2023 Recommendations

Post some 2023 albums you’ve enjoyed!

Mine:

Obituary: Dying of Everything

Killer OSDM. So catchy.

Memoriam: Rise to Power

Scratches that Bolt Thrower itch quite nicely.

Delain: Dark Waters

Not for everyone, but if you enjoy female-fronted symphonic metal/rock, it’s well done. (Maybe my AotY at this point.)

Enslaved: Heimdal

Excellent prog black with various moods and textures. Looking forward to diving into this more.

Frozen Crown: Call of the North

Some think it’s fluffy (Black Rider), but they’re some solid riffs here and it’s just overall catchy female-fronted power metal.

Gorod: The Orb

Tech death that will rip your face off (in a good way).

Air Raid: Fatal Encounter

Traditional heavy metal and loaded with hooks.

Man Must Die: The Pain behind It All

Not for those sensitive to profanity, but tech death that both punishes and hooks.

Screamer: Kingmaker

Welll done traditional heavy metal.

Sacrificium: Oblivion

Death metal that manages to be both brutal and memorable.

Sunroad: Sunesthesia

Bluesy hard rock/metal that almost has a Whitesnake vibe at times. A fun album that I need to spend more time with.

Crom: The Era of Darkness

Good epic metal with enough variety to keep you engaged.

Majesties: Vast Reaches Unclaimed

Engaging melodeath that fortunately doesn’t overstay its welcome. It also riffs better than others in the genre.

Tribunal: The Weight of Remembrance

Killer gothic doom with death metal touches.

In Flames: Foregone

Did not expect to like this so much. It’s a great combo of melodeath and modern metal.

Foretoken: Triumphs

Killer symphonic melodeath. Just skip the cover song at the end because the lyrics are moronic.

Ulthar: Anthronomicon

Very busy death/black, but some great riffs here.

Ice Age: Waves of Loss and Power

KILLER prog.

Narnia: Ghost Town

Great record with impressive, but tasteful guitar work, and a killer vocal performance from Christian.

I’ve also heard:

Beyond the Black: s/t

I like the style and the band sounds good, but the songs didn’t grab me as much as I hoped.

Katatonia: Sky Void of Stars

Well done, but not my jam. If you like the style, it’s a winner, though.  

Dark Princess: Phoenix

Solid gothic metal, but I didn’t find it too exciting

Aphyxion: Ad Astra

Really good metalcore, but not my favorite style.

Megaton Sword: Might and Power

Solid traditional metal, but needs stronger hooks. The vocals are also hit and miss.

Perpetual Paranoia: The Wave

Dale sounds great as usual, but I don’t think the songs are here at all.

Omega Infinity: The Anticurrent

Avant—garde black/death metal. It has good ideas and a great atmosphere, but too often falls into a repetitive wall of noise.

Twilight Force: At the Heart of Wintervale

Couldn’t even make it through the whole thing. Makes One Direction look like Suffocation.

Yes to Obituary, Memorial, Gorod, Man Must Die, Sacrificium and Air Raid. Also new stuff by:
Isole-Doom
In Flames- Melodic death metal
Majesties- Melodic death metal
Perpetual Paranoia - Dale core
Raider- great new thrash band
Overkill
Black Star Riders- maybe the best classic rock sounding band going now.
Void Ceremony.  Death Metal with some tech tendencies.
Winger- Seven
Tygers of Pan Tang- Bloodlines
Ritual Servant - Albus Mendacium
Vultures Gathering - The Hunt
Wytch Hazel - Sacrament
Last In Line - Jericho
Adorned Graves- The Earth Hath   Opened Her Mouth
Graveripper- Seasons Dreaming Death
Grand Cadaver -Deities of Deathlike Sleep
Tomb Mold -; The Enduring Spirit
Frozen Soul- Glacial Domination
Disguised Malignance- Entering the Gateway
Theocracy - Mosaic
Burial Extraction - A Shadow of Things to Come
Sulphur Aeon- Seven Crowns and Seven Seals
Kamelot - The Awakening
Metal Church - Congregation of Annihilation
Evile-The Unknown
Gatekeeper - From Western Shores
Dokken - Heaven Comes Down
Phobocosm- Foreordained

Forgot about PP. (Dale core). Couldn’t get into it, but I wanna give it another try.
Isole and In Flames are on my list. Gonna add Majesties to it.

