But as good as things were generally this year, I went through an extended rough patch when it came to enjoying and writing about new music. A lot of factors contributed to this rough patch, but it all left me wanting to seek solace in the company of some of my all-time favorite records instead of any current assignments. So, a couple of times this year, I dumped all of my promos and took a break. Now, I’m the kind of person that doesn’t commit to many things, because if I commit to something, I want to do it well. And when I can’t do that, it fills me with guilt. This accumulating guilt left me questioning whether or not I deserved to hang around these parts any longer; in fact, I started writing up my resignation letter multiple times. Fortunately, I never put any of these on Steel‘s desk, because I now know that I want to stick around this place in whatever way I can. I work with a great cast of characters here, and I’d miss them terribly. But ultimately, it was the music that saved me. A few of the records on the following list hit me at just the right time, reminding me of who I am and why I’m here.
I want to thank all of my fellow writers and editors for the many hours they devote to the cause of great music. Thanks to Steel Druhm for the indomitable will with which he rules this realm. How he does everything he does here never ceases to amaze me. Finally, thanks to you, the reader, for being such an integral part of this place. It’s always fun to hear from you, whether you’re heaping praise upon, or throwing tomatoes at, what I’ve written. So, without any further ado, I present to you a clumsily curated list of obscure oddities. It is designed with one purpose: to have as little overlap with my colleagues as possible. Behold, the List of Trvth!
#ish. All for Metal // Legends – As I said in my Heavy Moves Heavy entry for “Mountain of Power,” this one is pure Holdeneye-bait. Living within the same realm as Manowar, Sabaton, and Brothers of Metal, some of my all-time favorite acts, All for Metal’s debut Legends was a wonderful surprise. When it released this past summer, it was just the shot in the arm I needed, its bouncy, cheese-filled anthems plastering a big, dumb smile on my big, dumb face. The songwriting is great, and the powerful vocals from Antonio Calanna nudge the album towards true greatness. Like Brothers of Metal before them, All for Metal quickly became a Holdeneye Family road trip soundtrack staple. Sample: “Goddess of War”
#9. Mystic Prophecy // Hellriot – Ever since I first heard the singles for Mystic Prophecy’s 2007 album Satanic Curses, these guys have been my personal archetype for guitar-centric heavy metal with a power metal bent. The band’s beefy (I simply cannot talk about these guys without using ‘beefy’ as an adjective) guitar sound is matched by the raspy croon of R.D. Liapakis, a man whose voice seems as strong as ever after decades of wailing at the mic. Hellriot is the sound of Mystic Prophecy releasing their best material in sixteen years, and it easily attained the status of one of my most-listened-to albums of 2023. Sample: “Revenge and Fire”
#8. Frozen Crown // Call of the North – It’s been quite a while since a power metal album really grabbed me, but Call of the North rekindled my love for the cheesiest of metals when it released back in March. Where many bands of this style lose me with vocals and guitar work that sound too sugary for these ears, Frozen Crown puts the power in power metal with their extremely heavy riffing and with the incredible vocals of Giada Etro. As Eldritch Elitist said in his review of Call of the North, ‘Frozen Crown operates best with the pedal welded to the metal,’ and rarely does that pedal leave the floor here. The band’s successful use of melo-death stylings on Call of the North confirms a suspicion that I’ve had for quite some time: the vast majority of melodic death metal would work better with clean vocals. Yeah, I said it. Come at me. Sample: “Call of the North”
#7. Gatekeeper // From Western Shores – Last year, Ironflame was my tried-and-true, straightforward traditional metal year-end list entrant, and this year’s spot goes to Gatekeeper. From Western Shores sounded good on my first listen, but I didn’t fully grasp how well-wrought these songs were until I returned at a later date; suddenly, it clicked. Traditional metal and fantasy stories go together like a Kirkland can o’ chicken mixed into Cup Noodles, and the results here are no less savory. Tale after tale is told to the tumultuous tune of titanic riffs and twisted-testicle wails, and I simply can’t get enough of it. I’ve been rereading The Lord of the Rings for the first time in over a decade, and this record has been an excellent musical pairing for such an occasion. Sample: “Shadow and Stone”
#6. Disguised Malignance // Entering the Gateways – It’s about time some brutality showed up on this list! Landing just two short weeks after an insanely hyped and equally lauded release from Tomb Mold, the teenagers in Disguised Malignance quietly released an album in the same vein. Drawing on old-school death mechanics and adding a spritz of proggy technicality, Entering the Gateways blew me away with its scope and execution. It’s almost like these youngsters don’t know how rude it is to kick in the door and outdo many of the scene’s heavyweights with your debut record. As I alluded to in my review for Entering the Gateways, Disguised Malignance didn’t overdo the progginess here; they found ‘the right balance between thinking-man’s and stinking-man’s death metal.’ Damn, that’s a good line. Sample: “Beyond (Entering the Gateways)”
