Now that the year 2022 is coming to a close, we at Tuonela Magazine want to share what releases we enjoyed the most. Each of our staff members will share their own lists, here is the list of Magdalena.
At the beginning of the year, I’ve been an old hermit, who is comfortable in her shell of old, well-known music, not very willing to peek out of it and venture to go looking for new adventures. However as the year was coming to an end and the days got shorter, I felt a craving for something fresh and this is how I discovered the beautiful genre of blackened doom metal. Though it may be a well-known area for some, for me it was like an epiphany, however, I dug mostly through older stuff. While submerged in doom, I did not forget about my lifelong loves – symphonic and power metal. But with NIGHTWISH and WITHIN TEMPTATION on tour, DELAIN having personnel rearrangements, KAMELOT doing God-knows-what with their new album and SONATA ARCTICA having not released an album (other than the acoustic ones) since 2019, there wasn’t much new in the genre this year. So I turned towards the heavy and experimental, with ZEAL & ARDOR’s eponymous album taking the well-deserved prize of the “Surprise of the Year.” In a good way. Who else made it onto the list? Let’s find out!
Top 10 International albums
10. Devin Townsend – Lightwork
9. Sabaton – The War to End All Wars
8. The HU – Rumble of Thunder
7. The Gathering – Beautiful Distortion
6. Stratovarius – Survive
5 Behemoth – Opvs Contra Natvram
4. Rammstein – Zeit
3. Worm Shepherd – Ritual Hymns
2. Ghost – Impera
1. Zeal & Ardor – Zeal & Ardor
Top 3 EPs
3. Epica – The Alchemy Project
2. Dimmu Borgir – Hybrid Stigmata
1. Zeal & Ardor – Firewake
Most promising act
Zeal & Ardor
Top 5 international songs
5. Worm Shepherd – Wilted Moon
4. Rammstein – Zeit
3. Ghost – Darkness at the Heart of My Love
2. Worm Shepherd – Ritual Hymns
1. Zeal & Ardor – Firewake
Top 5 cover art
5. Behemoth – Opvs contra Natvram
4.Child of Caesar – Spirit & Liberation
3. Worm Shepherd – Ritual Hymns
2. Blind Guardian – The God Machine
1.Immolation – Acts of God
Best collaboration
Worlds Collide tour – Within Temptation and Evanescence actually sharing the stage, not just co-headlining
Best concert
Nightwish, 12.08.2022 , Turku Finland, Knotfest, a part of the Human. :||: Nature. World Tour
Want to share your lists with us? Comment below with your lists.
The whole Tuonela Magazine team wishes you an inspirational 2023 filled with a lot of new music to discover. We hope to see you back next year!
