2023 was in my opinion, one of the greatest years for Metal and music in general. The innovations in the genre were overflowing this year. All the true quality releases make it one of the most difficult years to rank and categorize the best of the best. I have revised this article and list so many times, I’ve lost count. It seems I am discovering a new band, song, and album that defies all my musical expectations everyday and it truly astounds me. So, I picked my favorites. It’s not a popularity contest or based on the songs that live rent free in my head, it’s just my favorite albums based upon my perception of quality and innovation. I based my decisions upon personal preference, but also just sheer quality of composition and aspects that made the record stand out from your typical Metal albums. This list could really be in multiple orders, but I just put my favorites in the succession I feel reflected my listening habits the most. Let’s face it, it is impossible to put all of the best albums of 2023 in order by quality or ingenuity. There’s simply too many excellent albums.
What albums did you love this year? Which ones did I leave out or miss entirely? Comment below and let me know.
My Top Albums 2023
- Hermitage: Daruma’s Eyes Part 2- Temperance
This should come as no surprise that this album is ranked number one for me, as I predicted in my review. Temperance came back with an ingenious concept album and one of the most musically talented lineups I have heard since Epica. It’s a Symphonic Power Metal Opera for the ages. It overshadowed anything Ayreon or Star One have done for almost a decade, in my opinion. Marco Pastorino and crew made a once in a lifetime bombastic and moving record with impossibly good vocals. It is innovative as it uses so much Classical elements with huge wall-of-sound production and an eclectic mix of vocalists that come together to absolutely blow your mind. It sounds futuristic, but mirrors the production quality of Hard Rock and Prog albums from the 1980’s. It is a stunning record that I don’t think will be topped anytime soon.
2. Fearless In Love- Voyager
Voyager are one of my top 20 bands of all time, and this record is indicative of why they always deserve a top spot. This album does something for me that few albums do; it occupies the same space in my brain as Devin Townsend. Fearless In Love is an emotional journey through modern times and is a riff-heavy progressive romp if I’ve ever heard one. It’s as if Devin Townsend and Tears For Fears collaborated on a star ship. This album doesn’t sound like any other album, yet it mirrors Townsend’s genius riffing on Accelerated Evolution so eloquently. This is undoubtedly my favorite guitar record of the year, but also contains juicy bass lines and sing along emotive choruses. Fearless In Love is truly the most uplifting album of 2023 and one of the best guitar performances of all time.
3. Blue Blood- Phantom Elite
Blue Blood was a complete surprise to me. I knew of Phantom and the excellent Marina La Torraca, but their releases never impacted me until this absolutely aggressive record. It is everything I love about Spiritbox and Jinjer, but with a softer side. It’s a Djent/Prog Industrial album with Symphony Metal overtones and beautiful vocals. It’s an album with massive range and variety, no two songs sound the same. It’s fresh and modern without being contrived. The riffs are punchy and enigmatic, always changing and layering on top of loud bombastic drums and crunchy bass lines. Blue Blood is catchy, chaotic, emotive, and groove oriented. It deserves so much more recognition for utter quality. I never expected this band to hit my top ten, but this record is undeniably fantastic.
4. Beyond the Black- Self Titled
When I thought about my favorite records of the year, this is the first one that actually came to my mind. It’s an album I continue to go back to, despite it being a little more radio friendly than what I usually love. There’s just an exquisite mix of genres and influences on this album. It’s Arena Rock with immense emotion and chuggy heavy riffs. Jennifer Haben is one of the most underrated vocalists who fits into any genre or rhythmic pocket. She has an innate tone that is rarely heard in modern music. Kai Hansen is also one of my favorite drummers of late. His performance on this record ties everything together and holds it all in a heavy package. It’s high production quality without being bubblegum or robotic. Beyond the Black created something reflective of Covid times without being too dark or too in your face and it is truly cathartic to listen to. It has profound meaning underneath catchy hooks and huge arena sounds, something modern Rock typically lacks nowadays. This is a truly special record that will surprise you in depth of content and diamond quality.
5. The Wonders Still Awaiting- Xandria
The Wonders Still Awaiting was originally second on this list, but the year squeaked out even more gems and made it difficult for me to order this list any other way. I am an avid Symphonic Metal listener, admittedly less and less as of the last Epica release. Xandria came back in 2023 with a new lineup that dominated my year in music. The addition of Ambre Vourvahis has reignited this band to the glorious torch it once carried. She is the only vocalist on this list to give me actual chills and goosebumps. Marco Heubaum continues to write moving and enchanting music atop heavy riffs and new growling vocals that set him apart from other Symphonic Metal bands. This album is extremely moving throughput and wonderfully thought-provoking. It greatly foreshadows other releases in the genre of the past five years. I will always hold a higher standard to Xandria than Nightwish, and this gorgeous album proves the reasons why.
