Top 10 Albums of 2023

[cramx3]

Tesseract - War of Being is passing OK Goodnight on them left to take my top spot.

I was looking at local venues yesterday to see if there were shows before the end of the year that I may want to check out.  I've never actually listened to Tesseract, maybe I should chekc out the album and potentially go to the show if I enjoy it.

I wouldn't miss them if I were you. They're pretty amazing live. For someone who likes to take chances, this is a chance you should definitely take

The line up didn't catch my eye though.  Intervals, I already saw them... at the same venue this year  so it really would rely on me enjoying that album.  It's on my radar now.  We'll see.  A big reason for even looking was because I have a $20 live nation coupon for that venue that expires before the end of the year. 

[lonestar]

Tesseract - War of Being is passing OK Goodnight on them left to take my top spot.

I was looking at local venues yesterday to see if there were shows before the end of the year that I may want to check out.  I've never actually listened to Tesseract, maybe I should chekc out the album and potentially go to the show if I enjoy it.

I wouldn't miss them if I were you. They're pretty amazing live. For someone who likes to take chances, this is a chance you should definitely take

The line up didn't catch my eye though.  Intervals, I already saw them... at the same venue this year  so it really would rely on me enjoying that album.  It's on my radar now.  We'll see.  A big reason for even looking was because I have a $20 live nation coupon for that venue that expires before the end of the year.

Oh c'mon.. that makes it a 15 dollar ticket....do it man...for me...

[cramx3]

Tesseract - War of Being is passing OK Goodnight on them left to take my top spot.

I was looking at local venues yesterday to see if there were shows before the end of the year that I may want to check out.  I've never actually listened to Tesseract, maybe I should chekc out the album and potentially go to the show if I enjoy it.

I wouldn't miss them if I were you. They're pretty amazing live. For someone who likes to take chances, this is a chance you should definitely take

The line up didn't catch my eye though.  Intervals, I already saw them... at the same venue this year  so it really would rely on me enjoying that album.  It's on my radar now.  We'll see.  A big reason for even looking was because I have a $20 live nation coupon for that venue that expires before the end of the year.

Oh c'mon.. that makes it a 15 dollar ticket....do it man...for me...

New York City though, add another 30-50 to just get there.  It's not that simple even if I do go to 50+ shows a year  end of the day, I need to check the album out before I decide.

[lonestar]

Fine...

[cramx3]

Been making some changes to my list as I've listened to a few more albums since last update, rough standing (changes can definitely still happen)

Avenged Sevenfold - Life Is But A dream
Delain - Dark Waters
Ad Infinitum - Chapter III - Downfall
Code Orange - The Above
Haken - Fauna
Voyager - Fearless in Love
Avatar - Dance Devil Dance
Mammoth WVH - Mammoth II
Rave the Reqviem - EX-EDEN
VV - Neon Noir
Greta Van Fleet - Starcatcher
Kamelot - The Awakening
Within Temptation - Bleed Out
The Winery Dogs - III
Babymetal - The Other One
Xandria - The Wonders Still Awaiting
Metallica - 72 Seasons
In Flames - Forgone
Bouncing Souls - Ten Stories High
Rancid - Tomorrow Never Comes
Steel Panther - On The Prowl

still want to check out (in order of likeliness I actually listen to them this year):

Beartooth - The Surface
Twilight Force - At the Heart of Wintervale
Eclipse - Megalomainum
Cyhra - The Vertigo Trigger

[Glasser]

Been making some changes to my list as I've listened to a few more albums since last update, rough standing (changes can definitely still happen)

Avenged Sevenfold - Life Is But A dream
Delain - Dark Waters
Ad Infinitum - Chapter III - Downfall
Code Orange - The Above
Haken - Fauna
Voyager - Fearless in Love
Avatar - Dance Devil Dance
Mammoth WVH - Mammoth II
Rave the Reqviem - EX-EDEN
VV - Neon Noir
Greta Van Fleet - Starcatcher
Kamelot - The Awakening
Within Temptation - Bleed Out
The Winery Dogs - III
Babymetal - The Other One
Xandria - The Wonders Still Awaiting
Metallica - 72 Seasons
In Flames - Forgone
Bouncing Souls - Ten Stories High
Rancid - Tomorrow Never Comes
Steel Panther - On The Prowl

still want to check out (in order of likeliness I actually listen to them this year):

