2023 was a whirlwind. It started with an amazing trip to California where we visited Vincent and also had the immense pleasure of meeting some other 9C family members—Colin and Hera. We then returned home to a flooded basement and a dog in need of surgery due to an aggressive cancerous tumor in her jaw. The middle of the year was spent attending to the chaos while I also started a new job. The highs and lows have been extreme but thankfully we were able to end the year on a high note and carry those good vibes into the new year. Our beloved dog is still going strong with part of her jaw missing but doing well and feisty as ever. In November I got to say “yes” to my person as he got down on one knee in the woods and proposed. We are carrying these delightful feelings of love and joy into 2024 and hopefully embarking on a way less dramatic year.
On a less personal note, the music that 2023 delivered is outstanding. I enjoyed many metal and non-metal releases that carried me through to the end of December. Instead of doing multiple lists, I am jam packing this one with my favorites. What I love about the end of year season is the variety of lists we put out there and how diverse our tastes are with some overlapping favorites. Those who are familiar with my reviews and/or The Nine Circles Audio Thing know that my musical interests tend to favor the doomy, female-fronted, dreamy, shoegaze-y, dark, spooky, sad and slow variety. That being said, these lists consist of my personal favorites and albums that spoke to me. Each year I struggle with the placement of my albums as some of my favorites tend to teeter on the line of metal. I decided not to agonize over that this year and just go with my heart. We’ll call this my list of metal and metalish (metal enough?) albums.
Let’s crack into it!
The Honorable Mentions
Wayfarer – American Gothic
I ended up bumping this down to my honorable mentions simply because this is a 9C favorite and I think between our collective lists, a full review, and a podcast episode about it, there is not much more I can add. It certainly deserves all the talk and recognition, it is an amazing album, but I wanted to bring some other albums into the spotlight. That being said, I do love American Gothic and think it might be the best in Wayfarer’s already stacked discography.
Check out Chris’s review here and our album of the month podcast episode here.
Capra – Errors
Capra is such a kickass band and they have been making waves since their 2021 debut full length. The energy and passion Capra brings is impressive and infectious. Hardcore at its finest, Errors combines yelled vocals, erratic drumming, gut punching riffs, and lyrics that hit hard and hit home.
Check out Ian’s review here and Buke’s interview with Crow Lotus here.
Ragana – Desolation’s Flower
I embarrassingly texted Vincent saying “Hey I think you would like this album” after they mentioned it on our October album of the month podcast episode. Whoops! I must have spaced out for a moment in the recording but I stand by the recommendation from both of us as Desolation’s Flower is an awesome album created by awesome people. It is full of black metal, doom, antifascism, and screams to pierce your soul.
Divide and Dissolve – Systemic
This unique band creates crushing sounds powerful enough to speak to their Māori and Cherokee ancestors. Adding in piano, synths, saxophone, and orchestral passages makes for an equally devastating and beautiful album. The driving passion behind Systemic is felt in each track as a call to action. Divide and Dissolve know how to create albums that listeners experience, not just hear.
Bell Witch – Future’s Shadow Part 1: The Clandestine Gate
This is certainly a Bell Witch album. I do not think the creative duo will be throwing any curveballs at us anytime soon, but what they are doing is ambitious and amazing. Almost three hours of crawling vastness, this album is full of synths, symphonic percussion, riffs, and droning vocals.
An Autumn for Crippled Children – Closure
Compared to previous releases, Closure feels a little more upbeat and hopeful. Of course there are still some signature An Autumn for Crippled Children pain and anguish heard, but the album offers more of a catharsis. I also enjoy the heavier use of synths and some tones sprinkled in that I would categorize as cartoonish which adds a touch of whimsy.
Check out Hera’s review here.
Mizmor – Prosaic
Venturing deeper into black metal and deciding to create something less existential and more grounded, Mizmor created this four track album. It is very honest and more straight to the point than previous releases. Mizmor (A.L.N) is a talented and creative person that knows how to compose emotional and thought-provoking music.