I’m gonna keep updating my list above as I explore more stuff.

My recommendations so far:

Dragoncorpse - The Drakketh Saga EP
Firienholt - White Frost and Elder Blood
Galneryus - Between Dread and Valour
Twilight Force - At the Heart of Wintervale

No real bangers as of yet, though I need to spend more time with Galneryus.

Van Morrison - Moving On Skiffle

Gojira - "Our Time Is Now" single

Mike Zito / Albert Castiglia - "In My Soul" single

Love me some Van Morrison

Updated my list for the reading delight of all.

That Ulthar had undeniable talent and for a couple songs it's good but it's an exhausting listen.

Black Rider wrote:That Ulthar had undeniable talent and for a couple songs it's good but it's an exhausting listen.

I feel that way about a lot of ultra-heavy albums. So many should be eps. It takes a lot of songwriting skill to make something that brutal interesting for 40+ minutes.

Black Rider wrote:Yes to Obituary, Memorial, Gorod, Man Must Die, Sacrificium and Air Raid. Also new stuff by:
Isole-Doom
In Flames- Melodic death metal
Majesties- Melodic death metal
Perpetual Paranoia - Dale core

"Dale core" 

I must add

Magic Opera - Battle of Ice

Neoclassical sympho power that still feels heavy, not in the least because of the guitar tone and the singer's somewhat gruff vocal tone.

Well, it better than Twilight Force.

Obituary - Dying of Everything (no explanation needed)
Iron Void - IV (Trad Doom)
Seven Doors - Feast of the Repulsive Dead (Death/Groove about Horror/Zombies)
Zombie Riot - World Epitaph (OSDM)
Putred - Repulsie Post-Mortem (Slow to mid-paced groovy sewerdeath - a favorite)
Carnosus - Visions of Infinihilty (Tech Death/Thrash - reminds of Psycroptic a bit)
Parasitario - Everything Belongs to Death (Death/Thrash in the vein of Pestilence, etc.)
Majesties - Vast Reaches Unclaimed (old school Melodic Death Metal)
Sacrificium - Oblivion
Luteoks - Barely True Norwegian Black Metal
Fathomage - Autumn's Dawn, Winter's Darkness (atmospheric black metal - Christian)
Bastard Grave - Vortex of Disgust (Death Metal with some doomier moments)
Hyperdontia - Deranged (one of today's best OSDM bands - rips)
Narnia - Ghost Town
Ulfud - Of Existential Distortion (Black/Death from Iceland)
Sepulcrum - Lamentation of Immolated Souls (Shredding Death/Thrash from Chile)
Guts - Decay (Super catchy Death/Groove)
Kommand - Death Age (Bolt Thrower style OSDM)

How are you hearing Kommand already? I like their EP so looking forward to this?

Black Rider wrote:How are you hearing Kommand already? I like their EP so looking forward to this?

20 Buck Spin uploaded the full album to YouTube. Download codes go out tomorrow.

Rexoria: Imperial Dawn is melodic metal happiness.

Avenger of Blood - Completely Re-Annihilated. Re-recording of the debut album.

My top 5 so far (secular):

Delain: Dark Waters (Black Rider LOVES this)
Rexoria: Imperial Dawn 
Overkill: Scorched 
Man Must Die: The Pain behind It All (the lyrics aren’t my favorite, but musically this just punishes)
Tie: Frozen Crown: Call of the North/Silver Bullet: Shadowfall

I'm just adding to my list, no top five yet.

Make sure to add Delain and Rexoria.

This is the non pansy thread.

^No it isn't, this is a power metal inclusive thread sir

Andreas89 wrote:^No it isn't, this is a power metal inclusive thread sir

As the originator of this thread, I must concur with my colleague here.

I mean, you like Twilight Force so....