Dearest readers of Metal Insider,
The end of another year is fast approaching, so it’s now time we highlighted a year of stellar releases. Maybe your top-whatever lists are already posted, or maybe you’re still formatting it. However, taking a look back can be great regardless of lists. Maybe you missed something the first time around, or maybe my list is the heads-up you need to give a record a second spin.
This year will be remembered for many good things. New and exciting music is a constant that I am always all in for. Point being, as I close out my first calendar year contributing the weekly concert calendar and some of the best damn live gig reviews you will ever read, you know that your support is always appreciated – wrapping up 2023 with my favorite hefty metal albums.
ALRIGHT! The results are in for my top ten favorite albums of the year! Let’s venture on with the re-cap!
10) Tailgunner, Guns for Hire (Atomic Fire Records)
Lighting up this list with a deluge of catchy, fiery, and quite unabashedly very speedy metal indeed is Tailgunner with their debut album, Guns for Hire. Aggressive, powerful, and swift, yet just beneath the songs, there’s a bright and golden future for this U.K. quintet.
Standout cuts: 2. Guns for Hire, 8. Crashdive
09) The Hellfreaks, Pitch Black Sunset (Napalm Records)
Hungary’s The Hellfreaks returned with their new album – Pitch Black Sunset – an invitation to shred asphalt and immerse yourself in their offering of modern hard rock and post-hardcore.
Standout cuts: 2. Old Tomorrows, 8. Pbss
08) Outergods, A Kingdom Built Upon the Wreckage of Heaven (Prosthetic Records)
Welding together a glut of extreme metal influences, The first Outergods release shines with chaotic ferocity and nineties death metal admiration. Musically shaped after groups such as Death and The Black Dahlia Murder, the Nottingham based quartet’s time has come to dominate and Outergods are undoubtedly ones to be in the know about.
Standout cuts: 2. Into the Howling Void, 9. A Kingdom Built upon the Wreckage of Heaven
07) Cattle Decapitation, Terrasite (Metal Blade Records)
Putting Cattle Decapitation firmly on the map of modern death metal, Terrasite mixes outstanding technical proficiency with eclectic arrangements infused with moments of vocal acrobatics from Travis Ryan. Post-apocalyptic in its ideas, the latest effort from the San Diego band is a perfectly executed body of work.
Standout cuts: 3. Scourge of the Offspring, 5. The Storm Upstairs
