TOAD came out of (seemingly) nowhere this year to burn the fucking house down, and they did it with their own brand of black ‘n’ roll that’s as stylish as it is abrasive. Big, cattywampus riffs and dual guitar dueling drive TOAD’s all-too-short first full-length, Endless Night, a tour de force that blends retro psych, death metal, and good old fashioned metal to awesome effect. Note that organ, not an afterthought or an effect, but an integral part of the aggressive yet playful songs that seem to grin as much as they grimace. The anthem here is “Howling House,” where group vocals go back-and-forth with front man Andy Labarbera’s throaty bark, but any one of Endless Night’s five tracks could be the album’s single. Endless Night is arguably the catchiest and most adrenaline-pumping album of the year, and it’s certainly one of the best. –Wyatt [LISTEN