EOTY Listmania Extravaganza 2023

[Thatguy]

I'm up early on New Year's Day 2024 and I'm not allowed to go for a run, so here are my 2023 lists.

 

THATGUY’S VERY REFINED BEST OF THE YEAR LISTS 2023

 

Bloody lists. As ever this is just some of what I liked this year and  - contrary to popular belief - while I enjoy the weird and the wonderful I don’t always seek it out. There was a lot of good music released this year - too much for anyone to really think they have heard everything worth hearing. It requires deep thought therefore to produce this extremely refined list and while you perhaps can be worthy without liking at least some of the music Thatguy recommends, if you do like it you will be judged worthy and Thatguy approved.

 

 

 

METAL

 

1. RORCAL - Silence. Yet another great album by this amazing band. The musical assault is just unrelenting and everything is so well conceived. Great playing by all the band, but as so often in metal, it’s the drumming that brings it all together. The vocals sit in the mix at just the right level. Of all the albums I will rate this year, this is the one that you may not have heard and the one that you really need to hear.
2. KRALLICE - Mass Cathexis 2 - The Kinetic Infinite. A great return to form by a band that has intermittently been one of my favourites. Well constructed songs with the intricate riffing and shrieked vocals that we know and love.
3. FEN - Monuments to Absence. Of course. This is a pretty straightforward BM album with the snarling vocals, intricate and audible bass and ‘The Watcher’ patent guitarisms that you’d expect from a FEN album. Wonderful stuff.
4. IMPERIUM DEKADENZ - Into Sorrow Evermore. Soaring beautiful music that that is still very much BM. Nothing weird here.
5. TAAKE - Et Hav av Avstand. The sound is just on the edge of being too crappy for Thatguy to bear, but that’s what TAAKE does. There is nothing particularly innovative here. This is just another TAAKE album, but that’s pretty great, innit?
6. DESEKRYPTOR - Vortex Oblivion. I think these guys out-Altaraged ALTARAGE this year. It’s a murky dissonant wall of sound that isn’t original but it is really well done.
7. SPECTRAL LORE - 11 Days. I tend to avoid one man/woman projects, but Spectral Lore has always been an exception to my rule. There is an emotional edge to these long songs that drags you in. Yer man Ayloss is making a statement of protest against EU policies that have let more than 25,000 people drown in Mediterranean waters over recent years but even if you didn’t know that the music arouses feelings of anger and sadness.
8. ENSLAVED - Heimdal. Progressive, I guess, but this is a BM album. I think ENSLAVED have returned to form here, leaving behind the lapses of taste and non-metal drifting that has crept into recent albums.
9. LANAYAH - I’m Picking Lights in a Field…It’s hard to sum up this eclectic album. Not every moment is relentlessly metal, but neither is life. Love them or hate them, listen to the whole album before you make up your mind.
10. SKRYING MIRROR - Omnimalevolence. Nasty. Get it into you.
11. BEES MADE HONEY IN THE VEIN TREE - Aion. Long doomy droney songs. Bass up front. Hypnotic, baby.

 

Ok, that’s a prime number so that’s where I will stop. There’s another album that came out this year that I have to mention though. It’s a re-issue plus tracks from splits and other bits and pieces. I was tempted to go full Thatguy and list it above and say fuck yers all, but it is not music new to 2023.

 

NIGHTBRINGER - Death and the Black Work + Rex Ex Ordine Throni

NON METAL

 

1. THE NECKS - Travel. Documenting their morning warm up improvisations…with what most would be happy to call beautifully crafted compositions.
2. ANDERS JORMIN et al - Pasado en claro. Upright bass, female vocals, koto, violin/viola, percussion. Luminous music by a vastly talented ensemble.
3. PoiL Ueda - PoiL Ueda. Progressive rock accompanying an acclaimed classical Japanese singer. There is nothing else like this.
4. STEVE LEHMAN & ORCHESTRE NATIONAL de JAZZ - Ex Machina. This is ultra hip music composed and led by alto saxophonist Steve Lehman. A big ensemble carefully used, beautifully clear recording. Jazz with very interesting harmonic and textural structures.
5. SOFT MACHINE - Other Doors. A band with this name has been around since the late 1960’s and has produced some of my favourite music. Of course there are no original members here. But there has been continuity with overlap of band members, the sparing but well conceived revisiting of the old repertoire and the style and feel of the new compositions.
6. THE CHURCH - The Hypnogogue. Aussie ‘art-rock’ legends. This is their first album for some years and they are not doing anything new, but I find Steve Kilby’s voice comforting and the album reminds me of their heyday, which was more-or-less contemporaneous with mine…
7. STEPHEN O”MALLEY & ANTHONY PATERAS - Sept duos pour guitare acoustique & piano préparé. Actually, you might like this thoughtful and comforting music.

 

I could go on, but that’s a prime number too and I don’t want to stress metalheads by making you think too much about the wider musical universe.

 

So, crack on me hearties.

 

[AlSymerz]

Another year of not being judged worthy or Thatguy approved....The year is looking up already!!

 

[markm]

41 minutes ago, Thatguy said:

I'm up early on New Year's Day 2024 and I'm not allowed to go for a run, so here are my 2023 lists.

