The 90 Best Metal Songs of 2018

The 90 Best Metal Songs of 2018

That’s right, 90. I’m going big. I listened to a lot of metal this year, and there was really that much I wanted to highlight from it all. In fact, I had amassed a list of about 300 tip top songs that I had to narrow down from, which was no easy task, but I widdled it down to a manageable 90. I’m obviously not going to be able to write paragraphs about all these like I did with my 10 worst albums list, but I want to at least give a brief appreciation to each of these songs, because they truly did make this a fantastic year for metal and for me. I know a lot of people limit any artist to one song on their lists, but I didn’t construct mine throughout the year that way, and I think the presence of multiple songs on here justly reflects how strong certain artists’ output was this year. It’s a long list, so I’ll get on with it.

90. Harm’s Way – “Dead Space”

The grand hardcore finale to the band’s just-adjusted-enough album this year finished it off with a bang, one that ups the momentum the previous 9 tracks injected into it in a momentous, climactic finish.

89. XavlegbmaofffassssitimiwoamndutroabcwapwaeiippohfffX – “Sell Your Soul”

I had to include this piece of shit in this list for its absurd blend of trendy trap instrumentals and deathgrind with lyrics about anime titties. All memes aside though, this is actually a pretty heavy and well-constructed song, and its unique (comedic) mix of styles certainly helps it stand out.

88. Coheed and Cambria – “Toys”

Of all the anthems on Coheed’s unprecedented nostalgic stunner (for me at least), “Toys” was the one I found myself singing along to and air-guitaring to the most. That elevating chorus, that guitar line, it feels like taking on the world and winning, or just finding out your crush is kinda into you too.

87. Behemoth – “Angelvs XIII”

Among all the confused post-The Satanist cacophony and uncertain experimentation on Behemoth’s new album this year, “Angelvs XIII” was a refreshing display of the band’s unbridled death metal prowess, especially Inferno’s proficiency at such high tempos.

86. XavlegbmaofffassssitimiwoamndutroabcwapwaeiippohfffX – “Smokebreak”

XavlegbmaofffassssitimiwoamndutroabcwapwaeiippohfffX get a lot of songs on this list for the quality of their album and the sheer quantity of (very good) tracks on it, and they could have had more if I didn’t disqualify the four tracks the album lifted from their 2016 EP. But this little minute-long snippet of cool jazz guitar licks over obnoxious blast beat drumming is too ridiculous and amazing to not include here for the laughs it gave me.

85. Horrendous – “Golgothan Tongues”

The Opeth-y guitar leads and the sardonic snarl-like growls all over this track and the proggy death metal journey it takes you on really do rival that of Mikael Åkerfeldt’s band’s finest output. The strangely choral bridge and the slick soloing of many tempos all over this thing are just too magnificent to ignore.

84. Wayfarer – “On Horseback They Carried Thunder”

The epic among epics on Wayfarer’s World’s Blood, this song hits all the right notes for Wolves in the Throne Room-esque American black metal.

83. Wreck and Reference – “Closer You Are”

The Nine Inch Nails-esque cut on Wreck and Reference’s surprise EP was similarly surprisingly sticky, and I found myself returning to it for its brooding beat and the band’s menacing mood from start to finish. I’m not surprised a band like

82. Corrosion of Conformity – “A Quest to Believe (A Call to the Void)”

I wasn’t much into the sludge pioneers’ new album, but I did enjoy the melodic guitar work on this song late in the album’s track list. The emotive guitar leads contrasted with the thick walls of doomy sludge emulate what potential the genre has to pull on the heartstrings (which there is more of later in this list).

81. Bury Tomorrow – “Knife of Gold”

The short melodic metalcore banger hits with crushing riffs, a powerfully gruffly shouted chorus, and the kind of syncopated drumming that makes me remember the genre’s prominence with fondness.

80. Code Orange – “3 Knives”

Code Orange somehow one-ups the chaos from Forever with a 2-minute metalcore banger that brings together the band’s most potent rage with all the experimentation they love to integrate into their music, which has put them ahead of the curve and established them as hardcore’s new leading figures. And this song proves that Forever was no fluke.

