#tombmold — Public Fediverse posts

Astriferous slimed out of the Costa Rican death metal scene back in 2019 and have been on a slow, upward crawl since. Their 2023 Pulsations from the Black Orb debut grabbed them some attention and a mostly positive review from our own Ferox. Their weapon of choice is repugnant caverncore with a dose of dissonance, putting them squarely in the Incantation, Dead Congregation, and early days Tomb Mold wing of the death emporium. Atavistic Unraveling finds them stuck in the same filth and scum with scant migration toward the light of day. It’s still fugly, grotesque death metal of the olden school, with the dissonance element adding a slight touch of modernity. Their sound is a bit more fleshed out this time, and when everything clicks, things can feel pretty goddamn harrowing and brutal. With so many bands trying to ape the classic Incantation sound and vibe, can Astriferous do enough to crack through that thick mucous membrane and claim their share of the cesspool? Let’s test the tainted waters for hazardous algae.

Fucknormous opener “Carriers of the Curse” is a fine way to kick things off, and it has all the crucial elements. It’s not doing anything new, but it comes after you with so much raw savagery that innovation starts to seem trivial. It covers all the bases a caverncore tune should, from ragged blasting to slower mid-tempo plodding, and there’s a meatheaded Cannibal Corpse vibe to the riffs when they aren’t being all snakey and creepy. The only downside is that it feels like the song rambles on for about a minute too long, revisiting the same scorched territory. “The Floating Catacombs” is more of the same high-quality ear abuse, with slimy, repulsive riffs and subterranean vocals teamed with caveman moments and some weirdly Voivodian riffs popping in and out for variety. As the album churns along, you get quality nastiness, but there’s that nagging tendency to stretch out compositions a bit too far, reducing the overall impact. This despite the fact that most song run between 4-5 minutes. It’s a weird thing. “Proto Embryo (The Third Tribulation)” is a remorseless blast furnace with just enough tempo shifts to keep things interesting, but it just keeps going when it feels like it should be over. Likewise, “Arcane Demonomania” is another blistering ass blaster with a jagged d-beat and a plethora of ugly, squiriming riffs. It’s easy to love, but once again, it drags on toward the end.

A few tracks are good but less impactful, like “Mnemonic Phenomena,” despite some effective doomy segments and overwhelming vocal excess. 8-plus minute closer “Resonance Cascade” is more modern-sounding, venturing into sludge doom at points. At its best, it can feel oppressive and suffocating. Over the whole runtime, though, it ends up challenging the attention span as segments of less interesting riffs drift by, offering little to cling to. The album’s nearly omnipresent sense of bloat makes a 36-minute album feel much longer than it is, which is a shame because Astriferous do so many things right here.

Felipe Tencio and new slinger Esteban Sancho are at the center of a maelstrom, casting frantic corkscrewing riffs in all directions when not laying down big power chugs that put the boot on the throat. This tandem knows the ways of caverncore, and many of these leads probably slithered away after recording to become invasive species somewhere. Incantation is a clear influence, but I also hear Immolation, Morbid Angel, and Cannibal Corpse in the DNA. Tencio is a great death metal vocalist possessed with a deep, intimidating roar for the ages. He sounds demonic and gigantic and anchors the material to the Ninth Level of Hell. José Pablo Phillips also impresses with a pronounced and weighty bass performance. The only real knock is that the writing can be undisciplined and too long in the fang, thereby partially unraveling the band’s good works.

Astriferous have a winning formula and the talent to execute it, and parts of Atavistic Unraveling scream of potential and hint at greatness. With tighter, more consistent writing, this would be a must-hear and headed for my year-end list. As it stands, I can safely recommend this for death heads everywhere as the wet, sticky goods are delivered, even if they aren’t all equally malicious and infectious. Like my great-granddaddy Pig Iron Druhm used to say, “If the cave smells of rancid mold, there’s bound to be some gold.” Wisdom!

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Me Saco Un Ojo
Website: instagram.com/astriferousdeath
Releases Worldwide: June 26th, 2026

There are few concepts in the Western tradition as misunderstood as that of “the death of God.” It is not a triumphant proclamation, nor a call for apathetic nihilism. What has been coined in recent online discourse as a ‘meaning crisis’ is only barely getting the point. The Loss of Transcendence—some universal, ultimate, mind-independent Truth and set of values—is a beginning, an event that should prompt critical thought and action and confrontation of a human condition that we sedate ourselves out of with belief in a higher power or sense and reason in the universe; hope; or the rescinding of responsibility to the idea that ‘nothing matters.12 The Great Observer seem to have done their homework for the most part, with their debut channeling their thrashy blackened death into a philosophical call to action that blends Existentialism with Stoicism and Epicureanism. Fresh on the scene and immediately going all-in in aggression and storytelling, what can The Great Observer give to us?

On the face of it, Loss of Transcendence is standard black/death/thrash, with a rotating emphasis on each of those three components. Sticking primarily to up-tempo, gritty riffing in a vein somewhere between Necrophobic, Tomb Mold, and Morbid Angel—though a less flashy iteration—The Great Observer do nonetheless find time to linger in some cavernousness that vaguely recalls Disembowelment. They further emphasise their mean streak with a pervasive vocal echo that adds to the grime of the throaty howls and is compounded during the many instances when such vocals are multi-tracked or delivered as a group. But not all of this energy is used in service of evil; there’s a strong anthemic side to these choruses and a jaunty bombast to many a beat. In many ways, it gives off the aura of classical extreme metal—back when Black Metal was an album title, and ugliness, speed, and aggression were the name of the game in a fundamentally different way to how they are now. And yet, under the layers of dirt and behind the malevolence lie small seeds of nuance, and it is to Loss of Transcendence’s great detriment that they remain scattered seeds alone.

Loss of Transcendence flirts with many things—intrigue, atmosphere, tenacity—but never quite wins any of them over. Riffs generally check boxes for pugnacity, but even at their most brutish and slick (“The Great Observer,” “Impervious Creation”), they have no edge, no force. At the worst end, guitar lines are entirely blunt thanks to nondescript, generic-sounding melodies and patterns (“Herald of Thorns,” “How Far the Faithless will Venture”). It’s unfortunate that all of the best guitar sits in the record’s back half, with “Impervious Creation” and “The Weight of Being Free” delivering shimmying, sliding shredding capable of winning over the harshest of critics, and the latter track featuring a genuinely beautiful, buttery smooth solo that combines everything great about grimy yet gorgeous extreme metal. The frequent use of group vocals, which sometimes creates an impressive miasma of harrowing calls (“Impervious Creation,” title track), falls awkwardly flat when delivered as rousing shouts (“Sentenced at High Noon,” “At The Summit of Consciousness,” “The Weight…”) thanks to the latter’s surprising corniness. The Great Observer also experiment in an exasperatingly random manner with distortion, with a liquid, Worm-adjacent effect appearing in random snatches never to develop (“Parénklisis (Fallen Into Existence),” “How Far…,” “The Weight…,” title track); and the worst part is that it’s good! The pace, generally high, is also stymied by not one but two synth-heavy instrumentals as “Parénklisis…” opens the album with a gravitas that never appears again, and “Ékstasis (The Lonesome Path)” needlessly presses pause for two minutes of ambience and whispering.

In reality, Loss of Transcendence feels frustratingly lukewarm. A mix that pushes guitars erratically between the far background and the very forefront, and a baffling decision3 to layer vocal tracks and reverb like lasagna over these riffs (“The Great Observer,” “Sentenced at High Noon,” “The Weight…,” title track) makes what could be decent blackened death sound almost poor. Almost the only time the guitars sound good is when they sound great, soloing in sudden clarity (“Sentenced…,” “Impervious Creation”) and with fluent expressiveness (“The Weight…,”), and these highlights appear exclusively in the second half. Given this, it becomes harder to forgive the swing of strangely upbeat gang shouts (“Sentenced…,” “Herald of Thorns”) and a brusque attitude to riff-writing that tends to shy away from character.

It’s always a shame when a concept I’m particularly interested in is delivered in mediocre form. Loss of Transcendence strikes as an album that would have had heads spinning and Bibles being reached for in the early 90s but now its grit cannot make up for its shortcomings. Failing to develop their best ideas and sidelining their assets far too often, The Great Observer still haven’t seen how to capitalise on their strengths, and Loss of Transcendence loses more than higher values as a result.

