This is the third album from US death metallers Gatecreeper.
Gatecreeper are always a reliable source of crushing old-school death metal carnage. Both 2016’s Sonoran Depravation and 2019’s Deserted were solid slabs of heaviness, (I also really enjoyed their 2018 split with Iron Reagan), so checking out the 37-minute Dark Superstition was mandatory. Continue reading “Gatecreeper – Dark Superstition (Review)”
This is the latest EP from UK blackened post-metal band Ba’al.
I was introduced to Ba’al on 2017’s In Gallows by Mass, but it wasn’t until 2020’s colossal debut Ellipsism that they truly came into their own. Four years on from that record, Ba’al return with the three-track EP Soft Eyes, which brings us 27 minutes of new material. Continue reading “Ba’al – Soft Eyes (Review)”
Subterraen are a French sludge/post-metal band and this is their second album.
The follow up to 2020’s humungous Rotten Human Kingdom, In the Aftermath of Blight contains 37 minutes of music spread over four tracks. Continue reading “Subterraen – In the Aftermath of Blight (Review)”
This is the third album from US doom/post-metal band Aequorea.
Spread out over five engaging tracks, Departure is a 41-minute amalgamation of doom, post-metal, sludge, and blackened elements. This is my first encounter with Aequorea, but they make a good impression. Continue reading “Aequorea – Departure (Review)”
This is the sixth album from Grey Skies Fallen, a progressive/melodic doom band from the US.
Following on from 2014’s The Many Sides of Truth and 2020’s Cold Dead Lands comes Molded by Broken Hands, which contains 48 minutes of new material. Continue reading “Grey Skies Fallen – Molded by Broken Hands (Review)”
This is the debut album from Angmodnes, a funeral doom band from the Netherlands.
Rot of the Soul is a 55-minute journey into funeral doom misery and woe. The music of Angmodnes is engrossing and immersive, covering the listener in layers of rich darkness and compelling atmosphere. Continue reading “Angmodnes – Rot of the Soul (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”
Thronehammer are an international doom metal band and this is their third album.
Thronehammer’s 2021 album Incantation Rites was an absolutely colossal gem of an album that almost made it to the very top of my year end list. As such, it’s with some trepidation that I approached Kingslayer, as the previous record casts a long shadow. Continue reading “Thronehammer – Kingslayer (Review)”
This is the second album from Godthrymm, a doom metal band from the UK.
2020’s Reflections was a high quality slab of old-school doom, so it’s with great pleasure that I welcome Distortions into my life. Across 60 minutes Godthrymm once again demonstrate why they’re head and shoulders above most contemporary doom metal acts. Continue reading “Godthrymm – Distortions (Review)”
The Crawling are a death/doom band from Northern Ireland and this is their third album.
The promo blurb for this album recommends it for fans of Paradise Lost, Officium Triste, Evoken, and Sentenced, which gives a decent starting point for what sort of style The Crawling play. To this I’d also add touches of My Dying Bride and, from a Continue reading “The Crawling – All of This for Nothing (Review)”
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