GMD Poll: Top Ten Albums of 2023
- Thread starter no country for old wainds
- Start date
SonOfNun
Bill Ward's Red Pants
What's the deadline? I've had a lot going on plus a list of about 150 releases from this year I'm sorting out so I'm behind.
- Nov 23, 2002
- 26,824
- 9,684
- 113
Bourbon
Active Member
- Nov 13, 2019
- 577
- 1,651
- 93
- 39
1. Phantom - Handed to Execution
2. Putrid Yell - Consuming Aberration
3. Hellripper - Warlocks Grim and Withered Hags
4. Torture Rack - Primeval Onslaught
5. Knife - Heaven into Dust
6. Inculter - Morbid Origin
7. Wastelander - Endless Survival
8. Obituary - Dying of Everything
9. Incantation - Unholy Deification
10. Tenebro - Ultime grida dalla giungla
RadicalThrasher
Active Member
CiG
Room with a View
Happy new year to all.
1. Wastelander - Endless Survival
2. Autopsy - Ashes, Organs, Blood and Crypts
3. The Bretwaldas of Heathen - Doom Summoning the Gatekeepers
4. Negative Reaction - Zero Minus Infinity
5. Primordial - How It Ends
6. Church of Misery - Born Under a Mad Sign
7. Malokarpatan - Vertumnus Caesar
8. Smoulder - Violent Creed of Vengeance
9. Cosmic Jaguar - The Legacy of the Aztecs
10. Inculter - Morbid Origin
Edit: Added a few things.
1. Wastelander - Endless Survival
2. Autopsy - Ashes, Organs, Blood and Crypts
3. The Bretwaldas of Heathen - Doom Summoning the Gatekeepers
4. Negative Reaction - Zero Minus Infinity
5. Primordial - How It Ends
6. Church of Misery - Born Under a Mad Sign
7. Malokarpatan - Vertumnus Caesar
8. Smoulder - Violent Creed of Vengeance
9. Cosmic Jaguar - The Legacy of the Aztecs
10. Inculter - Morbid Origin
Edit: Added a few things.
Last edited:
RadicalThrasher
Active Member
Slayed Necros
Void
Updated list
1. Desecresy - Deserted Realms
2. Cruciamentum - Obsidian Refractions
3. Blood Oath - Lost in an Eternal Silence
4. Blood Libel - Giftgas!
5. Excarnated Entity - Mass Grave Horizon
6. Mortual - Evil Incarnation
7. Phantom - Handed to Execution
8. Century - The Conquest of Time
9. Demoniac - Nube Negra
10. Demoncy - Black Star Gnosis
1. Desecresy - Deserted Realms
2. Cruciamentum - Obsidian Refractions
3. Blood Oath - Lost in an Eternal Silence
4. Blood Libel - Giftgas!
5. Excarnated Entity - Mass Grave Horizon
6. Mortual - Evil Incarnation
7. Phantom - Handed to Execution
8. Century - The Conquest of Time
9. Demoniac - Nube Negra
10. Demoncy - Black Star Gnosis
- Nov 23, 2002
- 26,824
- 9,684
- 113
my list hasn't changed really but thy darkened shade would probably sneak 9th or 10th now
- Nov 23, 2002
- 26,824
- 9,684
- 113
1a) Demoniac – Nube Negra
“move aside, trash! don't get in the way, don't interrupt the conception of this dark melody!” hearing this for the first time gave me that feeling i got when discovering the chasm. an ideal mixture of fealty and expansion; a jawdropping convergence of head, heart and cajones; in other words, a gold standard for modern metal.
1b) Suhnopfer – Nous sommes d'hier
i knew i was in love when it turned into umbersun-era elend sympho-catharsis 3 minutes into the opening track, and now i get shivers the second the intro hits. i admit it can get a bit exhausting at points in the second half, but that's to be expected after being overwhelmed by the most heart-bursting-out-of-chest melo BM i've heard in my life. “at the bottom of the trenches, at the foot of the tower, you will find my skeleton shattered in its armor, and now guardian of the ruins in the growing darkness.”
1c) DHG – Black Medium Current
at some point i realised my number 1 of this year is whichever of these three i listened to last, so ultimately i've decided to share top spot between them, as they'd all be my #1 in most years this century. i understand that some people prefer their DHG with more ambition, but i think playing it a little safer here has allowed them to put together the most lucid and commanding record of their careers. it's still full of surprises and leftfield turns, and affecting in so many different ways, but despite traversing a lot of terrain it rarely strays too far from the throughline and it's all the more potent as a result.
4) Void – Jadjow
most of what i said above could be said for this album too; it's a little less coherent and a little more original and ambitious, but the experience is similarly multi-faceted and fascinatingly wacky, yet surprisingly thrilling and moving for all that. i'm in awe of some of the ideas and juxtapositions on this thing; it's not very often i listen to something and know i couldn't have come up with it in a million years, but i actually don't think anyone in the world could've made an album like this except void.
