Conan - Evidence of Immortality (8.5/10)

10. BlackLab - In a Bizarre Dream (8.2/10)

There are still a couple of releases I need to work up reviews for, such as Darkthrone's Astral Fortress and Spiritus Mortis' latest, but this is where we are at the moment.