One List to Debase Them All: AngryMetal Guy.com’s Aggregated Top 20 of 2023

By El Cuervo

This aggregation exercise represents my favorite article of the year. I enjoy identifying and highlighting those chosen few records worthy of additional recognition. But most of all I enjoy the sense of power derived from early access to other writers’ list data without the obligations flowing from being an editor. To my satisfaction, this list represents a diverse mix compared with certain previous years. Much ground is covered, from myriad metal sub-genres (death, black, doom, prog) to myriad tones (energetic, strange, historical, sadboi). I enjoy the variety, even if I don’t the specific choices. That said, we’re not helping our own argument against accusations that we despise all power and folk metal – with just one album from both sub-genres in the top 20 and an abundance selected by just a couple of people below this.

The most critical observation is that, compared with 2022, there are ~20% fewer unique records and voting points attributable to the top 10 albums is ~10% higher. This indicates greater alignment this year, with fewer albums chosen and stronger communal favorites. No doubt this is attributable to our loss of individuality and gradual morphing into one awful hivemind.

In a last ditch effort to save my own reputation at the cost of my colleagues, I want to emphasize that I personally had a distinct deviation from this aggregated list. As orchestrator of this article with early access to the data, I did attempt to identify why it was that some of these albums apparently had an impact on everyone else. The only conclusion I can draw following these attempts is that my faceless colleagues seek the average. They should try harder to be deliberately contrary next year; I expect that they’ll maliciously comply by picking the same 20 albums 20 times just to spite me.

–El Cuervo

#20. Crypta // Shades of Sorrow – “While Crypta is still fetid, OSDM adherents, Shades of Sorrow also amps both the black and thrash influences, resulting in a compelling sophomore effort that packs a significant, unforgettable punch” (Felagund).

#19. Onheil // In Black Ashes – “In Black Ashes is melodic black/death/speed/thrash at its finest. Onheil’s mastery of melody and songwriting elevates In Black Ashes into the stratosphere. Every track is a winner, and Onheil strikes an impossible balance between enthralling riffs and emotional heft” (Maddog).

#18. Ascension // Under the Veil of Madness – “There’s not one song on here that isn’t currently stuck in my head. Its huge choruses, hooky verses, and lightning fast shreddery have probably bonded with my DNA by this point” (Kenstrosity).

#17. Somnuri // Desiderirum – “The addition of (Soundgarden-esque) throwback radio alt-rock into their roiling pot of hardcore and progressive sludge makes Desiderium these Brooklynites’ strongest outing to date. It’s rare that an album this aggressive and energetic goes down this smooth” (Cherd).

#16. Warcrab // The Howling Silence – “Warcrab boasts fighting spirit, sharp claws, and a crustacean shell that’s fitted for turret combat. They’re obviously game for a scrap, but–as Cherd pointed out in his review–the band doesn’t have much competition in their death-sludge niche” (Ferox).

#15. Tribunal // The Weight of Remembrance – “With heavy doses of classic Candlemass and moments that recall the grim haunts of Fvneral Fvkk, Weight of Remembrance does so many things exceptionally well. There’s nothing I would change or trim on Weight of Remembrance, and if anything, I wish it was a little longer. Doom perfection” (Steel Druhm).

#14. Panopticon // The Rime of Memory – “Panopticon—particularly on more recent records—seems to have a unique ability to tug on my heartstrings and to blend the most ferocious of black metal with the most serene and evocative Appalachian folk. The Rime of Memory more than matched my lofty hopes” (Thus Spoke).

#13. Godthrymm // Distortions – “With meaty riffs, soaring leads, a fantastic rhythm section, and keyboardist Catherine Glencross’ angelic voice, this classic-doom-meets-classic-Pallbearer configuration landed my top spot as soon as I finished listening to it for the first time” (Grymm).

#12. Saturnus // The Storm Within – “The opening tracks comprise the best one-two punch of the year, while the back half of the album feels like an unraveling and stripping down. The Storm Within is a magnificently monolithic and aptly dreary return to form from Saturnus” (Dear Hollow).

#11. Night Crowned // Tales – “The intense blasting and no-holds-barred shrieking always hold a melodic thread that makes it more than a wall of noise, whether it be from extra vocal layers, subtly interweaved symphonics, or a goddamn hurdy-gurdy that works way better than it should” (GardensTale).

#10. Vanishing Kids // Miracle of Death – [#1, #2, #8, #8, #9, #HM, #HM, #HM, #HM] – Miracle of Death earns the dubious honor of winning more list mentions than the six records ahead of it, but only reaches this tenth spot due to generally low rankings. Undeterred, Steel Druhm highlights the band’s unusual combination of sounds, describing a “strange witch’s brew of genres and styles that is unique and enchanting… It’s doom, it’s goth rock, it’s 70s acid rock all wrapped into one enigmatic, ethereal burrito.” Despite the allusion to hot food, Twelve instead reckons that the album “takes me to a cold place. It’s emotional, but it feels like numbness; it’s quiet, but leaves a huge impression… any time I’ve felt low throughout the year, Vanishing Kids has been there.” This sense of something beyond easy description is mirrored by Carcharodon, who argues that the band “have that very rare something, that je ne sais quoi…. to create something truly unique requires genuine craft and these guys have it in spades.” Check out metal’s innovators.

#9. Convocation // No Dawn for the Caliginous Night – [#1, #4, #6, #7, #8, #ish, #HM, #HM] – Serving arguably the heaviest slot on this list1, Convocation and No Dawn for the Caliginous Night offered a mighty force of doom in 2023. Dear Hollow illustrates the heavier qualities of the release (“No Dawn for the Caliginous Night channels mammoth death-doom and despondent funeral doom to accomplish a weight both viciously devastating and patiently atmospheric”) while Kenstrosity instead prefers the counter-weight of both sides of the sound (“[their] deeply affecting use of orchestration and clean vocals to light up my nervous system while the heft of [their] tectonic death doom strives to end my life”). Bands like this remind us of our humanity and our finite nature; few records could be pitched as “a towering celebration of death’s enormity, packaged in the heaviest and most shimmering of vessels” but Convocation does this as Cherd‘s AotY. Step back, breathe deeply, and simply listen. No Dawn for the Caliginous Night exists in these moments.

#8. Afterbirth // In But Not Of – [#1, #1, #2, #3] – Inspiring a deep love among its few accolytes, Afterbirth reached this list through just a few list-topping selections. In But Not Of offers brutal death metal that isn’t just smart compared with its own – often blunt – sub-genre, but that is smart compared with anything. “For a band that traffics in slammy, knuckle-dragging brutal death, In But Not Of carries with it an undeniable progressive, cerebral quality, which feels like a logical outgrowth from their previous effort” (Felagund). Indeed, Doom et Al finds its progressive qualities its most compelling, describing that “while the first half of brutal, spacy, wacky death metal is great, the second half, with its explorations into post-metal and prog is where real greatness happens”. Nuanced, layered music invites exploration, and even our resident death metal enthusiasts concur: “Afterbirth crams an abundance of riches into a brutal death metal album that twists and transmutes… I continue to find surprises almost every time I revisit In But Not Of” (Ferox). This album exemplifies the power of invention and intrigue.

#7. Sermon // Of Golden Verse – [#1, #2, #4, #4, #9] – Boasting AMG.com’s prog o’ the year award, Of Golden Verse by Sermon is the sole album here also picked by yours truly. I found that “Sermon’s undulating song-writing style results in music that ebbs from steely, tense atmospheres and flows to passionate, cathartic explosions. Dramatic, sure. But exciting.” Saunders, awarding his album o’ the year, favors the record’s singularity, given that “Sermon boasts a unique sound they can call their own, where dark, eerie and deadly serious vibes and almost melodramatic flair flows through towering, intelligent, and emotive prog metal epics.” But even more than its dynamic songs and novelty, GardensTale underlines the most beguiling quality of Of Golden Verse: “What attracts me the most is the sense of threat. Sermon looms a great dark ominous wall that swallows the background and casts everything in shade. For an album to hold its breath even while beating you down is exquisite.” Few records are so powerful.

#6. Xoth // Exogalactic – [#1, #3, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #ish] – The first of three techy, deathy albums in a row, Exogalactic by Xoth consolidates the band as a bona fide site favorite. “Xoth’s brand of technical blackened death-thrash is a sci-fi spectacle. Exogalactic’s futuristic riffs, twisting melodies, and narrative arcs make it feel like reptilian aliens are indeed enslaving humans as gladiators… Every time I listen to Exogalactic, I can’t help but grin” (Maddog). More than simple smiles, Dr. Wvrm never hides his arousal around riffs. Of Exogalactic, he describes it as “prostrate before that holiest of holy, The Riff. So of course, the end product [is] impeccable, incredible, impossibly fucking good.” AMG Himself delights in “the consistently best thrashy melodic death metal this world has heard since the early-90s” and continues that “Xoth has started to cement themselves as one of my favorite bands.” This entire website has flown from His opinions so take heed; buy Xoth now.

#5. Wormhole // Almost Human – [#2, #4, #5, #5, #5, #9, #ish, #HM] – It takes a special kind of slam to breach the AMG aggregated list but Wormhole is a special sort of band. Having banged his drum about Almost Human almost all year, Kenstrosity surprisingly failed to AotY this album. But in doing so he was highly complimentary, noting that “Almost Human confirms that with the right songwriting, slam can be thoughtful, intentional, intricate, and enriching. Thanks to a healthy infusion of tech by way of tricky, but subtle maneuvers rather than straight-up wanking speed, Wormhole’s whimsically brutal metal suddenly transforms into something polished, elevated, and immersive.” Emphasizing the record’s heavier qualities, the ever-eloquent Saunders describes the release as a “visceral, ridiculously heavy, sci-fi-themed tech-slam assault.” And while we rightly review albums in their entirety rather than song-by-song, Dolphin Whisperer “repeatedly binged those first two singles as if they were a whole album to themselves.” It’s hard to deny songs so heavy but so gripping.2

#4. Carnosus // Visions of Infinihility – [#1, #2, #4, #4, #5, #7, #ish] – Visions of Infinihility offered some of 2023’s meatiest death metal. Angry Metal Guy was emphatic in His summary, penning that “the term tour de force was coined to describe albums like Visions of Infinihility. Sometimes an album simply rules and your record o’ the year choice is uncomplicated. Carnosus’ sophomore album is such an album.” As if this statement was insufficient, I’ll rely on Cherd to describe the thing: “a tech-death barn burner… tight, vicious, and catchy, this record also features [one of the] best harsh vocal performance of the year.”3 Some people – including me – are nonplussed by tech death, but Ferox has us poor bastards covered too: “every one of the nine tracks on Visions of Infinihility stands up to heavy listening… It doesn’t matter if you’re wearing four thousand dollar headphones or a bullet belt. Visions of Infinihility should appeal to wonks, diehards, and metalheads all across the spectrum.” You heard the man.

#3. Sodomisery // Mazzaroth – [#1, #2, #2, #6, #8, #8, #8, #10, #HM] – Sporting 2023’s shitty band name o’ the year, Sodomisery pulled no punches with their new record called Mazzaroth. Dr A.N. Grier describes how “with Mazzaroth came a new approach, emphasizing the black, death, and melodeath with massive orchestration atmospheres.” Its size warranted comment from other writers too; Twelve highlights “the vocal performance, the orchestrations, the songwriting—everything on Mazzaroth is top-tier, larger-than-life, incredible black metal.” More than anything, great music orbits around great song-writing and nowhere is that more apparent than with Sodomisery. Winning his favorite record of the year, newbie Iceberg commends this aspect. “The 36 minutes of Mazzaroth are as lean and mean as you can get… In the age of endless bloat, Sodomisery sharpen their knives and kill all their babies Spartan-style, leaving only razor-sharp riffing and inescapable songwriting in their wake.” You heard it here first; these Swedes killed their babies in pursuit of The Riff.

#2. Fires in the Distance // Air Not Meant for Us – [#1, #3, #3, #4, #4, #5, #5, #7, #10] – Residing in the top half of 7 lists, Air Not Meant for Us represented the best of 2023’s death and doom metal. Grymm compares these Connecticutens to sadboi legends, articulating that “Fires in the Distance took what makes Insomnium and Omnium Gatherum and added their own unique embellishments to create a truly captivating album.” Thus Spoke highlights its “distinctive form of ethereal, key-accented melodeath/doom”, but favors most how it’s “elegantly composed, stirring, and effortlessly graceful.” She wasn’t the only person to bond with this record. Doom et Al agreed that there are clear influences but still bestowed his top prize: “It isn’t particularly original, but I don’t care. Art is about the connection it forges with the person engaging with it, and I feel every note of Air Not Meant for Us in my marrow. There’s a longing and a beauty here that I connected with immediately.” Who am I – and who are you – to deny his emotions?

#1. Wayfarer // American Gothic – [#1, #1, #2, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #6, #7, #7, #7] – With 12 main list picks, 7 top 5s and 2 AotYs, there was little doubt that Wayfarer would take the aggregated top spot for 2023. Carcharodon posits that while its predecessor may have been “close to fulfilling the promise of their Wild West black metal, American Gothic is the album where everything that Wayfarer has struggled to bring together for years finally clicked into place.” Why is this? Awarding his AotY, Sentynel attributes it to “utterly seamless” genre blending. “This is the best of bleak country painted with the instrumentation of black metal. Electric guitars pick up melody lines from banjos with a twang. Distorted slide guitars get that pedal steel feeling. There’s even a honky-tonk piano.” Lesser bands have gimmicks; Wayfarer’s central synthesis is essential. “Black metal should not go well with the Old West. Wayfarer crafted not only their best album to date, but also an absorbing, engrossing classic that begs to be absorbed in full with your complete, utmost attention” (Grymm). If you miss this, we’ll see you at dawn. With pistols.

#2023 #Afterbirth #AngryMetalGuySTop10Ish_ #Ascension #BlogPosts #Carnosus #Convocation #Crypta #FiresInTheDistance #Godthrymm #Lists #Listurnalia #NightCrowned #Onheil #Panopticon #Saturnus #Sermon #Sodomisery #Somnuri #Tribunal #VanishingKids #Warcrab #Wayfarer #Wormhole #Xoth

Dr. A.N. Grier’s Top Ten(ish) of 2023

By Dr. A.N. Grier

Another year, another top-ten list from ole Grier. Unfortunately, this was a difficult year to make my selections. Typically, I have to narrow my list from twenty to thirty albums, but this year pretty much narrowed down itself. But it wasn’t only because I was too goddamn busy to listen to music and write reviews, it also wasn’t the best year for metal. Of the hundreds of albums I forced myself to listen to this year, even my honorable mentions are pretty fucking slim. I know many will argue that this was a fantastic year for metal, but I don’t like prog or doom enough to enjoy the stupid number of releases in those genres. And you’re all terrible for encouraging this shit to happen. Hopefully, King Diamond and Mercyful Fate will release albums in 2024 so we can get some real music.

But for all the work that’s taken me away from writing reviews (which is pretty much the only thing I live for these days), it’s been a good year for insulting and making fun of everyone. If I can’t have droves of amazing records, at least I have a bunch of idiots with bad taste to rip on. The number of 4.5s that everyone whored out on this site is an abomination. And, again, this is all your fault for encouraging scores twice what they should be! Idiots. But, besides all the incorrect scores, this is a pretty good crew. While I can’t help but glare (my mom says that’s just how my face is), the Zoom calls are fun, the daily bickering is therapeutic, and the horrible Doom_et_Al hot takes make me feel better about myself. Without Steel, Madam X, and Sentynel, this place would never exist. No matter how much I try to derail it. While the mighty AMG is busy as fuck and isn’t always around, we also wouldn’t be here without him. I also have to give a shout-out to olde and new editors, like Holdeneye, Wvrm, Kenny, Dolph, and Maddog for all the hard work, bringing back old AMG specials, and helping the newbies onboard. It’s very much appreciated. As for the readers… you know what I’m going to say/call you.

Now for the best list of the bunch and pretty much the only one you should read. You’ll find many records you forgot about here, or you hated to begin with which makes you an idiot.

