19. Wretched - "Decay"

A progressive, technical, and atmospheric death metal album that is big in ambition and amplification. I just loved its feel of grandeur. It takes a genre that likes to be coarse and corrosive, and it adds a whole dollop of sophistication. This is their first record in eleven years, and it has an epic and aspirational bent. They seem intent on creating a sound that is voluminous and cinematic but without losing the vitality and venomous of death metal. They succeed as “Decay” feels larger than life and has an up-tempo and euphoric bent, even when it is surging forward to righteous anger. An absolutely belting return to form.