Top 10 Albums of 2022

I've been writing these best of the year lists since 2014, and it's always fun for me.  Even if nobody else reads these, I enjoy looking back at the year and reflecting.  I also do my homework and check out other lists online to see if I may have missed something.  Inevitably, I end up discovering a few releases I didn't notice and adding them to my collection.  I rank song quality and album consistency heavily, so if there's only a couple of good tracks, the rating suffers.  Often because of this there are some big names that fall off and a lot of times I end up surprising myself with the final top ten.  This year's list has quite of bit of diversity in terms of musical style and even language (including English, German, Japanese, and Mongolian).

1. Ozzy Osbourne - Patient Number 9

Despite working through injuries, illness, and a global pandemic, Ozzy had a goal of making an album with multiple guest musicians that he admired.  He secured Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton to write songs with, along with Duff McKagan (Guns N' Roses/Velvet Revolver), Robert Trujillo (Metallica), Mike McCready (Pearl Jam), Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Tonny Iommi (Black Sabbath), and of course Zakk Wylde.  Album opener and title track "Patient Number 9" f/ Jeff Beck is maybe one of the top 10 Ozzy solo singles of all time, it is that good.  Degradation Rules f/ Tony Iommi is probably the next best song.  Clapton shines on "One of Those Days" which also has a killer hook.  Zakk elevates the songs he is on.  The lyrics and production on this album are phenomenal.  I can listen to it all the way through which is the hallmark of a great album.

2. Lorna Shore - Pain Remains

This album is brutal from start to finish. Usually I don't like "cookie monster" sounding vocals where you can't make out all the lyrics, but I heard good things about this New Jersey band and checked them out. Man, I was not disappointed. Vocalist Will Ramos (formerly of Monument of a Memory and A Wake in Providence) is actually relatively new and the third singer of the band. His growls are well-timed and he sings in a deathcore style similar to Randy Blythe (Lamb of God). The bands sound very different, however. Drumming is a highlight of this album and songs are very dynamic. My favorite is "Soulless Existence" in the middle of the album, and it closes with a cool trilogy "Pain Remains" I, II, and III.

3. The HU - Rumble of Thunder

Mongolian folk metal?  You're damn right.  Take a listen before you write it off.  This band has great rhythms, chugging riffs, and tons of attitude.  Then they add in traditional Mongolian throat singing, instrumentation, and poetry.  I was made aware of them through a friend and then I was fortunate enough to see them open up for Megadeth in September, and they were captivating and sonically fantastic.  I also wrote about their international recognition as "The Artist for Peace" by UNESCO here.  Their videos are phenomenal, and I recommend checking them out.  This album is bookmarked by two really strong songs, but the whole thing is a piece of rocking art. 

4. Alter Bridge - Pawns & Kings

By now you should know of this band.  I certainly listen to them often and have written about them a few times.  Myles Kennedy has one of the best voices in rock and Mark Tremonti is one of the best guitarists.  They are both underrated songwriters and guitarists. They kill it solo, but are just magic together.  I don't think this album has the big catchy choruses that you'll find on some of their other albums, but it is solid and rocks all the way through.  I think the most sonically interesting song is called "Season of Promise."  Great bass lines, interesting melodies, and some soaring riffs.

5. Polyphia - Remember That You Will Die

Ok, this one is different.  Polyphia is a progressive rock band out of Texas that combines jazz, djent, metal, latin, funk, hip-hop, and more!  The band consists of guitarists Tim Henson and Scott LePage, bassist Clay Gober, and drummer Clay Aeschliman.  The album includes collaborations with hip-hop group Brasstracks, rappers $NOT and Lil West, metal singer Chino Moreno (Deftones), and guitar virtuoso Steve Vai.  My favorite track on this eclectic album is "Ego Death" which features Vai and closes the diverse maze of an album.

6. Disturbed - Divisive (review originally from my article November News and Noteworthy)

Frontman David Draiman and others have called it a return to form as the sound harkens back to their early albums. You can even hear some of Draiman's iconic wah-ka-ka vocal stylings on track "Part of Me." A few years ago Draiman said he was tired of being known for that kind of vocal, but it put them on the map and thankfully it is back. "Hey You" is probably the most iconic song on this album with "Bad Man" and "Divisive" also rocking hard. Draiman is quoted as saying that the Covid-19 pandemic and political instability made him "blisteringly angry" and he was anxious to write "new, original, angry, ferocious, brutal material." A different style is seen on "Don't Tell Me" which features Ann Wilson of Heart and is said to be inspired by founding guitarist Dan Donegan's divorce from his wife of 18 years. Ann wanted to work with Disturbed since hearing their popular cover of "Sound of Silence."

