According to me, another opinion-haver on the Internet
In 2022, I got back into music. After years of mostly listening to podcasts or putting on YouTube videos as background noise, I began to find new appreciation for listening to whole albums. Writing my master’s thesis turned out to be way easier with Tesseract’s 2013 Altered State (I know I’m late to the djent party) and Alcest’s sadboi masterpiece Spiritual Instinct having my back.
In addition, I opened myself to a whole new genre. When a friend of mine asked me to record some tracks with him (which eventually grew into a whole EP), I not only started producing my own beats, but also began listening to Rap and Hip Hop – not just for inspiration, but eventually for fun. I had no idea there was so much heaviness in Hip Hop, both musically and lyrically. Following recommendations made by said friend, other friends (thanks for recommending Post Traumatic by Mike Shinoda; you know who you are) and online magazines (There Existed an Addiction to Blood by clipping.), a couple of tracks and albums slowly started growing on me, and two of them even made it onto the following lists.
Coming back to a more familiar genre, I deliberately sought out movie and especially game soundtracks to listen to. Games and their soundscapes mean a lot to me, not only as a form of art and entertainment, but also as an important influence on my musical development. For example, Saints Row the Third finally made me interested in Devin Townsend by repeatedly blasting the Love? over its radio. Dawn of War, on the other hand, made me write a series of frankly embarrassing Warhammer 40k-songs back in the day that I will NEVER share with the world. And I probably don’t need to talk about the impact Brütal Legend had on me. This year, the impact that game soundtracks had on me has probably been overshadowed by myself getting into Rap and Hip Hop, but I still spent a lot of time with them.
However, looking through my growing library on Spotify, I was surprised to find out that I had been listening to a lot of new music that came out this year. It’s enough to warrant a best of the year list. Keep in mind, though, that this is a highly subjective list. I love music, I love making music, but I’m not an expert in both of these fields. What’s more is that I don’t know what’s going on in any underground scene right now, so some choices might seem pedestrian to you.
If you are interested, I made a playlist on Spotify with a favourite song from each album featured on this list.
Before we begin, I want to make you aware that a friend of mine put out an amazing solo-produced record this year, Madness and Blood. It would’ve made the list, but since it would look a bit shady to put the album of someone I’ve worked with and have personal ties with on this list, I’m just leaving it here (check it out on Bandcamp and make sure to listen to Stars Constellate Your Fate. Killer track).
I’m also giving out an award for best album cover art and hope you all don’t remember it when I forget to do it next year.
30: Tocotronic: Nie wieder Krieg
Ever since meeting my partner a couple of years ago, I began to find appreciation for what some of us jokingly like to call “Germanist:innen-Musik” (an exaggeration that means highbrow German rock and pop music only written by and for German language students), Indie Rock and Pop. Apparently she told me about this album coming out this year, but it was only through a person I follow on Instagram that I became aware of it last minute just before putting this list online. I put on the breaks, yelling “stop the presses!” like an old-timey newspaper publisher, gave it a listen and decided to put it on here, because it’s really good.
Anspieltipp: Jugend ohne Gott gegen Faschismus, Ich hasse es hier, Crash
29: Tales Under the Oak: Swamp Kingdom
Second entry and I’m already bending the rules by including a record that could also be an EP. I don’t know why I like this so much, but I do. It’s ambient synth stuff like out of a low-budget European The Dark Crystal knockoff movie (kind in which you can see the seams on the very strange, mostly expressionless puppets). That’s not a bad thing, mind you! I love it and it will probably inspire me in some way coming next years.
Anspieltipp: The Secret of the Mushroom Wizard
28: Lorna Shore: Pain Remains
It’s great, it’s complex (both in terms of music and lyrics), and it has a couple of extraordinary songs. However, it’s not entirely my cup of tea and I can’t get into it as much as I would like to. It honestly deserves a top spot on any other best of the year list, but mine’s full of stuff I enjoy more than this. I’m still putting it on here just so the other metal(core)heads think I’m cool.