79. The Body – “Nothing Stirs”

One of the more beat-driven tracks on The Body’s new album, “Nothing Stirs” both rides its infectious and distorted beat well and brings it to a phenomenal climax with the increasingly harrowing female-shouted mantra “march on”.

78. Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals – “Finger Me”

The chaotic riffing on this track and Anselmo’s tangibly pissed off delivery on this more put-together cut from the band’s new album come together nicely as Phil repeatedly and viciously shoots down whoever he’s referring to in this song (which I’m glad is not me) on the wild instrumental ride his band provide.

77. Machine Head – “Razorblade Smile”

I’m glad Machine Head included this trashy party thrasher at the end of their melodramatic Catharsis this year (an album that monumentally shifted attitudes in metal about the band, including the band themselves). With Robb Flynn not doing so well to balance out his super serious side, at least publicly, it was refreshing to hear a dumb fun thrash tune with classless lyrics and sweet riffs from Machine Head before half of them left for other musical aspirations.

76. Portal – “ESP ION AGE”

The downward spiraling guitar riffs and hushed growls on this song, particularly on Ion hit me every time I put that album on. I love the feeling Portal capture of falling into a deep, grey abyss on this song.

75. Khemmis – “Flesh to Nothing”

Even at their most stoic, Khemmis managed to raise the hairs on my arms all throughout this year with “Flesh to Nothing”. The low-register vocals of the chorus and the contrast with the high harmony are so emotively delivered and the rest of the song’s vocal lines are so passionately delivered, despite being one of the more subdued songs on the album, and the pairing with the guitar line is incredible.

74. Machine Head – “Psychotic”

It was nice hearing some wild thrashy groove metal reminiscent of Machine Head’s old days as well, and for as over-the-top and ridiculously theatrically crazy Robb gets with his vocal delivery on this song, it is a fine display of the band’s knack for groove in the harshest of instrumental weathers. I’m gonna miss this incarnation of the band.

73. XavlegbmaofffassssitimiwoamndutroabcwapwaeiippohfffX – “Invoke the Smoke”

And, we have a weed anthem, but it takes a refreshingly nihilistic approach lyrically. It’s about getting high because life is shit and everyone dying someday. Aside from the lyrics, the crushing grindcore comes in the band’s most groove-driven form, perhaps, on the whole album.

72. Panopticon – “The Moss Beneath the Snow”

This post-metal-ish epic finds Austin Lunn merging his metallic side and his folky country side in an epic of ethereal guitars leading into a somberly sung acoustic section that provides a bit of solace through difficult times, referring to the moss beneath the snow as a sign that harsh conditions can be weathered and that we can do the same.

71. KEN Mode – “No Gentle Art”

This slowly building, but intense, horn-wielding closing track from the new KEN Mode album made me wish more of it was like this, but I’ll take what I can get, and I did get a pretty sweet epic from the band, one that highlights the talent KEN Mode have with experimentation within hardcore.

70. XavlegbmaofffassssitimiwoamndutroabcwapwaeiippohfffX – “Surfs up Goths”

I feel like every other song I’m talking about fucking XavlegbmaofffassssitimiwoamndutroabcwapwaeiippohfffX. This song about shark attacks (sung from the sharks’ perspective) works in some of the most hardcore chugging, ridiculous pig squeals, and an absurd surf rock riff.

69. Daughters – “Guest House”

The frighteningly deranged closer to the already deranged album, “Guest House” takes so much of what made Daughters’ industrial noise rock approach on their new album so effective, and smashes it all into a demented 3-minute fear-fest of wily guitars and Alexis Marshall’s terrified shouts.

68. Jesus Piece – “Punish”

The band’s debut full length was a bit standard for hardcore at the moment (which is pretty damn good), but the double-kick syncopation with the bass guitar on this track was undeniable and I found myself playing it on my bass so often just for the tastiness of its jam.

67. Daughters – “Satan in the Wait”

This was the mighty fine, epic teaser to Daughters’ momentous comeback, and definitely a standout track on the album. I love the progression the band makes to the theatrically delivered bridge and the shift in tone from the verses to the latter part of the song.

