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Post by greendemon on Dec 16, 2023 14:58:30 GMT 1
While everyone else is doing theirs... This will start in earnest soon, but in the meantime, a few notes: - Last year, I reckoned I'd played somewhere between 80 and 100 albums enough to be able to rank them. I decided that wasn't really enough and made a bit more of an effort this year.
- Officially, I listened to 268 albums/EPs released in 2023, though there are likely a few I've forgotten (but, as with last year, I've concluded that if I've forgotten them they're clearly not good enough to be here anyway )
- Nothing here is less than a 7/10
- That being said, I don't know if even the very best albums here are as good as my top 4 from last year (Brutus' Unison Life, Blood Command's Praise Armageddonism, Sylvaine's Nova and Hangman's Chair's A Loner), all of which I still adore and play loads.
- 2023 was an excellent year for metal, and this chart will reflect that but there were plenty of releases in other genres which I also loved and some will appear pretty high up here
- I'm seeing some albums appear VERY high in people's lists that I honestly wasn't wild about and am probably going to annoy some of you [img class="smile" src="//storage.proboards.com/999290/images/z0vv0TEznytNQNShTaVc.gif" alt=""]
15. Foo Fighters - But Here We Are 16. Heretoir - Nightsphere 17. Herod - Iconoclast 18. Softcult - See You In The Dark [EP] 19. Kvelertak - Endling 20. You Me At Six - Truth Decay 21. Enslaved - Heimdal 22. The Hellfreaks - Pitch Black Sunset 23. Johnny the Boy - You 24. PJ Harvey - I Inside The Old Year Dying 25. Myrkur - Spine 26. Ash - Race The Night 27. Olivia Rodrigo - Guts 28. Vintersea - Woven Into Ashes 29. healthyliving - Songs of Abundance, Psalms of Grief 30. Phoxjaw - notverynicecream 31. Mammoth WVH - Mammoth II 32. The Lion's Daughter - Bath House 33. Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want To Turn Into You 34. Heavenward - Pyrophonics 35. Bizarrekult - Den Tapte Krigen 36. Omnium Gatherum - Slasher [EP] 37. Pumpkin Guts - Death, The Devil and Dismemberment 38. Voyager - Fearless in Love 39. Wayside - What Does Your Soul Look Like? 40. Fredlös - Fredlös 41. Underdark - Managed Decline 42. M83 - Fantasy 43. Black Honey - A Fistful Of Peaches 44. Panopticon - The Rime of Memory 45. Helga - Wrapped In Mist 46. Imperium Dekadenz - Into Sorrow Evermore 47. Tinariwen - Amatssou 48. Hot Milk - A Call To The Void 49. boygenius - The Record 50. Ren - Sick Boi 51. Bully - Lucky For You 52. Fuming Mouth - Last Day Of Sun 53. Wayfarer - American Gothic 54. Daughter - Stereo Mind Game 55. Boys Like Girls - Sunday At Foxwoods 56. The Lemon Twigs - Everything Harmony 57. Empire State Bastard - Rivers Of Heresy 58. Slowdive - Everything Is Alive 59. King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard - PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn Of Eternal Night: An Annihilation Of Planet Earth And The Beginning Of Merciless Damnation 60. Fen - Monuments To Absence 61. Fires in the Distance - Air Not Meant For Us 62. Birdy - Portraits 63. Spiritbox - The Fear Of Fear [EP] 64. Young Fathers - Heavy Heavy 65. Blood Star - First Sighting 66. Mutoid Man - Mutants 67. Glazyhaze - Just Fade Away 68. Fiddlehead - Death Is Nothing To Us 69. Haken - Fauna 70. Green Lung - This Heathen Land 71. Crypta - Shades Of Sorrow 72. Queens Of The Stone Age - In Times New Roman... 73. Dødheimsgard - Black Medium Current 74. Billy Nomates - Cacti 75. Narrow Head - Moments of Clarity 76. Vanishing Kids - Miracle of Death 77. The Go! Team - Get Up Sequences Part Two 78. CMAT - Crazymad, for Me 79. Bury Tomorrow - The Seventh Son 80. Fever Ray - Radical Romantics 81. Deadly Carnage - Endless Blue 82. Night Demon - Outsider 83. Final Gasp - Mourning Moon 84. Tribunal - The Weight of Remembrance 85. Abstract Void - Forever 86. Blut Aus Nord - Disharmonium - Nahab 87. Tegmentum - Evolvement 88. Myrkur - Ragnarok [EP] 89. Marianas Rest - Auer 90. Dream Wife - Social Lubrication 91. The Aces - I've Loved You For So Long 92. Hundred Reasons - Glorious Sunset 93. Burning Witches - The Dark Tower 94. AVKRVST - The Approbation 95. Aara - Triade III: Nyx 96. Twilight Force - At The Heart of Wintervale 97. Unearth - The Wretched; The Ruinous 98. Wolves In The Throne Room - Crypt of Ancestral Knowledge [EP] 99. Godthrymm - Distortions 100. Blink-182 - One More Time 101. Enter Shikari - A Kiss For The Whole World 102. Heretoir - Wastelands [EP] 103. The Hives - The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons 104. Aetherian - At Storm's Edge 105. ...And Oceans - As In Gardens, So In Tombs 106. Anareta - Fear Not 107. Yo La Tengo - This Stupid World 108. Susanne Sundfør - blómi 109. Night Crowned - Tales 110. Tomb Mold - The Enduring Spirit 111. WITCH - Zango 112. Sigur Rós - Átta 113. They Watch Us From The Moon - Cosmic Chronicles, Act I: The Ascension 114. Torpor - Abscission 115. Fvnerals - Let