Anspieltipp: Sun//Eater, Soulless Existence, Apotheosis
27: Wilderun: Epigone
Epigone sits somewhere between Opeth and one of my favourite albums of all time, Magnification by Yes. It feels like one brilliant, epically long track. Which is why you should listen to it in its entirety, if you got a spare hour to burn.
Anspieltipp: As I wrote, the whole album feels like one giant track. Listen to it in one take if you’ve got the time.
26: Joey Bada$$: 2000
A wonderful recommendation from the friend I mentioned before (you know, the one produced an EP with). I find 2000 to be laid back and relaxing, and its sound is something I’d like to aspire to when writing beats. On a side note, playing 2000 at my day job opened the door for connecting with some of the kids I work with, who were surprised to see their resident metalhead listening to something more akin to their tastes.
Anspieltipp: Make Me Feel, Where I Belong, Eulogy, Survivors Guilt, Written in the Stars
25: FATE GEAR: Killers in the Sky, Killers in the Sky Part 2
Sounding vaguely like Symphonic Power Metal from the early to mid-2000s (which I mean as a compliment!), this two-parter feels strangely nostalgic to me. That’s because it reminds me of a time when I would discover a great band randomly at a festival, or by being support for a headliner, or by finding a cool looking album at the Hot Shot Records CD store in Bremen. I think that if this had hit me about fifteen to seventeen years earlier, it would’ve had a major impact on me and my musical trajectory. Even though I enjoy the first part a bit more, I would still recommend the whole thing.
Anspieltipp: Live in blood, isolation, 天空の比翼, Soldier of fortune, 雨が紡ぐレクイエム, fly for our future, Epilogue
24: Lost in Kiev: Rupture
This has been in my rotation for a lot of writing sessions since its release in October. Aside from reliable Post-Rock strengths I especially enjoy the synths on the whole album, as well as the vocals and lyrics on Prison of Mind, along with the song’s heavier feeling.
Anspieltipps: Prison of Mind, Solastalgia, Digital Flesh, Dichotomy
23: Austin Wintory and the London Symphony Orchestra: Traveler – A Journey Symphony
I’m cheating a bit with this one, since Journey and its amazing soundtrack are already a couple of years old. However, this new recording is still an amazing reminder of why Journey comes up a lot when people discuss videogame soundtracks. If I had to criticize one aspect of the whole thing, I would say that it makes me feel too much at times, but that just speaks of the power of the whole thing.
Anspieltipp: The Call, Descent, Apotheosis, I Was Born For This
22: Callejon: Eternia
I remember listening to a Callejon song a couple of years ago and absolutely hating it, but a lot of them has changed since then. I’ve become less… shitty as a person and more open-minded. So, when Spotify’s almighty algorithm recommended their new release to me, I decided to give them another try. I was surprised to realize that I enjoy Eternia a lot! I’m not that big of a Metalcore person (despite listing Heaven Shall Burn as one of my favourite bands), but there’s something here that speaks to me.
Anspieltipp: Guillotine, Mary Shelley, Emokeller, Ich komme niemals an
21: Scarlet Sun: Scarlet Sun
Again, I’m kind of cheating with this one, because this is an EP rather than a full album. However, to my knowledge it is an EP produced by a single guy, and as someone who has been solo-producing Metal for more than ten years myself, I can’t help but appreciate the work that must have been put into this record. The songs are great, and the vocal performances are especially impressive.
Anspieltipp: Scarlet Sun, Lavender Water, Until I Sleep
20: Cult of Luna: The Long Road North
Cult of Luna helped me through a difficult time with Mariner a couple of years ago. Since then, I must measure everything they do against it just because I love it so much. The Long Road North, however, is just massive and dark enough for me to surpass my bias against it. Oppressive, aggressive, and otherworldly, it’s the perfect soundtrack to write some horror stories to.
Finding a couple of example songs is difficult, though. This is one of several albums I listened to this year that, in my opinion, hit best when experienced as a whole album – a journey you get on from beginning to end. Take a long walk or whatever, sit down with in a comfy chair with a pair of good headphones, if you have the time. There is, however, a particular highlight. Beyond I, sung by Mariam Wallentin, is an absolute showstopper (did I use that right). It sounds like a being older than time itself awakening from a million-year slumber. It’s one of the most atmospheric tracks I’ve heard this year.