66. Alice in Chains – “The One You Know”

Alice in Chains came through with another catchy, grungy groove and an infectious chorus harmony that prove that even in their late stages and with so much time between albums these days, they still have gas in the tank.

65. Ghost – “Witch Image”

So much of Ghost’s Prequelle took a little bit of time to grow on me for how much higher Ghost had intentionally turned up the cheese factor, but “Witch Image” was one track that took no convincing whatsoever; it’s anthemic chorus and sweet guitar melodies, of course with Ghost’s brilliant cheesiness, made it an instant favorite of mine.

64. Vein – “Doomtech”

Vein show what they could pull off in the long haul on this song, for nearly 5 minutes rather than 2 or 3 like the rest of Errorzone, but they prove their ferocity indeed has an attention span on here, providing a well-constructed piece of modern metallic hardcore.

63. Deadspace – “World of Pain”

One of three songs off their EP from this year, “World of Pain” captures Deadspace at their most emotionally potent with gut-wrenching screams and sorrowful black metal guitar to support it.

62. Thou – “Inward”

The opening track to Magus captures everything that made the album so potent and such a step up for Thou in their cultivation of their sound, with the most flattering production on any LP of theirs, it highlights the depths of the sludgy doom guitar grooves on the song while not drowning out the bass or vocals.

61. Wreck and Reference – “Striped White Jets”

This slow build of a song shows why Wreck and Reference are one of my favorite bands experimenting within black metal at the moment. The build is slow and melancholic, but the climax is vibrant and emotionally captivating.

60. Vein – “Virus://Vibrance”

Speaking of vibrance, I can’t deny the incredible blend of metallic hardcore power and nu metal groove of Errorzone’s opening track. Short and sweet, it shows the kind of intensity this blend of styles can produce, and it shows why Vein are definitely a band to keep an eye on in the near future.

59. Thou – “Occulting Light”

This one is a cut from their first EP this year, The House Primordial, which took a darker, more overtly black metal angle than a doomy one, and this song in particular I felt took an interesting direction with the black metal elements of Thou’s sound and funneled it into an interesting drone of abysmally ambient black metal.

58. Echo Beds – “The Flaw Is in the Design”

I love the deep horn-like effects overlaying the industrial beat and distorted instrumentation on this song; it’s a menacing piece of experimental electronic black metal that does well to balance glitchy instrumentation with deathly riffing.

57. Bloodbath – “Only the Dead Survive”

This one was Bloodbath’s best song on their new album, and its grand construction is a huge reason why. The well-adjusted production on the album brings out the bombast in the bass and the guitars on this song particularly, and the chaotic twist the band takes on the bridge is what takes this song to a level above the rest of the album.

56. Pig Destroyer – “Army of Cops”

This song captures Pig Destroyer at their most unusually catchy, but still ferocious of course. Based on a more traditional groove and more standard metal guitar riffage, it’s a good representation of the band doing well outside the hellish grindcore bubble they crafted for themselves.

55. High on Fire – “Electric Messiah”

The title track to the new High on Fire album came through with the most punishing thrash on any track there, and the well-produced sludgy guitars on the album really helped the high-energy performance on this song stand out. It’s a fantastic, straight-up thrash number played through some of the thickest guitar tone this band has ever used, and Matt Pike’s vocals are of course as powerfully gruff as ever.

54. Behemoth – “Havohej Pantocrator”

This one definitely sounds like something that could have been lifted straight from The Satanist. No extra bells and whistles, it’s just Behemoth at their sacrilegiously ritualistic death metal grind with subtle hints of acoustic guitar, horns, and choral gang-like vocals over progressively grandiose blackened death metal, definitely a highlight on the album.

53. Obscura – “Emergent Evolution”

I wasn’t expecting such a catchy effect-laden vocal melody from Obscura, but that’s what I got on “Emergent Evolution”, and the band’s playing on the track is of course superb in terms of their chemistry and their ability to make techdeath something tangibly exciting.

52. Nekrogoblikon – “The Magic Spider”

This kooky major-key piano-led song about wishing upon a spider is just so ridiculous and fun (and supplemented with some dynamic heavy instrumentation and black metal vocals), I’ve enjoyed myself quite a bit with it this year. It’s weird and stupid and everything I like about Nekrogoblikon.

