This time last year I got a really great idea in my head: why not do four lists, as if I don’t have enough going on in my life already?  Please don’t misconstrue, I’m certainly not complaining about getting the opportunity to write about music.  I just knew that this now, completely in my own head, has to be an ongoing thing, whether I have the time or even the albums to flesh it out.  The last thing I want is to force something that just isn’t there, but fortunately…I don’t have to.  There was so much good this year that I almost immediately filled up several crucial spots on this, the metal-adjacent or too-heavy-to-be-non-metal list.  And sure, a lot of these releases could be theoretically called metal albums, but whatever.  It’s more albums that I loved this year at the end of the day, and I find myself with the time and gumption to write about them.  So keeping the column alive this year ended up being easier than I thought, if you could even call talking about albums that I loved this year “difficult”.  

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Mad Honey – Satellite Aphrodite

I really hope we get more Deathwish promos in 2024 (HINT HINT WINK WINK), because to me, Deathwish is one of those labels that is synonymous with “quality”.  Case in point, the debut from OKC’s Mad Honey, a shoegaze band that both perfectly encapsulates the Deathwish ethos and also manages to churn out some really catchy, really inventive shoegaze for the year 2023.  Satellite Aphrodite is the perfect blend of punky aggression, smooth shoegaze beauty, indie pop sensibilities and homegrown American fun.  The hooks are so incredibly strong on this one that I haven’t managed to put it down since I reviewed it.

Apparently I need to make a bigger deal out of people reading the review for this one, so one more shameless plug for it, in case Angela decides to deny me publicly again.

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Paramore – This is Why

I’m gonna be honest with y’all: I went through a period (high school, if you can believe it) where Paramore was a band I had a secret obsession with.  And then…there was a point where I detested almost everything they did.  I think I’m too old and too wise to toss around the phrase “sell out” unironically now, but it did seem that the stylistic change that Paramore drastically shifted to came at the expense of any interesting songwriting.  Imagine my surprise, then, when the youth put me on to This is Why and I find that not only do Paramore find themselves with a much more guitar forward sound again, but that Hayley Williams also brings in a hefty dose of honest, relatable and catchy lyrics.  The end result is maybe the most pleasant surprise of all of 2023 I’ve had.

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Big Garden – To the Rind

If you look at Big Garden as being “just” a Thou side project, you will probably also find an album that is to your liking, because what’s not to like about a Thou side project?  To me, though, To the Rind goes beyond that and taps so deeply into my love of classic alternative that I can’t help but smile ear to ear when I listen to it.  The guitar tones that both Thou and the 90’s alternative that Big Garden worships are fully on display here, and if nothing else, this album is pure audiophile and gear-freak worship.  It just so happens that it also is huge on riffs, hooks and catchy moments that make it a lot more than the sum of its parts.

Almost forgot that I reviewed this one too!

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BIG|BRAVE – nature morte

Speaking of tone worship, Canadian experimental voyeurs BIG|BRAVE came back with another doozy of a record.  It’s kind of a shame that I feel like nature morte got overshadowed by a lot of the other metal releases this year, because it packs a serious sonic punch from start to finish.  Tone and dynamics are the name of the game here too, and of course the various levels and types of distortion play in and out of Robin Waite’s voice perfectly.  I think, however, that BIG|BRAVE shines the brightest when they use the real secret weapon in their tone arsenal: nothing.  To borrow a phrase from my TV obsession this year, BIG|BRAVE use silence the way Van Gogh used yellow…effectively.

Okay, I actually did forget I reviewed this one.

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Svalbard – The Weight of the Mask

Nobody’s been on a tear like Svalbard has been on a tear.  Ever since It’s Hard to Have Hope the British quartet have compelled me to listen to them relentlessly, and every release has expanded upon and improved upon the last one.  Chris has already waxed poetic about this on his honorable mentions list, so I will merely echo the good things he already said: the polish and shine has never been brighter, which you would expect now that they are signed to a label like Nuclear Blast, but their bite has never been more ferocious either.  The shine and polish clearly didn’t come at the cost of any integrity, and The Weight of the Mask showcases the best of what each member can do flawlessly.

