A decade in to his AMG tenure, Grymm is here to tell you what the best albums of 2023 were! The Listurnalian bounty abounds!
Burzum
Whoredom Rife – Winds of Wrath Review
“Let me start off on the right foot with some honesty: I had, for the longest time, no idea what to say about the latest Whoredom Rife record. If it was a boring record, I’d call it Boredom Rife and be proud of that pun, but I can’t in any honesty do that. Winds of Wrath isn’t a boring record. It isn’t a great one either.” Rife in the middle.
Pa Vesh En – Maniac Manifest Review
“Another day, another raw black metal act. I was gonna go into the obligatory rant about how it’s the aural form of licorice, but suffice it to say: you either hate it or you love tolerate it. If you’re a masochist who likes to have your ears bleeding on the reg, dive in. If you prefer your music tasteful and somewhat reasonable, stay away. Unless it’s Pa Vesh En, who, along with acts like Black Cilice or Lamp of Murmuur, regularly provide tasteful interpretations of barbed wire tones.” Angry cargo.
Funeral Fullmoon – Poetry of the Death Poison Review
“It’s a mere four months since I reviewed Revelation of Evil, the full-length debut from Chilean one-man black metal project Funeral Fullmoon and, frankly, I didn’t expect see him back so soon. Now, part of the reason it’s only been four months is because the January release of Revelation of Evil was in fact a re-issue through Inferna Profundus Records of a cassette-only release from last September, something I discovered about quite late into the writing process. Even allowing for my own failures here, that’s still only an eight-month turnaround from the man currently going by the name Magister Nihilifer Vendetta 218.” Vardan the interruption.
Blood Stronghold – Spectres of Bloodshed Review
“Collaborations in music (and metal) have been around since you were a tyke on your grandpappy’s arthritic knee. When they work, differing artists can bring out the best in each other, highlighting each other’s strengths, and masking their weaknesses. Blood Stronghold follows in this grand tradition: an international amalgamation of Australia’s Nightwolf (from Runespell) and veteran Polish drummer Krew (from numerous projects I honestly haven’t of).” Blood is thicker than…forts.
Irae – Lurking in the Depths Review
“Black metal has a weird reputation. If you ask anybody walking down the street about it, given its nuances of church burning and Satanism, they’ll shudder and tell you “that stuff is scary, man.” However, if you ask a person who regularly listens to it, it becomes a different beast entirely: using Burzum’s self-titled as an example, you’ll hear an angsty Ewok grumbling about his mom taking away his Satanic Bible while abusing a Walmart guitar.” Fear and loathing in Portugal.
Naxen – Towards the Tomb of Times Review
“This German black metal trio is relatively new to the scene, having released a single EP, 2018’s To Abide in Ancient Abysses, which, while not particularly unique, was a solid two-track, eighteen-minute foray into cranky darkness. Now we’re greeted with their first full-length, Towards the Tomb of Times, which, while also offering an awesome and epic oomph of alliterative accomplishment, equals more of the same darkness and black metal shenanigans that we came to expect with its predecessor.” Action Naxen.
Faustian Pact – Outojen Tornien Varjoissa Review
“There’s something intriguing about black metal. While its origins are saturated with violence and its imagery is so defiantly anti-status quo, it’s calmed down significantly over the last decade or so. With more accessible styles like folk and post-rock taking more of a prominent role, it can be difficult to find the trve kvlt style that once circulated the underground in whispered rumors.” Dirty deals.
Mavorim – Axis Mundi Review
“One-man bands make me both impressed and apprehensive. I’m impressed because having a musical vision is special to begin with and being able to execute it solo takes real talent. I’m apprehensive because there’s no give-and-take or real collaboration for the visionary, and most creators of any stripe lack the will to kill their darlings.” One man with a bully pulpit.
Bhleg – Äril Review
“Leaves crunch as feet hit the concrete. The air contains a faintly sweet aroma as it passes through the trees. All the things that can be pumpkin-spiced are, indeed, pumpkin-spiced. In the United States, it’s officially autumn through most of its impressive landscape.[1. Where I live (Northeast Florida), all that’s changed is that I’ve gone from wearing sleeveless t-shirts to t-shirts with sleeves.] And what better way to bring in the season than with some atmospheric black metal with folk tinges?” Folk on the pumpkin.