51. XavlegbmaofffassssitimiwoamndutroabcwapwaeiippohfffX – “The Library Murders”

Oh look, another XavlegbmaofffassssitimiwoamndutroabcwapwaeiippohfffX song. This one I just found so incredibly creative, using whispered growls and super quieted grindcore instrumentation to narrate murders taking place in a house of quiet reading. I just couldn’t help imagining all the gory nonsense taking place while trying not to piss off the nearest librarian.

50. Halestorm – “Painkiller”

Lzzy Hale’s high notes on the anthemic chorus on this song are infectious as hell, and it has been one of the more enthralling classic hard rock / heavy metal songs of the year for me. The riffs, the drum beat, it’s a nice modern taste of the old school.

49. At the Gates – “To Drink from the Night Itself”

As much as At the Gates’ follow-up to At War with Reality this year was a bit standard for them, I really found myself loving the guitar work all over the title track, from the melodic pull-off riffing to the more sustained dissonant chords; combined with the well-paired drums and vocals, it just makes this one an instant classic in their catalog.

48. Anna von Hausswolff – “The Mysterious Vanishing of Electra”

Definitely borderline and debatable as far as its being metal goes, but this was definitely the most high-energy song out of the five on Anna von Hausswolff’s new album this year. Anna’s wild but well-controlled highs bring the song to such an ominous high, while the percussion across the song keeps the blood pumping.

47. Thou – “Come Home You Are Missed”

My favorite song off Thou’s second EP this year, my favorite of their 4 releases of 2018, Inconsolable, it’s also not exactly metal at all (nor is the rest of the album), but I couldn’t stop listening to it this year. The gloomy clean guitar work, the sorrowful female vocal feature, everything about this song is a modern depressive grunge masterclass from a band who never specialized in it.

46. Deafheaven – “Canary Yellow”

I love the opening clean guitar melody on this song and the cathartic progression through the brighter side of the band’s signature blackgaze. Deafheaven really showed their sustained ability with emotional dynamic with the commitment to the lighter side of their sound on this song. Out of all the songs on Ordinary Corrupt Human Love, “Canary Yellow” always makes me remember how much I love the most important people in my life.

45. Rivers of Nihil – “The Silent Life”

On an album full of progressive death metal hits, this song’s progression and its tasteful guitar and saxophone riffing among the justifiably showy drumming and soloing make it a standout among standouts.

44. The Atlas Moth – “Coma Noir”

The introductory title track to The Atlas Moth’s new album this year made such an immediate and resounding statement of the vast degree to which they elevated their sound; the groovy mid-tempo riff that closes the song out after the halfway mark, in particular, gets me headbanging every time.

43. Gevurah – “Black Sun Thaumiel”

The epic closer to Gevurah’s phenomenal EP this year, “Black Sun Thaumiel” takes the band’s masterfully and surprisingly quickly evolved blackened death metal sound and applies it to a patient, progressive, yet by no means restrained, epic that showcases Gevurah’s blackened firepower.

42. Watain – “Nuclear Alchemy”

Such a powerful opening track, “Nuclear Alchemy” jams everything great about Watain into a compact 3 minutes: demon-possessed classic black metal screams along with chaotic and immaculately produced black metal riffing that enhances rather than smooths out their very sharp edges.

41. Underoath – “It Has to Start Somewhere”

While the band’s comeback album was kind of a mixed bag of forced “evolution”, the intro track is a cathartic example of the band’s classic melodic metalcore with Spencer’s tangible agony coming through in his excellent screams about struggling with

40. Revocation – “That Which Consumes All Things”

Yet another delicious riff-fest from Revocation, leaning more toward the technical death metal side of their sound on this song, but not sacrificing the catchy crunch of the thrash they’ve always integrated into their sound. This song in particular makes fine use of some eerie black metal-esque dissonance before breaking into its down-tuned thrash riffage and virtuoso soloing, and it makes for such a sick and interesting 5-and-a-half-minute progression.

39. Architects – “Royal Beggars”

This melodic and cleanly and harshly sung cut from the band’s new album stood out for its anthemic quality, which is saying a lot because the whole album was loaded with it. It’s the kind of melodic metalcore that makes you feel like you can take on the world.

