Xephyr's 2019 - Top 70 Albums by Xephyr

An absolutely massive album that ended up as my favorite of 2019. I've never heard crushing riffs and chaotic climaxes quite like this, and Inter Arma have earned themselves a very avid fan now.

Empath, surprisingly to me, turned out to be one of the most polarizing Metal albums of 2019. While many thought it was random, overblown, and horribly produced, I couldn't disagree more. Devin Townsend is certainly a character larger than life, especially after seeing him live, and Empath is just the embodiment of what makes Devin, Devin. I can safely say that this was the one album this year that I "got". I get it. The message and style means a lot to me personally as well, so I think it's a shame that this album that saw Devin reinventing himself yet again will go by the wayside, at least on RYM.

Wilderun came out of nowhere at the end of 2019 and dropped Veil of Imagination, an album that has revitalized my love for Symphonic Metal all over again. There just aren't many bands that can pull off this kind of style, and Veil of Imagination is a Masters Class in how to achieve a larger-than-life sound while still having supremely heavy riffs. The transition into "Far From Where Dreams Unfurl" is one of my favorites of all time.

As a massive Avantasia fan for years now, Moonglow is everything I ever wanted. This is easily Avantasia's most consistent and most creative album to date, even if it does fall off pretty hard at the end. "The Raven Child" is an absolute beast of a song and can't be missed if you like Symphonic or Power Metal.

The long, 80 minute solemn walk through A Dawn to Fear is an exhausting but rewarding task where Cult of Luna follow up one of their most acclaimed albums in the best way possible. The atmosphere on A Dawn to Fear is unique, heavy, and hazy, with intelligent songwriting choices galore, especially on tracks like "Nightwalkers". If it wasn't for Inter Arma, Cult of Luna would have easily had the top Atmospheric Sludge release this year, with its gigantic riffs, emotional growling, and absolutely despondent style.

I went back and forth on this medieval themed Black Metal album for most of the year, but I've decided that it is unique and complex enough to be considered my favorite Black Metal release of 2019. The atmosphere of this album is completely different than anything I've ever heard, the complexity of the guitar and drum work is impressive to say the least, and after checking out some lyrics I really got into the whole concept behind Achatius.

Twilight Force have created one of the most over the top, symphonic, Dungeons and Dragons, RPG, fantasy, and nerdy Power Metal albums I've ever listened to, and I loved every second of it.

While Runemagick can get a little derivative with their style, Into Desolate Realms felt like the peak for their style. With slow, drawn-out, but also technically impressive tracks, Runemagick really bring the heft with Black Metal inspired Doom Metal that combines the best of both worlds. Into Desolate Realms is an insanely powerful album with the best Doom riffs and songwriting this year.

2019 was a big year for Doom Metal, and False Confession is the most interesting of them all. The contrast of Death Doom riffs with a sweet but insanely evil sounding violin was a welcome surprise for me considering all of the great and more classic Doom Metal I've listened to this year.

Hidden History of the Human Race just absolutely rips. There's no question about it. It's progressive and technical enough for a Death Metal "hater" like me to really get into it, but has enough classic Death Metal elements to keep the true fans happy. Considering this is only their second full album, I can't wait to see where Blood Incantation goes from here, they've got some serious talent.

This spacey Stoner-Doom Metal album wowed me with its amazing riffs and fantastic female vocals that compliment the dreary alien atmosphere perfectly. It's a bit drawn out, but I would always be enthralled by tracks like "Fata Morgana" and "The Majestic Clockwork". It's another very unique sounding album coming out of 2019 that has a one-of-a-king feel to it that I absolutely loved.

An absolutely brutal and technical album that sounds like it came out of the heyday of lower-fi Black Metal in the mid-to-late 90's. Not the easiest listen, but there are some very interesting and different ideas on what can be thrown into a Black Metal album while still retaining that classic chaos and sound.