Beartooth - The Surface
Twilight Force - At the Heart of Wintervale
Eclipse - Megalomainum
Cyhra - The Vertigo Trigger

DGM comes out in November and I have high expectations on that making my list.

[jingle.boy]

Marc ... If you dig that Eclipse and Cyhra album, try Creye / III:Weightless.  Autumn's Child might float your boat too.

Did you check out Tygers of Pan Tang?

[jingle.boy]

DGM comes out in November and I have high expectations on that making my list.

Same.  Along with Angra.

[cramx3]

Marc ... If you dig that Eclipse and Cyhra album, try Creye / III:Weightless.  Autumn's Child might float your boat too.

Did you check out Tygers of Pan Tang?

I heard the Cyhra album sucks so it got pushed to the bottom.  I mostly forgot about Eclipse and haaven't heard anything.  Not familiar with the others.

DGM comes out in November and I have high expectations on that making my list.

Same.  Along with Angra.

Didn't realize their album was close to release, I'll have to check that out too then

[jingle.boy]

Marc ... If you dig that Eclipse and Cyhra album, try Creye / III:Weightless.  Autumn's Child might float your boat too.

Did you check out Tygers of Pan Tang?

I heard the Cyhra album sucks so it got pushed to the bottom.  I mostly forgot about Eclipse and haaven't heard anything.  Not familiar with the others.

DGM comes out in November and I have high expectations on that making my list.

Same.  Along with Angra.

Didn't realize their album was close to release, I'll have to check that out too then

Eclipse was unmemorable; Cyrha was not terrible.

[Pappy]

Totally forgot Eclipse came out with one. That being said Megalomainum is the most Eclipse album title I've ever heard.

[jingle.boy]

Totally forgot Eclipse came out with one. That being said Megalomainum is the most Eclipse album title I've ever heard.

When you listen, it's also the most Eclipse sounding album you'll ever hear.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Still so much to hear and so many albums to revisit, but here is the top 40 or so for now.

Anubis Gate - Interference
Autumn's Grey Solace - Cease To Exist
Bastard Grave - Vortex of Disgust
Blackbriar - A Dark Euphony
Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want To Turn Into You
Conspiracy of Zero - Anthos arouris
Daughter - Stereo Mind Game
Delain - Dark Waters
Depeche Mode - Memento mori
District 97 - Stay For the Ending
Ellevere - Reminiscence
Elysion - Bring Out Your Dead
Esben & The Witch - Hold Sacred
FVNERALS - Let the Earth Be Silent
Grave Pleasures - Plagueboys
GUNSHIP - Unicorn
Hanging Garden - The Garden
KANGA - Under Glass
Karnataka - Requiem For a Dream
Katatonia - Sky Void of Stars
Lights - dEd
Mega Drive - 200XAD
Mercenary - Soundtrack For the End Times
mind.in.a.box - Black and White
Moonlight Sorcery - Horned Lord of the Thorned Castle
Nickel Creek - Celebrants
Paramore - This Is Why
PRVIS - Evergreen
Rannoch - Conflagrations
Rise To Fall - The Fifth Dimension
Scar Symmetry - The Singularity (Phase II - Xenotaph)
Soen - Memorial
Sulphur Aeon - Seven Crowns and Seven Seals
Svalbard - The Weight of the Mask
TesseracT - War of Being
The Answer Lies in the Black Void - Thou Shalt
The Jordan - Nowhere Near the Sky
The Keening - Little Bird
Ulfud - Of Existential Distortion
Vintersea - Woven Into Ashes
Volkor X - The Loop
Wytch Hazel - IV: Sacrament

