This is the second album from US metal band The Watchers.
Nyctophilia contains 41 minutes of song-based metallic fun. Taking elements from the classic metal, thrash, stoner, grunge, and doom styles, The Watchers ably demonstrate what they are capable of. Continue reading “The Watchers – Nyctophilia (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”
Appalooza are a French heavy rock band and this is their third album.
The Shining Son contains 45 minutes of quality rock music. Taking in elements of the hard, stoner, and alternative rock/grunge styles, Appalooza’s charismatic music is easy to like. Continue reading “Appalooza – The Shining Son (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)”
This is the third album from US doom metal band Thunder Horse.
After the Fall contains 40 minutes of quality doom. Spliced with elements of classic heavy metal, stoner, and hard rock, alongside splashes of psychedelia and progressive rock, Thunder Horse have crafted an album that’s worth spending some quality time with. Continue reading “Thunder Horse – After the Fall (Review)”
This is a split between High Desert Queen and Blue Heron, two stoner rock bands from the US.
High Desert Queen open the split. They contribute three songs, with a total duration of 13 minutes. Continue reading “Turned to Stone Chapter 8: The Wake – High Desert Queen/Blue Heron – Split (Review)”
Gozu are a stoner/grunge band from the US and this is their fifth album.
Remedy contains 49 minutes of stoner rock and metal mixed with a healthy dose of grunge. Imagine a mix of Clutch, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Black Sabbath, Corrosion of Conformity, and Mastodon, and you’ll have a decent idea of where Gozu are coming from. Continue reading “Gozu – Remedy (Review)”
Green Yeti are a Greek psychedelic doom metal band and this is their third album.
Yes folks, it’s time for a new Green Yeti album. If you have had your fill of 2016’s The Yeti Has Landed and 2017’s Desert Snow and are eager for new material, the 44 minutes of Necropolitan has finally landed. Continue reading “Green Yeti – Necropolitan (Review)”
This is the third album from Morass of Molasses, a stoner rock/metal band from the UK.
Following on from 2019’s The Ties That Bind, End All We Know contains 38 minutes of fuzzed-out jams. Playing a stoner-inflected brand of heavy blues that benefits from metal and rock components, Morass of Molasses bring us an individual vision of a well-worn style. Continue reading “Morass of Molasses – End All We Know (Review)”
This is the debut album from Norwegian stoner/sludge metal band Håndgemeng.
Ultraritual provides us with 42 minutes of stoner/sludge metal that has a hardcore edge. Taking a high energy approach to riff-focused heavy music, yet varied within this, Ultraritual is a melting pot of influences that come together well. Continue reading “Håndgemeng – Ultraritual (Review)”
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