 

THATGUY’S VERY REFINED BEST OF THE YEAR LISTS 2023

 

Bloody lists. As ever this is just some of what I liked this year and  - contrary to popular belief - while I enjoy the weird and the wonderful I don’t always seek it out. There was a lot of good music released this year - too much for anyone to really think they have heard everything worth hearing. It requires deep thought therefore to produce this extremely refined list and while you perhaps can be worthy without liking at least some of the music Thatguy recommends, if you do like it you will be judged worthy and Thatguy approved.

 

 

 

METAL

 

1. RORCAL - Silence. Yet another great album by this amazing band. The musical assault is just unrelenting and everything is so well conceived. Great playing by all the band, but as so often in metal, it’s the drumming that brings it all together. The vocals sit in the mix at just the right level. Of all the albums I will rate this year, this is the one that you may not have heard and the one that you really need to hear.
2. KRALLICE - Mass Cathexis 2 - The Kinetic Infinite. A great return to form by a band that has intermittently been one of my favourites. Well constructed songs with the intricate riffing and shrieked vocals that we know and love.
3. FEN - Monuments to Absence. Of course. This is a pretty straightforward BM album with the snarling vocals, intricate and audible bass and ‘The Watcher’ patent guitarisms that you’d expect from a FEN album. Wonderful stuff.
4. IMPERIUM DEKADENZ - Into Sorrow Evermore. Soaring beautiful music that that is still very much BM. Nothing weird here.
5. TAAKE - Et Hav av Avstand. The sound is just on the edge of being too crappy for Thatguy to bear, but that’s what TAAKE does. There is nothing particularly innovative here. This is just another TAAKE album, but that’s pretty great, innit?
6. DESEKRYPTOR - Vortex Oblivion. I think these guys out-Altaraged ALTARAGE this year. It’s a murky dissonant wall of sound that isn’t original but it is really well done.
7. SPECTRAL LORE - 11 Days. I tend to avoid one man/woman projects, but Spectral Lore has always been an exception to my rule. There is an emotional edge to these long songs that drags you in. Yer man Ayloss is making a statement of protest against EU policies that have let more than 25,000 people drown in Mediterranean waters over recent years but even if you didn’t know that the music arouses feelings of anger and sadness.
8. ENSLAVED - Heimdal. Progressive, I guess, but this is a BM album. I think ENSLAVED have returned to form here, leaving behind the lapses of taste and non-metal drifting that has crept into recent albums.
9. LANAYAH - I’m Picking Lights in a Field…It’s hard to sum up this eclectic album. Not every moment is relentlessly metal, but neither is life. Love them or hate them, listen to the whole album before you make up your mind.
10. SKRYING MIRROR - Omnimalevolence. Nasty. Get it into you.
11. BEES MADE HONEY IN THE VEIN TREE - Aion. Long doomy droney songs. Bass up front. Hypnotic, baby.

 

Ok, that’s a prime number so that’s where I will stop. There’s another album that came out this year that I have to mention though. It’s a re-issue plus tracks from splits and other bits and pieces. I was tempted to go full Thatguy and list it above and say fuck yers all, but it is not music new to 2023.

 

NIGHTBRINGER - Death and the Black Work + Rex Ex Ordine Throni

NON METAL

 

1. THE NECKS - Travel. Documenting their morning warm up improvisations…with what most would be happy to call beautifully crafted compositions.
2. ANDERS JORMIN et al - Pasado en claro. Upright bass, female vocals, koto, violin/viola, percussion. Luminous music by a vastly talented ensemble.
3. PoiL Ueda - PoiL Ueda. Progressive rock accompanying an acclaimed classical Japanese singer. There is nothing else like this.
4. STEVE LEHMAN & ORCHESTRE NATIONAL de JAZZ - Ex Machina. This is ultra hip music composed and led by alto saxophonist Steve Lehman. A big ensemble carefully used, beautifully clear recording. Jazz with very interesting harmonic and textural structures.
5. SOFT MACHINE - Other Doors. A band with this name has been around since the late 1960’s and has produced some of my favourite music. Of course there are no original members here. But there has been continuity with overlap of band members, the sparing but well conceived revisiting of the old repertoire and the style and feel of the new compositions.
6. THE CHURCH - The Hypnogogue. Aussie ‘art-rock’ legends. This is their first album for some years and they are not doing anything new, but I find Steve Kilby’s voice comforting and the album reminds me of their heyday, which was more-or-less contemporaneous with mine…
7. STEPHEN O”MALLEY & ANTHONY PATERAS - Sept duos pour guitare acoustique & piano préparé. Actually, you might like this thoughtful and comforting music.

 

I could go on, but that’s a prime number too and I don’t want to stress metalheads by making you think too much about the wider musical universe.

 

So, crack on me hearties.

 

Excellent work as always Sir for your most refined list. There are several including your #1 I will endeavor to investigate!

[Thatguy]

1 hour ago, AlSymerz said:

Another year of not being judged worthy or Thatguy approved....The year is looking up already!!

 

Keep up the good work

[AlSymerz]

Fight the good fight

[AlSymerz]

The list I know everyone is waiting for to see what good stuff they missed during the last year.