the Earth Be Silent 116. Elvenking - Reader of the Runes - Rapture 117. Sleep Token - Take Me Back To Eden 118. VV - Neon Noir 119. The Beaches - Blame My Ex 120. The Acacia Strain - Failure Will Follow 121. Fall Out Boy - So Much (For) Stardust 122. Real Friends - There's Nothing Worse Than Too Late 123. The Gaslight Anthem - History Books 124. Ghost - Phantomime [EP] 125. Celeste - Epilogue(s) [EP] 126. An Autumn For Crippled Children - Closure 127. PONY - Velveteen 128. Urne - A Feast On Sorrow 129. Superbloom - Life's a Blur [EP] 130. Full of Hell & Nothing - When No Birds Sang 131. Kelela - Raven 132. Aphex Twin - Blackbox Life Recorder 21f / in a room7 F760 [EP] 133. Hozier - Unreal Unearth 134. The Dollyrots - Night Owls 135. Nothing but Thieves - Dead Club City 136. The Pigeon Detectives - TV Show 137. Therapy? - Hard Cold Fire 138. Of Darkness - Missa Tridentina 139. Afsky - Om hundrede år 140. Depeche Mode - Memento Mori 141. Sylosis - A Sign Of Things To Come 142. REZN & Vinnum Sabbathi - Silent Future 143. Blood Ceremony - The Old Ways Remain 144. The Menzingers - Some Of It Was True 145. Periphery - Periphery V: Djent Is Not A Genre 146. Paramore - This Is Why 147. Blur - The Ballad Of Darren 148. Metallica - 72 Seasons 149. Within Temptation - Bleed Out 150. Mitski - The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We 151. Orbit Culture - Descent 152. Mull Historical Society - In My Mind There's A Room 153. Beach Fossils - Bunny 154. The Lathums - From Nothing To A Little Bit More 155. Code Orange - The Above 156. Jord - Tundra 157. Royal Thunder - Rebuilding The Mountain 158. Insomnium - Songs of the Dusk 159. Riverside - ID.Entity 160. Pale Blue Eyes - This House 161. Blondshell - Blondshell 162. Harm's Way - Common Suffering 163. DMA's - How Many Dreams? 164. Sufjan Stevens, Timo Andres, Conor Hanick - Reflections 165. Baroness - Stone 166. Meurtrières - Ronde de Nuit 166. Dawn of Ouroboros - Velvet Incandescence 167. The Chemical Brothers - For That Beautiful Feeling 168. The Smashing Pumpkins - Atum: A Rock Opera In Three Acts 169. Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs - Land Of Sleeper 170. Delain - Dark Waters 171. Chappaqua Wrestling - Plus Ultra 172. Interlaker - The Hunger [EP] 173. Spanish Love Songs - No Joy 174. Enforced - War Remains 175. Scar Symmetry - The Singularity (Phase II - Xenotaph) 176. Ne Obliviscaris - Exul 177. HUNNY - HUNNY's New Planet Heaven 178. Gunship - Unicorn 179. Skindred - Smile 180. Cannibal Corpse - Chaos Horrific 181. Thantifaxath - Hive Mind Narcosis 182. Slomatics - Strontium Fields 183. Iggy Pop - Every Loser 184. Drab Majesty - An Object In Motion [EP] 185. The National - First Two Pages Of Frankenstein 186. Arcas - Where The Light Once Shone 187. Royal Blood - Back To The Water Below 188. Protomartyr - Formal Growth In The Desert 189. Beyond The Black - Beyond The Black 190. Blackbriar - A Dark Euphony 191. Nanna - How To Start A Garden 192. Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Council Skies 193. Katatonia - Sky Void Of Stars 194. Sermon - Of Golden Verse 195. The Subways - Uncertain Joys 196. Grouplove - I Want It All Right Now 197. Christine and the Queens - Paranoïa, Angels, True Love 198. Jenny Lewis - Joy’all 199. Semisonic - Little Bit Of Sun 200. The 69 Eyes - Death of Darkness
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Post by greendemon on Dec 16, 2023 15:01:53 GMT 1
On that note, while I finalise the lower places, here are a few that definitely won't make the top 200. I didn't bother ranking them so they are just in alphabetical order of artist. The highest-rated I gave 6.5/10 and the lowest 4/10.
Almost Nothing - Almost Nothing ANOHNI and the Johnsons - My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross Anti-Flag - Lies They Tell Our Children As December Falls - Join The Club Avatar - Dance Devil Dance Avenged Sevenfold - Life Is But A Dream Babymetal - The Other One Bell Witch - Future's Shadow Part 1: The Clandestine Gate Belle and Sebastian - Late Developers Circa Waves - Never Going Under DZ Deathrays - R.I.F.F. Elegant Weapons - Horns For A Halo Entheos - Time Will Take Us All Everything But The Girl - Fuse Extreme - Six Feist - Multitudes Finsterforst - Jenseits Girlschool - WTFortyfive? Gorillaz - Cracker Island Hexvessel - Polar Veil In Flames - Foregone Inhaler - Cuts & Bruises Kesha - Gag Order Nita Strauss - The Call Of The Void Pierce The Veil - The Jaws Of Life Rancid - Tomorrow Never Comes Sanguisugabogg - Homicidal Ecstasy Sleaford Mods - UK GRIM Squid - O Monolith Swans - The Beggar* Tennis - Pollen The Armed - Perfect Saviors The Keening - Little Bird The Ocean - Holocene The Reytons - What's Rock And Roll? The Used - Toxic Positivity Thomas Bangalter - Mythologies Wednesday - Rat Saw God
* - I will freely admit, I didn't manage to finish playing this. I don't know who has time for a 45-minute-long track on top of the rest of the album, but that person is not me.