A few EPs/splits:

Dirt Poor Robins - Prelude To Firebird
Drab Majesty - An Object In Motion
Dream Unending/Worm - Starpath
Iress - Solace
Kate Havnevik - Spark!
MMXX - The Next Wave
The Foreshadowing - Forsaken Songs

And a live album:

The Midnight - Red, White, and Bruised: The Midnight Live

[Sacul]

I've only listened to a handful of 2023 releases, but here they are:

Steven Wilson - The Harmony Codex

Lucy Liyou - Dog Dreams
George Clanton - Ooh I Rap Ya

Lana del Rey - Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd
Paramore - This is Why
Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want to Turn Into You

King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard - PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation
Travis Scott - UTOPIA
slowthai - UGLY
Squid - O Monolith
Swans - The Beggar

[jingle.boy]

Still so much to hear and so many albums to revisit, but here is the top 40 or so for now.

Anubis Gate - Interference
Autumn's Grey Solace - Cease To Exist
Bastard Grave - Vortex of Disgust
Blackbriar - A Dark Euphony
Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want To Turn Into You
Conspiracy of Zero - Anthos arouris
Daughter - Stereo Mind Game
Delain - Dark Waters
Depeche Mode - Memento mori
District 97 - Stay For the Ending
Ellevere - Reminiscence
Elysion - Bring Out Your Dead
Esben & The Witch - Hold Sacred
FVNERALS - Let the Earth Be Silent
Grave Pleasures - Plagueboys
GUNSHIP - Unicorn
Hanging Garden - The Garden
KANGA - Under Glass
Karnataka - Requiem For a Dream
Katatonia - Sky Void of Stars
Lights - dEd
Mega Drive - 200XAD
Mercenary - Soundtrack For the End Times
mind.in.a.box - Black and White
Moonlight Sorcery - Horned Lord of the Thorned Castle
Nickel Creek - Celebrants
Paramore - This Is Why
PRVIS - Evergreen
Rannoch - Conflagrations
Rise To Fall - The Fifth Dimension
Scar Symmetry - The Singularity (Phase II - Xenotaph)
Soen - Memorial
Sulphur Aeon - Seven Crowns and Seven Seals
Svalbard - The Weight of the Mask
TesseracT - War of Being
The Answer Lies in the Black Void - Thou Shalt
The Jordan - Nowhere Near the Sky
The Keening - Little Bird
Ulfud - Of Existential Distortion
Vintersea - Woven Into Ashes
Volkor X - The Loop
Wytch Hazel - IV: Sacrament

A few EPs/splits:

Dirt Poor Robins - Prelude To Firebird
Drab Majesty - An Object In Motion
Dream Unending/Worm - Starpath
Iress - Solace
Kate Havnevik - Spark!
MMXX - The Next Wave
The Foreshadowing - Forsaken Songs

And a live album:

The Midnight - Red, White, and Bruised: The Midnight Live

I legit have not even sampled a single one of these. 

[LithoJazzoSphere]

I thought you liked Mercenary enough that you were thinking of sending something from them in TAC's roulette?  A lot of these are pretty niche, but I imagine some would appeal to you.

[lonestar]

Still so much to hear and so many albums to revisit, but here is the top 40 or so for now.

