THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED (BUT SHOULDN’T)

(Andy Synn delivers one final retrospective on albums from 2023 you may have overlooked)

Hey everyone, I’m back, feeling fully refreshed and ready to rumble after my week (and a bit) hiatus.

Before I get fully stuck into 2024’s upcoming slate of releases I’ve got two more pieces for 2023 for you all to enjoy – namely my last Synn Report of the year (coming on Friday) and this extra-big edition of “Things You May Have Missed”.

Now unlike previous editions, this one won’t just be focussing on albums from the last month (though there’s seven – I think – albums from December featured here) but will also take a look back at certain albums from the past year that I either didn’t get the chance to cover at the time, didn’t discover until much later, or just wanted to highlight one more time for people to check out.

Of course, even so there’s more artists and albums I wanted to include than I had space or time for – so I’d urge you, if you have any extra time, to check out the new Moonreich (which almost made my “Personal Top Ten“, Rosa Faenskap (which did) and Witch Ripper (which I know was on my “Critical Top Ten“, but still seems to have flown under a few radars) – but first, feel free to go through everything I’ve featured here (which I’ve broken up into separate sub-categories) and check out a few things you may have missed!

AVANT-GARDE

Genevieve – Akratic Parasitism

Sure, I wrote a whole Synn Report on these guys back in July but that didn’t get them enough attention, so I’m featuring them here again so they get more of the acclaim they deserve!

Extending their creative cross-genre pollinisation process in even more unorthodox and unconventional directions, Akratic Parasitism (the band’s third album) adds even more alien ambience, sinister psychedelia, and delirium-inducing discordance to the group’s twisted take on Black/Death Metal and takes their sound to some insidiously strange new places, and fans of the likes of Voices, Oranssi Pazuzu, and Imperial Triumphant really should check this band out ASAP.

Laster – Andermans Mijne

Laster have always been weird. But on Andermans Mijne they get really weird… and are all the better for it.

Now, don’t get me wrong, they were always good, but this time around their decision to truly, and irreversibly, throw caution to the wind has allowed them to reach new heights and go places they probably wouldn’t, or couldn’t, have gone before.

All the same – whether ironically or iconically – Andermans Mijne actually feels, to me anyway, like the most Black Metal album of their career (spiritually, at least, if not sonically) due to the way it defies convention and expectations, splitting and refracting all the tired tricks and tropes of the genre through a warped, Post-Punk meets Krautrock meets No-Wave prism to create something both strangely familiar yet stunningly fresh.

Returning – Severance

Returning describe their sound as “[a synthesis of] black metal, dark ambient, experimental theater, and butoh dance”, and if that doesn’t at least intrigue you a little bit… I don’t know what to say.

And while Severance, ultimately, certainly won’t be for everyone – it’s a rather demanding listen in multiple ways, requiring a fair bit of patience and keen-eared attention right from the start, yet also not being afraid to cut loose during the album’s frequent bouts of fervent metallic catharsis – those with the right temperament to truly grok what Returning are trying to express, at both extremes of their sound, will doubtless eventually find themselves listening in perfect harmony with the band.

BLACK METAL

Cavemaster – Negros des​í​gnios da eternidade

If you like your Black Metal a little more stripped-down and raw – but not to so far into reactionary self-parody that it sounds like it was recorded in one take, on one mic, by a band who’d only ever played their own instruments once – then the new one from Portugal’s Cavemaster (released last Friday) is the one for you.

It’s rugged, it’s ragged, it’s raging… unpolished, yes, but not unprofessional… and, above all, also sounds like the product of a band with a real sense of purpose (especially once your ears become more attuned to the sinister synths and nuanced bass-lines which make up such an important part of the band’s music).

Cha​î​nes – Les Litanies des Cha​î​nes

If pure, uncompromising venom and vitriol is your thing then you should really make time for the debut album from Cha​î​nes (the latest project from multi-instrumental marvel Déhà).

Of course, there’s a little more to it than just that, as the album’s dirty, claustrophobic sound also conceals a wealth of malevolent melodies and hypnotic hooks as well, but there’s no denying that Les Litanies des Cha​î​nes still succeeds in being one of the most vicious and visceral albums of the year, one whose sheer in-your-face intensity really has to be experienced first-hand to truly be understood.

Nyrst – V​ö​ld

The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed I mentioned these guys as one of the “bonus features” in this year’s Critical Top Ten… and with good reason.

