Top 10 Movies of 2022 That Could Be Metal Albums

I have to admit, this is one of the things I’ve most been looking forward to when I started this site. I absolutely love end-of-the-year lists. There’s something about people making definitive statements about the art they loved over the past year that has always interested me. Agree or disagree with them, they always provide plenty of conversation fodder for people interested in the art form that’s being ranked. You know damn well that you’ve smugly smiled at a list that lines up with yours or spent way too long bitching about an end-of-the-year list that doesn’t quite make sense.

To close out the calendar year of 2022, we’ve got lists and rankings galore that we’ll be rolling out all week here. If you want our best albums of the year, we’ve got you covered. Top songs? Check. Best sets we’ve seen? Done. Debuts that kicked our ass? Stay tuned. Other than that, we’ve also got some fun stuff just to break things up and keep things loose. First up is one that I thought about more and more as the year has gone along: movies released in 2022 that would be perfect as metal albums. These aren’t necessarily my favorite movies of the year (although some are!) but they are the ones that I thought would work the best as metal albums.

Before we get started, I wanted to say a thank you to our readers. I always get the site analytics at the end of the week and I never know how many of you out there are actual readers and how many are bots but, for those that are flesh-and-bone humans, thank you from the bottom of my blackened heart. I started this site with my wife back in March and it’s been a blast getting to meet and talk to musicians that I’ve loved for years and new favorites that I’m going to love for years to come. I’ll have way more of a recap of the first year of the site when the actual anniversary comes up in March but for now, thanks everyone!

1. The Northman – Amon Amarth

This one feels way too on-the-nose not to take the top spot here. The Viking raids, the volcano battle, the wild hallucinations…all of these are more than ripe fodder for Johan Hegg and crew and it’d be a shock if this wasn’t at least somewhere on the band members’ list of their top movies of the year.

Poster for the movie The Northman. Picture of Alexander Skarsgård with long hair holding weapons; Nicole Kidman wearing furs centered in front of him; Ethan Hawke wearing furs and a crown to the left of Kidman, and Claes Bang with long hair to her right; in a row below Anya Taylor-Joy with long blond hair worn down in a long-sleeved dress looks directly in the camera with her arms out and palms to the sky; to Taylor-Joy's right is Willen Dafoe looking towards the side; and Björk to Taylor Joy's left wearing a detailed headdress and body paint and make-up. They are all in front of a gray sky background, with a body of water with ships with sails up on the bottom of the poster with the silhouette of a man standing on top of a rock. At the top of the poster is the stars' names with "CONQUER YOUR FATE" written below their names. Below the images of the actors, it says "From Acclaimed Director Robert Eggers." Then in another line below that, it says, "Written by Sjón & Robert Eggers." Then in a third line it says "Directed by Robert Eggers" and then below that, it lists "The Northman" title. — Poster for *The Northman, IMDb*, 2022, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11138512/?ref_=tt_mv_close

2. Top Gun: Maverick – Sabaton

A movie about fighter pilots in general feels like a perfect match for a metal band but if that metal band is Sabaton, the masters of war, then it’s even more of a fitting combination. Can you imagine hearing Chris Rörland and Tommy Johansson riffing over Joakim Brodén belting out lyrics about Maverick doing kickass pilot shit? Sounds like an album I’d be dying to hear.

Poster for Top Gun: Maverick, IMDb, 2022, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1745960/mediaviewer/rm3294367489/?ref_=tt_ov_i

3. Barbarian – Exhumed

Exhumed head honcho Matt Harvey has always been a horror aficionado with a taste for the more disturbing side of that genre, so a movie in which (no spoilers) a lot of weird and fucked up shit happens in a basement feels like something that would be great fodder for an Exhumed record. The movie is a bit of a slow burn but the guys that came up with 2017’s concept album Death Revenge would be more than up for the challenge of building the tension and atmosphere on the way towards some truly twisted revelations as the story builds.

