Hammerfall are a Swedish heavy/power metal band and this is their thirteenth album.
I do enjoy visiting the world of Hammerfall when I can, (check out Built to Last, Glory to the Brave, and Renegade 2.0 too), so Avenge the Fallen is well-received. Hammerfall’s latest contains 47 minutes of new music, and is a strong record from this veteran band. Continue reading “Hammerfall – Avenge the Fallen (Review)”
This is the fifth album from Ironflame, a heavy metal solo act from the US.
Despite not reviewing the style as much as, say, black or death metal, I’m a huge fan of heavy/power/etc. metal. The problem is though that is a very easy style to play poorly, as you need really really good songs and a really good singer to make an impression on me. This is where Ironflame come in, as they tick both boxes. Kingdom Torn Asunder is filled with metallic bangers and they have a singer that can belt them out with the best of them. Continue reading “Ironflame – Kingdom Torn Asunder (Review)”
Against Evil are an Indian heavy metal band and this is their third album.
Against Evil play energy-filled heavy metal, and they play it very well. There are power and thrash metal influences at play here, particularly the latter, but essentially this is glorious fast-paced old-school heavy metal, delivered with contemporary passion and skill. Continue reading “Against Evil – Give ’em Hell (Review)”
Crystal Viper are a Polish heavy metal band and this is their ninth album.
Despite being nine albums into their career, this is my first encounter with Crystal Viper. Containing 11 tracks of classic heavy metal, The Silver Key is 47 minutes, (with the Bathory cover song), of solid, old-fashioned metal. Continue reading “Crystal Viper – The Silver Key (Review)”
This is the second album from Greek progressive power metallers Sunburst.
Across 49 minutes Sunburst impress with their cinematic take on progressive metal. Manifesto comes from the point of view of progressive power metal, (think Kamelot, Cloudscape, Threshold, and Pagan’s Mind), but also contains minor touches of a more contemporary perspective, one that primarily manifests in some of the riffs and drums. It’s not strong, but it’s there in places. Apart from this, Manifesto is pure 00s progressive power metal worship. Continue reading “Sunburst – Manifesto (Review)”
This is the second album from Portuguese deathcore band Downfall of Mankind.
The promo blurb recommends Purgatory for fans of bands such as Distant, Gojira, and Lorna Shore, and calls it a mix of deathcore, progressive metal and atmosphere, which saves me the job of providing a rough overview before we get into the meat of it. Continue reading “Downfall of Mankind – Purgatory (Review)”
This is the second album from US death metal band Veriteras.
Veriteras play melodic black/death metal inspired by the old-school Scandinavian scene of the 90s. The Dark Horizon is a 31-minute homage to this era, and boy does it get a lot right. Continue reading “Veriteras – The Dark Horizon (Review)”
This is the debut album from Italian power metal band Alterium.
Brought to us be ex-members of Kalida and Kaledon, Of War and Flames contains 42 minutes of engaging and well-delivered power metal material, (including a Sabaton cover). Continue reading “Alterium – Of War and Flames (Review)”
This is the tenth album from Greek heavy/power metal band Firewind.
Brought to us be current and ex-members of bands such as Dream Evil, Kamelot, Nightrage, Ozzy Osbourne, Firewind bring a lot of talent and experience to the party. Across 43 minutes they deliver ten tracks of classic metallic songcraft, (one of which is a cover song). Continue reading “Firewind – Stand United (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”
Wonderbox Metal 