Rating: Disappointing
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: BlackSeed Productions
Website: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: April 30th, 2026

Re-Buried – Flesh Mourning Review

By Steel Druhm

My second discount ticket to Scum Town in one week and the third since July started, Re-Buried’s sophomore outing, Flesh Mourning, brings more gruesome death to wallow in. These cretins of the crypt left a favorable impression on Olde Steelio with their 2023 Repulsive Nature debut, courtesy of hideously inspired death vocals and crushing riff work. It felt massive, monolithic, and inevitable, and the sheer weight of it all overcame occasional gaps in their songcraft. Flesh Mourning is more of the same festering, moldy-oldey brand of death with one foot in the morgue and the other in the swamp, with vocals that sound like a dying hobo wrenching out the contents of his ulcerated stomach after a long night of on-the-cheap debauchery. And like the debut, Flesh Mourning is short, leaning toward anorexic. How can that recipe fail to earn a Michelin Star at the Slop House of Steel? Let’s poke the putridities with the pokey stick

Things open promisingly enough with vocalist Chris Pinto vomiting forth a feral hairball before the slime-flavored riffs kick in, and you get a standard yet basically effective mid-tempo death ditty without bells and whistles, but plenty of creepy atmosphere and phlegmy noises. It’s essentially Autopsycore, but lacking the jackhammer power heard at key moments on Repulsive Nature, and it feels a bit…safe. “Jagged Psyche” feels more brutish and nasty with extra vigor in the riffs, but the band seems stuck in a mid-tempo plod and struggles to kick into higher gears. This quickly becomes the story of Flesh Mourning as song after song duplicates these middling tempos with everything motoring along at a safe speed with too few bursts of speed and aggression. Worse still, the tracks aren’t as memorable as last time, and they all sound way too similar due to the consistent pacing and writing style.

“Rotted Back to Life” features some extra-heavy grooves that wake you up a bit, but it’s hard to shake the nagging feeling that this is all standard and recycled fare without an identity of its own. As things grind along in a “we have Bolt Thrower at home” manner with little variation in pacing, it falls to Chris Pinto to keep things interesting by deploying all manner of hideous sounds and monster moaning. He apes a staggering ghoul or a hospice patient in agony, and it’s impressive, but it isn’t enough to keep the material from bleeding into a big, greasy mush where one song becomes indistinguishable from the next. At just under 30 minutes, there isn’t much meat on the corpse bone, and things end with a 2-plus minute instrumental outro that’s all atmosphere and no payoff. It’s clear Re-Buried didn’t have a wealth of inspiration in the writing room and struggled to churn out a mere handful of basic, generic death ditties. That’s quite disappointing.

Chris Pinto is the star here, as he’s one of the most committed death metal vocalists out there. His weird body horror noises are wild, especially his hairball trick, which features prominently across the album. He’s a gem in search of a skilled jeweler, as the material he’s given to work with simply doesn’t deliver the knockout power his performance deserves. Paul Richards and Eddie Bingaman know all the death metal tropes and tricks and craft spot-on impersonations of classic Autopsy and Incantation fare, but so much of what they do here revolves around mid-tempo chugging and slight variations on the same kinds of swampy riffs, so it takes a hyper-intense listen to divine the differences between the individual tracks. If they wanted to create a 26-minute uni-glob effect, they accomplished it.

Flesh Mourning is a step backward from Repulsive Nature. The blunt force of the prior album is simply not here, replaced by a pornucopia of monotonous riffs and crazed cavern hollaring. It doesn’t stick or hold the attention, and while there are isolated cool/interesting bits and pieces, it’s really just off-brand Autopsy with Tomb Mold on it, and it’s devoid of songs that scream replay or demand dissemination onto playlists. It seems Re-Buried lack a potent muse and can’t craft a full-length album with consistently killer tunes, and they’re trending downwards early into their career. I hope for a speedy recovery, but the patient’s prognosis isn’t looking good.

Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Translation Loss
Websites: re-buried.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/reburieddeath | instagram.com/reburied_death
Releases Worldwide: July 18th, 2025

#20 #2025 #AmericanMetal #Autopsy #DeathMetal #Disma #Incantation #Jul25 #ReBuried #RepulsiveNature #Review #Reviews #TombMold #TranslationLossRecords #Undeath #Undergang

Thus Spoke and Maddog’s Top Ten(ish) of 2023

By Thus Spoke

Thus Spoke

Mum, I’ve made it; I’ve got my own official year-end list on Angry Metal Guy dot com. Just two years ago I had begun my probation period in what would come to be characteristically overzealous fashion, slapping a 4.5 on my first ever review, before deciding that words are much better than numbers. At the time, uncertain of my tenancy in these hallowed halls, I was juggling n00b reviews with short-form reviews on Instagram,1 the latter pursuit being what led me to apply here in the first place. And I’m glad I did!

My first complete year here as a writer has been pretty great, all things considered. I’ve reviewed (and not reviewed) some Excellent (with a capital ‘E’) albums and discovered new favorites—some of whom will be appearing below. It continues to humble me and blow my mind that I get to put my thoughts about music out here on the internet and that people actually read them; that I get to write about bands and records with a critical voice that actually garners some respect, like I’m a proper person who knows things; and that I have the chance to gush about artists I’ve loved for a long time, or only just hit upon. Reviewing Panopticon was a wonderful year-end highlight. Of course, not everything was rosy. It was another year of silence from Ulcerate2, not the greatest year for truly stand-out black metal (with some clear exceptions), and a year in which I struggled with some significant challenges at work. But disappointing promos and unavoidable life hurdles aside, 2023 has been the year that AMG—the reviewing, the staff, and the commenting community—has cemented itself as an important part of who I am. I’m grateful for all of you. Thank you.

Having not made one of these before, this has been my first proper taste of the agony (and perhaps joy) of choosing what to list and where to list them. Can I pen a Contrite Metal Guy piece about my picks later down the line? No, I can’t. So if I’ve forgotten something, please just don’t bring it up or it’ll torture me for at least the entirety of 2024.3 Now, on with the list before I change my mind!

#ish. Convocation // No Dawn for the Caliginous Night – Not only did this album floor me on first listen, but it also made me discover how much I love to say the word “caliginous.” *Annunciates* Cal-ig-in-ous. No Dawn… is just as satisfying, but in a very different way. Its drama, potency, and sheer scale are wondrous to behold and instantly catapulted it into my list (well, close enough). I had been thinking in recent months that I’d kind of fallen off the doom wagon. But Convocation was there right as the year was about to end to shove me firmly back on board. As Cherd opined “This is a towering celebration of death’s enormity, packaged in the heaviest and most shimmering of vessels,” and I concur. It’s really only down to a totally stacked year of music that this behemoth doesn’t rank higher.

#10. Thantifaxath // Hive Mind Narcosis – This album scares the shit out of me and I absolutely love it. Everything about its wacky, dissonant, bendy, manic, and malevolent intensity borders on the hallucinogenic and nightmarish. And as a piece of extreme metal, aiming to confront with the harshest of blackened death metal, this is a very good thing. Thantifaxath were a 2023 discovery for me, and this, their sophomore effort, thoroughly convinced me that I should be paying attention to them. It always sends me into a state of heavy foreboding, anxiety, and nausea at confrontation with the absurd. When I reviewed Hive Mind Narcosis, I talked about its contradictory coherence and beauty under a façade of erraticism and ugliness, and I believe this to be what makes it continue to stand out amidst many other unapproachable extreme metal records that came out in 2023, worthy as they may be.

#9. Downfall of Gaia // Silhouettes of Disgust – While I’ve had an appreciation for Downfall of Gaia since Atrophy, Silhouettes of Disgust has been the first one that’s really made an impression on me. It’s stuck with me nearly all year since it dropped in March, and I find myself continuing to return to it again and again. When I don’t know what to listen to, I’ll stick this on, and I’ll enjoy it every time. Melodically and emotionally powerful, it contains some of my favorite musical moments of the year, including in particular the building surge of drama and catharsis that ends “Optograms of Disgust” and the album entirely. I think the reason Silhouettes has had this effect was pinned down nicely by Carcharodon when he wrote: “this is the [album] that manages to blend most effectively all the disparate facets of Downfall of Gaia’s sound.” And I would go further and assert what he only hinted at, that Silhouettes is indeed the best of the band’s career.

#8. Stortregn // Finitude – I feel like Stortregn have been getting more and more fun with every album, or at least definitely on the last few. While Emptiness Fills the Void (2018) was light enjoyment, Impermanence (2021) stepped things up a gear into real grin-inducing territory. Finitude, however, blows those records out of the water with what is possibly the most fun I’ve had with technical death/black metal of any kind. Everything about it works towards this, from constantly evolving, circularly composed song structures that sweep you away with their drama and flair, to a flipping flamenco break in “Xeno Chaos” which I should hate, but instead, I absolutely fucking love because it works so brilliantly. Its melodies are gorgeous, its energy undeniable, its rhythms irresistible. Damn, I think I’m gonna go and listen to it again now, I’ve really given myself the itch.