Check out Ian’s review here.
REZN – Solace
This is my favorite REZN album to date. It is dynamic and interesting. Included in their signature heavy psych sound is some unique instrumentation including sax, flute, and rainstick. The little girl inside me who loved Natural Wonders stores in the 90s and world music is super excited by the addition of rainstick.
Check out my review here.
Hail the Void – Memento Mori
This is the sophomore release from Canadian doom trio Hail the Void. It is full of atmospheric passages, hazy doom riffs, wailing vocals, crashing drums, and killer guitar solos. There are some sludgy elements and some classic rock elements sprinkled in as well.
Check out my review here
The Best
9. Agriculture – Agriculture
This album grew on me more and more throughout the year with each listen. There are so many interesting elements that make this something unique. The black metal ferocity with calmer, slower, instrumental interludes gives the flow a nice balance. It goes by fast with only a little over a half hour runtime but each fleeting moment is significant. Agriculture describes their sound as “ecstatic black metal” and it is easy to see why in this release. There is a joy packed into it that usually isn’t found in the genre. The anguished vocals and rapid screeching tones feel so free and cathartic. It is a fun listen and one I revisit frequently.
Check out our album of the month podcast episode here.
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8. Acid King – Beyond Vision
Acid King is a band that is near and dear to me. Frontwoman Lori S. is from my neck of the woods (quite literally as the band has an album titled Busse Woods which is nearby) and their music sparked my love of stoner doom. Beyond Vision is a sort of grand return as the band hadn’t released an album since 2015. This may be one of their heaviest yet with vast instrumental moments of slow riffs. Psychedelic jams add a dreamy quality and Lori’s vocals are as hypnotizing as ever. I am so happy to see this band back in action and I hope they have more up their sleeves to hit us with soon after this long awaited return.
Check out D. Morris’s review here.
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7. Panopticon – The Rime of Memory
Austin Lunn can do no wrong. I am in constant awe of his talent, and his years of dedication and passion is very evident in this album. The Rime of Memory is emotional and extremely powerful. It is cinematic with added dramatics of a choir, strings, and even the sound of a bell tower tolling. The variety of instrumentation is so well employed adding extra emotion and emphasis without pulling focus away from any other component. The diversity of sounds and use of songwriting creates such a captivating listening experience and I find something new to appreciate and enjoy in each revisit. This release is robust and moving and is one of my favorite Panopticon albums to date.
Check out our album of the month podcast episode here.
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6. Afsky – Om hundrede år
Denmark’s Afsky has been a favorite artist of mine in recent years and continues to put out steller albums. I love when artists combine black metal with folk, especially when they utilize instruments and techniques significant to them and their culture. Om hundrede år leans more heavily into the black metal side of things compared to previous releases, but acoustic guitar interludes and atmospherics of nature are still found sprinkled throughout. Similar to Panopticon, Afsky is a passion project with one individual behind it all—Ole Pedersen Luk. Another extremely talented individual with a gift for songwriting, this album is a journey and one that is not to be missed.
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5. BIG|BRAVE – nature morte
BIG|BRAVE has been absolutely crushing it lately with their discography creating some of their best work in recent years. This album is emotional and cathartic with wailing lyrics on top of banging drums and screeching, distorted guitars. No one is doing what BIG|BRAVE is doing. They create space by stretching out tones, varying tempos, and utilizing silence in a way that is captivating and builds anticipation before delivering a gut punch of a lyric or beat. I can easily lose myself in one of their albums and nature morte is no exception. It may be my favorite of theirs yet.
Check out Ian’s review here.