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Post by Jordan on Dec 16, 2023 16:00:01 GMT 1
Some fantastic albums in that list of 'mehs'
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Post by greendemon on Dec 16, 2023 16:04:48 GMT 1
Some fantastic albums in that list of 'mehs' That's fair. Tbh I think it's mostly a taste thing. There are a few there that aren't really my thing and I wouldn't have bothered listening to them at all if not to see what all the fuss was about. The one I regret most is probably Wednesday. I really, really tried with that one as on paper I should have been all over it but I just could not get into it at all.
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Post by Smurfie on Dec 16, 2023 20:59:03 GMT 1
Feist was a splendid album. Still slightly disappointed with EBTG.
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Post by greendemon on Dec 18, 2023 15:34:13 GMT 1
Lower places finalised, so now here are the unlucky 31 which achieved 7/10 but didn't quite make the cut for the top 200:
231. Sparks - The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte
This is really a 6.5 to be honest, but I let it creep a bit higher than it ought to have done on the strength of the first two singles, which were both great ('Nothing Is As Good As They Say It Is' in particular). I really wouldn't cry (in my latte or otherwise) if I never heard the rest of the album ever again however.
230. Daði Freyr - I Made An Album
One of the most memorable Eurovision stars of recent years, I loved the single 'Moves To Make' and checked this out on that basis but found it a little underwhelming.
229. Poppy - Zig
I think I like Poppy better when she 'zags'. Good, but not really for me. Sadly missing her cover of 'Spit' which was a top 5 hit for me and is much more up my street than anything else here.
228. Sevendust - Truth Killer
227. The Sherlocks - People Like Me & You
226. Cryptopsy - As Gomorrah Burns
Plenty to appreciate in the musicianship here, but technical brutal death metal continues to not really be my favourite thing.
225. Rival Sons - Darkfighter
224. Yonaka - Welcome To My House
223. The Raven Age - Blood Omen
Album from the heavy rock band containing George 'son of Steve' Harris. Again a bit of a let down after some promising singles, but decent.
222. Lanterns On The Lake - Versions Of Us
221. The Hold Steady - The Price Of Progress
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Post by greendemon on Dec 18, 2023 15:47:02 GMT 1
220. The Murlocs - Calm Ya Farm
219. Yves Tumor - Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds)
218. Dave Lombardo - Rites Of Percussion
Solo album from the legendary drummer of Slayer (and Empire State Bastard) fame. Not only is this instrumental, it's literally just drums. Pretty cool as a concept, but another album where I really appreciated the musicianship but not really interesting enough to support repeat listens.
217. MisterWives - Nosebleeds
A bit like the Poppy album, this one suffered a bit from not having my favourite recent songs of theirs ('Easy' in particular).
216. Kataklysm - Goliath
215. George Clanton - Ooh Rap I Ya
214. Non Est Deus - Legacy
One of quite a few highly-thought-of black metal releases in 2023, I enjoyed this one but haven't revisited it much as the many other excellent releases in that genre this year.
213. CLT DRP - Nothing Clever, Just Feelings
212. Tempt - Tempt
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Post by greendemon on Dec 18, 2023 16:23:03 GMT 1
211. Dhishti - Life Is SufferingIt's not often I come across a band from Colombo, Sri Lanka their brand of depressive black metal is a little too bleak for me but this was a worthwhile listen. 210. City and Colour - The Love Still Held Me Near209. Madder Rose - No-One Gets Hurt Ever208. Cloak - Black Flame EternalThis one and Eave are both yet further examples of good black metal albums that were simply bested by the competition this year. 207. Eave - Fervor206. Mediæval Bæbes - Tales of Love and LossDespite loving medieval music I've never paid much attention to this long-running classical group. Some absolutely gorgeous stuff here but again not something I go back to frequently. 205. Waterparks - Intellectual PropertyAbout where I expected for this one. They are a bit all over the place for me but while there were some good songs nothing comes close to my standout from last year, 'FUNERAL GREY'. 204. Pupil Slicer - BlossomThis second album from the UK mathcore band is probably the metal community's equivalent of Wednesday for me, in that you will be hard-pressed to find a reviewer who hasn't raved about it but I've struggled quite a bit. There are good bits and I'll admit I'm not the biggest mathcore fan but this is inviting comparisons to Rolo Tomassi's album from last year and I just don't see it. 203. Mizmor - Prosaic202. Galactic Empire - Special EditionSTAR WARS METAL! Conceptually I was very excited by this, and it is great fun, but not something I find myself listening to a great deal outside of background music.
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Post by greendemon on Dec 18, 2023 16:25:55 GMT 1
And finally...
201. Corinne Bailey Rae - Black Rainbows
This was really quite close but ultimately I have to chalk this down as an album I really respect and admire without necessarily wanting to listen to very often. Nevertheless, it's an unexpected and very strong return from her and I can see why it's featuring strongly in end-of-year lists.