38. Daughters – “Long Road No Turns”

Another sick song from Daughters’ comeback record, the second in its track list, it takes the dark momentum of the opening track and adds a little bit extra noise to up the fierceness of its tone. The lyrics about the fatally vindictive cynicism of the society being portrayed are increasingly psychotically delivered, and the spiraling instrumentation gives a tangible feeling of plummeting from the top of the world.

37. Krieg – “This Time I’ll Leave You to Drown”

I wasn’t too into the split Krieg and Integrity put out earlier this year, but I kept returning to this song from Krieg for its gloomy, yet still energetic American black metal sound, exemplifying the style at its most emotive. My only wish is that was longer.

36. Zeal and Ardor – “The Fire of Motion”

This one is a bit more of a normal black metal song from Zeal and Ardor, loaded with fierce screams amid pummeling drums and harsh guitar riffs at rapid fire. It’s quick and to the point, but it captures the most “kvlt” side of Zeal and Ardor (if there is one) at its most potent.

35. Mamaleek – “Sicarii”

Another interesting and spooky piece of black metal experimentation, this song twists the genre into a much subtler, yet still brooding, bass-driven ambiance that challenges the very notions of what confines black metal.

34. Zeal and Ardor – “Servants”

Another of the heavier tracks from Stranger Fruit, “Servants” is direct, to the point, and still manages to tightly interweave the band’s slave spiritual and black metal elements into one aggressive metallic banger.

33. Halestorm – “Conflicted”

Definitely the most interesting hard rocker of the year, “Conflicted” manages to ride a hard-rocking beat over an acoustic guitar for much of its early verses until exploding into a tasty guitar riff at the end.

32. Gevurah – “Mark of Lucifer”

Of the 4 incredible tracks on Sulphur Soul, “Mark of Lucifer” is my favorite for its extra shouty delivery enhancing its volatile blackened death metal instrumentation. It’s very reminiscent of newer Behemoth, while still somehow retaining Gevurah’s identity.

31. Between the Buried and Me – “Voice of Trespass”

It bugs me just a little bit (even though I’ve largely stopped giving a shit about the Grammys) that “Condemned to the Gallows” was the song nominated and not this one. This is the far more adventurous and out-there song, one that really embodies the ethos of progressive metal.

30. Unearthly Trance – “Reverse the Day”

I was surprised that Primitive Man was not the band to nab my top favor with their side of the split, but I’m not complaining about the quality of this Unearthly Trance song, which is a harrowing bog of bass-y DSBM sludge of the highest order.

29. Infernal Coil – “Reflections of Waldeinsamkeit”

Speaking of harrowing, bass-y black metal, this year’s answer to Leviathan’s Scar Sighted came in the form of Infernal Coil’s debut album, which boasted this fine monster of a song that provides both an extended display of the band’s furiously noisy death metal and black metal and an ambient acoustic coda.

28. Unearth – “Incinerate”

Unearth have done well to keep up with metalcore and this song shows they have been paying attention to everything surrounding Code Orange’s rise to power, with the newer hardcore elements injected into this song providing that extra edge that pushed it to this spot for me. It’s a bonafide metalcore banger, and I am glad the band made it.

27. Judas Priest – “Firepower”

Everything from Rob Halford’s phenomenal vocals to the ridiculously sweet guitar work on this song have made this the classic heavy metal song of the year. It’s just one of those well-written, expertly performed songs that shows how experienced the band is but doesn’t give any hints that this has become autopilot for them. They still care about what they’re doing, and what they’re doing on “Firepower” is showing the youngsters of today that the old guard still kicks ass.

26. Ancst – “Unmasking the Imposters”

This crusty sludgy blackened groove metal banger draws its power from the song’s central groove and the syncopation of the double-bass drums to make for a properly infectious tune.

25. Revocation – “Of Unworldly Origin”

It was hard to not load this list with Revocation songs, but I could not leave out the decadent thrash riffage of their album’s opening track. Still leaning more toward progressive death metal on this song, the band do not forsake the appeal of the thrash elements that have characterized their past efforts, and this track shows quite the power of the new blend the band has found. And that chuggy bridge riff, wow!

