Our 20 Favorite Heavy Albums of 2019 (Part 1)

Malevolent Creation - The 13th Beast

The 13th Beast is a beast right out of the gate. With driving double bass, heavy guitar and stellar death metal vocals. There's nothing overly groundbreaking here, but the album flows well and definitely makes you want to headbang and throw up horns. 

The cover art really stands out and makes you want to throw it on just to see what it sounds like. Do it. You'll be glad you did.

Standout song: Decimated.

How's the Mix? The mix on this album is stylish and mostly clean. No muddiness, the snare and double bass are leveled well. The bass guitar is mixed well along with the heavy guitars. This is a fairly polished mixed and is mastered well across the board.

Final Production: 3.9 KNOBS out of 5

Infant Annihilator - The Battle of Yalabaoth

This is my favorite heavy album of the year. I'd first heard of this band last year and was pretty impressed at how much they'd grown as songwriters compared to their previous release Elysian Grandeval Galèriarch (which was really good musically as well).

From beginning to end this album just kicks it into high gear, blistering double bass, melodic hooks and those slam breakdowns that so many fans dig. The mixture between the growls, gutterals and squeals really work here. Highly recommended. 

Stand Out Song: Empusa: Queen of the Damned.

How's The Mix? The mix is strong. All the instruments work well together, balanced and heavy. I really dig the snare and double bass tones and the mix is tight. Probably the best mix and master on this list next to Death Atlas from Cattle Decapitation. 

Final Production: 4.7 KNOBS out of 5

Amon Amarth - Berserker

I really loved Amon Amarth's last album Jomsviking. In fact it was one of my favorite releases of 2016. Berserker is good, but there's something missing for me. I think it's a bit more melodic, yet less heavy than Jomsviking or previous releases. Perhaps even a bit overthought or over produced. But, even then this album jams. It's heavy, but not a lot of chug and crash and bash. If that makes sense. It's still one of the best heavy albums of 2019.

Standout Song: Shield Wall.

How's The MIx? The mix is fairly polished, although a tad muffled and flat here and there. I think it's the bass guitar that feels a bit muddied and probably needs to be balanced a bit more. The snare is a bit forward and thick, but I like the double bass mix, though I'd probably bring it up a few db's. Vocals sound as good as always and overall the album sounds good.

Final Production: 3.9 KNOBS out of 5

Cropsy Maniac - Carnage

I'm a huge horror movie fan, so this album makes me giddy on a lot of levels. The song subjects are based off of some great horror films and the album just jams.

It's heavy and raw. Any death meta fan who also digs horror movies would be losing out if they didn't track this release down.

Standout Song: Slaughterhouse

How's The Mix? Did I mention I really dig this album and that it is raw? Well. it is raw, but the mix needs some help. It's really muddied, not a lot of sonic presence and not a lot of shine. Basically it feels like a B-horror movie that hasn't been color graded, has too many dark scenes that should have been lit better and missing some additional sound design. The snare drum is loud enough, I actually like the snare tone a bit, though it needs some crispness. The vocals are COOL, but they need to be mixed better. In fact this is an album I would personally love to remix. Still give this one a listen though, it's still bloody raw fun.

Final Production: 2.9 KNOBS out of 5

Coffins - Beyond the Circular Demise

I'd never heard of Coffins before this year and was pleasantly surprised.

It's catchy and groovy in parts with some cool death growls.

The album is a fun one to throw on in the background when working on some art.

Standout Song: Insane

How's The Mix? The mix needs some help. The guitars have that old school death metal tone, it's pretty cool. Unfortunately it's a bit too raw and muddied for my taste. The vocals get lost a bit in the mix, however the bass guitar has a slick tone. It could use some tweaks, but is still a fun listen.

Final Production: 2.6 KNOBS out of 5

Thanks for checking out part one of our countdown of favorite 20 Heavy Albums of 2019. We'll be releasing our next five favorite albums soon! - Seth Metoyer, Affordable Audio Mixing

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Seth Metoyer is the owner and audio engineer at AAMM (Affordable Audio Mixing and Mastering). Find Seth on Twitter or Facebook or email metoyermedia@gmail.com.