7. Silverstein - Misery Made Me

For a post-hardcore/emo band, Silverstein has been remarkably consistent.  Misery Made Me is their 11th studio album.  I own six of them so I know and like this band a lot.  I keep getting prepared to be let down, and I keep getting pleasantly rewarded with just good emo-punk-rock songs.  This album features a few guest singers including Mike Hranica (Devil Wears Prada) and three indie artists.  I like music with fast tempo, good rhythms, good lyrics, and good guitar work.  This band just delivers those things and is why I am a fan.  They don't get as political as Senses Fail, they just bring it.  I'd like to catch them live at some point.

8. I Prevail - True Power

Do you like breakdowns?  I do and I Prevail definitely does.  True Power is their third album.  I loved the first two, and I think this one may be even better.  They've matured and gotten better at their craft which is mixing different influences and styles into a hard rock juggernaut. Two months before the album dropped, their lead single "Body Bag" was playing on Octane and other radio.  It is a banger.  The second single "Bad Things" has more clean singing and a very poppy chorus, but with some screaming and breakdowns in keeping with their main style.  Two more singles were released and then songs like "Choke" that aren't official singles are still making waves on stations like Octane because they are still so many great hard rockers on this album.  It just may have dropped on my list because of a boring song in the middle of the 14 songs and an intro track that is just 42 seconds of noise.

9. Rammstein - Zeit

As noted in my concert review, "Armee der Tristen," the leading track of Rammstein's newest album, Zeit is a nice start because it has a driving rhythm at a medium tempo that is hard enough to bang your fist to and also feature's Till's storytelling vocal style. It is also apropos to open their stadium tour because the song is about uniting a group of disheartened people, "the party of the hopeless," in a march "against luck."  The rest of the album tackles concepts like racism, relationships, and plastic surgery all against the backdrop of the theme of time that is always ticking.  We are not getting any younger so Till and company definitely advocate fulfilling sexual desires ("OK, Dicke Titten") and accepting that we are not perfect ("Lügen").  The album ends as the stadium tour shows did, with "Adieu."  Rumor had it that this might be the last Rammstein album, but fortunately reports have come out that they are already working on another one.  As the lyrics say, "only death lasts forever... adieu, goodbye, see you again."

10. Megadeth - The Sick, the Dying…and the Dead!

I had high hopes for this album and would have predicted this would be higher on my list.  As it turns out, I think it is a very good album, but not an excellent one compared to Megadeth's own catalogue.  The opening title track is one of my favorites here and it reflects on the Covid pandemic by comparing it to the plague.  There's definitely some more good tracks and some great guitar playing by Mustaine.  The disappointing part was some of the lyrics seem generic and the middle of the album has a few tracks that aren't as good as the start or the finish.

Honorable Mention:  Weezer - SZNZ (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter EPs)

How do you rate EPs?  I don't think there are enough tracks (7 each) to qualify as an album in the top 10 list.  As a collection I think it is amazing because concept albums do not always work, but I think the seasonal theme is a cool idea that helps at the same time distinguish and unite the EPs.  Three of the four I would buy again.  I am of the opinion that the songs on Summer are the strongest, making it my favorite of the four seasons - er SZNZ.  I would not have predicted this as I would have thought the more melancholy would get my vote.  Spring is definitely the poppiest and least favorite.  However, the other three all could stand alone in the Weezer discography as being very strong releases.  Altogether there is something for everyone here, and many of the tracks include what fans of classic Weezer like best.  There are clever lyrics and song structures with deep meaning and introspection.  For highlights from each EP, check out "A Little Bit of Love" (Spring), "Thank You and Goodnight" (Summer), "Get Off on the Pain" (Autumn), and "The Deep and Dreamless Sleep" (Winter)

Other notable albums of 2022 worth hearing:

Abbath - Dread Reaver

Animals As Leaders - Parrhesia

A Parkway Drive - Darker Still

Arch Enemy - Deceivers

Architects - The Classic Symptoms of a Broken Spirit

Bad Omens - The Death of Peace of Mind

Coheed and Cambria - Vaxis II: A Window of the Waking Mind

Counterparts - A Eulogy For Those Still Here

Dorothy - Gifts From the Holy Ghost

Electric Callboy - Tekkno

Five Finger Death Punch - After Life

Fozzy - Boombox

Ghost - Impera

Hammerfall - Hammer of Dawn

Highly Suspect - Midnight Demon Club

Jack White - Fear of the Dawn

Jelly Roll - Ballads of the Broken

Lamb of God - Omens

Muse - Will of the People

One Ok Rock - Luxury Disease

Papa Roach - Ego Trip

Saint Asonia - Extrovert EP

Scorpions - Rock Believer

Senses Fail - Hell is in Your Head

Shinedown - Planet Zero

Slash (f/Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators) - 4

Slipknot - The End, So Far

Tedeschi Trucks Band - I Am the Moon (I - IV)