#ish. Blackbraid // Blackbraid II – I hate that I agree with Doom that an album is good. Honestly, it physically and emotionally hurts me. But there’s not much to be done about Blackbraid’s Blackbraid II because I haven’t been able to stop listening to it since it came out. I can’t say it’s my perfect style of black metal, but the emotion is there, and it’s quite convincing. In particular, “Sadness and the Passage of Time and Memory” is a heart-wrenching piece of staggering beauty. While many complain it’s far too long, it’s only because you expected the follow-up to Blackbraid I to be another measly thirty-five minutes. That isn’t Blackbraid II’s fault. That’s your fault. And please don’t get me started with your opinions on the man’s heritage and if he’s insulting rather than honoring that heritage. Instead, let the soothing acoustic interludes guide you to the engulfing nature of “The Spirit Returns” and “A Song of Death on Winds of Dawn” before “Twilight Hymn of Ancient Blood” tears you a new asshole with its crushing, trashing interlude. Blackbraid II is one of the better atmoblack releases of the year and you gotta get over it and accept it.

#10. Mutoid Man // Mutants – Oh, Mutoid Man, you shifty, unpredictable bastard. How you managed to suck me into War Moans is beyond me because, to be frank, this is not typically the type of metal I like. I mean, not that Mutoid Man has ever solidified themselves into a genre. More like ten of them. But the chaos of the songwriting is typically too much for me. However, these purveyors of the perverse can somehow keep the craziness at bay and wrangle everything into a memorable song. That said, Mutants is rather different than its predecessor. While the insanity and wackiness remain, Mutants shortens the leash and keeps them from roaming too far into the street. The result is something a touch more melodic and less thrashy. That said, there are some fucking heavy songs on this record, like “Broken Glass Ceiling” and “Unborn.” But, in the end, this new release is full of feel-good energy that has you smiling far more than pit stomping. Again, something I’d never see myself enjoying but it’s too much fun to ignore. Each spin reveals even more in its construction, inevitably sucking me further into the silly minds of its creators. I do wish for a better master, but it doesn’t stop me from returning again and again.

#9. Omnicidal // The Omnicidalist – Guitarist/vocalist Sebastian Svedlund is one hell of a talented dude. Not only has he been fronting and playing guitar for the stellar Rimfrost, but he’s now formed a new group that is every bit as exceptional as his black metal counterpart. The main difference is that Svedlund flexes his death and thrash metal chops with Omnicidal’s debut record, The Omnicidalist. In a mere forty-one minutes, The Omnicidalist is an entertaining beast of a record. Right out of the gates, “By Knife” cuts you to ribbons and slowly, yet methodically pulls your large intestine from your body. But what makes The Omnicidalist work are the melodic flavorings spattered between their death-thrash attitude. But even that can’t describe the diversity of the record when you run headfirst into the Amon Amarth, melodeath character of “The Passenger” and old-school, Swethrash of the At the Gates-ish “Cemetery Scream.” And like Rimfrost, Omnicidal chose to produce a warm, open, well-rounded master that lets you enjoy every nook and cranny of the band’s performances.

#8. The Night Eternal // Fatale – How Steel caught this at the end of the year before it slipped by, I’ll never know. But, goddamn, am I glad he did. Sending me a private message of its existence, we spent the next 15 minutes in a Mercyful Fate orgasm. Which is a lot, considering that’s the longest I’ve been able to hold my load. Though not exactly a Mercyful Fate copycat, there are plenty of references that can be made to Fatale. In reality, The Night Eternal reminds me of those recent explorers of the sound created by King Diamond and co. Bands like Attic and In Solitude come to mind as those bands, as well as this one, take the foundation and build their own house on top of it. Steel described Fatale best when he stated that with each new track, you’re pulled deeper and deeper into the album. The two that got me on the first listen were the back-to-back “Prince of Darkness” and “We Praise Death.” With other great songs coming down the line, like “Run with the Wolves” and “Between the Worlds,” my love for the songwriting only strengthened. And it’s been strengthening ever since with each subsequent listen. Let the “Old Man Metal” moniker be damned. This is way better than all your fucking deathgrind cock-core.

#7. Ars Moriendi // Lorsque Les Coeurs S’assèchent – As I write this blurb, I realize my lists are starting to become predictable. Most Grier lists seem to include Second to Sun, Malokarpatan, and Ars Moriendi. But that isn’t my fault. All are prolific and consistent, releasing, if not their best album with each new release, something pretty damn close. Each is also unique in its brand of black metal. The one-person French outfit, Ars Moriendi, is one whose albums are albums in the truest sense. Never have I ever skipped a song or listened to a track without all the others. Like I said in the review for Lorsque Les Coeurs S’assèchent, it’s a journey. Clocking in at fifty-five minutes, these six songs are overlapping nightmares of ambient, progressive black metal. Never settling too long on one idea, each song is packed to the brim with riffs, orchestral atmospheres, organ interludes, and mind-fucking musical landscapes. Still not as popular as they should be, the songwriting coming out of this guy’s fingers, voice, and drumsticks is mind-boggling and surprisingly beautiful. Like previous years, Lorsque Les Coeurs S’assèchent has secured a safe place on Doktor Grier‘s EOY list.

#6. Bizzarekult // Den Tapte Krigen – Bizzarekult is one of the greatest treasures to ever grace us with its presence. Not only is this brand of black metal my thing, but the man behind it is a better AMG commenter than you. Be less you. Be more Bizarre. After the wonderfully moosey Vi overlevde, Den Tapte Krigen bugs out in a serious way. Everything you ever hoped for on this record is there, and more. This time, the progressive elements have greater direction, the riffs hit harder, and the vocal diversity is far superior to the debut album. For example, consider the gorgeous, Green Carnation-like clean vocals of “Du Lovet Meg.” Or, the crushing Carpathian Forest-esque character of “Midt i Stormen.” Not to mention the six-and-a-half-minute closer, “Himmelen er Utilgjengelig,” is one of the band’s most epic pieces. It ebbs and flows through magnificent Enslaved-esque progressiveness, encapsulating every facet of Den Tapte Krigen. But it also hints at more to come. If there’s anything for sure about the band’s wild songwriting approach is that we haven’t heard it all. With each new release, the bizarre factor increases while maintaining a balance of fantastic songs.

#5. Onheil // In Black Ashes – No band this year has incorporated as many influences into their music (and made it work) as this Dutch quintet. Onheil has been absent for nearly a decade, quietly crafting a new record that explores all they’ve done before and pushes further than ever before. Ditching some of the predictable catchiness of 2014’s Storm Is Coming, In Black Ashes shows the band improving their technicality. The performances are a good two rungs higher on the Onheil ladder than the previous record, from the guitars to the bass to the drums. While much of the Amon Amarthian sound of previous releases is gone, they haven’t abandoned those melodeath vibes. Instead, using their Iron Maiden-meets-black/death approach, the result comes out much in the same vein as Mors Principium Est. Vicious, technical, and with headbangable frenzy, In Black Ashes is the band’s clear statement that they aren’t afraid to step out of their comfort zone and try something new. And why not? Onheil is one of the few bands that can produce music of this caliber without it becoming a wank fest or—even worse—a jumbled mess of influences that cripples each song and implodes an album. I just hope we hear from them again sooner rather than later.

#4. Malokarpatan // Vertumnus Caesar – Here’s another staple to my (and the legendary Dr. Fisting‘s) year-end lists. Black metal with hellashes character and a shit ton of impressive guitar work. Giving absolutely no fucks about the rules of the genre, this Slovakian outfit tinkers with cathedral harpsichords, unsetting praying and chanting, and mixing the songwriting styles of Mercyful Fate and Iron Maiden. The result is a wild mishmash of styles that, somehow, avoid being a dumpster fire of influences and conclude as meaningful, complete songs. Honestly, Vertumnus Caesar should only exist in a strange, metal, bizarro world. But, this isn’t the first time they’ve been successful in spitting our weird-ass shit and making it work. They always make it work. And this new release is no different. However, it’s difficult to compare their catalog and determine if Vertumnus Caesar is better than previous releases. Mostly because they continue to tinker with their style on each release. While similarities exist, each album is completely different from the other. Malokarpatan is a breath of fresh air in the black metal genre, with characteristics (if not style) that enforce the no-fucks attitude.

#3. Vulture Industries // Ghosts from the Past – Coming off the heels of 2017’s Stranger Times, Vulture Industries’ newest opus has a lot to prove if it hopes to uproot its predecessor. While never quite ripping up that final root, Ghosts from the Past is every bit as good as Stranger Times. But it does it without sounding like a copycat. It’s drastically different in pace—driving along without exceeding the speed limit, Ghosts from the Past alternates between foot-tappin’ grooves and mighty builds. The opener, “New Lords of Light,” combines both elements, cruising you along the highway before ascending the hill to come face-to-face with a monstrous chorus. Its bookend, the nine-minute “Tyrants Weep Alone,” provides one of the best vocal performances on the album as it builds and builds to a gorgeous passage that leaves my knees weak. But it’s the Song o’ the Year, “Right Here in the Dark,” that encapsulates everything that makes up Vulture Industries in a fun, yet crushing way. Ghosts from the Past’s accessible, Arcturusian style makes it the most fun I’ve had all year.

#2. Sodomisery // Mazzaroth – You knew this was coming. Dr. Sodomisery would not let this list go by without repping these mighty Swedes. After 2020’s mediocre The Great Demise, I didn’t lose faith. I knew there was something to the band’s songwriting approach that would bubble to the top. With Mazzaroth came a new approach, emphasizing the black, death, and melodeath with massive orchestration atmospheres. What makes Mazzaroth work so well is that these atmospherics range across many influences. These include the Dimmu Borgir bigness of “Rebuilding,” the Hypocrisy-esque vocal and guitar work of “Demon in Heaven,” and the Mistur somberness of “Delusion.” While each song stands alone, the depressing theme of mental health pulls them together. And, in the time it takes a high schooler to shower, you’ve already experienced this fantastic album twice in full. It’s a ridiculously tight album for all its content, making it one of my most frequented albums of 2023. Not to mention, the master is slick and dynamic, letting you absorb it through your pores. So, do yourself a favor and get over the band name so you can experience one of the best records of the year.

#1. Mephorash // Krystl-Ah – This one surprised me more than anyone. As I stated in the review of the mighty Krystl-Ah, never in my wildest dreams did I expect Mephorash to top 2019’s Shem Ha Mephorash. But, by god, they did. Krystl-Ah contains all the elements that make Shem Ha Mephorash such a great meloblack record. Huge builds and atmospheres, passionate songwriting, and powerful lyrics and vocal performances. But, Krystl-Ah is a more complete album, transitioning seamlessly from song to song as if it were a single track. Using an approach of long runtimes, the band is completely dependent on pulling off that final climax in each song. But, somehow, they’ve pulled it off even better than they ever have before. Songs like “I Am” and “Mephoriam” add a new dimension that doesn’t so much add layers to the builds, but more like they’re adding band on top of band. There’s no other way to describe the passion and pure massiveness of these songs. Round it out with a dynamic master and Krystl-Ah is the most emotionally demanding record I’ve heard all year.

Honorable Mentions

• The Gauntlet // Dark Steel and Fire – No matter how I try, I can not put this little beauty to bed. Combining thrash with Bathorycore, Dark Steel and Fire hits me below the belt and it has never felt so good to have bruised balls.
• Tsjuder // Helvegr – It would be silly not to include Helvegr on my list. For the style, Tsjuder is one of the best out there. And, amazingly, they can continue to release quality black metal with the same aggression as they had back in 2000.
• Electrocutioner // False Idols – For a rando, False Idols was a fun surprise. Playing rather traditional thrash metal, Electrocutioner delivered an album that acts like a live setlist at your favorite dive bar. In a mere thirty-four minutes, you’ll still be plenty drunk and ordering an Uber to haul your ass home.
• Children of the Reptile // Heavy Is the Head – Not only did Children of the Reptile win the award for best band photo, but Heavy Is the Head’s weird mix of heavy metal and thrash was a hell of a good time. Toss in some ridiculous lyrics and you’ll be slapping pig butt all the way to the fair.

Disappointments o’ the Year

• Metallica // 72 Seasons – That’s too many seasons. Way too many seasons. I enjoyed St. Anger more.
• Immortal // War Against All – Last year it was Abbath’s Dread Reaver. Now this? What the fuck?

Songs o’ the Year

• Vulture Industries – “This Hell Is Mine”

This is pretty much how I feel in the AMG office.

• Vulture Industries – “Right Here in the Dark”

Easily one of the best songs of the year. Hooking as a motherfucker and so much fun to put on repeat.

• Sodomisery – “Delusion”

Lots of Mors Principium Est melodeath thrashiness to make my olde noggin bob.

• Mephorash – “I Am”

Like Shem Ha Mephorash’s “Sanguinem,” “I Am” is a quintessential listen for all Mephorash fans.

• Mephorash – “Mephoriam”

Easily the most devastating song I’ve heard all year. While it’s incredible, it fucking cripples me.

#2023 #AmonAmarth #Arcturus #ArsMoriendi #AtTheGates #Attic #Bathory #Bizzarekult #Blackbraid #BlogPosts #CarpathianForest #ChildrenOfTheReptile #DimmuBorgir #DrANGrierSTopTenIshOf2023 #Electrocutioner #Eleine #Enslaved #GreenCarnation #Hypocrisy #InSolitude #IronMaiden #KingDiamond #Lists #Listurnalia #Malokarpatan #Mephorash #MercyfulFate #Metallica #Mistur #MorsPrincipiumEst #MutoidMan #Omnicidal #Onheil #Rimfrost #SecondToSun #Sodomisery #TheGuantlet #TheNightEternal #Tsjuder #VultureIndustries

Saunders and Felagund’s Top Ten(ish) of 2023

By Saunders

They weren’t shitting, time really does fly. Another year is done and dusted and it’s time to assemble our respective takes on the music that mattered in 2023. How a year in heavy music stacks up is of course subjective and often genre and taste-dependent. Overall, I found 2023 to be a solid year for metal, without standing out as one of the humongously awesome years in recent memory. Nevertheless, most death metal fans would be satisfied with the smorgasbord of quality releases that flooded the airwaves. It was particularly cool to hear so many classy veteran acts still going strong, with a slew of solid to borderline great albums from the esteemed likes of Dying Fetus, Vomitory, Cannibal Corpse, Suffocation, Cryptopsy, and Autopsy. Outside of death realms, Enslaved also released their most noteworthy album in a number of years. A couple of list-wrecking behemoths popped up late, Phobocosm and Convocation, with not enough time afforded to fully absorb and appreciate. Xoth, Sulphur Aeon, and Warcrab rolled out quality albums late in the year without quite breaking into list territory. The latter two in particular were steps down from their immediate predecessors. While on the nostalgia front, the old-school melodeath charms of Omnicidal and Majesties warmed the heart.

Highlights? Well, the aforementioned brigade representing old school, classic death metal, and longevity stood out, while being able to contribute to ranking pieces for two long-time favorites in Dying Fetus and Suffocation were treasured writing experiences. By contrast, 2023 also threw up some tremendous releases from less-established death metal acts and young gun outfits, including a handful of show-stopping debut albums (Bloodgutter, Fabricant, Begravement, Rotpit). It also never ceases to amaze the growth and strength of AMG.com year to year. Approaching a decade of service to the blog, I tend to get sentimental and nostalgic at this time of year, and still being a part of the AMG crew, albeit from the far away corners of Australia, is an endlessly awesome privilege, especially when surrounded by the talented folk that write alongside me.

Cheers to everyone who frequents these pages and helps contribute to the best online metal community going ’round, and special thanks to Steel, Angry Metal Guy, Madam X, Doc Grier, the tech wizardry of Sentynel, and all the other higher-ups and editors for their tireless behind the scenes work and smooth, authoritative running of this mighty blog. All the best for a safe, happy, and healthy 2024.

#ish: Godthrymm // Distortions – In the odd occasion I sought out a doom fix in 2023, invariably Godthrymm’s epic second LP Distortions delivered the goods. I only recall giving their debut a cursory listen. However, Distortions gripped me from the outset and drifted in and out of rotation since its release when the mood struck for some melancholic, muscular, and gorgeously crafted doom that packed serious heft on both a sonic and emotional level. The My Dying Bride pedigree always held the band in good stead, yet it is how Godthrymm embraces their classic roots while spinning modern elements and fresh ideas into their brooding template that raises the bar. Yeah perhaps a few minutes could have been trimmed from the final package, with some minor bloat, but the strikingly powerful guitar work, earworm melodies, and towering, multi-faceted vocal performance crushes any minor gripes on length.