Atmosphere-heavy, unflinchingly aggressive, and creatively ambitious (the use of crooning, semi-clean vocals in songs like “Sundra skal sálu” and extravagant eleven-minute penultimate track “Drottnari nafnlausra guða” in particular is a bold step) the seven twisted, undulating tracks which make up V​ö​ld collectively display an affinity for the sort of subtly proggy, riotously riffy, and eerily emotive approach of bands like Shining, Odraza, and Dark Fortress, and hint at even bigger, better things to come from this band in the future.

‘CORE

Horsewhip – Consume and Burn

One of the heaviest, hardest bands in the Hardcore scene, Horsewhip don’t rely on brainless breakdowns or moronic mosh-calls t0 deliver destruction unto the masses, they just riff and rage harder than the rest.

But while the majority of Consume and Burn sounds like a riot, in an active warzone, during an extinction event – tracks like “Dissolve”, “Buried”, and “Plague Machine” delivering a fearless blend of Metallic Hardcore ferocity, Grindcore-level intensity and Sludge-fuelled sonic density – it’s the little moments, the minor melodic touches, the pensive passages of introspection, scattered throughout all the vehemence and violence, which let you know that while Horsewhip might be mad at the world… there’s a method to their madness.

Ostraca – Disaster

Goddamn, if I’d have discovered this one sooner (it came out all the way back in June)… well, let’s just say that Dreamwell‘s position on my Critical Top Ten would have been under some serious threat.

Eschewing simple genre descriptors in favour of a hybrid Screamo-Crust-Punk-Post-Metal(lic)-Hardcore sound, Virginia trio Ostraca leave it all on the field on Disaster, straining to release every ounce of energy and emotion, every last drop of blood, sweat, and tears, on every single track.

They blast, they brood, they bludgeon… they rave, they reflect, they rampage… with such electrifying spontaneity, that they’ve truly managed to capture lightning in a bottle here.

Surut – Unelma

Mixing savage Blackened Hardcore with scintillating Blackgaze, and hailing from the icy wastes of Finland (or, more specifically, the populous city of Tampere) Surut‘s Unelma may well have flow under a lot of radars, purely due to the fact that it was released at the wrong time of year (o8 December to be exact).

It makes one hell of a racket, that’s for sure, but it’s not just the fire-breathing fury and raging riffosity of tracks like “Yksin” and “Tarpeeton” (whose finger-flensing riffs and shit-kicking breakdowns hint at an almost Mathcore-ish heaviness) which makes Unelma so good, it’s also the album’s prominent use of Post-Rock-ish melody during songs such as attention-grabbing opener “Nyt Olet Kaunis”, glorious second-half highlight “Pakotan Hymysi Kasvoilleni”, and captivating closer “Eulogia”, which will (hopefully) keep you coming back for more.

DEATH METAL

AkoúΦenom – Death​·​Chaos​·​Void

I have to apologise to… well, everyone… because I truly intended to write more about this nasty, unforgiving slab of mutated Blackened Death Metal when it first came out, but time simply got away from me. Make no mistake though, the debut album from Spain’s AkoúΦenom is an absolute monster of blistering Blackened Death Metal that sounds, and feels, like a rollercoaster ride straight to hell (in the best possible way).

Plumbing the same depraved depths as the likes of Altarage and Teitanblood, but with an even more dramatic and ritualistic flair, these guys certainly have a very bright – or dark – future ahead of them, that’s for certain.

Melancholia – Book of Ruination

Melancholia‘s reputation has been slowly simmering away in the underground over the past few years, but hopefully the release of Book of Ruination will signify the start of their ascent to a more prominent position, because this is one seriously crushing combination of Crust-inflected Death Metal and blistering Blackened Sludge that goes straight for the throat without restraint or remorse.

But perhaps the most dangerous thing about this album is just how terrifyingly catchy it is, with the band’s use of moody melodies and doomy atmosphere serving as a killer counterpoint to their caustic, chaotic assault.

Thanatophobia – Kaleidoscope of Fears

Russian brutes Thanatophobia have been scarily prolific over the last couple of years – not only did they issue their debut album in 2022 but they’ve now released two separate slabs of Brutal Death Metal devastation in 2023 (this, and March’s Internal Metamorphoses), and while I’ve only had chance to mention them in passing before now I thought that the new one deserved a quick highlight here.