5) Abigor - Taphonomia Aeternitatis
it feels right listing these three albums side by side, they're such a great advertisement for how much potential this genre still has for fresh experiences when genuinely visionary musicians step up. this is the only album on the list that's new to me, and while admittedly my knowledge of post-'90s abigor is patchy, it alternately surprised me with how much traditional BM appeal it has and how batshit nuts it gets. hell of a way to go out.
6) Thy Darkened Shade – Liber Lvcifer II: Mahapralaya
this is less out-there than the last three entries, in fact i think its appeal is largely traditional, and its distinctiveness is a matter of degree, emphasis and sheer skill. it's all about the serpentine yet liquid compositions with unstoppable forward momentum, the controlled freneticism of the drumming, and above all the helter-skelter succession of riffs that manage to be both hellish and epic at once.
7) Vórtize – Desde bajo tierra
not sure there will be many years for which i list albums in different genres written by the same person, but ortiz speaks my language and i'm pretty sure he could write me a personal favourite in any genre of his choosing. the only knock against this one is it doesn't fully get going until track 4, but from that point it's largely in the top tier of modern trad metal, complex and exuberant and deeply felt.
8) Savage Oath – Savage Oath (demo)
it isn't a surprise when you look at the collective pedigree of this supergroup, but this is one of the best twofers ever; a glorious, magical racket which might be career-best work for each member. i'm still hopeful we'll get an LP on par with this in the future.
9) Vision Master – Sceptre
heavy metal for neuromancers and space pirates, hybridised mindjackers lost in the WetNet chasing glimmers of infinity. its pulpy cyberpunk vibe can crudely be described as slough feg meets voivod, but the idiosyncracies (which are oddly bowie-coded in places) help to separate it from its influences, and the sheer charisma carries it through the rougher moments. more no fucks given jank metal pls, this stuff makes 95% of NWOTHM seem devoid of personality or vision.
10) Protean Shield – Protean Shield
i was really struggling to find something for my 10th spot that felt right, and i ended up defaulting to an album which isn't doing anything new, and doesn't honestly have much nuance either, but it really nails that martial yet feelsy epic metal i can't get enough of, and its highs are very high. this is my switch off and feel happy album from this year, whereas my honourable mentions all frustrate me in some way even when they're bolder.
HMs
Kostnatění - Úpal
easy to be sceptical of a backwater american guy who makes black metal built on turkish folk scales with czech lyrics despite no actual tie to those cultures beyond an interest in them, and shamelessly cites slipknot as his biggest influence in interviews. he's just unapologetically his own guy with his own passions, though, and that carries into this defiantly fresh and genuinely psychedelic music. if it was all as great as the bookends i'd be ranking it for sure.
Contrarian – The Sage of Shekhinah
while others were jerking it over fabricant, voidceremony, afterbirth etc i was over here pronouncing this tech death of the year. i dunno if i can justify that since the songs are too shapeless and it's too much of a mood piece, but i can't resist this impeccable production and performances in service of progressive, richly detailed and atmospheric compositions. having been around since the mid-90s in various forms they were one of the prog death OGs, and they sound like masters of their craft here.
Darkrypt – As Fate Draws Near
(partially) bioshock-themed prog-tinged DM gem from india of all places, mixed and mastered by dan swanö with cover art from turkka g. rantanen. primo waindscore DM: winding narrative compositions full of gloomy/tense melodic riffs and an understanding of how to create dramatic weight through structure. every song is a journey.
Thantifaxath – Hive Mind Narcosis
99% of music that's described as disorienting, surrealist etc tends to leave me alienated in a bad way, but this is some true last year at marienbad collapsed-time rug-pull metal that makes me feel really fucking queasy. maybe it's too much of a one trick pony to sustain my interest throughout, but i keep going back and i'm fairly convinced it'd be the best thing ever on the right drug (and fucking horrifying on the wrong one).
Apolium – Live and Die with Honor EP
just some powerful impassioned chilean manoboomer shit, what's not to love?
Songs (one per band, not really ordered after the top 4):
Suhnopfer – Nous sommes d'hier
Demoniac – La Caida
DHG – Tankespinnerens Smerte
Protean Shield – Mariner's Dream
Void – Only For You
Thy Darkened Shade – Sacrosanct Pyre
Thantifaxath – Solar Witch
Savage Oath – Warlock's Trance
Abigor - Forniotrs Weltenreise
Apolium – Viking Strike
“move aside, trash! don't get in the way, don't interrupt the conception of this dark melody!” hearing this for the first time gave me that feeling i got when discovering the chasm. an ideal mixture of fealty and expansion; a jawdropping convergence of head, heart and cajones; in other words, a gold standard for modern metal.
1b) Suhnopfer – Nous sommes d'hier
i knew i was in love when it turned into umbersun-era elend sympho-catharsis 3 minutes into the opening track, and now i get shivers the second the intro hits. i admit it can get a bit exhausting at points in the second half, but that's to be expected after being overwhelmed by the most heart-bursting-out-of-chest melo BM i've heard in my life. “at the bottom of the trenches, at the foot of the tower, you will find my skeleton shattered in its armor, and now guardian of the ruins in the growing darkness.”
