Top 30 Metal Releases of 2023!!!
26This year was amazing for metal. I usually have no problem making a top 20, but narrowing this year down to a top 30 was very tough. I had to cut albums that were amazing to fit this in a Top 30!
This list includes full length releases as well as EP releases!
0:05 - 30: Suicide Silence
0:25 - 29: Hellripper
0:45 - 28: Snuffed on Sight
1:05 - 27: Suffocation
1:25 - 26: Peeling Flesh
1:45 - 25: 10 to the Chest
2:05 - 24: Dripped
2:25 - 23: Decipher
2:45 - 22: Depraved Murder
3:05 - 21: Lamp of Murmuur
3:25 - 20: Paraphilia
3:45 - 19: Crypta
4:05 - 18: Cannibal Corpse
4:25 - 17: Conjureth
4:45 - 16: Decorpsetated
5:05 - 15: Torn the Fuck Apart
5:25 - 14: Jesus Piece
5:45 - 13: Ashen
6:05 - 12: Ophiocordyceps
6:25 - 11: Re-Buried
6:45 - 10: Kraanium
7:05 - 9: Obituary
7:25 - 8: Extermination Dismemberment
7:45 - 7: Colpocleisis
8:05 - 6: Yatsu
8:25 - 5: Nithing
8:45 - 4: Dying Fetus
9:05 - 3: Devangelic
9:25 - 2: Sanguisugabogg
9:45 - 1: Cattle Decapitation
Cattle Decapitation wrote something special with Terrasite! The most gripping mix of brutal and emotionally bleak music and songwriting. Continuing from Death Atlas, humanity has respawned as an insect like creature and the content within the album drives the story like a play on stage. It's brilliant and over the top, while continuing on as this "new era" of Cattle Decapitation drives the momentum.
Sanguisugabogg brought their signature sound with more focus on groove on Homicidal Ecstasy. Swank's vocal performance is still as powerful as ever, and the overall sound is earth shifting. This album also serves as a "how to" of metal drum performances, as it's packed with style, groove and fills that drive the songs forward.
Devangelic are a brutal death metal band that shifted focus to an Egyptian mythology theme for this album, pretty much matching what Nile have done in the past 30 years. XUL is Annihilation of the Wicked 2.0!
Dying Fetus gives us another healthy entree of 10 meaty songs on Make Them Beg For Death! Showing that even after decades of technicality and death smashing groove, they still have the musical chops to impress and make you headbang. Which I am ALL ABOUT.
Nithing came out of nowhere and I slept on it for most of the year. Agonal Hymns came out in June and I didn't hear it until November! This album is just shy of 24 minutes and not shy about melting your face off with it's barrage of sound, ungodly clean production and pummeling drum work!
Yatsu is not a band I typically listen to, but I have opened up to hardcore/noise acts with powerviolence tendencies. It Can't Happen Here is another short album filled with riffs, grooves, screams and wonderful drum work. Lyrics we can all relate to, Yatsu surprised me from opening track Scavenger Ethics ro finale Militarized Hope.
Colpocleisis reminds me when I first started listening to brutal death and slam: that snare. Along with that fantastic St. Anger snare is tons of groove and swampy vocals about horror, toxoplasmosis and other yummy topics like that. This album was fun to consume and I came back multiple times this year to do so.
Extermination Dismemberment is over the top in every aspect when it comes to brutal death metal, slam and deathcore. The guitar tone, the drum sound and the vocal performance and the mother fucking bass drops! Hot damn! Dehumanization Protocol is a long listen, but it's nearly 54 minutes of pure brutality.
Obituary has become one of my favorite bands over the past couple of years and their discography is legendary. Adding to that lineup of awesome albums, is Dying of Everything. Their musicianship, their groove and that familiar and recognizable vocal range made this album a staple of 2023.
Kraanium released Scriptures of Vicennial Defilement in early November and I regularly jammed it ever since then. The first week of it's release I listened to it on repeat as I found their groove and signature evil sound to be captivating. These guys are legends in the brutal death metal realm.