Best Of 2023: The best albums of 2023
Marduk: Memento Mori (Century Media Records)
I take my hat off again to the masters of Swedish black metal. Marduk once again establishes himself as one of the masters of ceremonies of occultism with the superb Memento Mori that follows in the wake of his predecessor album, Viktoria (2018), with an addition of rage and anger that makes this one of the most powerful releases of 2023. Above all, I highlight songs like Blood Of The Funeral and Marching Bones, as well as the title song, Memento Mori.
Sadus: The Shadow Inside (Nuclear Blast)
It took more than a decade and a half for Californians Sadus to return to the studio and deliver a new arsenal of technical thrash metal, but it’s a long wait that has been well worth it. The Shadow Inside is a powerful release that brings together the best of its two members: Jon Allen (drums) and Darren Travis (bass, guitars and vocals). From its opening with the powerful riff of First Blood after a rather sinister introduction we are welcomed to the party of aggressiveness that Sadus always promises and that it more than delivers throughout ten powerful songs among which I highlight The Devil In Me and the fast and furious No Peace.
Haunt: Golden Arm (Iron Grip Records)
Trevor William Church is without a doubt one of the best composers today. In just six years that it has been active, Haunt has released eight studio albums, three EPs, two compilation albums and two splits to date -one with Seven Sisters and the other with Fortress-. Their most recent album to date is Golden Arm, released in May 2023 via Iron Grip Records label, which is also owned by the great Jarvis Leatherby (Night Demon, Cirith Ungol).
Although 2023 has not been a very prolific year if we talk about heavy metal as such, in the traditional sense of the word, both Haunt, Night Demon and Enforcer have been responsible for making this list of great albums of 2023 something much more varied. Golden Arm is a clear example of how you can continue composing great traditional heavy metal albums without falling into boredom. I’ll stick with Fight The Good Fight and the fast The Horses Mouth.
Manntra: War Of The Heathens (Menart, NoCut/SPV)
Alright, Manntra is not what a heavy metal fan would expect in an album of this nature in the strict sense of the word. The Croatian alternative metal quintet born from the ashes of Omega Lithium in 2011 released the brilliant War Of The Heathens in September, their seventh studio album since their birth, which in turn is one of the best albums of their career. I overlooked it until almost the end of 2023, but once I discovered it I couldn’t stop listening to it. I recommend the catchy Feed The Beast and the dark and heavy Domain, as well as the opener The Hunter.
Avatar: Dance Devil Dance (Black Waltz Records)
Bragging about releasing the most important album of 2023 is very presumptuous, although the Swedes Avatar have managed to deliver a solid album like Dance Devil Dance at the beginning of the year that far surpasses its predecessor Hunter Gatherer from 2020. It still does not overshadow the one that stops will always be their greatest effort, Avatar Country (2018), but Dance Devil Dance manages to stand on its own as one of the best albums of 2023. Much of the praise would go to vocalist Johannes Eckerström, although that would be detract from the glorious work of his bandmates. Both Jonas Jarlsby and Tim Öhrström have done a great job with the guitars on this album, especially on such interesting songs as Chimp Mosh Pit or The Dirt I’m Buried In.
High Spirits: Safe On The Other Side (High Roller Records)
Although High Spirits does not seem like an outstanding band to me, I greatly value their spirit in wanting to offer something new and different in a time when everything is so overexploited. I really enjoyed their debut album Another Night when it came out in the now distant 2011, although I admit to not having listened to the rest of the albums as much as perhaps I should have. However, I must admit that Safe On The Other Side is one of the albums of 2023. The first bars of In The Moonlight captivated me when the single was released in mid-September and I have been eagerly awaiting the late release of this great album in the that songs like One Day Closer or the solid Memories seemed to be here to stay.
Barbarian Swords: Anti-Dogma Megaforce (Eternal Juggernaut Records)
Spain has an underground scene that is often overlooked, and Barbarian Swords is precisely one of the best representatives of what happens there. With four studio albums behind them, with a devastating album like Totemic Anal Turbofucker from 2019, the Barcelona quintet led by vocalist Von Päx and guitarist Voice of Noise returns in 2023 with a good collection of putrid anthems emerging from the underworld itself, not suitable for those with delicate stomachs. From the dirty and rabid Massive Prehistoric Killing Machine to the sepulchral A Thousand Impaled Heads, the Catalans unleash their anger without taking prisoners. By the way, I’m fascinated that there is a song they titled Nuke Barcelona, one of the best on the album by the way.
All For Metal: Legends (AFM Records)
Formed in 2022 by vocalists Tim “Tetzel” Schmidt (Asenblut) and Antonio Calanna (Induction, ex-DeVicious), guitarists Ursula Zanichelli and Jasmin Pabst (JJ’s One Girl Band, ex-Oversense), bassist Florian Toma (Lenio , The Butcher Sisters) and drummer Leif Jensen (8Kids, Leyf), All For Metal is the perfect traditional heavy metal addition to any summer festival. Their debut album, Legends, has all the ingredients to become one of those albums that you can’t stop listening to all the time. Strong riffs, catchy lyrics and above all, a lot of melody. Pay attention to the catchy chorus of All For Metal and Born In Valhalla, authentic anthems of our time.
