The Metal Dad

Please don’t let the utter lack of album reviews on the blog this year be mistaken for me not listening to any new music. The lack of reviews (which will be remedied in 2024) was due to a host of external factors. The flow of new music never stopped, so much so that this annual exercise in narrowing down my favorite records of the year seemed harder than ever.

That’s a good segue to remind readers that this top 40 is not a “best of” list. It’s a list of my personal favorite full-length records released this year. My putting them in any type of order reflects how much I listened to them as much as it does how much I enjoyed them. (Although let’s be honest, the two go hand-in-hand.)

We’ll be revealing the top 20 albums on The Metal Dad Radio Show on December 14 & 21 at 7:00 pm EST. Both shows will be in the radio archives the next day and corresponding articles will show up in this space as well. For now enjoy the first half of the list and I hope you find some of your new favorite albums as well.

 

40. Immortal – War Against All
There have been few bands in the history of black metal with the longevity and consistency of Immortal. Even after their big split with Abbath, Demonaz has been able to churn out some pretty stellar material. War Against All is an excellent addition to their ever-growing legacy.
https://immortal.bandcamp.com/album/war-against-all

 

 

39. They Watch Us From The Moon – Cosmic Chronicles Act 1
I’m not even going to pretend I had heard of this Kansas-based band prior to them dropping their debut full-length album, but you better believe they’ll be on my radar moving forward. With soaring dual female vocals and enough atmosphere to match their spacey themes, They Watch Us From The Moon are not your typical stoner doom outfit. Despite doom length songs there are enough hooks here to give this record an accessible feel for non-metal fans, yet enough heavy, chunky riffs to hold the attention of the stodgiest metalhead. Picture The Gathering writing stoner songs and you might get a close approximation of what you’ll find here.
https://theywatchusfromthemoon.bandcamp.com/album/cosmic-chronicles-act-i-the-ascension

 

38. Depravation – IV: LETVM
Released back in February, this was one of the first great records on 2023. This is also the second time in as many albums that Germany’s Depravation has shown up somewhere on this list. Their brand of crusty, blackened metal is one I can easily wrap my arms. Chunky breakdowns, throat-searing vocals, and frosty riffing are consistently thrown into a whirlwind of blasting cacophony to create a truly maniacal sound.
https://depravation.bandcamp.com/album/iv-letvm

 

37. One Master – The Names of Power
I was kind of shocked when I realized it had been six years since the last One Master album. It probably didn’t feel as long because I keep revisiting their back catalogue, specifically the previous two releases. What I was not shocked about was how good this record wound up being once I finally sat down with it. When counting the USBM bands that keep the storied second wave of black metal alive in their blackened hearts while still progressing the genre forward you’d be hard-pressed to find a better example than this New England collective. The Names of Power is a grim testament to a band who keeps delivering one significant release after another.
https://onemaster.bandcamp.com/album/the-names-of-power

 

36. Gravesend – Gowanus Death Stomp
There are few cities in the world I dread going to as much as New York. Can’t really put my finger on why but if you’re going to write a record with the seedy underbelly of New York City as your main inspiration I’d want it as angry and violent as this record. Gravesend take the artillery fire of war metal and seamlessly merge it with black, death, and even some d-beat influences to help create a sonic hellscape befitting of the rotted metropolis they are writing about.
https://20buckspin.bandcamp.com/album/gowanus-death-stomp

 

35. Hellripper – Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags
Ever since Scotland’s Hellripper exploded onto the scene in the 2010s there have been few bands who have perfected the blackened speed metal sound that this act exemplifies. Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags picks up where previous efforts have left off, and continues to expand main man James McBain’s repertoire as a songwriter. The solos shred a little harder and where this album gives up certain speed elements, it gains a more blackened edge. This is a welcomed addition to a growing catalogue of exceptional releases.
https://peaceville.bandcamp.com/album/warlocks-grim-withered-hags

 

34. Gyrdleah – Spellbinder
After one EP all the way back in 2011 UK’s Gyrdleah seemingly vanished into the metal ether. But after a decade plus this one-man project returned this year with their debut full-length. The UK of course has a rather long and rich black metal history for us to pull from and Gyrdleah has the potential to be one of those acts that carves out their own niche within the scene’s storied pantheon. Drawing from second and third wave influences, Spellbinder is a record that drifts from mid-pace black metal to more atmospheric elements without ever losing sight of the demonic path it attempts to lead us down.
https://gyrdleah.bandcamp.com/album/spellbinder

