Best of 2023

[Pentagrimes]

No.

(Khanate,Thantifaxath & VA are mine though)

[Ollie]

No.

(Khanate,Thantifaxath & VA are mine though)

Haha, good man.
So mine are Megaton Sword, Abyssal Rift and the Blood Incantation EP

[Thorn]

Time to get this all the hell outta my head...

1. OVERKILL - SCORCHED
Whoever said thrash is a young man's game clearly never told Blitz and Co.

2.Megaton Sword - Might And Power
Intoxicating Heavy Metal of the very highest calibre and,most importantly, its own identity.

3.Hellwitch - Annihilational Intercention
Savage comeback album, jagged, complex, blisteringly fast raw thrash.

4.Metal Church - Congregation of Annihilation
Yes Mike is gone but with Riffmaster Vanderhoof still around so too are the Church...and killing it.

5.Cirith Ungol- Dark Parade
Speaking of old timers killing it, this year saw possibly the final triumphant salute from these High Priests Of Heavy Metal.

6.Autopsy - Ashes ,Organs Blood and Crypts
....and Earworms galore to go with the rest of the crap in that title

7.Slidhr - White Hart!
Best release yet for me, an addictive and compelling listen that is as good a soundtrack as any for a world going quickly down the shitter.

8.Marduk - Momento Mori
Even by Marduk's standards this was an exceptionally cold and cruel Black assault

9. Cruciamentum - Obsidian Refraction
A gnarly, brooding beast of an album that doesn't disappoint from one of my favourite contemporary DM  bands

10. Thron - Dust
Discovered these Germans this year and this,their fourth album really hooked me ,the cold dark heart of Dissection colliding with the melodic brutality of God Dethroned.

11.Sadus  - The Shadow Inside
Good comeback album even without you know who, a bit of editing down on some of these songs would have had this even higher up the ranks

12. Katatonia - A Sky Void Of Stars
Grower album of the year for me, an ambitious and ultimately satisfying listen.

13. Cruel Force - Dawn Of The Axe
Another discovery for me this year these Germans dealt out a deadly hand of malicious thrashy, speed from a solid base of pure Teutonic Heavy Metal
 
14. Cannibal Corpse - Chaos Horrific
Another one that took a while to get its hooks in but yep, all's good in the Cannibal world

15. Enforcer - Nostalgia
My slice of rock out with your cock out for the year, nice to have 'em back on form

16. Vomitory - All Heads Are Gonna Roll
All Heads were lopped off from the get go as these Swedeath veterans didn't fuck about for a second

17. Dying Fetus - Make Them Beg For Death
The tried and trusted DF formula just got better with a production that cranked up the heaviness while showcasing every twist and turn of their technical acrobatics

18. Enforced - War Remains
In and out in just over half an hour  this meaty, thrashy chugathon delivered a sharp, swift boot to the backside

19. Obituary - Dying Of Everything
Cementing their place as the AC/DC of DM but it's all good whilst you retain the services of the most horrific voice in the genre.

20. Heavy Load - Riders Of The Ancient Storm
Who better to hold up the rest of this pile than Heavy Load ,another welcome and classy Heavy Metal return.

Honourable Mentions...Raven, Jag Panzer, Enslaved, Holy Moses, Immortal, Ruim, Memoriam

[Eoin McLove]

White Hart! is really good. There is depth and detail but it is ruthless. The songwriting sounds like it has been stripped down in a way to. It has a direct purpose.

[Thorn]

Yeah each song on it has it's own identity, I could put it on shuffle and know which track is which, always a good thing in my book.

[Danny]

Any chance of people self-editing and just making it a top three of the year, as opposed to a list of stuff you liked in 2023?

Fuck off. 

These threads can be really great for finding out bands or albums you've never heard of! I've added a few names to a note there, thanks dudes!

I have to say I feel like, it seemed to me that there was a relentless amount of new releases across every genre this year, metal especially. Not everything was brilliant naturally, but a fair amount is. A few on my list have already been mentioned, naturally, but yeah these were my favorite and most listened to...and I'm gonna do my list by genre as there's a fair few for me this year that I really enjoyed and feel are worth buying well into next year as I'm a broke cunt now after Xmas has left me smashed but yeah

Heavy/Doom
Primordial- How It Ends (I'm STILL coming to terms with the album, but an undeniable work of conviction and true art. Easily my most anticipated album of the year also, I don't think I was looking forward to any other release this year but this one. and while I don't think it's their best work, I was not let down and its still an excellent addition to their catalogue. and my #1 for 23. I have true Respect for them as Irish Artists and would seriously love to see them being more celebrated and respected here, I find it shocking how many Irish people INCLUDING would-be metal heads that I have met & I know that had never heard of them when I first mentioned them!)
Megaton Sword- Might & Power
Cirith Ungol- Dark Parade

