Best of 2023

A problem I run into every year around this time, is realizing that it’s not humanly possible to sample and listen to all the “good” music being released in the heavy metal universe within that calendar year.

2023 is no different.

I’ve probably listened to over a hundred releases and ultimately (and might I say painstakingly) narrowed it down to thirty-five releases which include EPs as well. And then I further split hairs and created a top ten list. 🏆

I’ve been writing these listicles for over a decade now, and on this website of mine for the last eight years (see #AOTY for the past lists). The lists are purely based on how often I’ve listened to particular albums, my bias towards to heavy music subgenres and my inclination towards clamouring support for the proverbial “underground”. The only non-negotiable criteria is that it is deemed “metal” as per metal-archives.com.

Before I go into my top ten, I’d like to call out my favorite non-metal album of the year - Poison Ruïn’s Härvest. Umlauts are back in vogue. This is a concoction of punk, proto black metal and post-punk that blew me away and probably gained maximum spins on my turntable. I hear they’re quite a fierce and fun live band too.

Without further ado, here are my top heavy metal albums of 2023 ✨

I first caught wind of Thanatomass thanks to the inimitable David Glomba. The gorgeous album cover art that he did will drawn you in with all its gradiosity. And having known David’s taste over the years, the band certainly piqued my curiosity. Suffice to say, Thanatomass didn’t disappoint at the slightest. Thanatomass are a Russian primal black/death metal band with a style played in a frenzied, frenetic and chaotic manner. It has some of the “war metal” sensibilities, tons of reverb and echo with the vocals and screaming guitar solos and squeals. But in my opinion, this isn’t bestial enough that it gets incoherent. The riffs are out there and ‘Hades’ definitely hits you very hard!

Stikkersvin, from Denmark, seemed to have flown under the radar for many, which is a darn shame! The band plays black metal heavily influenced by punk. It’s like as if Taake suddenly decided to make a d-beat album. Stikkersvin will surprise you vocally from the traditional black metal screeches to shouty punk vocals to more nordic chants. Where this album wins is that you can feel the raw energy on this record right from the first track and throughout the album. High tempo and lots of headbang-y moments!

Dikasterion, a Belgian black/death band, haven’t had too many releases prior to this EP of theirs. ‘Chaos as a New World’ sounds fantastic as I feel it invokes the ghost of Order from Chaos. There isn’t something mindblowing with Dikasterion BUT they seem to know their (good) influences, acknowledge them well and their output is solid! Death metal riffs for days with an old school production and caustic vocals (very Helmkamp-y) is just what the doctor ordered. I hope this paves the way for Dikasterion to tour more and also have their first full length out in the future.

Isn’t it wild that this year was the first time I ever heard of King Gizzard?! They’re not even a heavy metal band and are often described as alternative/indie adjacent when it comes to their musical style. I listened to a handful of tracks from their catalog prior to this album and it wasn’t my cup of tea. However with PetroDragonic Apocalypse… (the title is a mouthful), these bunch of “non-metalheads” put out a really enjoyable stoner/psychedelic/thrash album. The songs are extremely catchy, groovy, filled with arcane and weird lyrics, and there’s a hook where you’d expect to hear and it doesn’t disappoint. For the archetypical heavy metal fan, King Gizzard will either get your plaudits or they will get your disapproval as a elitist. For me, it’s definitely the former but my love for King Gizzard starts and ends with this album only, and boy what an album this is!

‘Storming the Walls’ is Triumpher’s debut and you’d wonder where have these guys been lurking all this while?! This is an epic heavy/power metal band hailing from Greece. Lots of people have described this as “monumental” and it does live up to the glowingly high reviews. There are many Bathory-esque moments here as well. I’d have rated it higher if I wasn’t a casual fan of the epic heavy/power metal. But purely in terms of masterful muscianship and song composition, Triumpher probably wins album of the year for me!