Grand Cadaver: Deities Of Deathlike Sleep (Majestic Mountain Records)
Grand Cadaver is another Swedish death metal project made up of great musicians from the scene, but it is not just any project. Grand Cadaver is made up of vocalist Mikael Stanne (Dark Tranquillity, The Halo Effect), guitarists Alex Stjernfeldt (Child, Let Them Hang) and Stefan Lagergren (The Grifted, ex-Expulsion), bassist Christian Jansson (Dark Tranquillity, Pagandom ) and drummer Daniel Liljekvist (Ambassadors of the Sun, Ikhon, Vorder). They debuted in 2021 with the remarkable album Into The Maw Of Death and although its sequel has been a long time coming, Deities Of Deathlike Sleep has even far exceeded expectations. Ten new songs of direct and uncompromising death metal make this too short album a more than safe bet. Special mention to Serrated Jaws and Stabbed With Frozen Blood.
Night Demon: Outsider (Century Media Records)
Although the Californians Night Demon have been active for more than a decade, their studio albums are quite spaced out, especially this third and to date latest release from the band led by the charismatic Jarvis Leatherby. After surprising everyone in 2015 with their iconic debut Curse Of The Damned, we had to wait just a couple of years to see the Ventura trio surpass even the material from their first album with Darkness Remains (2017). Six long years had to pass for Night Demon to give us another full-length album despite the fact that in 2022 they delighted us with a collection of songs recorded during the pandemic on the compilation album Year Of The Demon. From the hand of Century Media Records, the great Outsider arrived in early 2023, a conceptual album that is as dark as it is at the same time hopeful in which its members pour all their skills to offer an authentic heavy metal show. Armand John Anthony (guitar, keyboards) and former drummer Dusty Squires make up this new adventure of the demon of the night that gives us great songs like Escape From Beyond or Beyond The Grave, leaving the best of the album for the iconic Outsider.
Blackbraid: Blackbraid II (Independiente)
Combining Native American mythology and atmospheric black metal is a task that at first seems very complicated. For multi-instrumentalist Jon S. Krieger, known as Sgah’gahsowáh, that’s as easy as putting together two pieces that fit together. His debut album Blackbraid I (2022) already showed us what stuff the Mexican musician is made of, and that is something he has demonstrated again in 2023 with the superb Blackbraid II, which has also left us three instrumental songs to remember, such as Autumnal Hearts Ablaze, Spells Of Moon and Earth, and Celestial Passage. As if that were not enough, the Mexican multi-instrumentalist has dared with a powerful version of A Fine Day To Die by Bathory, a declaration of intentions on Jon‘s part.
Triumph Of Death: Resurrection Of The Flesh (Noise/BMG, Prowling Death Records)
As I said at the time, I didn’t know I needed a Triumph Of Death live show until I finally had it in my hands. Good old Tom G. Warrior started this project in 2018 to review the classics that Hellhammer composed between 1982 and 1984, resulting in a project as solid as Triumph Of Death composed by guitarist and also vocalist André Mathieu (Impalement), bassist Jamie Lee Cussigh (Sacrifizer) and drummer Tim Iso Wey (Matterhorn). An essential album that will probably also appear on the list of best live albums of 2023.
Odraedir: Vengeance (Independiente)
The Czechs Odraedir have only released two studio albums in the fourteen years they have been active, but they are worthy of occupying one of the special places in the releases of 2023. With Vengeance they have managed to captivate me thanks to songs like Driven By Lust or Glacial Storm, and the release of the 2021 Treason EP was already too far away having waited almost six years since the release of his debut album Legends Of The Dark Times in 2021. If quality pagan/folk is your thing, don’t pass this one up. album for nothing in the world. I highly recommend listening to the songs The Inception and Deep Sea Slumber.
Orbit Culture: Descent (Seek & Strike)
Swedish act Orbit Culture reached the top in 2020 with the superb album Nija, but that has not prevented the quartet from Jönköping from managing to surprise with a colossal display of melodic death with groove metal overtones such as Descent, fourth studio work by the band formed by vocalist and guitarist Niklas Karlsson, guitarist Richard Hansson, bassist Fredrik Lennartsson and drummer Christopher Wallerstedt. From the first bars of the brutal and devastating Black Mountain to the hopeless Through Time, the quartet manages to chart a tormented course that represents a descent into hell in the most desolate way possible. Their new single, The Forgotten, is now available on streaming platforms as well.
Kalmah: Kalmah (Ranka Kustannus)
The eponymous album by Finns Kalmah is their ninth studio work and one of the most powerful of their career to date. The brothers Antti and Pekka Kokko once again delight us with a good dose of melodic death and power metal in what we could say is their best album to date. Kalmah has been able to reinvent itself without losing an ounce of originality and that is something that is clear when you listen to songs like Scarred By Sadness or the tremendous Haunted By Guilt that opens the album.
