01) King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard,Infest the Rats Nest (ATO)
I’ve dug these guys for a while now, but not because of their heaviness. The Australian band has been a solid psych rock band (and a busy one – they released four albums in 2017!), but for this one, the seven man band shed four of its members, recording the heaviest and most stripped down record in their catalogue and paying homage to bands like Motörhead and Celtic Frost.
Key Track:”Mars for the Rich”
Honorable mention/I should’ve listened more
Blood Incantation, Hidden History of the Human Race (Dark Descent) -“Inner Paths (To Outer Space)”
Leprous, Pitfalls (Inside Out) – “I Lose Hope”
Crypt Sermon, The Ruins of Fading Light(Dark Descent) – “Key of Solomon”
The Damned Things, High Crimes (Nuclear Blast) – “Omen”
My favorite non-metal album of the year
Sturgill Simpson, Sound and Fury (Elektra) – “Best Clockmaker on Mars”
Jenny Lewis, On the Line (Warner Bros) – “Red Bull & Henessey”
Bands on my label (Napalm Records) that would otherwise be on this list:
Jinjer, Macro – “Judgement (& Punishment)”
Life of Agony, The Sound of Scars – “Scars”
Motanka, Motanka – “Oy ty Moya Zemle”
Candlemass The Door To Doom – “Astorolus (The Great Octopus)”
Kobra and the Lotus, Evolution – “Liar”
