The Top 10 French Metal Bands

The world was just alerted to the fact that France exports metal as well. The band used to showcase this fact was great in 2005 when they released "From Mars to Sirrus" but went off in an almost nu-metal-like direction that has more in common with Machine Head than I might like. the band's more recent material has found too much of their tour mates Mastodon rubbing off on them. So in the interest of presenting a more accurate picture of what the best metal France has to offer,  Acts like Perturbator who are just metal adjacent but a synth wave band won't appear, since even though I like them,  they are not suited for this list. Spoiler alert Alcest is not on this list either, they used metallic elements to add dynamics to their songs, but are So in the interest of presenting a more not a band in and of themselves. they make shoe-gaze for elves with bad attitudes. Who is on the list... a bunch of dark heavy bands that you are not likely seeing open for Korn anytime soon. 

10- Glorior Belli

This band went from black metal to a more Goatwhorish swampy sludge thrash. Here's hoping for another album from them before the world ends. 

   

9-Liquid Flesh

This Death Metal band from Grenoble is one of the newer bands on this list. They play a groovy style of death metal that honors the classic sound while being forward-thinking

 

 8-Vous Atres

Another new band these guys play a very dark and deliberate form of black metal that does not seek to follow the Scandinavian path but instead goes deeper into inner bleakness, as darkness becomes a tangible feeling with their sound.

 

 7-AU CHAMP DES MORTS

Former members of Anorexia Nervosa dropped an album in 2017 that was equal parts large and majestic in scope and possessed by a profoundly emotive atmosphere. 

 

6-The Great Old Ones 

This Bordeux-based band is not only HP Lovecraft-themed, but plays a post-rock-infused style of black metal that carries a dense sludge-ridden crunch, to capture the mood of the subject matter

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 5-Peste Noire

Black Metal could be captured as video games, these guys would be the sonic equivalent of Grand Theft Auto. They have the "I Don't Give a Fuck" attitude in short supply these days. At one time metal was a middle finger to the rest of the world, and these guys have that attitude, they are not afraid of who they offend nor should they be. 

 

4-Blut Aus Nord 

Who says LSD and depressing black metal don't mix? They work well together on the nightmarish throbbing sounds this band conjures. "The Work That Transforms God" is often considered the best album, but I enjoy their 777 trilogy. 

 3-Fange

This industrial sludge band from Rennes is one of the heaviest bands today. They took what Godflesh started and made it darker and more dismal. 

 

 

2-Igorrr

 They might have more in common with Mr. Bungle than your average metal band, Corpsegrinder lent his voice to their last album, so that says a great deal about where they are willing to go, even with all their quirky bells and whistles they are still heavier than Gojira

 1-Deathspell Omega

Dense progressive angular odes to darkness. Lots of bands pretend to be into the occult, these guys actually know what they are talking about and create seething evil, with a drummer who is criminally underrated even in the more extreme circles of metal. They took the number one spot because they typically sound more serious about what they were doing than Igorr, who is still a great band these guys are just heavier. 

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The Top 10 Death Metal Albums of 2023

There is no shortage of inspiration for death metal these days, as death is all around us. Perhaps that is why there has been such a huge outpouring of quality death metal this year. These albums celebrate annihilation in all of its forms.   These albums captured what death metal should be with very little compromise,  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 Death Metal albums of 2023.

10-Vastum - "Inward to Gethsemane"

The longest-running death metal band on 20 Buck Spin,  released another album of thoughtful death metal. Their full-on assaults find the band being mindful of creating a mood with darker depth. They dig deeper into a more old-school death metal influence while using odd syncopated touches and atmosphere to keep from sounding like another Morbid Angel rip off.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/11/vastum-inward-to-gethsemane.html

 

9- 200 Stab Wounds - "Slave to the Scalpel"

 This Cleveland band is going to the pack in making raw-boned death metal that leans into the grooves. a great deal of head-banging fun, and freshens a corpse that could have rotted in the hands of less capable songwriters. There is a great deal of listenablity that adds to it's replay value earning it this spot. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/11/200-stab-wounds-slave-to-scalpel.html

 

8-Liquid flesh - "Delores"

When it comes to a genre that is easy to get mired down in the heavy, these guys keep the songs in mind, This album is highly entertaining with the rock twist . France once again proves they do metal well and left of center when they take a twist into a proggy adventure. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/06/death-is-june-liquid-flesh-dolores.html

