For 2023, I’m changing up the course and providing my top 5 albums of the year, rather than the usual 10. There were a slew of albums released this year but not many I could fully latch onto and really immerse myself with. I enjoyed individual songs more than the overall complete album package. Without further adieu, my top 5 albums of 2023.
05) TesseracT, War Of Being (Kscope)
The UK progressive metal unit TesseracT has returned with their fifth studio album, War of Being. It’s also been five years since the release of Sonder, which generated hits such as “Luminary,” “King,” and “Smile.” After their longest gap between albums, they finally returned with nine tracks of creativity woven within a story of two protagonists experiencing the trenches of their own world. The album also coincides with a playable video game and an epic music video for its title track. Everything from the music, artwork, and production is top-notch, which is something I’ve come to expect from TesseracT at this point in their career. War of Being held true and did not disappoint. Read my full review here!
04) In Flames, Foregone (Nuclear Blast)
It’s great to see In Flames return with a sod record. Growing up, they got me into melodic death metal and to finally see him come back to a familiar sound was refreshing. The Swedes took a couple of detours on their past couple records but with Forgone, they revisited their sounds on Reroute to Remain, Soundtrack to Your Escape, and Come Clarity. They even had brief moments of Colony. With songs like, “State of Slow Decay” (aka the At the Gates track) or “Meet your Maker”, you can argue that they are heavier than ever. Even though this isn’t the original lineup of In Flames, Anders and Bjron are still putting forth a strong In Flames performance.
03) Sylosis, A Sign Of Things To Come (Nuclear Blast)
With their sixth album, the British natives continue to evolve and refine their sound for the better. This album had a bit more of a traditional metalcore vibe than their previous efforts and had crossovers of breakdowns, verses, and the like that reminded me of Machine Head, Trivium, etc. Frontman Josh Middleton continues to push his vocals to new heights with performances on, “Absent” and “Deadwood”. A Sign Of Things To Come was an album I constantly went back to.
02) Dethklok, Dethalbum IV (WaterTower)
Brendon Small’s masterpiece finally returns with the good graces of Adult Swim. Like many metalheads, I was stoked for the new release. Even with the eleven year hiatus, Dethklok didn’t miss a step and provided hilarious obscene br00tality. Their song titles were top-notch, like “Aortic Desecration” and “Mutilation on a Saturday Night,” and their lyrics were delightful, specifically “Gardener Of Vengeance” with the ending lyric, “Your guts will be liquefied by a weed whacker.” This might be the end of Dethklok, but if so, they went out with a bang.
