The Callous Daoboys tell us about their favorite albums of 2022

The Callous Daoboys‘ sophomore album Celebrity Therapist is already showing up on 2022 year-end lists and is sure to end up on even more, and with the year winding down, we asked The Callous Daoboys what their favorite albums of 2022 were. Six of the bands’ members contributed to the list, all picking three or four albums each and saying a bit about each one, and their choices range from Vomit Forth to Pool Kids to Holy Fawn (who also had the Daoboys on their list) to Ethel Cain to Vatican to Perfume Genius to Greyhaven to Dr. Acula to Escuela Grind to Chat Pile to Rolo Tomassi to Haru Nemuri to Black Country, New Road to Ithaca and more. Read on for their list and what they had to say about each one…

Jackie (Bass):

Vomit Forth – Seething Malevolence
Unrelenting death metal to crack skulls to, with guttural vocals straight from hell and heart-stopping breakdowns. A modern staple of the genre.

Pool Kids – Pool Kids
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, Pool Kids has managed to write the catchiest rock record in recent memory. Everything about this album is immaculately designed to have infinite replay value.

Tracheotomy – Dissimulation
This band perfectly encapsulates the era of bands like Float Face Down and Emmure, while still managing to sound fresh and exciting. There is nowhere to go but up for these guys and I’m excited to see them take over the heavy music scene.

Matt (Drums):

Just Mustard – Heart Under
Really cool dark shoegaze from Ireland. Like Portishead but add dreampop.

Ethel Cain – Preacher’s Daughter
Best new artist in a very long time. Reminds me of the first time I heard Speak Now or Ultraviolence.

He Is Legend – Endless Hallway
The best band in the world. Half of the lyrics are like “I’m scary and I’m coming to get you” and it rules.

Carson (Vocals):

Vatican – Ultra
Our friends made a nearly perfect record in a very often stale genre. So many insanely catchy moments and throwbacks to my favorite bands. Heavy as fuck, just so unbelievably good.

Holy Fawn – Dimensional Bleed
All of my favorite non-heavy bands are bands like Holy Fawn, and holy fawn is still heavy as fuck. So beautiful and haunting, this record hurts in all the right ways.

Perfume Genius – Ugly Season
Experimental as hell, probably ridiculously hard for most people to get into, but I’m not like other girls 🙂

Dan (Guitar):

Greyhaven – This Bright and Beautiful World
The perfect evolution of an already perfect band. Somehow topping their sophomore release, Greyhaven proves that they’re the absolute pinnacle of the genre. With unmatched songwriting, punishing riffs, bombastic drumming, and an absolute powerhouse of a poet on the mic, Greyhaven deserves all of your attention.

Dr. Acula – Dr. Acula
I never knew I was gonna like this band until they reformed and released one of the tightest metal records of this year. This self-titled keeps the same tongue-in-cheek feel that earlier albums had, but approaches it with a ferocity few can reach or even aspire to.

Escuela Grind – Memory Theater
This album sounds like all the nasty shit I listened to in middle school on my Zune. It feels nostalgic while also being disturbingly unfamiliar. Pure animalistic terror.

Natalia Lafourcade – De Todas las Flores
This is one of the most inspiring records I’ve listened to in a long time. From start to finish, everything about this album is gorgeous. I cannot recommend you listen to Natalia enough.

Amber (Violin):

Chat Pile – God’s Country
Chat Pile’s “God’s Country” is a brutal listen – with punishing, greasy leads that drag you deep into the mire of America’s political landscape. Busch’s vocal delivery is visceral; existential lyrics are punctuated by a bleak resolve. Sludge metal in a grueling, literal sense.

Rolo Tomassi – Where Myth Becomes Memory
This is heavy music done right. Rolo Tomassi’s artful arrangements are as intimate as they are sonically rich. Gentle piano passages underlay emotive vocals that transform into rending, heavy choruses. This record is vulnerable, and truly earns its life-affirming peaks.

Haru Nemuri – Shunka Ryougen
Haru sings, raps and screams through an incredible record that’s a clean mix of J-pop, rap and hardcore. Even without knowing Japanese, SHUNKA RYOUGEN is huge in scale and such a fun listen. Pull up live videos for this one.

Maddie (Guitar):

Black Country, New Road – Ants From Up There
I pick out something I didn’t notice before on every listen of this record. They capture so much here from silly to solemn to chaotic.

Sunflo’er – all these darlings and now me
Good ol rock n roll beer drinkin riffs from the homies.

Ithaca – They Fear Us
Ithaca really stepped up with this record both conceptually and production wise. Djamila’s vocals are so dynamic and unique on this record too.