Anspieltipp: Cold Burn, Beyond I, An Offering to the Wild
19: Best Cover Art: Desmond Doom: Surf-Goth
Again, this is an EP, but it simply is the best cover art I have seen in years, and I still don’t know (and I don’t want to know!) whether it’s supposed to be a joke or not. It’s a motionless goth on a surfboard and it’s elegant in its simplicity, hilariously funny and still somewhat earnest. I love it. The EP itself has a couple of great songs on it.
Anspieltipps: It’s All Falling Down
18: Blind Guardian: The God Machine
I think it’s time to admit to myself that I’m a low-key Blind Guardian fan. I fought it long enough, not just because it’s the easy option for nerdy boys such as myself, but also because Blind Guardian can be a bit too much at times. I say that as someone who absolutely loves A Twist in the Myth (Otherland anyone?): sometimes, there’s just layer after layer after layer to unpack until it clicks with you.
This album, too, can be a bit too much at times, and it took me a couple of listening sessions to fully appreciate it. I sometimes wish it was a bit more straight-forward, but I must admit that I keep coming back for more, so they’re probably doing something right. If you can get into it, it’s just one epic banger after another, and it even made me revisit some of my old favourites.
Anspieltipps: Damnation, Violent Shadows, Architects of Doom
17: Astronoid: Radiant Bloom
Listening to Astronoid is like hearing the clouds play Metal. Somewhere between Post-Rock and Thrash Metal, of all things, it feels energetic, but also a lot of melancholy.
Anspieltipp: Eyes, Sleep Whisper, Orchid, Decades
16: Maclaine Diemer (and others): Guild Wars 2 End of Dragons
The last time I played Guild Wars 2 was about ten years ago, around the time it came out. Just listening to the title track of the soundtrack for the newest expansion made me recover my account and reinstall the game for the first time in ten years. It’s that good.
According to the AIAS podcast in which Diemer guested, he and his colleagues made a deliberate attempt at writing a score that on the one hand wasn’t just another fantasy soundtrack (hence the synthesizers), and on the other hand didn’t fall into the trap of just slapping some vaguely Asian-sounding instruments on the thing and calling it a day. This approach seemingly paid off. On a more personal note, even if my time with Guild Wars 2 this year didn’t turn out to be as long as it probably should have been, at least its soundtrack resurrected my own wish to do some fantasy writing myself.
Anspieltipps: End of Dragons, Togo’s Legacy, Solace and Respite
15: Zeal & Ardor: Zeal & Ardor
Damn, this took me by surprise. I don’t know how I got to listen to this, but I did, and I was not prepared for it. Mixing Blues, American Folk and Black Metal, my tiny mind was blown when I listened to it for the first time. I wish I was just half as cool as this album is.
Anspieltipp: Death to the Holy, Emersion, Erase, Feed the Machine
14: Devin Townsend: Lightwork
There was a time when I used to be a total Devin nerd, even traveling to the Z² show in London in 2015. When a lot of other things changed in my life, however, I felt myself slowly growing out of it. Transcendence and subsequent releases didn’t do much for me, and if I’m being honest, even Z² wasn’t entirely my thing (except for Fallout. I love that song. Please play it at my funeral). Going in with this baggage, I didn’t expect to develop such strong feelings about this record. Call of the Void is easily one of the best songs released this year, Dimensions feels heavy and straight-forward, and Celestial Signals is just awesome. It’s stuff I wish I could write (and play. And sing).
Anspieltipp: Call of the Void, Dimensions, Celestial Signals
13: The Halo Effect: Days of the Lost
While I had been listening to Iron Maiden before as well as to some German medieval rock bands, it was when I listened to a friend’s copy of In Flames’ Reroute to Remain during a school trip to Berlin in 2004 that I knew that I had found my people. Melodic Death Metal, or MeloDeath, became my favourite style. A couple of years down the line, Dark Tranquillity became my favourite band, and both Dark Tranquillity as well as In Flames still mean a lot to me.
