Any year that kicks off with a ripping new Judas Priest song in its first quarter and winds down with a surprise Slipknot single in Q4 is a pretty decent fucking year in heavy music. Both those cuts were but the tip of the proverbial iceberg in 2018, with a host of other big names and worthy up-and-comers, across metal, hardcore, punk, industrial, hip-hop, goth and beyond, dropping captivating songs that helped get us through another strange and often challenging year. Here are 75 of our favorites, conveniently curated in a Spotify playlist for your blasting pleasure.
75 Best Songs of 2018
Deafheaven, Slipknot, HEALTH x Youth Code, Jesus Piece and more
Florida Death Metal's Gory Rise, Groundbreaking Reign: The Definitive Oral History
Deicide, Death, Morbid Angel and more tell the story of one of heavy music's most game-changing movements
Injuries, Pressure, Ciphers: Inside Alice in Chains' 'The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here'
How Seattle rock giants proved the comeback was real with one of their heaviest records
Slipknot's '.5: The Gray Chapter': How Death, Trauma Shaped Comeback LP
Corey Taylor: "This album is about making peace with the loss that we've suffered"
Drugs, Death, Chaos, Contradiction: Inside Dillinger's 'One of Us Is the Killer'
How Greg Puciato and Ben Weinman's complex relationship has shaped one of heavy music's most insane bands
Florida Death Metal's Gory Rise, Groundbreaking Reign: The Definitive Oral History
Deicide, Death, Morbid Angel and more tell the story of one of heavy music's most game-changing movements
Injuries, Pressure, Ciphers: Inside Alice in Chains' 'The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here'
How Seattle rock giants proved the comeback was real with one of their heaviest records
Slipknot's '.5: The Gray Chapter': How Death, Trauma Shaped Comeback LP
Corey Taylor: "This album is about making peace with the loss that we've suffered"
Drugs, Death, Chaos, Contradiction: Inside Dillinger's 'One of Us Is the Killer'
How Greg Puciato and Ben Weinman's complex relationship has shaped one of heavy music's most insane bands