#7. To the Grave // Director’s Cuts – This started off higher on my list. It’s not that I’ve cooled off on it. Quite the contrary, as To the Grave are my most-listened-to artist on Spotify this year, and I will still ardently defend, to anyone who bothers to vocalize their disagreement, that this is an Excellent album. It’s simply a testament to the strength of those you’ll find below. But let that not take away from the immensity that is Director’s Cuts. It’s a stunning slab of deathcore that utterly wipes the floor with anything else released in that subgenre this year, not just br00tal and groovy as all hell, but possessed of a powerful and righteous message of animal liberation, wrapped of course, in a super mean metal mien. “Manhunt,” and indeed most of the album, powered many a top set in the gym, while stone-cold classic-in-the-making, “Axe of Kindness” easily makes it to the Songs of the Year playlist. It’s just fantastic all-round. Until all are free! *Headbangs violently.*

#6. Wayfarer // American Gothic – I was not initially overly enamored with American Gothic. I don’t know what I was playing at though, because it’s quite clearly brilliant. It’s grown on me like no other album has this year, quickly and assertively muscling its way almost into my top five. Though at first I thought it was inferior to its predecessor A Romance with Violence, as I’ve mentioned, I was being silly, and it’s actually far superior. With a more coherent and consistent compositional structure, more powerful and punchy songs, with stronger, more memorable melodies, and a better integration of that uniquely Western vibe into vibrant and vicious black metal, this is my favorite Wayfarer album by a country mile. Brilliantly evocative, both satisfyingly savage and stirringly soft when it needs to be, American Gothic never ceases to transport me to the old West in its turbulent transformation with drama, passion, and beauty. And it’s wonderful to experience.

#5. Night Crowned // Tales – It was surprising enough that none of my esteemed colleagues had nabbed Tales before I did. But for it to be so mind-blowingly fantastic that it would end up this high on my year-end list was something else. With a songs-of-the-year-lister for an opening cut and, in general, a tracklist stuffed full of back-to-back bangers, and a blazingly bombastic, infectious spirit all around, Tales charges ahead of the competition with savage glee. It’s actually hard to overstate just how good this album is, particularly given how ridiculously easy it is to listen to with its catchy melodies, (relatively) snappy song lengths, and dynamic energy. The culmination of Night Crowned’s fiery and dramatic style of black metal, and the best of their already stellar discography, Tales calls me back ceaselessly and I’m more than happy to oblige.

#4. Fires in the Distance // Air Not Meant for Us – This album is magical. Nothing has changed since I first heard it in its entirety this spring. Elegantly composed, stirring, and effortlessly graceful, it’s hands-down the most straightforwardly beautiful thing on my list. It’s moving without being sappy, and pretty without being saccharine. And Air Not Meant for Us also wins points for including a midway instrumental that’s not only just as good as the other tracks, but possibly better, and bridges the two sides of the album in this lovely way that makes for a dreamy kind of interlude. Fires in the Distance have such a distinctive form of ethereal, key-accented melodeath/doom that I can only see the immense strength of Air Not Meant for Us as a huge, incredibly exciting sign of more brilliant records to come. As it is, I still haven’t had enough of this one.

#3. Serpent of Old // Ensemble Under the Dark Sun – Back in June, I confidently declared that “Serpent of Old have crafted one of the best metal records of 2023 so far, no exaggeration.” Well, it turns out I wasn’t exaggerating, because here it is, number three on my list. Clear as day I can recall hearing the opening notes of “The Sin Before the Great Sin,” as Ensemble Under the Dark Sun began playing for the first time. Straight away I knew that I’d landed a monster of an album, and 42 or so minutes later I was completely engulfed in its intoxicatingly atmospheric darkness. Like their eponymous snake, Serpent of Old wound their blackened death metal around and around my brain. Ensemble is intense, and yet utterly captivating, dripping with oppressive, haunting melodies and deep, angular dissonance. And it also features the best drum performance of the year in my opinion. To think this is a debut is frankly astonishing, and I am extremely keen to hear more.

#2. Dødheimsgard // Black Medium Current – For a long time, this sat comfortably in first place. Why is no mystery. Unlike anything Dødheimsgard have put out in the past, or anything else released this year, Black Medium Current challenged, confronted, and mesmerized me. Weird and discomfiting one moment, tear-jerkingly beautiful another, this album is an emotional and musical rollercoaster that treads perfectly that line between avant-garde wackiness and sincere black metal passion. I recall how stunned I was to discover its 72+ minute length, after already spinning it back-to-back multiple times because it’s so engrossing and intelligently composed. I also recall just how close I came to awarding my first “Iconic” when reviewing it, simply due to the lasting power I perceived it to possess. While the Contrite Metal Guy piece is not on the roadmap for anytime soon, I still believe Black Medium Current to be incredibly special, and an album that absolutely must be heard by everyone in the metalsphere, even if it’s to rapidly discover it’s not one’s cup of tea. Dødheimsgard have made an almost perfect record here. A worthy holder of the top position, were it not for one, equally lengthy rival…

#1. Panopticon // The Rime of Memory – As it’s so recently reviewed, perhaps this was obvious. But with Panopticon, I can be sure that its immense influence is not just due to proximity bias. Just like its predecessor …And Again into the Light, The Rime of Memory knocked me flat off my feet and buried me like an avalanche, with all of the intensity and force, and yet none of the cold. Because this burns white hot with passion and pain. I haven’t yet decided whether it sits above that prior record, but right now, it doesn’t matter, because it easily stands above all others in 2023. “Cedar Skeletons” alone snatches the song of the year accolade, but the whole is something I have to experience again and again. It would just be wrong to give anything less than first place to an album that quite literally brings me to tears because of how emotionally poignant and compositionally powerful it is. As with my #2 pick, its epic duration is immaterial in the face of its effect, which is utterly unmatched by any of my other list contenders. Panopticon—particularly on more recent records—seems to have a unique ability to tug on my heartstrings and to blend the most ferocious of black metal with the most serene and evocative Appalachian folk, and to have it all bleed pure pathos. The Rime of Memory more than matched my lofty hopes, and it already has a very special place in my heart.

Honorable Mentions:

• Ahab // The Coral Tombs – A return to form after the iffy Boats of the Glen Carrig. Managing at turns to be both as heavy as a colossal squid and beautifully still as the depths of the ocean.
• Nightmarer // Deformity Adrift – I love everything Nightmarer put out and this is no exception. Brutal and shivering with grim atmosphere and irresistible rhythm.
• Manbryne // Interregnum: O próbie wiary i jarzmie zw​ą​tpienia – Just as good, if not better than its predecessor. Which means it’s really rather good. Gnarly, intriguing Polish black metal with bite and pizzaz.
• The Circle // Of Awakening – This magnificent dramatic black metal opus came the closest to making it into the final list. I slept on this album hard until the final months, and it was only barely pushed out.
• Dymna Lotva // The Land Under the Black Wings: Blood – An album that came out of absolutely nowhere for me and stunned with its emotional potency and devastating delivery. Future Dymna Lotva records may well make the list when that year comes.
• Voidsphere // To Infect | To Inflict – Thank you to Dear Hollow for putting this on my radar. It’s like Decoherence and Darkspace had a baby. A dark, mesmerizing atmospheric black metal baby. Gorgeous.

Songs of the Year:

• “Cedar Skeletons” – Panopticon
• “De Namnlösa” – Night Crowned
• “Axe of Kindness” – To the Grave
• “Optograms of Disgust” – Downfall of Gaia
• “The Fall” – Serpent of Old
• “A Coral Tomb” – Ahab
• “Boreal” – The Ocean
• “Seven Crowns and Seven Seals” – Sulphur Aeon
• “Taufbefehl” – Nightmarer
• “Of Awakening” – The Circle (ft. Ne Obliviscaris)

Guilty Pleasure of the Year:

• “SIRENCORE” – Banshee – Not remotely metal unless you count some black metal shrieking scattered into its dance-pop. I did however, get mildly addicted to this song for a time. What can I say? I have to let my girly side out occasionally. And yeah. It’s going on the playlist.

Maddog

My earballs had a mixed year. A headbanger’s field day, 2023 boasted a solid array of death metal and some doom that won over skeptics like me. But this year’s music lacked emotional weight. Few 2023 albums sounded as beautiful as Inexorum’s Equinox Vigil, as heart-wrenching as Darkher’s The Buried Storm, or as monumental as Gloson’s The Rift, all of which rocked my 2022 list. There was still plenty to love, but something felt missing.

