It is not surprising that Black Metal's popularity has waned in the hipster metal scene . If people are calling it problematic then they are poseurs who were never into it in the first places as it has always represented misanthropic hate and nihilistic disdain for the world, These albums captured what black metal should be with very little compromise, as being the outsider sub-genre of metal, here is are band that exceled the most at it. After I sort trough 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 Black Metal albums of 2023.
10-Felsenmirror -"s/t"
They do have a dark sound and are very deliberate, which I prefer to a bunch of blast beats, If you were to take away the folk of Agalloch, long with the more technical side of their guitar work and replaced it with crust then you would get something close to what goes down here.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/02/black-metal-history-month-felsebmirror.html
9- Tulus -"Fandens Kall"
They are a piece of black metal history, as it features members of Khold. If you do not know Khold, but claim to like black metal then you are a poseur and should burn a church with yourself in it. Granted Khold is not as big of a name in Norwegian black metal as Darkthrone, Mayhem, Emperor or ... well you can see where this is going. They are most impressive due to the fact they retained their rock n roll sense of groove, making their songs catchier than your average blast fest. Or really any blast fest for that matter, since they all sound the same.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/02/black-metal-history-month-tulus-fandens.html
There is a darker more melodic throb. The bellowing vocals are the most black metal thing about the opening track. What I like about this album is two songs in and it is clear the darkness of the overall sound is the most black metal thing about this, as they are not hitting you with the normal metallic onslaught of blast beats. For that reason, there is something more honest in the sound.
Not as raw as many of their Finnish countrymen, there is a more deliberate and majestic feel . The vocals are multilayered, with both the anguished scowling of the more wretched larynx torture along with the softer more operatic intonations of Natalie from the Abbey. It's the melodic excursions that add more depth than their peers.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/02/black-metal-monachopsis-art-empty.html
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/04/ddheimsgard-black-medium-current.html
5-Cloak - "Black Flame Eternal "
This Atlanta band might have finally hit their creative stride with album number three. The songwriting stomps with more debilitation. The influence of Dissection is still here and heard on "With Fury and Allegiance". While fellow Atlantans Withered have flirted with black metal influence in the past , these guys are the first to really commit to it. The layers of guitar benefit from the evolution of production that hits the sweet spot on this album.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/05/cloak-black-flame-eternal.html
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/08/shining-st.html
3-Hexvessel - "Polar Veil"
With this project's 6th album, things have taken a turn to black metal. The metallic buzz of guitar casts chilling shadows behind the mournful vocal melody. It moves at more of a drone, but with the dreary chant of the vocals it somehow works. He does have a black metal past, so this is not a surprise in how these sounds are married. The fact this album takes the risk of showing clean vocals can hold down a black metal album elvevates it over the heavier release by Shining.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/07/hexvessel-polar-veil.html
2-Wayfarer- "American Gothic"
This band has gotten progressively better with each album. This one is more metallic than their last. The Western-tinged throb of guitar is still in the mix. They still hold plenty of snarls, though lean into a more deliberate double bass attack rather than adhering to the blast-beaten formula of black metal. The have gone deeper into their dusty brand of black metal, with more power and authority than Hexvessel earning them this spot.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/wayfarer-american-gothic.html
1-Downfall of Gaia -""Silhouettes Of Disgust"
This album is more black metal in its feeling than what I remember of the 2019 album. It is both darker and more aggressive. The soaring atmosphere still lingers, but not enough to stop this raging storm of sound they are creating here. The world is a darker and angrier place so this is fitting. It takes more chances than Wayfarer, who are also great song writers, but in more of a well-fitted groove, as Downfall of Gaia, is not content with a formula.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/02/black-metal-history-month-downfall-of.html
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