An amazing and slightly psychedelic journey through the waves of Traditional, fantasy-based Doom Metal. It has a very classic and epic sound to it and while it can drag towards the middle the interesting riffs, tempo changes, and slow builds kept me interested through repeated listens. This has slowly climbed up the ranks throughout the year, so I'm expecting this one to remain a favorite of mine as it has only gotten better.

Tomb Mold are back again in 2019 with an absolute killer of an album in Planetary Clairvoyance. I didn't care for their 2018 release, but now that I've warmed up to them this is definitely my favorite straight up Death Metal release in a long time, since Blood Incantation is more progressive. Killer riffs, killer theme, insanely heavy, slightly atmospheric, everything you would want from a modern Death Metal album.

Reader on the Runes was another grower this year, with its folky take on Power Metal eventually winning me over. This album has no right to be as catchy as it is, with "Silverseal" and "Eternal Eleanor" being stuck in my head for weeks at a time. If you want a slightly less cheesy fantasy Power Metal album that focuses more on riffs than over-the-top hooks, go with Reader of the Runes.

When I said that Empath was the most polarizing album this year, I had completely forgotten about Fear Inoculum. I'm on the positive side of this controversy as well, since it's just such a different experience than Tool's other albums. The longer and more drawn out compositions require more patience than something like Lateralus, but it was worth it for me in the end. I think this album just needs a bit more time to really sink in for people.

Although I enjoyed this less than some of the other Doom/Funeral Doom albums this year, I can't deny that this is some heavy and crushing stuff. A Pyrrhic Existence delivers on a classic Funeral Doom experience of slow builds, even slower riffs, and an even longer run-time. I like a bit more progressiveness in my Doom Metal, but these guys are some of the best at bringing out that loneliness and sadness that's lurking deep in your soul.

I'm a massive fan of Saor, and if Forgotten Paths had been ten or twenty minutes longer it may have been near the top of this 2019 list. Forgotten Paths is Saor doing what Saor does best, with slightly more folk and beauty rather than pure Atmospheric Black Metal.

Another Doom Metal album that is lengthy, sad, and unique in its own right. It's slightly more Gothic with a cleaner vocalist, leaning more towards Traditional Doom with its creative riffs and variety of driving tempos.

If I had found out about The Palms of Sorrowed Kings earlier in the year, this may have risen higher in the list. A beautifully melodic Folk Black Metal album that really sells the medieval feel in a way I haven't heard before.

I'm a huge Insomnium fan, and while it may not be another Winter's Gate, Heart Like a Grave is a solid Insomnium album. It's a bit derivative but they do take a few risks with more clean vocals and even more melodic passages, so even though it sounds exactly like you would expect an Insomnium album to sound like, it's still very good.

I wasn't a fan of Deathspell Omega until this year, and The Furnaces of Palingenesia finally made me go check out Paracletus, something I had been putting off for a long time. Deathspell Omega are still one of the best Progressive Black Metal bands with their unique brand of chaotic dissonance and this release is no exception.

Throughout the year I tried my hardest to place Syntheosis higher than this. It has some of the most crushing atmospheres I've heard in a while, and it is certainly very different from pretty much any other Atmospheric Metal release I've heard, but I could never fully get into it.

Fatal Visions is, without a doubt, my favorite Thrash release of this year. It has so much energy and anger with one great riff after another plus old-school metallic, junkyard sounding percussion that really helps to give Fatal Visions its own unique flavor. Straight up Thrash Metal with a modern twist is something I wasn't expecting in 2019.

It's unfair how good Gloryhammer are at what they do. I guess it's not a surprise when a member of Alestorm just wants to write about time travelling magic warriors battling against Zargothrax, unicorns, and dragons wielding a hammer and jetpack of ultimate steel. This fun sci fi block of cheese is one of the silliest but greatest Power Metal stories I've ever heard, and even though there is better quality Power Metal out this year, I can't recommend this album enough.

