The time has come again! Actually it has passed a bit, as I am writing this in late January 2024. 2023 was full of fantastic albums, and I wish I had made more time to discover more of them. I just wanted to live in the greatness I did find just a bit longer over and over again. No matter who ends up on this list, it will be controversial. For every position there will be plenty of albums that could take its place. So, with my best efforts, here are what I think were the top 10 albums of 2023.
10) The World is Quiet Here – Zon
Released: January 27
We begin our journey with an incredibly progressive, and less heavy album. Zon delivers a wide dynamic range vocally over the top of movements from genre to genre. The clean vocals really take center stage here. Soaring and crystal clear they flow straight to the front of the mix without being forced forward. There is plenty of metal to be had here however. Fans of bands such as Between the Buried and Me will appreciate the movement from clean jazzy sounds straight into some thrashy metal, and back into some synth-driven funk. This album is one that immediately grabbed me and has refused to let go since.
9) Pronostic – Chaotic Upheaval
Released: May 12
While still progressive in nature, Pronostic lives further into the death metal label. With a blazing fast style complete with the pounding drums metal is known for, Chaotic Upheaval punishes your eardrums in a way only tech death can. The album has gorgeous fretless bass work working alongside guitars riding the edge of chaos and control. Each track is masterfully crafted, and I firmly believe this is a band that belongs among tech death’s best names.
8) Lunar Chamber – Shambhallic Vibrations
Released: April 28
While it is a short EP and doesn’t totally meet the requirement of album, these five tracks absolutely rip, intro and interlude included. The band tells a short story with these songs in the form of more progressive, technical metal. The bass work is virtuoso level, the guitars are blistering fast, the vocals low and throaty. The EP ends in a 12 minute epic that is worth every moment. The only wish I have is that this was a full length release, an hour of this would have ripped my face off.
7) Undrask – God Emperor
Released: April 21
The long wait for another ripper from Undrask came to an end in 2023, and boy was it worth the long wait. God Emperor picks up right where Battle Through Time left off with epic storytelling through thrashing, melodic guitar work and intense vocal delivery. I gave the album a full review shortly after its release, which you can read here.
6) August Burns Red – Death Below
Released: March 24
This album pick may or may not partially be due to the nostalgia I get from listening to ABR albums. They were a favorite of mine as I grew into a metalhead, and this album proves why. It feels more mature than their classic albums somehow. They always had a very put together sound, but this feels…. angrier? It keeps the classic ABR rhythmic complexity and vocal intensity but adds elements of pure death metal to it. Just a dash enough to make this album stand out from the rest of their discography. There are a few guest spots on the album, a favorite of mine being the track Ancestry which features Jesse Leach of Killswitch Engage fame. Even if you don’t get the warm fuzzies from this band like I do, this album is still well worth the listen.
5) Entheos – Time Will Take Us All
Released: March 3
Again we have more proggy metal, and I am starting to think I was very one-note this year. Alas, Entheos deserves a spot on this list. Their 2023 effort is fantastic. Vocals are dynamic and powerful, the bass work is incredible, and the songwriting is absolutely on point. Moving through time signatures some sort of Dr. Who of metal, the band shows some real mastery of music on all fronts. The drums drive so many changes and form such a strong backbone for everything to move from. A loud, fast, fantastic work.
4) …And Oceans – As In Gardens, So In Tombs
Released: January 27
Moving away from such blistering tech death, here we have a little more of a blackened death sound with …And Oceans. This album was an early 2023 release that grabbed me and was on repeat for a long while. Thick guitars cover blasting drums in a melodic cacophony. It is dark, moody and perfect for any gloomy weather. This album is perfect for fans of metal that is less complex, metal that does power and beauty without using complex musical structures. Blast beats, double kicks, and machine gun guitars drive this album while the vocals deliver a haunting growl.
3) Demon King – Vesania
Released: March 10
This is another five track EP, and it dives right back into, you guessed it, tech death. Back in 2021 we hailed the beauty that was Demon King’s last effort, The Final Tyranny (a review of that can be found here). They came back just as powerful with another short release for 2023. The three-piece band shreds and shrieks their way through these five tracks, complete with piano and spooky samples that set an end of the world type of tone. While it is tech death, it is also death metal in it’s truest form. It conjures visions of unimaginable horrors and hidden underworlds beyond the sight of man.
2) Ne Obliviscaris – Exul
Released: March 24
They took six tracks and stretched it to an hour, and I loved every moment. Exul is an album that I would not be surprised to see on plenty of album of the year lists, usually in the number one spot. This band really does it all: clean and harsh vocals, melodic and thrashy guitar, grooving and raw aggressive bass. Throw in some violin for good measure too. This album and indeed this band push the limits of progressive death metal every time the lay down an album, and Exul does that immediately with their opening 12-minute banger Equus. The longest track on the album, it gives you a solid taste of what you are in for the remining five tracks. It moves and sways from dark to light effortlessly, lulling you into a calm before tearing your head off.
Honorable Local Mention: Oak Pantheon – The Absence
Released: January 20
Before we get to my #1 album of this year, I want to stop off and give my local scene a little love. Oak Pantheon dropped a masterpiece after a long absence (pun intended). These eight tracks have a unique vibe, and it feels uniquely like something that can only come from a cold, dark area like the frozen north of Minnesota. Clean and harsh vocals combine over melodic guitar to form a sludgy yet progressive sound. The album carries many memorable moments on it, one of my favorite being the chorus of “Listen!”. It lends itself so much to crowd involvement or simply singing along in the car. I had the pleasure of attending their release show for this record, and these boys send it as hard live as they do on this album. The Absence is a record that made a strong case for making this top 10 and is one that deserves your attention.
Now, the moment that I am certain you have been waiting for. My number one album of the year is….
1) Hypno5e – Sheol
Released: February 24
This release came from nowhere for me. Given the label of Avant Garde metal, I was a bit tentative coming in. Avant Garde things can honestly sometimes turn out to be not much more than some sort of autofellatio. This album is not that however. It simply combines so many forms of metal and music in general. Opening on some spoken word type track, it blasts into heavy, dense guitar that rivals your favorite deathcore band’s breakdowns. It does not stay there however, and that intensity is only passing through, as it will time and again on this album. Hypno5e is another band that has mastered the heavy to soft and back again transitions that I love to hear. Spanning eight tracks, many of which are very long tracks, the album is an hour of cohesive storytelling through music. The most exciting part of the journey is that on a first listen, you will never guess what comes next. Will a song start soft and grow? Or will these heavy guitars drive me through the entire track? It is really just a joy to listen to from front to back.
There is is folks, my top 10. 2024 has barely started, but I’m looking forward to another excellent year in metal music. I hope you found something you dig on the list here, let us know in the comments here or on the Beards and Blastbeats Facebook page what you think! If you need more Beards and Blastbeats content, check out our first YouTube video we made in 2023 here.
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