#10. Sodomisery // Mazzaroth – Every now and again the good olde Doc Grier and I’s tastes overlap. With the shared appreciation and dabbling in the progressive/post-metal waters of The Ocean, the quirky underground charms of Son of Sam, and rejuvenated veterans Green Carnation’s triumphant comeback album from 2020 most recently come to mind. Sodomisery, and their second album Mazzaroth, was exactly the palette-cleansing blackened storm I needed in 2023. The unheralded Swedish act expertly weaves icy melodic black, galloping melodeath, bleak atmospheres and tastefully presented orchestration into epic, catchy, fist-pumping tunes. Subtle shifts and striking dynamics highlight an album bursting with vicious, throat-grabbing hooks, ripping aggression and at least in nostalgia and melancholic tone, the quieter, clean passages remind me of early Opeth. You get the feeling the best is yet to come, however, Sodomisery has firmly grabbed my attention and banged out a helluva album.

#9. Outer Heaven // Infinite Psychic Depths – For whatever reason, Outer Heaven’s 2018 debut Realms of Eternity didn’t do a whole lot for me. It certainly resided in my wheelhouse but failed to gain traction at the time. Perhaps I need to revisit, as their long in the works, conceptual sophomore album, Infinite Psychic Depths, took me by storm from the get-go. Infinite Psychic Depths hooked me in and has kept me coming back for more. I particularly enjoy how the band straddles influences and eras across the death spectrum, all while cultivating a distinctive sound their own. There’s an ugly old-school vibe, residing next to the band’s modern inclinations and exploratory, experimental angle. Meanwhile, technical firepower under the hood and sick, guttural brutality offer plenty to keep the brutal death and tech fiends happy. However, Infinite Psychic Depths is neatly grounded by the bevy of excellent riffs, brain-melting solos, and nasty, viscous grooves. There are aspects of the production I don’t love, while the length is a little overdone, but these nitpicks fail to bring down one of death metal’s powerhouse releases of 2023.

#8. Bloodgutter // Death Mountain – There were a number of impressive death metal debuts in 2023, however, it was the ultra-chunky debut from Danish heavy hitters Bloodgutter that warranted much attention and stayed in heavy rotation from its middle-of-the-year release. There were more brutal, heavier, technical, and ultimately better death platters to indulge in throughout 2023, but few stirred up the adrenaline, brought the fun factor, and kept the head banging as frequently as Death Mountain. Boasting one of the year’s best and heaviest guitar tones, Death Mountain is a blast of no-frills old-school brawn with a hefty modern crunch. The songs are uncomplicated but well-constructed, tightly played, and possess a thick, catchy streak that has kept me clambering back for more on a regular basis. Featuring a member of underrated Danish bruisers Dawn of Demise, Bloodgutter brings a similarly rib-shattering intensity and keen sense of violent, swaggering groove and riffcraft to the table. Such an exciting and consistent debut bodes well for a bright future.

#7. Horrendous // Ontological Mysterium – It is no secret to anyone who has frequented these pages over the years that Horrendous are a big fucking deal to me. The old-school progressive death heavyweights have done little wrong over the past decade or so, smashing out a string of triumphant platters with nostalgic nods to the past, and a boot firmly planted in forward-thinking and innovative territories. Following their longest recording break thus far, Horrendous finally returned with their fifth LP, Ontological Mysterium. Despite unreasonable expectations and the album taking a few extra listens to fully unveil its greatness, make no mistake, Horrendous once again proved themselves masters of the modern prog-death craft. Listeners not fully on board with the band’s increased proggy bent, will likely take issue, but Horrendous have long been on the progressive path and the balance is still deftly handled, with the deathlier aspects remaining prominent, carrying the torch of later era Death. Throw in the best production in the business and you have yet another spectacular addition to an increasingly essential discography.

#6. Mutoid Man // Mutants – Mutoid Man is an absolute personal favorite of mine and their music never fails to excite, energize and provide bucketloads of endlessly wacky fun. After a lengthy wait, third LP Mutants finally arrived and largely met high expectations. Back in 2017 War Moans made a huge impact on me, while also helping navigate tough times, so it’s an album I hold in especially high regard. Mutants may not exceed or quite match the front-to-back awesomeness of its predecessor, but it’s a top-notch album in its own right. Continuing to blur lines between rock, metal, punk, math, hardcore, and everything in between, Mutants offered a more measured, melodic batch of slick, uber fun tunes, without watering down their zany characteristics. Despite being a less wild ride than its predecessor, Mutants still manages to surprise and delight, even throwing down a couple of nastier, discordant ditties recalling the spastic turns of their early days. The replay factor has remained strong, and when seeking something sharp, fun, and laden with infectious riffs and juicy hooks, Mutoid Man delivered again and again, being the ultimate pick-me-up album of 2023.

#5. Wormhole // Almost Human – Along with Afterbirth, Baltimore’s Wormhole paved the way for what slam can be in 2023. Following a different but equally appealing trajectory, Wormhole took all that was great about their previous releases and enhanced all aspects of their visceral, ridiculously heavy, sci-fi-themed tech-slam assault. As much as I enjoyed its predecessor, 2020’s The Weakest Among Us, the songwriting consistency, quality, and replayability elevates Almost Human to more elite, essential realms. The production and musicianship are top-shelf, but beyond the sonic attributes and technical showmanship reside a batch of killer songs that remain unrelentingly brutal, slammy, yet oddly accessible, memorable, and intelligently crafted for the style. Throw in the almost EP territory album length, and you’re left with one of the most compact, deadly efficient, and catchy slam albums in recent memory. Wormhole makes every song count and cycling through favorites is an ever-shifting task, though such addictive, devastating gems like “Elysiism,” “Spine Shattering High-Velocity Impact,” and monstrous “Delta Labs” are fine advertisements to an unforgettable brutal tech-slam experience.

#4. Carnosus // Visions of Infinihility – Considering its early year release, Visions of Infinihility has impressively stayed in and around regular rotation, the depth of its quality creeping in through its persistent presence, razor-sharp hooks, and technical supremacy. French vets Gorod also released a cool tech-death platter, however, it was this unheralded Swedish act that stole the show. Carnosus ensures their tight, techy attacks don’t forget to have fun. The songs are melodic, thrashy, chock full of interesting twists and tasty hooks, yet still boasts a brutal edge and tons of groove. Although the five-piece line-up impresses with their supreme technical skills across the board, the real wildcard is vocalist Jonatan Karasiak. His diverse and charismatic vocals add a further layer of intrigue and versatility, effortlessly shifting tones from high-pitched blackened rasps and screams to deeper, more guttural fare, occasionally bringing to mind the sadly departed Trevor Strnad. It all makes for a delightfully acrobatic, crunchy, and explosive album experience.

#3. Somnuri // Desiderium – The surprise packet of the year. Initially, I missed Cherd‘s enthusiastic review of this New York band’s second LP, Desiderium. However, once I eventually clued in, Somnuri proceeded to blow me away with their potent hybrid and hook-laden blend of hardcore, sludge, and ’90s-inspired alt/grunge rock. Ever since I have been hopelessly hooked in what has become one of the year’s most addictive albums. Somnuri never skimps on the vicious hardcore bite meets sludgy heft, and the way they juggle these aspects with the earworm clean vocal hooks and ’90s influence is a thing of songwriting beauty. Desiderium is an album of wall-to-wall bangers and nary a sign of weakness. Hard to pick a firm favorite, but the stretch from “Pale Eyes” through to “Desiderium” is tremendous, without discounting the quality of the other tunes. The main beef I can level at the album is regarding production, with the in-your-face sound packing punch but the crushed mastering fails to do justice to the wonderful dynamism of the top-shelf songwriting. It’s hardly a deal breaker on a marvelous collection of biting, catchy tunes.

#2. Afterbirth // In But Not Of – The third full-length endeavor from the once long-dormant New York brutal death/slam crew Afterbirth has been the talk of the town since its October release, and rightfully so. Though the hype train can get carried away in over-the-top praise and hyperbole wankery, in this case, I am well and truly on board. Four Dimensional Flesh was a terrific album, so expectations were high. Afterbirth crafted an album that pushed the envelope of brutal death and slam, a subgenre generally not renowned for innovation or such wildly brave experimentation. I get listeners not on board with the album’s brooding atmospherics and spacey, post-metalisms. In particular, the album’s trippy back half takes some time to fully appreciate after the dense, jugular-grabbing first half of brutally proficient and proggy slam-death. However, the pay-off of the atmospheric, springy, and gorgeous melodic bent and contrasting gurgled vox somehow works and elevates an already great album into some weirdly off-kilter cosmic slam meets post-death hybrid that shouldn’t work but does.

#1. Sermon // Of Golden Verse – Weirdly enough when seeking my prog fix in 2023, it was mostly looking backward to previous releases, with minimal 2023 prog albums gaining much traction. Way back in March, UK’s mysterious dark progressive metal band Sermon returned with a momentous sophomore album, raising the bar high for prog metal in 2023. Perhaps the 4.5 rating was a tad overzealous, only time will tell. But as my highest rating review of 2023, the album hit me hard and stayed in solid rotation throughout the year. Despite never being a foregone conclusion, it seems fitting to bestow top honors on Of Golden Verse. Sermon plays prog metal like none other. Sure, influences and similarities to like-minded acts exist, however, Sermon boasts a unique sound they can call their own, dark, eerie and deadly serious vibes and almost melodramatic flair flows through towering, intelligent, and emotive prog metal epics. The constantly heightened tension and ritualistic edge permeating the album creates a mysterious, tense, and beguiling atmosphere, consolidated by consistently gripping songwriting and skyscraping hooks on such memorable gems as “Golden,” “Light the Witch” “Wake the Silent” and stunning closer, “Departure.”

Honorable Mentions

• Suffocation // Hymns from the Apocrypha – A surprising and unexpectedly strong return from the rejuvenated New York brutal death masters. Featuring a new vocalist and refreshed, yet familiar sound, Hymns of the Apocrypha perhaps marked a fresh era of renewed inspiration.
• Shores of Null // The Loss of Beauty -The always impressive Italian doomsters bring the sadboi feels, hooky melodies, and deathly heft through another taut, catchy collection of quality doom-death tunes.
• Gridlink // Coronet Juniper – A welcome return from the mighty Gridlink. Although not quite the momentous, all-conquering achievement of Longhena, and nearly overshadowed by exciting newcomers Walking Corpse, Gridlink’s comeback was a noteworthy and impressive burst of intense, elastic grind.
• Dying Fetus // Make Them Beg for Death – A back-to-basics, curb-stomping return from the legendary Dying Fetus. May not challenge their best albums but it’s a fun, slammy blast of signature awesomeness nonetheless.
• Vanishing Kids // Miracle of Death – When the dust settles, I’ll no doubt regret not ranking this ghostly, dreamy, and utterly spellbinding doom platter higher on the list proper. My main excuse is I feel there is much still to unlock and appreciate. but the urge to return has only gotten stronger with each listen.
• Kruelty // Untopia – Rabid Swedish-inspired old-school death meets hardcore, with a fresh Japanese twist and doomy, grindy edge. Killer stuff.
• Walking Corpse // Our Hands, Your Throat – Unheralded grinders Walking Corpse unleashed an utterly devastating, black as coal, barn-burning grind platter, wielding a precision, borderline chaotic attack. They skillfully whipped nifty dynamic shifts and discordant bursts of hardcore and noise into a fresh, deceptively catchy batch of songs.

Disappointments o’ the Year

• Middling to okay efforts from long-time favorites Soen and The Ocean stood out the most considering their stellar track records. I wasn’t overly taken by the new Haken either. Royal Thunder was solid, yet it was their first album not to really grip me. A revisit is on the cards.

Non-Heavy Picks

• Queens of the Stone Age, Gunship, Dorthia Cottrell, Killer Mike

Return to Form

• Baroness // Stone – I had begun to lose interest in the sludgy, exploratory rock stylings of Baroness when they turned tone-deaf and started wrecking albums with horrid production. After more or less skipping their last release, I cautiously checked out Stone and left pleasantly surprised. Finally, the band ditched the ear bleeding production traits for something more organic and palatable. Additionally, John Baizley and crew wrote a rather punchy, experimental batch of tunes that mostly hit the mark and reinvigorated my interest in the band. Hallelujah!

Song ‘o the Year

A lot of cool songs kicked arse, so narrowing it down to one is really a futile task in 2023. Therefore, I selected the following belter from a shortlist and ran with it. With a thick, sludgy, hardcore edge and earworm chorus, Somnuri’s “What a Way to Go” was frequently close to hand when I needed a pick-me-up tune.

Felagund

What a difference a year makes! Since last, I sat down to compile my completely objective, highly-regarded Top Ten(ish) list in the dying days of 2022, much has changed in the world o’ Felagund. I left a job, started my own business, and tried in vain to get my six-year-old to show even a fleeting interest in The Hobbit. In the immortal words of The Dude, 2023 was full of “strikes and gutters, ups and downs.” But isn’t that always the case? None of us emerge completely unscathed, but I hope you and yours were able to weather any storms this dastardly year threw your way and emerge with your sanity intact. Not dignity, though. You spend far too much time on this site to have any of that left.

Now, as I embark on my third end-of-year list as a spit-at and put-upon AMG staffer, I can look back at twelve months chock full of musical riches, particularly in the death metal department. It was certainly a solid year for my pet genre, and I think my list (and honorable mentions) reflect that. But some things never change. Just like last year, I didn’t find nearly enough time to listen to all the music I wanted to, nor was I able to take a deep dive into some of the albums reviewed on this very site (although, if we’re being honest, most of them are probably just overrated 2.5s). And just like last year, my output continues to be a source of shame, ridicule, and scorn. I’m going to blame my lack of productivity on being a new business owner, but I know that no amount of excuses, pleas, or cries will ever earn Steel’s forgiveness.

Now before we get to my many metal musings, I’d be remiss if I didn’t first acknowledge and thank my returning listmate Saunders, who once again inadvertently introduced me to yet another prog album that ended up in my top five. Many thanks must also go to the mighty Steely Dan and the rarely-seen but universally-beloved Madam X. Steelcut Oats has put up with a lot from your friendly neighborhood Noldor this past year, what with my incessant tardiness and my penchant for “altering” his well-respected moniker in my reviews. On a more serious note, kudos are also required for his steadfast leadership and ongoing support as he keeps the derelict denizens (read: staffers) in line and out of trouble. The beatings have continued, morale has not improved, and I’m convinced we deserve far, far worse. And yet, I find myself uplifted and inspired by a growing crew of long-suffering editors and fellow authors who, despite their questionable taste, make AMG the special, endearingly deranged place that it is. And let us not forget the man, the myth, the bearded legend himself, Angry Metal Guy, the namesake of this digital institution, a learned doctor as determined by an accredited institution, and the final arbiter of all things trve.

Now, without further ado, entirely too much aplomb, and lacking all pomp, I present my top ten(ish) albums of 2023. May you listen, may you learn, and may you realize just how wrong you are.

#ish. Mutoid Man // Mutants – From the first few moments of album opener “Call of the Void,” I knew right away that this was an album I’d be spinning again and again. And while it didn’t quite crack my official top ten, it’s hard to deny Mutants’ infectious groove, the earworm hooks, the Voivod-esque sci-fi oddities, and the effective interplay between clean and extreme. Mutoid Man can seamlessly blend an array of disparate genres, from progressive metal and punk to hard rock and a dose of dissonant noise, and that makes their latest album a worthy #ish for any discerning weirdo.

#10. Anareta // Fear Not – I was unfamiliar with New Orleans-based Anareta until I read Dolphin Whisperer‘s glowing review. My interest was further piqued when I saw AMG’s equally gushing prose, declaring Fear Not April’s Record o’ the Month. I’m glad I took a chance on this album, because Anareta is definitely something special, delivering both crushing extremity and lush beauty, caustic rage and bitter anguish. This interplay is made all the more effective by the melodious stringed instruments that thrive against the shrieked, furious vox. Perhaps in less adept hands, this mix would grate on the listener, but Anareta’s self-styled brand of “Chamber Metal” uplifts the traditional bass, guitar, and drums by adding in virtuosic orchestration, doomy chants, and blackened vocals to deliver a unified sound that grabbed my attention and refused to let go.

