This is the third album from Ukrainian doom metal band Vin de Mia Trix.
Palimpsests was a record that topped my 20174 year end list, but that was a long time ago, and I never really expected to hear from Vin de Mia Trix again after so long. However, they resurfaced in 2022 with the EP Waves~Stars, and have now returned fully with the colossal This Landscape Is Alive. Continue reading “Vin de Mia Trix – This Landscape Is Alive (Review)”
Old Night are a Croatian doom metal band and this is their fourth album.
2017’s Pale Cold Irrelevance and 2019’s A Fracture in the Human Soul were both great records, so I was pleased and surprised when Mediterranean Melancholy appeared out of the blue. I was even more surprised to find out that Old Night released another album – Ghost Light – in 2022 that had completely escaped my attention. Boo! Anyway, let’s now turn our attention to the 44 minutes of new material on Mediterranean Melancholy. Continue reading “Old Night – Mediterranean Melancholy (Review)”
Slomatics are a doom metal band from the UK and this is their eighth album.
Ever since hearing 2016’s amazing Future Echo Returns, I’ve been a huge fan of Slomatics, (also, if you haven’t already, check out Canyons and Strontium Fields, as well as these splits – here and here). Slomatics are one of the best doom bands around in my humble opinion, which means I’ve been really looking forward to Atomicult. Continue reading “Slomatics – Atomicult (Review)”
This is the debut album from international doom metal band Lights of Vimana.
That Déhà chap certainly gets around. Apart from his own prolific output, he recently supplied vocals to the new album from the mighty Aphonic Threnody. I mention this here because he’s back once more, providing vocals to another doom band – Lights of Vimana. This time he is working in concert with two others, (current/ex-members of Dalla Nebbia, Mesmur, Void of Silence, and Pantheïst), to bring us 48 minutes of atmospheric/progressive doom, in the shape of Neopolis. Continue reading “Lights of Vimana – Neopolis (Review)”
This is the third album from Italian doom metallers Epitaph.
I enjoyed 2014’s Crawling out of the Crypt a great deal, and 2017’s Claws wasn’t too shabby either. It’s been a long time since their last album though, and Epitaph also have a new singer now too. So, what do the 41 minutes of new music on Path to Oblivion have to offer us then? Continue reading “Epitaph – Path to Oblivion (Review)”
This is the tenth album from French doom band Monolithe.
Following on from 2022’s Kosmodrom, Monolithe return, with 55 minutes of new material in the brooding shape of Black Hole District. Monolithe have a strong track record, and their latest release is a continuation of their high quality output. Continue reading “Monolithe – Black Hole District (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)”
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”
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)”
Flesh of the Stars are from the US and play doom metal. This is their fifth album.
Flesh of the Stars are a band that I always enjoy catching up with. 2015’s Hide, 2017’s Anhilla, and 2019’s Mercy are all albums worthy of your time, and the same is true of their new record, The Glass Garden, doubly so in fact. Continue reading “Flesh of the Stars – The Glass Garden (Review)”
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