#5. Frozen Soul // Glacial Domination – The phrase ‘glacial domination’ perfectly describes how this album won me over: slowly, and with devastation. Like many other critics around these parts, I initially dismissed Glacial Domination as just another one-note death metal beatdown, but because something kept drawing me back, I eventually realized something: I really like this one note. Groovy death metal is my favorite death metal, and Glacial Domination is all groove, all the time. The way these Texans combined earth-churning Bolt Thrower rhythms with a bit of Swede-death, some hardcore-style breakdowns, and the occasional creepy synth passage put this record firmly within my wheelhouse, and like the titular glacier, it was been carving my valley ever since. I could have kept things simple and just used all ten proper tracks here to form my entire Heavy Moves Heavy list. Yes, it’s that good. Sample: “Arsenal of War”
#4. Legendry // Time Immortal Wept – At the risk of falling prey to recency bias, I’m including Time Immortal Wept at #4 because it has utterly bewitched me since I discovered it a few short weeks ago. Legendry’s prog-infused traditional metal is simply magical, and its 43-minute runtime feels like half of that. With a great balance of heavier metal parts and psychedelic prog elements, these songs have achieved legendary status in my heart in very short order. I honestly feel like I’ve been listening to some of these tracks on classic rock radio for my entire life; that’s how much they resonate with me. My first listen of Time Immortal Wept was on the treadmill, and when it finished, I wanted to keep training so I wouldn’t have to stop listening, even for a minute—this is no small feat considering my lifelong hatred of cardio. I just wish I’d discovered this record before the vinyl was sold out. Sample: “Chariots of Bedlam”
#3. Enforced // War Remains – What can I say that I haven’t already said about Enforced? These guys fucking rule; it’s as simple as that. War Remains may not be my favorite Enforced record, but it’s not much of a step down either. These guys sound more pissed-off than ever, and the half-hour runtime makes repeat listens almost a necessity. War Remains is truly an album of all occasions for me. If I’m happy, I put it on and bounce around with joy. If I’m angry, I put in on and exorcise my rage. If I’m sad, I put it on to give myself an energizing slap across the face (after I properly acknowledge and give space to my sadness, of course. It’s 2023 for heaven’s sake). If my kids are being too loud, it put it on and crank it until I can no longer hear them. War Remains is just another piece of evidence confirming that Enforced is the most consistently awesome thrash band running at this point in history. Sample: “Hanged by My Hand”
#2. By Fire and Sword // Glory – Steel Druhm dodged a huge, yuuuge bullet with this one. Glory lay unclaimed in the promo bin when I happened upon it one day, and if I’d taken enough time to realize that the band’s overtly religious themes were satire (read: if I’d listened to “Leave a Little Room” all the way through until the part where its satirical nature is obvious), I would have claimed it and done terrible, score counter-violating things to it. Musically, Glory is heavy in all the right ways, and honestly, this is what I wish Ghost sounded like. The preachy spoken word parts and the beautiful singing combine with the music to add just the right amount of creepy, cringe-inducing irony to the experience. This is such a bizarre album, and I love every single moment of it. Sample: “The Feast”
#1. Sacred Outcry // Towers of Gold – I can be relatively brief here since I slobbered all over this record fairly recently. Towers of Gold is the kind of record that made heavy metal so attractive to me in the first place; it’s big, bold, and filled to the brim with electric energy. Founder and bassist George Apalodimas outdid himself with these compositions, and landing a godlike vocal talent like Daniel Heiman helped the record achieve perfection. Not a single note is wasted; there’s not one moment of this album that doesn’t push forward its powerful fantasy tale. I can say without hesitation that if I hadn’t encountered this album in 2023, I probably wouldn’t be writing this list. Towers of Gold reminded me just how much heavy metal means to me, and it reminded me how much of an honor it is to be able to share great music with you all. Thanks, Sacred Outcry. Sample: “The Voyage”
Honorable Mentions
- Warcrab // The Howling Silence
- Valdrin // Throne of the Lunar Soul
- Helms Deep // Treacherous Ways
- Finality // Technocracy
- Cruel Force // Dawn of the Axe
- Owlbear // Chaos to the Realm
Non-Metal Record o’ the Year
Bards of Skaði // Glysisvallur: Musick from the Frozen Atlantis – Thomas von Wachenfeldt is no stranger to my year-end lists, but he’s never earned a spot quite like this before. Bards of Skaði finds the Swedish death metal maestro leaving his growls at home and performing all strings, keys and programming as he teams up with fellow music professor Göran Månsson on flutes and percussion to provide an enthralling journey through the fallen kingdoms of history. Drawing upon Nordic folk, classical, film score, and ambient styles, Glysisvallur is one beautiful track after another. Whether enchanting (“Yxdans”) or haunting (“Nifelhel”), this music has been the perfect soundtrack for my recent walks and drives throughout the moist and misty Pacific Northwest winter. My love of this record just further cements Wachenfeldt as one of my favorite musicians on earth, regardless of style.
Olde Record o’ the Year
Disappointment (and Amusing Anecdote) o’ the Year
Song o’ the Year
Sacred Outcry // “Towers of Gold” – A labyrinth with as many twists, turns, and surprises as the cursed structure it describes, “Towers of Gold” does pretty much everything. It has fast-paced riffing, stratospheric vocals, and blistering leads, but it also knows how to play things slow, throwing in theatricality and atmosphere aplenty. The song puts us right in the shoes of the story’s main character as he navigates an impossible maze, and in the end, we get to share in his grisly fate. The story is a powerful warning of what can happen when we seek anything—riches, power, success, certainty, peace, even happiness—at any cost. It’s a warning that we’d be remiss not to heed.
