This is a split between Lotus Thief and Forlesen. Both are US bands and both share members.
Lotus Thief open the split with In Perdition, a 12-minute song. I’m not familiar with the band, and I soon regret that immensely. Continue reading “Lotus Thief/Forlesen – Split (Review)”
This is the eighth album from Norwegian progressive metal band Madder Mortem.
Old Eyes, New Heart contains 48 minutes of charismatic and professionally rendered progressive metal, with doom and post-metal elements. Madder Mortem have carved a distinct and individual sound for themselves over them years, and on this new record they sound just as striking and vital as ever. Continue reading “Madder Mortem – Old Eyes, New Heart (Review)”
Yersin are from the UK and play crust/metal. This is their second album.
Yersin play a hybrid style that combines grindcore, crust, death metal, black metal, and thrash metal into 25 minutes of sludgy filth and fury. This may be a short album, but it packs a punch. Continue reading “Yersin – The Scythe Is Remorseless (Review)”
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”
This is the second album from US black metal band Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze.
Brought to us by an ex-member of A God or an Other, The Fractal Ouroboros is an ambitious and bold work that’s utterly absorbing. Across an imposing 75 minutes Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze unleash music that is affecting like few others. Continue reading “Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze – The Fractal Ouroboros (Review)”
Slow are a funeral doom band from Belgium and this is their seventh album.
Both 2017’s V – Oceans and 2019’s VI – Dantalion were colossal records of immersive atmospheric doom immensity. The latter made it onto my end of year list for 2019 too. With that in mind, and with expectations running high, we turn to the 44 minutes that Abîmes I has in store for us. Continue reading “Slow – Abîmes I (Review)”
This is the third album from Canadian death metal act Phobocosm.
Foreordained contains 41 minutes of cavernous, doom-infused death metal. It’s a journey into the lightless places that are hard to reach, but if you can endure the extreme environments they offer, then there are many potential rewards to be had. Continue reading “Phobocosm – Foreordained (Review)”
Convocation are a funeral doom band from Finland, and this is their third album.
Having been impressed with Convocation’s colossal doom offerings on 2018’s Scars Across and 2020’s Ashes Coalesce, the arrival of No Dawn for the Caliginous Night is a welcome one. Continue reading “Convocation – No Dawn for the Caliginous Night (Review)”
Leonov are a Norwegian doom/post-metal band, and this is their third album.
It’s been some time since 2018’s Wake, but now Leonov have returned with new opus Procession. Will it attain the gloomy heights of its predecessor? Continue reading “Leonov – Procession (Review)”
This is the second album from international death metallers Cruciamentum.
Featuring current/ex-members of Vacivus and Perdition Temple, Cruciamentum play old-school death metal that fans of acts such as Incantation, Corpsessed, Ritual Necromancy, Fossilization, and Immolation should check out. Continue reading “Cruciamentum – Obsidian Refractions (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 