The Top 10 Metal Albums of 2023

We continue to need heavy music more than ever this year. This is the culmination of all the other metal lists. Yes, I have done other metal lists for other blogs, and I see them as being a refining process for when I make this list. So, while the result may have varied, this is the final word. I know many of you are ready for 2023 to be over with. Hate to break it to you but if you are watching what goes down in the world daily, 2024 might be the last year, of experiencing life as we know it . The very fact these bands made it on the list means they are the cream of the crop 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. Sure, you can bitch and complain about your favorite band not being on the list. However, I listen to five new albums a day so yes, I heard your favorite album and was not impressed. No, I do not care what you think about it. I hope you can find your next favorite on this list and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out audio on these guys. Anyway here are the top 10 Metal albums of 2023

10-Nebulae Come Sweet-"De Lumi​è​re" 

This band out of Belarus caught me by surprise, as they go above and beyond to take things in a different direction. This album came out in March and sadly flew under the radar. They feel more European than American in the almost classical manner they go about this. They blend dark melodic brooding with big grandiose choruses. They prove just because you are singing it does not mean you can not do so in a commanding fashion that has balls to it. An album full of dark wonderment. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/nebulae-come-sweet-de-lumiere.html

9-Fuming Mouth -"Last Day of Sun" 

This album of crusty death metal-infused anger grew on me with each listen. They lean into more of hard-core's punk side with the drumming putting them in the sonic zip code of bands like Ringworm  I appreciate the lyrical sentiments, and the overall oppressive mood, that still leaves room for melody shows they care about songwriting, but do not have to compromise to do so. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/11/fuming-mouth-last-day-of-sun.html

8-Horrendous - "Ontological Mysterium"

Horrendous extending themselves further into a jammy progressive, with 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 only some people are 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

 

7- Will Haven - "VII" 

They hit you with hammering hardcore and manage to pack in a dense atmosphere. The syncopated chugs create the apex of breakdowns.  If you grew up listening to nu-metal but matured into metallic hardcore, then this is the album for you. Really if you like heavy music colored by atmosphere this album is also for you as well. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/06/will-haven-vii.html

6- Mansion- Second Death 

This Finnish band does doom most uniquely at times they blend a minimalist folk not unlike what a  cult would sing as their mantra, as they lurch along in a very creepy manner. The tangible darkness of the music is heavier than the distortion of the guitars of the volume, though they are capable of applying those dynamics as well. I think they tap into cool dark places that few go in a new way. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/11/november-is-doom-mansion-second-death.html

5-Dreamwell -"In My Saddest Dreams, I Am Beside You" 

This is not the heaviest band on the list, but they are the most extreme metal band whose songs beg for you to listen to them more than the other bands on this list. They shift from black gaze to more melodic forms of hardcore and harsher expressions of metal. Their singer is a pivotal force in what enables these transformations. Sometimes hard-core shouted vocals bring the abrasion crashing against the transcendence, which is littered oddly with blast beats. It is not the first time I have heard screamo blended with black metal, but this is done in an angular fashion that is more unique.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/12/dreamwell-in-my-saddest-dreams-i-am.html

 

4-the Lion's Daughter -"Bath House" 

There is a great deal going on with this album. The synths are very present in the mix going into the otherwise hammering open song. Throaty vocals are aggressive but howled more than growled. Sung vocals often emote over what is a  more brooding turn for the band. There is an ominous feel to counterbalance the more grandiose feel. I really enjoyed this one it's an improvement over what they did on "Skin Show" This album grew on me, and carries great depth.  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/the-lions-daughter-bath-house.html

 

3-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 songwriters, 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

2-Harm's Way - "Common Suffering" 

After being convinced to check them out upon hearing the "Undertow" single featuring the singer of King Woman, I was surprised by the rest of the album, which hits in the way that I typically want my hardcore to slap me. Harm's Way has a gritty musculature to the riffs, and the vocals punch in all the right places to rally the head bob inducing syncopations shift with a groove. There is a great deal of emotion to the construction of the songs that paints things in a bleak shade of gray rather than just being the macho in-your-face beat down you might expect this to be

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/harms-way-common-suffering.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

the Top 10 Progressive Albums of 2023

When it comes to prog, few bands actually progress. Most that claim to be a part of this genre, just wank around with an overabundance of guitar solos that the songs are merely bookends for, rather than serving songs that go somewhere.  The bands that made this year's top 10 list, are taking you places with their songs. There are some guitar solos here and there, but shredding is not the emphasis, nor is using odd time signatures for the sake of just doing so. Some of these bands are more metallic and a few albums even flirt with pop at times. These are not the coolest prog 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 Progressive albums of 2023.