So, keep in mind that I was already biased towards Days of the Lost, the debut album of The Halo Effect, a group comprised of ex-In Flames members as well as one of Metal’s most charismatic vocalists, Mikael Stanne.
There’s a been lot of debate about the genre’s staleness in the discourse about this album, and there might even be some validity to it. But I don’t care about that (anymore), to be honest. I can appreciate a straight-forward MeloDeath experience made by former members of two of my favourite bands of all time.
No, it’s not a revolutionary record (and it doesn’t have to be). Yes, other bands may have written more varied and musically complex MeloDeath (the recent Be’Lakor comes to mind). Yes, the intro to Gateways sounds a bit like Schattenboxen, a collaboration between Parkway Drive and German rapper Casper. But tracks such as Shadowminds or In Broken Trust are in my opinion easily among the best that both In Flames and Dark Tranquillity have ever recorded.
Anspieltipps: Shadowminds, In Broken Trust, Feel What I Believe
12: The Beths: Expert in a Dying Field
If I had to use only one word to describe this record, I would choose cozy. Listening to Expert in a Dying Field by The Beths feels like coming inside after a cold winter hike and wrapping yourself in a blanket with a hot cup of tea and a book of your choice. I feel safe and warm with this album. Yet there is an underlying of melancholy – it won’t last forever. I will have to leave the coziness eventually, and go out into the harsh, cold world again.
Anspieltipps: Expert In A Dying Field, Silence Is Golden, Your Side, I Want To Listen, Change In The Weather, I Told You That I Was Afraid, 2am
11: Evergrey: A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Testament)
Evergrey have been one of my favourite bands since I looked up the guest singers on Ayreon’s 01011001 and decided to listen to Glorious Collision (the drum sound blew me away). A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Testament) is on the heavier side but still carries a lot of Evergrey’s melancholic sadboi energy that makes me vibe with the band so much. Solid, emotional, and heavy.
Anspieltipps: Ominous, Reawakening, The Great Unwashed
10: Ibaraki: Rashomon
What an accomplishment! From the composition to the musicianship to the production, Rashomon is a complex but engaging record that gets better every time. It’s atmospheric, dark, and feels deeply personal. A masterclass in songwriting, in composition, and in Metal in general. I’m at a loss for words and I have a lot of respect for it, especially since, if you care to dig into the accompanying podcast to this album, Matt Heafy has been working on this for, like, forever. As someone who is currently entering his second decade of working on a passion project, I can relate to that.
Anspieltipp: Kagutsuchi, Jigoku Dayū, Tamashi No Houkai, Komorebi, Rōnin (seriously, probably one of my favorite songs this year.
9: Fallujah: Empyrean
This is a fantastic record, with my only criticism being that it’s maybe too similar to Dreamless, their 2016 album that I kind of adore. But that’s on me. Truth is, I enjoy it a lot. Some of its synth sounds even gave me slight Stellaris vibes (for example in the end of Celestial Resonance).
Anspieltipp: Embrace Oblivion, Into the Eventide, Celestial Resonance, Artifacts
8: Hällas: Isle of Wisdom
While I didn’t get into it as fast as into the previous two records, Isle of Wisdom is still a great album. The songs and production are so evocative of a bygone era that they make me feel nostalgic for what I think the late seventies and early eighties must have sounded and felt like. More so than its predecessors, it nails that feeling of being in a different time. To put it another way: Excerpts from a Future Past and Conundrum make me feel like watching a lost 80s sci-fi B-Movie. Isle of Wisdom makes me feel like a Prog Rock Dad reminiscing about his stoner days. Some might find it cheesy, but I love it.
Anspieltipp: Earl‘s Theme, Stygian Depths
7: Poeta: Stella Luna
As someone who listened to a random assortment of pirated pop punk tracks by the genre’s usual suspects on .mp3-CDs back in the days, the Pop Punk comeback hits me right in the childhood, but in a good way. Stella Luna by Poeta is a perfect example of this. It’s filled with melancholic energy, great hooks and a couple of excellent guest performances.