1. Shakma – On Tenebrous Wings

2. Overkill – Scorched

3. Gravestone – Hallowed Be Thy Grave

4. Reaver – Iron Nation

5. Apocalyptic Annihilation – Necrothrash

6. Terrifier – Trample the weak devour the dead

7. Hellripper – Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags

8. Phil Campbell and The Bastard Sons – Kings Of The Asylum

9. Werewolves – My Enemies Look And Sound Like Me

10. C.O.F.F.I.N – Australia Stops.

[GoatmasterGeneral]

5 hours ago, AlSymerz said:

The list I know everyone is waiting for to see what good stuff they missed during the last year.

1. Shakma – On Tenebrous Wings

2. Overkill – Scorched

3. Gravestone – Hallowed Be Thy Grave

4. Reaver – Iron Nation

5. Apocalyptic Annihilation – Necrothrash

6. Terrifier – Trample the weak devour the dead

7. Hellripper – Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags

8. Phil Campbell and The Bastard Sons – Kings Of The Asylum

9. Werewolves – My Enemies Look And Sound Like Me

10. C.O.F.F.I.N – Australia Stops.

Better than Doc's list of esoteric wankery. And I love the good doctor, always glad to see him here, but his musical taste can be a real head scratcher for me. At least these albums are all listenable for regular people like me. I haven't heard as many of them as I have heard, but the ones I've heard weren't too bad. I even own two of these. Took that Shakma for a spin earlier too, just to see what your #1 was all about, and it turned out to be some pretty damn good blackened thrash. So nice little list Vic.

 

On 12/31/2023 at 3:42 PM, Thatguy said:

I'm up early on New Year's Day 2024 and I'm not allowed to go for a run, so here are my 2023 lists.

 

THATGUY’S VERY REFINED BEST OF THE YEAR LISTS 2023

 

Bloody lists. As ever this is just some of what I liked this year and  - contrary to popular belief - while I enjoy the weird and the wonderful I don’t always seek it out. There was a lot of good music released this year - too much for anyone to really think they have heard everything worth hearing. It requires deep thought therefore to produce this extremely refined list and while you perhaps can be worthy without liking at least some of the music Thatguy recommends, if you do like it you will be judged worthy and Thatguy approved.

 

 

 

METAL

 

1. RORCAL - Silence. Yet another great album by this amazing band. The musical assault is just unrelenting and everything is so well conceived. Great playing by all the band, but as so often in metal, it’s the drumming that brings it all together. The vocals sit in the mix at just the right level. Of all the albums I will rate this year, this is the one that you may not have heard and the one that you really need to hear.
2. KRALLICE - Mass Cathexis 2 - The Kinetic Infinite. A great return to form by a band that has intermittently been one of my favourites. Well constructed songs with the intricate riffing and shrieked vocals that we know and love.
3. FEN - Monuments to Absence. Of course. This is a pretty straightforward BM album with the snarling vocals, intricate and audible bass and ‘The Watcher’ patent guitarisms that you’d expect from a FEN album. Wonderful stuff.
4. IMPERIUM DEKADENZ - Into Sorrow Evermore. Soaring beautiful music that that is still very much BM. Nothing weird here.
5. TAAKE - Et Hav av Avstand. The sound is just on the edge of being too crappy for Thatguy to bear, but that’s what TAAKE does. There is nothing particularly innovative here. This is just another TAAKE album, but that’s pretty great, innit?
6. DESEKRYPTOR - Vortex Oblivion. I think these guys out-Altaraged ALTARAGE this year. It’s a murky dissonant wall of sound that isn’t original but it is really well done.
7. SPECTRAL LORE - 11 Days. I tend to avoid one man/woman projects, but Spectral Lore has always been an exception to my rule. There is an emotional edge to these long songs that drags you in. Yer man Ayloss is making a statement of protest against EU policies that have let more than 25,000 people drown in Mediterranean waters over recent years but even if you didn’t know that the music arouses feelings of anger and sadness.
8. ENSLAVED - Heimdal. Progressive, I guess, but this is a BM album. I think ENSLAVED have returned to form here, leaving behind the lapses of taste and non-metal drifting that has crept into recent albums.
9. LANAYAH - I’m Picking Lights in a Field…It’s hard to sum up this eclectic album. Not every moment is relentlessly metal, but neither is life. Love them or hate them, listen to the whole album before you make up your mind.
10. SKRYING MIRROR - Omnimalevolence. Nasty. Get it into you.
11. BEES MADE HONEY IN THE VEIN TREE - Aion. Long doomy droney songs. Bass up front. Hypnotic, baby.

 

Ok, that’s a prime number so that’s where I will stop. There’s another album that came out this year that I have to mention though. It’s a re-issue plus tracks from splits and other bits and pieces. I was tempted to go full Thatguy and list it above and say fuck yers all, but it is not music new to 2023.

