Carl’s Top 50 Albums of 2018: Part 2 (40 to 31)
It has been an incredible year for rock and metal. So many great albums spread across 12 months. So much so that this list was one of the hardest I’ve ever had to do for the site. Breaking down the 500 plus albums that we have reviewed into just 50 felt like an impossible task but here we are.
To give each album the focus it deserves we decided to break the list into 5 articles with ten albums in each counting down from 50. This is the best albums of 2018 from numbers 40 to 31. You can read about numbers 50 to 41 here. Enjoy.
40: Orphaned Land – Unsung Prophets and Dead Messiahs (Century Media Records)
A concept album that embraces the melodic death style of the past while also keeping the band focused on their current path. There is much to unravel throughout Unsung Prophets and Dead Messiahs. An album that is heavy on its political tone, middle-eastern arrangements and differing vocal styles/languages. This is an album with such depth.
Read our full review of the album here.
39: A Perfect Circle – Eat the Elephant (BMG)
It has been a while. Eat the Elephant is the first new and original A Perfect Circle album since 2003’s Thirteenth Step. It sees founding guitarist Billy Howerdel reunite with vocalist Maynard James Keenan to produce the bands best work to date.
Read our full review of the album here.
38: Khôrada – Salt (Prophecy Productions)
A mood-altering listen, Salt is an album that aims to get under the skin with a blend of heavy, layered and emotive songs. An album that betrays all metal and rock conventions to deliver a masterclass in unique, complex and fascinating music.
Read our full review of the album here.
37: De Profundis – The Blinding Light Of Faith (Transcending Obscurity Records)
Death metal band De Profundis have had an illustrious career. Over the years, they’ve kept perfecting their sound resulting in their fifth full length, The Blinding Light Of Faith. A bold step forward for the band into heavier territories. The Blinding Light of Faith is a spell-binding release.
This is the sound of a band at the top of their game. A band that have released their most accomplished work to date. Don’t you dare miss out.
Read our full review of the album here.
36: Harakiri For The Sky – Arson (AOP Records)
The fourth album from Harakiri for the Sky is a unique mixture of melancholy and aggression. Arson will please both long time & new Harakiri for the Sky fans alike with its fantastic blend of post-rock & black metal.
Read our full review of the album here.
35: Empress – Reminiscence (Self Released)
A myriad of noise, Empress delivers a bludgeoning style that mutates before your very ears. The fuzzy & hard hitting stoner groove sits comfortably alongside some genuinely surprising moments of melodic prog/post-metal sounds.
Read our full review of the album here.
34: Hundred Year Old Man – Breaching (Gizeh Records/Wolves & Vibrancy)
The conquering heaviness that Hundred Year Old Man bring with Breaching is an extraordinary thing. An album that brings ruthless post-metal savagery in an fantastic clean style. This isn’t a messy album nor is it just heavy for the sake of being heavy, Hundred Year Old Man have crafted a smart piece of work here that blends genres leaving you in awe.
Read our full review of the album here.
33: Aonia – The Seven (Self Released)
You can’t listen to Aonia and not think of the word ‘epic’. It’s a word that gets thrown around far too much and its original meaning has been diluted. Even if it has lost meaning to you there is no escaping the fact that Aonia are an epic experience and The Seven is an epic album.
There are some that will dismiss The Seven off the bat because of the tag ‘opera metal’. Don’t let that put you off listening to this album. Aonia might not be leading the pack in this regard but that’s purely because this is their debut album. Few similar bands have put out something as high in quality as this release in quite a while.
Read our full review of the album here.
32: Mantar – The Modern Art of Setting Ablaze (Nuclear Blast)
This is a huge sounding album and the killer production on it makes it sound even bigger. That’s not to say it doesn’t retain Mantar’s raw edge because it really does. There are many moments through the album where things just come together perfectly. You’ll be head-banging, circle-pitting and maybe even dancing to the groove that is layered deeply throughout the album.
Read our full review of the album here.
31: Ihsahn – Ámr (Candlelight Records)
The living legend that is Ihsahn released his latest solo album, Ámr and is another fine example of intelligent composition and exciting creativity mixed intriguingly with crushing metal force.
Ihsahn continues to deliver the music he wants to deliver with no apologies. Luckily for us, that music is emotional, intelligent, creative and rooted in heavy metal.
Read our full review of the album here.
