Official: Decibel MagazineYear-end list
Disfear and Hulder complete the top three in the magazine’s 23rd annual list, revealed early online.
The story
Decibel has published its Top 40 Albums of 2026 ahead of the print issue. Neurosis take first place with An Undying Love for a Burning World on Neurot, ahead of Disfear’s The Last Nail (Relapse) and Hulder’s Verbolgen (20 Buck Spin). Chat Pile, Poison Ruïn, At the Gates, Converge, The Keening, Mother of Graves and Funebrarum complete the top ten.
Relapse has three albums in the top eight: Disfear, Poison Ruïn and The Keening. Further down, Archspire’s self-released Too Fast to Die is at 38, Worm’s Necropalace at 37 and Mastodon’s Marrow Deep at 36. Editor Albert Mudrian says he re-read all 22 previous year-end lists, dating back to 2004, while assembling this one.
Image: Decibel Magazine
Our take
Decibel’s list carries weight because the magazine leans underground, and this one shows it: a Neurosis record at number one and a Disfear album at two are not mainstream picks. Two of the top six, Disfear and At the Gates, are Swedish veterans, a reminder that the old guard still sets the bar.
For readers here, the useful part is the label pattern. Relapse and 20 Buck Spin keep showing up in year-end lists, and both are worth following directly. Lists are opinion, not data; use this one as a shopping guide for the gaps in your year.
Bottom line
For anyone building a year-end listening list. Start with the top three, then check Funebrarum and Mother of Graves if you lean towards death doom.
The top five
| 1 | Neurosis, An Undying Love for a Burning World (Neurot) |
| 2 | Disfear, The Last Nail (Relapse) |
| 3 | Hulder, Verbolgen (20 Buck Spin) |
| 4 | Chat Pile, Who Loves the Sun (The Flenser) |
| 5 | Poison Ruïn, Hymns from the Hills (Relapse) |
| Editor | Albert Mudrian |
The original
SPOILER: Here Are Decibel’s Top 40 Albums of 2026
Issued by Decibel Magazine
