This has proved a fantastic year for heavy music and metal, with masters impressing and newer artists shining. These are the best metal albums of 2023.
Experimentalist Yuko Araki highlights her vision’s first new element: the human voice, which was either absent or lost beneath the layers of havoc in the past.
In best metal albums, Cruciamentum ignite the old-school death metal flame, Morne merge hardcore and post-metal, and Autarkh commit to industrial machinations.
Gnaw Their Tongues: “We live in difficult times. This album needed to sound this way. I programmed and mangled sounds until they sounded harsh enough.”
Black Dog is reminiscent of Gazelle Twin’s past but also forges a new path. One that’s able not only to merge these disparate aspects but also to surpass them.
Vanishing Kids take a dreamy approach that elevates Miracle of Death, giving it a hallucinogenic presence but without sacrificing weight or momentum.
Justin Walter’s Destroyer is a rich and colorful work established through subtle means. It establishes an immersive world filled with wonder and emotion.
The best metal albums feature Cirith Ungol with their heavy doom tank, Krieg back to black metal fundamentals, and much more that October has to offer.
September’s best metal albums are really all about death metal. Not only the volume, but the sheer quality of these works is nothing short of astounding.
The best metal albums feature Crypta’s return with thrash intentions, Blut Aus Nord’s Lovecraftian aspirations, and the end of Urfaust’s psychedelic run.
In July’s best metal, Oxbow resume their experimental journey, Mutoid Man hammer their love for fun heavy metal, and Mizmor descend to despair’s dark depths.
In best metal albums, Jag Panzer define the traditional US metal sound, Godflesh revisit a pivotal work, and Pupil Slicer become an exciting band to watch.