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Post by Jordan on Dec 18, 2023 17:12:29 GMT 1
One of my top 20 already making an appearance. Interesting how many albums you've listened to and awarded a 7/10 - more than as many as I have. I wonder if I've just been generally less impressed with the year than you have, or if I'm just stingy with the points The nature of subjectivity means we'll never know! Expecting to have listened to only a smallish fraction of what's to come, so looking forward to what you have to say about those I've not at the upper echelons
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Post by greendemon on Dec 18, 2023 17:23:54 GMT 1
I have been handing 7/10s out like sweeties this year as you'll have seen a lot have gone to albums I like the idea of but not entirely the execution, which is probably more generous than most. (Also there are a few albums I haven't even listed as I tried to play them and instantly knew I would not like them enough to finish one playthrough ) I will say though that I think only my top 20 got a 9, and I didn't give out any 10s - as I said at the start, I ended up not loving anything in 2023 quite as much as my faves from last year.
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Post by Shireblogger on Dec 18, 2023 17:56:45 GMT 1
I scored exactly 50 albums with a 7/10 or better this year. As a rule of thumb, 8/10 means good enough for me to spend my money on. Just four albums scored 9/10 this year, all by acts that are well established.
More a reflection of my taste in music, rather than 2023 being a poor year.
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Post by greendemon on Dec 19, 2023 14:53:59 GMT 1
Alright, here we go... I've included 'chart histories' for albums and songs such as they are relevant but I never got around to compiling my bimonthly album charts after August so a few of these haven't actually charted yet 200. The 69 Eyes - Death of Darkness21st April | gothic rockThirteenth album from the Finnish band, but the first one I've heard. Being honest I'm impressed this one has scraped into the top 200 as I wasn't too impressed with the single 'Drive' last year, and a few of the other songs here do suffer from cringey lyrics. But there are some good songs here, notably the collab with Kat von D, and overall it's a pretty fun listen if you like the 'goth'n'roll' style they seem to specialise in. Chart history:Death of Darkness [Mar-Apr 23, #35] This Murder Takes Two (feat. Kat von D) [GL7 Mar-Apr 23, #69] Death of Darkness [GL7 Mar-Apr 23, #88] 199. Semisonic - Little Bit of Sun3rd November | alternative rockFourth album from the Minneapolis 90s alt-rock legends. One of the last 2023 releases I played and accordingly hasn't had a huge amount of time to make a splash here. 'The Rope' scraped into my most recent chart. Tom Petty vibes on a few of these songs were definitely appreciated. Chart history: The Rope [GL9 Jul-Aug 23, #96] 198. Jenny Lewis - Joy’All9th June | pop/indie/countryFourth solo album from the American formerly a member of Rilo Kiley. I played this purely on the strength of 'Psychos' which I loved and still do; nothing else was quite up to the same standard but I really appreciated the biting wit of the lyrics. Not quite as much as I did on another female-fronted country-tinged album we'll come to much later... Chart history: Joy'All [May-Jun 23, #36] Psychos [GL8 May-Jun 23, #22] 197. Christine and the Queens - Paranoïa, Angels, True Love9th June | art popFourth album from the French artist. A bit of a comedown for Chris after last year's Redcar les adorables étoiles made #38 on 2022's list, though I did listen to far fewer albums last year. This album launched to some rave reviews but overall does seem to have been a little divisive. Some of the songs here are exquisite (the one that sticks in my mind is album track 'Full of love' with its brilliant interpolation of Pachelbel's Canon) but MY GOD, there are A LOT of songs. I just haven't been back to this one more than a couple of times as it's a bit too much for me, and in general I preferred the funkier, more dance-able music on the previous record to the slightly more morose tone this one takes. Chart history: Paranoïa, Angels, True Love [May-Jun 23, #27] True love (feat. 070 Shake) [GL7 Mar-Apr 23, #32] To be honest [GL7 Mar-Apr 23, #51] Tears can be so soft [GL8 May-Jun 23, #70] 196. Grouplove - I Want It All Right Now7th July | alternative rock; indieSixth album from the Californian band, again my first encounter with them. Not a whole lot to say about this one; some nice tunes but nothing really stuck other than 'All' which made my top 25. I did enjoy their sound so I should go back to it at some point. Chart history: I Want It All Right Now [Jul-Aug 23, #33] All [GL9 Jul-Aug 23, #24] 195. The Subways - Uncertain Joys13th January | alternative rock; indieFifth album from the Welwyn Garden City veterans of the 2000s UK indie scene. after they parted company with their original drummer in 2020 I wasn't expecting new music from them for a while so this was a nice surprise. That said, I completely forgot about it earlier in the year and only went back to it recently with this coming up. There's nothing here to rival an 'Oh Yeah' or 'No Goodbyes' but it's a decent record. Chart history: You Kill My Cool [GL2 Apr-May 22, #28] Love Waiting On You [GL4 Aug-Sep 22, #64] 194. Sermon - Of Golden Verse31st March | progressive metalSecond album from this little-known London band. I say 'little-known' but my goodness the metal community went absolutely nuts for this when it came out in March. After hearing the single 'Golden' I got swept up in the hype a little bit as well but it hasn't proved to have the staying power of other metal releases over the year. The