#9. Horrendous // Ontological Mysterium – Horrendous is a band unafraid of growth, as evidenced by their consistent evolution across five high-quality releases. Ontological Mysterium builds on this trend, both as a towering slab o’ death and further proof that Horrendous continues to evolve as musicians and songwriters. Leaning further into their progressive tendencies only strengthens their arsenal, and while I didn’t find Ontological Mysterium as immediately engaging as some of their previous releases, repeated spins proved increasingly rewarding. Horrendous is a band that has proven that they can stay true to my beloved OSDM while still boasting technical freneticism and hefty groove, and for that, they’ve earned their spot on this list.

#8. Xoth // Exogalatic – Sci-fi-tinged thrash? Check. Lovecraftian horrors delivered via a blackened death onslaught? Check. All wrapped up in a catchy, crunchy, crushing record over 39 minutes? Count. Me. In. On Exogalatic, Xoth builds upon very familiar themes, and I couldn’t be happier that they’re still hard at work, honing their sound in the Stygian depths of space, where no one can hear you shred. Exogalatic boasts both razor-sharp technicality and thrashy speed without ever sacrificing melody, memorability or heaviness. And there are songs about trading blows with reptilian alien pugilists and quenching a newly-forged space-blade in the blood of dead gods? Take my money and welcome to my list, lads.

#7. Wayfarer // American Gothic – If Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian ever had a soundtrack, Wayfarer would be the party responsible, and rightly so. So well-honed is their moody, emotive, brutally cynical (for good reason) Wild West-inspired take on black metal that I can almost hear their compositions accompanying McCarthy’s narrative. Any band with the ability to place the listener into such a specific time and location is worth your time and money. Wayfarer accomplishes this over and over again on American Gothic, and the result is a beautiful, furious, and sad rumination on industry, exploitation, death, and the power of myth. if American Gothic isn’t on your end-of-year list, it’s just because you haven’t listened to it yet.

#6. Sodomisery // Mazzaroth – Did Grier talk about Sodomisery endlessly? Yes, he did. And because our tastes are so divergent (and because he makes fun of me for the stuff I like) I nearly avoided this one. But so convincing was his review that I decided to give it a chance, and wouldn’t you know it? Here sits Mazzaroth, nearly breaking into my top Five. Much has been made of the band’s name, and while it lacks subtlety, have you seen some of the other garbage we’ve covered? Besides, instead of clutching pearls, you should be busy enjoying the majestic tones of Sodomisery’s melodic blackened death metal, replete with emotive orchestration, earworm hooks, effective vocal variations, and a songwriting approach that deftly balances heaviness with accessibility. With nary a filler tune in sight, the lesson is simple: don’t let Grier scare you, as long as you list an album he likes.

#5. Carnosus // Visions of Infinihility – And just like that, we’ve entered the Top Five. As I said in the introduction, 2023 was a year of death metal riches, and for me, that assertion is perhaps best embodied by Carnosus’ and their sophomore effort. I was unaware of this band until this year, but ’tis far better to be late than to be…never. Carnosus delivers a heaping slab of evocative technical death metal without ever forgetting that good songs need good riffs. And boy is this album overflowing with riff after succulent riff. I must also mention Vocalist Jonatan Karasiak, who delivers every high-pitched shriek, DM growl, and percussive grunt, lending even more variety to an already diverse platter while still maintaining album cohesion. This is a bold, mature, expansive tech death album from a band that has no right to be this good this early in their careers. As such, this album was an easy lister.

#4. Sermon // Of Golden Verse – Last year, Saunders‘ endorsement of Disillusion’s Ayam ultimately led me to award it my vaunted number two spot. And now, I find myself in a similar situation: Saunders awarded Of Golden Verse a lofty, nearly unattainable 4.5, and now here I sit, placing yet another one of his chosen progressive metal acts into my Top Five. While I could take issue with my listmate’s worrying control over my decision-making, I’m instead going to celebrate this twist of fate, as it brought me this gem of an album. And what an album it is! Sermon establishes a consistent, ominous atmosphere without ever losing momentum. Instead, Sermon relies on wave after wave of musical variation; the lush and emotive can give way to the more intense and extreme; progressive, churning melodicism can grow and cascade into an all-enveloping chorus. Of Gold Verse is a beautiful, complex album that only gets better with repeated listens and deserves a spot on any respectable Top Ten.

#3. Crypta // Shades of Sorrow – What a way to kick off my Top Three! Ever since 2021’s Echoes of the Soul, I’ve been a vocal supporter of these Brazilian death metalers. And after two years, Fernanda and co. have once again delivered the goods. It’s clear they’ve grown as a band, crafting an even stronger album that feels more mature, bolder, and heavier than their previous effort, chock full of grimace-inducing riffs, impressive vocal acrobatics, and a drum sound that pins you to the wall and dares you to peel yourself off. While Crypta is still fetid, OSDM adherents, Shades of Sorrow also amps both the black and thrash influences, resulting in a compelling sophomore effort that packs a significant, unforgettable punch. In a year where quality death metal releases were not in short supply, I think it says a lot that Crypta was able to set themselves apart not only from the blistering success of their first album but from the rest of 2023’s excellent releases.

#2. Cattle Decapitation // Terrasite – Last year I caught grief for daring to include Ghost in my Top Ten. This year, I’m sure some maladjusted malcontents will take issue with me including Terrasite so high on my list. “Their old stuff is better!” or “There are too many awkward cleans!” I can hear you loudly posting in the comment section. But the unfortunate truth is that Cattle Decapitation remains a force to be reckoned and 2023 marked yet another great addition to an already undeniable discography. I’m still enamored with CD’s ability to craft memorable, pummeling death metal that often veers into grind, brutal death, or melodeath territory. I also cannot get enough of Travis Ryan’s vocal range, from blackened snarls to percussive, deathened growls to plaintive cleans. But as I mentioned in my Terrasite review, my favorite aspect of the album isn’t just the rage they level at the human race, but the accompanying resignation. This adds an emotive layer while also paving the way for oddly beautiful, destructive tracks like “Scourge of the Offspring.” I’m proud to call Terrasite my number two, and I scoff at those elitists unwilling to enjoy a good album, even after it’s been shoved down their ungrateful gullets.

#1. Afterbirth // In But Not Of – The album that snagged the top spot on my year-end list did so surprisingly fast, after only a few spins. I knew right away that In But Not Of was something special, and that belief has only been reaffirmed after multiple listens and even deeper dives. Death metal certainly had a bumper year, and in my humble (and correct) opinion, Afterbirth is the ideal example of a band that helped bolster the genre and propel it to loftier heights in 2023. And why wouldn’t it be? For a band that traffics in slammy, knuckle-dragging brutal death, In But Not Of carries with it an undeniable progressive, cerebral quality, which will come as no surprise to fans and feels like a logical outgrowth from their previous effort Four Dimensional Flesh. But as Ferox pointed out in his review, perhaps the most impressive, engaging, and effective aspect of In But Not Of is the clear distinction on display; while the first half of the record comports itself as a tried-and-true, brutal death metal scourge that’ll leave you happily battered and bruised, the second half explores more progressive fair, featuring unexpected atmosphere, slower sections, and even some non-metal influences. Indeed, In But Not Of is the kind of album that grabs your attention immediately, but like a legend, it grows in the retelling, and it requires repeat spins to uncover all the tasty little morsels tucked between animalistic grunts and frenetic, chunky riffs. You’re listening to elevated slam here, and don’t you forget it; I know I won’t.

Honorable Mentions:

• Cannibal Corpse // Chaos Horrific – I an unrepentant fan of the good ‘ol Corpse, and while their newest album isn’t some massive departure from their releases over the past few years, they’re good at what they do and I love listening to them do it.
• Carnation // Cursed Mortality – While I still don’t quite understand the name, I understand the music, and I suppose that’s more important. Carnation has delivered another high-quality slab of buzzy, OSDM that’s more than worthy of a spin or six.
• Ahab // The Coral Tombs – You’ll notice my list doesn’t include much in the way of doom, and that’s by design. However, Ahab’s The Coral Tombs is the exception that proves the rule. Is it too long? Yes. But even so, this album is big, emotive, and much like the sea, I found it impossible to ignore its cunning allure.
• Tardigrade Inferno // Burn the Circus – Burn the Circus feels like the rock opera Stephen Sondheim may have written if he’d spent too much time at the carnival following the success of Sweeney Todd. Brash, over-the-top, and offensively catchy, I can’t get over just how much I enjoyed Tardigrade Inferno’s latest this year.
• Outer Heaven // Infinite Psychic Depths – A death metal concept record can be a tough sell, mostly because it’s hard to follow a story when you can’t understand a word the vocalist is grumbling at you. Be that as it may, Infinite Psychic Depths still presents an old-school, prog-tinged, off-kilter journey that’s well worth taking.
• Disguised Malignance // Entering the Gateways – all hail Holdeneye, whose slavish devotion to this new band piqued my curiosity and earned them a strong honorable mention as a result. Their brand of OSDM with slight prog influences is right up my alley, and while there were other releases this year that held my attention longer, Disguised Malignance was somehow able to make a big splash on their debut alone, and I can’t wait to see what these young whippersnappers do next.

Song o’ the Year

Afterbirth – ”Devils with Dead Eyes” What are you waiting for? Listen to this track and tell me it doesn’t evoke some of the most chaotic, overwhelming moments of 2023. Sure, Sodomisery’s “Delusion” is the far more catchy option, but when I think of a song that represents all that 2023 was (and wasn’t), I can’t help but return to “Devils with Dead Eyes.” It doesn’t hurt that it features a truly killer riff, Iron Maiden-esque chuggery, and even a touch of grunge. Make of all that what you will, just as long as you’re about to press play.

#2023 #Afterbirth #Ahab #Anareta #BlogPost #Bloodgutter #CannibalCorpse #Carnation #Carnosus #CattleDecapitation #Crypta #DisguisedMalignance #DyingFetus #Godthrymm #Gridlink #Horrendous #Kruelty #Lists #Listurnalia #MutoidMan #OuterHeaven #SaundersAndFelagundSTopTenIshOf2023 #Sermon #ShoresOfNull #Sodomisery #Somnuri #Suffocation #TardigradeInferno #VanishingKids #WalkingCorpse #Wayfarer #Wormhole #Xoth

Sentynel and Twelve’s Top Ten(ish) of 2023

By sentynel

Sentynel

Is it that time already? Whew. 2023 has raced past me, carried by a blizzard of endless Stuff. I need a goddamn break, which is currently tentatively scheduled for about 2025. As a result, I’ve been desperately behind on my listening for most of the year. I barely scraped together five reviews, all for bands I knew and liked, and was impressed by… one of them. I was nervous about my list all the way through to about November. Fortunately, I have once again ended up with a solid list of great albums, though the best doesn’t quite top last year’s The Otolith. I have lost track of what a normal selection looks like for me at this point, but this year’s big genre winner is apparently instrumental prog, while I felt it was a slightly weak year for post-metal. I also suspect I have more overlap with some of the cooler members of staff than I usually do, amongst all the records you already know are going to be on my list.

Despite a heavy year, contributing to Angry Metal Guy dot com continues to be one of my favorite hobbies. The other staff continue to have questionable taste, but I’ve found music that brings me joy anyway. We have new writers, I’ve met a couple of last year’s crop, and they’re all pretty chill despite their opinions on music. Everyone continues to put a huge amount of free work into this weird little corner of the internet. And my server load stats confirm that you, the readers, are still out there, using my bandwidth.

Finally, following Twitter’s ongoing trainwreck killing off the review autoposting there, we are now available on a slightly experimental basis on Mastodon and compatible platforms. Simply follow @angrymetalguy@angrymetalguy.com. (Note that comments don’t sync in from Mastodon, so you’ll still need to come to the site in order to tell us we’re wrong.) Of course, RSS and Facebook continue to be available.

#ish. Angus McSix // Angus McSix and the Sword of Power – I’ll defend last year’s Fellowship record to the death as serious music. The sophistication of its writing and the adulthood of its themes proves that upbeat, catchy power metal doesn’t have to be silly or lightweight. I offer no such defense for this record. This is incredibly silly. Honestly, between the track titles and how nakedly the whole thing leans on Winkler’s previous role, I was expecting to write this off as a failed attempt to recapture past glories without the wit—another soulless, forgettable pop-power metal band going through the motions. And yet it works. The fun feels genuine, the runtime too brief to be self-indulgent, the songwriting too varied to be a lazy cash-in. It’s infectious, it’s miles better than the new Gloryhammer record, and I’ve ended up listening to it a lot. I embrace the upcoming savaging in the comments section.

#10. Nuclear Power Trio // Wet Ass Plutonium – Speaking of silly, it’s the guys in creepy dictator masks. As I said when I wrote about this album, after a great EP they’ve stuck the landing on the album as well, cementing their position as serious musicians and not a one-off novelty. Fun, triumphant, soaring, Wet Ass Plutonium is an absolute blast to listen to. The musicianship is fantastic, and in particular I’ll highlight again just how great Putin is. (On bass.)

#9. Sermon // Of Golden Verse – Starring a rather more seriously masked musician, this is an emotional, gripping prog album. The only thing holding this back from a higher list placing is that I haven’t found myself compelled to listen to it all the time, which is definitely a me problem (see intro). The moment I actually do put it on I’m hooked. The dynamic, catchy songwriting has an urgent edge to it that gets under your skin and sets it apart from a lot of other prog metal, which can lack a bit of bite.  I absolutely love the vocal performance here in particular, but the whole thing is written and performed thoughtfully and impactfully.

#8. Ok Goodnight // The Fox and the Bird – In the best tradition of prog, this is a weird album. It tries to do a lot of things and manages nearly all of them. Williams’ charismatic, mood-changing vocals carry this whimsical tale. The first few times I listened I wasn’t sure it was going to stick, but I kept finding fragments of her lines in my head. With a few more listens, the whole thing settled. There are still a few little stumbles where weird and shifting gives way to just disjointed, but I find the rest of the album far too addictively, earwormily interesting to mind too much.

#7. Scaphoid // Echoes of the Rift – I owe this record more complete thoughts than I have space for here—there’s a TYMHM piece due, but see the intro for why it probably hasn’t appeared yet. In short: I’m a huge fan of this sort of pretty, thoughtful instrumental prog. I loved Absent Passages, and Echoes of the Rift is an improvement in effectively every meaningful way. Hobart has developed as a composer, and as a result it’s shorter, tighter, more varied, and more memorable. As with a lot of music on this list, my love for it is in the mood it conjures. It’s thoughtful, meditative, exploratory, and has been a favorite work and travel soundtrack for me.

#6. Sanguine Glacialis // Maladaptive Daydreaming – This record is A Lot. I mentioned it to Dr. Wvrm, who described it as “like Cradle of Filth bodysnatched Epica, then showed up to the studio and found it double booked with Nik Sundin hanging out with a jazz quartet. And instead of throwing them out being like ‘yea you know what let’s do all of it at once'”. Frankly, I have nothing further to add to this bit of poetry. If this sounds utterly horrifying, you’re not going to like Maladaptive Daydreaming. But if you’re maybe interested, know that it’s way more cohesive than it has any right to be and a lot of fun. The main thing holding it back is an inexplicably loud mastering job.

#5. Night Crowned // Tales – Here’s an interesting study in genre and reviewers’ tastes. Thus, who is far more brvtal than me, describes this as “symphonic/melodic blackened death.” I, meanwhile, relate to this as a folk metal album, though one much more interesting than the genre typically delivers. Just listen to that hurdy-gurdy or the styling of the vocals. (The female vocals really remind me of the Witcher 3 soundtrack’s Eastern European folk, for example. It’s notable that the cover art here features the Wild Hunt.) Either way, Tales is a wild ride and a certified banger through and through.

#4. Fires in the Distance // Air Not Meant for Us – This is so pretty. That seems like an odd thing for melodic death metal to be striving for, but there’s really no other word for it. Soaring guitar melodies, sweeping strings, and airy piano tug at your heartstrings. But a core of heavy riffs and harsh vocals keeps it anchored. The two mesh startlingly well. Fires in the Distance really lean into the lilting piano at times—if you’d told me a band were going to put this much piano into a melodeath record and everyone would love it, I would have laughed at you. You’d think it would sound insubstantial against the rhythm section, but it never does. Genuinely beautiful.