And so, I found solace in music from years past. Trees of Eternity’s Hour of the Nightingale, perhaps the most underrated record in AMG history, offered me catharsis on dark days. Emma Ruth Rundle held my hand,4 expressing boundless empathy through Marked for Death. Every Enshine release whisked me into a secluded world of sorrowful beauty. Conversely, LiveWire’s thrilling Under Attack!, my favorite 2022 record, kept hopelessness at bay; no matter what, I’m happy to inhabit a world that has LiveWire in it. On the fiercer side, I rekindled my love for Morbid Angel’s Covenant (1993), Suffocation’s Effigy of the Forgotten (1991), and Dying Fetus’ Killing on Adrenaline (1998). This deep bench of yesteryear highlights helped scratch the itches that 2023 albums missed.

The scarcity of tear-jerking 2023 music also re-taught me an important lesson: music that isn’t overtly emotional can still offer consolation or escape. Indeed, my favorite 2023 records brought a smile to my tired face rather than feeding my wallowing tendencies. A comment from the recent Suffocation review expressed this sentiment best:

All things fall to ruin in this world, and that’s why we have death metal.

I’ll give thank-yous a shot, though they’ll inevitably be incomplete. Thank you to AMG for his fearless leadership, Madam X for her tireless work, Grier for his insults, Steel for his bourbon (and also his bourbon), Sentynel for keeping us alive, and Dear Hollow for doing all the writing. Thank you to the UK staff for tolerating my occasional visits, and to everyone who’s supported me through bouts of melodrama. And thank you to everyone who makes my world more musical: artists, comment-section banterers, fellow writers, friends who share music with me, kind people at shows, and more. I’ll be on board 70,000 Tons for the first time next month, and I’m excited to keep deepening my musical community.

Finally, thank you to Thus Spoke, my (list) partner in (vegan) crime. Her intense emotional connection to music bleeds through her words, inspiring me to listen more closely and write more goodly. Read her list first; you won’t regret it.

#ish. Ne Obliviscaris // Exul – Exul’s peaks show Ne Obliviscaris at the top of their divisive game. The band’s balance of beauty and brutality is as strong as ever, as the strings, clean guitars, and death metal riffs move in lockstep. Bassist Martino Garratoni’s hyperactive melodies round out Exul’s rich soundscape. It’s a pleasure to hear Ne Obliviscaris’ compositions unfold, ebbing and flowing among the band’s diverse strengths. Exul’s bloat is the only major splotch on an otherwise stellar record. Listen to Exul with an open mind; it’s easy to get clouded by the hype or the popular hatred. Exul offers a lot to love, and there isn’t much else like it.
[Pairing: Maison Ferrand (Ars, France), Citadelle Jardin d’Été Gin. This gin is easy to sneer at; it’s contemporary, a newcomer, and French. But give it a chance. You might find your mind wandering through a château garden in bloom.]

#10. Gorod // The Orb – I slept on The Orb at first because of its lackluster bass. After a decade of spectacular performances, bassist Benoit Claus inexplicably dialed back his wizardry after 2015’s A Maze of Recycled Creeds. Still, Gorod makes it work. The Orb’s unhinged harmonic leads showcase guitarists Pascal and Alberny at their finest. Meanwhile, the album’s energetic peaks and valleys give space for the drums to take the driver’s seat. Every moment of The Orb amps me up for the next moment, most notably on career highlight “Breeding Silence.” The Orb isn’t memorable enough to land near the top of Gorod’s formidable discography, but Gorod’s brand of hyper-technical death metal is still fun as hell.
[Pairing: Founders Brewing (Grand Rapids, MI), Porter – 6.5% ABV. Less rich than some of its Founders brethren (e.g. Breakfast Stout), but still a flavorful feast.]

#9. Altari // Kröflueldar – I don’t know what the hell this is, but I love it. Altari’s distinctive debut melds black metal and psychedelic rock. While those genre labels might provoke knee-jerk comparisons to Oranssi Pazuzu or A Forest of Stars, Altari’s sound is peerless. Stalwart rhythms ground you while swirling melodies emerge from nowhere to whisk you away, echoing Love’s Forever Changes and Jefferson Airplane’s Surrealistic Pillow. And yet, Kröflueldar’s blackened edge makes it a haunting experience. While Kröflueldar’s abrupt song endings have room for improvement, Altari’s hypnotic debut is a triumph. It might be tucked too far underground to turn many heads, but it’s well worth your time.
[Pairing: Brandy Soymilk Punch (made with Paul Masson VSOP Brandy). “What the hell is this? Why would I ever drink… Errr, why is my glass empty? Fill me up!”]

#8. Sodomisery // Mazzaroth – The melodic black metal resurgence of 2023 peaked with Sodomisery. Mazzaroth checks every box. Dissection-lite blackened death riffs collude with soaring Misturious melodies to lure you into the fray. The album’s clean sections and Sodomisery’s newfound symphonic elements add emotional depth without sounding generic. Mazzaroth’s strengths coalesce in its belt-along choruses, which maintain the album’s somber mood while still worming into your brain. Because Sodomisery executes every component so well, the record sounds fresh despite trodding well-trodden ground. Even Sodomisery’s less-than-ideal name inspired three of 2023’s most iconic comments. Mazzaroth has captured the hearts of old fans and newcomers alike, and the attention is well-deserved.
[Pairing: BrewDog (Ellon, UK), Drop D – Cascadian Dark Ale, 8.1% ABV. Perfectly balances hoppiness and roasty stout flavors, without reinventing any wheels.]

#7. Faithxtractor // Contempt for a Failed Dimension – While 2023 had no shortage of compelling no-frills death metal, the genre peaked in January with Faithxtractor. This is what you get when you cross faith unforgiving death metal with a tractor meticulous songwriting. Contempt for a Failed Dimension’s single-minded focus keeps it concise and fearsome across both its crushing slow sections and its frantic riff carnivals. Faithxtractor’s creativity elevates the album from “mere” fun to the top of its genre. Even at its most unhinged, Contempt for a Failed Dimension never trips over itself. Every riff inhabits its optimal location, and each one is essential to the final product. I’m not sure which dimension has failed—I hope it isn’t a spatial one—but I know Faithxtractor will punish it mightily.
[Pairing: Lagunitas Brewing (Petaluma, CA), IPA – 6.2% ABV. A familiar beer in a familiar style, but it always hits the spot. Sometimes that’s all you need.]

#6. Xoth // Exogalactic – Xoth’s brand of technical blackened death-thrash is a sci-fi spectacle. Exogalactic’s futuristic riffs, twisting melodies, and narrative arcs make it feel like reptilian aliens are indeed enslaving humans as gladiators like hordes of warriors are really battling for the galaxy. Hearing Xoth play Tetris with electrifying melodies of all shapes and sizes is thrilling. While the album’s peaks fall short of its predecessor, you’ll be belting out its colossal choruses in no time. Xoth’s style is unique, but it shares a strength with Archspire, First Fragment, and Jane Austen: you can hear Xoth grinning through their art. Every time I listen to Exogalactic, I can’t help but grin alongside.
[Pairing: Brouwerij Huyghe (Melle, Belgium), Delirium Tremens – Belgian Golden Strong Ale, 8.5% ABV. A paradox in a glass: strong and flavorful, but light-hearted and bright. It’ll put a smile on your face.]

#5. Raider // Trial by Chaos – Trial by Chaos is as dense as its cover art. Over 39 minutes of hectic death-thrash, Raider tells tales of dystopia, science fiction, and righteous defiance. Every element of Raider’s onslaught finds its mark. The guitars range from Floridian death metal steamrollers to three-piece melodic leads, nailing both styles. The thunderous rhythm section raises hell at climactic moments and stitches Trial by Chaos’ disparate pieces together. Most strikingly, Angelo Bonaccorso’s vocal variety imbues the music with emotional force and narrative structure. This is only Raider’s second full-length record, but its cohesion and show-stopping power make it best in class. Expect Raider to be a torchbearer for death-thrash in the years to come.
[Pairing: 3 Floyds Brewing (Munster, IN), Permanent Funeral – Imperial IPA, 10.5% ABV. Unforgiving in its strength, its hoppiness, and its intense flavor. Intimidating but irresistible.]

#4. Wayfarer // American Gothic – Seamlessly blending their Western aesthetic with black metal, Wayfarer transports the listener to the Western United States circa 1900. This is not a romanticized Magic School Bus trip; everything around you is greed, senseless violence, and environmental devastation.5 American Gothic’s emotional palette matches this landscape, leading through righteous anger (“The Cattle Thief”),6 longing (“To Enter My House Justified”), and hopelessness (“Black Plumes over God’s Country”). The album’s fantastic rhythm section and its rich production, both uncharacteristic strengths for black metal, allow Wayfarer’s diverse compositions to shine. Even though Wayfarer isn’t the only band playing this style, they’ve won my heart. Concise but powerful, American Gothic is the new American gothic.
[Pairing: Buffalo Trace Distillery (Frankfort, KY), Sazerac Rye. Accessible for the wallet and the palate, but with a fierce rye edge. A flavor bonanza and a perfect companion for an evening of reminiscences or regrets.]

