#10 ANTRO Defastiodistorcao
“Antro exists and creates on that very sharp line where true metal and true punk meet” is what their Bandcamp page says and I couldn’t have said it better. It’s got the wall of sound black metal brings and the gut punch punk delivers and listening to Defastiodistorcao feels like I invited a swarm of flesh-eating insects into my ears. Their sound is depraved and distressed and dangerous. I can’t find much out there about this record or this band, but I don’t really need to know much else to know this is the metalpunk record of 2022.
Released September 29, 2022, via HEAVENLY VAULT.
#9 VEGAS Zeitgeist
The new tape from VEGAS entitled Zeitgeist is the soundtrack for my RAGE that’s pointed at this fucked up WORLD! This band’s songs will cut your eardrums like razor-sharp glass. From the moment I heard their metallic-infused D-Beat anthem “L’appel du Vide” I became a fan straight away! Real Talk — I realized that Vegas was going to end up on one of our end-of-the-year lists when I heard “Icebreaker” because I’m a pushover for Dirge. VEGAS is not trying to be the hardest band on the planet but I would say right now they are one of my favorite bands on the planet. I have HATE for many things but this project is not one of them!
Released June 30th, 2022, via TAPE HOUSE USA & Suspended Soul Tapes Records.
#8 JIVEBOMB Primitive Desires
What do you get when you inject hardcore with raging metal riffage? You get a record that Sean and I debated where we should put it (hardcore? hardcore punk? crossover?) and we decided Jivebomb’s Primitive Desires EP should land here and blow this list up! It’s got the best of everything going on which is what makes crossover such an interesting and diverse genre. But it’s hardcore length, so you’re gonna have to put this less-than-6-minute record on repeat.
Released October 7, 2022, via Flatspot Records.
#7 WARFARE Doomsday
If you couldn’t already tell by the sick album art by Jstmonkey Man, this Warfare record is pulling no punches! Doomsday wants you to know you fucked around and are finding out. This is crossover for the hardcore heads who want to headbang in the pit. It’s got members of Trapped Under Ice, Kommand, Angel Du$t, Blazing Eye, Fury, and Glory so obviously this band rocks. Buy this album so your apocalyptic soundtrack is complete.
Released March 11, 2022, via Triple B Records.
#6 APOSTASY Death Return
The immense third full-length album in thirty-five years from Chile’s legendary thrash legion Apostasy, finally reissued for the first time ever with proper vinyl mastering from the source mixes and with a brand new graphic layout. “Death Return” sees the Chilean masters rise to unseen peaks of excellence and destruction as they unleash the most towering and punishing beast in their three-decade-plus career and harness the quintessence of total thrash domination. This is not only the glorious past of speed metal’s finest hour reclaiming its darkened throne, but the future of the genre altogether. A dark future in which thrash metal reconnects with its evil and nefarious roots to summon complete hell on earth and reignite the black flame first sparked by bands like Slayer, Sodom, and Sepultura back in the mid-80s when the genre was still very much a vessel for apocalyptic visions of a world drowned in blood, war, violence, and evil. In a perfect and flawless forty-minute assault of war-torn aggression and shellshocking intensity, Apostasy delivers an absolute payload of death and terror, discharged at breakneck speed and weaponized into form by an implacable firestorm of blackened riffs, ominous atmospheres, razorwire leads, and malefic screams ripping from the bowels of hell. All hail Chile’s legendary cult of death!
Released October 7, 2022, via Sentient Ruin.
#5 CORRODER Tombs of Terror
As soon as Corroder’s lo-fi sound hits, and the guttural vocals attack my peace of mind, it’s all I can do to not crush the feeble technology that keeps my mind trapped in a glowing screen. With its pungent wrath and furious riffs, Tombs of Terror could just as easily be playing from a dubbed tape my friend stole from their older sibling. But thanks to the internet, we all have access to this terrorizer of an album all the way from Norway!
Released January 14, 2022.
#4 DOOMSDAY Depictions of Chaos
Do you ever contemplate the filth and hypocrisy of humanity? The daily disgraces and injustices we need to applaud in order to take our place at the oar of this sinking ship we call our country? Doesn’t matter where you live, we’re all marching toward the utter decimation of the many for the profit of the few. When my mind goes here I need to listen to a record like Doomsday’s Depictions of Chaos. It’s got the spirits of rage and revenge that remind me to survive. There’s something so clean about their sound while at the same time so, so dirty, and I fucking love it.
Released November 18, 2022, via Creator-Destructor Records.
#3 HIGH COMMAND Eclipse of the Dual Moons
With their ominous melodies and luring beats approaching from the distance, HIGH COMMAND made sure I walked right into their thrash trap. Once they had me there, they proceeded to release my neck’s hold on my head like a vicious, bloodthirsty chainsaw murderer. This record has a frenzied yet coldly controlled energy that has me imagining my Highland ancestors channeling pure fury as they waded through colonizer blood. Their sound has that mythical revenge sound that all of my favorite old-school thrash records have.
Released November 25, 2022, via Southern Lord.
#2 ERUPT Left to Rot
Unholy Fuck, ERUPT’s Left to Rot is a sonic wrecking ball of radness! Beware — listening to this band is extremely addictive because they are that fucking AWESOME! Imagine Celtic Frost snorted crazy amounts of uncut raw fury and decided to make crazy love to Never Again-era Discharge — the offspring just might pack the power of ERUPT.
For like the last half hour, I’ve been pressing repeat so that I can hear their caustic anthems of rage over and over. It’s a trip how this band is able to harness a couple of different genres perfectly to manifest something that is truly fucking special! I’ve got to say, the screaming and soaring riffs on this slice of audio chaos are next-level!
Released March 18, 2022, Static Shock Records and COOL DEATH Records.
#1 FORESEEN Untamed Force
WTF! WTF! I got to say this one more time: WTF! The new FORESEEN album Untamed Force is far beyond awesome, it’s fucking sensational!! They figured out a way to combine their Hardcore roots with their love for Metal and Classic rock to create a record that I might have to call a classic! I loved the band before this, but now their creative stock has totally risen in my eyes!
If you don’t believe me just blast their anthems “Serve Your Purpose” and “Desensitized” and let the soaring well-thought-out riffs do the rest. This band seems like they are on a mission to manifest one of the sickest Crossover records ever made and I think they have come really fucking close. This is not a record to chill to, this is a record to rage to. The production on Untamed Force is perfect, it’s clean while still maintaining the right amount of sonic filth. FORESEEN have achieved what some bands never achieve: a collection of songs that truly match the passion that they have for their craft. Untamed Force is an album is a record that will bring Hardcore Punks together with Metalheads the same way Suicidal Tendencies’ first album did! Yo, this is a message to FORESEEN: congrats on creating a stellar record that will stand the test of time and beyond!
Released September 30, 2022, via Quality Control HQ.
