Top Ten Of 2023: Mark Hunt-Bryden
I usually start this feature with some preamble to contextualise my path against the backdrop of the past year, like you good people who read my wittering really want to know the minutia of a stranger’s life. I moved myself and my kids into a new house at the start of 2023. I know right? Who gives a shit? I’m good though, thanks for asking, but let’s do this.
What is better than good, is the state of the scene and this year has been an absolute deluge of music that we here at Shaman Towers have struggled to keep pace with at times. I said in March when reviewing the Morass Of Molasses album that this list would be in trouble given the high quality and quantity of releases so I have restricted myself to talking about the music that has crossed my desk for reviewing, meaning I have don’t have the space to mention REZN, Temptress, Tidal Wave, Acid Magus, Ritual King, Duskwood and Green Lung. Well, not directly, but I have to also pause and tip my hat to Ripple Music’s tremendous work this year.
So, what delights did my new neighbours get to sample repeatedly you ask, and what was the pick of the bunch? Read on to find out…
10. Yawning Man ‘The Long Walk Of The Navajo’
I’d be remiss not to include the latest album from Yawning Man, the finest purveyors of ethereal, instrumental desert rock. Godfather of the scene and original pioneer of the generator party, Mario Lalli may have sat this album out for the first time since 2005’s Pot Head EP (also lovingly re-issued on vinyl this year by Ripple Music), but the reunited lineup of guitar supremo Gary Arce, drummer Bill Stintson and bassist Billy Cordell once again combine to defy convention and create mesmerising, sci-fi soundscape music that swirls like the desert wind and dances playfully like the tumbleweeds. Just three tracks and thirty-eight minutes of blissful, jazz-like kaleidoscopic, emotive sounds that pull at the tender strings of the heart and transport you to another dimension.
Label: Heavy Psych Sounds
09. Spider Kitten ‘A Pound For The Peacebringer’
A marriage made in the domain of your choosing, awesome Newport trio Spider Kitten returned to their doom/sludge roots after dalliances with folk, Americana and ‘90s alternative metal by bringing forth their latest slab of heavy stylings on my favourite UK label APF Records.
The heaviest the band have been since 2016’s terrifying and downbeat Ark Of Octofelis, Chi Lameo’s crew channel their wide-ranging influences but weld them to dark humour and even darker riffs. Striking a balance between dexterous vocal harmonies and bullish, Sabbath-like slabs of experimental heaviness, Spider Kitten manages to deliver lengthy and elaborate compositions that never feel overwrought and are balanced by philosophical musings and wry cynicism. Complete with lavish artwork, this is an intriguing release that deserves to be celebrated.
Label: APF Records
08. Godflesh ‘Purge’
Six years may have elapsed since industrial mastermind Justin K Broadrick turned the ferocious gaze of his sonic scalpel inwards to set about deconstructing the psyche of Godflesh on 2017’s Post Self album and despite the relentless myriad of additional music projects that he has released in that time, Purge saw the band call back to the grind and clank of 1992’s Pure album. Oppressive in nature, this latest venture into the bleak visions of its creators pulses with the gristle of the band in all their ‘90s post-punk prowess but continues the subtle subversion of their sound through glacial tonal shifts.
This more informed Godflesh continues the exploration of the self and draws together the threads of personality dichotomy that mean toying with your emotions through knowing when to articulate power and restraint, harnessing that devastating impact to greater effect.
Label: Avalanche Recordings
07. The Ocean ‘Holocene’
Having come off the back of a double career best set of albums, Phanerozoic I & II, the follow-up and conclusion to their geologically themed series, Holocene was always going to be a watershed moment for the German post-metal group. Thematically and sonically picking up immediately from the ending of the previous album, The Ocean’s latest planetary documentary may have been more cooly received with its softer approach and greater embrace of electronic elements by some of the audience, but the ninth album in their career still slams with heavyweight sludge when it needs to, seeking to evolve and balance this with songwriting progression and complex melody structures. Fittingly for a narrative detailing the smallest and least seismically dramatic epoch, Holocene focuses on small, subtle moments that are undoubtedly haunting, courageous and breathtakingly beautiful.
Label: Pelagic Records
06. Desert Storm ‘Death Rattle’
Charting Desert Storm’s musical trajectory has very much been a steady upward curve with the last album, 2020’s Omens also sitting in my end-of-year list having clearly been the best thing they had released up to that point. This year’s follow-up, Death Rattle, frankly blew that out of the water. From the opening refrains of Master Of None to the wistful majesty of New Dawn, this is a release that saw the whole band on the top of their game.
Dealing out the bruising brutality that they have become known for, the band added a metric ton of dynamics and melodies executed with taught chemistry that makes Death Rattle bristle and shimmer with hooks, grooves and focus like never before. Rightfully earning a spot on next year’s Bloodstock festival, Desert Storm are better than ever.
