You thought we were dead. Alas! We awaken from out tumultuous dreams to unleash this storm of mid-year album reviews upon ye. In no particular order, here are 10 big albums that have been burning up our Spotify accounts in 2023.
Chad turned me on to this band a few years back with his review of You Deserve Love. I was quite impressed with the first half of the album but questioned whether this was a band that could hold my interest for more than 15 minutes. White Reaper has answered that question with a definitive “uhh yeah, and fuck you very much.” Asking For A Ride is swimming with feel-good tunes, killer hooks, and a few surprisingly heavy riffs (the title track is damn-near thrashy). And it’s all delivered with a much beefier production that really accents their strengths. - Eric Gmutza
I’m a sucker for old-school heavy metal, and Elegant Weapons’ debut album went straight to my old jean jacket-wearing heart. Richie Faulkner delivers all of the killer riffs and blistering solos that you can handle, Scott Travis and Rex Brown hold down the rhythm section just as you’d expect, and Ronnie Romero’s vocals soar from start to finish. If you’re a fan of old-school heavy metal with 80’s spirit and heart, sit this one out at your own peril. (Hat tip to Firesideometer Reviewer Emeritus David Lloyd for putting this on my radar!) - Brian Gmutza
It was a nice surprise to find a band I thought had gone on hiatus released a new album last month. What’s even better is that it’s a rock n roll barnstormer. If you like The Darkness, The Wildhearts, Massive Wagons or even KISS you will love this album. Play it loud, sing along and get that air guitar out too. Here’s hoping it still resonates with me as much at the end of the year as it does now. - Chris Coleman-Peers
While I’ve heard several Spotlights songs before and liked them, attempts to get into their full-lengths left me thinking they were a bit too post-, too droney for my tastes. Alchemy for the Dead swaps out a good deal of those qualities for more melodic and accessible songwriting, though there’s still plenty of moody, atmospheric drone swirling around it all. For fans of Hum, Failure, Torche. - Eric Gmutza
I’ve been a little underwhelmed by Enslaved’s output since the departure of keyboardist/clean vocalist Herbrand Larsen in 2016. That ends with Heimdal, their most progressive and adventurous album to date, and their best since Axioma Ethica Odini. While past records have felt a bit bloated, Heimdal clocks in at a taut 48 minutes and every minute feels essential. If you’ve felt lately that Grutle and Ivar were getting a bit stale, this is the perfect counterpoint.- Brian Gmutza
Kudos to Chris for turning me on to this ripping hair metal band. Apparently this is a re-recording of their 2014 debut album, beefed up with a more modern production, for all of us who missed these songs the first time around. And if you like this kind of music, you are in for a treat. The songs are great, the amps are cranked to 11, and vocalist Girish Pradhan has charisma to spare and pipes to back up the swagger. For fans of Skid Row, Ratt, Dokken, Whitesnake, GnR- Eric Gmutza
Mainstream metal band stop giving a fuck about sales and release the most batshit crazy album of their career. Fair play to them is what I say, as it really, really works. This in my opinion is probably the best A7X album. What’s great about it? The genre hopping, the segues, the kitchen sink approach to each song but most of all the production (by the band themselves) is absolutely epic. If you’ve never been sold on the band, this record won’t change your mind, but if you like prog rock and can get past M. Shadows vocals you should absolutely give this album a try. - Chris Coleman-Peers
Just when we thought that Katatonia was no more, Jonas took on all of the songwriting duties and surprised us with the excellent City Burials in 2020. Three years later, Sky Void of Stars continues on in the same vein and, though it may not reach quite the same heights, it’s still a delight. ‘Austerity’ immediately became the first track in my running playlist of the band’s bangers: I’ll put it up against anything they’ve ever done.- Brian Gmutza
Something was in the water when In Flames were working on this album, because this is by far their best album since Clayman. Their later period sound is still represented on the record, but it’s less in your face, more nuanced, and sits alongside the old skool Swedish melodeath vibe very well. The album builds slowly with the gorgeous acoustic intro, ‘The beginning of all things that will end’ before smashing your face in with the ‘State of Slow Decay’. From there on, the album continues to pummel you with its brutality and hooky melodies. Much like the stellar Deceivers by Arch Enemy from last year, it’s hard to comprehend how amazing In Flames sound this far into their career. It’s also hard to comprehend why they couldn’t have sounded this amazing a decade ago. - Chris Coleman-Peers
It’s hard to pick a favorite era of Godflesh. They pretty much crushed it on every album from Streetcleaner through Hymns. But, if you put a mighty trust krusher to my head, I guess I’d say I’m a PURE guy. And that’s good news for me, as PURGE gets back to that album’s cold industrial feel, with a good dose of the hip-hop and dub influences that came later. Don't believe the haters, this is the best Godflesh has sounded since Hymns. - Eric Gmutza
