This is the fourth album from Greek doom/sludge metal band Sun of Nothing.
Well, it’s been a while since I’ve heard from Sun of Nothing – well over a decade in fact – so Maze appearing unheralded into my world was really unexpected, although greatly welcomed. If you’re unfamiliar with the band’s blackened sludge metal horror, then I can heartily recommend their entire discography to you. Continue reading “Sun of Nothing – Maze (Review)”
This is the fourth album from Lord Dying, a sludge metal band from the US.
I absolutely loved 2019’s Mysterium Tremendum, (it ended up in fourth position in that year’s best of list), so I was thrilled when the 59-minute Clandestine Transcendence appeared. Well, it’s five years later and the band have a new lineup, (current/ex-Eight Bells/Tithe), so what does Clandestine Transcendence have to offer discerning metal fans in 2024? Continue reading “Lord Dying – Clandestine Transcendence (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”
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 Tides of Sulfur, a blackened sludge metal band from the UK.
Apathy Chasm is the eagerly awaited, (by me at any rate), 39-minute follow up to 2016’s mighty Extinction Curse. Prepare yourself for punishment. The foul music on Apathy Chasm is a merciless blackened amalgamation of fetid death metal and unearthly sludge. Continue reading “Tides of Sulfur – Apathy Chasm (Review)”
This is the third album from UK sludge/doom metal band Torpor.
Torpor play heavy, mood-focused music that crushes as much as it affectingly moves. Combining sludge, doom, and post-metal into 41 minutes of gritty material, Abscission is a record that is worth hearing if you’re partial to the style. Continue reading “Torpor – Abscission (Review)”
Slomatics are a doom metal band from the UK and this is their seventh album.
They’re heavy, they’re doomy, they’re Slomatics. This is a band that I really, really like. Haven’t heard them? As well as this new record, make sure you check out Future Echo Returns, Canyons, and their splits with Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard/MWWB and Yanomamo. Continue reading “Slomatics – Strontium Fields (Review)”
This is the third album from Swedish sludge metal band Vak.
The Islands contains 50 minutes of progressive sludge metal. Taking in parts of doom, sludge, stoner, psychedelic, and progressive rock, Vak build musical structures that are unusual and impressive. Continue reading “Vak – The Islands (Review)”
Urne are a metal band from the UK and this is their second album.
Having loved Urne’s 2021 debut album Serpent & Spirit, it’s safe to assume that A Feast on Sorrow has been one of my most anticipated albums of 2023. I’m very pleased to say that it has not disappointed. Continue reading “Urne – A Feast on Sorrow (Review)”
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