The Top 10 Hard Rock Albums of 2023

Hard Rock is defined here as being, more aggressive than rock n roll,, but not dark or mean enough to be considered by Metal, by anyone who knows anything about metal.  These are not the coolest albums, but the best, fuck what other blogs say,   After I sort through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I use those lists to compile the top 10 albums of the year. 2023. The very fact these bands made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all, we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. Perhaps you can find your next favorite on this list; and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out the audio on these guys. Anyway here are the top 10 Hard Rock albums of 2023.

10- Land of the Lost - "Weapons of Mass Seduction" 

 For a band to take the time to learn another artist's song and then take even more time to record it must mean that the song holds value to them. Or they would be focusing on their own songs. This makes their choices more telling. They put a lot of heart into covers of Billy Idol, Judas Priest, and Bronski Beat, along with beefed-up takes on pop songs. Harms' great voice makes it worth the ride. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/12/lord-of-lost-weapons-of-mass-seduction.html

9-Spirit Adrift- " Ghost at the Gallows" 

Spirit Adrift continues to be pretty consistent in terms of songwriting. Their newest album finds its final form becoming more soulful and melodic, while the energy fires up for the 70s-tinged swagger. There are plenty of chugs to appease metal fans despite a more Thin Lizzy-like mood beginning to creep in. This can also be heard in bands like Mastodon and Baroness, whose Spirit Adrift sounds to be taking a place next to the upper tiers of modern hard rock.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/08/spirit-adrift-ghost-at-gallows.html

 8-Nita Strauss  - "Call of the Void" 

As expected the new solo album from Alice Cooper guitarist opens with an instrumental that is high on the shred factor. She does this with melody and it sounds like it could conceivably still be a song rather than take you on a mind-bender of high-speed picking. I think this album does an ample job of showing who she is as a guitarist

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/07/nita-strauss-call-of-void.html

 7-Till Lindemann--"Zunge" 

The singer from Rammstein is debuting his solo album.  He had help from Sky Van Hoff of Machinemade God who has also produced albums for Rammstein, as well as other German metal bands like Kreator and Caliban. Carach Angren keyboardist Clemens Wijers also lent a hand to things. This album has some strong moments and more often than not delivers what you want from him even without Rammstein. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/12/till-lindemann-zunge.html

6-Djunah-"Femina Furens"

Here is the problem with the diversity push that spread into music, when a woman comes along making music worth listening to and thoughtful perspectives on her feminine experience are brought to the table, if it does not fit neatly into a marketing box then it falls under the radar. I can not believe there is no more buzz about this album, yet a bunch of garbage gets pushed down our throats regularly. In many ways, this could have come from the 90s. There is a grungy grit to the guitars. Sometimes their music has the blistering blitz of PJ Harvey's early days if coupled with beefier metallic bombast. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/03/djunah-femina-furens.html

 

5-Polkadot Cadaver - "Echoes Across the Hellscape" 

Where Dog Fashion Disco is more heavily influenced by Mr Bungle, these guys are straightforward melodic hard rock with a progressive slant. The songs are well written, playing it safe at times with  with strong melodies and interesting lyrics.nd really shines when it comes to songwriting on this one. Not metal for people who like the kind of metal we dive into here, as they will consider this harder-edged rock. Either way, it's very effective. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/12/polkadot-cadaver-echoes-across-hellscape.html

4-In This Moment - "Godmode" 

In This Moment has shifted through a few stylistic personas throughout their career. My favorite was the hyper-sexualized industrial grooves they dug into for their latex-clad "Blood" album. At 45 Maria Brink seems to be aware that dishing out the kind of aggressively erotic purring of the past, might have a more limited shelf life.  That is not to say she is ready to settle down onto the stages of  Vegas. She leans into the nu-metal resurgence. Not hitting as hard as Coal Chamber, but blending pop hooks with hard rocking riffage. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/gothtober-in-this-moment-godmode.html

3-Mutoid Man -"Muntants" 

Cave-In vocalist/guitarist Stephen Brodsky, is releasing the 3rd full-length from his sludge-tinged rock band. Joining him again is Converge drummer Ben Koller, who has been on board since the project's inception. This time around High On Fire bassist Jeff Matz is in the band. There is a rock feel thanks to Brodsky's smooth vocal delivery, but ample bout of math rock in collision with punk energy. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/07/mutoid-man-mutants.html

2- Spotlights - "Alchemy For the Dead" 

 This trio's sound has continued to evolve, as it does not place them somewhere between the shoe-gazing side of post-hardcore and sludge.  The latter is felt in the ominous punches that muscle through the more surreal tension being built. This album benefits from more fine-tuned production that allows for experimentation to pay off with the electronic sound dialed into the drums. The mix helps place each instrument where needed to make the most of its sound. This album gets better with each listen, and the shadows of its mood seep into your head.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/03/spotlights-alchemy-for-dead.html

 1-Code  Orange - "Above" 

 I have been pretty invested in this band's career since being blown away by their 2017 album "Forever".  They broke away from the conventions of hardcore, which they continued to perfect with "Underneath". This set pretty high expectations for this album. Once I accepted the fact that they were no longer playing metal, I was able to really enjoy this album. It was tough to let go of this idea as they are still rather punchy in places, but they owe more to late 90s rock than hardcore or even nu-metal here.It is wonderfully written and shows there is no limit to what they are capable of. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/code-orange-above.html