#3. Helga // Wrapped in Mist – This record reminds me of Gåte (who put out a good EP this year!) gone atmospheric, both in the folk composition but also in the slightly unusual vocals. There’s also some hints of Meer. It’s been criticized, not unfairly, for imperfectly mixing its folk takes on post-metal and airy dream-pop. I like both, but the more I listen, the less I think that separation is the right lens to view it through. Both these genres are characterized by a prioritization of atmosphere and feeling over immediacy, and that’s where Wrapped in Mist’s success lies. I’ve spoken before about my love of music that feels like a witches’ forest ritual, and this is the exact button Helga presses for me. Wherever it sits among its contributing genres, it conjures that feeling.

#2. Essence of Datum // Radikal Rats – Wildly underrated by some hack at little-known music blog Angry Metal Guy, “a heavier God is an Astronaut do the Mass Effect soundtrack” is right up my alley. Even then, I’ve been surprised by how much I’ve listened to this album. It’s not the world’s most challenging record, which has probably contributed to me reaching for it so often over a difficult few months. But don’t confuse that with a lack of impact. It’s cleverly written and impeccably performed, catchy, interesting and varied. This would be a fantastic soundtrack to a top-notch sci-fi film. (I listened to it a lot while reading the new Murderbot book.) As I said above, this has been a good year for instrumental prog, and the placement of this record despite two other strong contenders in the genre should speak volumes.

#1. Wayfarer // American Gothic – This one shouldn’t come as a surprise if you read my thoughts on Lathe on last year’s list. I’m a sucker for the micro-genre I’ll call industrial bluegrass, and last year Lathe mixed it with post-metal with unexpectedly successful results. Wayfarer, meanwhile, bring in black metal, a genre I normally find myself bored by. Indeed, A Romance with Violence didn’t quite do it for me. American Gothic though absolutely knocks it out of the park. The genre blend is utterly seamless, to the extent that to simply call it black metal does it a disservice. This is the best of bleak country painted with the instrumentation of black metal. Electric guitars pick up melody lines from banjos with a twang. Distorted slide guitars get that pedal steel feeling. There’s even a honky-tonk piano. It’s all deceptively melodic, and it helps there’s a heavy twist of post here. This seems to have put some members of the staff off—the second half is less immediate than the first—but these people are wrong. The atmosphere that results is pitch-perfect. The vocals and the lyrics are great. This is not an album that I expected, nor did I expect to love it like this. But it shot to the top of my list within the first couple of listens, and I love it a bit more with every spin.

Honorable Mentions

• BRIQUEVILLE // IIII – I saw these guys play at ArcTanGent this year and was dead impressed. This is really slow-burn post, but it’s worth it.
• Mutoid Man // Mutants – Another ATG band, although from many years ago. Not a big departure from their prog/punk usual, but a lot of fun.
• healthyliving // Songs of Abundance, Psalms of Grief – “Bloom” narrowly missed out on my Song of the Year. The rest of the album is also really good post-metal, with a great vocalist.
• Svalbard // The Weight of the Mask – This didn’t blow me away like When I Die, but it’s not for lack of quality; it’s a great album still, it’s just not a huge evolution.
• Tribunal // The Weight of Remembrance – A really solid bit of classic doom. As with any well-trodden genre it takes a lot to stand out, and Tribunal nail it with some great interplay—on vocals and instruments—between the duo.

Disappointment o’ the Year

Repeatedly giving poor-to-middling reviews to bands I like. Also, the production on that Anareta album, which I wanted so badly to love.

Song o’ the Year

Vienna Teng “The Riversitter” – I’m not even going to pretend to claim that this is metal, though I did of course first hear Teng on this very website. She is my favorite lyricist ever, and one of my favorite musicians in general. It’s been a long ten years since Aims, and it’s fantastic to have new music from her again. This is a pretty, moving piece, based on a short story, about not overthinking or overplanning, community, beauty, and building on each other’s ideas. I can’t fully explain why I’ve been so gripped by this song, but it spoke to me. I’m not normally a “same song on repeat” person, but I’ve listened to this song over three times as often as anything else this year.

Twelve

Up until a few weeks ago, I’d have said this was a pretty solid year, all things considered—but alas, here I am, ending the year on a low note. 2023 felt both very long and very quick, and we weren’t too far into it when I realized my contributions to this here blog were pretty much abysmal. Thankfully, my fellow writers and alternate personas are very understanding people, but it’s still rough to realize that the year has ended to mark my lowest output yet here at Angry Metal Guy.

At least the music was solid. While I was off doing who-knows-what offline, a whole bunch of talented and wonderful writers ghostwrote a whole bunch of compelling reviews and recommendations here that have come to dominate my listening. So before I properly dive into sharing my top albums for 2023, I’ll take a second to thank every one of them, from the newest n00b to the oldest olde, for a level of dedication and talent I just didn’t reach this year. I’m looking forward to the next one, and the one after that as well.

Anyway…

#ish. David Eugene Edwards // Hyacinth – Usually there’s a space or two on this list for the most exciting neofolk that comes my way in a given year, but this year was a quiet one on that front. In its absence, however, the dark country tellings of David Eugene Edwards are quickly becoming a favourite. It’s not a style I’m very familiar with—hence the #ish—but owing to the gorgeously ominous storytelling on Hyacinth, that’s something I’m determined to fix in 2024.

#10. Sacred Outcry // Towers of Gold – Life™ works in mysterious ways; when I was unable to review Towers of Gold following my excitement at Sacred Outcry’s debut, I felt pretty badly. Thankfully, Holdeneye’s account captures what is so special about this power metal odyssey better than I’d have been able to at the time. An adventure for the whole family, and an impressively emotive power metal opus.

#9. Theocracy // Mosaic – Speaking of power metal, I also loved Mosaic in a way I haven’t been taken by a Theocracy album in some time. The balance of joyful and serious themes is something the band does really, really well here, and it’s a splash of positivity that I was happy to receive just as the weather began to turn cold. Not to mention it’s impressively heavy on top of it all, and the choruses stick around long after the album is done.

# 8. The Ocean // Holocene – I’ve said in a couple of places that I don’t care much for post metal, but I do like it when The Ocean does it. The trend continued this year with Holocene, which felt more experimental, less heavy, and altogether weirder than a lot of their past work. This all works great for me, and I found I kept returning to Holocene as the year went by. “Atlantic” in particular may be one of my most listened-to songs for the year. High defeatism, am I right?

#7. Warfarer // American Gothic – Blistering, beautiful black metal; a heartfelt reason for the anger; influence from the wild, wild West to keep it all fresh. What could there possibly be to not like about American Gothic? In the past, Wayfarer haven’t quite captured my attention, but this album broke through my resistance and pummelled it to the ground within the first four seconds of “The Thousand Tombs of Western Promise.” A phenomenal album, through and through.

#6. Briqueville // IIII – IIII is not an album I expected to list here; in fact, one of the first things I did when I saw Charcharodon’s 4.0 review for it was ignore it. More fool I. I thought I had this list down when I finally spun Briqueville’s latest for the first time and it tore its way up these IIII spaces astonishingly fast. Dreamy, experimental doom atmospheres are not easy to pin down, but the songwriting here is incredible. The time passes so quickly, and then what’s left to do but to spin the whole album over again?

#5. Godthrymm // Distortions – Rounding out the other half of my top doom metal albums of the year is Distortions, essentially because this album is heavy. I love the straightforward style, the well-produced misery, and the way Godthrymm is able to so cleanly convey such powerful emotions. This album is a testament to doom metal done well, and it’s been a welcome companion since the first time I heard it—I was hooked pretty much instantly.

#4. Burden of Ymir // Heorot – If you read my reviews, you already know that the accordion is the way into my heart. This feast of black metal incorporates exactly that, and makes for a heavy, folky journey, an amazing album with a story to tell and a ton of heart. It’s also a sneaky album, the kind that grows on you the more you listen to it, with small details hidden in clever songwriting. It’s hard to ask for more; this is an album that feels made exactly for me.

#3. Angus McSix // Angus McSix and the Sword of Power – Speaking of albums that feel made exactly for me, Angus McSix is some of the most fun you can have listening to power metal. I am a sucker for cheesiness, and Angus McSix’s debut dials the cheese factor up to the maximum. The other, crucial side of the dial, however, is the songwriting. Thanks to that, everything works in a way that makes the album more than the sum of it’s ridiculous concept1. It’s a very strong album, and one that’s only grown on me with time.

#2. Sodomisery // Mazzaroth – I can only imagine that Dr. A. N. Grier and I have dramatically different year-end lists, but his review of Mazzaroth is spot-on, and I’m certain we’ll share this entry. As orchestral black metal goes, this album is grand, heavy, and huge, making for a phenomenal opus that is my top black metal album of the year. The vocal performance, the orchestrations, the songwriting—everything on Mazzaroth is top-tier, larger-than-life, incredible black metal.

#1. Vanishing Kids // Miracle of Death – It will be difficult to sum up my appreciation for Miracle of Death in the short blurb I have before me. From the first seconds of “Spill the Dark,” this album takes me to a cold, comfortable place. It’s emotional, but it feels like numbness; it’s quiet, but leaves a huge impression. Everything about this album works to create atmospheres of bleakness and hopelessness, and any time I’ve felt low throughout the year, Vanishing Kids has been there2. Miracle of Death is, in that regard, an amazing album, and one that was always going to take this spot on my list. Truthfully, I’m shocked to realize this only came out a couple of months ago—it’s been so right for my 2023 that it feels like it’s been there since January 1.

Honorable Mention

• Suotana // Ounas I – I had a lot of fun reviewing Ounas I, and have had a lot of fun listening to it since. The black/melodeath/power metal thing Suotana does so well lends itself to an extremely fun, energetic album that is just so solid. This is an album done well, and I’m still recommending it to pretty much all of you!

Song o’ the Year

Sometimes, you just need to have some fun. No matter how difficult, irritating, or otherwise negative this year may have been, “Ride to Hell” has been the pick-me-up song to deal with it. This is a terrific power-meets-traditional metal anthem, and the enthusiasm in which Angus McSix performs it is a huge part of the appeal. It’s catchy, it’s fun, it’s wildly addictive—it’s everything you need when times are rough and you don’t know any supernatural motorcyclists in the real world. It’s also a great song when you’re having a good day already and want to make it better.

#2023 #AngusMcSix #BlogPost #Briqueville #BurdenOfYmir #DavidEugeneEdwards #EssenceOfDatum #FiresInTheDistance #Godthrymm #healthyliving #Helga #Lists #Listurnalia #MutoidMan #NightCrowned #OkGoodnight #SacredOutcry #SanguineGlacialis #Scaphoid #SentynelSAndTwelveSTopTenIshOf2023 #Sermon #Sodomisery #Suotana #Svalbard #TheOcean #TheOtolith #Theocracy #Tribunal #VanishingKids #ViennaTeng #Wayfarer

Dolphin Whisperer’s and Ferox’s Top Ten(ish) of 2023

By Dolphin Whisperer

Dolphin Whisperer

I don’t remember anymore exactly when or how I stumbled upon Angry Metal Guy, but I know that I’ve been reading the site for fourteen years now. In that time I’ve gone from barely a student to a working professional who routinely feels the drain of a society sinking around him. But it’s ok because along the way I managed to find a partner who loves me for all my flaws and quirks (or at least that’s what she tells me).1 She wasn’t always there, though, nor was the comfort that we’ve built into our life. When she wasn’t there, and when human company could not provide for whatever reason, both Angry Metal Guy and the music world at large always existed to evolve around me and shine a path to work that saw where I was and reflected my pain. Or my happiness. Or the existential dread of another day. Or just comforted me with a warm bowl of guitar noodles with a side of riff salad.

You may not have seen my words pop around much over that time, but rest assured, I was there like all of you now, reading as AMG the Man validated my feelings or presented admiration for an idol I don’t worship or killed my darlings with questionable opinions. I was there when Steel was the new Ape on the block. I developed a taste for the cast who I agreed with most and scanned with ravenous eyes for the next 0.5 or 1.0 to watch a train wreck meet a car crash. I watched this community who knew nothing of me stand up for important and meaningful things all while staying steadfast to the goal of simply reviewing metal in all its glory.2 Then one day I decided to join the Discord group that had been advertising itself at the bottom of every article for I don’t know how long before I noticed. And in that feverish chatterbox of swirling opinions, I realized that this community meant so much to me that I wanted to give it a go behind the curtains.

I made friends—friends surrounding music whether I agree with them or not. That’s what it means to love music in my mind. Hate and love both ignite passion, and passion is what squirms the happy juice in our brains. I’m sure you, dear reader, will have thoughts about the below choices. And know that you are more than welcome to voice them in any way you see fit. Go ahead, recommend me something while you’re at it. If you do agree with these opinions, also know, then that you can click through to any of the associated reviews, Bandcamp pages, label links—any way that you can reward the artist with your hard-earned currency, if you’re able. Because remember, it’s people like you and me (nerds) who keep this silly business of music alive. Did you know you can click those links? On my reviews, on my buddy Ferox‘s reviews. Even on reviews that you don’t agree with! So read something, click something, support something, tell a friend, tell a partner… or just take whatever knowledge you gain and listen to some good music. If you continue reading, you will encounter my recommendations to fill that void of good music in your life. Above (or below, whatever the Editing Gods decide) Ferox has some recommendations for you too. Know that these two sets are the best recommendations you will receive this year. Live loudly, listen responsibly.3

#ish. Anareta // Fear Not – In a year with less to love, Fear Not could have placed higher, but the riches across different facets of my listening pleasures spilled forth in almost every possible way. Alas, this unique act couldn’t have come further out of left field when promos began to trickle in for 2023, and Anareta’s delicate precision with weeping string melodies against their brutish incisions of blood-curdling shrieks struck the tucked-away Grayceon bone in my body. Alongside up-and-coming act Exulansis out of Oregon, there’s a promising wave of chamber-informed bands growing in the wilds of niche-loving minds. As they say, it only takes two to tango…though “Omnicide” feels a little more like a foxtrot, right?

#10. Tongues // Forml​ø​se Stjerner – That I managed to cobble together words that described the mysterious air that surrounds this album baffles me. Countless listens later, I still get lost in the swaying vibrations of the tricky whammy-addled leads and layers of reverb decaying over a vast landscape. And even though all these forward choices usually spell a path down the intangible and incoherent, a lurking melody and grounded rhythmic performance seals the hypnotism that would feel just out of reach with a lesser performance. Your mind knows that each tone source here found its way to the recording behind closed doors, but the energy that emits throughout Forml​ø​se Stjerner casts like a sonic beacon through the dreariest of nights on the open, foggy sea.

#9. Vanishing Kids // Miracle of Death – The kids are gone!!! I wasn’t particularly a fan of their previous release so that Miracle of Death hooked me was a small miracle all in itself. I’m no stranger to enjoying shoegaze-y things, psych-rock-laden things, sinfully synthful things—the airy 60s era croons and shimmering Hammond shudders throughout this give me all kinds of shoulder-relaxing, neck-tingling goodies. You think that’d remind me of someone like The Mamas & the Papas, but my mind drifts toward the episodic, warble-clipped daze of the Cunninglynguists classic Oneirology. Funny how the mind works, innit? Regardless, the sheer beauty of sound on display throughout Miracle of Death is impossible for my sugar-starved brain to ignore. Vibe with me.

#8. Slumbering Sun // The Ever-Living Fire – I know the Rodeö entries provide a healthy serving of less-than-desirable releases, but if you’re skipping them entirely then maybe you missed Slumbering Sun when they dropped their debut LP, The Ever-Living Fire way back in February. You see, one of the reasons I’ve helped fuel the Rodeö is that bands like Slumbering Sun still exist out there, under the radar, largely unpromoted, with gem ideas. Leaning on the modern sadperson melodic doom angle pioneered by an early Pallbearer, this Texas troupe delivered a longing yet hopeful collection of tunes that never fails to stir the slow burn of teary-eyed smiles in my heart. If Patrick Walker (Warning) were younger when he found peace, perhaps 40 Watt Sun would have gone this direction.

#7. Jarhead Fertilizer // Carceral Warfare – I didn’t even think I was getting a Jarhead release this year, but the death metal overlords decided that 2023 hadn’t quite graced me yet with this extremely specific kind of deranged, violent, feral death metal that I crave. Samples and segues function like dim lights in a dive bar, masking the filth strewn about while the seedy world around you builds its slow assault on your senses. Carceral Warfare stinks, its riffs carved in cracked and corroded skin. There’s nothing acute about injuries that Jarhead seeks to afflict—the wounds Carceral Warfare doles out aim to fester and brim black with incurable disease.