Movie poster for the movie Barbarian. It has a red background that takes up a large frame of the poster. At the top, it says, "From a producer of It and an executive producer of The Ring of The Grudge." In the middle, there is a doorframe cut in the red background and lead actress Georgina Campbell stands in the doorway and below her in the doorframe are shadowy steps. Then the stars' names are listed below the steps: Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, and Justin Long. Then it says BARBARIAN in all capital letters. Then below are the credits for the movie. You can find full credits for the movie here: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15791034/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_cl_sm — Poster for *Barbarian, IMDb*, 2022, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15791034/mediaviewer/rm3095860225/?ref_=tt_ov_i

4. Jackass Forever – Slipknot

Ok, so obvious fact of Jackass and nu metal titans Slipknot becoming huge cultural forces around the same time as each other aside, the Slipknot boys and the Jackass crew both have their fair share of weirdos willing to fuck their bodies up beyond belief for our enjoyment. Can you imagine the kind of stuff Johnny Knoxville and crew would come up with for Clown to do with his flaming torch? How deep can Corey Taylor actually get those fingers into his eyes? What if those spikes on Craig Jones’ mask weren’t just part of the mask? Steve-O and the gang could help find the answers to these burning questions.

The movie poster for Jackass Forever. The post has a background with the majority of it being a clear blue sky, with the hills and trees along the bottom. At the bottom left corner is a cannon that is shooting Johnny Knoxville into the sky. Knoxville is in the top right corner, wearing white shorts and a white shirt, red shoes, and a pair of wings. The title of "jackass forever" is next to the cannon and has a red heart in for the v in "forever." Under the title it says, "in theaters October 22." — Poster for Jackass Forever, *IMDb*, 2022, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11466222/mediaviewer/rm504428801/?ref_=tt_ov_i

5. The Black Phone – VHS

To be fair, you could probably say that VHS could make a kickass song or record out of almost any horror movie that’s halfway decent. The Black Phone more than fits the bill and its Stephen King meets weird ghost/serial killer storyline would provide Mike Hochins plenty of material to lay some tasty riffs over.

Poster for The Black Phone. The poster has a dark, faded background with "From Blumhouse and the director of Sinister and Doctor Strange" along the top of the poster. The majority of the poster is filled with a head a shoulders shot of actor Ethan Hawke wearing a grotesque masks that is white, has a large protruding chin, and large fake smile full of teeth. His eyes appear out of the mask and he's wearing large glasses. His hair is gray and is about chin-length. He's wearing a brown turtleneck and a black shirt or jacket over it. At the bottom it says "Ethan Hawke" in read and below it "The Black Phone." In a line below the title, it says "Never talk to strangers" then in red below "In theaters January 28." At the bottom is says "Screenplay by Scott Derrickson & C. Robert Cargill" and then "Directed by Scott Derrickson" next to the writing credits. — Poster for *The Black Phone*, *IMDb,* 2022, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7144666/mediaviewer/rm4292087041/?ref_=tt_ov_i

6. X – Midnight

It’s a horny horror movie about a perilous porno production…who the fuck else would make the soundtrack for that?

Movie poster for X. Lead actress Mia Goth stands in front of a black background. The shot is from about her mid torso up. Her hair is curled and handing down, and she's very bold blue eye shadow and there are some small splatters of blood on her head and neck. She's wearing a pair of jean overalls without a shirt underneath. She's holding a blood-splattered ax in front of her chest. In front of her are two wooden boards stained red forming an X, with the meeting point over her chest. In the middle of that it, it says the title "X" in white font. Above the title, it says "Dying to show you a good time" and below the title it says, "Written & directed by Ti West." At the bottom of the poster, it lists the production company, A24. — Poster for X, *IMDb*, 2022, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13560574/mediaviewer/rm701700609/?ref_=tt_ov_i

7. Nope – Orighttps://www.originofficial.com/bandin

A smart but not-too-smart-for-its-own good sci-fi flick about visitors from beyond the cosmos visiting Earth with less than friendly motives? Yeah, I think Kansas’ cosmic death dealers could handle that.