Luca Turilli and Fabio Lione are back together for an old school Rhapsody reunion in this Sci Fi Power Metal album that just does everything right. Fast and furious neoclassical riffs with fantastic vocals and heavy hitting choruses make this one that Power Metal fans won't want to miss. It's just a shame that all of these new projects have to have such strange names so they get lost in the shuffle.

Although Lotus dropped off quite a bit for me as the year went on, Soen are still one of the most consistent Progressive Metal bands today with their unique Opeth/Tool like style. It feels like they've finally settled into what kind of material they want to write, as Lotus hardly has any song I would want to skip.

I never thought that I'd have to write that King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard wrote a good Thrash album, but here we are. While far from being classic Thrash, Infest the Rats' Nest goes down the more Stoner route and delivers a quick and hard-hitting selection of songs with topics that are all too real in the world we're living in right now. "Superbug", while being the least Thrashy, definitely stood out as one of my favorites this year.

Massive and Symphonic, Far is samey but incredible album if you like your Black Metal with A LOT of strings in the back.

As one of the only traditional Heavy Metal releases on my list, The Smokeless Fires impressed me with its diverse melodies and very intricate riffs and transitions, breathing a little more life into a personally stagnant genre.

This well done Death-Doom debut leans heavily on Death rather than Doom, which is an interesting switch-up. The riffs are nasty, it's never stagnant or boring, and it has a lot of interesting transitions and flourishes.

This stunning Traditional Doom Metal debut from the sadly named Fvernal Fvkk blew me away right at the end of the year, catapulting up to this spot in the list with its exceptional vocals and heavy Doom riffs. Carnal Confessions really sells the dark and morbid Doom style without having to rely on harsh or angry vocals or higher tempos.

Allegaeon have been one of my only preferred Tech-Death bands, and that hasn't changed with Apoptosis. Insanely intricate melodies and crushing breakdowns galore, these guys show that they're still at the forefront of smartly written but still brutal Sci Fi Tech-Death.

A deceptively beautiful release that combines brutal vocals with a more Traditional Doom riffing style and very classic Doom synths. Stygian Dreams is a deep cut that any Doom fan won't want to miss.

Definitely the most unique release of the year. Liturgy's Avant-Garde H.A.Q.Q. is more of an "experience" than an album I'll keep coming back to. It has a ton of interesting and well done musical concepts that I'm sure will forward some kind of genre somewhere, but I had a hard time placing it higher than this due to not really wanting to revisit it after I had written my review for it.

Extremely solid and traditional cold and atmospheric Black Metal.

As one of the first releases I checked out of the year, The Atlantic has definitely dropped down the list quite a bit. I still really like this album, with captivating progressive and djent-y riffs and catchy choruses all held together by a loose but neat concept of oceans and storms.

Very traditional and very fun Doom Metal that just rocks extremely hard. Heavy and plodding riffs coupled with a talented vocalists gives you just everything you would want out of a release like this.

Crushing and well done Atmospheric Sludge that is a bit forgettable but has a unique progressive vibe that kept me interested whenever I went back to it.

Although Shehili slipped down my list quite a bit, it's still super catchy and unique as Myrath is one of the only bands using an Oriental, Middle-Eastern flair with their music. The riffs on tracks like "Wicked Dice" and "Monster In My Closet" are very good, and even though the rest is supposed to be more catchy than heavy, I still really enjoyed this one.

Eluveitie's double album is definitely too long, but there are too many good songs on here that it sort of evens out. They miss the mark on some things, but hit it out of the park on others. It's great to hear these guys doing well again with their extremely folky take on Melodic Death Metal.

Epitaphe's 10-year-in-the-making debut is a depressing wall of Death Doom that puts even Esoteric's release to shame sometimes. Full-on Death Doom isn't exactly my cup of tea, hence the placement, but this is a massive release in the genre that I'm sure fans will be clamoring about.

This is another album that if I would have known more about it earlier in the year it would probably be placed higher. A grinding and heavy Melodic Death Metal album with more than enough Progressive elements that sets it apart from bands like Insomnium this year.