Anspieltipps: Blossom, Anxious Racing
6: Bloodywood: Rakshak
It grooves, it’s heavy, and it combines Djent, Rap/Crossover Metal and Folk: Rakshak is just an all-out triumphant record. After listening to it briefly earlier this year, I revisited it just before writing the final draft of this list and bumped it up a couple of places because it resonates deeply with me. The awesome cover artwork is a nice bonus, since there is a distinct lack of elephants in Metal as far as I know.
Anspieltipp: Gaddaar, Aaj, Dana-Dan, Jee Veerey
5: Otoboke Beaver: Super Champon
Super Champon grew on me to the point that I regularly woke up in the morning with different songs from the album stuck in my head. The energy is unmatched. As one user on YouTube wrote under one of their videos: “Hardcore punk didn’t die, it just moved to Japan.”
It’s eighteen (18!) songs in under twenty-two (22!) minutes that fill me with joy. What more could you want from it? It made me wish I knew how to speak Japanese to understand the lyrics, but according to a couple of interviews I’ve read I’m pretty sure that I’m sympathetic with what they have to say.
Anspieltipp: YAKITORI, PARDON?, I checked your cellphone, Don’t call me mojo, George & Janice, Dirty old fart is waiting for my reaction
4: Persefone: metanoia
If I had to name one album on this list that I want to have a lasting impact on my own songwriting, it would be metanoia by Persefone. From the beginning to the end, the album feels dark, cinematic, and larger than life. It creates a whole world that I want to see a movie take place in.
Anspieltipp: This is another record that I would recommend listen to in its entirety, but if you only got five minutes, listen to Merkabah.
3: 3Plusss: weine jetzt, lache später
Around the time I started producing beats this year for a friend, he recommended me this album. From the first second on, I was blown away. It hits heavy, and its lyrics are justifiably angry yet full of self-reflection, social and cultural critique, self-deprecating humour, biting wit and actual clever wordplay.
It’s everything I want from an album in this genre: someone smart saying something meaningful in combination with some punchy, atmospheric beats. The result is something that is honestly heavier than some of the Metal records on this list.
Anspieltipp: PHASE II, DINGE, WAS IST DAS PT.I, DANKE, NA DANN, FÜR EIN LEBEN PT.II
2: Oceans of Slumber: Starlight and Ash
Oceans of Slumber have been one of my favourite bands for a couple of years now, and it’s great to see them go from strength to strength with each new record. Starlight and Ash is no exception. It’s perhaps less metal-y than their previous albums, but I still love it, and The Hanging Tree especially just broke me for a couple of days.
Anspieltipp: The Waters Rising, Hearts of Stone, The Lighthouse, The Hanging Tree, Just a Day
1: Grave Digger: Symbol of Eternity
Part of me feels bad for putting this above Starlight and Ash, or Rashomon, or metanoia, or Rakshak. Truth is that my relationship with Grave Digger has mostly been restricted to occasionally attempting to sing and play the intro to Rebellion (The Clans are Marching) on guitar. Yet here I am, throwing horns and banging my head as if I got some hair left on it. I believe often it’s the subtle things that bring me some joy, but then there’s straight-forward and then there’s Symbol of Eternity. It brought me pure, childlike joy, partly from the fact that wtf I can’t believe this exists, but mostly from being a well-produced, straight-forward Heavy Metal record.
Many records on this listare full of complex, personal reflections, intricate musical worldbuilding and subtle nuances, and then there’s Grave Digger who just dial it up to 11 for roughly fifty minutes and that’s enough. I have to respect that, not only because I believe that not every record has to innovate the hell out of the genre, but also because Symbol of Eternity made me wish for the first time in years that I was at a festival, raising a horn full of mead together with hundreds and thousands of my brothers, sisters and non-binary fellows in metal.
Anspieltipp: Battle Cry, Hell is my Purgatory, Heart Of A Warrior, Grace Of God
christoph-david volbers 