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4. Full of Hell and Nothing – When No Birds Sang
I love when Full of Hell does collaborations. They work with some amazing bands and these albums end up being very interesting and so well crafted. When I heard that they were doing a collab with Nothing, one of my favorite bands, I could not wait for its release. When No Birds Sang was released in December but it immediately jumped into my list and placed pretty high up because I am enamored with it. The combination of Full of Hell’s abrasive grindcore with Nothing’s shoegaze is unexpected but somehow perfect. I love the harsh vocals mixed with swirling melodies. The rise and fall of ferocity with dreamy interludes has listeners dive in with high energy and then leave room to breathe and appreciate these impressive compositions. Hearing the two bands come together and create this unique album is such a treat.
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3. Oldest Sea – A Birdsong, A Ghost
I have to thank one of our Top Brass here at 9C, Josh, for originally sending this album my way or I might have missed it. He knew this album would speak to me and I am grateful that he brought it to my attention. A Birdsong, A Ghost is Oldest Sea’s debut full length and it is truly special. It combines haunting atmospherics, funeral doom, a hint of folk, and clean anguished vocals full of emotion and depth. This is an album to completely lose yourself in and let the music envelop and wash over you. It is poetic and moving with a slow pace that lets you take in and savor each note.
Check out my review here and our profile on Andrew and Samantha Marandola here.
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2. Myrkur – Spine
Even though this album was released late in the year, it was featured heavily in my Spotify Wrapped meaning I listened to it A LOT. Track “Valkyriernes Sang” is one I can have on repeat and never tire of it. It is one of my favorite tracks of the year. Myrkur has dabbled in both black metal and folk and Spine perfectly intertwines the two. I chose to write up my original review as a Rainbows in the Dark because I thought the overall feel was less metal-y and more folk-y but it is such a favorite of mine that I had to include it here in my main list. This album is emotional, catchy, diverse, and simply beautiful. Myrkur’s reverberating vocals ring out above marching guitar lines, whimsical piano, and soaring melodies. The music has brought me to tears and has given me goosebumps. Spine is a work of art and worth every listen.
Check out my review here.
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1. Fvnerals – Let the Earth be Silent
This album was released in February so it has been lingering in my mind for the majority of the year and one I revisited frequently. It was my first review of 2023 and I am so happy to talk about it again here and come full circle. This has everything I could want in an album and more, down to the album art. It’s dark, heavy, macabre and has ethereal vocals that make the music haunting and alluring at the same time. There are sonic soundscapes that stir ominous feelings while also pulling listeners in and letting them sink weightless into the sounds. Let the Earth be Silent continues to captivate and never relents.
Check out my review here.
The Softer Jams
In no particular order, this is a list of my favorite Rainbows in the Dark/softer jams from 2023.
boygenius – the record
Daughter – Stereo Mind Game
Osi And The Jupiter – Cedar & Sage (Riders of the Gallows Vol. 1)
Esben and the Witch – Hold Sacred
Midwife and Vyva Melinkolya – Orbweaving (Check out Vincent’s review here)
Sigur Rós – ÁTTA
bdrmm – I Don’t Know (Check out my review here)
The Front Bottoms – You Are Who You Hang Out With
Gregory Alan Isakov – Appaloosa Bones
Home is Where – the whaler
Mitski – The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We
Mad Honey – Satellite Aphrodite (Check out Ian’s review here)
Blink-182 – ONE MORE TIME…
Dorthia Cottrell – Death Folk Country (Check out my review here)
I guess that’s a wrap! These lists are not inclusive as there are many other albums that caught my attention in 2023 but these are the ones I revisited the most. 2024’s music is already looking very promising and I cannot wait to jump back into our regularly scheduled content of reviews. As always, I want to give a thank you to my 9C family who have been so wonderfully supportive this year and I appreciate what we have in our little corner of the internet. Here’s to more three hour podcast recordings, game nights, and music appreciation in 2024. I just love ya’ll. To our dear readers and listeners, thank you for hanging out with us and supporting our ramblings. We promise to keep it interesting.
Cheers and blessed be,
— Angela
Nine Circles 