lead singer has got an incredible voice and the music is very tuneful and melodic; I think I'd just like a bit more variety across the album as I do get bored of it quite easily. They remind me of what Sleep Token might sound like if they didn't experiment as much and just stuck in the prog-metal lane. (Also really not keen on the production; the drums suffer from 'plastic bucket syndrome'.) Chart history: Of Golden Verse [Mar-Apr 23, #10] Golden [GL7 Mar-Apr 23, #17] 193. Katatonia - Sky Void of Stars20th January | progressive metal; doom; rockTwelfth album from the Swedish metal band. I had this on my radar from the end of last year when a couple of singles scraped into my final chart of the year. It's undoubtedly well-crafted but I think suffers from a lack of truly memorable tunes. One of those albums that I rarely find myself in the mood for listening to, but when I do I think 'ah, this is nice' so it scrapes into my top 200 here. The highlight is probably 'Birds' which was a top 50 hit this year. Chart history: Sky Void of Stars [Jan-Feb 23, #20] Atrium [GL5 Nov-Dec 22, #75] Austerity [GL5 Nov-Dec 22, #81] Birds [GL6 Jan-Feb 23, #45] 192. Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Council Skies2nd June | indieFourth album from the project led by the former Oasis member. I may annoy a few people with this one, and it may just be that my tastes have moved on from this kind of post-Britpop sound but I just can't get excited by anything from this project. This one just scraped into my top 40 and I felt I'd been a bit harsh so I revisited it in the run-up to compiling this list, determining that it was pretty good and worthy of the top 200 (and certainly much more interesting than most of the albums which were in the mix for UK #1 in 2023) but I guarantee I will not remember a single song from it by this time next year, soooo... Chart history: Council Skies [May-Jun 23, #38] 191. Nanna - How To Start A Garden5th May | indie; pop; folkDebut solo album from the Icelandic musician better known as the vocalist from Of Monsters And Men. I had my eye on this when the singles dropped, and in the main, this is gorgeous. However, I ended up not charting it when it released, as it is also very sad and like several others to come, I'd have ranked it higher had it been less depressing to listen to Chart history: Godzilla [GL6 Jan-Feb 23, #48] Crybaby [GL6 Jan-Feb 23, #77]
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Post by greendemon on Dec 19, 2023 18:03:04 GMT 1
190. Blackbriar - A Dark Euphony29th September | symphonic metalSecond album from the Dutch symphonic metal group fronted by Zora Cock (no sniggering at the back). I hadn't heard of this lot at all but got hooked by the single 'My Soul's Demise', because frankly there are not enough songs out there about the historically accurate and metal AF tradition of 'sin-eating'. The album is nice and consistent and Zora's vocals have a haunting quality that for me is a cut above most similar female-fronted symphonic metal bands. What lets it down compared to the competition is not enough variety and a slightly cringe teenage-emo-girl quality to a lot of the lyrics. But still, good for what it is. Chart history: My Soul's Demise [GL7 Mar-Apr 23, #53] And speaking of the competition... 189. Beyond the Black - Beyond the Black13th January | symphonic metalFifth album from the symphonic metal band from Mannheim, Germany. A bit more traditional in terms of female-fronted symphonic metal, this is an enjoyable album heralded by a couple of decent singles, though only 'Winter Is Coming' charted for me. It was pretty close between this and Blackbriar but this one won out thanks to its greater variety and particularly strong closing track ('I Remember Dying'). Chart history: Beyond the Black [Jan-Feb 23, #26] Winter Is Coming [GL5 Nov-Dec 22, #92] 188. Protomartyr - Formal Growth In The Desert2nd June | post-punk; alternativeSixth album from the Detroit band. Not a lot to say as I ended up only revisiting this a couple of times; it's pretty good and there are some notable highlights in the singles and 'For Tomorrow', but it does suffer from a bit of bloat particularly in the middle (don't we all). Still, on this basis I should probably check out their older material which has largely passed me by. Chart history: Formal Growth In The Desert [May-Jun 23, #33]
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Post by greendemon on Dec 20, 2023 19:17:39 GMT 1
Time to upset more people... 187. Royal Blood - Back To The Water Below1st September | alternative rockFourth studio album from the Worthing duo. This one sort of breezed past me in a very busy September, so I went back to it while compiling the end-year chart and honestly I'm not sure if it should even be this high. It's a solid 7/10 rock album but I've heard much better from these guys in the past and while there are some great riffs in tracks like 'Tell Me When It's Too Late', it's a bit by-numbers and for me last year's BRKN LOVE album was a much better execution of this style of bluesy rock. (I'm also a little annoyed at them still over their Radio 1 Big Weekend tantrum which was honestly just a bit cringe.)Chart history: Mountains at Midnight [GL8 May-Jun 23, #87] 186. Arcas - Where The Light Once Shone1st September | atmospheric black metal; post-metalSecond album from the German atmoblack band. Atmospheric black metal is a genre I've been getting more and more into over the last couple of years so despite having no knowledge of this band I checked it out largely on that basis. It's an enjoyable listen but drags on a little too long and doesn't quite do enough of note to measure up to other contenders in the atmoblack and 'blackgaze' scene which we'll come to much later in this run-down. Still, bonus points for being a black metal band with a logo that's actually readable. 