2023 – A YEAR IN REVIEW(S): THE PERSONAL TOP TEN

(Andy Synn finishes off “List Week” with his ten favourite albums of the year)

For whatever reason, this time around much of my “personal” list – which features the ten albums which I’m not claiming to be the “best” of the year, but are definitely amongst my favourites – is made up of new albums by new discoveries, either because the band themselves are fresh onto the scene or because this is simply my first time encountering them.

On the one hand this perhaps reflects my general dissatisfaction with a lot of the more hyped up and/or famous names (not that they were bad, just that they really didn’t do anything for me this year), but I prefer to see it as a good thing, because it means that I am (hopefully) guaranteed even more great stuff from a bunch of fresh new faces with a bright future ahead of them!

Slimming this list down to just 10 albums wasn’t an easy task by any means, but while some well-deserved “honourable mentions” should go to the likes of Downfall of Gaia, Cryptopsy, Morokh, Mercenary, and Returning (all of whom were in strong contention), in the end… well, there can be only ten!

10. EMBRACE YOUR PUNISHMENT – MADE OF STONE

Very much a last-minute addition to the list, but one which I’ve not been able to stop myself listening to ever since I heard it, the Brutal Death meets Deathcore sound of Made of Stone was exactly what I needed after a year in which it felt like I was in danger of drifting away from the Death Metal scene at times.

Reminiscent of the unholy triumvirate of Misery Index, Dying Fetus, and Dyscarnate (with the former’s Jason Netherton actually making a guest appearance on “Unconquered”, which also gives off some heavy vibes of the latter band at their best), these twelve tracks offer up a veritable rampage of riffs, a barrage of blastbeats, and a gargantuan dose of ugly groove that’s practically guaranteed to get your blood pumping, your head banging, and – if you’re not careful – your fists swinging.

It’s not perfect by any means – despite its relative brevity it’s probably still a little too long (the obscenely out-of-place acoustic interlude of “Made of Stone Part II” in particular definitely needs to go) – but

To quote another one of my favourite albums of the year (one, I need to note, pointedly not featured here), if you’re after an album that’s going to make you feel “100 feet tall, arms like trucks, probably punch through a wall” then Made of Stone is just the blast of pure, pull-no-punches, take-no-prisoners, power that you’ve been looking for.

09. NARBO DACAL – ELYSIUM NOW

Much like the above entry, Elysium Now is a late-comer to this list, so there’s a chance that a touch of recency-bias might be at work in terms of its placement here.

On the other hand, however, I like to think that if it had come out earlier in the year it might well have ranked even higher up in the list, as this is, as I stated in my review just last week, “one of the most striking debuts I’ve heard this year.”

In fact, considering my write-up of the album is still so recent, I might as well just paraphrase myself:

“Featuring six tracks of what the band themselves call “(Be)Witching Metal” – which in practice means a combination of sludgy Post-Metal riffs and eerily expressive clean vocals which invites comparisons with the legendary Battle of Mice – the juxtaposition of vocalist/bassist Eliza Ratusznik’s strangely seductive singing style and the irrepressible heaviness of Ratuznik’s thick, thrumming bass-lines, Grzegorz Włodek’s heaving riffage and Bartłomiej Kliś’s tension-teasing, intensely impactful drumming, makes for a uniquely fascinating listening experience, no question.“

What I perhaps didn’t emphasise quite enough, however, was that although Narbo Dacal are more than willing to get heavy when they need to (senthralling final track “Forget Me Not” in particular is a real eye-opener) they’re also not afraid to take their time to get there, knowing, as they do, that it’s not just the destination but how you get there which is important, and that the slow-build often results in the deepest burn.

08. MOOR – HEAVY HEART

Like both the previous entries #8 is a new band, although in this case one I’ve been a fan of ever since June when I wrote the review I’m about to partially quote for you now:

“There’s no question that Moor come by their heavy heart honestly. You see, sadly, just prior to the recording of the band’s debut album two of their members – Ben Laging and Christian Smukal – were diagnosed with cancer within weeks of one another. And while the contributions of both are present on the final recording, sadly Christian Smukal passed on before the record was released.