#3. Hellripper // Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags – The “old Hellripper” is still alive and well, after two riotous slabs of blackened speed metal. The “new Hellripper” is no less formidable. Forays into death metal and old-school speed metal add flair around the edges. Meanwhile, Warlocks’ longer tracks leap out of Hellripper’s comfort zone while balancing melodic variety and narrative cohesion. Scottish folk influences add depth throughout the melodies, the lyrics rooted in Orkney mythology, and the unexpected bagpipes. With these forces combined, the record’s narrative pieces feel like captivating campfire tales rather than bedtime stories. And still, Warlocks’ speedy killers are the most fun I’ve had all year. Warlocks is both an exhilarating listen and a massive step forward for Hellripper’s songwriting.
[Pairing: St. George Spirits (Alameda, CA), Terroir Gin. The juniper-heavy palate will placate gin gatekeepers, while the Douglas fir and sage will transport open minds to a California coastal redwood forest. Classic, innovative, and delicious.]

#2. Onheil // In Black Ashes – In Black Ashes is melodic black/death/speed/thrash at its finest. But that description is both a little too much and much too little. The album’s irresistible speedy riffs alone deserve Grier’s 3.5. Onheil’s mastery of melody and songwriting elevates In Black Ashes into the stratosphere. Led by the indomitable “Void,” In Black Ashes’ powerful melodies offer catharsis like none other. As the album progresses, Onheil flexes their compositional muscles more, melding narrative meloblack epics with Mors Principium Est-adjacent bangers. Every track is a winner, and Onheil strikes an impossible balance between enthralling riffs and emotional heft. In Black Ashes deserves a lot more love.
[Pairing: Hayman’s Distillery (London, UK), Royal Dock Navy Strength Gin. This isn’t just another boring London gin; spices and citrus add a twist. Bottled at the 114 proof point where soaked gunpowder can still ignite, Royal Dock is fierce but shockingly smooth.]

#1. Theophonos // Nightmare Visions – Nightmare Visions throws everything at the wall, and everything sticks. I struggled to describe this album once, and it isn’t getting easier. Theophonos’ debut feels like a grind-paced tour through metal history, squeezed through a blackened filter. Armed with razor-sharp riffs, a vicious rhythm section, and a refusal to sit still, Theophonos’ dissonant style is both neck-shattering and evocative. The album’s density makes it a gripping experience, while Jimmy Hamzey’s (Serpent Column) masterful transitions hold the Jenga blocks together. Theophonos’ blood, sweat, and tears glisten through details like the inter-song callbacks and the blurring of frenzied black metal and serene rock. Ten months into our love affair, Nightmare Visions still reveals new facets on every listen. Even if blackened grind isn’t your home turf (trust me, it isn’t mine), give Nightmare Visions a shot. I’d never heard anything like it, but now I can’t stop listening.
[Pairing: Fifth Hammer Brewing (Queens, NY), POGlodyte – Sour Ale with Passionfruit, Blood Orange, and Guava, 5.5% ABV. The description is accurate but inadequate. Wilder than your wildest dreams, this sour is what you never realized your life needed. Rapture for every taste bud.]

Honorable Mentions:

• Night Crowned // Tales – Tales is a scorcher from cover to cover, blending ferocious blackened death melodies with clean and folky digressions. Night Crowned jostled their way up here at the last minute. Ask me in a few weeks, and I might regret not pushing Tales up to my top 10.
• Tomb Mold // The Enduring Spirit – Tomb Mold’s 57-degree turn into prog death lands close to Fallujah’s best work. With dueling guitar leads, riveting bass melodies, and groovy drum lines, The Enduring Spirit is gorgeous and engaging. With more oomph, it could’ve landed near the top of my list.
• Saturnus // The Storm Within – From its crushing death-doom riffs to its My Dying Bride-esque dirges, The Storm Within ripped my heart out. Saturnus’ decade-awaited return suffers from bloat, but it’s still one of 2023’s rare emotional juggernauts.
• Kalmah // Kalmah – Kalmah’s Kalmah sounds like Kalmah, in the best way. Firestorm riffs, massive climaxes, and prominent synths get the blood flowing. The slower morose sections hit just as hard, especially with their infectious choruses. Kalmah doesn’t break new ground, but it still holds me rapt.
• Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter // Saved! – Saved! is jarring, but Hayter’s spellbinding vocals and her cohesive compositions won me over. The album pantses my heart in its best moments, like “I Will Be with You Always.” The out-of-place shorter pieces and the record’s rocky start hold Saved! back, but it’s still worth a spin or ten.
• Serpent of Old // Ensemble under the Dark Sun – This one is tough to describe. Ensemble’s blackened death melodies, at once eerie and grabby, crept under my skin on my very first listen. Given how dense and thoughtful Ensemble is, I still can’t believe it’s Serpent of Old’s debut.

Disappointments o’ the Year:

• Myrkur // Spine – Pairing: Methanol. A close relative of excellence, but hazardous in its current form. So close, but so very far.
• The Ocean // Holocene – Pairing: Southwest Spirits (Dallas, TX), Calamity Gin. The heavy floral and citrusy botanicals make for an intriguing promo pitch. Given my history with similar styles, I had every expectation of loving this. Alas, reality was not so kind; I struggled to finish it.

Songs o’ the Year:

1. Onheil – “Void”
2. Enslaved – “Congelia”
3. Xoth – “Battlesphere”
4. Sermon – “Golden”
5. Gorod – “Breeding Silence”
6. Ne Obliviscaris – “Equus”
7. Insomnium – “1696”
8. Theophonos – “Of Days Past”
9. Raider – “Labyrinth”
10. Wayfarer – “The Cattle Thief”
11. Stortregn – “The Revelation”

#Ahab #Altari #Convocation #Dödheimsgard #DownfallOfGaia #DymnaLotva #Faithxtractor #FiresInTheDistance #Gorod #Hellripper #Kalmah #Lists #Listurnalia #Mānbryne #Myrkur #NeObliviscaris #NightCrowned #Nightmarer #Onheil #Panopticon #Raider #ReverendKristinMichaelHayter #Saturnus #SerpentOfOld #Sodomisery #Stortregn #Thantifaxath #TheCircle #TheOcean #Theophonos #ThusSpokeSAndMaddogSTopTenIshOf2023 #ToTheGrave #TombMold #Top10Ish_ #Voidsphere #Wayfarer #Xoth

Thus Spoke and Maddog’s Top Ten(ish) of 2023

By Thus Spoke

Thus Spoke

Mum, I’ve made it; I’ve got my own official year-end list on Angry Metal Guy dot com. Just two years ago I had begun my probation period in what would come to be characteristically overzealous fashion, slapping a 4.5 on my first ever review, before deciding that words are much better than numbers. At the time, uncertain of my tenancy in these hallowed halls, I was juggling n00b reviews with short-form reviews on Instagram,1 the latter pursuit being what led me to apply here in the first place. And I’m glad I did!

My first complete year here as a writer has been pretty great, all things considered. I’ve reviewed (and not reviewed) some Excellent (with a capital ‘E’) albums and discovered new favorites—some of whom will be appearing below. It continues to humble me and blow my mind that I get to put my thoughts about music out here on the internet and that people actually read them; that I get to write about bands and records with a critical voice that actually garners some respect, like I’m a proper person who knows things; and that I have the chance to gush about artists I’ve loved for a long time, or only just hit upon. Reviewing Panopticon was a wonderful year-end highlight. Of course, not everything was rosy. It was another year of silence from Ulcerate2, not the greatest year for truly stand-out black metal (with some clear exceptions), and a year in which I struggled with some significant challenges at work. But disappointing promos and unavoidable life hurdles aside, 2023 has been the year that AMG—the reviewing, the staff, and the commenting community—has cemented itself as an important part of who I am. I’m grateful for all of you. Thank you.

Having not made one of these before, this has been my first proper taste of the agony (and perhaps joy) of choosing what to list and where to list them. Can I pen a Contrite Metal Guy piece about my picks later down the line? No, I can’t. So if I’ve forgotten something, please just don’t bring it up or it’ll torture me for at least the entirety of 2024.3 Now, on with the list before I change my mind!

