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25 Death Metal Albums That Had us Cacking our Pants in 2022!

No fuckin' Lorna Shore in here!

Imperium – Ex Mortis Gloria [UK]

<br />Imperium - Ex Mortis Gloria

Released: September 2nd, 2022 via Ultimate Massacre Productions

Hey Imperium (or Imperivum as it’s often written), what was with making us wait a bum-numbing 6 years for a follow-up to 2016’s Titanomachy, eh?! Why were we so peeved you may ask. Easy! Titanomachy was an absolute colossus of an album and we genuinely flipped our collective lids over its numerous, yet barbarically portrayed, charms.

Still, good thongs come to those who wait and we finally had a follow-up album, Ex Mortis Gloriato savour….and savour it we most certainly did.

While the Nile comparisons remained apt (Dallas Toler-Wade popped up on “Burning Crucifixions in the Garden of Nero, so, hey, if the shoe fits), Imperium are so much more than mere plagiarists. This was progressive / technical death metal played by seasoned professionals whose commitment to crafting often overwhelmingly oppressive songs was balanced by an ornate sense of time, space and the service of a good fuckin’ tune.

Ex Mortis Gloria was a turbulent blast of exquisitely performed technical death metal. We expected nothing less!


Inhuman Condition – Fearsick [USA]

<br />Inhuman Condition - Fearsick

Released: July 15th, 2022 via Listenable Insanity Records

Inhuman Condition followed up last year’s well received Rat°God with another stone-cold slab of old-school supremacy.

Sure, there was nothing to be found here that hadn’t already been perfected in the 80’s so the thrill came from the sheer 100% commitment to old-school death metal that this talented trio – Terry Butler (Death, Obituary, Massacre), Taylor Nordberg (Deicide, Goregang, Ribspreader etc) & Jeramie Kling (Goregang, Ribspreader etc) – perfectly encapsulated.  

Mid-paced groove, thrashy riffs, endless chug, throaty yet audible vocals; it’s all so wistfully evocative that you’ll be left longing for your misspent youth and yearning for simpler times. Of course, no matter what middle age spread may have done to you, you could simply crack open a beer, bang that head and allow Fearsick to pour nostalgia down your throat like the last 30 years didn’t pass by in a flash.


Innumerable Forms – Philosophical Collapse [USA]

<br />Innumerable Forms - Philosophical Collapse

Released: September 16th, 2022 via Profound Lore Records 

With the sounds of prime Autopsy and Convulse ringing in their ears, Innumerable Forms took these burly building blocks and built a wall of crushing and cavernous death / doom from them. This shit was insurmountable, almost perfect in its construction and just as effective when unleashing blast-beat-laden death metal hell as when slowing down to a diabolical doom-led crawl. 

As far as improving on their debut goes, Innumerable Forms rose admirably to the challenge. With their mix of thrilling death metal and morbidly morose doom now combining more effectively – and with a sense of freedom and almost lightness of touch – this was one album that retained its allure long after the majority of their death / doom peers had faded into the mire. 

Ultimately, it was a keen grasp of dynamics that elevated Philosophical Collapse to must hear status in 2022. With moments of sparse, doom-led introspection proving grander and bowel-rupturing heaviness more scything, this vast and immersive album only improved with each listen – and we’re not done with it yet!


Live Burial – Curse Of The Forlorn [UK]

Curse of the Forlorn (Death Metal) | LIVE BURIAL | Live Burial

Released: September 23rd, 2022 via Transending Obscurity Records

Death-worshipping is fine by us (Gruesome are building an entire career around it for fucks sake) and Live Burial‘s ‘take’ on the latter-day output of Chuck Schuldiner and co. reaps numerous rewards for those who like their death metal to be old-school and technical, atmospheric and hideously heavy. 

Often overwhelmingly dense, Live Burial‘s whirlwind of sound threatened to disarm rather than cajole the listener but moments of semi-tempered brevity – particularly on the last few minutes of “Exhumation and Execution” – offered respite from the cold, harsh extremity that surrounded it.

Closing with the expansive “This Prison I Call Flesh” may have tested patience further but we maintain that this exquisitely played, and epic final song, indicated that Live Burial are stillevolving and are fast becoming one of the UK’s most important and interesting death metal bands.


Maceration – It Never Ends… [Denmark]

<br />Maceration - It Never Ends...

Released: November 25th, 2022 via Emanzipation Productions

Of all the recent old-school death metal reformations, Danish cult heroes Maceration‘s new material was one we were most excited about.

Cast your mind back 30 years and Maceration‘s debut, A Serenade Of Anguish, didn’t exactly set the world afire but it sure as hell gave Danish death metal something to shout about. Part Scandinavian, part Floridian in nature, A Serenade Of Anguish was downright filthy and, despite its relatively obscure placing in death metal history, is a rather fine album. So, were we looking forward to it’s long-awaited follow-up? You bet your old-school death metal lovin’ ass we were!

Throw in the legend that is Dan Swanö on growl duty (and growling for the first time since the mid-90s no less!) and expectations were reaching levels known to cause severe testicular discomfort.

Fortunately, It Never Ends… was everything we wanted it to be; heavy as balls and full of strut and swagger. This was old-school death metal done the right way. It’s like they’re veterans or something!

About Chris Jennings (1987 Articles)
I love metal. Always have. Always will. As editor of Worship Metal - a site dedicated to being as positive about metal and its myriad of sub-genres as possible - my aim is to 'worship' metal through honest reviews, current news and a wide variety of features; offering the same exposure to underground bands as we do to mainstream/well known acts. Our mantra; the bands are partners and we exist to serve the bands \m/

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