Thrash/Groove
Metallica- 72 Seasons (my most played album of the year easily, for better or worse, they are my favorite band so fuck off)
VOIVOD- Morgöth Tales
Overkill- Scorched
PRONG- State Of Emergency
XOTH- Exogalactic (best Thrash band since REVOCATION and VEKTOR imo, they somehow make THRASH that sounds new vital and fresh)
SADUS- The Shadow Inside (clearly not like their early incredible early shit but def worth a listen)
Hellwitch- Annihilational Intercention (Same as above)
Enforcer- Nostalgia
CRYPTOSIS- The Silent Call EP
Cruel Force- Dawn Of The Axe (fucking just yes this rules!)
VENUS- Obscured Until Observed (impressive debut, VEKTOR worship)

Death
CANNIBAL CORPSE- Chaos Horrific
OBITUARY- Dying Of Everything
AUTOPSY- Ashes, Organs, Bloods And Crips
Suffocation- Hymns From The Apocrypha
CRYPTOPSY- As Gomorrah Burns
INCANTATION- Unholy Deification
Cattle Decapitation- Terrasite
VERTEBRA ATLANTIS- A Dialogue With The Eeriest Sublime (Thanks to Pentagrimes mentioning this album in some other thread a while back; and having never heard of them and checking it out- it has blown my fucking head open! Incredible stuff)
Excarnated Entity- Mass Grave Horizon (likewise thanks to open face surgery in some previous thread naming this band. Brilliant deathDOOM.)
VoidCeremony- Threads Of Unknowing
Cruciamentum- Obsidian Refractions
Tomb Mold- The Enduring Spirit
Blood Incantation- Luminescent Bridge EP
TILL THE DIRT- Outside The Spiral (ATHEIST vocalist project, I think its actually really good, good songs and riffs and interesting vocals mixing his usual harsh with kinda grungey Layne Staley style vocals parts were cool, but despite a terribly weird flat production and lifeless drum sound trying to ruin the buzz altogether, I think it's still pretty cool, though you really need to adjust your EQ to enjoy it imo)
Temple of Scorn- Funeral Altar Epiphanies

Black
MARDUK- Memento Mori (this is just fucking relentless unholy black fucking metal of the highest order here)
RUIM- Black Royal Spiritism
Thantifaxath- Hive Mind Necrosis
DHG- Black Medium Current
ASET- Astral Rape
VERMINOUS SERPENT- The Malign Covenant
Slidhr- White Hart!
SHINING- SHINING
Thulcandra- Hail The Abyss
Grave Gnosis- Pestilence Crowned (last on the list here, only new out, psychedelic? black with some v weird shit going on that reminds me of the dark energies that that band The Devil's Blood were stirring up!)

For 2024, I Am already looking forward to the new VLITMAS and IHSAHN albums. VLITMAS I think are deadly and underated. new single rocks. I think their first album went under the radar a bit, its fucking insanely good imo but David Vincent I think is the coolest Death metal vocalist so.
AND ISHAHN - I love EMPEROR so much, but while its undoubtedly quality musicianship, as in he's a Fripp level virtuoso guitarist; sadly his solo stuff hasn't really blown my mind bar an undeniable track here or there. But these 2 new tracks seem to finally have a bit of an exciting EMPEROR vibe to them! 

[Thorn]

Oh ,forgot about that Ruim,that was some good stuff from Blasphemer alright

[Pentagrimes]

Actually I just got round to listening to the Cruciamentum yesterday and it's very good. Belated special mention for that, and the Slidhr record

[LLR]

Malokarpatan - Vertumnus Cesar was head and shoulders above everything else for me.  Loved the new Hexvessel, Dodheimsgard, Slidhr and Cruciamentum albums as well though but Vertumnus is insane.

[Danny]

I've just realised I listed an album there before that I've never even listened to. Enforcer- Nostalgia. I was reading Thorn's list there and went oh! I forgot about that one and copied the text, but actually I was thinking of Enforced- War Remains. Similar band name you see. Just to clear that up, for the record like. They are watching you know.

Thanks to this thread I finally gave Khanate a go having seen the name many times now. So v good that I feel ignorant and stupid now. Likely more fucking albums for the worth buying list now, thanks. Yes I'll work fucking Saturdays....

[Thorn]

Yeah, two very different records/bands for sure!

[Anvil]

Couldn't get into the Enforcer album.  Don't think it is that great especially compared to their earlier stuff. 

[Abandon All Hope]

Dikasterion - Chaos as a New World

Malokarpatan - Vertumnus Caesar

[astfgyl]

I've just realised I listed an album there before that I've never even listened to. Enforcer- Nostalgia. I was reading Thorn's list there and went oh! I forgot about that one and copied the text, but actually I was thinking of Enforced- War Remains. Similar band name you see. Just to clear that up, for the record like. They are watching you know.

Thanks to this thread I finally gave Khanate a go having seen the name many times now. So v good that I feel ignorant and stupid now. Likely more fucking albums for the worth buying list now, thanks. Yes I'll work fucking Saturdays....

Never tried Khanate myself despite meaning to on many an occasion. Weird how that happens with bands for no reason

[Lurker]

AOTY Black Wound. Warping Structure

Abyssal Rift. Extirpation Dirge

Broder. Skarpretterfossilet

Mizmor. Prosaic

Maldisdeun. Anti-Access World Denial

Slow. Abimes  I

Nothingness. Supraliminal

Gateway. Galgendood

Aphotic. Abyssgazer

Cadaver Shrine. Benighted Desecration