 

NIGHTBRINGER - Death and the Black Work + Rex Ex Ordine Throni

NON METAL

 

1. THE NECKS - Travel. Documenting their morning warm up improvisations…with what most would be happy to call beautifully crafted compositions.
2. ANDERS JORMIN et al - Pasado en claro. Upright bass, female vocals, koto, violin/viola, percussion. Luminous music by a vastly talented ensemble.
3. PoiL Ueda - PoiL Ueda. Progressive rock accompanying an acclaimed classical Japanese singer. There is nothing else like this.
4. STEVE LEHMAN & ORCHESTRE NATIONAL de JAZZ - Ex Machina. This is ultra hip music composed and led by alto saxophonist Steve Lehman. A big ensemble carefully used, beautifully clear recording. Jazz with very interesting harmonic and textural structures.
5. SOFT MACHINE - Other Doors. A band with this name has been around since the late 1960’s and has produced some of my favourite music. Of course there are no original members here. But there has been continuity with overlap of band members, the sparing but well conceived revisiting of the old repertoire and the style and feel of the new compositions.
6. THE CHURCH - The Hypnogogue. Aussie ‘art-rock’ legends. This is their first album for some years and they are not doing anything new, but I find Steve Kilby’s voice comforting and the album reminds me of their heyday, which was more-or-less contemporaneous with mine…
7. STEPHEN O”MALLEY & ANTHONY PATERAS - Sept duos pour guitare acoustique & piano préparé. Actually, you might like this thoughtful and comforting music.

 

I could go on, but that’s a prime number too and I don’t want to stress metalheads by making you think too much about the wider musical universe.

 

So, crack on me hearties.

 

As I just said to the Orca a few minutes ago, I love you Doc. After 7 years of posting together I consider you a real friend. I'm not going to shit on your list out of respect for the extra effort you put into making it this year. And because you didn't feel the need to insert any of your stupid Aussie rhyming slang.

All I'm gonna say at this time is that if you have to keep insisting and attempting to convince us (convince yourself maybe) that all of these albums are legitimately black metal, the only reasonable conclusion one can come to is that most of them are not in fact truly black metal. Because if they were actually black metal, you wouldn't have to sell it so hard that they were.

But you know what? If they're black metal to you, that's all that matters my friend. Who am I to piss on your post-metal parade? Crack on with your bad self, Chocka Doc.

[AlSymerz]

I'll take note that Shakma are blackened. I've been listening to them since their 2018 debut and I've always considered them thrash cause M-A told me so.

[GoatmasterGeneral]

They are thrash. That's been slightly blackened. You can tell by the vocals. If the vocals sound like Exodus or Flotsie or Overkill or something it's thrash. If they sound like this it's blackened thrash. Which is still thrash mind you, just with harsher vox. All the best thrash is blackened to some extent these days. It's unavoidable. 

[AlSymerz]

It's all too confusing, I'm just going to go ahead and listen to them without worrying where they fit.

[Thatguy]

1 hour ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

Crack on with your bad self, Chocka Doc.

Well, mate. (and you'd have to hear me say it to know which mate that is - it is the warm you are my actual mate, mate), enjoy your shiraz and I will enjoy my merlot.

I know only a few of my picks are BM and I know you don't agree even with them, but if Rorcal and Taake ain't BM then I'll go back to shiraz.

Crack on yerself, GG and I look forward to your very long list.

[GoatmasterGeneral]

No sorry Doctor, Rorcal's not black metal. But Taake and Imperium Dekadenz certainly are. I'll assume you just misspoke and meant to say Imperium Dekadenz, because nobody's calling Rorcal black metal, and they aren't even trying to represent themselves as black metal. 

I did listen to the Rorcal all the way through at some point last year after you'd posted it, (and have thrown it on again now to refresh my memory) I deffo don't hate it or anything, it's alright, but I see it as more of a Mark album than a goat album. That sludge/doom/post-hardcore space covers a lot of ground so you never know quite what flavor of sludge you're going to get until you're actually listening to it. I like some bands that fit that general description, but not most of them. I'm getting some Meshuggah vibes from the djenty instrument sounds and that could never be a good thing. It's certainly an angry record, nasty as you might say, so I get the appeal. It's the kind of thing I can enjoy to an extent for its 40 minute run time, but then I'd never consider purchasing it and I'll probably never even think about it or desire to hear it ever again. Because as you know I just tend to go for riffier stuff. It's all about the riff for me, everything else is a novelty basically. I will say though as your number ones have gone, this was one probably one of your better ones from my perspective. 

But it's actually your #6 album Desekryptor that I think is the best thing on your list. Hadn't heard this one yet I don't think, but this is pretty good, I'm unreservedly digging this one. We should be able to agree this one's death metal, so hopefully we won't even have to engage in a sub-genre debate as to whether it's black metal or not.

My list might take awhile, I have it mostly reconstructed although I'm sure there are a few I've missed. Currently standing at just over 150 albums, so I have some work to do. I spent a few hours working on it yesterday afternoon before I went out to shovel our 7 inches of snow for two hours, and now I'm crippled and broken. But I was able to select what I think are roughly my top 30 black metal albums, so I'm making progress because I have over 80 black metal albums on my short list this year, so that's always the toughest one to finalize. Still have to do some more listening, might come up with just a few more I think deserve to be in that top tier but that shouldn't take me too long, few days maybe. Then I'll have to write the blurbs for each of them. And that takes me longer than selecting the albums to begin with. I didn't write blurbs for my list selections last year and you called me on it, told me how disappointed you were, so I'll write them again this year just for you Chocka Doc. 