24. Infernal Coil – “Bodies Set in Ashen Death”

Infernal Coil’s appeal this year had much more to do with atmosphere than riffs, but on this song the band open and close with an utterly visceral riff that sandwiches their frightening brand of abysmally heavy black metal fantastically.

23. meth. – “Shuttering Impulse”

The hellish chaos surrounding the slow breakdown on this song was enough for me to place it here, and the band’s quick cultivation of the noisy atmosphere on this song and its freakish delivery were nothing short of phenomemal.

22. Carnation – “The Whisperer”

A healthy, meaty slab of Floridian death metal, the intro cut to the band’s debut album did everything it needed to in order to launch them to the same pedestal as groups like Bloodbath (thoroughly outdone this year) and Cannibal Corpse.

21. TesseracT – “Juno”

Undoubtedly the best song on Sonder, “Juno” finds Daniel Tompkins channeling the same anthemic melody that made his intermediate replacement so dearly missed and with such finesse and proficiency. It’s a truly fun one to sing along to, air-bass to, etc.

20. Cane Hill – “10 ¢”

I can’t deny the power of a well-made nu metal banger, and this song is certainly it, and it does its job excessively and efficiently, packing nothing but raw heaviness into a compact time frame, leaving no room for any softness to seep in. The eerie choral vocal loop at the end, though, enhancing the breakdown is what elevates the song to this position.

19. Khemmis – “Maw of Time”

Where has all the Khemmis been on this list? It’s all in the top tier here. Desolation really is that good, and the darker cut “Maw of Time” was no exception to the band’s magical blend of crushing doom metal and gorgeous vocal melodies. I could talk forever about the magnificence of Khemmis’ construction of this song, but there is literally the other half of the album to follow on this list.

18. Imperial Triumphant – “Lower World”

Imperial Triumphant’s jazzy approach to death metal is unique enough as it is, but the strange groove they bring to “Lower World” is unique even for them, and it works spectacularly. It’s the kind of thing I can’t imagine how they even came up with. The dissonant piano bits, the unnerving choir chants over the blast beats, it’s all so weird and so inexplicably perfect.

17. A Perfect Circle – “So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish”

It’s more of an alternative rock song, but it was such an unexpectedly catchy tune from A Perfect Circle, I couldn’t ignore it.

16. Zeal and Ardor – “Don’t You Dare”

I know this song has been around since 2016, but it was good to see it get a proper album placement on Stranger Fruit. The teeming aggression of the band’s live performance on the final chorus is a bit lost on the studio version here, but its core fury is still captured in its writing and still palpable through the recording.

15. Caliban – “Delusion”

“Delusion” was the glimpse of water in the vast desert that was Caliban’s album this year. The powerfully melodic chorus, the slick syncopated metalcore riffing, and the absence of any whiny vocalizing was both thrilling to listen to and frustrating as a symbol of the band’s only momentarily tapped potential.

14. Impending Doom – “Devil’s Den”

Impending Doom came back to deathcore strong this year, and this djenty thing was the most mosh-starting thing I heard from the genre all year, possibly even last year. It’s a song that captures everything good and indulgent about deathcore and challenges why anyone even feel guilty for liking it. It slaps, just admit it.

13. Ghost – “Rats”

Ghost really upped the campy factor of Prequelle through the sappiness of the ballads, but the fun sing-song-y rock of “Rats” was the most dance-inducing piece on the album. That soulful pre-chorus, that verse riff, that chorus refrain, all of it is so fun, and then it ends with such an undeniably headbanging coda. Best song on the album.

12. Zeal and Ardor – “Ship on Fire”

This gruffly sung blackened spiritual just drips with vengeful passion and it’s such an unbelievable exhibition of the incredible integration of the band’s main distant musical styles. The chants over the breakdown on the bridge are such a fantastic touch, and the verses preceding it are just as emotionally vibrant.