 

33. Karras – We Poison Their Young
If you are going to name your band after one of the main characters of The Exorcist (and open your album with fantastic samples from Children of the Corn) chances are my horror-loving ass is going to be on board real quick. However, as we have all discovered with way too many goregrind and death metal bands over the years, cool movie samples can’t be it. You still need to deliver the musical goods and France’s Karras absolutely do. Mixing grindcore, hardcore, crust, and death metal into a cacophonous stew Karras deliver 14 absolutely blistering tracks of sonic mayhem. On almost every track I thought to myself, ‘this is where the pit opens the fuck up’. That’s a pretty good indicator as to just how beastly this record plays out. The power of Crust compels you!
https://karrasband.bandcamp.com/album/we-poison-their-young

 

32. Obituary – Dying of Everything
If I need to explain Obituary to you, you’ve probably stumbled upon the wrong blog. One of the longest running and best selling death metal bands of all-time returned with their first new studio album in six years (although 2022 saw two live albums and I’m sure I’m not the only one who spent time in pandemic isolation watching their amazing live streams). This is a band that continues to churn out some of death metal’s gnarliest riffs and the production on this album is absolutely stellar. Another worthy addition to one of the greatest death metal discographies of all-time.
https://obituary.bandcamp.com/album/dying-of-everything

 

31. Vexing – Grand Reproach
I don’t know what the hell is in the water supply in the greater Denver, Colorado region but that scene is constantly churning out some amazing bands and albums. I feel like every year there’s at least one Denver-based act that cracks this list. This year’s addition comes from death-tinged sludge merchants Vexing. Grand Reproach is their debut full-length album after dropping an EP in 2020. Combining a massive rhythm section and vicious vocals with riffs that aren’t afraid to get angular and discordant at times, this record feels more violent and downright dangerous than your average sludge outing. Definitely a band I’ll be keeping an eye on moving forward.
https://vexing.bandcamp.com/album/grand-reproach

 

30. Abyssal Rift – Extirpation Dirge
One of my favorite labels, Sentient Ruin Laboratories, had a really solid year in 2023, and one of my favorite releases from them came courtesy of Ohio death metal horde Abyssal Rift. Extirpation Dirge is the band’s debut album, and having just been released at the beginning of December you may be asking if there’s a little bit of recency bias happening here. One sit down with this beast of an album though will confirm for you as well that this is easily one of the best death metal debuts of the year. Mixing blasting madness with sludgy, doomy breakdowns and a fair amount of atmospherics thrown in, this album feels like a journey through the darkest recesses of the genre, one that will have you questioning if you’re going to make it back in one piece.
https://sentientruin.bandcamp.com/album/extirpation-dirge

 

29. Downfall of Gaia – Silhouettes of Disgust
I think out of all the “big” metal labels still kicking the one whose output I was most pleasantly surprised with in 2023 had to be Metal Blade. Back in March they released the newest full-length from German atmospheric post-black metal outfit Downfall of Gaia. This was one of my more anticipated albums from the Metal Blade roster and it did not disappoint. Gone were the 8-11 minute epics that had defined previous albums, yet the desire to trim song lengths certainly didn’t detract from the aesthetics as once again this band delivered emotive and powerful songs that felt absolutely engulfing at certain points. Highly recommended for anyone who likes their metal genres with “post” somewhere in the title.
https://downfallofgaia.bandcamp.com/album/silhouettes-of-disgust

 

28. Majesties – Vast Reaches Unclaimed
One of my favorite things is when an artist I admire pops up in another project. So imagine my pleasant surprise when Obsequiae mastermind Tanner Anderson resurfaced as vocalist and guitarist on the debut album from melodic death metal outfit Majesties. I spent a lot of time in the early to mid-’90s worshiping at the altar of the “Gothenburg sound” and its been a long time since I heard a new album that successfully conjured up something even close to that style of melodic death metal. If you had no idea who this band was and stumbled upon these recordings you’d swear that they were some long-lost Swedish project, and I mean that as the utmost compliment.
https://20buckspin.bandcamp.com/album/vast-reaches-unclaimed

 