 

11 hours ago, AlSymerz said:

5. Apocalyptic Annihilation – Necrothrash

Dude, what the actual fuck?!? This Necrothrash is so blackened you could almost go ahead and just call it black metal. Never thought I'd see the day Orca's putting black metal albums on his little year end thrash list. I'm gobsmacked.

And that Werewolves album is totally listenable too, I'm kinda digging it even with the rapid-fire clickety drums. They don't sound totally plastic so I'm gonna let them slide. Wouldn't necessarily buy it, but I am enjoying it. Never thought I'd see you posting blackened death either. If you keep on going at this rate Orca, I might actually have to start paying attention to the shit you post!

[Arioch]

Here is the Frenchman's list :

Metal

1 - Xoth - Exogalactic
2 - Cosmic Jaguar - The Legacy of the Aztecs
3 - Cirith Ungol - Dark Parade
4 - Autopsy - Ashes, Organs, Blood and Crypts
5 - Insensate Machine - War of the Worlds
6 - Sadus - The Shadow Inside
7 - Seven Doors - Feast of the Repulsive Dead
8 - Sortilège - Apocalypso

Non Metal

1 - The Chronicles of Father Robin - The Songs & Tales of Airoea – Book I
2 - The Chronicles of Father Robin - The Songs & Tales of Airoea – Book II

 

[MacabreEternal]

My list.  These have excerpts of full reviews I have written elsewhere on the internet so may not always make perfect narrative sense and I am too lazy to edit.

 

1. BAN - Disharmonium: Nahab - The true talent that any good BAN record has is its ability to fill any room that it is playing in. Disharmonium: Nahab does this brilliantly. There is always a multitude of things going on with any track on here. Haunting and melancholic melodies carve slow cuts out of the very atmosphere around the listener whilst dense atmospherics constantly plunge you into some further incalculable fathom to try and orientate yourself with. 

2. Miserere Luminis - Ordalie - This sense of being propelled by the rhythm of the record whilst being caressed by the applied melodies and atmospheres I found to be quite unsettling at first. However, I soon settled into this slightly esoteric pattern with repeated listens and feel like the album becomes more accessible with each listen. Ordalie does not need to dredge the depths of extremity to get its message across and nor does it need to rely on excessive shrouding of atmospherics to simply make its mark. Instead, it creates a clever maelstrom of the required component parts to deliver what is ultimately a clean and concise sounding record overall.

3. FVNERALS - Let the Earth Be Silent - The haunting vocals of Tiffany Ström are perfect alongside the gazey atmospheres and doom soaked passages. Seemingly at home in any scenario that her and fellow band member Syd Scarlet can concoct between them, Tiffany's vocal chords offer a cold and ethereal attraction that although is devoid of positivity or optimism is still utterly addictive. Add in to the mix some feedback seeping guitars and cavernous percussion and Fvnerals soon start to create dense layers of murky and absorbing music. Even when the focus is more on the instrumentation (as with the powerful Rite) it is hard not to engage with the efforts here.

4. Spirit Adrift - Ghost at the Gallows - The anthems almost form an orderly queue here on this, Spirit Adrift’s fifth full-length offering. Catchy riffs and hooks spill forth aplenty from the beginning proper of Give Her to the River. Couple them with the equally instantaneous and memorable vocals and you have a winning formula for Ghost of the Gallows sticking around in your head for hours on end. Variety comes in various forms. Pace, tempo, structure, melody, and technical prowess. Tom Hardy is a fucking beast of a guitarist. His blooping and looping leads are one of the outstanding takeaways from the record. Possessing a near progressive edge to the work on the six strings, the opening to Barn Burner is a frenzied foray that brings instant variation from the tone set by the lengthier opening track.

5. KEN mode - VOID - Whilst there is a sense of fight to the record, there is a frustrating futility to that conflict, an underlying tone of defeat being known but the level of tenacity in the energy of the tracks refuses to admit defeat. Monotone bass lines and an often-deployed plodding rhythm compliment the dark edge to the lyrics well without ever making for dull or lifeless compositions either. There is a level of intrigue that I maintain in listening to this record that I do not often find with most releases nowadays. VOID certainly has something to say but it is not limiting itself to shouting in my face, nor is it hiding behind conjecture either.

6. Enforced - War Remains - Their energy levels here match Drain on their opus from this year but there is a more down and dirty element to Enforced that carries the aura of an Iron Reagan or even a Cro-Mags. Enforced are a fun band talking about serious topics. Revelling in highlighting the hypocrisy inherant in politics, religion and war, they blaze a bruising and scarring commentary on War Remains. It is a state of the world address without the bullshit, minus the glitter and with the turd firmly centre stage with all eyes forced toward it. This disdain exudes forth from War Remains in every gruff chant, every scathing riff and every predatory drum strike.