#ish. Convocation // No Dawn for the Caliginous Night – Not only did this album floor me on first listen, but it also made me discover how much I love to say the word “caliginous.” *Annunciates* Cal-ig-in-ous. No Dawn… is just as satisfying, but in a very different way. Its drama, potency, and sheer scale are wondrous to behold and instantly catapulted it into my list (well, close enough). I had been thinking in recent months that I’d kind of fallen off the doom wagon. But Convocation was there right as the year was about to end to shove me firmly back on board. As Cherd opined “This is a towering celebration of death’s enormity, packaged in the heaviest and most shimmering of vessels,” and I concur. It’s really only down to a totally stacked year of music that this behemoth doesn’t rank higher.

#10. Thantifaxath // Hive Mind Narcosis – This album scares the shit out of me and I absolutely love it. Everything about its wacky, dissonant, bendy, manic, and malevolent intensity borders on the hallucinogenic and nightmarish. And as a piece of extreme metal, aiming to confront with the harshest of blackened death metal, this is a very good thing. Thantifaxath were a 2023 discovery for me, and this, their sophomore effort, thoroughly convinced me that I should be paying attention to them. It always sends me into a state of heavy foreboding, anxiety, and nausea at confrontation with the absurd. When I reviewed Hive Mind Narcosis, I talked about its contradictory coherence and beauty under a façade of erraticism and ugliness, and I believe this to be what makes it continue to stand out amidst many other unapproachable extreme metal records that came out in 2023, worthy as they may be.

#9. Downfall of Gaia // Silhouettes of Disgust – While I’ve had an appreciation for Downfall of Gaia since Atrophy, Silhouettes of Disgust has been the first one that’s really made an impression on me. It’s stuck with me nearly all year since it dropped in March, and I find myself continuing to return to it again and again. When I don’t know what to listen to, I’ll stick this on, and I’ll enjoy it every time. Melodically and emotionally powerful, it contains some of my favorite musical moments of the year, including in particular the building surge of drama and catharsis that ends “Optograms of Disgust” and the album entirely. I think the reason Silhouettes has had this effect was pinned down nicely by Carcharodon when he wrote: “this is the [album] that manages to blend most effectively all the disparate facets of Downfall of Gaia’s sound.” And I would go further and assert what he only hinted at, that Silhouettes is indeed the best of the band’s career.

#8. Stortregn // Finitude – I feel like Stortregn have been getting more and more fun with every album, or at least definitely on the last few. While Emptiness Fills the Void (2018) was light enjoyment, Impermanence (2021) stepped things up a gear into real grin-inducing territory. Finitude, however, blows those records out of the water with what is possibly the most fun I’ve had with technical death/black metal of any kind. Everything about it works towards this, from constantly evolving, circularly composed song structures that sweep you away with their drama and flair, to a flipping flamenco break in “Xeno Chaos” which I should hate, but instead, I absolutely fucking love because it works so brilliantly. Its melodies are gorgeous, its energy undeniable, its rhythms irresistible. Damn, I think I’m gonna go and listen to it again now, I’ve really given myself the itch.

#7. To the Grave // Director’s Cuts – This started off higher on my list. It’s not that I’ve cooled off on it. Quite the contrary, as To the Grave are my most-listened-to artist on Spotify this year, and I will still ardently defend, to anyone who bothers to vocalize their disagreement, that this is an Excellent album. It’s simply a testament to the strength of those you’ll find below. But let that not take away from the immensity that is Director’s Cuts. It’s a stunning slab of deathcore that utterly wipes the floor with anything else released in that subgenre this year, not just br00tal and groovy as all hell, but possessed of a powerful and righteous message of animal liberation, wrapped of course, in a super mean metal mien. “Manhunt,” and indeed most of the album, powered many a top set in the gym, while stone-cold classic-in-the-making, “Axe of Kindness” easily makes it to the Songs of the Year playlist. It’s just fantastic all-round. Until all are free! *Headbangs violently.*

#6. Wayfarer // American Gothic – I was not initially overly enamored with American Gothic. I don’t know what I was playing at though, because it’s quite clearly brilliant. It’s grown on me like no other album has this year, quickly and assertively muscling its way almost into my top five. Though at first I thought it was inferior to its predecessor A Romance with Violence, as I’ve mentioned, I was being silly, and it’s actually far superior. With a more coherent and consistent compositional structure, more powerful and punchy songs, with stronger, more memorable melodies, and a better integration of that uniquely Western vibe into vibrant and vicious black metal, this is my favorite Wayfarer album by a country mile. Brilliantly evocative, both satisfyingly savage and stirringly soft when it needs to be, American Gothic never ceases to transport me to the old West in its turbulent transformation with drama, passion, and beauty. And it’s wonderful to experience.

#5. Night Crowned // Tales – It was surprising enough that none of my esteemed colleagues had nabbed Tales before I did. But for it to be so mind-blowingly fantastic that it would end up this high on my year-end list was something else. With a songs-of-the-year-lister for an opening cut and, in general, a tracklist stuffed full of back-to-back bangers, and a blazingly bombastic, infectious spirit all around, Tales charges ahead of the competition with savage glee. It’s actually hard to overstate just how good this album is, particularly given how ridiculously easy it is to listen to with its catchy melodies, (relatively) snappy song lengths, and dynamic energy. The culmination of Night Crowned’s fiery and dramatic style of black metal, and the best of their already stellar discography, Tales calls me back ceaselessly and I’m more than happy to oblige.

#4. Fires in the Distance // Air Not Meant for Us – This album is magical. Nothing has changed since I first heard it in its entirety this spring. Elegantly composed, stirring, and effortlessly graceful, it’s hands-down the most straightforwardly beautiful thing on my list. It’s moving without being sappy, and pretty without being saccharine. And Air Not Meant for Us also wins points for including a midway instrumental that’s not only just as good as the other tracks, but possibly better, and bridges the two sides of the album in this lovely way that makes for a dreamy kind of interlude. Fires in the Distance have such a distinctive form of ethereal, key-accented melodeath/doom that I can only see the immense strength of Air Not Meant for Us as a huge, incredibly exciting sign of more brilliant records to come. As it is, I still haven’t had enough of this one.

#3. Serpent of Old // Ensemble Under the Dark Sun – Back in June, I confidently declared that “Serpent of Old have crafted one of the best metal records of 2023 so far, no exaggeration.” Well, it turns out I wasn’t exaggerating, because here it is, number three on my list. Clear as day I can recall hearing the opening notes of “The Sin Before the Great Sin,” as Ensemble Under the Dark Sun began playing for the first time. Straight away I knew that I’d landed a monster of an album, and 42 or so minutes later I was completely engulfed in its intoxicatingly atmospheric darkness. Like their eponymous snake, Serpent of Old wound their blackened death metal around and around my brain. Ensemble is intense, and yet utterly captivating, dripping with oppressive, haunting melodies and deep, angular dissonance. And it also features the best drum performance of the year in my opinion. To think this is a debut is frankly astonishing, and I am extremely keen to hear more.

#2. Dødheimsgard // Black Medium Current – For a long time, this sat comfortably in first place. Why is no mystery. Unlike anything Dødheimsgard have put out in the past, or anything else released this year, Black Medium Current challenged, confronted, and mesmerized me. Weird and discomfiting one moment, tear-jerkingly beautiful another, this album is an emotional and musical rollercoaster that treads perfectly that line between avant-garde wackiness and sincere black metal passion. I recall how stunned I was to discover its 72+ minute length, after already spinning it back-to-back multiple times because it’s so engrossing and intelligently composed. I also recall just how close I came to awarding my first “Iconic” when reviewing it, simply due to the lasting power I perceived it to possess. While the Contrite Metal Guy piece is not on the roadmap for anytime soon, I still believe Black Medium Current to be incredibly special, and an album that absolutely must be heard by everyone in the metalsphere, even if it’s to rapidly discover it’s not one’s cup of tea. Dødheimsgard have made an almost perfect record here. A worthy holder of the top position, were it not for one, equally lengthy rival…

#1. Panopticon // The Rime of Memory – As it’s so recently reviewed, perhaps this was obvious. But with Panopticon, I can be sure that its immense influence is not just due to proximity bias. Just like its predecessor …And Again into the Light, The Rime of Memory knocked me flat off my feet and buried me like an avalanche, with all of the intensity and force, and yet none of the cold. Because this burns white hot with passion and pain. I haven’t yet decided whether it sits above that prior record, but right now, it doesn’t matter, because it easily stands above all others in 2023. “Cedar Skeletons” alone snatches the song of the year accolade, but the whole is something I have to experience again and again. It would just be wrong to give anything less than first place to an album that quite literally brings me to tears because of how emotionally poignant and compositionally powerful it is. As with my #2 pick, its epic duration is immaterial in the face of its effect, which is utterly unmatched by any of my other list contenders. Panopticon—particularly on more recent records—seems to have a unique ability to tug on my heartstrings and to blend the most ferocious of black metal with the most serene and evocative Appalachian folk, and to have it all bleed pure pathos. The Rime of Memory more than matched my lofty hopes, and it already has a very special place in my heart.

