Decibel's Top 40 Albums of 2022

Is it really year-end list season already? We guess so! Metal magazine Decibel just put up its list of the top 40 albums of 2022. As always, the list spans multiple metal subgenres, multiple generations of bands, and some not-exactly-metal stuff too, and bands who made it this time include Cave In, Sonja, Blackbraid, Soul Glo, Chat Pile, KEN mode, Terror, Kreator, Immolation, Wake, Mortuous, Oceans of Slumber, Voivod, Sumerlands, Phobophilic, Dream Unending, Escuela Grind, Ripped To Shreds, Municipal Waste, Black Anvil, Sigh, Temple of Void, and more. The #1 pick (is spoiler) is arguably the most hyped band in the “new wave of death metal” (you can probably guess who). Read the full list below and pick up the January 2023 issue of Decibel to read about each pick.

Decibel Metal & Beer Fest returns to Philly in 2023, and a handful of bands from this list are playing.

Decibel’s Top 40 Albums of 2022
40. Temple of Void, Summoning the Slayer, Relapse
39. Gaerea, Mirage, Season of Mist
38. Sigh, Shiki, Peaceville
37. Still/Form, From the Rot Is a Gift, Hex
36. Midnight, Let There Be Witchery, Metal Blade
35. Doldrum, The Knocking, or the Story of the Sound That Preceded Their Disappearance, Katafalque
34. Amorphis, Halo, Atomic Fire
33. Imperial Triumphant, Spirit of Ecstasy, Century Media
32. Black Anvil, Regenesis, Season of Mist
31. Municipal Waste, Electrified Brain, Nuclear Blast
30. Castrator, Defiled in Oblivion, Dark Descent
29. Daeva, Through Sheer Will and Black Magic…, 20 Buck Spin
28. Ripped to Shreds, 劇變 (Jubian), Relapse
27. Mother of Graves, Where the Shadows Adorn, Wise Blood
26. Eight Bells, Legacy of Ruin, Prophecy
25. Tzompantli, Tlazcaltiliztli, 20 Buck Spin
24. SpiritWorld, Deathwestern, Century Media
23. Escuela Grind, Memory Theater, MNRK
22. Vanum, Legend, Profound Lore
21. Satan, Earth Infernal, Metal Blade
20. Mizmor + Thou, Myopia, Gilead Media
19. Dream Unending, Song of Salvation, 20 Buck Spin
18. Phobophilic, Enveloping Absurdity, Prosthetic
17. Negative Plane, The Pact…, The Ajna Offensive
16. Sumerlands, Dreamkiller, Relapse
15. Terror, Pain Into Power, Pure Noise
14. Voivod, Syncro Anarchy, Century Media
13. Chat Pile, God’s Country, The Flenser
12. Wake, Thought Form Descent, Metal Blade
11. Oceans of Slumber, Starlight and Ash, Century Media
10. Mortuous, Upon Desolation, Carbonized
9. KEN mode, Null, Artoffact
8. Kreator, Hate Über Alles, Nuclear Blast
7. Nechochwen, Kanawha Black, Bindrune
6. Soul Glo, Diaspora Problems, Epitaph
5. Immolation, Acts of God, Nuclear Blast
4. Blackbraid, Blackbraid I, self-released
3. Sonja, Loud Arriver, Cruz Del Sur
2. Cave In, Heavy Pendulum, Relapse
1. Undeath, It’s Time… to Rise from the Grave, Prosthetic