Mick's Töp 15 Albums of 2021

2021 was an interesting year. It cleared the lowest bar possible of being better than 2020, but still was another year of adjusting to whatever the “new normal” is supposed to be. I work from home and do have a job that I love, but the monotony of not leaving my house basically ever has surfaced more moments of existential dread than I typically like to allow in one calendar year. My wife and our two cats have continued to be my foundation. Having each other has certainly meant the world in navigating through these weird times. I fell deeper into some hobbies which mostly were video game related (shocker, I know) but the tradeoff was that I wrote about music less. Durf really put the team on his back by coming up with the Durf’s Weekly Workout column, but it was personally a slow year around these parts. All in all, 2021 was like beating Dark Souls (which was also something I did for the first time this year); there were plenty of moments that felt like I was beating my head against the wall, but seeing it through was ultimately worth it. And since I didn’t write a ton this year, please allow me to word vomit a bit about the albums that carried me through.

Tom's Töp 15 Albums of 2021

2021 was another year in the Covid-19 abyss, one that I had the displeasure of experiencing myself a few weeks ago, with minimal issues luckily. It is an ever-present threat to getting things back to as normal as humanly possible, lurking around every corner, making its presence known. Unlike the majority of 2020, 2021 saw the return of many live shows, including my foray back to them in the form of the Philadelphia portion of Decibel's Metal and Beer Fest back in September. My family and job helped form the foundation of the year as did my ongoing series of Heavy Metal Happy Hours that I run weekly on Zoom, if you were a part of even one of them, just know you have helped me, and I certainly hope it has helped you too. So anyway, a little less about me and more about the music that made 2021 pop, this is a veritable cornucopia of the year with everything from hardcore to goth, death and thrash metal as well. It accurately reflects my spastic sense of music and reality.

Mick's Töp 15 Albums of 2018

It's been a much quieter back half of the year here then we typically are accustomed to, but life has taken over the driver seat for us : I was busy getting hitched, Durf was busy welcoming a new addition to his family, and as for Tom I do know those New York football Giants have been having a less than stellar year so I can only assume he's been finding some other ways to grieve. Despite all of these momentous event we had going on, we've kept up on all of what 2018 had to offer as best we could.

So without further ado, check out my Top 15 Albums of 2018 after the break!

Durf's Töp 15 Albums and 5 EPs/Splits/Demos of 2018

2018 was a pretty momentous year for me personally, as the Durfette and I packed up and moved from Chicago, IL, our home for over a decade, and moved out west to Boise, Idaho.  It's been a great move, but owning a home and finding a new job have definitely brought with them their own challenges, as has the addition of the Durfling just a few short weeks ago.  Because of this most recent addition, my year end lists are a bit scaled down this year; I won't be listing my favorite concerts (Fire in the Mountains, not even close), non-metal albums (Panopticon's The Scars of Man on the Once Nameless Wilderness, Part 2, similarly a Crimson Tide-level blowout), or songs (Marche Funébre's "Darkness" or Panopticon's "At the Foot of the Mountain"), because it's taking all of the limited time I have to put together this admittedly half-assed list of what I consider to be the best EPs/Splits/Demos and Metal Albums of the Year.  I hope that 2018 has been good to you and yours, and that big things are on the horizon for your 2019.  Let me know if you agree with my selections or think I missed something obvious in the comments, but don't fucking talk to me about Prequelle.  That record sucked and I'm pretty sure Ghost blew their load in two albums and is running on fumes.  Here are some albums that didn't make me want to bash my head in with a square hammer.

Tom's Töp 15 Albums of 2018

 2018 was my first full year as a parent of two, and if that doesn't frighten you, then you must not be human. 2018 was a year that I learned to experience and appreciate more of the small things; small people and small towns included. Yep it was small except for the sheer amount of great music it produced. It was a tremendous year for heavy music of all varieties, as it provided more great albums on average since 2015. Seemingly every month had an album that would surprise and it made it harder to put a line in the sand as to what and when you wouldn't include anything on the list anymore. So after months on non-speculation here are my honorable mentions and my Top 15 albums of 2018.

Tribulation - Down Below

I don't think "fitting" is the right word, but I find it humorous that in my Top Albums of 2017 list, I mentioned how Tribulation hadn't fully clicked with me while praising the latest album from Cloak. And now for my first review of 2018, I'm here getting to ready to gush about how on board I am with Tribulation. It's a strange world we live in, but that's what keeps things interesting, right? Anywho, Tribulation's latest endeavor, Down Below, is bringing in the new year in a big way. The band's rock sensibilities shine through with gravelly vocals casting an eerie ambiance over the otherwise upbeat and spirited guitar rhythms and riffs. Even though they are accurate descriptors, "black n' roll" and "goth-rock" are terms that are being used too liberally and make it easy to look past what Tribulation has achieved with Down Below.

Tom's Top 15 Albums of 2015

2015 will be a year for the record books in the Campagna household. Why the New York Mets made it to the World Series, I bought a house, and of course my wife and I welcomed out little boy Connor into the world. Aside from those wonderful feats, there was metal to be had in 2015 and it was a damned fine year with so many huge bands putting out great records; listing them is a chore unto itself, but ultimately no one pays me for this so this list is what you make of it honestly. Make sure to check out the albums I did a full review for by clicking the link in the album title and also listen to a selection from each album by clicking the song below each write up.