the Top 10 Mainstream Metal Albums of 2023

Mainstream Metal is defined here as the middle of the road that does not lean too far in the direction of other genres that have their own lists. Power Metal and Thrash are the two most common sub-genres and are considered just renaming this the top 10 Power Metal and Thrash albums, but who knows what the future will bring so left it as is. 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 Mainstream Metal albums of 2023.

10-Overkill -"Scorched" 

. Bobby Ellsworth's voice is still intact at 63, so that is half the equation for success. He and D.D Verni are the remaining founder members of the band, but D.D. is writing the bulk of the songs, their sound is pretty much intact. The new-ish guitarists provide enough fretboard pyrotechnics to satisfy the average thrash fan.I am pleased with this album, and the risks they do take pay off though they mainly deliver what you want from them with well-aged grace,

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/04/overkill-scorched.html

9- Cirith Ungol  -"Dark Parade" 

 More of the band's lineup is intact than most bands whose careers reach back to the 70s. Greg Lindstrom and Robert Garven formed the band back in 1971. With vocalist Tim Baker joining them for their first album. Baker's snarl still works really well. Does he still have the Rob Halford-like wail that he carried for "Frost and Fire"? No, he is 66 years old. Rob Halford does not sound like Rob Halford did in 1981. I think the weathered pipes of Baker sound more metal now.  These guys have gotten a helluva a lot heavier if you compare this to their earlier work. More importantly to my ears, they also sound darker.  There is a less proto-doom sound and more of a crushing thrashed-out power metal feel. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/cirith-ungol-dark-parade.html

8-Prong -"State of Emergency" 

When I first heard "Beg to Differ" it was clear these guys were taking music in another direction as their staccato stomp was outside of where thrash was. Their new album does not take anything in a new direction, it does highlight what they did. The vocals find Tommy Victor's voice sounding as urgent as ever with little wear and tear over the years. it is way better than expected, they do not have to try very hard to blend into the current metal landscape

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/prong-state-of-emergency.html

6-Dead Never Sleep-"Origins of Evil"

There is something about this band's sound that hits a nostalgic place for the weird bridge certain bands made during the late 80s as music began to transition away from where metal was at the time. There was commonly more of a punk influence to these bands like Snake Nation, Angkor Wat, and Die Kreuzen . The odd blend of sonic colors they make use of compensates in a way that works for me. I look forward to what the future brings for these guys and hope it finds them moving in this darker direction the songs are pulled toward.  It's lots of fun and takes me back to a welcome place.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/08/dead-never-sleep-origins-of-evil.html

 5-Skamold -" Ýdalir " 

Even with the roar of their throaty vocals, these guys are more melodic than you might expect.  They bring in dynamic changes to offer everything you might want from the genre without devolving into drinking songs. I would say there is less theatrics than what Amon Amarth does. There is also a little less thrash to suggest they might be more influenced by both Manowar and Bathory depending on where you are at in the song what they do not do is wander off into folk atmosphere or throw themselves into black metal passages, instead sticking to a very deliberate manner of songwriting that still maintains a great deal of drive. This works for me as there are already many extremes in metal out today so to find a balance that lends itself to melody always works in my book.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/08/skalmold-ydalir.html

4-Heidevolk -"WederKeer" 

The Dutch metal band's 7th album finds some lineup changes in place, with Mat van Baest added as a lead guitarist and Awakening Sun Drummer Kevin van den Heiligenberg. Former Conorach vocalist Jacco de Wijs returns for his second album with the band. This makes the bass player the only original member. Their third album is my favorite, and it feels like this album is going to follow a similar path of applying traditional metal values and almost power metal-like hooks to the epic odes to Vikings. Being that they are south of the Baltic, I will not call them Viking metal as that is a term reserved for Scandinavian bands, no matter who liberal scholars might seek to revise history for their narrative. I appreciate where they are coming from and the Germanic myths seem to be sung with sincerity, so this is not total LARPing.They have taken what they do and perfected it while doing metal proud by sticking to the truest form.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/02/heidevolk-wederkeer.html

3-Kvelertak - "Endling" 