1c) DHG – Black Medium Current
at some point i realised my number 1 of this year is whichever of these three i listened to last, so ultimately i've decided to share top spot between them, as they'd all be my #1 in most years this century. i understand that some people prefer their DHG with more ambition, but i think playing it a little safer here has allowed them to put together the most lucid and commanding record of their careers. it's still full of surprises and leftfield turns, and affecting in so many different ways, but despite traversing a lot of terrain it rarely strays too far from the throughline and it's all the more potent as a result.
4) Void – Jadjow
most of what i said above could be said for this album too; it's a little less coherent and a little more original and ambitious, but the experience is similarly multi-faceted and fascinatingly wacky, yet surprisingly thrilling and moving for all that. i'm in awe of some of the ideas and juxtapositions on this thing; it's not very often i listen to something and know i couldn't have come up with it in a million years, but i actually don't think anyone in the world could've made an album like this except void.
5) Abigor - Taphonomia Aeternitatis
it feels right listing these three albums side by side, they're such a great advertisement for how much potential this genre still has for fresh experiences when genuinely visionary musicians step up. this is the only album on the list that's new to me, and while admittedly my knowledge of post-'90s abigor is patchy, it alternately surprised me with how much traditional BM appeal it has and how batshit nuts it gets. hell of a way to go out.
6) Thy Darkened Shade – Liber Lvcifer II: Mahapralaya
this is less out-there than the last three entries, in fact i think its appeal is largely traditional, and its distinctiveness is a matter of degree, emphasis and sheer skill. it's all about the serpentine yet liquid compositions with unstoppable forward momentum, the controlled freneticism of the drumming, and above all the helter-skelter succession of riffs that manage to be both hellish and epic at once.
7) Vórtize – Desde bajo tierra
not sure there will be many years for which i list albums in different genres written by the same person, but ortiz speaks my language and i'm pretty sure he could write me a personal favourite in any genre of his choosing. the only knock against this one is it doesn't fully get going until track 4, but from that point it's largely in the top tier of modern trad metal, complex and exuberant and deeply felt.
8) Savage Oath – Savage Oath (demo)
it isn't a surprise when you look at the collective pedigree of this supergroup, but this is one of the best twofers ever; a glorious, magical racket which might be career-best work for each member. i'm still hopeful we'll get an LP on par with this in the future.
9) Vision Master – Sceptre
heavy metal for neuromancers and space pirates, hybridised mindjackers lost in the WetNet chasing glimmers of infinity. its pulpy cyberpunk vibe can crudely be described as slough feg meets voivod, but the idiosyncracies (which are oddly bowie-coded in places) help to separate it from its influences, and the sheer charisma carries it through the rougher moments. more no fucks given jank metal pls, this stuff makes 95% of NWOTHM seem devoid of personality or vision.
10) Protean Shield – Protean Shield
i was really struggling to find something for my 10th spot that felt right, and i ended up defaulting to an album which isn't doing anything new, and doesn't honestly have much nuance either, but it really nails that martial yet feelsy epic metal i can't get enough of, and its highs are very high. this is my switch off and feel happy album from this year, whereas my honourable mentions all frustrate me in some way even when they're bolder.
HMs
Kostnatění - Úpal
easy to be sceptical of a backwater american guy who makes black metal built on turkish folk scales with czech lyrics despite no actual tie to those cultures beyond an interest in them, and shamelessly cites slipknot as his biggest influence in interviews. he's just unapologetically his own guy with his own passions, though, and that carries into this defiantly fresh and genuinely psychedelic music. if it was all as great as the bookends i'd be ranking it for sure.
Contrarian – The Sage of Shekhinah
while others were jerking it over fabricant, voidceremony, afterbirth etc i was over here pronouncing this tech death of the year. i dunno if i can justify that since the songs are too shapeless and it's too much of a mood piece, but i can't resist this impeccable production and performances in service of progressive, richly detailed and atmospheric compositions. having been around since the mid-90s in various forms they were one of the prog death OGs, and they sound like masters of their craft here.
Darkrypt – As Fate Draws Near
(partially) bioshock-themed prog-tinged DM gem from india of all places, mixed and mastered by dan swanö with cover art from turkka g. rantanen. primo waindscore DM: winding narrative compositions full of gloomy/tense melodic riffs and an understanding of how to create dramatic weight through structure. every song is a journey.
Thantifaxath – Hive Mind Narcosis
99% of music that's described as disorienting, surrealist etc tends to leave me alienated in a bad way, but this is some true last year at marienbad collapsed-time rug-pull metal that makes me feel really fucking queasy. maybe it's too much of a one trick pony to sustain my interest throughout, but i keep going back and i'm fairly convinced it'd be the best thing ever on the right drug (and fucking horrifying on the wrong one).
Apolium – Live and Die with Honor EP
just some powerful impassioned chilean manoboomer shit, what's not to love?
Songs (one per band, not really ordered after the top 4):
Suhnopfer – Nous sommes d'hier
Demoniac – La Caida
DHG – Tankespinnerens Smerte
Protean Shield – Mariner's Dream
Void – Only For You
Thy Darkened Shade – Sacrosanct Pyre
Thantifaxath – Solar Witch
Savage Oath – Warlock's Trance
Abigor - Forniotrs Weltenreise
Apolium – Viking Strike
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