Sophia Michaels
Trends may come and go but the rage and triumph of heavy metal never go out of style. Both of those feelings were welcome in 2022 as headbangers felt more comfortable moshing at concerts and venturing out to record stores, and artists both big and small came out with some glorious and cutting albums. The Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne, showed the world he’s still metal’s comeback king, Meshuggah found new polyrhythms for their death rattles, and Slipknot found a happy balance between serene, Radiohead vibes and bilious callbacks to their great Vol. 3. Meanwhile, underground artists like Chat Pile, Undeath, and Blackbraid breathed fresh life into the genre. Here are the year’s 15 best brain bashers.
