~By Jacob Mazlum~

Ten is such a passé number. Top ten album lists are for the sheeple. We nonconformists like to be individual and only make Top-X lists that aren’t divisible by five.

We like the number seven though, because it’s edgy and cool, just like us. So here are seven albums you probably didn’t hear in 2018, but they’re my favourites and they really do deserve your time -- if you enjoy staring into the all-consuming abyss. They do anyway.

Go listen...

Esoctrilihum

Pandaemorthium (Forbidden Formulas To Awaken The Blind Sovereigns Of Nothingness)

Pandaemorthium (Forbidden Formulas To Awaken The Blind Sovereigns Of Nothingness) by ESOCTRILIHUM

France does it again, with yet another one of its sons churning out yet another forward-thinking extreme metal masterpiece. Pandaemorthium (and the rest of that pointlessly long album title) is what metal needs -- something that manages to be simultaneously challenging, engrossing and strangely fun.

It uses death metal as the blueprint upon which it builds its twisted spires of warped black metal and dank sub-basements of doom. This moves and evolves in a way that makes other "blackened death metal" sound like a croaky Motorhead. Truly, it’s the delicacy with which the obtuseness and extremity is handled that is most impressive here.

This is a solo project, too. Yes, it’s all just one guy. I’m not sure if I, Voidhanger Records got lucky or if Esoctrilihum did in this arrangement, but they make a perfect match.

Uada

Cult of a Dying Sun

Cult of a Dying Sun by UADA

By the end of the first song on my first listen of Cult of a Dying Sun I realised why I loved it so much. It’s because it reminded me so much of Let The Devil In-era Sargeist, which is a quick way to get into my heart. The rest of the album may not have committed itself to this sound as much as expected, but by then I didn’t care; it already had me hooked.

Done wrong, this kind of black metal can sound bad, like really bad. The kind that makes you not want to take a chance on unfamiliar artists. But Uada execute their individual parts so competently that any doubts are banished. The sheer musicality of each passage is a joy to hear and it’s all executed with such damned sincerity.

It’s shamelessly melodic, with the clear production bringing out every note and embellishment with clarity. This stellar production even gives the album a thick woodland-sounding atmosphere that is probably responsible for the Cascadian touch of certain parts, almost making it sound like the vibrant younger sibling of Marrow of the Spirit.

But it’s not Agalloch, it’s not Sargeist. It’s Uada, and any fan of USBM should find something in here to love, even if it’s just for one spin. Go Portland!

Inexorum

Lore of the Lakes

Lore of the Lakes by Inexorum

What happens when you get a remarkable metal musician and a highly-lauded producer together to work on a frostbitten black metal project with an unwavering commitment to melody and high fidelity? You get Lore of the Lakes apparently, and despite it sporting the kind of title to make you think Amorphis-worship or power metal nerdery, the album is actually really impressive.

It’s the ex-solo project of Carl Skildum, live guitarist of Obsequiae (who I should note are one of my favourite metal bands in existence right now), and RIAA-certified gold producer Matt Kirkwold -- or at least that’s what Bandcamp tells me.

My ears simply tell me this is black metal of yesteryear played with modern sensibilities and a thoughtfulness that negates any concerns for trends or time periods. There’s a slight Windir vibe in Lore of the Lakes that is at once more chilled and more furious than the band’s seminal '90s work, and I can’t get enough of it.

Ignore the front cover, this is totally worth listening to.

Burial Invocation

Abiogenesis

Abiogenesis by Burial Invocation

Think of Turkey and death metal probably isn’t the first thing to come to mind. Spend enough time there though and you begin to understand how metal can find a natural home in that blood-stained gateway between Europe and Asia. There’s something in the spirit of the place, something that makes you imagine it being a potential hotbed of quality E-string pummeling just waiting to be created. (Anyone in doubt about Turkey’s pedigree in modern music should check out the history of Turkish disco.)

Well, as you might have guessed by now, Burial Invocation are a Turkish band whose brand of death metal impressed me so much that I don’t much feel like making any myself...ever.

In truth, I don’t know where to start with this record. It’s huge, it’s elaborately constructed, and it weaves between sections with a technical prowess that impresses with tastefulness rather than rote motor-function wizardry. This is 2018 death metal done near-perfectly.

Svartidauði

Revelations of the Red Sword

Revelations of the Red Sword by Svartidauði

The best Icelandic metal band ever to exist came back in 2018 with their first full-length since 2012’s Flesh Cathedral. The three interim releases could only muster a footnote quality due to their short lengths, and could never conjure the labyrinthine aura of winding lava-tunnel madness that only builds with an extended runtime.

Having visited Iceland this year, it became apparent that this is a nation that lives alongside the nature of the land, rather than simply building on top of it. Nature may have been partially tamed in certain urban areas, but never felt defeated as in most other developed countries.

With this in mind, the vibe of Svartidauði and their compatriots Misþyrming started to make more sense, and whilst the airy magic of the latter is impressive (enough to make them to be my favourite band of Brutal Assault this year) it is the earthy, subterranean texture of the former that truly grabs me.

The thick textures and muscular vocals are more Neurosis than Immortal, and they take this album outside the realms of the predictable. Yet it is the simple joy of treading ever deeper into Svartidauði’s dark and heated underworld that makes this journey so persistently rewarding.

Under

Stop Being Naïve

Stop Being Naive by Under

Considering I’ve spent the last five years devoting far too much of my time and resources to my doom band, it’s amazing how few bands in this area manage to move me anymore.

Doom is one of the great unexplored lands of metal, second maybe only to black metal in terms of potential (in fact, doom has far more potential than black metal ever did -- black metal just ran with it far better). It lets you explore atmosphere, texture, pacing and genre-melding in a way that would sound fundamentally incompatible with other subgenres. It has a spiritual element to it, a ritualistic quality, and this should make it the artistic breadbasket of the metal world.

This may not be the case, but thankfully there are bands out there that realise the potential doom holds. These bands build upon the fundamental tenets of doom to craft something new that isn’t neutered by convention. Under are one of these bands, and Stop Being Naïve is one such album.

I don’t even want to talk much about the album itself. There’s too much to say. There’s too much going on that’s worth discussing. This isn’t a review, it’s a synopsis, but a synopsis can’t capture anywhere near the breadth of what Under consistently achieve through the album’s runtime. I could throw out names like The Jesus Lizard, Mr. Bungle, Bauhaus, but that would only set unhealthy expectations.

The best way to experience Stop Being Naïve is simply to be a fan of sludgy doom and have a desire for something truly new. No, not just some new riffs, but for a new conceptualisation of what doom can be.

Truth be told, a whole lot of doom fans probably won’t like Stop Being Naïve, and that’s the highest praise I can give it.

Délétère

De Horae Leprae

Whilst this list is in no particular order, Délétère’s offering can confidently lay claim to my award for metal album of the year. One of the most noteworthy of the Québécois black metal hordes, Délétère have always been impressive with their past output but seem to have upped their game even further with De Horae Leprae.

Much like Uada, it is the sheer accessibility that makes De Horae Leprae so likeable. Melodies buzz with clarity and chord progressions fall with the dramatic weight of Maiden in their '80s prime. These are songs, like real songs. They have build-ups and crescendos and bridges and dynamics and the same emotional gravitas that makes even a band like Goatmoon so musically enjoyable despite their subject matter.

Anatomia & Burial Invocation - Decomposing Serenades

Burial Invocation