185. The National - First Two Pages Of Frankenstein28th April | indieNinth studio album from the Cincinnati indie-rock band (and their first of two releases this year). Another solid album I just didn't find myself going back to much: it's a little on the morose side, but the second half in particular is very strong with tracks like 'The Alcott', 'Ice Machines' and the Phoebe Bridgers'-featuring 'Your Mind Is Not Your Friend' being my favourites. I confess I still haven't got around to Laugh Track, though given as it seems to be reviewing even better than this did, I probably should check it out. Chart history: First Two Pages Of Frankenstein [Mar-Apr 23, #27] Tropic Morning News [GL6 Jan-Feb 23, #82] Your Mind Is Not Your Friend (feat. Phoebe Bridgers) [GL7 Mar-Apr 23, #76] 184. Drab Majesty - An Object in Motion [EP]25th August | alternative; darkwave; gothic; synth; shoegazeEP from the LA-based darkwave/alternative project. Not much to say about this one as I haven't revisited it a whole deal; the standout is definitely the shoegazy collab with Rachel Goswell of Slowdive (more from them later). Despite only being four tracks long it runs to over half an hour (over half of which is two instrumental tracks, which are nice but a bit background-music). But there are some very pretty bits of music on here. Chart history: An Object in Motion [Jul-Aug 23, #37] Vanity (feat. Rachel Goswell) [GL8 May-Jun 23, #62] The Skin and the Glove [GL9 Jul-Aug 23, #86] 183. Iggy Pop - Every Loser13th January | rockNineteenth(!) studio album from the US rock legend and former Stooges frontman. As much respect as I have for Iggy, being perfectly honest I did not have high expectations of the now-76-year-old still being able to put out a decent album but this ended up being an early pleasant surprise in my 2023. Some pretty good stuff here, notably 'Strung Out Johnny' which just missed my top 70 in the January-February chart. Chart history: Every Loser [Jan-Feb 23, #23] Strung Out Johnny [GL6 Jan-Feb 23, #71] 182. Slomatics - Strontium Fields8th September | space rock; doom; sludge metalEighth full-length from the Belfast band. Another album I always enjoy when listening, though not much from it sticks in my memory. There have been a handful of releases I've heard vaguely categorisable as space-themed doom/stoner rock this year (I think two? more to come in this list) and while none have been weak I don't think anything has quite matched up to the excellent GAUPA album from last year which I still go back to.
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TheThorne
Member
*Hillside, slip and slide, feel the pain, it's no surprise!*
Posts: 27,571
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Post by TheThorne on Dec 20, 2023 19:49:42 GMT 1
I’m have no problem with Royal blood being low, they were at one point around #80 on my list
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Post by greendemon on Dec 21, 2023 22:56:07 GMT 1
181. Thantifaxath - Hive Mind Narcosis2nd June | avant-garde dissonant black metalSecond album from the anonymous black metal project. Not a name I'd previously been familiar with, but came across as part of my general exploration of the weirder and spookier corners of black metal this year. Probably one of the least-accessible records on this list. It was very highly acclaimed, so I gave it more listens than I otherwise would have and they did eventually pay off to the point that I can appreciate this record without necessarily wanting to listen to it very often. The final two tracks are probably the best. 180. Cannibal Corpse - Chaos Horrific22nd September | death metalAlbum art is a bit graphic... {Album art} Sixteenth album from the Buffalo, New York death metal legends. Not a band I've gone out of my way to listen to in the past, but given the amount of amazing death metal I've heard this year it would have been strange to ignore a new release from arguably the most famous band in the scene. The guitar work is phenomenal and overall it's a pretty good time, but I haven't been back to it a whole ton, due to aforementioned other amazing music in the genre. Chart history: Summoned for Sacrifice [GL9 Jul-Aug 23, #60] 179. Skindred - Smile4th August | nu metal; alternative rock; reggaeEighth album from the Welsh alternative metal/rock band. Speaking of a good time, this one was pretty fun as far as UK #1s in 2023 went. Skindred may not be the first metal act to play around with reggae influences but there's some pretty catchy stuff here and while it's only a 7/10 still it's one of the more relistenable ones on this list. Chart history: Smile [Jul-Aug 23, #36] 178. Gunship - Unicorn29th September | synthwave; pop; electronicThird album from the British synthwave project founded by Alex Westaway and Dan Haigh of Fightstar. Another project I hadn't encountered before, this album went on my must-listen list after 'Taste Like Venom' landed in my top 20. Sadly, despite (or perhaps because of) all the star-studded collaborations it features, it ended up being a bit of a let-down with quite a few skip-worthy tracks, but the hits hit hard enough to get it into the top 180. Chart history: Taste Like Venom [GL9 Jul-Aug 23, #19] Monster in Paradise [GL9 Jul-Aug 23, #68] 177. HUNNY - HUNNY's New Planet Heaven6th October | pop-punk; post-punk; indieThird(?) LP from the LA band, though their second with Epitaph Records. Another new-to-me act, I only played this one relatively recently as I was playing catch-up on recent releases. Not a lot to say but I enjoyed HUNNY's upbeat, poppy indie sound and with a bit more time it could have finished a little higher. On the list of releases from this year I need to go back to.