 Norway's most rocking punks are back. It's the same line-up that busted out "Splid'. At times things go off in a more jammy metallic direction, that spans sonically from an almost Blue Oyster Cult feel to very driven metal chugs. They do what they do without recycling ideas, and not selling out, and the band continues to evolve in all the best ways

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/08/kvelertak-endling.html

 

 

2-Metallica -"72 Seasons" 

As someone who bought "Master of Puppets" on cassette when it came out 38 years ago, you might think my expectations are high for their 11th album. This album grew on me despite some recycling and clock-punching, to keep it from being perfect, if you are a Metallica fan and wish the "Black Album' was more metal and free of power ballads then this album is for you. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/04/metallica-72-seasons.html

  1-Primordial - "How it Ends" 

It's been five years since the Irish pagan metallers released "Exile Amongst the Ruins". Their newest album finds them in the same saddle galloping toward an even grimmer horizon. In fact, the end of the world is the theme of their newest effort, which should be no surprise given the title. The album is in the mega epic vein you might associate with this band. With Nemtheanga's vocals soaring while still full of commanding grit. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/08/primordial-how-it-ends.html

Prong : "State of Emergency"

When I first heard "Beg to Differ" it was clear these guys were taking music in another direction as their staccato stomp was outside of where thrash was. While the opening track of their new album does not take anything in a new direction, it does highlight what they did. The vocals of the title track that follows this finds Tommy Victor's voice sounding as urgent as ever with little wear and tear from the years. It is melodically barked, so he is not belting it out like a Bruce Dickinson but pulls off what he needs to do to sell me on this. This is album thirteen for the band. The last album I heard from these guys was  " X - No Absolutes" which I gave an 8, back in 2016 when it came out. This time around Victor feels a little more inspired. 

"Breaking Point' stomps with more of a hardcore influence. It holds up well given today's musical climate. "Non-existence' uses a method of groove that keeps the album's momentum going. Victor reminds you he knows a thing about hooks. "Light Turns Black " feels like they are going to the well again with the formula that just worked for the previous song. The drumming feels a little more Slayer. You can not say this album is not in your face, in almost to a fault. The point continues to be pounded home with "Who Told Me". It is still effective given the sonic nuances they are thoughtful enough to sprinkle over the proceedings. The sheer weight of the chugged riffs this album is powered by will be enough for some. 

The chug slows to a more deliberate crunch going into "Obeisance".  I can hear more of a Killing Joke influence on this one. The is more atmosphere at the edges of the song to bring this out. Victor sings in a more post-punk manner than his metal bark on "Disconnected". This change of the formula is really all the need, and it makes this song stand out. "Compliant' falls into a head-bobbing groove some where between hardcore and nu-metal, which works better than the more cross-over thrash of "Back". They close the album with a cover of Rush's "Working Man" , they slow it down, and Victor sings an octave lower than Geddy which really only takes inspiration from the riff rather than being a cover of the song. Overall I will give this album a 9, it is way better than expected, they do not have to try very hard to blend into the current metal landscape. This drops October 5th. 

The Top 50 Thrash Albums of All Time 40- 31

Continuing out countdown of what is the most influential sub-genre of  metal . It opened the door for bands to play louder, harder and faster thus spawning Death metal, black metal, grind core etc.. yeah doom stayed on it's own path. The bands that came out of it are now considered the biggest bands in metal...I mean Metallica and Slayer, come one end of debate. Normally I try to limit it to one album per artist. There are some artists that had much more of an impact so they might get another entry or two. There is thrash ranging from proto-death metal to hard core to power metal bands that evolved with the times. I grew up during the rise of thrash and listened to it through out highschool so some of this is determined by which albums did I listen to the most as they came out and which have endured the test of time. Lets face it none of your Toxic Holocausts or Revocations can touch these bands. They are pretty much tribute bands in comparison.



40- Riot-" the Privledge of Power" 1990

There is still plenty of their more classic metal sound on this album, but the cover of Al Dimeola's "Racing with the Devil on a Spanish Highway" cements their place on this list. It might be the most power metal album on this list, but when they lay on the speed it proves why they are here.



39- Fates Warning- "No Exit" - 1988


 These guys shed some of the classic prog metal leaning for this more in your face release.


 

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The lyrics to this album go beyond the normal metal malarky. Technical yet groove riffs from a under rated band.





