As One Who Serves.
Mâmawohkamâtowin.
2023, what even was this year? This year was a blur going from one chaos to the next, I’m still grasping with the reality that it’s December. I think the time of year that sticks out the most to me was the summer, mostly because I had a pretty terrible illness that I couldn’t shake for almost 2 months. I missed going camping and spent most of it resting, which sucked majorly. I remain thankful for being privileged enough to be able to afford to take the time to rest. Not everyone has that luxury, the healthcare, a roof over their head, or not overly having to worry about where their next meal comes from. In that regard, despite feeling the pinch of inflation and the world, life is good. There have been several highs this year; it was my 30th birthday which I was able to celebrate with some of my dearest friends in true hobbit fashion, I started going to the gym with my nephew in January and was able to keep that consistent until I got sick over the summer (still looking at going back in the new year again), after that I’ve been able to remain relatively healthy enough to consistently go to bowling every week, I survived burnout and was able to transition into a new job that I’ve been loving (I even have my pilots license now too). I was awarded the Premier’s Award for Excellence in the Public Service, which according to my dear friend Kara, makes me an adult! A quote that has been sitting in my head since I graduated with my degree back in 2020 is the University of Regina’s motto; as one who serves. It embraces the spirit of the Cree word mâmawohkamâtowin meaning “co-operation working towards common goals,” and has stuck with me and become a core part of how I carry myself. I've also met three absolutely wonderful cats that have grown to mean a lot to me. 2023 has been a year of overall self-improvement and I think I'm on the right track, or at the very least, I hope. Overall, to quote Mama K from Baldur's Gate 3, it’s a good life, isn’t it?
That being said, I’m most thankful for music. I had 30+ hours of albums to go through in my contender pile but I’m pretty happy with what I’ve narrowed it down to. I’ve purposefully left out Hell Hounds release of The Spectre from my top list but am shamelessly putting it here. 2023 has been another fantastic year for releases and I’m happy to deep dive into it, allonsy!
Link to the Spotify playlist!
Honourable Mentions
City and Colour - The Love Still Held Me Near
Avatar - Dance Devil Dance
Queens of the Stone Age - In Times New Roman…
Thy Art is Murder - Godlike
Powerwolf - Interludium
Kamelot - The Awakening
Insomnium - Anno 1696
Above the Crown - YOURE IN FOR A SCARE (shout out to the homie Dylan)
#10 Sleep Token
TAKE ME BACK TO EDEN
The mystery that is the band Sleep Token has had somewhat of a meteoric rise in 2023 thanks in part to incredibly catchy riffs, vocal melodies, and a willingness to say death elitists and purists we’re doing our thing our way. Their ability to seamlessly shift between metal, pop, and rap makes them a standout for me this year. Albeit, Take Me Back to Eden has both the strongest individual song outings of their albums and also the weakest album flow of their catalogue. This album is a prime example of the current trend of releasing strong singles or “hits” as opposed to releasing music that fits well together on an album but that in no way detracts from it being a good album, that’s just my personal preference.
Highlights: The Summoning, Vore, Take Me Back To Eden
#9 3TEETH
ENDEX
EndEx is an incredibly solid fourth outing from one of my absolute favourite bands, 3TEETH. One of the new things that the band has done on this album is collaborate with some incredible talent (Mick Gordon, Ho99o9) and use their expertise to hone their craft to put out one of the heaviest and most technical albums of theirs to date. They are one of the few bands keeping industrial metal alive and I’m all for it.
Highlights: Slum Planet, Merchant of the Void, Higher Than Death
#8 August Burns Red
DEATH BELOW
If there was ever an album of a band experimenting without losing their essence of what makes them great it’s August Burns Red. The metalcore titans have released another solid album to their back catalogue while improving on a formula you think would have already been mastered after twenty-plus years. The album is faster, darker, and more technical than anything they have released prior and features a stellar list of collaborations.
Highlights: Ancestry, Revival, Dark Divide
#7 Tower Hill
DEATHSTALKER
Tower Hill contains members of one of my all-time favourite Canadian acts (Valyria) and they continue to put out unapologetic, energetic music that is so full of life and joy. Deathstalker offers a fantastic catalogue that would make any power metal fan beyond joyous and a true testament to fast melodic heavy metal.
Highlights: Deathstalker, The Claw is the Law, Antigone
#6 In Flames
FOREGONE
In Flames, what a band. Their last two albums have gone closer and closer to their roots and Foregone is honestly one In Flames top albums and of melodic melodeath in general. It covers everything the band has put out in their nearly 30 years and feels like a truly refined love letter to OG fans of In Flames. No matter what era of In Flames you love, there is a piece in every song and I am here for it.
Highlights: State of Slow Decay, Meet Your Maker, A Dialogue in B Flat Minor, Cynosure
#5 THE CHUG PROJECT
THE CHUG PROJECT
The Chug Project is everything I aspire for my solo records to be. Instrumental metal that doesn’t take itself too seriously and absolutely decimates the listener with a wall of nuclear chug. Ola Englund go 0000000000.
Highlights: In the Footsteps of Giants, Discord Shore, Mushroom Kingdom Blues, Nick Olas the French
#4 Russkaja
TURBO POLKA PARTY
Unfortunately, due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, my all-time favourite band, Russkaja, has disbanded. It’s truly a sad state of affairs, a band that is universally known for its peace and love mentality while celebrating Slavic culture has to disband because of the worst of humanity. However, they were able to give us one final goodbye in the form of Turbo Polka Party. One of their best offerings to date, Turbo Polka Party really captures the essence of the band, celebrating life, humanity and culture. It’s truly a shame that I can’t fully enjoy this album without being reminded of global politics. As the band pleads, “No borders, no war, just stop this fucking game…”
Highlights: No Borders, Shapka, Vozdukh, Turbopolka
#3 Delain
DARK WATERS
I was honestly not sure how Delain would survive after losing nearly all of their members. The remaining founding members pulled it together and put out arguably Delain’s best offering to date. The new singer captures Charlotte’s essence well adding her own to make something familiar but unique. Dark Waters is an almost perfect record of symphonic melodic metal for me, it also contains one of my all-time favourite songs of the year, Moth to a Flame!
Highlights: The Quest and the Curse, Beneath, Moth to a Flame, Invictus
#2 Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
WEATHERVANES
Jason Isbell continues to be one of the greatest songwriters of my generation. Yet another masterpiece, Weathervanes is a collection of beautiful stories that draws the listener in by vividly creating stories that are as real as the air we breathe. No other album has made me feel quite the range of emotions and hope for the future quite as much as this album. Nay, no artist has made me feel more alive, more human and more seen than this album. From the highest highs to the lowest lows, Jason Isbell and the 400 unit has a masterfully crafted story to sing.
Highlights: King of Oklahoma, Middle of the Morning, Save the World, Cast Iron Skillet
#1 Spiritbox
THE FEAR OF FEAR
The Fear of Fear has taken what Spiritbox has been building over the last couple of years and masterfully refines it into a short offering of songs. This is one of the best collections and most well-crafted songs I’ve heard to date, each song more unique than the last and yet its flow is unmatched. Spiritbox continues to be pioneers and blend genres in a truly unique fashion. Their meteoric rise into pop culture is well deserved and The Fear of Fear fully captures why they should be at the top.
Highlights: Jaded, The Void, Ultraviolet