#6. Gridlink // Coronet Juniper – I never expected my favorite power metal album of the year to be a grindcore album. Gridlink’s take on the punk specialty has always been a bit different though. Always fast, always pushing the treble ceiling, and always leading with melodies that don’t quit, Coronet Juniper highlights all the strengths that this outfit has always promised. As their last album, it functions as a tribute to themselves—their collective passions executed at ridiculous speeds and unadvisable levels of throat punishment. It may not be as groundbreaking as what came before it, but when you’re ten steps ahead of the pack, you can settle to simply show ’em how it’s done. And I got to use Gundam clips in the review. Win-Win.

#5. Wormhole // Almost Human – The formatting will get all weird if I only scream WOOOOOOOOOOOORMMMMMMMMM-HOOOOOOOLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEE like I want to, so here’s more. Ken and I don’t often end up hole-to-hole on an album, but when we do, you better bet that it’s great. When all that was out for Almost Human was the singles, I repeatedly binged those first two tracks as if they were a whole album to themselves. And that’s the magic of this bright and horrifying slamfest. It’s shiny, it’s punishing, and, most importantly, it’s relentless in worming its way into my gaping sound receptors.

#4. Anachronism // Meanders – I’ve been listening to this all damn year at this point. I was late to the Anachronism party with Orogeny, but not so with Meanders. Its uncanny ease in mood and brevity in run hold an important home in contrast to its finger-testing technicality and unparalleled rhythmic brutality. A natural but still unexpected successor to the post-tinged, brooding brutality that showed itself in flashes, Meanders rains textural and colorful in ways that other death metal simply doesn’t—all while still staying death metal. Oh, and Lisa Voisard has a piercing shriek to go with her scruffy bellow. Who would’ve guessed?

#3. healthyliving // Songs of Abundance, Psalms of Grief – I knew how much I loved this album before I realized it. When it dropped, I told all the writers, “I think I have my first TYMHM y’all.” But then I went and filtered it, which is no dishonor but doesn’t quite capture the intensity of what healthyliving has to offer on this debut outing. Building tension through an eclectic array of jangling chords and understated rhythms, the supporting cast sets the perfect stage for vocalist Amaya Lopez-Carramerro to absolutely shred with fearless virtuosic wail. Or she’ll sit back and set a slow burn with a restrained and emotive croon. Can I call her my favorite vocalist in metal right now? Is this even metal? Maybe. But I couldn’t care less. It’s damn good.

#2. KEN mode // VOID – NULL ended up on my top ten last year, and with the consistency that these angry Canadians provide, enjoying VOID came naturally, disarmingly so. What I didn’t expect, however, was that this act known for being noisy and rambunctious and pulverizing would be able to dial back the melancholy of previous works with an additional varnish of lived-in depression. A partner to what came before it, VOID captures the last spat of mania before an extended comedown and the dragging sorrow that follows. And yet somehow, though it hurts almost every step of the way, I feel just a little bit lighter after every listen. Get over yourself and listen if you haven’t bothered yet, if only for the buzzing synths and buttery, booming bass tones.

#1. Vvon Dogma I // The Kvlt of Glitch – You, the commentariat, had plenty to say about this album when it dropped. “I tried… No thanks.” — “I’m voting Dolphin Whisperer off the island. This is crap.” — “What the actual fuck?” All choice examples. Some of you also decided to write this off because of the AI-base of the cover art despite the artists involved self-funding this whole exploration and fully crediting the digital assistance. Your asceticism will go unrewarded. This is a humble reminder that you, the commentariat, do not influence my complete and utter enjoyment of this mad pairing of cyberpunk industrial, fanned-fret progressive, angelic electronic piece of edge-skirting metal. The spirit of adventure that graces every phrase throughout the Kvlt of Glitch stimulates the thrill-seeker, the floating spirit, the head-banging hooligan in me all at once, while lathering me with a fresh sense of dread for a technology-warped future. Maybe you never liked Genghis Tron before they disbanded after Board Up the House. Maybe you never liked Unexpect when they graced us with album after album of shrill and unfathomably progressive fantasy. Maybe you’ve got a shallow throat for multi-layered, programmed voices that fizzle the ears with rich harmony. But The Kvlt of Glitch is willing to welcome you whenever you choose to accept its power. I am God now!4

Honorable Mentions:

• World’s End Girlfriend // Resistance & The Blessing – WEG possesses the esoteric ability to manipulate time with beauty. Resistance & The Blessing continues to unravel itself before me as I tackle it as a whole, in chunks, in the narratives it allows you to build with each of its whispered ideas. Sadness, happiness, anger, frustration, longing, acceptance—this monumental offering has it all. I’d be lying if I didn’t say it’s a lot to take in. But I’d also be lying if I said I didn’t love it.
• Angra // Cycles of Pain – What can I say, I love Angra. The Lione era is developing a thing for long albums, but at least it’s all good.
• Autarkh // Emergent – An album that loops with glitchy industrial and ethereal post-metal as well as this one does is dangerous. You could do a lot worse than hearing this three times in a row though.
• Aphotic // Abyssgazer – Blackened deathdoom? Funeral-tinged ritualistic black metal? Whatever you want to call this, there’s an alternate timeline where it’s on the list proper. It just goes.
• Horrendous // Ontological Mysterium – Progressive death metal ear candy. I could probably listen to this album all damn day if the last song didn’t dampen the mood a little.
• Pupil Slicer // Blossom – Metalcore with nu-metal tropes shouldn’t be as fun as this or the new Mouthbreather album, but those industrial grooves keep on giving. Start the album with the title track for an even better listen.
• Ok Goodnight // The Fox and the Bird – I take some issue with the proggy detours in this album, but its storybook charm holds more endearing than all of that.
• Maud the Moth + trajedesaliva // Bordando el manto terrestre – Chill-out album of the year. Meditate, read, relax… or just listen to the sultry whispers with your eyes closed. They tickle.

Disappointments o’ the Year:

Soen // Imperial Memorial – Let me level with you, Lotus is a fantastic album and the pinnacle of a career for Soen, a band that has grown further away from the flourishes that make their music interesting. Lush production? Humming Hammond overlays? Joel Ekelöf spreading sweet nothings over the course of an urgent and chunky build? Who needs any of that when you can write worse choruses over the same riff and people continue to latch onto it. Soen almost remembers their strengths (“Fortress,”5 “Tragedian,” “Vitals”), and it is admirable that Ekelöf tries to stretch his wings as a grittier vocalist while maintaining his Eurovision aspirations. But with a direction that’s even less dynamic than the uncharacteristically narrow master that Memorial shows, I’ve got little to reason believe that this is a direction that Soen should continue. Not good. Not good at all.

Einar Solberg // 16 – After Aphelion wiped away the hope I had left for Leprous, I looked to this solo outing from Mr. Solberg as a chance for him to find a way back to a good tune. It seems that it did help him reclaim a somber and less ahhAAAahhAAAaahaah character to his voice, and drummer Keli Guðjónsson (Agent Fresco, notable Leprous-like act) really helps a few bright moments shine (“Remember Me,” “Blue Light”). However, Solberg did not have to take his play at Jamiroquai (“Home”) nor include a guest rapper (also “Home”) nor include his sister (for what effect on “Where All the Twigs Broke”) nor include his brother-in-law for a growled guest spot on a trip-hoppy track (that’s Ihsahn on “Splitting the Soul”) nor give us seventy minutes of whatever you want to wrap this up as. Sadboi art pop perhaps? Skippable in any case.

Best Thing I Missed in 2022:

Polterguts // Gods Over Broken People – I haven’t heard an album this seriously fucking pissed off since Admiral Angry’s Buster, but the level of frustration here rings just a touch less sexual and frustrated—it’s defeated. The malaise that Gods captures renders itself in lyrics that spout from a voice fed on apathy and gravel: “I used to pray for my friends/I used to hurt when they hurt/I used to love without expecting any love in return” (“Skullbowl”), “I like it here at the bottom where they know me by name/I used to think I wanted out, but now I’m begging to stay” (“Buckle the Spine”), “I’m not strong enough to hold it together, but It breaks my heart to watch you struggle for air/I’m sorry I couldn’t get both of us out, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t there” (“Injury”). As harrowing as that is to read, it’s even more brutal to hear. And I suspect for those stuck in the same kind of recursive, small-town Midwest drain from which this attitude grows, this would hit even harder. One part Meshuggah, one part Chat Pile, and another part its own punished deathcore, Polterguts holds in one hand my aching heart and in another its own, stained and hollow.

Songs o’ the Year:

Why give you one when I can give you twenty-seven? Why twenty-seven? That’s my secret. Now, I’ve talked enough, go out there and enjoy some music, friends. And enjoy this photo of my dogs.

Kiwi (top) and Coconut (bottom).

Ferox

I got my own big boy list! AMG Industries: where doing an adequate job on the free work you’ve been assigned leads to opportunities for more free work. I wouldn’t have it any other way–I love this place, even if the prospect of making this list fills me with anxiety and imposter syndrome. I am generally not given to best-of lists, or year-end reflection. But we’ve got a fake job to do, so let’s get stuck in!

2023 was a weird one. It began with a case of long-ish Covid that saw me coughing uncontrollably every time I laughed, segued into a writer’s strike that shut down my industry for six months, and ended with a faint and collision between the Ferox noggin and a concrete floor. That last one put me in bed recovering for the better part of a month and seriously fucked with my workout goals. Despite all this, it was an incredible year! My family flourished, I snuck a couple of projects into production at my day job, and I had a blast writing here as much as I could. The only complaint I could possibly muster is that it’s all flying past way too quickly.

As for AMG… this is that rare place that improves the lives of all who touch it (Rodeö bands excepted). It did that for me when I lurked as a reader, and it continues to do so now that I cling to a staff position. How does a place this positive place exist? On the internet?! I’m grateful to Steel for providing real leadership at my fake job, to my fellow members of the AMG Class of ’21 for being good eggs and excellent writers, and to everyone I’ve met through a gig that makes life richer and more fun. Maybe the real 2023 was the bollocks we talked along the way.

#ish. Spirit Possession // Of the Sign… – Do you guys like Nifelheim? I sure as heckfire do, and this album that captures some of their defiant spirit stole my heart in the waning moments of 2023. The reprobates of Nifelheim aren’t the only point of departure here. Portland’s Spirit Possession is a borderline tribcore act that aims to capture the feel of an era more than the work of one particular band. Here you’ll find echoes of Bathory, Hellhammer, and Venom. Sometimes a project like this works so well that the music transcends the lack of originality baked into these sorts of things. Of the Sign… is one such album; it may well have landed in my top ten if I had had more time with it before Listurnalia.

#10. Horrendous // Ontological Mysterium – Horrendous, already on a very short list of the best metal bands so far this century, bolsters their legacy with the concise and intoxicating Ontological Mysterium. The quartet has carved out a take on progressive death metal that is entirely their own, one that is melodic, wonky, and sweeping all at once. They’ve never been more engaging than they are on Ontological Mysterium. The album wends its way through nine tracks in less than forty minutes–Ontological Mysterium defies its run time by taking you on a journey that feels epic, but releases you before fatigue sets in. Only closer “The Death Knell Ringeth,” an inexplicable dud that can scarcely walk and chew gum at the same time, keeps Ontological Mysterium from ascending to loftier heights.

#9. Wormhole // Almost Human – Wormhole’s take on brutal death metal is at once savage but cheerful, and stöopid without being remotely dumb. I am fully on board with any band that uses the low art of the slample to describe their own sound, as Wormhole does with a sunny interjection of “Tech Slam!” on the title track of their latest. The AMG staff would have you believe that it’s necessary to choose between Wormhole and Afterbirth, the band’s peer in innovative and excellent brutal death metal. That is nonsense; appreciate the Slam-aissance in all its glory, as these two remarkable outfits elevate one of metal’s least-loved subgenres to new heights.

#8. Sodomisery // Mazzaroth – Sodomisery makes life hard on themselves with an atrocious name that is way too persnickety about the respectable pursuit of sodomy. Some folks just need to play the game on difficult mode, I guess. If the hideous moniker is what it takes to spur Sodomisery to this kind of work, then the outfit should keep indulging themselves. Mazzaroth is an endlessly replayable slab of genre-bending excellence. Symphonic flourishes and well-placed clean vocals accent the band’s hybrid of black metal, death metal, and melodeath. Mazzaroth is big fun, an album that effortlessly synthesizes a cornucopia of influences into something that feels both classic and new.

#7. Xoth // Exogalactic – A late-in-the-game remaster unleashed the power of a fully operational Exogalactic. The album finds the pan-genre madlads of Xoth playing in the margins, expanding their sound here and there while defending their Party Lovecraft turf. Across eight engaging tracks, the excellent songwriting of Exogalactic is augmented by audacious technical what-the-fuck-ery. The album’s forty minutes fly past, and while Xoth’s sound might not be the revelation it was on Invasion of the Tentacube and Interdimensional Invocations, this Seattle quartet remains very much on top of their game. Play a song, any song, and joy will invade your earholes. That’s the Xoth promise, and Exogalactic delivers.

#6. Gridlink // Coronet Juniper – I could go on about the pleasures of Coronet Juniper, but chances are Dolphin Whisperer already has you cornered and is doing just that. My list buddy extolled the virtues of this grind funhouse to the point where I finally just pretended he was saying “BREEEEEEEEEEEEE” and tuned him out. Then I played the album a month or so later in the gym, and Gridlink rocketed me to a dimension of pure fun. Coronet Juniper is a grind joyride, so confident in its songwriting that the band includes a run of instrumental “karaoke versions” at the end of the album that is every bit as playable as the so-called official tracklist.

#5. Outer Heaven // Infinite Psychic Depths – Outer Heaven understands both the virtues and the confines of old-school death metal. Infinite Psychic Depths gives the subgenre a glow-up by taking us on a tour of everything that still works, while adding a few new wrinkles. The album never plays as mere pastiche; like some kind of Quentin Tarantino of death metal, Outer Heaven refreshes old tropes by building something new from a pile of familiar elements. I haven’t dug much into the high concept that underlies Infinite Psychic Depths, but that’s because I don’t need to. The music stands on its own. Already a highlight of 2023, Infinite Psychic Depths feels like one that could grow in esteem with time. It could well be underrated in my fifth slot.

#4. Tribunal // The Weight of Remembrance – Here’s one that roared out of the gate back in January and absolutely refused to cede any ground. The Weight of Remembrance runs classic doom through both an orchestral and a death metal filter. The various genre flourishes enhance the strong songwriting–“Of Creeping Moss and Crumbling Stone” is so incredible that it became a workout staple despite its plodding pace, and nearly earned a spot on this year’s Heavy Moves Heavy playlist. The highlights don’t stop there. They don’t stop until The Weight of Remembrance has run its course. The Debut o’ The Year also happens to be one of the very best albums of 2023.

#3. Warcrab // The Howling Silence – Warcrab boasts fighting spirit, sharp claws, and a crustacean shell that’s fitted for turret combat. They’re obviously game for a scrap, but–as Cherd pointed out in his review–the band doesn’t have much competition in their death-sludge niche. A relief, then, that Warcrab is anything but complacent on The Howling Silence. These seven tracks roar past, the stifling atmosphere pierced on occasion by icepick solos that showcase the Guitar Tone o’ The Year. This one was a grower for me. The Howling Silence initially did little to distinguish itself from previous slab Damned in Endless Night. But my lizard brain heard layers that my ears weren’t processing, and the album kept earning spins. Layers of excellence kept revealing themselves, and before I knew it this piece of heavy artillery blasted its way to the upper echelons of my list.

#2. Carnosus // Visions of Infinihility – This rollicking slab of tech death earned a 4.0 from me back in early February, and I do believe I sold these Swedes short by half a point. Visions of Infinihility was a mainstay of my 2023. The album remained close at hand throughout both a long strike and a stretch of vertigo-induced bedrest. If I’m not tired of it yet, I probably never will be. And what’s not to like here? Every one of the nine tracks on Visions of Infinihility stands up to heavy listening. The site’s top writer summed it up most precisely: “It doesn’t matter if you’re wearing four thousand dollar headphones or a bullet belt–Visions of Infinihility should appeal to wonks, diehards, and metalheads all across the spectrum.”

