Unfortunately, evolution can be a difficult and dangerous thing for a metal band. Any change in sound in the genre is often met with a swift and ugly response from a large portion of the fan base.
If there’s a template for the way to evolve gracefully, it might belong to Soilwork. That’s not to say that they haven’t seen the backlash as they’ve moved from the Gothenburg death-metal sound to something more melodic and accessible, but they’ve weathered it better than others and continue to pump out great albums. Their latest, Verkligheten (which translates to Reality in English), is no exception.
I’ve seen many in the metal community praise last year as one of the best in recent memory. I’m not going to go that far, but it was pretty solid. My personal best of 2018 list features great records from old favorites, a few awesome new discoveries, and even a good record here and there from bands that I haven’t been a huge fan of in the past.
Then there’s that one mammoth record that made the whole year worth it, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself. Let’s start with the notable records of the year that didn’t crack the Top 10 …
BEST OF 2018 HONORABLE MENTIONS
JUNGLE ROT – JUNGLE ROT: That moment when you realize that you’ve misjudged a band for years because of their name. They categorize themselves as death metal, and with a name like that … well, I knew what I was getting. Or did I? About a month or so ago, the video for “A Burning Cinder” played as a YouTube ad, and instead of going on to the video I wanted to watch, I played it again. And a third time. More thrash than death metal to my ears, this album spent some time in the lower portion of my top 10 before getting pushed out on a tough last-minute decision.
