There have been a lot of great rock albums in 2018.
What's "good" or "great" isn't always popular or enduring, but perhaps some of the great
stuff from this year will last on.
Here are the best rock albums of 2018.
How does a '90s guitar hero with a progressive social message get in front of a mass audience
today?
Former Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello tries to crack that code with
The Atlas Underground, which pairs him with some of hip-hop's best MCs, EDM's biggest
stars, and a few pop singers as well.
While many collaboration-filled albums end up being forgettable, The Atlas Underground
holds up with some of the better ones.
Big Boi and Killer Mike rage against police brutality on "Rabbit's Revenge."
"Every Step That I Take," featuring Portugal.
The Man, is mournful, as is "Find Another Way," featuring Marcus Mumford.
The album's biggest surprise is "Where It's At Ain't What It Is," featuring Gary Clark
Jr.
You might expect a guitar orgy, but instead, it's a piano-driven disco-EDM jam.
If you've got a purist's approach to rock music, The Atlas Underground may not be for
you, but for those who are open-minded, you're invited to Morello's funk-rock party.
Few mainstream artists release blues records anymore.
To be fair, how much can anyone add to the genre after it's been around for nearly a
century?
49-year-old singer-songwriter Ben Harper and 74-year-old harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite
have figured it out, though.
On No Mercy In This Land, their second album together, they explore the different aspects
of the genre, from the electric blues of "Movin' On" and "The Bottle Wins Again" to the delta
sounds of the title track.
Elsewhere, "Found The One" sounds like it could be an old John Lee Hooker jam, while
"Love And Trust" sounds like if Otis Redding had become an acoustic folkie.
On No Mercy In This Land, two artists from two generations defy the odds, adding new
standards to a dusty art form.
David Bowie's been gone for more than two years, but on Bad Witch, Trent Reznor sounds
haunted by his idol and former tourmate.
This is supposed to be the third EP of a Nine Inch Nails trilogy, but it stands on its own.
The Bowie influences include lyrics about madness, as well as Bowie-style saxophone
parts.
"God Break Down The Door" features not only sax, but Reznor crooning in a style very reminiscent
of Bowie, over a skittish rhythm that would have fit on Bowie's Earthling.
The era when challenging rock musicians like Trent Reznor were celebrated in the mainstream
seems to have passed a long time ago.
However, Reznor has always been an outsider, so acceptance by the masses isn't a priority
for him.
Considering his position as an executive at Apple Music and his cinematic scoring gigs,
he doesn't seem too concerned about commercial appeal anymore.
Instead, he's adding to his legacy and continuing to make challenging music that rewards repeated
listenings.
If you're souring on rap-metal, take a minute to reconsider with Fever 333.
Their 2018 EP Made An America is clearly influenced by Rage Against the Machine, both sonically
and politically.
If you're into progressive lyrics, this one's for you.
No matter what side of the aisle you're on, Fever 333's music is pretty infectious.
Frontman Jason Aalon Butler spits rhymes with fury, but sings with plenty of melody.
While Fever 333 share Rage's progressive politics, they don't follow that band's orthodox musical
rules.
Instead of sticking to sounds produced by just vocals, guitars, and drums, there are
a lot of electronics on Made An America.
The same is true when they perform live, with a lot of samples and loops going on at their
shows.
They've been pulling in huge festival crowds, so expect them to get higher billings in the
near future.
Amanda Shires is a favorite in the Americana world, so straight-ahead rock fans may overlook
her.
But that would be a mistake.
Just consider this epic put-down: "I'm rock 'n' roll, and you're golf."
That's from "Break Out The Champagne," off her 2018 album To the Sunset.
Elsewhere, "Eve's Daughter" is classic garage rock.
It sounds as if Loretta Lynn reimagined Bob Dylan's "Tangled Up In Blue" while backed
by Lynyrd Skynyrd.
The entire album is excellent, but closing number "Wasn't I Paying Attention?" is especially
haunting.
