The 19 Best Rock and Metal Albums of 2019: saying farewell to a great year for music as this decade comes to a close.
Welp, it’s hard to believe that we’re not only about to say goodbye to 2019, but also to the decade. It has been a very strange, stressful year (and let’s face it, the last 10 years haven’t been a picnic either) to say the least.
But we had another great year of music that helped smooth over the rough patches and elevate the good times.
Pop music continues to hog the spotlight, but rock, be it alternative, experimental or metal, is still very much alive. With that in mind here are the 19 best such releases of the year.
If you’d like to buy or preview any of these on Amazon, simply click on the album image.
Let’s go:
19. Evi Vine ‘Black // Light // White // Dark’
Weaving a mix of goth, doom, and post-punk atmospherics, Evi Vine’s Black // Light // White // Dark is a moody, dank feast for the ears thanks to angst-laden numbers like Sabbath, My Only Son and Sad Song No. 9.
18.Chromatics ‘Closer to Grey’
We may never get Dear Tommy, but 2019 saw Portland’s Chromatics release their long-awaited follow-up to 2012’s Kill For Love. And they did not disappoint expectations with this collection of glittering, dusky gems.
17. Bent Knee ‘You Know What They Mean’
Boston indie collective Bent Knee showed a maturation and expansion of sound on You Know What They Mean, showcasing vocalist Courtney Swain’s otherworldly wail on intricately constructed songs like Bone Rage, Give Us The Gold and Hold Me In.
16. Slipknot ‘We Are Not Your Kind’
Over two decades in, Iowa’s metal juggernauts emerge with their masterpiece: a varied, multilayered effort that veers from classic nu-metal chug (Nero Forte), searing anthems (Unsainted) and more experimental hybrid tracks like Solway Firth and Spiders which prove that Slipknot are more artistically diverse than their image or reputation might suggest.
15. Chelsea Wolfe ‘Birth of Violence’
Wolfe ditched her recent doom metal trappings to go back to the Goth folk of her earlier work, and the result is a stately collection of songs that focuses on her unique tremulous voice and noir aesthetic. What it lacks in distorted guitar it more than makes up for in atmosphere and scope.
14. Noctorum ‘The Afterlife’
Ex Church guitarist Marty Willson-Piper reunites with his Noctorum collaborator Dare Mason on this winning collection of catchy, atmospheric tunes like the evocative The Moon Drips, A Girl With No Love and the title track.
13. Sunn O))) ‘Life Metal’
On the Seattle drone legends first album since 2015, the guitar duo craft an album as beautiful and life-affirming as it is cacophonous and hypnotic.
12. Spotlights ‘Love and Decay’
Brooklyn stonegazers Spotlights go deeper and more experimental on their sophomore release, going from 90s alt-rock furor to cinematic soundscapes. On songs like Until The Bleeding Stops, The Age of Decay and Mountains are Forever, Sarah and Mario Quintero create a unique, inky, sonic architecture equal parts muscle and mood.
11. David J. ‘Missive To An Angel From The Halls Of Infamy And Allure’
The recent Bauhaus reunion has once again put J’s formidable musical legacy in the spotlight, and in addition to reuniting with his iconic group, the multi-instrumentalist and vocalist also released his most diverse and vast solo effort to date. The two-disc collection recounts lost loves while also commenting on topical issues like the #metoo movement, featuring a host of collaborators including Rose McGowan, Toby Dammitt and Asia Argento.
Click here for my recent interview with David J.
10. Torche ‘Admission’
Miami stoner collective Torche came back strong with Admission, which is just as focused on melody as unrelenting groove. Vocalist/guitarist Steve Brooks keeps his voice subdued and impassioned, adding an unusual calm before the storm quality to the proceedings on earworms like the title track, Infierno and On The Wire.
9. Refused ‘War Music’
Sweden’s favorite anti-capitalist hardcore act have lost none of their furor on the aptly titled War Music, which is a more satisfying, diverse and solid effort than 2015 comeback album Freedom. Featuring blistering tracks like Violent Reaction, Economy of Death and the groove-metal tinged Malfire, they have more fire in their belly than any band half their age.
8. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross ‘Watchmen’
The NIN mastermind and his faithful collaborator have an award winning track record when it comes to film scoring, and their sense of textural grandeur is equally compelling on the small screen. Their 3 volume soundtrack for the dark and daring premium cable superhero drama encompasses Reznor’s stock in trade electronic signatures with elements of orchestral and jazz (and a touching adaptation of Bowie’s Life on Mars).
7. Mike Patton/Jean Claude Vannier ‘Corpse Flower’
The man of a 1000 voices (and projects) collaboration with the famed French composer is a left-field delight that hits that odd sweet spot of past Patton projects like Mr. Bungle and Lovage, while also charting new sonic territory with tracks like Chansons D’Amour, Browning, and A Schoolgirl’s Day.
6. Baroness ‘Gold and Grey’
With a modified line-up and unbridled ambition, John Baizley’s outfit continue their evolution and craft with a heavy emphasis on alternative rock with a touch of prog experimentation. And judging by nuanced, dynamic songs like Front Towards Enemy, I’m Already Gone and Can Oscura, they’ve never sounded more accomplished or driven than on Gold and Grey.
5. Swans ‘Leaving Meaning’
When Michael Gira announced he was disbanding the iteration of Swans that accompanied him on the group’s 2010’s renaissance on landmark releases The Seer, To Be Kind and The Glowing Man, one wondered if he was scaling back his musical vision or sense of scope. Leaving Meaning proved he was merely shedding one skin for another, resulting in an album that’s deeply immersive and hypnotic, meditative and mindful. But creepy numbers like Sunfucker show this is far from easy listening.
4. Leonard Cohen ‘Thanks For The Dance’
He may have left us in 2016, but the late, great Leonard Cohen blessed us with one last amazing album of previously unfinished work (which was later produced and completed posthumously by his son Adam) that ranks among his very best.
3. Tool ‘Fear Inoculum’
13 years in the making, Tool finally emerged with Fear Inoculum. After such a long wait, fan expectations were meteoric, and the band threw down the gauntlet with an album where most songs stretched over the 10 minute mark (including the title track, 7empest, and Pneuma). For patient listeners craving complex time signatures, superhuman drumming, serpentine guitar licks and impassioned vocals, Tool have lost none of their chops or mystique.
2. Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds ‘Ghosteen’
Cave wraps up his trilogy of albums (including Push The Sky Away and Skeleton Tree) with Ghosteen, a lovely spectral collection of tunes that see the mercurial wordsmith navigating the maze of grief from the loss of his son Arthur in 2014. It’s one of his finest releases to date, full of sonic invention and divine melancholy.
1. Frank Carter and The Rattlesnakes ‘The End of Suffering’
Frank Carter has developed a fierce cult following, and that should rapidly expand thanks to this boisterous collection of anthemic, thoughtful songs about topics including addiction, lost love and, all catapulted by his sonorous voice and a winning mixture of punk, alternative and arena rock on bombastic, multi-layered songs like Why A Butterfly Can’t Love A Spider, Tyrant Lizard King and Angels Wings.
Well that wraps up our list. What 2019 releases would you add to this year’s best of list? Tell us in the comments.