Five years feels like an eternity in retrospect, and yet in real time it whizzed by in the blink of an eye. How I’ve managed to stick around this long without getting fired, sabbaticalized, decapitated, arrested for war crimes, and/or mulched is beyond me. Truth be told, I’m incredibly lucky to be a part of the AMG team. Even though it can be chaotic and stressful, this is one hobby that I don’t know how to live without anymore. I just love it too much to give it up, and I’m going to ride that wave for as long as I can. Like it or not, you goofy goobers are stuck with me, so get comfy!
2023 has been one helluva year for metal. It feels like I say that every year, because I like everything all the time, but I mean it. This year made my job curating this list a near impossible task. Agonizing over every placement, every adjustment, and every omission left me a mere desiccated spongelet, but that’s a great problem to have. It’s a good thing we have a crack team of writers to help make finalizing lists even fucking harder. They just won’t stop exposing me to countless awesome records that I may or may not have purposefully ignored for the sanctity of my existing lineup. But I guess I had that coming, didn’t I?
Anyway, I’d like to thank a few folks. Firstly, I’d like to thank Carcharodon for being an excellent list-buddy for the past three years. Our tastes might not align, but we always found some common ground and our disparate rankings often made for great discussion in the comments. I am going to miss that! I’d also like to thank AMG Himself and Steel Druhm for continuing to support me as I spearhead the Stuck in the Filter articles, and for upgrading the artwork and aesthetic of the piece to give it greater impact. I’d also like to extend my gratitude to them for approving my name change earlier this year, which was something I deemed necessary for personal reasons. Additionally, I wouldn’t be where I am without the continued support and friendship from an awesome team of excellent writers—too many to name individually now—whose prose routinely inspires me to progress and improve my own writing skills. You all rock! Lastly, Madam X and Sentynel deserve mad props for keeping this hunk of junk puttering along—Madam X for continuously updating and management of the promo sump; and Sentynel for his tireless maintenance and upkeep of the site and its various moving parts. This place owes both of you a perpetual debt!
Okay, enough babbling from me. Without further ado, please enjoy my Top Ten(ish) Records of 2023! YOMPS UP!
#10. Outer Heaven // Infinite Psychic Depths – Scuzzy sci-fi death metal doesn’t get better than this. Outer Heaven already made waves with debut record Realms of Eternal Decay back in 2018, but I didn’t take notice until later on. Once I did, however, there was no going back, and Infinite Psychic Depth only enamored me further. Unintelligible lyrics tell a surprisingly intricate tale of horror and devastation, disease, psychosis, and conquest all through the lens of a sci-fi gamer nerd. With such creativity at play on a conceptual level, I’d forgive them if there wasn’t as much energy left to dedicate to songwriting. Not the case here. Outer Heaven’s songwriting chops are on full display and in full bloom, making Infinite Psychic Depths one of the best death metal records of the year.
#9. Xoth // Exogalactic – Originally, this wasn’t even going to make my HMs. But, at the eleventh hour, Xoth pushed a new master to replace the original one, and suddenly Exogalactic transformed. Clearly, the songwriting here wasn’t the problem, as its tunes will entice and excite your every fiber. Powerful melodies and immense technical chops work together with hook-laden and compelling melodies, riffs, and noodles to craft a formidable contender in the crowded world of tech death. While it was a crime that I didn’t include predecessor Interdimensional Invocations on my 2019 list proper, I won’t allow myself to commit the same offense this year. Exogalactic solidifies Xoth as one of the best, if not the best, melodic tech death bands out there.
#7. Fires in the Distance // Air Not Meant for Us – I am extremely upset that this album only made it to number seven on my rankings. Melodic, ethereal, and crushing in equal measure, Fires in the Distance’s Air Not Meant for Us is quintessential Ken material. In fact, for most of the year, I reveled in how much this album felt like the product of a band that lived in my head rent-free and stole all of its trade secrets to make an album tailor-made to fit me like a wetsuit. Hooky riffs, excellent percussion, beautifully lush synths, and twinkling piano coalesce into one of the most gorgeous records I’ve heard in recent years. It’s immense sadness somehow enhances that beauty further and makes the record impossible to put down. If you missed it, you missed something special.
#6. Moonlight Sorcery // Horned Lord of the Thorned Castle – Every year, there seems to be at least one black metal album that burns the church barn down and leaves me to clean up the rubble. Despite the numerous times I’ve mentioned being picky about black metal, this phenomenon keeps occurring. This year, Moonlight Sorcery made the cut, being one of the most fun albums I’ve listened to out of the genre in forever. A powerful mix of melodic black metal rawness with symphonic power metal jubilance, Horned Lord of the Thorned Castle more than lives up to the potential hinted at in Moonlight Sorcery’s initial EPs. If this is the quality I should come to expect from this band, then this will not be the last time you see them on my Top Ten.
