Unreqvited – Pathway to the Moon (Review)

Unreqvited - Pathway to the MoonThis is the seventh album from Canadian solo post-black metal band Unreqvited.

Pathway to the Moon contains 43 minutes of post-black metal, taking in elements of blackgaze, symphonic black metal, progressive metal, and post-rock along the way. If you are familiar with Unreqvited’s past work, Pathway to the Moon finds the artist taking their art to the next level. Everything here is an evolutionary step up, delivering music that is extremely well-rendered into its final form. Continue reading “Unreqvited – Pathway to the Moon (Review)”

Pestilent Hex – Sorceries of Sanguine & Shadow (Review)

Pestilent Hex - Sorceries of Sanguine & ShadowPestilent Hex are a black metal band from Finland and this is their second album.

After 2022’s enjoyable The Ashen Abhorrence, Pestilent Hex have now returned with the 46-minute Sorceries of Sanguine & Shadow. Continue reading “Pestilent Hex – Sorceries of Sanguine & Shadow (Review)”

Wraithfyre – Of Fell Peaks and Haunted Chasms (Review)

Wraithfyre - Of Fell Peaks and Haunted ChasmsThis is the debut album from Wraithfyre, a UK solo black metal band.

On Of Fell Peaks and Haunted Chasms the artist behind Wraithfyre delivers 37 minutes of old-school symphonic black metal. It’s good stuff, and has clearly been created by somebody that knows the style well. Continue reading “Wraithfyre – Of Fell Peaks and Haunted Chasms (Review)”

Seth – La France des Maudits (Review)

Seth - La France des MauditsThis is the seventh album from French black metallers Seth.

La France des Maudits offers up 46 minutes of expressive black metal. Seth are one of those bands that have been around for some time now and despite being aware of them since their very early days I’ve never actually heard them before. This new album seemed like the perfect time to rectify this. Continue reading “Seth – La France des Maudits (Review)”

Perchta – D​’​Muata (Review)

Perchta - D​’​MuataThis is the second album from Perchta, a black metal band from Austria.

D​’​Muata offers a 48-minute atmospheric blackened folk experience that’s compelling and immersive. Perchta have crafted a strong personality of their own on this record, and it’s one that serves them well for almost all of the album. Continue reading “Perchta – D​’​Muata (Review)”

Ende – L’aube des Anathèmes (Review)

Ende - L'aube des AnathèmesEnde are a French black metal band and this is their sixth album.

I always like being able to catch up with Ende’s work. If you’re unfamiliar with the band, make sure you check out 2015’s The Rebirth of I, 2017’s Emën Etan, or 2018’s Goétie Funeste, (or indeed any of their other work), and you’ll be assured of encountering an album of traditional black metal that’s worth your time. Which brings us to the 41 minutes of new material on L’aube des Anathèmes; has Ende’s quality streak continued? Continue reading “Ende – L’aube des Anathèmes (Review)”

Häxanu/Greve – Naturmystik – Split (Review)

Häxanu Greve - Naturmystik - SplitThis is a split between black metal bands Häxanu, from the US, and Greve, from Sweden.

Häxanu open up the split, with four tracks that last 20 minutes in total. I was a big fan of 2023’s Totenpass, which is why I knew I wanted to check out this split when it appeared on my radar. Continue reading “Häxanu/Greve – Naturmystik – Split (Review)”

Vorga – Beyond the Palest Star (Review)

Vorga - Beyond the Palest StarThis is the second album from Vorga, a German black metal band.

With 2022’s Striving Toward Oblivion Vorga made a notable impact in the world of melodic black metal. Now they’re back with Beyond the Palest Star, which delivers another sci-fi trip through 43 minutes of sharp melodic aggression. Continue reading “Vorga – Beyond the Palest Star (Review)”

Yersin – The Scythe Is Remorseless (Review)

Yersin - The Scythe Is RemorselessYersin 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)”

Wonderbox Metal End of Year List – Best Metal of 2023

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”