#1. Afterbirth // In But Not Of – Long Island’s Afterbirth crams an abundance of riches into a brutal death metal album that twists and transmutes as it goes. The first half of In But Not Of stays planted in the brutal death genre that Afterbirth had a hand in creating. The second departs for distant parsecs, fusing elements of post-metal, alt-rock, and even ambient music onto death metal songs. The experiments work seamlessly, and I continue to find surprises almost every time I revisit In But Not Of. “Devils With Dead Eyes,” “Autoerotic Amputation,” “In But Not Of,” and “Angels Feast on Flies” are the standout tracks–any one of the four could credibly lay claim to Song o’ The Year. Colin Marston’s production showcases and elevates the material. My favorite critic said it best: “This is music to concuss you and then heal your battered brain… [In But Of] is an album to savor and return to again and again, a companion piece to Four Dimensional Flesh that manages to equal if not surpass its predecessor.” Also: revel in that gorgeous album art by Alex Eckman-Lawn, a sci-fi Frankenstein’s monster that perfectly encapsulates the record. My top score of 2023 is an easy choice for Ferox‘s Album o’ The Year.

Honorable Mentions

• • Autopsy // Ashes, Organs, Blood and Crypts– Ashes, Organs, Blood, and Crypts plays like Autopsy’s Basement Tapes, a collection of feral death metal songs that also somehow comes off as loose and ramshackle. It stands among the band’s best post-comeback work.
  • Gorod // The Orb – The French masters of tech death hold serve with the predictably excellent The Orb.
  • Convocation // No Dawn for the Caliginous Night – I came up with the genre tag “funereal doom” to describe Convocation’s latest to myself. The band accesses the majesty of funeral doom without the tedious repetition. It’s a potent approach that’s been honed to near-perfection on No Dawn for the Caliginous Night.
  • Tomb Mold // The Enduring Spirit – The Toronto outfit pulled off a tricky shift, surprising fans of their inventive take on old-school death with this proggy slab. I sure wouldn’t have minded another Planetary Clairvoyance, but I wound up thrilled by this new direction.
  • Serpent Corpse // Blood Sabbath – 2023 delivered an abundance of old-school death delights, but Montreal’s Serpent Corpse move to the head of the class with debut Blood Sabbath.
  • Fabricant // Drudge to the Thicket – A trio of virtuoso musicians keep their debut album juuust barely on the “death metal” side of the prog-death divide. Drudge to the Thicket is a load of unpredictable fun from an immensely promising outfit.
  • Omnicidal // The Omnicidalist – Omnicidal takes a huge leap forward with a sophomore album that injects hints of melodeath and black thrash into an already nasty cocktail. In spite of Gardenstale‘s rave, this excellent effort seemed to get lost in the 2023 shuffle. I kept it spinning all year.
  • Gravesend // Gowanus Death Stomp – This second offering of urban nightmare deathgrind from Gravesend improves on Methods of Human Disposal. An album that conjures genuinely unsettling images and one that will leave its boot marks all over your body,
  • Dripping Decay // Festering Grotesqueries— Another exceptional death metal debut, Festering Grotesqueries inspired an epic run of putrid imagery in Steel‘s review. These Portland knuckle-draggers are worthy of all the filthy poetry the Apeman can muster.

Song o’ the Year: Afterbirth – “In But Not Of”

Disappointment o’ the Year

• Immortal // War Against All – After the improbably incredible Northern Chaos Gods, I was PUMPED for Immortal’s Second Coming of Demonaz Era. Cue the record scratch, because the follow-up is generic and pretty much just sucks through and through.

#2023 #Afterbirth #Anachronism #Anareta #Angra #Aphotic #Autarkh #Autopsy #BlogPost #Carnosus #Convocation #DolphinWhispererSAndFeroxSTopTenIshOf2023 #DrippingDecay #EinarSolberg #Fabricant #Gorod #Gravesend #Gridlink #healthyliving #Horrendous #Immortal #JarheadFertilizer #KENMode #Lists #Listurnalia #MaudTheMothTrajedesaliva #OkGoodnight #Omnicidal #OuterHeaven #Polterguts #PupilSlicer #SerpentCorpse #SlumberingSun #Sodomisery #Soen #SpiritPossession #TombMold #Tongues #Tribunal #VanishingKids #VvonDogmaI #Warcrab #WorldSEndGirlfriend #Wormhole #Xoth

Thus Spoke and Maddog’s Top Ten(ish) of 2023

By Thus Spoke

Thus Spoke

Mum, I’ve made it; I’ve got my own official year-end list on Angry Metal Guy dot com. Just two years ago I had begun my probation period in what would come to be characteristically overzealous fashion, slapping a 4.5 on my first ever review, before deciding that words are much better than numbers. At the time, uncertain of my tenancy in these hallowed halls, I was juggling n00b reviews with short-form reviews on Instagram,1 the latter pursuit being what led me to apply here in the first place. And I’m glad I did!

My first complete year here as a writer has been pretty great, all things considered. I’ve reviewed (and not reviewed) some Excellent (with a capital ‘E’) albums and discovered new favorites—some of whom will be appearing below. It continues to humble me and blow my mind that I get to put my thoughts about music out here on the internet and that people actually read them; that I get to write about bands and records with a critical voice that actually garners some respect, like I’m a proper person who knows things; and that I have the chance to gush about artists I’ve loved for a long time, or only just hit upon. Reviewing Panopticon was a wonderful year-end highlight. Of course, not everything was rosy. It was another year of silence from Ulcerate2, not the greatest year for truly stand-out black metal (with some clear exceptions), and a year in which I struggled with some significant challenges at work. But disappointing promos and unavoidable life hurdles aside, 2023 has been the year that AMG—the reviewing, the staff, and the commenting community—has cemented itself as an important part of who I am. I’m grateful for all of you. Thank you.

Having not made one of these before, this has been my first proper taste of the agony (and perhaps joy) of choosing what to list and where to list them. Can I pen a Contrite Metal Guy piece about my picks later down the line? No, I can’t. So if I’ve forgotten something, please just don’t bring it up or it’ll torture me for at least the entirety of 2024.3 Now, on with the list before I change my mind!

#ish. Convocation // No Dawn for the Caliginous Night – Not only did this album floor me on first listen, but it also made me discover how much I love to say the word “caliginous.” *Annunciates* Cal-ig-in-ous. No Dawn… is just as satisfying, but in a very different way. Its drama, potency, and sheer scale are wondrous to behold and instantly catapulted it into my list (well, close enough). I had been thinking in recent months that I’d kind of fallen off the doom wagon. But Convocation was there right as the year was about to end to shove me firmly back on board. As Cherd opined “This is a towering celebration of death’s enormity, packaged in the heaviest and most shimmering of vessels,” and I concur. It’s really only down to a totally stacked year of music that this behemoth doesn’t rank higher.

#10. Thantifaxath // Hive Mind Narcosis – This album scares the shit out of me and I absolutely love it. Everything about its wacky, dissonant, bendy, manic, and malevolent intensity borders on the hallucinogenic and nightmarish. And as a piece of extreme metal, aiming to confront with the harshest of blackened death metal, this is a very good thing. Thantifaxath were a 2023 discovery for me, and this, their sophomore effort, thoroughly convinced me that I should be paying attention to them. It always sends me into a state of heavy foreboding, anxiety, and nausea at confrontation with the absurd. When I reviewed Hive Mind Narcosis, I talked about its contradictory coherence and beauty under a façade of erraticism and ugliness, and I believe this to be what makes it continue to stand out amidst many other unapproachable extreme metal records that came out in 2023, worthy as they may be.

#9. Downfall of Gaia // Silhouettes of Disgust – While I’ve had an appreciation for Downfall of Gaia since Atrophy, Silhouettes of Disgust has been the first one that’s really made an impression on me. It’s stuck with me nearly all year since it dropped in March, and I find myself continuing to return to it again and again. When I don’t know what to listen to, I’ll stick this on, and I’ll enjoy it every time. Melodically and emotionally powerful, it contains some of my favorite musical moments of the year, including in particular the building surge of drama and catharsis that ends “Optograms of Disgust” and the album entirely. I think the reason Silhouettes has had this effect was pinned down nicely by Carcharodon when he wrote: “this is the [album] that manages to blend most effectively all the disparate facets of Downfall of Gaia’s sound.” And I would go further and assert what he only hinted at, that Silhouettes is indeed the best of the band’s career.

#8. Stortregn // Finitude – I feel like Stortregn have been getting more and more fun with every album, or at least definitely on the last few. While Emptiness Fills the Void (2018) was light enjoyment, Impermanence (2021) stepped things up a gear into real grin-inducing territory. Finitude, however, blows those records out of the water with what is possibly the most fun I’ve had with technical death/black metal of any kind. Everything about it works towards this, from constantly evolving, circularly composed song structures that sweep you away with their drama and flair, to a flipping flamenco break in “Xeno Chaos” which I should hate, but instead, I absolutely fucking love because it works so brilliantly. Its melodies are gorgeous, its energy undeniable, its rhythms irresistible. Damn, I think I’m gonna go and listen to it again now, I’ve really given myself the itch.

#7. To the Grave // Director’s Cuts – This started off higher on my list. It’s not that I’ve cooled off on it. Quite the contrary, as To the Grave are my most-listened-to artist on Spotify this year, and I will still ardently defend, to anyone who bothers to vocalize their disagreement, that this is an Excellent album. It’s simply a testament to the strength of those you’ll find below. But let that not take away from the immensity that is Director’s Cuts. It’s a stunning slab of deathcore that utterly wipes the floor with anything else released in that subgenre this year, not just br00tal and groovy as all hell, but possessed of a powerful and righteous message of animal liberation, wrapped of course, in a super mean metal mien. “Manhunt,” and indeed most of the album, powered many a top set in the gym, while stone-cold classic-in-the-making, “Axe of Kindness” easily makes it to the Songs of the Year playlist. It’s just fantastic all-round. Until all are free! *Headbangs violently.*

#6. Wayfarer // American Gothic – I was not initially overly enamored with American Gothic. I don’t know what I was playing at though, because it’s quite clearly brilliant. It’s grown on me like no other album has this year, quickly and assertively muscling its way almost into my top five. Though at first I thought it was inferior to its predecessor A Romance with Violence, as I’ve mentioned, I was being silly, and it’s actually far superior. With a more coherent and consistent compositional structure, more powerful and punchy songs, with stronger, more memorable melodies, and a better integration of that uniquely Western vibe into vibrant and vicious black metal, this is my favorite Wayfarer album by a country mile. Brilliantly evocative, both satisfyingly savage and stirringly soft when it needs to be, American Gothic never ceases to transport me to the old West in its turbulent transformation with drama, passion, and beauty. And it’s wonderful to experience.

#5. Night Crowned // Tales – It was surprising enough that none of my esteemed colleagues had nabbed Tales before I did. But for it to be so mind-blowingly fantastic that it would end up this high on my year-end list was something else. With a songs-of-the-year-lister for an opening cut and, in general, a tracklist stuffed full of back-to-back bangers, and a blazingly bombastic, infectious spirit all around, Tales charges ahead of the competition with savage glee. It’s actually hard to overstate just how good this album is, particularly given how ridiculously easy it is to listen to with its catchy melodies, (relatively) snappy song lengths, and dynamic energy. The culmination of Night Crowned’s fiery and dramatic style of black metal, and the best of their already stellar discography, Tales calls me back ceaselessly and I’m more than happy to oblige.

#4. Fires in the Distance // Air Not Meant for Us – This album is magical. Nothing has changed since I first heard it in its entirety this spring. Elegantly composed, stirring, and effortlessly graceful, it’s hands-down the most straightforwardly beautiful thing on my list. It’s moving without being sappy, and pretty without being saccharine. And Air Not Meant for Us also wins points for including a midway instrumental that’s not only just as good as the other tracks, but possibly better, and bridges the two sides of the album in this lovely way that makes for a dreamy kind of interlude. Fires in the Distance have such a distinctive form of ethereal, key-accented melodeath/doom that I can only see the immense strength of Air Not Meant for Us as a huge, incredibly exciting sign of more brilliant records to come. As it is, I still haven’t had enough of this one.

#3. Serpent of Old // Ensemble Under the Dark Sun – Back in June, I confidently declared that “Serpent of Old have crafted one of the best metal records of 2023 so far, no exaggeration.” Well, it turns out I wasn’t exaggerating, because here it is, number three on my list. Clear as day I can recall hearing the opening notes of “The Sin Before the Great Sin,” as Ensemble Under the Dark Sun began playing for the first time. Straight away I knew that I’d landed a monster of an album, and 42 or so minutes later I was completely engulfed in its intoxicatingly atmospheric darkness. Like their eponymous snake, Serpent of Old wound their blackened death metal around and around my brain. Ensemble is intense, and yet utterly captivating, dripping with oppressive, haunting melodies and deep, angular dissonance. And it also features the best drum performance of the year in my opinion. To think this is a debut is frankly astonishing, and I am extremely keen to hear more.

#2. Dødheimsgard // Black Medium Current – For a long time, this sat comfortably in first place. Why is no mystery. Unlike anything Dødheimsgard have put out in the past, or anything else released this year, Black Medium Current challenged, confronted, and mesmerized me. Weird and discomfiting one moment, tear-jerkingly beautiful another, this album is an emotional and musical rollercoaster that treads perfectly that line between avant-garde wackiness and sincere black metal passion. I recall how stunned I was to discover its 72+ minute length, after already spinning it back-to-back multiple times because it’s so engrossing and intelligently composed. I also recall just how close I came to awarding my first “Iconic” when reviewing it, simply due to the lasting power I perceived it to possess. While the Contrite Metal Guy piece is not on the roadmap for anytime soon, I still believe Black Medium Current to be incredibly special, and an album that absolutely must be heard by everyone in the metalsphere, even if it’s to rapidly discover it’s not one’s cup of tea. Dødheimsgard have made an almost perfect record here. A worthy holder of the top position, were it not for one, equally lengthy rival…

#1. Panopticon // The Rime of Memory – As it’s so recently reviewed, perhaps this was obvious. But with Panopticon, I can be sure that its immense influence is not just due to proximity bias. Just like its predecessor …And Again into the Light, The Rime of Memory knocked me flat off my feet and buried me like an avalanche, with all of the intensity and force, and yet none of the cold. Because this burns white hot with passion and pain. I haven’t yet decided whether it sits above that prior record, but right now, it doesn’t matter, because it easily stands above all others in 2023. “Cedar Skeletons” alone snatches the song of the year accolade, but the whole is something I have to experience again and again. It would just be wrong to give anything less than first place to an album that quite literally brings me to tears because of how emotionally poignant and compositionally powerful it is. As with my #2 pick, its epic duration is immaterial in the face of its effect, which is utterly unmatched by any of my other list contenders. Panopticon—particularly on more recent records—seems to have a unique ability to tug on my heartstrings and to blend the most ferocious of black metal with the most serene and evocative Appalachian folk, and to have it all bleed pure pathos. The Rime of Memory more than matched my lofty hopes, and it already has a very special place in my heart.

Honorable Mentions:

• Ahab // The Coral Tombs – A return to form after the iffy Boats of the Glen Carrig. Managing at turns to be both as heavy as a colossal squid and beautifully still as the depths of the ocean.
• Nightmarer // Deformity Adrift – I love everything Nightmarer put out and this is no exception. Brutal and shivering with grim atmosphere and irresistible rhythm.
• Manbryne // Interregnum: O próbie wiary i jarzmie zw​ą​tpienia – Just as good, if not better than its predecessor. Which means it’s really rather good. Gnarly, intriguing Polish black metal with bite and pizzaz.
• The Circle // Of Awakening – This magnificent dramatic black metal opus came the closest to making it into the final list. I slept on this album hard until the final months, and it was only barely pushed out.
• Dymna Lotva // The Land Under the Black Wings: Blood – An album that came out of absolutely nowhere for me and stunned with its emotional potency and devastating delivery. Future Dymna Lotva records may well make the list when that year comes.
• Voidsphere // To Infect | To Inflict – Thank you to Dear Hollow for putting this on my radar. It’s like Decoherence and Darkspace had a baby. A dark, mesmerizing atmospheric black metal baby. Gorgeous.