It was with his blessing that the band chose to persevere, however, and we have been gifted with a truly powerful album as a result, one which – although the the band themselves are happy enough to embrace the “Doom” tag – shares a lot of musical DNA with likes of Omega Massif and Neurosis without crossing over the line into what would more commonly be dubbed “Post-Metal”.

And while the opening title-track provides an almost perfect snapshot of the album’s overall sound – offering just under six-and-a-half minutes of churning, gloom-laden grooves and bleak, bellowing vocals – there’s a wealth of subtle elements and embellishments to be found just beneath the record’s pitch-black surface, from the sombre atmospherics of “Pale Grey Snow” and the solemn clean-sung vocals of “Tears From Acrid Smoke” to the winding melodic undercurrent of “Under Your Wings” and the stunning mix of prodigious heaviness and proggy songwriting which makes up closer “Breath of Nails”.“

I closed that review with a simple, but unequivocal statement (“this is a truly outstanding debut, and easily one of my favourite releases of the year so far.“) and so it’s nice, here at the end of the year, to be able to look back at that and still feel just as strongly, and just as surely, about this album.

07. ROSA FAENSKAP – JEG BLIR TIL DEG

If there’s one thing that annoys me it’s when a band is mis-sold/misrepresented in their press materials.

Case in point, Rosa Faenskap are a Black Metal band. That’s what the trio call themselves, and that’s what their music is.

But, for whatever reason, the promo we received advertised them as being “for fans of Deafheaven, Astronoid, and Holy Fawn” which, in my opinion at least, instantly gives you the wrong impression of this band and their fantastic debut album.

Sure, I could perhaps see fans of the former band’s earlier work (I’m something of a Roads to Judah fan myself, as it happens) but most of Jeg blir til deg has more in common with the likes of  Nachtmystium, Misþyrming (thanks to one of our commenters for catching that comparison), and even Martyrdöd than it does the aforementioned trio of artists (and I’m a big fan of both the latter two as well).

Perhaps some confusion was inevitable, as Rosa Faenskap are definitely not your typical Black Metal band, they’re also a bunch of genre- and gender- non-conforming punks at heart, with roots in the political activism of Oslo’s long-running autonomous youth house, Blitz, but to deny the truth of songs like “Livredd”, “Reform”, and the titanic, blast-fuelled title-track seems like an actual crime to me.

Few albums this year have come storming out of the gate with the unparalleled passion and primal intensity of Jeg blir til deg, that’s for sure, and I for one cannot wait to hear more from this band.

06. PROJECT 86 – OMNI, PARTS 1 & 2

They say that if you’re going to go out, then go out in style, on your own terms, rather than anyone else’s.

After all, it’s better to burn out than fade away, right?

Well Project 86 have certainly taken this old adage to heart, as their final release is an extremely ambitious (both in terms of scale and concept) double album which also happens to be some of the best, and undeniably heaviest, material of their career.

I reviewed Part 1 back in April a little after it was first released, and praised it not just for its massive, Meshuggah-esque guitar tone and impressively taut and technical drumming (courtesy of Norma Jean‘s Matt Marquez) but also for its killer songwriting and humongous hooks, and was pretty sure even then that it was going to be on my Personal Top Ten list this year.

And then, a little over a week ago, Part 2 landed on my doorstep and revealed itself to be just as good, if not even a little heavier – leaning even harder on the downtuned, Meshuggah-ised Deathcore/Metalcore sound of Part 1 while adding an extra layer of dark electronic and atmospheric embellishments – as its predecessor (“Boiling the Ocean” in particular is an absolute monster) of a track.

So while I’m still a little sad that this is the end for Project 86… what an ending it is.

05. RANA – RICHTFEUER

You know what? I’m just going to let my review from earlier in the year speak for me on this one.

