Siege Column

Zoe Camp's Top 25 Albums of 2018

I know I say this every year, but holy shit: 2018 gave us some fucking great metal, across all genres, from every inch of the globe. Over the past 12 months, we’ve witnessed spectacular comeback efforts by heavy-metal legends Judas Priest and the almighty stoner doom lords Sleep (just in time for 4/20, naturally); forward-thinking fusions of black metal with gospel (Zeal & Ardor) and big band (Imperial Triumphant), and enough scorching-hot slabs o’ death to make a hellish, 21st century Stonehenge — and I say this as someone whose whole job is to listen to this stuff day-in and day-out.

The most rewarding aspect of being a metalhead in 2018, as ever, has been the constant, ceaseless process of discovery associated with fandom. PR or no PR, this list would not have come together had it not been for all those sources of scene insights: Bandcamp tags, message-board discussions, impassioned chats with fellow fans at shows, online, and on the street (I like your band shirt! And your band shirt! And your… well, you get the idea), my trusted friends and peers, Revolver magazine, and the like.

To that end, I’m a little dumbfounded (and wholly flattered) by the opportunity to share this list with you all. Onward, my comrades, into the drones!

— Zoe Camp

25. ScorchedEcliptic Butchery

24. ConjurerMire

23. Moss Upon The Skull In Vengeful Reverence

22. SighHeir to Despair

21. Judas PriestFirepower

20. BongripperTerminal

19. ObliterationCenotaph Obscure

18. SkeletonwitchDevouring Radiant Light

17. Infernal CoilWithin A World Forgotten

16. DiedAnonymized Internal Criminals

15. ESOCTRILIHUMInhüma

14. IlsaCorpse Fortress

13. Lucifer’s ChildThe Order

12. WayfarerWorld’s Blood

11. Imperial TriumphantVile Luxury

10. HorrendousIdol

9. Tomb MoldManor of Infinite Forms

8. VarathronPatriarchs of Evil

7. UltharCosmovore

6. ThouMagus

5. Siege ColumnInferno Deathpassion

4. SatanCruel Magic

3. Chapel of Disease …And As We Have Seen The Storm, We Have Embraced The Eye

2. Zeal & ArdorStranger Fruit

1. SleepThe Sciences