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Post by greendemon on Dec 22, 2023 14:07:53 GMT 1
176. Ne Obliviscaris - Exul24th March | progressive metalFourth album from the Australian band. I didn't do a great job of keeping up with progressive metal releases as the year went on, but this was one of a few from the first half of 2023 that I got around to. Ne Obliviscaris use a lot of strings, particularly cello, violin and viola, in their music and it makes for quite a distinctive sound. This is another case where I think it's crept up the list a bit higher than it really ought to be, as while the musicianship here is top-drawer (and I do appreciate the use of strings in heavy music), it's just all a bit too ponderous to really enjoy. (I thought I'd charted the lead single, 'Equus', but apparently I balked at the 12-minute-plus runtime.) Chart history: Exul [Mar-Apr 23, #31] 175. Scar Symmetry - The Singularity (Phase II - Xenotaph)2nd June | melodic death metal; synth metalSeventh studio album from the Swedish melodic death metal band. Not a band I'm generally familiar with but they again have a pretty distinctive sound, incorporating synth into their melodeath and leaning heavily on space and sci-fi themes. This is on my list of records from this year to go back to. Chart history: The Singularity (Phase II - Xenotaph) [May-Jun 23, #32] Chrononautilus [GL8 May-Jun 23, #49] 174. Enforced - War Remains28th April | thrash metalThird full-length from the Virginia-based band. One of the more highly-praised thrash albums from 2023, this is a great album in its genre: punchy and short but full of catchy and eminently headbangable tunes, notably 'Hanged By My Hand' and 'Starve' which I charted. The main problem I have is that thrash is probably my least-favourite of the main metal subgenres, so I just won't reach for it too often. Would have got a higher score if I enjoyed this style of music more. Chart history: War Remains [Mar-Apr 23, #26] Hanged By My Hand [GL6 Jan-Feb 23, #64] Starve [GL7 Mar-Apr 23, #47] Taking a break from extreme metal for a bit and now throwing in a few which I gave 7.5 but think I overrated... 173. Spanish Love Songs - No Joy25th August | alternative rockFifth studio album from the Los Angeles band. Perhaps surprisingly, another band I wasn't familiar with before this year but checked out after I charted 'Haunted'. This was a very highly-acclaimed album and it was TheThorne's #1 this year, and I can certainly see why: the lyric-writing here in particular is great. Unfortunately while I can't really fault it musically, I think it's just not for me. When listening I wrote down 'has an album name ever been more accurate?' and I do just find it incredibly bleak, plus the warbling style of the vocalist just isn't my cup of tea. Chart history: No Joy [Jul-Aug 23, #32] Haunted [GL8 May-Jun 23, #81] 172. Interlaker - The Hunger [EP]15th December | indieDebut EP from the new project from David Jakes (Lonely The Brave) and Jack Wrench (Arcane Roots). The very last release to make this list and arguably it shouldn't be here, as at 3 tracks long* it's barely even an EP, so it's difficult to rank alongside full-lengths. However, all three songs are great, Jakes' voice is still incredible and as a taster it's definitely whetted my appetite for more from them. * There is a fourth track as a vinyl exclusive, but I don't do vinyl so haven't heard it.171. Chappaqua Wrestling - Plus Ultra14th April | indie; alternative rockDebut album from the London band. I really rated 'Need You No More' and checked this out on that basis. Ultimately I found the album itself decent if not special, but I do really like their 90s-throwback sound, which recalls The Verve and The Sundays among others, and will be on the lookout for more from them. Chart history: Plus Ultra [Mar-Apr 23, #34] Need You No More [GL7 Mar-Apr 23, #26] 170. Delain - Dark Waters10th February | symphonic metalSeventh studio album from the Dutch symphonic metal band, but their first with this particular line-up. This band have gone through something of an interesting recent history, having had to more or less rebuild from the ground up following the departure of key personnel including their original vocalist. I haven't been too familiar with their old line-ups but I'm told this latest effort is a pretty good approximation of their usual sound. Out of all of the symphonic metal albums I've played this year this is one of my favourites (I think just one more to come) - the vocalist is great, 'Moth To A Flame' is a total banger and it's just a lot of fun to listen to. Would be higher but it was an early release that got slightly forgotten as the year went on. I still cannot get over some of the slight lyrical fails like 'I have returned from down under' in 'Beneath' but they do just add to the charm Chart history: Dark Waters [Jan-Feb 23, #19] The Quest and the Curse [GL4 Aug-Sep 22, #55] Moth To A Flame [GL6 Jan-Feb 23, #30]
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Post by greendemon on Dec 23, 2023 17:50:16 GMT 1
169. Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs - Land Of Sleeper17th February | heavy metal; doom; stoner rockFourth album from the Newcastle metal band. A name I have only been familiar with by reputation (but have regularly mocked), they made my first-ever album chart back in February with this one. Musically not a lot to complain about, and some great songs, particularly 'Pipe Down!', but another early album that I didn't go back to. I know it's a stylistic choice with this kind of music but I don't really enjoy the 'I'm-shouting-at-you-from-the-other-side-of-the-planet' style vocals. I do regret missing their set at ArcTanGent this summer though. Chart history: Land Of Sleeper [Jan-Feb 23, #27] 168. The Smashing Pumpkins - Atum: A Rock Opera In Three Acts5th May | alternative rockTwelfth studio album from the 90s American alt-rock band. I feel a little guilty having this one so low, but in what is going to feel like a running theme in this list, it's extremely rare that I will have the enthusiasm to listen to one artist for more than an hour and so with a whopping two hours and eighteen minutes asked of me here, I've only managed to sit through the whole thing once and so despite giving it a 7.5 it misses the top 150. There are some great songs here, I just didn't form much of an opinion as to how they worked as a unit. (Also my pomposity alarm will inevitably be triggered by any band, however great, referring to their opus as 'a rock opera in three acts'...)One more appearance (kinda) for Billy Corgan to come, though it won't be too much higher than this. Chart history: Atum: A Rock Opera In Three Acts [May-Jun 23, #35] Beguiled [GL4 Aug-Sep 22, #76] Spellbinding [GL7 Mar-Apr 23, #61] 167. The Chemical Brothers - For That Beautiful Feeling8th September | dance; electronic; popTenth studio album from the Mancunian duo and Haven Factor finalists. With four tracks making my chart this year, I'm a little surprised this one has ended up so low, but aside from it having come out during a very busy September for albums, I found that while it's a good album there just isn't enough here to warrant revisiting it over just listening to those tracks in isolation. 