Featuring a veritable torrent of bone-crushing guitars and bowel-loosening gutturals, along with an ultra-aggressive, slam-tastic snare-drum sound that feels like a belt-fed barrage of ricochet rounds pinging off the inside of your skull, Kaleidoscope of Fears is one ugly motherfucker of an album, albeit one that’s not afraid to throw in some suitably psychoactive melodies (such as during “Wendigo Psychosis” and “Shades of Darkness”) just to fuck with your head even more.

DOOM

Exitium Sui – Endless/Regression

It doesn’t get darker, or doomier, than Endless/Regrssion, the recently-released new album from Australian Funeral Doom director Chris Gebauer, aka Exitium Sui.

Melding massive, morbidly heavy guitars and gargantuan, guttural vocals with an aura of depressive desolation courtesy of some bleak, Black Metal synths, songs like the aptly-named “Forlorn”, “Despondent”, and the heart-breaking, soul-crushing “As We Dissolve…” are practically capable of draining every last morsel of happiness and hope from your body… while still, somehow, keeping you coming back for more.

Isole – Anesidora

Isole are one of the best Doom bands in the world, and the more chances I have to make that point the better.

Whether that’s due to the increasingly proggy vibe of their music (which is more apparent than ever here, right from the album’s outstanding opening track “The Song of the Whales”) or simply because the group’s combination of gorgeously gloomy guitar work and morose-yet-grandiose vocal melodies – coupled to their increasingly fluid and flowing songwriting – is just that good, I’m not sure (and I guess it doesn’t really matter). But whatever it is it’s high time more people came round to just how truly excellent Isole are.

Wooden Veins – Imploding Waves

Imploding Waves was another stand-out (if imperfect – the opener really is one of the album’s weakest tracks) release from the doomier side of the spectrum this year, in my opinion anyway, due to its firm focus on mood, emotion, and ambience over traditional Doom Metal tropes (though, don’t worry, it doesn’t totally disregard the fundamentals of the genre by any means).

There’s also an intriguing intricacy to both the bass and drum work, and a sublime atmospheric layer (enhanced by some mesmerising keys/synths), all of which makes for a slow-burning, but ultimately rewarding, record.

POST-METAL

Besra – Transitions

Situated firmly on the proggier side of Post-Metal, Besra‘s Transitions was one album that I didn’t have time to full dig into prior to “List Week”, but which I’ve been gladly immersing myself in ever since.

Melding raw emotional intensity with a mesmerising sense of melody, tracks like “Sentinels” and “Landscapes” recall the similarly prog-minded, Hardcore-tinged Post-Metal of Burst, especially in the way they juxtapose harsh and clean vocals to expand the band’s emotional range, while the more minimalist moments of songs such as “Sanguine” and “Prison Without Locks” contrast nicely with the group’s more bombastic inclinations (particularly during ambitions ten-minute closer “Cries & Lamentations”).

Challenger Deep – III. The Path

From the moment that “Sacrifice” kicks into high gear it becomes apparent that Challenger Deep‘s new album is even more aggressive and intense than anything they’ve done before, displaying an altogether harsher, heavier approach than either of their two previous albums.

And while there’s also a few hints of Burst to be found here as well (especially during “Filth”), that added sense of visceral, almost “blackened”, fury positions tracks like “Passion” and “Joy” closer to the likes of Hexis and latter-day A Secret Revealed.

It’s a powerful album, that’s for sure, but also a surprisingly poignant one as well, and deserves to be heard by more people.

Oro – Vid V​ä​gs Ände

Dwelling firmly on the darker and more atmospheric end of the spectrum – while still packing a nasty punch as well – Vid V​ä​gs Ände takes everything which made its predecessor, 2019’s Djupets kall, so good and pushes things just that little bit further.

There’s an ominous, oppressive weight to this album – a looming, brooding darkness present even during its quietest and calmest moments – which grants it an intensity beyond the sheer heaviness of its groaning riffs and gravel-chewing vocals, and while that makes it more of a “grower” than a “shower”, it’s well worth your time and investment, that’s for sure.

PROG

The Anchoret – It All Began With Loneliness

The debut album from The Anchoret only just missed the cut-off for my “Personal Top Ten” this year, and with good reason.

Delivering just under an hour of eclectic, electrifying guitar-work and technical drumming talent – all topped off with passages of flittering flute and squawking saxophone, as well as some sublime (yet never overbearing) synths and a plethora of plaintive, poignant melodies – It All Began With Loneliness takes a little bit of everything you already love about Progressive Rock/Metal and reminds you just why you love it in the first place.