27. Panopticon – The Rime of Memory
Austin Lunn is no stranger to writing sweeping, atmospheric black metal epics and the newest Panopticon offering once again plays out like metal’s version of a Scorsese film – powerful, violent, demanding, and allegorical. This time around Lunn offers a 75-minute meditation on both time/aging and our environmental woes, and like so many Panopticon releases before it this is a work  that requires your full attention. Yet also like so many Panopticon releases before it, the time you put into this record will reward you tenfold.
https://thetruepanopticon.bandcamp.com/album/the-rime-of-memory  

 

26. Cemetery Moon – Cemetery Moon
I take a lot of pride in my knowledge of my local music scene, yet somehow until their debut album dropped this past May Connecticut’s Cemetery Moon wasn’t on my radar at all. I’m taking a huge “L” on that one because I almost missed out on one of the best USBM releases of the year and it would have been right under my nose. Cemetery Moon play black metal in the ways of old, reminiscent of all the great lo-fi second wave releases from the early to mid-’90s. At times raw and entirely unrelenting, and at other points dabbling in goth rock and dungeon synth aesthetics, Cemetery Moon craft and album that seemingly offers something new at every listen. Fans of the long, dark winter ahead should have this album at the ready.
https://cemeterymoon.bandcamp.com/album/cemetery-moon

 

25. Tribunal – The Weight of Remembrance
If you like your doom metal dripping with melancholy and despair you’re going to want to get on board with Vancouver’s Tribunal post haste. The Weight of Remembrance is the type of album you light some candles for, draw the curtains and let the gloominess completely consume you. Filled with tracks that are downright cinematic in both breadth and depth, Tribunal have delivered one of the more memorable debuts of the year. This is a band that can and should take the doom scene by storm over the years and I have a feeling we are going to look back at this record as the start to something truly special.
https://20buckspin.bandcamp.com/album/the-weight-of-remembrance

 

24. Phobocosm – Foreordained
It’s hard to believe it’s been seven long years since the last Phobocosm full-length. (Maybe even harder to believe since the pandemic warped my sense of time even further?) Needless to say Foreordained was worth the wait. Mixing blackened cacophony with sludgy doom elements that were so prevalent on the last record, Phobocosm delivered an album so heavy you could actually feel it weighing down upon you like the world was collapsing upon itself with every note. Officially released less than a week ago (and not hitting my inbox until October) I have a feeling that this record would have ranked even higher on my list if I had more time to let it marinate in my brain.
https://darkdescentrecords.bandcamp.com/album/foreordained

 

23. Medicine Horse – Medicine Horse
The only thing I love more than a killer riff is an album full of killer riffs, and Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Medicine Horse fit the bill. This is another band I’m not going to pretend I knew prior to the release of their debut, self-titled album back in September. Leaning hard into their Indigenous heritage for lyrical inspiration and their love of Southern sludge for the musical ones, Medicine Horse delivered a unique take on the stoner/sludge/doom genre. Highly recommended for fans of Crowbar, Weedeater, and Acid Bath.
https://medicinehorse.bandcamp.com/album/medicine-horse  

 

22. Blood Ceremony – The Old Ways Remain
I’ve spent A LOT of hours over the last fifteen or so years listening to Blood Ceremony, so needless to say one of my most anticipated albums of 2023 was The Old Ways Remain. This album was seven years in the making and I honestly feared at certain points it wasn’t going to see the light of day. Thankfully the old ways do indeed remain. Those familiar with Blood Ceremony will already be in tune with their brand of retro occult rock. This may be their least “metal” album to date as the songs have a more pop-infused structure and the whole thing has an airiness to it not present on previous releases. However the riffs still slay and several tracks still conjure up visions of witch’s sabbaths deep in the dark wood. These proverbial sabbaths just happen to take place at high noon instead of the stroke of midnight.
https://open.spotify.com/album/6vEFCw8dNZdCCbHVQKLqzX

 

21. Fossilization – Leprous Daylight
If you’ve ever tuned in to The Metal Dad Radio Show you’ve probably heard me wax poetic about my love of sludgy death metal that mixes black and doom elements. The more a record sounds like it slithered out of some primordial ooze, the more I’m probably going to love it. Enter Brazil’s Fossilization and their debut full-length ripper Leprous Daylight. I was pretty captivated with this record from first listen back in March, and revisited on more than one occasion, each time feeling like there was some nuance I had missed the time before. It’s a festering, rotting album that rumbles at and over you like some prehistoric beast that’s been resurrected with bad intentions.
https://everlastingspewrecords.bandcamp.com/album/he-whose-name-was-long-forgotten