Wonderbox Metal End of Year List – Best Metal of 2023

Welcome to my annual attempt to make sense of the ridiculous amount of good metal albums out there, awaiting discovery by intrepid metal explorers.

2023’s best of list has been one of the more difficult ones to put together, placing-wise, which is one of the reasons that I’m posting it later than I usually do. Even more so than normal many of the slots are interchangeable, and I especially struggled with positions two-nine – if such a thing were possible, they all deserve to be higher! In the end I decided to stop overthinking it and go with my gut, but the usual caveat of these lists being very subjective and subject to change depending on mood, feelings, etc. is larger than normal here.

There are some notable acts missing form the below. Not because they’re not worthy of inclusion, but because there are only so many spaces to be had. In fact, I almost ended up limiting this list to 20, rather than the now-customary 30, as I found it really difficult to know who to include and who not to. In the end I went with the standard 30 so that I could promote a few extra bands, as they absolutely all deserve it.

As for the top position, I wasn’t expecting it to be filled by a band I’d never heard before, playing a style that I don’t listen to as much as I used to. However, I suppose after last year, I shouldn’t have been too surprised.

I do hope you enjoy this list and find some new music to obsess over. Like always, thanks for your support if you have ever visited this site before, and here’s to a great 2024 for as many of us as possible. Continue reading “Wonderbox Metal End of Year List – Best Metal of 2023”

Helfró – Tálgröf (Review)

Helfró - TálgröfHelfró are a black/death metal band from Iceland and this is their second album.

Following on from 2020’s enjoyable Helfró comes Tálgröf, which boasts 36 minutes of new material. Marginally shorter than its predecessor, despite having one track more, what does this mean for the Helfró of 2023? Continue reading “Helfró – Tálgröf (Review)”

Sepulchral Curse – Abhorrent Dimensions (Review)

Sepulchral Curse - Abhorrent DimensionsSepulchral Curse are a blackened death metal band from Finland and this is their second album.

Following on from 2016’s At the Onset of Extinction and 2020’s Only Ashes Remain comes the 37-minute monster that is Abhorrent Dimensions. Put simply, this new album is Sepulchral Curse’s best work so far. Continue reading “Sepulchral Curse – Abhorrent Dimensions (Review)”

Cult Burial – Reverie of the Malignant (Review)

Cult Burial - Reverie of the MalignantThis is the second album from Cult Burial, a death/black/doom metal band from the UK.

Following on from 2020’s crushing Cult Burial, Reverie of the Malignant is a 41 minute journey into a world of darkness and despair. It’s not to be missed. Continue reading “Cult Burial – Reverie of the Malignant (Review)”

Sulphur Aeon – Seven Crowns and Seven Seals (Review)

Sulphur Aeon - Seven Crowns and Seven SealsSulphur Aeon are a German death metal band and this is their fourth album.

Long after 2015’s Gateway to the Antisphere and 2018’s The Scythe of Cosmic Chaos shook the death metal underworld, Sulphur Aeon returns to sow chaos and discord once again. A great slumbering monster awakens. Continue reading “Sulphur Aeon – Seven Crowns and Seven Seals (Review)”

Carnifex – Necromanteum (Review)

Carnifex - NecromanteumThis is the ninth album from Carnifex, a blackened death metal/deathcore band from the US.

Following on from 2016’s Slow Death, 2019’s World War X, and 2021’s Graveside Confessions, comes Necromanteum; 42 minutes of well-crafted heaviness. So what do Carnifex have in store for us this time? Continue reading “Carnifex – Necromanteum (Review)”

Trivax – Eloah Burns Out (Review)

Trivax - Eloah Burns OutTrivax are an Iranian/UK black metal band and this is their second album.

Following on from 2016’s SIN, Trivax return with 49 minutes of new material in the dark shape of Eloah Burns Out. This new album offers a more refined, well-developed vision of extreme metal, and is definitely a record you should check out if you’re a fan of black/death metal. Continue reading “Trivax – Eloah Burns Out (Review)”

Zvylpwkua – The Outlying Entities (Review)

Zvylpwkua - The Outlying EntitiesThis is the second album from international death metal band Zvylpwkua.

Featuring a member of Feral Lord and Slog, The Outlying Entities is an avant-garde death metal monster. Beware those that enter into its sphere of awareness, as this is not an album to approach lightly. Continue reading “Zvylpwkua – The Outlying Entities (Review)”

Asystole – Siren to Blight (Review)

Asystole - Siren to BlightAsystole are a death metal band from the US and this is their debut album.

Siren to Blight contains 29 minutes of death metal that the promo blurb says is influenced by bands such as Gorguts, Virus, Krallice, Cryptopsy, and Anata. Continue reading “Asystole – Siren to Blight (Review)”

Ignominy – Imminent Collapse (Review)

Ignominy - Imminent CollapseIgnominy are from Canada and play death metal. This is their debut album.

Ignominy are not a standard death metal act, and Imminent Collapse is not your run-of-the-mill death metal album. Rooted in the dissonant style, theirs is an avant-garde expression of dissodeath that incorporates blackened textures, technical flourishes, chaotic intensity, and atmospheric proclivities. Continue reading “Ignominy – Imminent Collapse (Review)”