6. Anno 1696- Insomnium
I am not the biggest Insomnium fan, but subjectively this is a flawless Melodeath record. This Finnish Melodeath band is known for creating utterly devastatingly heavy albums, emotionally and instrumentally. Anno 1696 is no deviation from their usual greatness, but it definitely hearkens to an 90’s Death Metal sound that creates a unique blend on top of a great story. It is poetry in brutality. The addition of Jani Liimatainen has reignited the band and added a new voice. It’s as though lead vocalist and bassist Niilo Sevanen is the narrator, and Jani is another inner voice of the characters. I’ve never heard another album like it, yet you know it’s Insomnium right away. There is a unique blend of Folk music and Melodeath on this album as well that was new and very interesting. Insomnium refuse to be formulaic and continue to push the envelope of genres. 2023 was all about genre breaking and blending, which is why this album was so successful.
7. Heimdal- Enslaved
Another unexpected gem of 2023 for me. I had never truly given Enslaved a listen, and I realized the err of my ways very quickly when Heimdal came out. This album is a pinnacle of 2023’s genre blending. It mixes 70’s Prog and modern Death Metal in a Viking setting. It’s far from the cheesy formulaic Viking Metal people have grown tired of. Heimdal is an existential journey through the Great Norse worlds and audibly envelopes you in a strange ethereal aura. The synths and organ give it a primordial feel and is not something I ever expected to hear in Death Metal, but is Enslaved’s special brand that really sets them apart for me. The production quality is pure without being too clean for extreme music. It’s perfectly balanced and flows smoothly like a linear story line. It is such a welcome change from overproduced music with no edge or nostalgia.
8. Nemesis AD- Serenity
Serenity is unfortunately an underdog of Symphonic Metal despite continuously putting out quality records. Nemesis AD is a testament to the ultimate strength of this band in bombastic thematic riffs and smooth powerful vocals from Georg Neuhauser and of course the incomparable Marco Pastorino. This album is profoundly beautiful, riff heavy, and catchy with great hooks. It sits somewhere between Sonata Arctica and Therion. To me, it feels more Power Metal than Symphonic without being contrived or another band just influenced by Nightwish. This is a history lesson of inspiration and self empowerment without being cheesy. Serenity set themselves apart from the rest with this record and made something truly special that I will continue to listen to for years to come.
9. Shades of Sorrow- Crypta
Thrash Metal and Death Thrash are not my cup of tea or area of expertise at all. It’s not that I dislike the darker heavier side of Metal. I listen to brutal bands like Archspire, Lorna Shore, Emperor, Triptykon, Draconian, and Cattle Decapitation. Thrash Metal has never spoken to me, however, and lacks a certain refined technicality I need in my music. So, I came to this new Crypta expecting it to be boring to me. Boy was I wrong… Shades of Sorrow is technical perfection in brutality and darkness. This album crushes your senses and spirit in all the best ways. Crypta is a powerhouse of four women with the essence of Thrash and Death and Melodeath in one technically sound package. They are one of the best bands I have heard in a long time. Their chemistry is tangible, led by drummer Luana Damatto holding down the heavy rhythmic section with Gene Hoglan-like groove and precision. If I had to give individual music awards out, Luana would undoubtedly be my drummer of the year winner. Shades of Sorrow is better than I expected and is truly one of the best Thrash records I have ever heard in my life. The fact that its four women delivering one of the heaviest albums of the year just makes me unbelievably proud and happy to be alive. They are terribly underrated and this album deserves to be on every top ten list.
10. This Heathen Land- Green Lung
Where in the heck did Green Lung come from? They went from being a band I’d never heard of to one of the bands dominating every top ten list of 2023. It’s shocking how well received this album is by the heaviest listeners in the Metal Community. The riffs on This Heathen Land are too perfect to resist, however. This album mixes Folk Rock, Black Sabbath, and Ghost like catchiness to create solid Stoner Metal rooted in Pagan epics. This sounds like it could be put out in the 1970s with the heavy organ sound and creepy high pitched vocals. It’s heavy, ethereal, and anthemic all in a smoothly delivered package (That’s what she said). This Heathen Land by Green Lung is far from an album I expected to be on my top ten, but it is just so damn solid I can’t think of any album that deserves this spot more. All of you elitists that hate on Ghost are absolute hypocrites if you’re jamming this album since in came out, and I hope that realization hits you like a truck. This is one of the most listenable albums on this list and is quite addictive. Once you start listening to Green Lung, you won’t be able to stop.
Honorable Mentions:
Terrasite- Cattle Decapitation
Time Will Take Us All- Entheos
Bleed Out- Within Temptation
Riverside- ID Entity
Fauna- Haken
Avenged Sevenfold- Life Is But A Dream…
Tales From The North- Bloodbound
Dark Waters- Delain
My Top Singles of the Year
- Darkness is Just a Drawing- Temperance
- Broken Orbit- In Mourning
- Reflections of AD- Serenity
- Inner Beast- Phantom Elite
- Free Me- Beyond The Black
- Ultraviolet- Voyager
- Never Dawn- Lacuna Coil
- Lilian- Insomnium
- Jaded- Spiritbox
- Native Colossus Live at Mad With Power- Shield of Wings
Honorable Mention Singles
As the Flower Withers- Elysion
One More Flag in the Ground- Kamelot
Two Worlds- Xandria
Basterd Von Asgard ft Fabienne Erni- Feuerschwanz
More- The Warning
Hey Brother- Dartagnan
Maxine- Green Lung
Beneath- Delain
This playlist features 20 of my favorite songs of 2023
That’s all for now!
Metal Valkyrie 