5-Tideless - "Eye of Water"

 Tideless is from California and makes an attempt to set themselves apart in their sophomore release. They have dialed back the hyper-aggression, and embark on something that has more in common with post-rock. They do some rather sonically stunning things and are onto something remarkable here, that makes for a great listen. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/07/tideless-eye-of-water.html

 

4-Obituary-"Dying of Everything"

 I was also not expecting the thrashing ass-kicking the opening track unleashes. Any concerns regarding this album living up to their established legacy were squashed. The more Slayer-like attack is balanced out by Tardy's distinctive voice reminding you that this is Obituary with his articulate sneer. This sits solidly next to the band's more classic work, which is something many of their peers cannot boast.  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/01/obituary-dying-of-everything.html

3-Cattle Decapitation- "Terrasite"

The main difference between this album and "Death Atlas" is the guitars have a more deliberate thrashing to their grooves. Things are not as blinding fast, but the riffs retain the razor-sharp aggression , but also well-constructed and hooky. The more sung vocals also come into play to give the songs more melodic depth than your average band engaging in this brand of heaviness can conjure on snarls alone.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/04/cattle-decapitation-terrasite.html

2-Horrendous - "Ontological Mysterium"

Horrendous extending themselves further into more of a jammy progressive, that has a more organic feel than what they did on "Idol" last time around. There are clean vocals placed at unpredictable points in the song. I appreciated guitar solos, but not someone normally impressed by shredding, take that into consideration when I tell you the guitar solos on this album improve the songs. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/07/horrendous-ontological-mysterium.html

1-Frozen Soul - "Glacial Domination"

This Texas band pulls from classic death metal without worshipping any band too religiously. Their strength is taking a riff and grooving it without compromising the heaviness, In this way there is a bit of Bolt Thrower in their DNA, but not enough to lump them in with bands who are clearly trying to re-live that band's glory days. I went into this album only aware of them by name, and by the end was a fan, thanks to hooky riff magic. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/05/frozen-soul-glacial-domination.html

Death is June - Liquid Flesh : "Dolores"

 

It is interesting as I was just reviewing Power Trip's 2017 album and pondering on how they are pretty much a hard core influenced death metal band expect for the fact the vocals are more punk. Listening to this album it shows how the vocals color the music more heavily than we realize. Guitar wise there is little that separates these guys from a band like Power Trip, aside from the low guttural vocals. It sets a darker mood and provides more heft for sure. The only problem with this band is when I looked away from the screen the first song transitioned in the second with out me noticing, which means they have a very uniform sound that makes the songs sound the same. Going forward  what I am listening for is for this band to prove me wrong in this regard. 

"Tapage Nocturne" has a more ambling groove, which clues me in as to why they are so quick to tag this as death n roll, as there is a slight Entombed feel to it. These guys keep songwriting in mind rather than just pummel you with riffs. The guitar solo also adds a bit more rock n roll color to things. "Dose letale Mediane is the first song that shifts the dynamics into something more melodic. It takes a jarring turn into a brisk jazzy saunter, before building up into double bass. I appreciate how it shows their abandonment of traditional song structures.  The solitary growl leads the way into "Tribunal Fantomatique" .  There is more of a death doom feel to this one. It drones forward, with no surprises. There is a denser and heavier rumble to "Ocean de Failes". It churns along the more left hand path here, though it is not as interesting as the previous songs, but not dialed in either. 

"Cauchemar Blanc" twists around with the angular grooves of it's riffs not unlike old Opeth. The vocals sit further back in the mix on this one. Then on the following song they take a turn back in a more death doom direction. Sure this is heavy as hell, but is it as inspired? Well the more winding prog tendency that they flirted with on a few songs unfurls a little more with some of the wandering riffs. For "Sans Relache" they plow into the heaviest assault to your ears  of the album so far. They close things out with a creepy doomy piece that at just over seven minutes is the album's longest song. In terms of sonic colors it is dark and gritty, and does not introduce anything new to the album, but proves proficient for what it is.  I will give this album a 9, as when it comes to a genre that is easy to get mired down in the heavy, these guys keep the songs in mind , are very entertaining with the rock twist that comes up time to time.France once again provess they do metal well and left of center.