Monosphere – Sentience

German Progressive Metalcore sensations Monosphere really stepped up their game on Sentience, not only by getting even heavier and more technical but by embracing and expanding on their proggier proclivities too.

What made them, and this album, stand out however was just how nuanced and natural this combination was, with the band flowing seamlessly from scintillating fretwork to stomping rhythms to soaring melody, while still retaining their unpredictable edge, across the course of 54 increasingly impressive minutes.

Obsidian Tide – The Grand Crescendo

I had to mention Obsidian Tide once more, because they were another band who only narrowly missed out on a place in my “Personal Top Ten” (and were also on the shortlist for my “Critical Top Ten” too, as it happens).

It’s an undeniably demanding, yet rewarding, listen, spanning as it does an impressive sixty-two-and-a-half minutes and incorporating influences and elements from a multitude of Metal’s brightest and proggiest minds – including Opeth and Amorphis, Leprous and Novembre, and more besides – along the way, yet still standing firmly on its own two (or six) feet as its own distinct, creative entity.

SLUDGE

Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean – Obsession Destruction

Let me tell you something, not being able to find place for this on my Critical Top Ten this year caused me almost physical pain. It really is that good. And that horrible. And that addictively abrasive.

For all its unrepentant ugliness, however – and, make no mistake, Obsession Destruction features some of the gnarliest riffs and nastiest vocals you’re likely to have heard all year – there’s also an undercurrent of haunting beauty and a plethora of harrowing hooks (especially during the infectious “Hole In My Head”) hiding just beneath all the filth and fury, waiting patiently for anyone brave enough to scratch beneath the surface.

Peine Kapital – Peine Kapital

Grimy, doom-laden, Industrial-infused sonic Sludge is the name of the game on Peine Kapital‘s absolutely monstrous self-titled second album, which delivers just under forty-two minutes of churning rhythms, corrosive chords, and caustic, acid-scarred vocals directly into your bruised and battered brain.

Every song is like being dragged, naked and bleeding, across a desolate desert of burning sand and broken glass, while someone simultaneously rubs salt in your wounds and pours poison into your ears. And if that doesn’t sound like a fun way to spend a weekend I don’t know what to tell you!

Radiant Knife – Pressure

If you like your Sludge a little more proggy, and a little less painful to listen to than either of the two preceding entries – while still packing one hell of a punch – then wrap your ears around Pressure ASAP.

Driven by hefty helping of bold, bombastic riffs, laced with spacey sci-fi synths, and packed with unashamedly infections, in-your-face hooks it’s the sort of album that soars, rather than snarls (and the same goes for the vocals) but still captures that meaty, sludgy sense of groove that we all know and love so well.

THRASH

Black Knife – Baby Eater Witch

Black Thrash baby-eaters Black Knife may, sadly, be no more, but their third and final album still makes for one hell of an epitaph, showcasing the trio’s rough ‘n’ tumble Punk Metal sensibilities even more than before.

For ten killer (and I do mean killer) cuts, these self-described “Heavy Metal Punx from Hell” transform themselves into a reckless, rampaging three-headed horseman of the apocalypse whose only purpose is to get heads-a-bangin’, bodies moving and grooving, and every single person in the room – living or otherwise – thrashing like a maniac.

Hot Graves – Plaguewielder

D-beat loving Death-Thrash with a blackened edge (and a nice line in John Carpenter-esque synths), Plaguewielder is an album for those who live and love by the power of the riff… period.

Sharing some significant strands of DNA with both Witchery and The Crown – although who is the mummy and who is the daddy is a matter of some debate – songs like “Temple Compromised”, “Throne ov the Morningstar” and the climactic title-track, are all absolute ragers, packed with razor-edged riffage, thunderous drumming, and shamelessly catchy hooks, and even when the group get a little darker and more serious (as they do on “View from the Gallows” and “Necrodudial Blasphemer”) they still make sure to deliver the goods with guts and gusto.

Transgressive – Extreme Transgression

Featuring eleven tracks of merciless, modernised Thrash Metal that also incorporate some subtle Power and/or Prog influences, while still retaining a healthy appreciation for the “old school”, Extreme Transgression is an album that takes no prisoners and absolutely will not be taking any shit from anyone. Not any more.

Songs like “Built Upon Genocide”, “We Protect Us” (which features some seriously pissed-off guest-growls), and the storming “Stonewall” don’t pull any punches either, musically or lyrically, so don’t be surprised if you’re suddenly seized by the urge to fuck the system in between bouts of irresistible, involuntary headbanging.