Honorable Mentions:

• Ahab // The Coral Tombs – A return to form after the iffy Boats of the Glen Carrig. Managing at turns to be both as heavy as a colossal squid and beautifully still as the depths of the ocean.
• Nightmarer // Deformity Adrift – I love everything Nightmarer put out and this is no exception. Brutal and shivering with grim atmosphere and irresistible rhythm.
• Manbryne // Interregnum: O próbie wiary i jarzmie zw​ą​tpienia – Just as good, if not better than its predecessor. Which means it’s really rather good. Gnarly, intriguing Polish black metal with bite and pizzaz.
• The Circle // Of Awakening – This magnificent dramatic black metal opus came the closest to making it into the final list. I slept on this album hard until the final months, and it was only barely pushed out.
• Dymna Lotva // The Land Under the Black Wings: Blood – An album that came out of absolutely nowhere for me and stunned with its emotional potency and devastating delivery. Future Dymna Lotva records may well make the list when that year comes.
• Voidsphere // To Infect | To Inflict – Thank you to Dear Hollow for putting this on my radar. It’s like Decoherence and Darkspace had a baby. A dark, mesmerizing atmospheric black metal baby. Gorgeous.

Songs of the Year:

• “Cedar Skeletons” – Panopticon
• “De Namnlösa” – Night Crowned
• “Axe of Kindness” – To the Grave
• “Optograms of Disgust” – Downfall of Gaia
• “The Fall” – Serpent of Old
• “A Coral Tomb” – Ahab
• “Boreal” – The Ocean
• “Seven Crowns and Seven Seals” – Sulphur Aeon
• “Taufbefehl” – Nightmarer
• “Of Awakening” – The Circle (ft. Ne Obliviscaris)

Guilty Pleasure of the Year:

• “SIRENCORE” – Banshee – Not remotely metal unless you count some black metal shrieking scattered into its dance-pop. I did however, get mildly addicted to this song for a time. What can I say? I have to let my girly side out occasionally. And yeah. It’s going on the playlist.

Maddog

My earballs had a mixed year. A headbanger’s field day, 2023 boasted a solid array of death metal and some doom that won over skeptics like me. But this year’s music lacked emotional weight. Few 2023 albums sounded as beautiful as Inexorum’s Equinox Vigil, as heart-wrenching as Darkher’s The Buried Storm, or as monumental as Gloson’s The Rift, all of which rocked my 2022 list. There was still plenty to love, but something felt missing.

And so, I found solace in music from years past. Trees of Eternity’s Hour of the Nightingale, perhaps the most underrated record in AMG history, offered me catharsis on dark days. Emma Ruth Rundle held my hand,4 expressing boundless empathy through Marked for Death. Every Enshine release whisked me into a secluded world of sorrowful beauty. Conversely, LiveWire’s thrilling Under Attack!, my favorite 2022 record, kept hopelessness at bay; no matter what, I’m happy to inhabit a world that has LiveWire in it. On the fiercer side, I rekindled my love for Morbid Angel’s Covenant (1993), Suffocation’s Effigy of the Forgotten (1991), and Dying Fetus’ Killing on Adrenaline (1998). This deep bench of yesteryear highlights helped scratch the itches that 2023 albums missed.

The scarcity of tear-jerking 2023 music also re-taught me an important lesson: music that isn’t overtly emotional can still offer consolation or escape. Indeed, my favorite 2023 records brought a smile to my tired face rather than feeding my wallowing tendencies. A comment from the recent Suffocation review expressed this sentiment best:

All things fall to ruin in this world, and that’s why we have death metal.

I’ll give thank-yous a shot, though they’ll inevitably be incomplete. Thank you to AMG for his fearless leadership, Madam X for her tireless work, Grier for his insults, Steel for his bourbon (and also his bourbon), Sentynel for keeping us alive, and Dear Hollow for doing all the writing. Thank you to the UK staff for tolerating my occasional visits, and to everyone who’s supported me through bouts of melodrama. And thank you to everyone who makes my world more musical: artists, comment-section banterers, fellow writers, friends who share music with me, kind people at shows, and more. I’ll be on board 70,000 Tons for the first time next month, and I’m excited to keep deepening my musical community.

Finally, thank you to Thus Spoke, my (list) partner in (vegan) crime. Her intense emotional connection to music bleeds through her words, inspiring me to listen more closely and write more goodly. Read her list first; you won’t regret it.

#ish. Ne Obliviscaris // Exul – Exul’s peaks show Ne Obliviscaris at the top of their divisive game. The band’s balance of beauty and brutality is as strong as ever, as the strings, clean guitars, and death metal riffs move in lockstep. Bassist Martino Garratoni’s hyperactive melodies round out Exul’s rich soundscape. It’s a pleasure to hear Ne Obliviscaris’ compositions unfold, ebbing and flowing among the band’s diverse strengths. Exul’s bloat is the only major splotch on an otherwise stellar record. Listen to Exul with an open mind; it’s easy to get clouded by the hype or the popular hatred. Exul offers a lot to love, and there isn’t much else like it.
[Pairing: Maison Ferrand (Ars, France), Citadelle Jardin d’Été Gin. This gin is easy to sneer at; it’s contemporary, a newcomer, and French. But give it a chance. You might find your mind wandering through a château garden in bloom.]

#10. Gorod // The Orb – I slept on The Orb at first because of its lackluster bass. After a decade of spectacular performances, bassist Benoit Claus inexplicably dialed back his wizardry after 2015’s A Maze of Recycled Creeds. Still, Gorod makes it work. The Orb’s unhinged harmonic leads showcase guitarists Pascal and Alberny at their finest. Meanwhile, the album’s energetic peaks and valleys give space for the drums to take the driver’s seat. Every moment of The Orb amps me up for the next moment, most notably on career highlight “Breeding Silence.” The Orb isn’t memorable enough to land near the top of Gorod’s formidable discography, but Gorod’s brand of hyper-technical death metal is still fun as hell.
[Pairing: Founders Brewing (Grand Rapids, MI), Porter – 6.5% ABV. Less rich than some of its Founders brethren (e.g. Breakfast Stout), but still a flavorful feast.]

#9. Altari // Kröflueldar – I don’t know what the hell this is, but I love it. Altari’s distinctive debut melds black metal and psychedelic rock. While those genre labels might provoke knee-jerk comparisons to Oranssi Pazuzu or A Forest of Stars, Altari’s sound is peerless. Stalwart rhythms ground you while swirling melodies emerge from nowhere to whisk you away, echoing Love’s Forever Changes and Jefferson Airplane’s Surrealistic Pillow. And yet, Kröflueldar’s blackened edge makes it a haunting experience. While Kröflueldar’s abrupt song endings have room for improvement, Altari’s hypnotic debut is a triumph. It might be tucked too far underground to turn many heads, but it’s well worth your time.
[Pairing: Brandy Soymilk Punch (made with Paul Masson VSOP Brandy). “What the hell is this? Why would I ever drink… Errr, why is my glass empty? Fill me up!”]

#8. Sodomisery // Mazzaroth – The melodic black metal resurgence of 2023 peaked with Sodomisery. Mazzaroth checks every box. Dissection-lite blackened death riffs collude with soaring Misturious melodies to lure you into the fray. The album’s clean sections and Sodomisery’s newfound symphonic elements add emotional depth without sounding generic. Mazzaroth’s strengths coalesce in its belt-along choruses, which maintain the album’s somber mood while still worming into your brain. Because Sodomisery executes every component so well, the record sounds fresh despite trodding well-trodden ground. Even Sodomisery’s less-than-ideal name inspired three of 2023’s most iconic comments. Mazzaroth has captured the hearts of old fans and newcomers alike, and the attention is well-deserved.
[Pairing: BrewDog (Ellon, UK), Drop D – Cascadian Dark Ale, 8.1% ABV. Perfectly balances hoppiness and roasty stout flavors, without reinventing any wheels.]

#7. Faithxtractor // Contempt for a Failed Dimension – While 2023 had no shortage of compelling no-frills death metal, the genre peaked in January with Faithxtractor. This is what you get when you cross faith unforgiving death metal with a tractor meticulous songwriting. Contempt for a Failed Dimension’s single-minded focus keeps it concise and fearsome across both its crushing slow sections and its frantic riff carnivals. Faithxtractor’s creativity elevates the album from “mere” fun to the top of its genre. Even at its most unhinged, Contempt for a Failed Dimension never trips over itself. Every riff inhabits its optimal location, and each one is essential to the final product. I’m not sure which dimension has failed—I hope it isn’t a spatial one—but I know Faithxtractor will punish it mightily.
[Pairing: Lagunitas Brewing (Petaluma, CA), IPA – 6.2% ABV. A familiar beer in a familiar style, but it always hits the spot. Sometimes that’s all you need.]