7. Drain - Living Proof - The experimentation ventures even further though on Living Proof with rapper, Shakewell guesting on Intermission and the band go off into dreamy yet catchy punk-pop on Good Good Things. Look beyond these more blatant breaks from the blueprint and you will note groove metal excursions - check out the solo on opening track Run your Luck for a prime piece of Dimebag worship - alongside the crossover familiarity. On the whole though, regardless of the medium used to deliver the message, it is clear that Drain have a lot to say on this album. That  smile on Sammy's face in virtually every band pic has a snarl behind it with some venomous content to keep those hardcore vibes on the menu. With such a brief run time it would be easy for the record to pass you by, but it is so damn punchy and gnarly (as well as downright catchy as fuck in places), you find yourself actively listening to the whole album.

8. Hexvessel - Polar Veil - Having heard the previous album (Kindred) from some three years ago, it is fair to say the band have gotten heavier this time around and I can only hope this trajectory is maintained on future releases. They still have a healthy mix of styles present here though that compliment each other nicely and so I am equally eager to hear that this blending of influences is alo retained moving forwards.

9. Mizmor - Prosaic - There is little to no hope present in the messaging of the record. It is an utterly immersive yet incredibly punishing experience as Liam lays bare his range of complex and deep emotions across one of the most desolate soundscapes you will hear this year. When in full flow, his music is thunderous and powerful but there is still a near constant scathing edge to proceedings on Prosaic. Admidst all the dark density there is a real sense of frustration and a degee of futility being expressed also that personalises that darkness and frames it perfectly.

10. Fen - Monuments to Absence - The punishing drums and grim vocals serve as ample reminder of where Fen’s heart lies when it comes to the driving force behind the band, it is just that there is plenty of room on this album to accommodate so much more musical direction as well. Monuments to Absence is a big sounding record, albeit one that never quite achieves a Drudkh level of expansiveness. It still successfully marries the intensity of black metal with the relentless beauty of nature though and steers the listener down some different avenues of exploration.

[RelentlessOblivion]

Considering I listened to about a dozen albums that were released in 2023 and only liked three of them enough to pick them up. Well, let’s just say by the time I’m ready to put in a list of my own it’s probably going to be 2026

[GoatmasterGeneral]

34 minutes ago, RelentlessOblivion said:

Considering I listened to about a dozen albums that were released in 2023 and only liked three of them enough to pick them up. Well, let’s just say by the time I’m ready to put in a list of my own it’s probably going to be 2026

Now I have to ask, what were the three albums you liked enough to pick up in 2023?

[FatherAlabaster]

Considering how many months this year I spent out of the loop and how few albums I've heard, a list of the ones that I happened to like enough to get sucked into and play all the time for a while would be utterly meaningless, so here it is.

Thy Darkened Shade - Liber Lvcifer II: Mahapralaya

Blut Aus Nord - Disharmonium: Nahab

Dødheimsgard - Black Medium Current

Krallice - Mass Cathexis 2/The Kinetic Infinite

Enslaved - Heimdal 

Afterbirth - In But Not Of

Fen - Monuments To Absence

_____

Some albums I liked enough to save or buy that I want to spend more time with:

Anachronism - Meanders

Sól Án Varma - s/t

Slidhr - White Hart!

культура курения - Полночь в Новосибирске

Acausal Intrusion - Panpsychism

Baring Teeth - The Path Narrows

Jute Gyte - Unus Mundus Patet

Furia - Huta Luna

Lunar Chamber - Shambhallic Vibrations EP

_____

In another year filled with the usual soul-sucking try-hard genre retreads getting pumped up by clickbait websites staffed by rootless hacks who think a few years of experience with their own personal touchstones gives them special insight into some objective truth about the quality of new releases, the above albums, along with some others I'm doubtless forgetting, gave me a modicum of hope.

3 hours ago, MacabreEternal said:

My list.  These have excerpts of full reviews I have written elsewhere on the internet so may not always make perfect narrative sense and I am too lazy to edit.

 

1. BAN - Disharmonium: Nahab - The true talent that any good BAN record has is its ability to fill any room that it is playing in. Disharmonium: Nahab does this brilliantly. There is always a multitude of things going on with any track on here. Haunting and melancholic melodies carve slow cuts out of the very atmosphere around the listener whilst dense atmospherics constantly plunge you into some further incalculable fathom to try and orientate yourself with. 

2. Miserere Luminis - Ordalie - This sense of being propelled by the rhythm of the record whilst being caressed by the applied melodies and atmospheres I found to be quite unsettling at first. However, I soon settled into this slightly esoteric pattern with repeated listens and feel like the album becomes more accessible with each listen. Ordalie does not need to dredge the depths of extremity to get its message across and nor does it need to rely on excessive shrouding of atmospherics to simply make its mark. Instead, it creates a clever maelstrom of the required component parts to deliver what is ultimately a clean and concise sounding record overall.

3. FVNERALS - Let the Earth Be Silent - The haunting vocals of Tiffany Ström are perfect alongside the gazey atmospheres and doom soaked passages. Seemingly at home in any scenario that her and fellow band member Syd Scarlet can concoct between them, Tiffany's vocal chords offer a cold and ethereal attraction that although is devoid of positivity or optimism is still utterly addictive. Add in to the mix some feedback seeping guitars and cavernous percussion and Fvnerals soon start to create dense layers of murky and absorbing music. Even when the focus is more on the instrumentation (as with the powerful Rite) it is hard not to engage with the efforts here.