Anubis Gate - Interference
Autumn's Grey Solace - Cease To Exist
Bastard Grave - Vortex of Disgust
Blackbriar - A Dark Euphony
Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want To Turn Into You
Conspiracy of Zero - Anthos arouris
Daughter - Stereo Mind Game
Delain - Dark Waters
Depeche Mode - Memento mori
District 97 - Stay For the Ending
Ellevere - Reminiscence
Elysion - Bring Out Your Dead
Esben & The Witch - Hold Sacred
FVNERALS - Let the Earth Be Silent
Grave Pleasures - Plagueboys
GUNSHIP - Unicorn
Hanging Garden - The Garden
KANGA - Under Glass
Karnataka - Requiem For a Dream
Katatonia - Sky Void of Stars
Lights - dEd
Mega Drive - 200XAD
Mercenary - Soundtrack For the End Times
mind.in.a.box - Black and White
Moonlight Sorcery - Horned Lord of the Thorned Castle
Nickel Creek - Celebrants
Paramore - This Is Why
PRVIS - Evergreen
Rannoch - Conflagrations
Rise To Fall - The Fifth Dimension
Scar Symmetry - The Singularity (Phase II - Xenotaph)
Soen - Memorial
Sulphur Aeon - Seven Crowns and Seven Seals
Svalbard - The Weight of the Mask
TesseracT - War of Being
The Answer Lies in the Black Void - Thou Shalt
The Jordan - Nowhere Near the Sky
The Keening - Little Bird
Ulfud - Of Existential Distortion
Vintersea - Woven Into Ashes
Volkor X - The Loop
Wytch Hazel - IV: Sacrament

A few EPs/splits:

Dirt Poor Robins - Prelude To Firebird
Drab Majesty - An Object In Motion
Dream Unending/Worm - Starpath
Iress - Solace
Kate Havnevik - Spark!
MMXX - The Next Wave
The Foreshadowing - Forsaken Songs

And a live album:

The Midnight - Red, White, and Bruised: The Midnight Live

I legit have not even sampled a single one of these. 

Not even the Scar Symmetry? I'd think that'd be in your wheelhouse, some seriously sick guitar work on that one.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Tons of growls though.

[jingle.boy]

I thought you liked Mercenary enough that you were thinking of sending something from them in TAC's roulette?  A lot of these are pretty niche, but I imagine some would appeal to you.

Oh shit, you're right.  I missed that on your list. Recommend me one or two that I should give a go at.

@ RJ... I've tried SS before, but kinda meh due to the grow factor.  I'll give this one a spin and see if my opinion changes.... edit - the first 10 seconds did not help your case.  Sick guitar work or not, the growls are killing me.  YOU KNOW MY EARS ARE DELICATE FLOWERS!!!! 

[LithoJazzoSphere]

I really should wait to see if I get invited to your roulette first in case I want to use them.     I have no shortage of older stuff anyway though.

Anubis Gate is probably the best bet.  Prog/power, not unknown, but they should be way bigger than they are given DTF's tastes. 

Blackbriar and Delain are symphonic metal with female leads, among the better bands of their kind.  A bit of harsh vocals in Delain, but not too much. 

Karnataka is more neo-prog esque, female lead.  Not far off something like Mostly Autumn or Magenta if you know them.

District 97 is kind of hard to describe, but it seems they're starting to blow up.  Female lead, kind of art/alt prog rock/metal, quite interesting. 

TesseracT and Soen are 2nd/3rd-tier DTF favorites that I would think you'd have at least heard something earlier from.  TesseracT is djenty and has some harsh vocals, but not overbearingly so.  Soen is more Tool-ish, but excellent. 

Wytch Hazel is throwback hard rock/trad metal, Thin Lizzy-ish, one of TAC's favorites that I sent in his previous roulette. 

[jingle.boy]

Yeah... I know Delain, but stopped following after Charlotte left.

Anubis Gate ... I'm sure I've heard something of theirs at some point.  I think someone gave them to me in a roulette before, but can't remember how they did.

District 97... have they been around for a while, because the name sounds familiar.

Tesseract - pretty sure I tried them at some point, but was unimpressed.  Definitely tried them an wasn't impressed.  I think they keep coming up in my Spotify Radar when there's a new release, and they both get a quick skip, iirc.

Wytch Hazel... another name that sounds familiar.

I know Mostly Autumn, so maybe I'll give Karnataka a go at some point - but not until after my roulette ... in case you end up playing.

[nick_z]

Anubis Gate ... I'm sure I've heard something of theirs at some point.  I think someone gave them to me in a roulette before, but can't remember how they did.