'Skipping Like A Stone' and 'No Reason' will do well in my year-end singles chart. Chart history: No Reason [GL7 Mar-Apr 23, #18] All Of A Sudden [GL8 May-Jun 23, #64] Live Again ft. Halo Maud [GL8 May-Jun 23, #89] Skipping Like A Stone ft. Beck [GL9 Jul-Aug 23, #17] 166. Dawn of Ouroboros - Velvet Incandescence21st April | progressive metal; post-black metalSecond studio album from the blackened progressive metal supergroup from Oakland, California. On paper I was very excited by this band's combination of post-black metal, shoegaze, prog and, yes, female vocals, but something about it just didn't quite hit the spot for me. It has been on my 'albums to revisit' list for a while and I'm sure in time I'll grow to like it more, but this is about as high as it should go for now. Vocalist Chelsea Murphy has one more appearance to come in this list. Chart history: Velvet Incandescence [Apr-May 23, #25] 166. Meurtrières - Ronde de Nuit25th August | heavy metalDebut full-length from this female-fronted traditional heavy metal band from Lyon, France. One of only a handful of non-English-language records on this list, this one boasts some impressive Iron Maiden-inspired twin guitar work and is a great listen. My complaints were not enough variety and, surprisingly, not being completely enamoured with the vocals. This has been quite a good year for female-fronted heavy metal and while I didn't take to the efforts from Smoulder and Tanith which went down very well in the metal community, there are a couple more in this genre to come. Chart history: Ronde de Nuit [Jul-Aug 23, #23] 165. Baroness - Stone15th September | metal; rockSixth album from this metal band from Savannah, Georgia. Not a whole lot to say about this one; I think I unofficially ranked it as my 10th favourite album from September but haven't really been back to it much as ultimately it left me wanting more. 'Shine' was definitely my favourite thing on here. Chart history: Last Word [GL8 May-Jun 23, #100] Shine [GL9 Jul-Aug 23, #40]
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Post by greendemon on Dec 24, 2023 12:43:10 GMT 1
164. Sufjan Stevens, Timo Andres, Conor Hanick - Reflections19th May | classical; instrumentalSoundtrack album to 2019 ballet of the same name by Justin Peck, though I didn't realise that until recently! I saw this coming up on release schedules and thought a piano-based, classical album from Sufjan sounded interesting. Turned out to be a good decision because this scored 7.5 and has been (unless there's something I've forgotten) my favourite classical release of the year. I haven't been back to it in a few months but there were a few weeks in the early summer when this album's jazz-influenced piano was exactly what I wanted my weekend mornings to sound like. Surprisingly this is Sufjan's only appearance in this list - not because I didn't like Javelin but because it's another one on the list of releases I just never got around to. 163. DMA's - How Many Dreams?31st March | indie; alternative rockFourth album from the Sydney band. They were new to me, and I missed all the singles that promoted this, but I did enjoy the album. Another 7.5 that I just didn't go back to enough to merit it being any higher. 162. Harm's Way - Common Suffering29th September | hardcore punkFifth album from the Chicago hardcore act. This caught my attention thanks to the brilliant single 'The Undertow' featuring King Woman. Another late release I've not had as much time with as I'd have liked, 'The Undertow' is my favourite thing here and quite different in sound to the rest of the album, though it acts as a nice breather between the crushingly heavy hardcore songs that surround it. Definitely one I plan to go back to early in the new year. 161. Blondshell - Blondshell7th April | indieDebut from the LA artist. This one reviewed very well and I've seen it on a few year-end lists here and elsewhere. It scored a 7 with me - absolutely loved the single 'Joiner', but just found nothing else on the album was as compelling for me. My verdict was that it was in a similar ballpark to Soccer Mommy except not quite as good, but maybe I need to give it another go? Chart history: Blondshell [Mar-Apr 23, #24] Joiner [GL6 Jan-Feb 23, #18] 160. Pale Blue Eyes - This House1st September | indieSecond LP from this Sheffield-based indie act. This came out back in September but despite having it on my Bandcamp wishlist for a few months, I've only just got around to it in the past couple of weeks, which is a shame as I really like it and it probably should be higher than this. Hard to describe this band's sound but in a nutshell it's indie with a heavy dose of 80s nostalgia, synths and a bit of shoegaze thrown in. Again, another one I'll be coming back to. 159. Riverside - ID.Entity20th January | progressive metalEighth album from the Polish progressive metal band. I checked this out on the strength of the lead single, 'Friend or Foe?' which was a top 5 smash in my first chart of the year and an early song of the year contender and just a fantastic synth-heavy melodic prog song. Unfortunately this turned out to be quite a frustrating album. Musically it's pretty great, there are a lot of standout moments throughout and I do like some of their ideas (they play around with the fourth wall in a couple of spots which is fun), but aside from a couple of the songs going on for so long as to be downright skippable in their entirety, a good portion of the lyrics are just so utterly cringe I can't go back to this in its entirety very often. Which is a shame, because seriously, 'Friend or Foe?' is so good! Chart history: ID.Entity[/b] [Jan-Feb 23, #25] Friend or Foe? [GL6 Jan-Feb 23, #5]
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