Movie poster for Nope. The image for the poster starts with a dark and cloudy sky at the top, in the middle of the image there is a cloud like object in the sky that looks like a sky but a viewer can tell something is off about it, and from the bottom of said cloud-like object there is a flagged ribbon trailing out of it. Then there are mountains in the background as the sky gives way to the landscape of the movie, with the lights of a settlement in the distance of a patch of green grass. At the top of the poster it says, "A new terror from the mind of Academy Award Winner" and in the next line "Jordan Peele." At the bottom of the poster, it lists the stars' names in a row: Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun. Then the title in large letters, "Nope." The words mentioned already are all typed in all capital white letters. Then in blue font, it says the release date of 7.22.22. The back to the white font, it says, "Only in theaters" and in the next line below, "Select sequences filed with IMAX cameras." — Poster for *Nope, IMDb,* 2022, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10954984/mediaviewer/rm1742011905/?ref_=tt_ov_i

8. Terrifier 2 – Cannibal Corpse

I watch a lot of horror (like, a lot of horror) and even I was a little taken aback (in a good way) by the depth of gore in Terrifier 2. I can’t think of anyone better to ratchet up the gore than the mighty Cannibal Corpse themselves. Can you imagine the fun they’d have with a shit-and-guts-loving clown? A man can dream.

Movie poster for Terrifier 2. The poster has a black background / border. At the top, over the black background, it says, "Who is laughing now?" in white capital letters. There is a large, white moon below the tag line with a red shadow around it. Then there is a large head and shoulders picture of Art the Clown. Art wear a white and black typical clown suit, a white cap so his entire back and top of his head is covered with white fabric, and wears white face paint and has black grease paint around his mount and eyes. He has black drawn on, pencil thin rainbow shaped black eyebrows. He wears a tiny black top hat cocked to the left side of his head. In this picture, his eyes are glowing instead of having typical irises and pupils. His mouth is in a large grimace-like smile. To the left of his image is a board of wood with a bunch of nails sticking out of the end which makes it look like he's carrying it. In the center is a smaller picture of lead actress Lauren LaVera wearing her warrior Queen outfit, with a small mini skirt and chest plate and wings. Behind her in front of Art's chest are images of a carnival with a large gate opening, a lit-up ferris wheel, and a lit-up sign that says "Funhouse" Then, in front of and surrounding LaVera are flames and skulls and skeletons. At the bottom in white, capital letters, it says, "Damien Leone's" then in the next line in bigger, red letters, it says "Terrifier" and then in the same line it says "2" with the two just lightly outlined in white and the number matching the color of the background. — Poster for *Terrifier 2*, IMDb, 2022, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10403420/mediaviewer/rm3933604865/?ref_=tt_ov_i

9. Beast– Cattle Decapitation

C’mon, you can’t tell me that you wouldn’t love to hear Cattle Decap throw together some songs about people encroaching on wildlife getting disemboweled by the most pissed off lion you’ve ever seen.

Movie poster for Beast. Actor Idris Elba stands in the center of the poster with his back to the camera, looking over his shoulder at the camera. He has bloody scratch or teeth marks on his shoulder facing the camera. To the right of Elba is actress Leah Jeffries facing the camera directly, standing slightly behind Elba. To the left, also standing slightly behind him, is actress Iyana Halley looking directly at the camera. In the background is the setting of the African Savanna. Across Elba's legs is the title "Beast" written in all capital yellow-toned font, with scratch marks through the last three letters. At the top and bottom of the poster are teeth, as though the viewer is seeing the actors and the setting from the view of a large lion's mouth. — Poster for *Beast*, *IMDb*, 2022, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13223398/mediaviewer/rm2445283073/?ref_=tt_ov_i

10. V/H/S/99–GWAR

The latest installment of the V/H/S series is insanely brutal, kinda funny, in poor taste at times, and takes a trip down to Hell. If you don’t get why GWAR would be the perfect match for this movie, then you probably don’t know much about GWAR.

Movie poster for V/H/S/99. At the top it says, VHS goes to Hell" in white letters. The poster has different images making up an image of a skull. The right side of the skull is a reddish-orange and the left side is dark blue with lightning by the eye. The eyes are camera lenses. The teeth at the bottom of the mouth is actually a city skyline and the opening of the mouth is yellow. Down at the bottom are red-brown ruins. At the bottom of the poster is says the title in orange capital font and in a line below it is says "A Shudder original" in capital letters, with the word Shudder in red and the other words in white font. — Poster for V/H/S/99, *IMDb*, 2022, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21651560/mediaviewer/rm2596408321/?ref_=tt_ov_i

Editor’s Note: These are all just the opinions and thoughts from the author of this post. The author and this site does not make any income or money off this site and this site or post is not sponsored in any way, shape, or form. This list is just for fun and discourse about metal and movies. Photo collage at top put together by Metal Plague using the movie posters attributed through the post.