Best of 2023: Annual Review

As if it was yesterday that I was writing the annual review for 2022, miles away from everything that was about to happen, literally and figuratively, and here we are already wrapping up 2023 and looking at the vast unknown that is 2024. Against the increasingly frenzied, peculiar and uncontrollable world that we live in, existing and artificial, with actual friends, families and jobs as real and influential to out fragile existence as online communities, social media and AI advice, my live changed radically, thankfully all for the better. Between getting married, moving countries, changing career and buying my first car, 2023 for me was all but uneventful and naturally I had to slow down with the reviews.

I say this but then as I compare the numbers between 2022 and 2023, wrote just about 6 articles less, which isn't bad, all things considered. The past year presented us with countless opportunities to once again dive into the turbulent international modern metal waters and the wonderful distant shores of contemporary -core music in all its rich, fluid and ever-expanding nature. I'm finding it hard to compare tha last 12 months with 2022, 2021 and 2020 because this period was pretty much a blur for everyone, and the social, cultural and political context enhanced absolutely every aspect of our lives and especially finding shelter in our favourite music. All this said, 2023 more than delivered and carried on with all the trends, bands and personalities that spawned since the new 20s began.

For the last two years, I have done these annual reviews pretty much for my own amusement, and I have always started with a little overview of what Spotify and my personal spreadsheets tell me about the past year in numbers and data. I always try to listen to as many new bands as possible, explore more new countries, try out new genres and discover underdogs, and now that I look back at the last 365 days, I am proud that I managed to stick to these habits. Spotify tells me I am a shapeshifter and as far as music is concerned I can definitely recognise myself in that. Apparently I listened to 2072 bands and 107 and genres, metalcore naturally topping that list. I also listened to a total of 242 individual releases, of which 153 full traditional studio albums, 47 EPs and the other 41 consisting of reissues, live albums, anniversary drops and just about everything inbetween. Not bad.

As usual, the following paragraphs will go over everything that made a lasting positive impression in me. If you follow this page then you know all to well that I am not concerned with release that I don't like or somehow disappoint me and tend to focus only on the good, the great and the absolute best that defined 2023 and became the soundtrack of another great year and what will likely remain one of the most amazing periods of my live. The usual modern heroes and legacy acts dominated that period, with the likes of Sleep Token, Bad Omens, Spiritbox and Bring Me The Horizon completely dominating the headlines, in most cases absolutely deservedly, alongside several rising acts that managed to make some noise for themselves and squeeze in some memorable and promising debuts.

If there is one trend or specific feature that defined the past year in music, is that everything just got a lot more intense. This follows the direction that the entire modern metal scene has been taking since the pandemic, but now that we kinda got back to normal, the contemporary music industry just kept on getting bolder, weirder and straight-up hornier, thanks to some of the bands I mentioned above and the completely uncontrollable cult fan bases and thirst traps all over TikTok. On one hand we had people obsessing over sexy breakdowns, smooth grooves and seductive yet unknown identities, while on another few genious nerds created what is probably the first official AI metal band Frostbite Orckings. So yeah, 2023 was all but uneventful so 2024 will have to try hard.

For me, the year before was heavily dominated by Austrialian bands, mostly due to the wonderful work at UNFD's headquarters but also largely due to the fact that just about every big Aussie bands dropped new music in 2022. This is not to say that the Upside Down was quiet in 2023 with Polaris, Earth Caller and many others dropping brilliant releases, but I think the scene there took a well-deserved breather and is about to return with a blast in 2024. Ironically, my personal label of the year was undoubtedly SharpTone Records, whose brightest star in 2023 was indeed Polaris, but their continuously brilliant work extend far beyond regional and genre boundaries and deserve all the credit for it.

With that in mind, I would say there wasn't a single country that made the biggest noise, although Europe as a whole region made the biggest impact. The upheaval across the entire metal scene at the entire continent continued with full force and reached a whole new level with more countries joining in and leaving their mark. On one side, we had traditional powerhouses represented by a fair share of old and new bands, but the real heroes of 2023 were those unlikely entries like Italy's very special Dead Like Juliet and Elyne, Belgiums' newcomers Ice Sealed Eyes and Suasion, Norway's modern visionaries Atena, Switzerland's Polar Shift and Uncircle, and even Bulgaria's rapcore flagmen Badcast.

