Sergeant Thunderhoof are a stoner rock band from the UK and this is their fifth album.
2022’s This Sceptred Isle made a big impression on me, even breaching my end of year list, so The Ghost of Badon Hill is one I’ve been looking forward to. With much expectation riding on it, I’m immensely pleased to report that it has not disappointed at all. Continue reading “Sergeant Thunderhoof – The Ghost of Badon Hill (Review)”
Blue Heron are a heavy rock band from the US and this is their second album.
Ever since first encountering Blue Heron in 2021 on their debut release Black Blood of the Earth/A Sunken Place I’ve been partial to the band’s earthy brand of stoner rock. They capitalised on this early success in 2022 with their first album Ephemeral, and then the following year released a split with High Desert Queen which I particularly liked. All of which brings us to Everything Fades, and its 39 minutes of new material. Continue reading “Blue Heron – Everything Fades (Review)”
This is the second album from UK stoner/sludge metallers Barbarian Hermit.
It’s been six long years since 2018’s Solitude and Savagery, but now Barbarian Hermit have returned, and with a different vocalist. Mean Sugar contains 44 minutes of new music for us to hungrily devour. Continue reading “Barbarian Hermit – Mean Sugar (Review)”
This is the latest EP from UK stoner rock/metal band Ghozer.
Following on from 2022’s solid Black Lotus, Ghozer have now returned with Forest of Bones, a new 22-minute EP. Forest of Bones contains four tracks – three new originals and a cover of a song by The Beatles. Continue reading “Ghozer – Forest of Bones (Review)”
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)”
Wonderbox Metal 