Necrot are a death metal band from the US and this is their third album.
2020’s Mortal was an enjoyable slab of old-school death metal carnage, and now Necrot are back to reap more limbs with the 40-minute Lifeless Birth. It’s a step up a level for Necrot, one you must listen to if you’re a fan of bands such as Gatecreeper, Bolt Thrower, Undeath, Incantation, Blood Red Throne, Autopsy, Grave, Tomb Mold, Outer Heaven, Genocide Pact, etc. Continue reading “Necrot – Lifeless Birth (Review)”
Apparition are a death metal band from the US and this is their second album.
Featuring an ex-member of Nails, Apparition play progressive death/doom metal. On Disgraced Emanations from a Tranquil State they deliver 38-minutes of music that hits the spot. Continue reading “Apparition – Disgraced Emanations from a Tranquil State (Review)”
This is the debut album from UK death/doom metal band Slimelord.
Chytridiomycosis Relinquished comes to us from current/ex-members of Cryptic Shift and Horrified, which should bode well for Slimelord. This coupled with the promo stating that this is for fans of Disembowelment, Immolation, Gojira, Morbid Angel, Voidceremony, Tomb Mold, Edge of
Sanity, and Morbus Chron, made me quite intrigued to check out Chytridiomycosis Relinquished, as that’s quite the mix. Continue reading “Slimelord – Chytridiomycosis Relinquished (Review)”
This is the debut album from Fathomless Ritual, a solo death metal band from Canada.
Brought to us by a member of Gutvoid, Hymns for the Lesser Gods is a 39-minute slab of foul death metal. Old-school and cavernous, it fuses technical skill with brute force, making for an unholy merging of sophistication and simplicity. Continue reading “Fathomless Ritual – Hymns for the Lesser Gods (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 fourth album from Canadian death metallers Tomb Mold.
Following on from 2018’s Manor of Infinite Forms and 2019’s Planetary Clairvoyance, comes The Enduring Spirit; 43 minutes of eagerly awaited material from an extremely well-regarded band. Continue reading “Tomb Mold – The Enduring Spirit (Review)”
Undergang are a death metal band from Denmark and this is their latest EP.
As the name might suggest, De Syv Stadier af Fordærv contains seven tracks, with a total duration of 21 minutes. Continue reading “Undergang – De Syv Stadier af Fordærv (Review)”
Celestial Sanctuary are a death metal band from the UK and this is their second album.
Featuring the current/ex-drummer of The Infernal Sea/Man Must Die in their ranks, Celestial Sanctuary play old-school death metal with lethal skill. Across 40 minutes Insatiable Thirst for Torment showcases the band’s considerable talents, and there’s a lot of them, because this album is on fire. Continue reading “Celestial Sanctuary – Insatiable Thirst for Torment (Review)”
This is the second album from US death metallers Outer Heaven.
I thoroughly enjoyed 2018’s Realms of Decay, and I can’t quite believe that it came out so long ago. Regardless, Outer Heaven are now back, and they have brought 46 minutes of shockingly good death metal with them. Continue reading “Outer Heaven – Infinite Psychic Depths (Review)”
This is the debut album from Australian death metallers Hormagaunt.
Although In the Flesh quietly oozed into life at the end of 2022 I couldn’t resist its mouldy charms, so here we are. Get ready for a 31-minute trip into the foulest and nastiest death metal swamps. Continue reading “Hormagaunt – In the Flesh (Review)”
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