This straight up, straight to the point Death Metal album shows some great potential for this new band. Hopelessly dark and death-filled, Living Tomb has everything it needs to be a stellar Death Metal release in 2019.

Manegarm are back in almost top form as they dip their toes back into the heavier style that I loved from them. The tremolo picking is back, the varied vocals are better performed than in their self-titled, and Fornaldarsagor is a step in the right direction for these Folk Metal titans.

Yet another debut this year from a promising band, Hath brings the most crushing chug tone I've heard this year into a remarkably melodic Death Metal album that can get a bit repetitive and rough around the edges but is still a great album through and through.

Yet another debut that definitely deserves more attention. Halls of Extinction combines the best of Thrash Metal with the best of Death Metal in perfect harmony.

A softer and very traditional heavy metal album with male and female vocalists performing duets throughout the album. Just a very likable release that goes back to a simpler time of Heavy Psych/Traditional Metal that is great to hear in 2019.

A joke-turned-good release that has many members of Insomnium on it, so it was bound to end up on my list somewhere.

As big of a release as this was, I can't call myself a Mgła fan after listening to this and Exercises In Futility this year. While it is crystal clear and clean Black Metal and is very well done, it interested me much less than many other Black Metal albums this year. Still good, just not as good as what people make it out to be.

Fantastic and supremely technical Power Metal that overstays its welcome but does it in bombastic fashion. It might be too dense that I'm afraid to go back to it, but this may be rated a little low on this list. If you like monstrous guitar wankery Galneryus is the band for you, and they show no signs of slowing down in their release schedule.

The guitarist from Haken produced an extremely Haken-like solo album that was one of the few straight up Progressive Metal releases I checked out this year. While there are some flaws, the guitar work is phenomenal and there are some great and complex musical moments that you would come to expect from a great Progressive release.

Fen are back with a lengthy, atmospheric and heavier album compared to Winter. I think this album could really grow on me with more listens, since it came out so late in 2019.

Teetering on the edge of Sludge and Black Metal, The Great Old Ones is a great Atmospheric album with Cthulu-like concepts and great riffs. A bit drawn out but still a very distinct album that kept me interested for multiple listens.

Straight up Black Metal with some real nasty riffs towards the end. Sort of forgettable compared to other Black Metal releases this year but still very good.

A lengthy Viking/Folk/Power Metal album that could have trimmed out a few songs but has fantastic sweep picking riffs and a nice fantasy Viking atmosphere in a slightly different package than Manegarm this year.

It's Alcest, so the album is obviously still good, but Spiritual Instinct didn't do anything special for me this year. I much preferred Kodama, even though this album sees a bit of return to form for the popular Blackgaze group.

After a long 16-year hiatus this Traditional Doom Metal group is back with their 2nd album. While I understood the hype around it and enjoyed it, there wasn't enough here to put it higher on the list.

One of the kings of Black Metal are back in 2019 with a remarkably good album considering how long they've been around. It's not fantastic, but it sure as hell ain't bad.

There was a ton of hype around this Black Metal album early in the year, and while it turned out to be good enough to make this list, it didn't rise above other Black Metal releases this year.

This one failed to leave a lasting impression on me, but it did get me to check out classic Blut aus Nord, which is a win in my book. I'll have to maybe give this one a couple more spins later to see if I missed anything.

Another band coming back from a lengthy hiatus, The Liberation is a must-listen for Progressive Metal fans in 2019, but it failed to get me really interested after a few listens.

A crushing slab of slow Sludge/Doom Metal that I definitely need to go back to.

Catchy and well-performed Folk Rock/Metal with a lot of hurdy-gurdy and a talented female vocalist.

I'll end off this list with the guilty pleasure of this year, From Hell With Love. I liked Beast in Black's debut album a lot, and From Hell With Love is more of the same, but I wouldn't call it a great album. However some of the songs are so catchy and infectious that I just always ended up going back to it all the way through 2019.