#5. Massen // Gentle Brutality – ENERGY SYSTEM. ENERGY SYSTEM. ENERGY SYSTEM. ENERGY SYSTEM, ENERGY SYSTEM, ENERGY SYSTEM. If this mantra ever leaves my brain, even for a moment, I might die of heartbreak. Easily the most potent opener of the year, “Energy System” launches what quickly becomes one of the coolest, most unexpected releases of 2023. Blending all manner of genres ranging from deathgrind to hardcore to folk metal, Massen’s Gentle Brutality promises an eclectic blunderbuss of extreme metal madness. With countless grooves, indelible hooks and just the right amount of bounce, Gentle Brutality grabs me, tosses me around like a toy, and leaves me giddy and wanting more by the end.
#2. Wormhole // Almost Human – I knew from the get-go that I would enjoy Wormhole’s latest. They have been at the forefront of my personal roster of techy slam bands to watch like a hawk. Of course, Wormhole validated my instincts, because Almost Human is a game-changer. A standout record in a field not renowned for innovation, Almost Human confirms that with the right songwriting, slam can be thoughtful, intentional, intricate, and enriching. Thanks to a healthy infusion of tech by way of tricky, but subtle maneuvers rather than straight-up wanking speed, Wormhole’s whimsically brutal metal suddenly transforms into something polished, elevated, and immersive. This is an album meant to be experienced with full focus and a curious spirit. With an open mind, whole universes open up before you as Almost Human transports you into regions unexplored. It is that adventurous character that defines Almost Human, and makes it one of the best records of the year.
#1. Nothingness // Supraliminal – Caveman death with a university degree. A Bachelor’s of Mad Science, to be exact. This is how I’ve come to appreciate Nothingness’ insane sophomore album, Supraliminal. Despite earning a meager “Mixed” score on this here blog, I knew that this massively accomplished record was special the moment it hit these ears. Twisted riffs, stomping rhythms, vicious freakouts, monstrous roars, and thoughtfully detailed compositions abound. Supraliminal checks all of my boxes and introduces new ones I never knew I wanted. Despite dropping way back in January—on my Mom’s birthday, no less—no other album this year came quite close enough to the throne to pluck Supraliminal’s crown off its head. With monumental bangers like “Horrendous Incantation,” “Catapulted into Hyperspace,” “Inviolate Viscera,” “Beacon of Loss,” and “Decimation Mechanism,” Nothingness’ gnarled constructs weave in and out of my consciousness like the ugliest of nightmares. Yet, every time I come back, my jaw drops in awe at how novel and meticulous each and every brutally injurious moment is, morphing what should be revolting into something of horrifying beauty. Truly, nothing was more grotesquely beautiful to me in 2023 than Nothingness.
Honorable Mentions
- Carnation // Cursed Mortality – One of the best Swedeath records of the year, and the best Carnation record yet!
- Crypta // Shades of Sorrow – It’s been ages since I’ve enjoyed a thrashy death metal album as much as Shades of Sorrow. Don’t fucking miss it!
- Frozen Dawn // The Decline of Enlightened Gods – Rollicking, rocking black metal with the vim and vigor to stand the test of time.
- Omnivortex // Circulate – Were it not for Carnosus, Xoth, and Wormhole, this would be the best tech-death thing of the year.
- Rotpit // Let There Be Rot – Absolute filth, and it’s delicious. Eat up!
- Sulphur Aeon // Seven Crowns and Seven Seals – Even my least favorite album by my favorite band can do no wrong, and it’s been growing on me even more since I got it. IA, IA!
- Tardigrade Inferno // Burn the Circus – Sometimes I just wanna be silly. Tardigrade Inferno supports this desire and fulfills it with aplomb.
- Theocracy // Mosaic – As someone who is unreligious, I am perhaps not Theocracy’s core demographic. And yet, their tunes routinely earn them a full Kenuflection at the altar.
- Twilight Force // At the Heart of Wintervale – This record makes me want to go out and tame a draGONE. Can’t ask for more than that!
- Vanishing Kids // Miracle of Death – Mesmerizing, psychedelic doom with teeth. It will haunt you if you approach.
Non-Metal Albums o’ the Year
- Cam Girl // Untucked – Sex-celebrating, gender-affirming, fun-loving action that will keep you hard and raring to go all night long!
- Gunship // Unicorn – Cyberpunk synthwave with my man Tim on the saxophone. This is the best genre in the world!
- The Vagaband // Beautiful World – A gorgeous album that took me by surprise, but it was the right record at the right time. I’ll be spinning this for years to come.
Song o’ the Year
Mental Cruelty – “Zweilicht/Symphony of a Dying Star”
Disappointment o’ the Year: 殞煞 (Vengeful Spectre) // 殞煞 二 (Vengeful Spectre II) – This isn’t necessarily a bad album. It’s just not what I wanted from the band that blasted the ground into glass with their rabid self titled debut. Maybe next time!