#6. Xoth // Exogalactic – Xoth’s brand of technical blackened death-thrash is a sci-fi spectacle. Exogalactic’s futuristic riffs, twisting melodies, and narrative arcs make it feel like reptilian aliens are indeed enslaving humans as gladiators like hordes of warriors are really battling for the galaxy. Hearing Xoth play Tetris with electrifying melodies of all shapes and sizes is thrilling. While the album’s peaks fall short of its predecessor, you’ll be belting out its colossal choruses in no time. Xoth’s style is unique, but it shares a strength with Archspire, First Fragment, and Jane Austen: you can hear Xoth grinning through their art. Every time I listen to Exogalactic, I can’t help but grin alongside.
[Pairing: Brouwerij Huyghe (Melle, Belgium), Delirium Tremens – Belgian Golden Strong Ale, 8.5% ABV. A paradox in a glass: strong and flavorful, but light-hearted and bright. It’ll put a smile on your face.]

#5. Raider // Trial by Chaos – Trial by Chaos is as dense as its cover art. Over 39 minutes of hectic death-thrash, Raider tells tales of dystopia, science fiction, and righteous defiance. Every element of Raider’s onslaught finds its mark. The guitars range from Floridian death metal steamrollers to three-piece melodic leads, nailing both styles. The thunderous rhythm section raises hell at climactic moments and stitches Trial by Chaos’ disparate pieces together. Most strikingly, Angelo Bonaccorso’s vocal variety imbues the music with emotional force and narrative structure. This is only Raider’s second full-length record, but its cohesion and show-stopping power make it best in class. Expect Raider to be a torchbearer for death-thrash in the years to come.
[Pairing: 3 Floyds Brewing (Munster, IN), Permanent Funeral – Imperial IPA, 10.5% ABV. Unforgiving in its strength, its hoppiness, and its intense flavor. Intimidating but irresistible.]

#4. Wayfarer // American Gothic – Seamlessly blending their Western aesthetic with black metal, Wayfarer transports the listener to the Western United States circa 1900. This is not a romanticized Magic School Bus trip; everything around you is greed, senseless violence, and environmental devastation.5 American Gothic’s emotional palette matches this landscape, leading through righteous anger (“The Cattle Thief”),6 longing (“To Enter My House Justified”), and hopelessness (“Black Plumes over God’s Country”). The album’s fantastic rhythm section and its rich production, both uncharacteristic strengths for black metal, allow Wayfarer’s diverse compositions to shine. Even though Wayfarer isn’t the only band playing this style, they’ve won my heart. Concise but powerful, American Gothic is the new American gothic.
[Pairing: Buffalo Trace Distillery (Frankfort, KY), Sazerac Rye. Accessible for the wallet and the palate, but with a fierce rye edge. A flavor bonanza and a perfect companion for an evening of reminiscences or regrets.]

#3. Hellripper // Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags – The “old Hellripper” is still alive and well, after two riotous slabs of blackened speed metal. The “new Hellripper” is no less formidable. Forays into death metal and old-school speed metal add flair around the edges. Meanwhile, Warlocks’ longer tracks leap out of Hellripper’s comfort zone while balancing melodic variety and narrative cohesion. Scottish folk influences add depth throughout the melodies, the lyrics rooted in Orkney mythology, and the unexpected bagpipes. With these forces combined, the record’s narrative pieces feel like captivating campfire tales rather than bedtime stories. And still, Warlocks’ speedy killers are the most fun I’ve had all year. Warlocks is both an exhilarating listen and a massive step forward for Hellripper’s songwriting.
[Pairing: St. George Spirits (Alameda, CA), Terroir Gin. The juniper-heavy palate will placate gin gatekeepers, while the Douglas fir and sage will transport open minds to a California coastal redwood forest. Classic, innovative, and delicious.]

#2. Onheil // In Black Ashes – In Black Ashes is melodic black/death/speed/thrash at its finest. But that description is both a little too much and much too little. The album’s irresistible speedy riffs alone deserve Grier’s 3.5. Onheil’s mastery of melody and songwriting elevates In Black Ashes into the stratosphere. Led by the indomitable “Void,” In Black Ashes’ powerful melodies offer catharsis like none other. As the album progresses, Onheil flexes their compositional muscles more, melding narrative meloblack epics with Mors Principium Est-adjacent bangers. Every track is a winner, and Onheil strikes an impossible balance between enthralling riffs and emotional heft. In Black Ashes deserves a lot more love.
[Pairing: Hayman’s Distillery (London, UK), Royal Dock Navy Strength Gin. This isn’t just another boring London gin; spices and citrus add a twist. Bottled at the 114 proof point where soaked gunpowder can still ignite, Royal Dock is fierce but shockingly smooth.]

#1. Theophonos // Nightmare Visions – Nightmare Visions throws everything at the wall, and everything sticks. I struggled to describe this album once, and it isn’t getting easier. Theophonos’ debut feels like a grind-paced tour through metal history, squeezed through a blackened filter. Armed with razor-sharp riffs, a vicious rhythm section, and a refusal to sit still, Theophonos’ dissonant style is both neck-shattering and evocative. The album’s density makes it a gripping experience, while Jimmy Hamzey’s (Serpent Column) masterful transitions hold the Jenga blocks together. Theophonos’ blood, sweat, and tears glisten through details like the inter-song callbacks and the blurring of frenzied black metal and serene rock. Ten months into our love affair, Nightmare Visions still reveals new facets on every listen. Even if blackened grind isn’t your home turf (trust me, it isn’t mine), give Nightmare Visions a shot. I’d never heard anything like it, but now I can’t stop listening.
[Pairing: Fifth Hammer Brewing (Queens, NY), POGlodyte – Sour Ale with Passionfruit, Blood Orange, and Guava, 5.5% ABV. The description is accurate but inadequate. Wilder than your wildest dreams, this sour is what you never realized your life needed. Rapture for every taste bud.]

Honorable Mentions:

• Night Crowned // Tales – Tales is a scorcher from cover to cover, blending ferocious blackened death melodies with clean and folky digressions. Night Crowned jostled their way up here at the last minute. Ask me in a few weeks, and I might regret not pushing Tales up to my top 10.
• Tomb Mold // The Enduring Spirit – Tomb Mold’s 57-degree turn into prog death lands close to Fallujah’s best work. With dueling guitar leads, riveting bass melodies, and groovy drum lines, The Enduring Spirit is gorgeous and engaging. With more oomph, it could’ve landed near the top of my list.
• Saturnus // The Storm Within – From its crushing death-doom riffs to its My Dying Bride-esque dirges, The Storm Within ripped my heart out. Saturnus’ decade-awaited return suffers from bloat, but it’s still one of 2023’s rare emotional juggernauts.
• Kalmah // Kalmah – Kalmah’s Kalmah sounds like Kalmah, in the best way. Firestorm riffs, massive climaxes, and prominent synths get the blood flowing. The slower morose sections hit just as hard, especially with their infectious choruses. Kalmah doesn’t break new ground, but it still holds me rapt.
• Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter // Saved! – Saved! is jarring, but Hayter’s spellbinding vocals and her cohesive compositions won me over. The album pantses my heart in its best moments, like “I Will Be with You Always.” The out-of-place shorter pieces and the record’s rocky start hold Saved! back, but it’s still worth a spin or ten.
• Serpent of Old // Ensemble under the Dark Sun – This one is tough to describe. Ensemble’s blackened death melodies, at once eerie and grabby, crept under my skin on my very first listen. Given how dense and thoughtful Ensemble is, I still can’t believe it’s Serpent of Old’s debut.

Disappointments o’ the Year:

• Myrkur // Spine – Pairing: Methanol. A close relative of excellence, but hazardous in its current form. So close, but so very far.
• The Ocean // Holocene – Pairing: Southwest Spirits (Dallas, TX), Calamity Gin. The heavy floral and citrusy botanicals make for an intriguing promo pitch. Given my history with similar styles, I had every expectation of loving this. Alas, reality was not so kind; I struggled to finish it.

Songs o’ the Year:

1. Onheil – “Void”
2. Enslaved – “Congelia”
3. Xoth – “Battlesphere”
4. Sermon – “Golden”
5. Gorod – “Breeding Silence”
6. Ne Obliviscaris – “Equus”
7. Insomnium – “1696”
8. Theophonos – “Of Days Past”
9. Raider – “Labyrinth”
10. Wayfarer – “The Cattle Thief”
11. Stortregn – “The Revelation”

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