It starts off with loaning a truck to a friend and ends with a frightening loss of life.
Shires has great backing musicians who keep things interesting while staying out of her
way.
She's one of the best lyricists of this generation, and her shimmering voice helps elevate her
stories in the same way a great actor takes an amazing script to another level.
It's been a long time since the blues have been scary.
It's also been a long time since the blues have been a significant influence on heavy
metal.
Zeal & Ardor is changing both of those equations.
Manuel Gagneux, the band's mastermind, combines the haunted vibe of Robert Johnson with elements
of extreme metal.
It shouldn't work, but it does.
Gagneux started the project on a lark after someone on the 4chan message board suggested
he create a hybrid between two seemingly opposing genres.
The project has since developed a devoted fanbase, and those fans take Z&A seriously.
While metal fans have claimed the band as theirs, Zeal & Ardor uses extreme metal as
just one element in its interesting mix.
On Stranger Fruit, "Gravedigger's Chant" is a piano-driven soul song that eventually welcomes
in pounding drums and huge power chords.
"Row Row" starts with clapped chants before blasting off with extreme metal guitars and
screams.
Z&A won't get much play on mainstream radio, but the right placement in a movie or TV show
could catapult them from the clubs to headlining theaters.
Perhaps it was Black Sabbath's 2017 retirement that inspired stoner-metal band Sleep to release
The Sciences, their first album in 15 years.
Whatever the reason, we're glad they're back.
Everything about their return worked, starting with the fact that they surprise-released
it on 4/20.
That was a cool gimmick, but the album itself is what really got fans stoked.
The Sciences is creepier, doomier, and even Sabbathier than Black Sabbath's last album.
"Marijuanaut's Theme" is a hash-obsessed answer to "Iron Man" that features references to
Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi, while "Giza Butler" pays tribute to Sabbath bassist Geezer
Butler.
Even if you come for the Sabbath references, you'll stay for the brutally crushing songs.
Make sure you put some time aside, though: Of the six tracks, three pass the 10-minute
mark.
And yet, none of them feel like they go on too long.
Back in 2003, Rancid's Tim Armstrong co-wrote much of Pink's Try This album.
If she had taken the opportunity to leave the pop scene and join Rancid, it would probably
have sounded something like the Interrupters.
And that's not an insult.
In fact, Armstrong produces the Interrupters, and signed them to his Hellcat label.
The problem with the huge wave of ska-punk bands in the '90s was that they generally
lacked memorable songs.
That's not a problem on The Interrupters' 2018 album Fight the Good Fight.
This 12-song set is a half-hour long, and there's no fat on it.
The first single, the super-infectious "She's Kerosene" was the band's first radio hit,
reaching #4 on the alternative charts.
"Leap Of Faith" is an anthem about feeling cheated but refusing to give up.
Armstrong and the rest of the guys from Rancid even show up on the rousing "Got Each Other."
Fight the Good Fight is overlooked, underrated, and out of step with the times.
Just like punk rock should be.
Based on their visuals, you might think Swedish band Ghost are all about death metal.
But they actually have some of the catchiest pop rock songs in recent memory.
These days, most metal acts use guttural vocals and dense arrangements that make the music
inaccessible to outsiders.
Ghost, on the other hand, splits the difference between King Diamond and Bryan Adams, making
it sound as if the last two decades of metal never happened.
Prequelle is a great introduction to Ghost, and it's also the best rock album of 2018.
"Rats" is a singalong jam that could hold its own alongside classic hard rock jams from
Kiss, van Halen, or Ratt.
"Dance Macabre" is an earworm that channels disco and '80s pop.
Even the instrumentals are fantastic.
"Miasma" features synthesizers that you'd imagine were played on a keytar.
It even has a saxophone solo, something rock music could use more of.
For many pop music listeners, Prequelle could be a gateway to rock music.
And that's something rock needs more of in 2018: new fans joining the party.