Things You Might Have Missed 2023

Burden of Ymir – Heorot [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

By Twelve on December 23, 2023 in Things You Might Have Missed 2023, Black Metal, Folk Metal, 26 comments

“Joe Caswell, of Ontario, Canada, is having quite the year; his newest band, Swamp Fiend, released their debut full-length this year, and both of his solo projects, Drowstorm and Burden of Ymir, put out new releases within two weeks of each other. It would be understandable if these solo releases were only fine; it would be impressive if they were decent. But instead, they’re actually good, and Burden of Ymir’s Heorot in particular stands as a shining example of folky black metal, playing with a level of quality that would make you think it’s the only thing Caswell had worked on all year.” Idle hands and such.

Johnny Booth – Moments Elsewhere [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

By Dear Hollow on December 22, 2023 in Things You Might Have Missed 2023, Hardcore, Mathcore, Metalcore, 23 comments

“The phrase “metalcore” strikes fear in the hearts of the most hardened metal fans. Breakdowns and faux badassery collide in the most listenable shit this side of the pond. New York DIY metalcore abusers in Johnny Booth know this. While yes, there are breakdowns, one-liners, and enough technical wankery to make a Converge fan drool, every element is weaponized to the full extent to accomplish an unhinged and vicious quality.” Core support.

The Crawling – All of This for Nothing [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

By Steel Druhm on December 22, 2023 in Things You Might Have Missed 2023, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 35 comments

“U.K. doom-death act The Crawling had some decent to solid releases in the past, their doom-death style both familiar and comforting, but they never really blew me away. They’d been quiet since 2018’s Wolves and the Hideous White, but they roared back in a big way in August with their third album, All of This for Nothing. Taking their blend of influences ranging from Novembers Doom, Bolt Thrower, and My Dying Bride and pushing the envelope hard, they created what is their most expansive and entertaining album thus far.” Crawl on your knees, oh hear the ugly voices.

Triumpher – Storming the Walls [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

By Kenstrosity on December 21, 2023 in Things You Might Have Missed 2023, Black Metal, Epic Metal, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, 41 comments

“As a sponge, I am not usually picky about what music I absorb. I often find my way to liking anything if it clicks the right boxes. For some reason, though, I’m pickiest about traditional heavy metal, both classic and modern. I rarely like anything that falls under the stock “heavy” umbrella, instead preferring things that are hybridized with other, more extreme fare. Luckily for me, Triumpher are here to help raise my sword to full might with their immense, astoundingly compelling debut Storming the Walls, released in March of this year.” Triumph of the swordcore.

Legendry – Time Immortal Wept [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

By Holdeneye on December 21, 2023 in Things You Might Have Missed 2023, Heavy Metal, Progressive Rock, Psychedelic Rock, 29 comments

“I had every opportunity to grab the promo for Time Immortal Wept, the fourth full-length release from Pittsburgh’s Legendry. Unfortunately, I was slated to cover two other albums for that release week, neither of which I actually completed. But for the last couple of weeks, I’ve been spinning this delicious morsel of Manilla Road-meets-prog/psych-rock, and it has been worming its way into my mind relentlessly.” Frosty the Swordman.

Theophonos – Nightmare Visions [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

By Maddog on December 20, 2023 in Things You Might Have Missed 2023, Black Metal, Death Metal, Grind, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, 27 comments

“Nightmare Visions is a blackened grindcore debut from Michigan’s Theophonos, the brainchild of Jimmy Hamzey (Serpent Column). If that genre label sounds unappetizing, don’t let that deter you. Theophonos took every hard rock and metal song released since 1967, crammed them all into a woodchipper, and assembled the mangled output into a blackened 30-minute hydra. Miraculously, it works.” NightmareER!!

Lunar Chamber – Shambhallic Vibrations [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

By El Cuervo on December 19, 2023 in Things You Might Have Missed 2023, 56 comments

“If you were to describe “things that are up El Cuervo’s tree,” progressive death metal with Buddhist themes running for only 30 minutes would be quite high up. Such was the promise of Shamhallic Vibrations by Lunar Chamber. Fortunately, the quality matched – even exceeded – my expectations. I had thought this was a full-length but it was only as I was preparing this article that I noticed it is pitched as an EP. Given its place on my AotY list and a longer-than-Reign in Blood duration, I was only too happy to prepare a proper write-up.” Up the tree and into the cosmos.

The Night Eternal – Fatale [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

By Steel Druhm on December 19, 2023 in Things You Might Have Missed 2023, Heavy Metal, 49 comments

“Sometimes we get a promo and for whatever reason, it languishes in the sump unloved and unexplored, and later on we find out we missed a real gem and feel collective shame. Other times we just don’t get the promo at all. The latter was the issue with Fatale, the sophomore outing by German goth/heavy/occult metal act The Night Eternal.” Fatale if swallowed.

Sworn – A Journey Told Through Fire [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

By Carcharodon on December 18, 2023 in Things You Might Have Missed 2023, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, 45 comments

“Hailing from Bergen, Norway,Sworn have been toiling away in relative anonymity since 2005. Two early, and frankly unremarkable, records were followed by a nine-year gap before the release of 2018’s very good, Dark Stars and Eternity. Melodic black metal with a ton of atmosphere, and sounding more Finnish than Norwegian for much of its run, the album was only really hampered by a slightly questionable mix. There is no question, however, that it represented a real step up in quality for the quartet when compared to their first two outings. Scroll forward to July this year and, still unsigned, Sworn dropped their fourth LP, A Journey Told through Fire.” The fire still burns.

Malokarpatan – Vertumnus Caesar [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

By Dr. A.N. Grier on December 17, 2023 in Things You Might Have Missed 2023, Black Metal, Heavy Metal, 37 comments

‘I don’t know about the rest of you, but work has been a fucking bear this year. Since starting tenish years ago, 2023 might be my lowest contribution to the site. It also caused me to miss a lot of great records I was looking forward to. Thank the sweet metal lord that we have TYMHM. And this one is special.”