the Top 10 Extreme Metal Albums of 2023

Extreme metal encompasses many sub-genres, all of which shun mainstream aspirations with their commitment to intensity, but that is not to say that these albums are the heaviest ever, as all of the albums listed in our Top 10 Extreme Metal Albums of 2023 list are very song-oriented, some even have melody, perhaps this year even more so than the past. The bands here did not fit neatly into other genre lists, because they blended other harsh genres, such as black metal or hardcore into these warped versions of grindcore or screamo.  They are all very dark and lash out with their own forms of sonic fury, but they are the albums that proved best at it.  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 Extreme Metal albums of 2023.

10-Melancholia - 'Book of Ruination" 

There is something about this raw crusty attack combined with a memorably melodic hook to its savage riff that My ears find compelling. The drummer is really serious. There is a jazz-like manner in which he turns some of his percussive phrasing around. The organic nature of the recording sounds like they are jamming in their rehearsal space you stumbled in on their creative moment. The punchy attack is relentless, but they are hitting you with worthwhile riffing. This album is a  testament to the quality stuff Brutal Panda is putting out these days. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/11/melancholia-book-of-ruination.html

9-Bandit- 'Siege of Self" 

Philly grinders are perfecting this brand of death grind. The guitars are the most death metal in their approach. The vocals are screamed in a manner of many extreme sub-genres of metal. The guitar solo on the title track seems to be more intent on just causing chaos.They rage while still writing catchy riffs. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/12/bandit-siege-of-self.html

8-Rana- "Richtfeuer" 

This German band hits a sweet place of sonic darkness. They carry a crusty pulse before they throw themselves into a malicious black metal blast. The more hard-core stomp this evolves into owes a debt to their crustier side. feel that represents how well they wove these sounds together. I can understand why some might think of this as black gaze, but there is a great deal more going on here. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/12/rana-richtfeuer.html

 

7-the Sept-  "MMXXIII" 

This Irish band is a late entry into this year's metal race, but a weird and wonderful one. They balance out a death metal lace grind-core with some raw and unsettling atmosphere. The vocals are uttered in a low growl or a rabid snarl. The grindcore side of their songwriting equation keeps things very economical and makes every chug count.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-sept-mmxxiii.html

6-Year of the Knife - "No Love Lost" 

 Madison Watkins proves she can cut it as the vocalist. Her abrasive scream gets the proper emotion across.  With a guest vocal spot from  Devin Swank of  Sanguisugabugg, Year of the Knife shows they are not as death metal as Devin's band but prove that Metal Core does not have to conjure images of the last days when Myspace ruled the Earth. , Despite being possessed by hate that is singular in focus, the energy and execution pull it through

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/year-of-knife-no-love-lost.html

 

5-Left to Suffer -"Feral" 

This metalcore band is not just jumping on the White Chapel bandwagon. They took things in a darker direction and seem to have just as much in common with the bands in the nu-metal revival. Sure "Artificial Anatomy" is geared toward the Tik Tok generation with its spastic electronic glitching. The commonplace phenomenon that occurs with bands who deal in the extremes of heavy, no matter their sub-genre, is they hit you with something that is sonically stunning in its immense sound. This earned a great deal of repeat listens.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/05/left-to-suffer-feral.html

4-Portrayal of Guilt -"Devil Music" 

At first, you might be fooled into thinking this is a more straightforward metal album, at least until you get to the atmosphere and dissonance that you might have come to love from these guys. They do however open up the album with some solid grooves. There are fewer moments of black metal menace or grindcore explosions, but it still works. There is an abundance of chaos, as the drummer attacks the riffs. The second half of this album is the first half reconstructed for a chamber orchestra. Bizarre indeed, but they are boldly going where the devil wants them.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/04/portrayal-of-guilt-devil-music.html

3-Sanguisugabogg : "Homicidal Ecstasy" 

At the core when you strip away the gore fixation that might seek to label them as gore-grind these guys are a death metal band. Their biggest influence is Cannibal Corpse, which can be heard in the drumming and the low muffled gutturals. How they set themselves apart from just being another spawn of Cannibal Corpse is their fetish for grooves. Does this have more of a hard-core feel? At times but it doesn't diminish the fact they are a death metal band.These guys learned you can be heavy as a hundred fucks and still write good songs