37-Forbidden- "Twisted into Form" -1990

Blended classic metal influences with catchy foreward thinking thrash.


 

36-Prong -"Beg to Differ"1990 

 These groove monsters were my first indication that metal was changing .






35-S.O.D-"Speak English or Die" 1985

When I listen to this album now I often think , what would happen if this album came out today. It gives a middle finger to everything, which is just what kids today need to hear so they are not such pussies.




34- Angkor Wat - "When Obscurity Becomes the Norm" 1989

1989 When this album came out the world was not ready for this band.

 

33-Dark Angel -"Leave Scars" 1989 

 "Darkness Descends" might be the album the so called metal purists might want here, but they do not know shit because the songs on this one are better.




32- Machine Head- "Burn My Eyes" 1994 

1994 Yeah tis band would eventually turn into shitty nu-metal, but how can you not sing along to the cry of " Let Freedom ring with a shotgun blast"



31- Diamond Head - "Behold the Beginning" 1980


Metallica really ripped these guys off . I mean you do not need "Kill'em All" on here since this album is where it came from . This might be the first thrash album, even though by today's standards it is rock n roll.


 

Prong : " X No Absolutes"

Yep, Prong was playing this kind of groove metal at the same time  Pantera...came riding out as the Cowboys from hell, which served as a turning point for metal .  On the opener of the band's new album they are just playing along with their own bandwagon that is much further down a road whose time has come. Tommy Victor is the only member from the  "Beg to Differ" line-up. "Sense of Ease" doesn't really find the band playing to the strengths of their signature sound and instead racing off into the kind of thrash they turned the tables on in 1990. "Without Words" holds a tighter groove that comes closer to making you snap your fingers and your neck with a very Killing Joke influenced chorus. "Cut and Dry" lives up to its name in providing a description of the brand of groove metal they engage in on this one. Some of the difference between this album and what happened 26 years ago is the production. Mark Dodson who produced "State of Euphoria" and " How Will I Laugh Tomorrow", was a forward thinking producer at the time. Here the band has more of you typical mall metal production which is the equivalent of if "Beg to Differ" was produced by Alex Perialas instead.

The more tighter staccato chug of "No Absolutes" finds the band playing closer to their strengths despite the more obvious hook of the chorus. The rest of the band get the job done with former Winds of Plague drummer behind the kick and ex- Stone Sour bassist holding down the bottom end. They dip into almost pop punk on the more melodic "Do Nothing". Victor's voice has grown stronger over the years and he is not just limited to the bark. His singing voice gets the job done, his range is not jaw dropping as he carries a modest tune. They beef things back up for "Belief System" that finds the band back in more classic territory. The guitar solo in this one shows Victor's playing has also improved after serving as Danzig's side man. They get into more of a proto-Nu Metal on "Soul Sickness", but Victor gets the job done where bands like Fear Factory got bogged down in redundancy. Then in turn they fall prey to similar glue sniffing doldrums on " In Spite of Hinderances' which thrashes about with no clear sense of target for it's de-manufactured aggression.

The bass line that opens "Ice Runs Through My Veins" could have taken the song in more of a post-punk direction, instead in stomps around typical post- Head Banger's Ball rock music. The Killing Joke influence is still there , but run through a filter of Linkin Park. The pop punk undertones are still haunting the song as well to make this more obvious. Then it's back to the late 80's for the thrash riff of "Worth Pursuing" as Victor's vocals coast over it much like Jaz Coleman of Killing Joke. They close out the album with the almost poppy "With Dignity" that brings Linkin Park to mind again. The hip-hop undertone are not there, but the guitar feels a little dialed back to bring the vocals up to a more radio friendly mix. Not sure this is the wisest direction to move in making the lyrics a little ironic. Listening to this album did make me go back and listen to "Beg to Differ" again and I'm sure I'll also give "Prove You Wrong" another spin, maybe even try out "Cleansing " which is where I parted ways with the band as I was well into death metal at that point and they just did not seem heavy anymore. This album starts off strong, the Linkin Park moments are far and few between, but the fact they exist made me round this one down to an 8, which is still better than just decent and if you are a fan of 90's groove metal then you will want to round this up.