I would highly recommend checking them out again. They are really good. Try "The Detached" (2009) for the period with Jacob Hansen on vocals and "Anubis Gate" (2011) for the period with Henrik Fevre...Litho might have different recs, but these two might be my overall favorites of theirs.

But, yes, back to 2023, their album this year was great too. It was a real grower.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Yeah... I know Delain, but stopped following after Charlotte left.

Anubis Gate ... I'm sure I've heard something of theirs at some point.  I think someone gave them to me in a roulette before, but can't remember how they did.

District 97... have they been around for a while, because the name sounds familiar.

I was really apprehensive about Charlotte leaving as well, but I was pleasantly surprised with Diana on the new one.  She's probably trying a bit too hard to sound like Charlotte (might be at Martijn's behest), but it works way better than it has any right to.  It doesn't top their best earlier albums, but it exceeded my expectations. 

Anubis Gate is really consistent, so there aren't really any wrong answers, but I might agree with Nick on The Detached, though Covered In Black is way up there for me as well.  I know Puppies said he likes Andromeda Unchained, and that's quite popular as well. 

District 97 definitely isn't a new band, their first album was in '10, but I didn't even know they existed until a few years ago, and didn't start hearing any hype for them at all until relatively recently, and they're still quite under the radar for most people.

[SwedishGoose]

Currently I'm looking at:

1. Peter Gabriel - i/o

Techcnically I have not heard the album. But with 11 of 12 songs released so far I feeI can safely say this comes up top.

2. Steven Wilson - Harmony Codex
3. Doris Brendel and Lee Dunham - Pigs Might Fly

4. Myrkur - Spine
5. Rain - Radio Silence

6. Riverside - ID.Entity
7. Big Big Train - Ingnious Devices
8. Arjen Lucassen's Supersonic Revolution - Golden Age of Music
9. Myrkur - Ragnarök
10. The Flower Kings - Look At You Now

[cramx3]

Yeah... I know Delain, but stopped following after Charlotte left.

Anubis Gate ... I'm sure I've heard something of theirs at some point.  I think someone gave them to me in a roulette before, but can't remember how they did.

District 97... have they been around for a while, because the name sounds familiar.

I was really apprehensive about Charlotte leaving as well, but I was pleasantly surprised with Diana on the new one.  She's probably trying a bit too hard to sound like Charlotte (might be at Martijn's behest), but it works way better than it has any right to.  It doesn't top their best earlier albums, but it exceeded my expectations. 

New Delain is awesome, maybe the best Delain album. Diana is great in her own way.  I do think she's very similar to Charlotte and since the guitarist asked me at Progpower "Do we sound the same?" and I said yes, I think they are going for a very similar style with her. 

[LithoJazzoSphere]

4. Myrkur - Spine
9. Myrkur - Ragnarök

I listened to these a couple days ago.  They'll need more plays, but they seemed to be solid and on par with her earlier work. 

[twosuitsluke]

4. Myrkur - Spine
9. Myrkur - Ragnarök

I listened to these a couple days ago.  They'll need more plays, but they seemed to be solid and on par with her earlier work.

I listened to Spine (and quite enjoyed it) but didn't realise Ragnarök came out this year as well.

[NoseofNicko]

I've only listened to a handful of 2023 releases, but here they are:

Steven Wilson - The Harmony Codex

Lucy Liyou - Dog Dreams
George Clanton - Ooh I Rap Ya

Lana del Rey - Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd
Paramore - This is Why
Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want to Turn Into You

King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard - PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation
Travis Scott - UTOPIA
slowthai - UGLY
Squid - O Monolith
Swans - The Beggar

No Sufjan?

[Sacul]

Hadn't listened to it enough back when I made the post, but yeah, I'd def include it in the top 3.

[Dr. DTVT]

Chad, have you checked out Soen?  Not saying their new album is their best, but it is solid and not too dissimilar to their previous albums.

[wolfking]

I thought you liked Mercenary enough that you were thinking of sending something from them in TAC's roulette?  A lot of these are pretty niche, but I imagine some would appeal to you.