4. Spirit Adrift - Ghost at the Gallows - The anthems almost form an orderly queue here on this, Spirit Adrift’s fifth full-length offering. Catchy riffs and hooks spill forth aplenty from the beginning proper of Give Her to the River. Couple them with the equally instantaneous and memorable vocals and you have a winning formula for Ghost of the Gallows sticking around in your head for hours on end. Variety comes in various forms. Pace, tempo, structure, melody, and technical prowess. Tom Hardy is a fucking beast of a guitarist. His blooping and looping leads are one of the outstanding takeaways from the record. Possessing a near progressive edge to the work on the six strings, the opening to Barn Burner is a frenzied foray that brings instant variation from the tone set by the lengthier opening track.

5. KEN mode - VOID - Whilst there is a sense of fight to the record, there is a frustrating futility to that conflict, an underlying tone of defeat being known but the level of tenacity in the energy of the tracks refuses to admit defeat. Monotone bass lines and an often-deployed plodding rhythm compliment the dark edge to the lyrics well without ever making for dull or lifeless compositions either. There is a level of intrigue that I maintain in listening to this record that I do not often find with most releases nowadays. VOID certainly has something to say but it is not limiting itself to shouting in my face, nor is it hiding behind conjecture either.

6. Enforced - War Remains - Their energy levels here match Drain on their opus from this year but there is a more down and dirty element to Enforced that carries the aura of an Iron Reagan or even a Cro-Mags. Enforced are a fun band talking about serious topics. Revelling in highlighting the hypocrisy inherant in politics, religion and war, they blaze a bruising and scarring commentary on War Remains. It is a state of the world address without the bullshit, minus the glitter and with the turd firmly centre stage with all eyes forced toward it. This disdain exudes forth from War Remains in every gruff chant, every scathing riff and every predatory drum strike.

7. Drain - Living Proof - The experimentation ventures even further though on Living Proof with rapper, Shakewell guesting on Intermission and the band go off into dreamy yet catchy punk-pop on Good Good Things. Look beyond these more blatant breaks from the blueprint and you will note groove metal excursions - check out the solo on opening track Run your Luck for a prime piece of Dimebag worship - alongside the crossover familiarity. On the whole though, regardless of the medium used to deliver the message, it is clear that Drain have a lot to say on this album. That  smile on Sammy's face in virtually every band pic has a snarl behind it with some venomous content to keep those hardcore vibes on the menu. With such a brief run time it would be easy for the record to pass you by, but it is so damn punchy and gnarly (as well as downright catchy as fuck in places), you find yourself actively listening to the whole album.

8. Hexvessel - Polar Veil - Having heard the previous album (Kindred) from some three years ago, it is fair to say the band have gotten heavier this time around and I can only hope this trajectory is maintained on future releases. They still have a healthy mix of styles present here though that compliment each other nicely and so I am equally eager to hear that this blending of influences is alo retained moving forwards.

9. Mizmor - Prosaic - There is little to no hope present in the messaging of the record. It is an utterly immersive yet incredibly punishing experience as Liam lays bare his range of complex and deep emotions across one of the most desolate soundscapes you will hear this year. When in full flow, his music is thunderous and powerful but there is still a near constant scathing edge to proceedings on Prosaic. Admidst all the dark density there is a real sense of frustration and a degee of futility being expressed also that personalises that darkness and frames it perfectly.

10. Fen - Monuments to Absence - The punishing drums and grim vocals serve as ample reminder of where Fen’s heart lies when it comes to the driving force behind the band, it is just that there is plenty of room on this album to accommodate so much more musical direction as well. Monuments to Absence is a big sounding record, albeit one that never quite achieves a Drudkh level of expansiveness. It still successfully marries the intensity of black metal with the relentless beauty of nature though and steers the listener down some different avenues of exploration.

Most of this is white on white, and I thought the forum wasn't loading it, but once I highlighted it to read, cool beans.

[JonoBlade]

1 hour ago, FatherAlabaster said:

Considering how many months this year I spent out of the loop and how few albums I've heard, a list of the ones that I happened to like enough to get sucked into and play all the time for a while would be utterly meaningless, so here it is.

This is how I feel most years.

In my bandcamp collection I count about 25 album purchases released in 2023. There are 80 odd albums total bought this year. How much would a Spotify subscription have been?

They are:

Ahab, Tentacult, Profane Order, Mork, Verminous Serpent, Akercocke (but live albums shouldn't count), Howling Giant, Green Lung, Incantation, Horrendous, Dying Fetus, Weald & Woe, Torpor, Urne, KK's Priest, Bull Elephant, Gozer (but EPs shouldn't count), Sulphur Aeon, Tomb Mold, Beastwars (but covers albums shouldn't count), Wayfarer, Blood Incantation (see EP), Boss Keloid, AFSKY, Phobocosm, King Gizzard & The Lizzard Wizard, Cattle Decapitation

This is just for context, because I'm not sure of how many of the above I consider truly great. I have the whole discography of Wayfarer, Green Lung, Boss Keloid and Howling Giant but I can't say I was wowed by their latest. I mean, they are good but not masterpieces and, since they don't meet that impossibly high and unfair standard, I was disappointed.