“The four tracks of Crust-infused, Doom-tinged, and utterly ferocious Black Metal which make up Rană‘s new album are each absolutely overflowing with raging energy and raw emotion, as befitting a record whose self-declared purpose is to provide a beacon of hope amidst the burning down of the old social order.

But while there’s no shortage of blistering blastbeats and bristling tremolo guitars, Richtfeuer is ultimately a far more nuanced and intelligent affair whose moody melancholy and doomy desolation help to add layers of depth and intrigue which will, no doubt, keep you coming back for more, again and again.

Opener “Läutern” for example, marries its more aggressive tendencies to a more sombre sense of atmosphere not dissimilar to Downfall of Gaia at their most morose, while the gloomy grooves and punchy percussive patterns of “Flamura” recall the best of Spectral Wound and/or Dödsrit, two bands who – I would hazard – share a close kinship, both musically and spiritually, with Rană themselves.

It’s the last two songs, however, which really expand upon the potential shown on the group’s previous release, with the mournful melodies and plaintive clean vocals which perfuse the title-track providing an Agalloch-ian counterpoint to the rest of the track’s cathartic, Crust-driven attack, while the agony and ecstasy of eighteen-minute closer “Our Smouldering Grief” makes room and allows every element of the group’s sound – the weighty, doom-laden riffs and propulsively punky drums, the enigmatic balance of bleak melodies, blackened intensity and anguished atmosphere – to shine.

And while I may have dropped a few big names into the mix here, don’t let that make you think that Rană are in any way derivative – rather, treat it as a mark of my esteem that I’m willing to hold the band up right alongside these other artists where they rightfully belong.“

I think that’s all the explanation that’s needed as to why they’re on my list, don’t you?

04. WELLS VALLEY – ACHAMOTH

As is so often the case, I have our dear leader himself, the headless horseman of the apocalypse, the one and only Islander, to thank for introducing me to this band.

Not only did I instantly fall in love with Achamoth the second I heard it, I liked it so much I order the cd and both the band’s previous albums as well.

And with good reason, because this is one record that doesn’t take the easy path or pander to its audience – instead it demands your full attention and engagement at all times, and won’t accept anything less.

Exploring the darker, doomier and more “blackened” side of the still expanding Dissonant Death Metal scene – somewhere, as far as I can tell, between Ulcerate, Neurosis, and Blut Aus Nord – these six twisting, turning, constantly shifting and endlessly churning, tracks together conjure such a crushingly claustrophobic aura of despair that it’s almost hard to breathe at times… it really is that intense.

But that intensity isn’t just based on speed – though there are certainly moments of explosive fury that threaten to knock you straight into next week – it’s more about how densely layered the album is, its slow, almost sadistic approach seemingly to constantly pile on the pressure as each track progresses, until it’s all you can do just to stay standing beneath the breaking weight.

It’s a fantastic album. One of the best of the year in my opinion. And deserves to be heard by more people. If they can handle it.

03. BULL OF APIS, BULL OF BRONZE – THE FRACTAL OUROBOROS

While this one isn’t out until next week, I hope all of you keep an eye (and an ear) open for it when it’s finally released, because as good as this band’s previous album was (more than earning its place in my “Great” list of 2019), The Fractal Ouroboros (or, to give it its full title, The Fractal Ouroboros: A Brief on Occult Liberation in Seven Parts) is even better!

Melding the propulsive power of Black Metal with the immersive introspection of ambient music clearly isn’t as easy as it might seem, as I generally find that most bands who go this route tend to bring out the worst (and most generic) aspects of both genres.

But Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze have, so far, proven themselves to be absolute masters of their craft, marrying caustic fury and cathartic intensity with lengthy passages of meditative melancholy in a manner which brings out the best in both, and allowing for a series of captivating contrasts which keep you constantly on the edge of your seat, waiting for the next explosion of energy or devastating collapse.