Oh shit, you're right.  I missed that on your list. Recommend me one or two that I should give a go at.

@ RJ... I've tried SS before, but kinda meh due to the grow factor.  I'll give this one a spin and see if my opinion changes.... edit - the first 10 seconds did not help your case.  Sick guitar work or not, the growls are killing me.  YOU KNOW MY EARS ARE DELICATE FLOWERS!!!! 

  Scar Symmetry is almost AOR it's so light.

[jingle.boy]

I thought you liked Mercenary enough that you were thinking of sending something from them in TAC's roulette?  A lot of these are pretty niche, but I imagine some would appeal to you.

Oh shit, you're right.  I missed that on your list. Recommend me one or two that I should give a go at.

@ RJ... I've tried SS before, but kinda meh due to the grow factor.  I'll give this one a spin and see if my opinion changes.... edit - the first 10 seconds did not help your case.  Sick guitar work or not, the growls are killing me.  YOU KNOW MY EARS ARE DELICATE FLOWERS!!!! 

  Scar Symmetry is almost AOR it's so light.

When it comes to the non growl vocals, I couldn't agree more.  It's like Eclipse, ffs.  So the dichotomy of that and the growls is REALLY jarring.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

I thought you liked Mercenary enough that you were thinking of sending something from them in TAC's roulette?  A lot of these are pretty niche, but I imagine some would appeal to you.

Oh shit, you're right.  I missed that on your list. Recommend me one or two that I should give a go at.

@ RJ... I've tried SS before, but kinda meh due to the grow factor.  I'll give this one a spin and see if my opinion changes.... edit - the first 10 seconds did not help your case.  Sick guitar work or not, the growls are killing me.  YOU KNOW MY EARS ARE DELICATE FLOWERS!!!! 

  Scar Symmetry is almost AOR it's so light.

Their choruses and the occasional verse can certainly veer in that direction, but there's nothing particularly "light" about something like the title track "Pitch Black Progress". 

[wolfking]

I thought you liked Mercenary enough that you were thinking of sending something from them in TAC's roulette?  A lot of these are pretty niche, but I imagine some would appeal to you.

Oh shit, you're right.  I missed that on your list. Recommend me one or two that I should give a go at.

@ RJ... I've tried SS before, but kinda meh due to the grow factor.  I'll give this one a spin and see if my opinion changes.... edit - the first 10 seconds did not help your case.  Sick guitar work or not, the growls are killing me.  YOU KNOW MY EARS ARE DELICATE FLOWERS!!!! 

  Scar Symmetry is almost AOR it's so light.

When it comes to the non growl vocals, I couldn't agree more.  It's like Eclipse, ffs.  So the dichotomy of that and the growls is REALLY jarring.

I can see that with the newer stuff and the current singers.  I haven't bothered with Eclipse for a few albums.  They just kinda piss me off now.

[wolfking]

I thought you liked Mercenary enough that you were thinking of sending something from them in TAC's roulette?  A lot of these are pretty niche, but I imagine some would appeal to you.

Oh shit, you're right.  I missed that on your list. Recommend me one or two that I should give a go at.

@ RJ... I've tried SS before, but kinda meh due to the grow factor.  I'll give this one a spin and see if my opinion changes.... edit - the first 10 seconds did not help your case.  Sick guitar work or not, the growls are killing me.  YOU KNOW MY EARS ARE DELICATE FLOWERS!!!! 

  Scar Symmetry is almost AOR it's so light.

Their choruses and the occasional verse can certainly veer in that direction, but there's nothing particularly "light" about something like the title track "Pitch Black Progress".

Oh no, I agree there.  That whole album is a monster.  I was more meaning the newer stuff.  The last one was fine but there's something off about the new one for me.  The melodies and the cleans just don't gel that well for me.  As Chad said, jarring is a good word.  I'm gonna go back to it though as I've loved pretty much everything they have done up til now.