Another year in the books. I’m always tempted to say “down the drain” but this year has been different for me. Undoubtedly, 2023 was the hardest year of my life, but it is also the first year in a long time where I genuinely feel like I ended in a much better place than I started. My life has been enriched by new friendships, a deeper appreciation for myself, and by some truly incredible music to keep me company along the way. 2023 was one of the strongest years for heavy music I can think of in recent memory, and this is the first year in a few that building my year end list was genuinely a difficult task. There are many albums that I was actually painfully sad to see not make my cut, but alas I have not the time or inclination to be someone who publishes two or three or four lists like some of my esteemed conspirators. So, fashionably late as ever, here is what I considered to be the cream of the crop for 2023.