Label: APF Records
05. Herod ‘Iconoclast’
Combing the fury of Meshuggah and Neurosis-influenced sludge with the expansiveness of Cult of Luna and fellow label mates The Ocean, Herod’s third album is one of the most underrated releases of the year. Looking to create cutting-edge, intelligent modern metal with Iconoclast the band manage to bring savage intensity that channels avant-garde philosophy and brooding atmospherics.
Utilising the talents of an all-female choir, a duet with friend Loïc Rosetti, filtered through industrial elements, blackened violence and raw power, this is a dazzling journey into the heart of darkness that sometimes can be all-consuming. Herod delivered a complex, multi-faceted powerhouse of an album that hits like a freight train and lingers in the memory long after the dust has settled.
Sadly, though this will prove to be their greatest and final hour, as of the 1st December the band have announced that they will be calling it quits due to personal and professional commitments. What a way to go out though.
Label: Pelagic Records
04. The Devil’s Trade ‘Vidékek Vannak Idebenn’
My ‘No Live Albums’ policy means I cannot include but should mention the incredible Live At Roadburn 2022 collaboration with industrial noise collective John Cxnnor which is one of my favourite releases of the year.
However, following up the minimalist Call Of The Iron Peak album (2020) The Devil’s Trade expanded Dávid Makó’s sombre musical vision with more familiar instrumental backing and dense synths to defy convention and create an album that is as dense and crushingly heavy as any traditional metal band. Focus on the sonic weight of emotion, rather than downtuned riffs, this is an album that communicates directly to the soul. Alternating between English and his native Hungarian, at times the actual lyrics may pass you by, but there is no denying the gravity of the message carried. Devastatingly beautiful.
Label: Season Of Mist
03. Dozer ‘Drifting In The Endless Void’
Returning to a scene they helped define after a fifteen-year absence was always going to be a tall mountain to climb; changing musical landscapes, the spectre of musical ventures, the march of time itself and the legacy they left behind would rightly be daunting to some mortals.
However, the Swedish four-piece gleefully showed that they rightfully earned their reputation as one of the leading lights of the European stoner scene by launching an album that showed them reinvigorated and back to claim the crown that was once theirs. Bursting with fuzz rock crunching and high-octane rhythms, Drifting In The Endless Void shows the band have lost none of their space rock edge and hard-hitting crunch. More than a mere retread of past glory, Dozer absolutely delivers here.
Label: Blues Funeral Recordings
02. Fires In The Distance ‘Air Not Meant For Us’
The Connecticut melodic death metallers Fires In The Distance set themselves a high bar with their 2020 debut, Echoes From Deep November with their doom-paced, densely layered blend of muscular riffing and sweeping strings. This year’s follow-up saw the band build on that platform and create a diverse musical odyssey that tackles subjects like mental health and isolation with a subtlety and dexterity that defies expectation.
A truly beautiful album that sweeps with jaw-dropping majesty and complex arrangements that few bands in their field can dream of right now. Far from a conventional death metal album, Air Not Meant For Us drips with live orchestration and features a guest spot from Burial In The Sky guitarist James Tomedi, yet none of that distracts from the fact that this latest release is beyond stunning.
Label: Prosthetic Records
01. Mutoid Man ‘Mutants’
No matter which way you cut it, the last few years have been pretty awful. In these times music is an incredible outlet, sonic catharsis for frustrated times, but in addition to articulating the pain and fear of the human psyche, boys/girls/however-you-identify, sometimes you just gotta have fun.
Fortunately, Mutoid Man are here to ensure that happens with their latest album. Crammed full of hooks, anthems, battering riffs, and pop sensibilities, Brodsky, Koller and new boy Jeff Matz dropped ten blistering tracks of gonzo genre-smashing punk, metal and hardcore delivered in customary offbeat versatility. This album provides all the necessary relief from the world and does it with a shit-eating grin.
Label: Sargent House
Honourable Mentions:
So that’s it, 2023 is almost done, but before I leave you to see it off in whatever manner is customary, I can’t go without some honourable mentions of bands that ran this list close.
Illuminated Void ‘Veridtas’
Ambient, expansive doom from Sleestak frontman Matt Schmidtz.
Trevor’s Head ‘A View From Below’
Rollercoaster hybrid punk metal infusion from the UK power trio.
Wolfnaut ‘Return Of The Asteroid’
Norwegian stomping, anthemic, heavy rock.
Morass Of Molasses ‘End All We Know’
Reading stoner crew serve up their finest work.
Thronehammer ‘Kingslayer’
Triumphant doom-infused metal worthy of soundtracking a high fantasy epic.
To borrow a phrase from an icon who left us this year, take care of yourselves and each other.
Scribed by: Mark Hunt-Bryden