From epic heavy/power in Triumpher to epic heavy/doom in Smoulder! Smoulder’s latest album, ‘Violent Creed of Vengeance’ is their best work yet. They’ve expanded their sound to explore the thrashier and the more traditional heavy metal side of things and honestly, this is a real treat for fans of the band and heavy metal fans in general! Sarah’s vocals deserve a shoutout here and I feel they’re more unhinged and at times even maniacal compared to the previous releases. This is great, go Sarah! Each song is complete in itself and the album feels like it has no fillers. The guitar melodies and riffs are meticulous but yet don’t go overboard, just arriving at almost perfection. I’m quite stoked to see Smoulder live next year at Hell over Hammaburg, until then I’m spinning this many more times!

The legendary Church of Misery return with ‘Born Under a Mad Sign’, their seventh full length album after a musical career spanning almost three decades. If you are not living under a rock, you’d know that CoM are like the Black Sabbath of Japan and if Sabbath played stoner doom. These guys, whose albums depict serial killers thematically, have produced an album which I’d rate very highly even amidst their illustrious discography. It’s almost a return to superb form with slow, groovy, bass-heavy and thunderous riffs. Kazuhiro, who returns to the band since the ‘Vol. 1’ album, displays a stellar vocal performance with the level of gruff-ness that any true stoner doom fan will enjoy. The album is quite consistent (consistently great) and there isn’t a dull moment at all. Church of Misery are back, baby!

Sentient Ruin are the one of the hottest labels in the underground right now and it is with reason after putting out several good releases across different subgenres. So when I heard of Invultation being on their roster and I saw the album art, it took me a matter of seconds to start listening to this record. Invultation are a one man black/death metal band. ‘Feral Legion’ is absolutely crushing in a bestial, Archgoat-y kind of way. Heck, I love me some caveman riffs played through a severely distorted filter but where Invultation wins me over is how he modulates the pace from slow crushing doomy heavy riffs to incoherent blasty noise. If you’re looking for something novel, Feral Legion isn’t it but if you’re looking for something that pays homage to black/death legends and possibly the Ross Bay Cult bands, then look no further. This is my death metal album of the year, oügh!

Century are possibly one of the most sought after heavy metal bands in the world. After blowing people away with their 2020 demo, these Swedes spent the next three years cooking and now we have the magnificent ‘The Conquest of Time’. Along with Tyrann, they’re holding the flame of 80s Swedish heavy metal high and proud. ‘The Conquest of Time’ is packed to the brim with trad guitar riffs, vocal moments that will get approving nods from any self respecting NWOTHM aficianado and song writing that makes the songs flow so effortlessly. If we were to talk about purely classic heavy metal albums, ‘Conquest of Time’ is my album of the year. If all goes well, then I should be seeing Century live twice next year and you know where I’ll be - right in front screaming out the chorus to ‘The Fighting Eagle’!

I’ve been a huge Malokarpatan fan ever since ‘Nordkapaten’ (the band’s sophomore album) dropped in 2017. Malokarpatan return with their fourth album, ‘Vertumnus Caesar’, their most ambitious work till date. The band hails from Slovakia and they sing in their native tongue Slovak. It’s difficult to put a finger on what Malokarpatan sounds like but I’d say that their foundations are heavy metal and proto-black metal - think of Bathory, Venom, Mercyful Fate and the obvious comparisons with Root or Master’s Hammer. But that’s just the foundational sound, ‘Vertumnus Caesar’ offers listeners so much more. The band explores 70s prog rock, Tangerine Dream-like synth-y moments, an occultish atmosphere and they concoct it all together to create something so unique that it can only be called THE Malokarpatan sound. I’ve been blown away by the record from start to finish and no matter how many listens, the album sounds as fresh as ever. Each listen giving away some of the hidden intricacies in the songs. Vertumnus Caesar is a true masterpiece and will definitely be talked about for years to come!

With that, 2023 comes to a close. Up the irons and may 2024 bring us more heavy metal! ⚔️⛓️