It helps, of course, that Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze come by the pain, the anger, and the anguish which fuels songs like “A History of Cages and Broken Bones” and “Suffocate O Earthen Lungs…” honestly – there’s no forcing it, no faking it here – and there’s no question that the venom and frustration underpinning lines like “Once we turn these terrible gears / They will be shattered and gnashed / In our teeth / Filling our bellies forever” is as real, and as raw, as it gets.

It also helps that the band are a dab hand at putting together some of the most seething, yet utterly spellbinding, tremolo riffs and bleakly melodic hooks you’re likely to have heard all year, and that their excursions into more atmospheric and reflective territories are as mesmerising as they are mournful (with opener “Trophy” and closer “Ekstasis, Enstasis, and The Fractal Ouroboros” showcases both aspects of the group’s identity at their best), and it’s my sincere hope that, once you all finally get to hear it in all its glory, you’ll understand just why it’s so high on my list.

02. TRESPASSER – Ἀ​Π​Ο​Κ​Ά​Λ​Υ​Ψ​Ι​Σ

Would it surprise you to learn that the top 2 entries in my Personal Top Ten have been absolutely set in stone since pretty much the very start of the year?

Other contenders certainly came long (many of which you’ll already have read about in the entries above), but nothing could shift these two albums from their respective positions.

To quote from my own review:

“Fuelled by anarchist ideology (specifically inspired by David Graber’s work on the role of debt, as enforced by state and religious institutions) and a raging sense of revolutionary fervor, every single song – from the triumphant call to arms that is furious opener “Forward Into the Light!”, all the way through to the punishing prayer for collapse that is cataclysmic closer “The Great Debt-Strike II” – practically crackles with compelling, cathartic, confrontational energy.“

It’s a shockingly intense album, that’s for sure, one whose venomous fervour and visceral fury could easily put many of their more famous peers and predecessors to shame, but also one which isn’t afraid of sharpening its hooks or throwing a wrench into the works (as it does during the puissant, polemical strains of “Holókauston…”) – whatever it takes to get the band’s message across.

Make no mistake about it, Ἀ​Π​Ο​Κ​Ά​Λ​Υ​Ψ​Ι​Σ is a truly scorching soundtrack for the new age of conflict and a vehement call to arms for the coming class war, as well as one of the most singularly badass and belligerent Black Metal albums of the year.

01. TURBID NORTH – THE DECLINE

It should tell you something that the #1 album on my list has been in that spot ever since January.

That’s a hell of a long time to hold onto that position. But, then, Turbid North are one hell of a band, and I might just be one of their biggest fans.

Perhaps what I love most about the band (whose previous album, 2015’s Eyes Alive, was not just one of the best albums of the year but – in my opinion at least – one of the best, and most underrated, albums of the last decade) is that although you could probably identify some of their influences and name some of their peers if you wanted to, they don’t actually sound quite like anybody else.

Not only that, but The Decline, whilst recognisable as a close relative of its exceptional predecessor in the way it fuses Sludge, Prog, and Death Metal into one absolutely crushing conglomerate, also doesn’t sound exactly like the group’s previous album, opting for a doomier, slower-burning approach (at least at first) which gives the record a subtly different, but still instantly identifiable, flavour of its own.

This is particularly apparent during both the ominous opening pairing of “Eternal Dying” and “The Oppressor” and the brooding intensity of the album’s Cult of Luna-esque closer, “Time”, which together expose you to a version of Turbid North which you may not be quite as familiar with as you thought.

Of course, it still manages to be humongously heavy and apoplectically aggressive at the same time – with songs such as such as the hammering “Slaves”, the unflinchingly savage “Patients”, and the breakneck assault of “The Old Ones” hinting at an underlying love of Death/Grind at their most extreme – but it’s the collective whole, with the totality of the album revealing and revelling in the band’s widescreen, but not necessarily mainstream, ambitions for their sound, which makes this one of the most cohesive and captivating albums of the year. In my opinion, anyway.