As for Sulphur Aeon, I wouldn't say "disappointed". It was exactly what I expected and sounds like every other album they've done. They are the AC/DC of Lovecraftian blackened death metal...or deathened black metal.

Same goes for Dying Fetus. No one expects them to reinvent the wheel at this point. I like Dying Fetus so I like the 2023 album. 

The last two came from a you tube video I randomly watched from Banger TVs top 5 as voted by viewers. All 5 were decent. I'd never heard Cattle Decapitation, at number 1 according to Banger viewers, before. The lyrical subject matter is right up my alley. I like it well enough. Reminds me of the same ballpark as Cephalic Carnage and, like them, I'll probably only ever own one album but it may as well be this. Terrasite | Cattle Decapitation (bandcamp.com)

King Gizzard on the other hand is a revelation. I had heard it (thanks @markm!) before seeing the Banger top 5 list but went back to reassess. Have now concluded that these guys rule so I would put PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation | King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard (bandcamp.com) right up there.

Of the others from my purchases, these are good enough for a mention and link:

The Malign Covenant | Verminous Serpent (bandcamp.com) My actual favourite black metal band by a long way this year is Weigedood. They can do no wrong. However, I did listen to this Verminous Serpent album quite a lot earlier in the year.

Unholy Deification | Incantation (bandcamp.com) Its solid and I listened to it a lot in that week or two after picking up.

Ontological Mysterium | Horrendous (bandcamp.com) was number 3 on the Banger TV list and the host didn't even like it much. As discussed in another post, this is "fun" dammit.

The Sinner Rides Again | KK Downing / KK's Priest (bandcamp.com) listing merely in solidarity with @JamesT. It's a good album and I am fairly sure I am going to continue liking it more than the 2024 Priest album.

Om hundrede år | AFSKY (bandcamp.com) another @markm reccie. I play it once a day at the moment, to get my money's worth. Same with Foreordained | Phobocosm | Dark Descent Records (bandcamp.com)

Finally, an album which won't make anyone else's list: The Long War | Bull Elephant (bandcamp.com). Great artwork, ridiculous lyrical concept, lumbering death doom. I probably listened to this more than anything other album, but that doesn't mean it's any good to anyone else.

Luminescent Bridge (24-bit HD Audio) | Blood Incantation | Century Media Records (bandcamp.com) would have easily had the most plays and was merely an EP. If the next album is along these lines, that is all I need. So long as it is capped at 40 minutes.

[GoatmasterGeneral]

I can vaguely remember the days when I'd typically only have 25 or 30 new albums purchased by the end of a given year. But that ship has sailed long ago, for the last 8 - 10 years or so my new release purchases now number in the hundreds each year. This year I was a little bit better, I kept it under 300 after going over 400 a couple of times. But it's really my only hobby, I don't go on trips or spend that much money on anything else anymore besides food really. The hunt for new releases makes me happy and digital albums are relatively cheap, like a flat white. So as long as brutal caveman death metal, cavernous black/death and face ripping Norsecore remain in style and readily available I'm gonna keep loading up on them, because I know this goat metal renaissance ain't gonna last forever. I guess if I only had 25 albums from 2023 to choose from I could whip up my list in about 10 minutes.

[AlSymerz]

10 hours ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

If you keep on going at this rate Orca, I might actually have to start paying attention to the shit you post!

That's it I'm changing my list. Did Motley Crue or Poison release anything last year?

 

[Thatguy]

5 hours ago, FatherAlabaster said:

Most of this is white on white, and I thought the forum wasn't loading it, but once I highlighted it to read, cool beans.

Thanks . I had presumed there was nothing there. And you have out smart-arsed me, Macabre.

 

[RelentlessOblivion]

8 hours ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

Now I have to ask, what were the three albums you liked enough to pick up in 2023?

That would be Afterbirth, Fossilization, and Verminous Serpent, in a rarity for me I didn’t even enjoy the new releases from Ahab or Mournful Congregation enough to purchase

[GoatmasterGeneral]

Didn't even know what the hell you guys were talking about, but then I remembered you mostly all still view the forum with black text on a white background. I view it with white text on a black background. So I saw his post just fine. 

[GoatmasterGeneral]

3 hours ago, RelentlessOblivion said:

That would be Afterbirth, Fossilization, and Verminous Serpent

All three of them are on my short list. Verminous Serpent is still probably my AOTY, and Fossilization is easily top 3 in the black/death category. Still on the fence about Afterbirth, I do enjoy the album but I've never had a progressive album on one of my lists before. How can I be sure if I like the album strictly on its own merits or could it be partly because I'm friends with Cody? A few more spins and I'm sure the answer will reveal itself to me. 

I just want to say dude, if you've only grabbed three albums then you've missed some truly great music this past year. At least from this old goat's perspective anyway. 

 

NP: Tsjuder - Helvegr, Norway

 

[Thatguy]

20 minutes ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

Verminous Serpent is still probably my AOTY,

Sigh. Watery shiraz.