Scar Symmetry: The Singularity (Phase II: Xenotaph) (Nuclear Blast)
Nine long, hard years I have waited for the return of the Swedes Scar Symmetry to the studio, but the long wait has been worth it. If The Singularity (Phase I: Neohumanity) marked a before and after in the career of the Dalarna quintet, this The Singularity (Phase II: Xenotaph) far exceeds what was established in their previous studio album. If Overworld or Digiphrenia Dawn don’t blow your mind on the first listen, better go listen to another genre.
Gama Bomb: Bats (Prosthetic Records)
Gama Bomb never fails. Eight studio albums support the casual and fun thrash metal of the Irish led by the incomparable vocalist Philly Byrne and bassist Joe McGuigan, the only original members since their formation in 2002. In a genre as hackneyed as thrash metal, it is difficult to find bands that they propose something different like Gama Bomb does, and that says a lot about their proposal. Bats reinvents the formula of his two previous albums Speed Between The Lines (2018) and Sea Savage (2020) with great success and gives us authentic gems from his discography such as the excellent Egyptron in which the famous musician Greg Broussard, better known as The Egiptian Lover, also participates. On my list of best songs of 2023, which will probably be published tomorrow, you will find the immeasurable Speed Funeral, one of the best songs I have had the pleasure of listening to in 2023.
Mors Subita: Origin Of Fire (Out Of Line Music)
Mors Subita was born in the distant year 1999, although the band’s first album did not see the light until 2011, titled Human Waste Compression. Since then, Mors Subita has been responsible for progressively capturing his characteristic melodic death with touches of more technical thrash metal during the following years. With Origin Of Fire they have managed to balance the balance of their sound in a refined way, distributing each element on the stage so that everything fits and sounds where it should sound. I admit that their album caught my attention because of the title of its second song Fire Walk With Me, since I am a true Twin Peaks fan, but then I stayed because of the quality of its music. They completely beat me with Vile, what a beast of a song.
Hellripper: Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags (Peaceville Records)
The British black/speed project led by James McBain, which has been active since 2014, has certain similarities with another of the genre projects of which I declare myself a true fan, Midnight. However, I find myself in the position of defending Hellripper‘s position, making it clear that they are two totally different proposals that start from the same base but walk along very different paths. In Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags we find a very polished album on a technical level in which melody and power go hand in hand, with a very casual touch that makes this album a true delight. From Warlock Grim & Withered Hags I choose the wonderful The Nuckelavee and the very enjoyable Goat Vomit Nightmare.
Insomnium: Anno 1696 (Century Media Records)
It is likely that I already said it in my list of the best EPs of 2023 but I feel the need to re-state something that is more than evident. Insomnium has achieved the difficult task of surpassing what was, for some, their best album to date, Shadows Of The Dying Sun (2014). With Anno 1696 they have not only improved their formula, but they have reinvented themselves in the best possible way and have delivered one of the best songs that the Joensuu quintet has composed to date: Lilian. Furthermore, it was one of the best concerts I have attended in 2023.
Immortal: War Against All (Nuclear Blast)
The departure of Abbath in 2015 made me abandon the path of Immortal to the point of not valuing enough the release of Northern Chaos Gods in 2018. However, with my sights set on War Against All everything has changed and I have managed to get captivated by Demonaz like his former bandmate Abbath did back in the day. The musician from Bergen has managed to work a true miracle, returning us to the original Immortal in a way that his namesake Abbath has not achieved on his own. Point of immortality for Demonaz: War Against All stands as one of the best releases of 2023 and Wargod becomes one of my essential songs of the year.
Sodomisery: Mazzaroth (Testimony Records)
Second full-length album from this melodic black/death project formed by Swedish guitarist and vocalist Harris Sopovic. The album is recorded with Paul Viscolit on bass and Viktor Eklund on drums, although as far as I can see neither of them are part of the project at the time I am writing this list. In any case, Mazzaroth is one of the albums that surprised me the most this year, starting with the cover by the Polish artist Joanna Jaromira Kaim, who is also a vocalist in Draugmaz and Wékeras. Pay attention to the tremendous drums in Psychogenic and the heartbreaking vocals in A Storm Without A Wind.
Carnosus: Visions Of Infinihility (Independiente)
Second album by the Swedes Carnosus formed by guitarists Rickard Persson and Marcus Jokela Nyström, vocalist Jonatan Karasiak, bassist Marcus Strindlund and drummer Jacob Hedner. This album is a kick in the stomach, a point-blank shot that doesn’t let you breathe at any time. The technical thrash metal with touches of death metal that on their debut album Dogma Of The Deceased was already a fundamental part of the band’s own structure is greatly improved on Visions Of Infininihility thanks to songs like the seminal Castle Of Grief.
Bonus tracks: Although I could have made this list of great releases of 2023 much longer, I thought it appropriate to finish listing great albums at some point although I had planned to include four or five more albums. That said, I want to make special mention of the great Dying Of Everything by the everlasting Obituary, the superb Hermitage – Daruma’s Eyes Pt. 2 by Temperance, the solid Ýdalir by Skálmöld and the essential Here For None by Warmen, four albums that could easily be on this listing.
