Darkest Hour are a US metal band and this is their tenth album.
It’s been a long time since 2017’s Godless Prophets & the Migrant Flora, but now Darkest Hour have returned. They’ve brought with them 41 minutes of scorching material in the shape of Perpetual | Terminal, and make no mistake, this has been worth the wait. Continue reading “Darkest Hour – Perpetual | Terminal (Review)”
This is the debut album from Dissimulator, a Canadian death/thrash metal band.
Brought to us by current and ex-members of bands such as Atramentus, Beyond Creation, and First Fragment, Lower Form Resistance delivers 42 minutes of material from Dissimulator. Continue reading “Dissimulator – Lower Form Resistance (Review)”
This is the second album from UK black/thrash metallers Devastator.
Conjurers of Cruelty boasts 51 minutes of material, (44 without the two bonus tracks), delivering a feast of filthy riffs, corroded teeth, and overgrown claws. Continue reading “Devastator – Conjurers of Cruelty (Review)”
This is the debut album from US death metallers Sinistrum.
I’m not sure what initially drew me to check out Sinistrum, but as soon as I saw that they contain current and ex-members of Abominant, Bihargam, Aeons of Eclipse, and Fornicus, I knew I had to give this a proper go. Continue reading “Sinistrum – Infernal Dawn (Review)”
This is the fifth album from US death metal/deathcore band Enterprise Earth.
2020’s EP Foundation of Bones was a solid introduction to the band for me, but I really enjoyed 2022’s The Chosen. Yes it was too long, but I really liked the band’s ability to combine deathcore and death metal with a range of different ideas and influences to create something above the norm for the style. Two years and a new singer later, and Enterprise Earth have returned with Death: An Anthology, which delivers 59 minutes of new material. It has not disappointed. Continue reading “Enterprise Earth – Death: An Anthology (Review)”
This is the second album from Serbian thrash metal band Jenner.
Prove Them Wrong contains 45 minutes of classic thrashing metal the likes of which you don’t commonly encounter in 2023. It’s very endearing and top fun – Jenner know how to play this sort of thing that’s for sure. Continue reading “Jenner – Prove Them Wrong (Review)”
This is the second EP from US black metallers Thirsting Altar.
Following up on 2020’s debut release Ascension, and back with a new, expanded lineup, we have Thirsting Altar with their latest 21-minute EP Reclamation. Continue reading “Thirsting Altar – Reclamation (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”
This is the second album from Devils Reef, a death metal band from the US.
Following on from 2021’s Chosen by the Sea, The Droste Observer is an evolved form of this death metal predator. Offering up a lean, mean 36 minutes of new material, Devils Reef demonstrate that they are worth being mentioned in the same breath as bands like Revocation, The Black Dahlia Murder, Obscura, Allegaeon, Black Crown Initiate, and the like. Continue reading “Devils Reef – The Droste Observer (Review)”
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