11. Anna von Hausswolff – “Ugly and Vengeful”

This massive, patient, goth folk masterpiece with its notes of metallic is definitely the high point of Dead Magic. The song’s slow, dark ambient build eventually climaxes in a burst of ethereal vocals and horns that spirals into a more rapid percussion beat-driven section with more bass-y instrumentation supporting Anna’s unsettling highs and shrieks. It’s a real odyssey of a song and one well worth its great length.

10. Zeal and Ardor – “Built on Ashes”

There is so much soul all over this song. It’s a simply constructed piece, but the soul Manuel Gagneux and his band pour into their performances really make it a constant ascension of emotional potency.

9. Rivers of Nihil – “Old Nothing”

Holy shit that double-bass kicking the song off! Rivers of Nihil really breathed life into technical death metal with their new album, and this song is some of the most enthralling material I have ever heard coming from the genre.

8. meth. – “Ascend and Dispose”

meth. is on here again, this time with my favorite song on their EP this year. Blending the horrifying noise of Full of Hell with the hardcore fury of Converge, this song and its terrifying feedback-laden breakdown provide the best example of this band’s capability. This is the band to keep an eye on in the coming year.

7. Daughters – “City Song”

My favorite song from You Won’t Get What You Want. The snare hits scared the shit out of me when I mistook them for gun shots the first time. But aside from that, the distorted noisy bass rhythm and tom drum beat over the track and Alexis Marshall’s excellent performance over them are excellent enough. But then the bridge takes everything past 11 with that incomprehensible abrasive noise whirr and Marshall’s tortured screams over them. It’s a fucking monster of a song.

6. The Atlas Moth – “Galactic Brain”

This song is the peak representation of The Atlas Moth’s excellent evolution this year, with a delightfully melodic gothic chorus and bridge that work so well with the band’s sludgy post-metal.

5. Khemmis – “From Ruin”

The closing track on Desolation, its longest, and jam packed with emotive vocal melodies and guitar leads clean and dirty. It’s arranged so perfectly too, with the bridge climaxing absolutely beautifully so many times throughout the song. Again, I could sing this song’s praises for days, but I will leave that to my top albums’ discussion.

4. Caliban – “Carry On”

Coincidentally, the previous Khemmis song’s final lyrics, “I find the strength to carry on”, lead nicely into this song. I properly hated the album this came from, mostly out of disappointment for what promise this song showed. This song is so anthemic and elevating though, it’s such a shame only one other song on the album came close to its quality. Nevertheless, this song captures so well that drive to force your detractors to choke on their slander with the enthralling refrain at the chorus “I swear that I will prove you wrong, and I swear that I will carry on”

3. Khemmis – “Isolation”

So many fans were apprehensive about this song’s departure from the emotive doom on, Hunted, but I honestly found this to be one of the band’s best songs ever. The sorrowful lyrics are so gorgeously harmonized, I can’t help but sing along with them as they pull my heartstrings every second of the way. It’s like Khemmis’ take on alternative metal and classic heavy metal, and rather than stumbling into those genres’ pitfalls, Khemmis bring their own gorgeous flair to them and it makes for such a powerful combination/approach.

2. Khemmis – “Bloodletting”

Oh my GOD! So much feeling, every second of this song is phenomenal, from the sludgy doom riffage to the soulful guitar leads and passionate melodies all over the song. It’s everything great about this band in such a great package and such a thrilling trip from intro to close. I can’t say how many times I’ve tried to tell myself to listen to other songs this year as I put this one on again and again. This song is classic, Hunted-era Khemmis on musical steroids.

1. Andrew W.K. – “Music Is Worth Living For”

The song of the year! 2018 was kind of the beginning of a redeeming comeback for me outside music, and this song was just such a perfect representation of my eternal gratitude to this art form for how much it has gotten me through the hardest parts of life and made life so much better all-around and, indeed, worth living for. Andrew W.K. sings the song’s simple, yet brilliant tribute to music with such contagious positivity I can’t imagine how anyone could hear this and not love it or at least resonate with its gratitude for music. As dark and dismal as metal gets, it’s such a huge part of my life that I’m so immensely grateful for, and the polar opposite positivity of this song is such a beautiful expression of that simple truth, and I’m glad it’s as bombastic and dazzling as it is because it really captures the grandness of the goodness music brings to my life, and this is exactly how I feel about music.