Of the bigger countries in the European metal scene, Sweden was probably the one that dominated the year with the likes of In Flames, Orbit Culture, Humanity's Last Breath and Scar Symmetry sharing exceptional new albums, and Imminense, thrown and Aviana gearing up for an even bigger 2024. Germany was expectedly active with my favourites Annisokay dropping a fantastic EP, and many rising acts like Pathwalker, Artemis Rising, HumanKind, Half Me and MAVIS making powerful statements with their new releases, while Electric Callboy, Future Palace and Rising Insane will likely return to the forefront next year. Last but not least, France saw Resolve and ten56. premiere great LPs, but I can only imagine Gojira, Landmvrks and Novellists will start dropping new material very soon.

It is never a surprise seeing the UK absolute smash it across the board and 2023 was no different. The sensational modern metal amalgamation Take Me Back To Eden by Sleep Token expectedly became England's biggest export last year, backed by the hugely anticipated LP drops by the usual suspects Bury Tomorrow, Enter Shikari and Sylosis, reunited with their rifflord Josh Middleton. We saw Heart Of A Coward make a promising comeback and dare we add Yorkshire's very own Asking Alexandria to the UK mix what could easily be their best album to date? There were fantastic releases by potential legends of tomorrow such as Acres, Lake Malice, Hot Milk, Svalbard, Dying Wish, Polar and To Kill Achilles, and above all else can we just appreciate how awesome Skindred are?

I talk a lot about Australia and Central Europe but can we just stop for a moment and consider the insane amount of talent that just keeps coming from the UK? This is obviously not an isolated phenomenon but a continuous process that have given us some of the most influential bands in just about every metal genre out there, and keeps doing so. All those legends aside, next year is once again reserved for what could be considered the holy trinity of modern UK metal with Bring Me The Horizon still taking the world by storm with each single and teasing their second Post Human EP, While She Sleeps who will likely drop a huge album next quarter, and last but not least, Architects who absolutely stole the show in 2023 at the last minute with the killer standalone single 'Seeing Red'.

In all its glory, swagger and honesty, 'Seeing Red' would have been my song of the year if it wasn't for the extraordinary modern metal gem 'Antimatter' by the one and only Silent Planet who absolutely stole the show this year. The California quartet displayed the biggest growth, creativity and perfectionism in shaping their latest opus SUPERBLOOM which naturally ended as my number one AOTY for 2023. Speaking about their state, Cali was more active than any other part of the USA, with new music coming from every corner by the likes of Beartooth, Of Mice & Men, Crosses, In This Moment, Atreyu, Point North, Pierce The Veil, Devil Driver, Sullivan King, Avenged Sevenfold, (Hed) P.E. and Zebrahead.

Obviously there was modern music excellence coming from all the other parts of America but I do expect more activity next year, and looking at the albums and EPs in production, the ones being teased and the ones left at pure rumours, we will be looking at another killer year for the USA. Last but not least, I was particularly happy to see the recent trend of Canadian bands absolutely killing it at every genre they dabble in. Both the undisputed royalties Spiritbox and their equally brilliant compatriots in Brand of Sacrificy delivered stellar EPs and are already preparing their next big move, while the biggest surprises came from Quebecian newcomeres Frontières whose debut LP definitely left a mark on the scene.

All in all, 2023 was a beauty from start to finish and as usual I wish next to be year to be at least as awesome at the previous, at least in musical terms. A lot happened in the last 12 months and I am sure a lot is about to unfold in the next 12, but whatever happens you know two things for certain - the modern metal and alternative will keep getting bigger, louder and crazier, and I will be here to keep a close eye on what is worth your attention!

Best Releases of 2023 (LP & EP):

25. Linkin Park - Meteora (20th Anniversary Edition)

24. Crosses (†††) - Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete.

23. Skindred - Smile

22. PhaseOne - PhaseOne x UNFD

21. In Flames - Foregone

20. Frontières - La Trilogie

19. Left To Suffer - Noah

18. Elyne - IDENTITY

18. Crown The Empire - DOGMA

16. Bury Tomorrow - The Seventh Sun

15. Resolve - Human