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/01/sanguisugabogg-homicidal-ecstasy.html

2-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

1-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

Year of the Knife : "No Love Lost"

Year of the Knife has raised the bar pretty high for themselves with an opening song ripping it as hard as "Sometimes" does. It proves that Madison Watkins can cut it as their vocalist. She has an abrasive scream that gets the proper emotion across.  The second song features a guest vocal by Devin Swank of  Sanguisugabugg. They are not as death metal as Devin's band but prove that Metal Core does not have to conjure images of the last days when Myspace ruled the Earth. "Mourning the Living" does this louder for the people in the back of the memo on the first two songs in regards to this. 

This however does not mean that all songs are equally inspired.  "Alice" does not raise the question I have to most bands who hit you with this kind of heavy, regarding their ability as songwriters once your ears stop ringing enough for you to pay attention. It is more of a matter regarding the level of intensity that never seems to ebb.  What happened at this point during my first pass through the album, is my ears began to be numbed out by the feral gnashing of teeth that were coming at  them. The brief spastic burst of grindcore that crams Full of Hell's Dylan Walker into, conveys the kind of temper tantrum that style of music is known for. I am more impressed by the hammering groove that "Your Control" unleashes, as it gives you more to bang your head to.

Kurt Ballou has really dialed their guitar sound in. It gives the riffs to "Heaven Denied" a sharper edge. Though Madison's vocals are beginning to feel a little uniform in the single-minded nature they paint the songs in the coat of rageful red. Yet they do not relent in the sonic beatings they lash out with. They go into the last song with a more deliberate menace which speeds up in time for the vocal. The gang vocals injected into the song give more of a hardcore feel. This is also a moment where it feels like the drummer's moment to shine. I will give this album a 9 and see how it grows on me, despite being possessed by hate that is singular in focus, the energy and execution pull it through. 

Year of the Knife : "Internal Incarceration"

This band comes from the new school of hyper aggressive hard core than is metallic in its punishing intent. The way the pound the riffs home is very hard core. The vocals are also hard core and not growled. What they do is more impressive onthe first song than it is the second which does not bode well for what my over all feelings are going to be in regards to what they are doing. I am fine with you being heavy as fuck as long as you write songs. Just ask Nails and Phobia. Two bands that are heavy as fuck but still write songs. The swtich up the attack a little on " Stay Away".  There is a little more of a growl on a few places here , but the vocals are typically pretty one dimensional . The have more purpose than just being an obligatory voice as they punch into the openings. By the time we get to "Manipulation Artist" not only are the vocals beginning to run together from song to song , but everything else is as well.

"Final Tears" attacks with the same mean spirited nature as the other songs have. There is a touch of Slayer to the drums that give it just enough finesse . The more thrashing moments are what this album needs to lean into. These are moments are where they capture a groove rather than just an endless stream of blunt force truama. "Premonitions of You" sounds like a break down in motion. Violence is the only dynamic here, but they some how make it work on this song. Lyrically it is the same admonishments that hard core bands are always dishing out. It is like a slef help speaker yelling at you. The drums go into that punk beat I am not fond of . This does not aid the monotany of the vocals. 'Sick Statistic" is a little more chantable when it comes to the spit fire of the vocals.

The guitar hits like concrete on "Eviction" , but you are numb to the beating they have been dealing you. They nail the kind of riff they need to be attacking your ears with on "Nothing to Nobody". Even as mean as the riff is there is only so much your ears can take before it runs together. Sound wise the album is great. It is dense and powerful. How the sound are put together into the song is where they find challenges. The kind of 90s tough guy barking we heard back in thedayfrom bands like Damnation AD comes intoplay on the apocalyptic "DDM".  I will give this album an 8.5 , the hype of it being more metal than hardcore is unfounded by, there is a certain welcome levelof familiaroty whenit comes to hardcore. This album comes out August 7th on Pure Noise Records.