Songs of the Year:

• “Cedar Skeletons” – Panopticon
• “De Namnlösa” – Night Crowned
• “Axe of Kindness” – To the Grave
• “Optograms of Disgust” – Downfall of Gaia
• “The Fall” – Serpent of Old
• “A Coral Tomb” – Ahab
• “Boreal” – The Ocean
• “Seven Crowns and Seven Seals” – Sulphur Aeon
• “Taufbefehl” – Nightmarer
• “Of Awakening” – The Circle (ft. Ne Obliviscaris)

Guilty Pleasure of the Year:

• “SIRENCORE” – Banshee – Not remotely metal unless you count some black metal shrieking scattered into its dance-pop. I did however, get mildly addicted to this song for a time. What can I say? I have to let my girly side out occasionally. And yeah. It’s going on the playlist.

 

Maddog

My earballs had a mixed year. A headbanger’s field day, 2023 boasted a solid array of death metal and some doom that won over skeptics like me. But this year’s music lacked emotional weight. Few 2023 albums sounded as beautiful as Inexorum’s Equinox Vigil, as heart-wrenching as Darkher’s The Buried Storm, or as monumental as Gloson’s The Rift, all of which rocked my 2022 list. There was still plenty to love, but something felt missing.

And so, I found solace in music from years past. Trees of Eternity’s Hour of the Nightingale, perhaps the most underrated record in AMG history, offered me catharsis on dark days. Emma Ruth Rundle held my hand,4 expressing boundless empathy through Marked for Death. Every Enshine release whisked me into a secluded world of sorrowful beauty. Conversely, LiveWire’s thrilling Under Attack!, my favorite 2022 record, kept hopelessness at bay; no matter what, I’m happy to inhabit a world that has LiveWire in it. On the fiercer side, I rekindled my love for Morbid Angel’s Covenant (1993), Suffocation’s Effigy of the Forgotten (1991), and Dying Fetus’ Killing on Adrenaline (1998). This deep bench of yesteryear highlights helped scratch the itches that 2023 albums missed.

The scarcity of tear-jerking 2023 music also re-taught me an important lesson: music that isn’t overtly emotional can still offer consolation or escape. Indeed, my favorite 2023 records brought a smile to my tired face rather than feeding my wallowing tendencies. A comment from the recent Suffocation review expressed this sentiment best:

All things fall to ruin in this world, and that’s why we have death metal.

I’ll give thank-yous a shot, though they’ll inevitably be incomplete. Thank you to AMG for his fearless leadership, Madam X for her tireless work, Grier for his insults, Steel for his bourbon (and also his bourbon), Sentynel for keeping us alive, and Dear Hollow for doing all the writing. Thank you to the UK staff for tolerating my occasional visits, and to everyone who’s supported me through bouts of melodrama. And thank you to everyone who makes my world more musical: artists, comment-section banterers, fellow writers, friends who share music with me, kind people at shows, and more. I’ll be on board 70,000 Tons for the first time next month, and I’m excited to keep deepening my musical community.

Finally, thank you to Thus Spoke, my (list) partner in (vegan) crime. Her intense emotional connection to music bleeds through her words, inspiring me to listen more closely and write more goodly. Read her list first; you won’t regret it.

#ish. Ne Obliviscaris // Exul – Exul’s peaks show Ne Obliviscaris at the top of their divisive game. The band’s balance of beauty and brutality is as strong as ever, as the strings, clean guitars, and death metal riffs move in lockstep. Bassist Martino Garratoni’s hyperactive melodies round out Exul’s rich soundscape. It’s a pleasure to hear Ne Obliviscaris’ compositions unfold, ebbing and flowing among the band’s diverse strengths. Exul’s bloat is the only major splotch on an otherwise stellar record. Listen to Exul with an open mind; it’s easy to get clouded by the hype or the popular hatred. Exul offers a lot to love, and there isn’t much else like it.
[Pairing: Maison Ferrand (Ars, France), Citadelle Jardin d’Été Gin. This gin is easy to sneer at; it’s contemporary, a newcomer, and French. But give it a chance. You might find your mind wandering through a château garden in bloom.]

#10. Gorod // The Orb – I slept on The Orb at first because of its lackluster bass. After a decade of spectacular performances, bassist Benoit Claus inexplicably dialed back his wizardry after 2015’s A Maze of Recycled Creeds. Still, Gorod makes it work. The Orb’s unhinged harmonic leads showcase guitarists Pascal and Alberny at their finest. Meanwhile, the album’s energetic peaks and valleys give space for the drums to take the driver’s seat. Every moment of The Orb amps me up for the next moment, most notably on career highlight “Breeding Silence.” The Orb isn’t memorable enough to land near the top of Gorod’s formidable discography, but Gorod’s brand of hyper-technical death metal is still fun as hell.
[Pairing: Founders Brewing (Grand Rapids, MI), Porter – 6.5% ABV. Less rich than some of its Founders brethren (e.g. Breakfast Stout), but still a flavorful feast.]

#9. Altari // Kröflueldar – I don’t know what the hell this is, but I love it. Altari’s distinctive debut melds black metal and psychedelic rock. While those genre labels might provoke knee-jerk comparisons to Oranssi Pazuzu or A Forest of Stars, Altari’s sound is peerless. Stalwart rhythms ground you while swirling melodies emerge from nowhere to whisk you away, echoing Love’s Forever Changes and Jefferson Airplane’s Surrealistic Pillow. And yet, Kröflueldar’s blackened edge makes it a haunting experience. While Kröflueldar’s abrupt song endings have room for improvement, Altari’s hypnotic debut is a triumph. It might be tucked too far underground to turn many heads, but it’s well worth your time.
[Pairing: Brandy Soymilk Punch (made with Paul Masson VSOP Brandy). “What the hell is this? Why would I ever drink… Errr, why is my glass empty? Fill me up!”]

#8. Sodomisery // Mazzaroth – The melodic black metal resurgence of 2023 peaked with Sodomisery. Mazzaroth checks every box. Dissection-lite blackened death riffs collude with soaring Misturious melodies to lure you into the fray. The album’s clean sections and Sodomisery’s newfound symphonic elements add emotional depth without sounding generic. Mazzaroth’s strengths coalesce in its belt-along choruses, which maintain the album’s somber mood while still worming into your brain. Because Sodomisery executes every component so well, the record sounds fresh despite trodding well-trodden ground. Even Sodomisery’s less-than-ideal name inspired three of 2023’s most iconic comments. Mazzaroth has captured the hearts of old fans and newcomers alike, and the attention is well-deserved.
[Pairing: BrewDog (Ellon, UK), Drop D – Cascadian Dark Ale, 8.1% ABV. Perfectly balances hoppiness and roasty stout flavors, without reinventing any wheels.]

#7. Faithxtractor // Contempt for a Failed Dimension – While 2023 had no shortage of compelling no-frills death metal, the genre peaked in January with Faithxtractor. This is what you get when you cross faith unforgiving death metal with a tractor meticulous songwriting. Contempt for a Failed Dimension’s single-minded focus keeps it concise and fearsome across both its crushing slow sections and its frantic riff carnivals. Faithxtractor’s creativity elevates the album from “mere” fun to the top of its genre. Even at its most unhinged, Contempt for a Failed Dimension never trips over itself. Every riff inhabits its optimal location, and each one is essential to the final product. I’m not sure which dimension has failed—I hope it isn’t a spatial one—but I know Faithxtractor will punish it mightily.
[Pairing: Lagunitas Brewing (Petaluma, CA), IPA – 6.2% ABV. A familiar beer in a familiar style, but it always hits the spot. Sometimes that’s all you need.]

#6. Xoth // Exogalactic – Xoth’s brand of technical blackened death-thrash is a sci-fi spectacle. Exogalactic’s futuristic riffs, twisting melodies, and narrative arcs make it feel like reptilian aliens are indeed enslaving humans as gladiators like hordes of warriors are really battling for the galaxy. Hearing Xoth play Tetris with electrifying melodies of all shapes and sizes is thrilling. While the album’s peaks fall short of its predecessor, you’ll be belting out its colossal choruses in no time. Xoth’s style is unique, but it shares a strength with Archspire, First Fragment, and Jane Austen: you can hear Xoth grinning through their art. Every time I listen to Exogalactic, I can’t help but grin alongside.
[Pairing: Brouwerij Huyghe (Melle, Belgium), Delirium Tremens – Belgian Golden Strong Ale, 8.5% ABV. A paradox in a glass: strong and flavorful, but light-hearted and bright. It’ll put a smile on your face.]

#5. Raider // Trial by Chaos – Trial by Chaos is as dense as its cover art. Over 39 minutes of hectic death-thrash, Raider tells tales of dystopia, science fiction, and righteous defiance. Every element of Raider’s onslaught finds its mark. The guitars range from Floridian death metal steamrollers to three-piece melodic leads, nailing both styles. The thunderous rhythm section raises hell at climactic moments and stitches Trial by Chaos’ disparate pieces together. Most strikingly, Angelo Bonaccorso’s vocal variety imbues the music with emotional force and narrative structure. This is only Raider’s second full-length record, but its cohesion and show-stopping power make it best in class. Expect Raider to be a torchbearer for death-thrash in the years to come.
[Pairing: 3 Floyds Brewing (Munster, IN), Permanent Funeral – Imperial IPA, 10.5% ABV. Unforgiving in its strength, its hoppiness, and its intense flavor. Intimidating but irresistible.]

#4. Wayfarer // American Gothic – Seamlessly blending their Western aesthetic with black metal, Wayfarer transports the listener to the Western United States circa 1900. This is not a romanticized Magic School Bus trip; everything around you is greed, senseless violence, and environmental devastation.5 American Gothic’s emotional palette matches this landscape, leading through righteous anger (“The Cattle Thief”),6 longing (“To Enter My House Justified”), and hopelessness (“Black Plumes over God’s Country”). The album’s fantastic rhythm section and its rich production, both uncharacteristic strengths for black metal, allow Wayfarer’s diverse compositions to shine. Even though Wayfarer isn’t the only band playing this style, they’ve won my heart. Concise but powerful, American Gothic is the new American gothic.
[Pairing: Buffalo Trace Distillery (Frankfort, KY), Sazerac Rye. Accessible for the wallet and the palate, but with a fierce rye edge. A flavor bonanza and a perfect companion for an evening of reminiscences or regrets.]

#3. Hellripper // Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags – The “old Hellripper” is still alive and well, after two riotous slabs of blackened speed metal. The “new Hellripper” is no less formidable. Forays into death metal and old-school speed metal add flair around the edges. Meanwhile, Warlocks’ longer tracks leap out of Hellripper’s comfort zone while balancing melodic variety and narrative cohesion. Scottish folk influences add depth throughout the melodies, the lyrics rooted in Orkney mythology, and the unexpected bagpipes. With these forces combined, the record’s narrative pieces feel like captivating campfire tales rather than bedtime stories. And still, Warlocks’ speedy killers are the most fun I’ve had all year. Warlocks is both an exhilarating listen and a massive step forward for Hellripper’s songwriting.
[Pairing: St. George Spirits (Alameda, CA), Terroir Gin. The juniper-heavy palate will placate gin gatekeepers, while the Douglas fir and sage will transport open minds to a California coastal redwood forest. Classic, innovative, and delicious.]

#2. Onheil // In Black Ashes – In Black Ashes is melodic black/death/speed/thrash at its finest. But that description is both a little too much and much too little. The album’s irresistible speedy riffs alone deserve Grier’s 3.5. Onheil’s mastery of melody and songwriting elevates In Black Ashes into the stratosphere. Led by the indomitable “Void,” In Black Ashes’ powerful melodies offer catharsis like none other. As the album progresses, Onheil flexes their compositional muscles more, melding narrative meloblack epics with Mors Principium Est-adjacent bangers. Every track is a winner, and Onheil strikes an impossible balance between enthralling riffs and emotional heft. In Black Ashes deserves a lot more love.
[Pairing: Hayman’s Distillery (London, UK), Royal Dock Navy Strength Gin. This isn’t just another boring London gin; spices and citrus add a twist. Bottled at the 114 proof point where soaked gunpowder can still ignite, Royal Dock is fierce but shockingly smooth.]

#1. Theophonos // Nightmare Visions – Nightmare Visions throws everything at the wall, and everything sticks. I struggled to describe this album once, and it isn’t getting easier. Theophonos’ debut feels like a grind-paced tour through metal history, squeezed through a blackened filter. Armed with razor-sharp riffs, a vicious rhythm section, and a refusal to sit still, Theophonos’ dissonant style is both neck-shattering and evocative. The album’s density makes it a gripping experience, while Jimmy Hamzey’s (Serpent Column) masterful transitions hold the Jenga blocks together. Theophonos’ blood, sweat, and tears glisten through details like the inter-song callbacks and the blurring of frenzied black metal and serene rock. Ten months into our love affair, Nightmare Visions still reveals new facets on every listen. Even if blackened grind isn’t your home turf (trust me, it isn’t mine), give Nightmare Visions a shot. I’d never heard anything like it, but now I can’t stop listening.
[Pairing: Fifth Hammer Brewing (Queens, NY), POGlodyte – Sour Ale with Passionfruit, Blood Orange, and Guava, 5.5% ABV. The description is accurate but inadequate. Wilder than your wildest dreams, this sour is what you never realized your life needed. Rapture for every taste bud.]

Honorable Mentions:

• Night Crowned // Tales – Tales is a scorcher from cover to cover, blending ferocious blackened death melodies with clean and folky digressions. Night Crowned jostled their way up here at the last minute. Ask me in a few weeks, and I might regret not pushing Tales up to my top 10.
• Tomb Mold // The Enduring Spirit – Tomb Mold’s 57-degree turn into prog death lands close to Fallujah’s best work. With dueling guitar leads, riveting bass melodies, and groovy drum lines, The Enduring Spirit is gorgeous and engaging. With more oomph, it could’ve landed near the top of my list.
• Saturnus // The Storm Within – From its crushing death-doom riffs to its My Dying Bride-esque dirges, The Storm Within ripped my heart out. Saturnus’ decade-awaited return suffers from bloat, but it’s still one of 2023’s rare emotional juggernauts.
• Kalmah // Kalmah – Kalmah’s Kalmah sounds like Kalmah, in the best way. Firestorm riffs, massive climaxes, and prominent synths get the blood flowing. The slower morose sections hit just as hard, especially with their infectious choruses. Kalmah doesn’t break new ground, but it still holds me rapt.
• Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter // Saved! – Saved! is jarring, but Hayter’s spellbinding vocals and her cohesive compositions won me over. The album pantses my heart in its best moments, like “I Will Be with You Always.” The out-of-place shorter pieces and the record’s rocky start hold Saved! back, but it’s still worth a spin or ten.
• Serpent of Old // Ensemble under the Dark Sun – This one is tough to describe. Ensemble’s blackened death melodies, at once eerie and grabby, crept under my skin on my very first listen. Given how dense and thoughtful Ensemble is, I still can’t believe it’s Serpent of Old’s debut.

Disappointments o’ the Year:

• Myrkur // Spine – Pairing: Methanol. A close relative of excellence, but hazardous in its current form. So close, but so very far.
• The Ocean // Holocene – Pairing: Southwest Spirits (Dallas, TX), Calamity Gin. The heavy floral and citrusy botanicals make for an intriguing promo pitch. Given my history with similar styles, I had every expectation of loving this. Alas, reality was not so kind; I struggled to finish it.

Songs o’ the Year:

Onheil – “Void”

Enslaved – “Congelia”

Xoth – “Battlesphere”

Sermon – “Golden”

Gorod – “Breeding Silence”

Ne Obliviscaris – “Equus”

Insomnium – “1696”

Theophonos – “Of Days Past”

Raider – “Labyrinth”

Wayfarer – “The Cattle Thief”

Stortregn – “The Revelation”

#Ahab #Altari #Convocation #Dödheimsgard #DownfallOfGaia #DymnaLotva #Faithxtractor #FiresInTheDistance #Gorod #Hellripper #Kalmah #Lists #Listurnalia #Mānbryne #Myrkur #NeObliviscaris #NightCrowned #Nightmarer #Onheil #Panopticon #Raider #ReverendKristinMichaelHayter #Saturnus #SerpentOfOld #Sodomisery #Stortregn #Thantifaxath #TheCircle #TheOcean #Theophonos #ThusSpokeSAndMaddogSTopTenIshOf2023 #ToTheGrave #TombMold #Top10Ish_ #Voidsphere #Wayfarer #Xoth

Holy poop! I've just discovered the pleasures of playing Halo whilst listening to melodeath (In Flames, Dark Tranquillity and the newer band "Sodomisery") #Halo #HaloInfinite #Xbox #InFlames #DarkTranquillity #Sodomisery #Melodeath #MelodicDeathMetal