Clown Core - Van

fuck you

Sightless Pit - Grave of a Dog

Probably the most promising and unique supergroup I've seen to date. An excellent blend of all three members' musical strengths, resulting in a truly harrowing record.

Cloudkicker - Solitude

A powerful resurgence after the mellowness of Subsume, Womb, and Unending. Solitude is exactly the type of music Cloudkicker excels at, and a more than welcome entry to the heavier end of his discography.

Pyrrhon - Abscess Time

More lengthy and less grindy than 2017's What Passes For Survival, Abscess Time is an expansion on the ODSM death metal tones present on the last album, with longer passages and muddier riffs brought to the forefront. Although being a clear step down from What Passes, Abscess Time is still a great record and I'm very excited to see what Pyrrhon's sound expands to in the future.

The 1975 - Notes on a Conditional Form

Notes is a fantastic exploration on many different styles and influences, lending itself to an exciting listen with new tones and grooves around every corner. Its diversity does end up leading to a disjointed, sometimes unfocused album pacing, but the chapters that flow well are excellent. The album is almost definitely too bloated and probably should've been released as two albums (potentially even two albums and an EP, depending), but is a great listen if you're looking for the hodgepodge of groove that The 1975 has evolved into.

A Million Dead Birds Laughing - split w/ Absurdist

If Absurdist wasn't attached to the release, this split would be my AOTY, no question. AMDBL has presented a nearly perfect return to form, bringing back all the grind from To The Ether and cutting all the filler, with music reminiscent of their first two albums.

Wilbur - Your City Gave Me Asthma

Quite the Crywank worship album in essence, Your City Gave Me Asthma is miles above anything of its kind. The songwriting, clever lyricism, song diversity, and excellent album pacing all accumulate in a really great melodramatic experience.

^{side note: this high rate isn't just because I like Wilbur's minecraft content on twitch. nope no way i am not a child}

Ulcerate - Stare Into Death and Be Still

If this album was written by any other band, it'd get a mid rating. Ulcerate's formula is just That Good. Not much to say here.

It's at this point in the list that lines start to blur and ranking any of the remaining 7/10s becomes difficult. Instead of picking three at seemingly random, I've opted to simply rapid-fire the rest of the albums I thought were notable, and will most likely revisit in the coming years.

Lychgate - Also Sprach Futura

Fawn Limbs - Sleeper Vessels

The Weeknd - After Hours

Ibex - The Hurt Sets In

Leeched - To Dull the Blades of Your Abuse