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Rancid – Tomorrow Never Comes

Perhaps /the/ preeminent legacy act of modern punk music, Rancid truly don’t know the meaning of the brake pedal.  While they haven’t put out a truly groundbreaking album since Indestructible, they have been on a steady tear of releasing solid albums that epitomize their singular style of pop-infused ska punk.  Tomorrow Never Comes injects a lot more hardcore energy back into the formula, almost hearkening back to 2000’s Rancid.  See the title track and the lead single “Don’t Make Me Do It” to get in the spirit, but also don’t sleep on the classic Rancid vibes of “The Bloody and Violent History” and “New American”.  And if you didn’t know already, it can’t be understated what a goddamn powerhouse Matt Freeman is, so any new music with his signature thunderous stamp on it is like a warm pair of sweatpants fresh out of the dryer.

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Capra – Errors

In the blink of an eye, Capra became an intensely meaningful band in my life.  In Transmission is an album I spun over and over and over again, because of how real and honest it felt.  Couple that with being able to listen to interviews with Crow and see some of the content she created in the time since, and Errors feels like reuniting with an old friend.  And what a reunion it was.  All of us here have been waiting eagerly for the follow up to In Transmission, and Errors picks up exactly where that debut left off and carries the band even farther forward.  Nobody does anything close to the stanky, filthy and righteous Louisiana hardcore that Capra does, but the presence that Crow brings to the front of the band is what really sets them above their peers.

I could never forget that I reviewed this one.  And you shouldn’t forget that Buke did another excellent interview with Crow!

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Dreamwell – In My Saddest Dreams, I Am Beside You

Screamo’s not dead, and it’s not even sleeping.  You just need to know where to look.  And if you didn’t think of Providence, Rhode Island, as a place to look for good screamo, I guess you can’t be blamed.  But consider yourself warned now, because you are going to be hearing a lot more about Dreamwell now that In My Saddest Dreams is out there.  This is the kind of screamo that ties the warm nostalgia I feel with the genre to modern songwriting and aesthetics.  In My Saddest Dreams is a vital album, from voices that desperately need more representation in the heavy music scene, but on top of it all, this album takes everything that was good about Modern Grotesque, turns it on its head and makes it great.  

Like a phoenix from the flames, Vincent has arisen to grace us with words, specifically about this here album.

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blink-182 – One More Time…

Let me be perfectly clear about one thing: if I could have picked any person under the sun to replace Tom DeLonge in blink-182, I would have picked Matt Skiba too.  While I found California and Nine to be hit-or-miss mostly, it wasn’t because he wasn’t a good fit for the band.  It was all about the bloat and production for me.  So when I heard that Tom was back and there was going to be a new album, I had a feeling it would be a nice nostalgia trip, but an album that was mostly hit-or-miss.  I was wrong.  This is the best blink album since 2009’s untitled album, and it’s more than just the nostalgia driving the band.  There is a fun, an honesty and a camaraderie that has been missing, and that shows in the fact that the album is stacked with songs that are emotionally heavy, insanely catchy and the most punk they have sounded in years.

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The Callous Daoboys – God Smiles Upon the Callous Daoboys

Whatever the Callous Daoboys are on, I want some.  They have only been getting weirder and more unique with every release that they have put out in the last few years.  God Smiles comes hot on the heels of Celebrity Therapist, but in even the short amount of time between these releases the band has progressed immensely.  In just three songs and eighteen minutes, the band dances between mathcore, death metal, pop, jazz, hip hop, punk and electronic.  And it all sounds effortless, like they’re not even breaking a sweat blending all these instruments and all these styles in a way that never loses its musical focus.  To say I am eager for what comes next is an understatement, because clearly nobody could possibly predict the sounds we’re gonna get.

Want to know what wine pairs best with this EP?  It’s not the one you think!

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I think I like keeping this one around.  If nothing else, it gives me a chance to wax a little poetic about more albums that I’ve been into, and that’s never a bad thing.  But sometimes albums like this get overlooked because we spend so much time hemming and hawing about what’s “metal” and “non-metal”, so much so that we miss the forest for the trees.  Maybe these aren’t metal albums, but they’re heavy enough or fast enough or loud enough to count in my book.  If you’re looking for something outside the usual spectrum of your listening, these are as good as any death metal album you’ve heard this year.

-Ian