10-Hawkwind - "The Future Never Waits" 

With 81-year-old Dave Brock as the sole surviving member of the band, I was not sure what to expect. Nik Turner is the member I am sure to miss the most, but it seems keyboardist Thighpaulsandra who has played with Spiritualized, is making huge contributions to the sound, as it is more focused on the space part of the space rock equation and rocking less. Though I am not sure how heavy I want an 81-year-old man to rock it. Brock answers this to a certain extent in "the End". There is a more fuzzed-out guitar tone that comes in though it is whisked off into the cosmos with the swirl of synths around it that are jostling for position in the mix.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/05/hawkwind-future-never-waits.html

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9-Megafauna-"Olympico" 

What sets this Texas band apart from the pack is how the vocals of Dani Neff , are sugary in a pop fashion that does not succumb to normal pop sensibilities. There is harder rocking under the surface of these songs. From the onset of this album, she declares the time has come to "say goodbye to normal people" and that becomes their mission statement. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/04/megafauna-olympico.html

8-Blood Ceremony- 'The Old Ways Remain"

 This band was lumped into the "vest metal" movement over a decade ago when female-fronted proto-metal bands were gathering some steam. These days the band owes less to Coven and more to Jethro Tull, not just due to the flute solos, but the overall jammy vibe that goes down. This sounds like it came from 1968, with the double-tracked vocals of their frontwoman, now fully aware of what they are  creating here

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/05/blood-ceremony-old-ways-remain.html

7-Vanishing Kids- "Miracle of Death" 

Here is the 6th album from this progressive collective that is pushing the bong in a darker more atmospheric direction for this album. By the time it gets to the guitar solos things have wandered into a more doom-like jam, with the drums crashing around it. While the darker more atmospheric textures are present the guitar keeps things in a more metallic direction with a sense of adventure that sometimes even leans into a blues-like swagger.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/vanishing-kids-miracle-of-death.html

6-Yakuza- "Sutra"

Chicago Avant - Guardians are back. It's been over ten years since their last release. There is a more focused intention to bring the heavy here. Bruce Lamont, moans with more anger over the off-kilter riffs that are framed with dissonance. A return to form for the band though takes close notes from their peers.,thus making a Highly enjoyable listen,

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/04/yakuza-sutra.html

5-Enslaved -"Heimdal" 

The band finds ways to keep it fresh 16 years later. Only two original members, though guitarist Ice Dale has been in the band since before black metal became cool and anyone knew who Enslaved were ...well at least in America. They bring new sounds to the table, making it more impressive that they can keep pumping out songs that are this inspired 16  albums later. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/03/enslaved-heimdal.html

4-Riverside - " ID. Entity"

Sure, there are big rock moments, but it has more in common with Tears For Fears than Dream Theater, which is fine by me. This Polish band has been around for over 20 years now, so I am well aware of who they are. I like how unlike many so-called progressive bands they have actually allowed their sound to progress. How progressive would they be if they were still doing what they were doing back in 2001? 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/01/riverside-id-entity.html

3-Nebulae Come Sweet -"De Lumi​è​re"

This band out of Belarus caught me by surprise, as they go above and beyond to take things in a different direction. This album came out in March and sadly flew under the radar. They feel more European than American in the almost classical manner they go about this. They blend dark melodic brooding with big grandiose choruses. They prove just because you are singing it does not mean you can not do so in a commanding fashion that has balls to it. An album full of dark wonderment. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/nebulae-come-sweet-de-lumiere.html

2- Peter Gabriel -"i/o"

After 21 years Gabriel is releasing his first album of new original songs. At the ripe age of 73, Gabriel's voice sounds great. It is progressive rock that is more adventurous than other artists on mainstream rock radio though not as wild as say what he did with Genesis back on "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway". Impressive that he is still capable of doing this into his 70s, as his work is more vocally challenging than say the Rolling Stones. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/12/peter-gabriel-io.html

  1-Katatonia - "Sky Void of Stars" 

This album is not at all produced like a metal album.  There are some interesting jazz-like layers of guitars, blended with a wide scope of electronic sounds. This is clearly more of a progressive rock album and thankfully falls on the darker side of that genre. The gloomy Swedes find their take on prog to be coated in slithering darkness, which finds the band continuing to evolve even this late in their career.  The emotive refinement of their songs is what gives them the top spot. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2022/12/katatonia-sky-void-of-stars.html

Nebulae Come Sweet : "De Lumi​è​re"

This band out of Belarus caught me by surprise, as they go above and beyond to take things in a different direction. This album came out in March and sadly flew under the radar. They feel more European than American in the almost classical manner they go about this. They blend dark melodic brooding with big grandiose choruses. They prove just because you are singing it does not mean you can not do so in a commanding fashion that has balls to it. There is a progressive current to their songwriting, though perhaps at their core they are a doom band. 

They are not afraid to use saxophones to lead into "Candor". The song has a dark progressive slither as the notes swirl around before the more Opeth-like riff kicks in. The way they use atmosphere is more recent Tool than say Electric Wizard or even Pallbearer. They ride the line between doom and progressive. The vocals come closer to Pink Floyd than Black Sabbath. Rather than get heavier for the climax the guitars build the sonic dynamics. "Splendor" is even more romantic in its introspection. It moves almost more like a shoe-gaze song until the drums pick up the pace. It is not until the final moments of the song that the guitars crunch down in a metallic manner. 

"Claritas" finds things gaining momentum to build into a stomping metallic throb. The vocals are belted more aggressively. It builds impressively to ebb down to a fragile piano melody. "Fulgor" is a dramatic shift into tormented darkness. Some spoken musings fill in the gaps, but the screamed vocals are full of pain, in a manner that excedes black metal when it comes to sounding unhinged. It however sounds cool,. but feels more like an interlude than a song. 

The songs flow really well on this album. Melancholy strings lead out from the wash of ambient synths that closed the previous song when "Lux" stirs to life. It builds into a more sludge-like pound. With the vocals erupting into a coarse roar. The range they cover is impressive. This makes both ends of the spectrum more effective. The last song is an instrumental that serves as more of an extended outro, that feels like a real song in the light of the compositions this album has already displayed. But as it stands I will give this album a 9.5, and see how it grows on me even if I am unsure what exactly I am listening to.