2023 saw an absolute glut of great music so much so that I spent a lot of time rethinking my choices for best albums this year. Lo-fi black metal cemented it’s rise as did dungeon synth as well as a breakthrough of dark folk into more mainstream channels. While wars rage in the world our collective soul is hurting and perhaps the most salient sign of this is the ferocity and force of the music we are creating. So here it is: my top albums of 2023 ALL GENRES, IN ORDER.
23. Morwan – Svitaye, Palaye
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Morwan have such a unique sound combining a very dancy rhythmic coldwave feel but also a heavy dose of atmosphere. Coldwave can feel very formulaic rhythmically but the band’s style is almost progressive, however they manage to retain a strict dark atmosphere.
22. Fragile Body – Unwell
[ FILE UNDER: POST-INDUSTRIAL / DARKWAVE ]
The debut album from this new project and what a great effort it is. Fragile Body draws the listener into her carefully crafted atmospheres that evoke a deep inner world lush with mysterious layers in which to peel back on each consecutive listen.
21. Necrofier – Burning Shadows in the Southern Night
[ FILE UNDER: BLACKENED DEATH METAL ]
Necrofier traverses death metal, black metal, and even some thrash and crust elements with ease. With “Burning Shadows…” they’ve crafted a masterwork of creative riffage and well intentioned song writing to keep you coming back for repeated listens.
20. Far From Remains – The Mountainside Breeze
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Far From Remains manages to capture a stunning vista of foggy ethereal folk, choral arrangements and echoing ephemera. Listening to “The Mountainside Breeze” is a great way to quickly transport yourself to the peak of an epic mountain surrounded only by clouds.
19. Pääkallo – Pääkallo
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The Finnish language sounds so musical to me and so I’ve always had a soft spot for artists that write in it. Pääkallo is no exception and in addition to very solid song writing they manage to create a cinematic sound through their composition and production. This one certainly got spun a lot this year.
18. The Infinity Ring – Nemesis & Nativity
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I struggle to file The Infinity Ring under a certain genre because they are precariously balanced somewhere between dark folk, or gothic rock but don’t necessarily fit into either of those. The most obvious reference point is The Great Annihilator-era Swans which in itself is such a unique and gutsy place to be; and yet The Infinity Ring glooms there with ease.
17. Crooked Mouth – Between The Fool and the Magician
[ FILE UNDER: NEOFOLK / WYRD FOLK ]
With “Between The Fool and the Magician” Crooked Mouth has reached the next level of production and songwriting, perfectly adding their own spin to the traditional European neofolk sound.
16. Blood of the Black Owl – Spirit Canoe: Soaring the Shadow Spiral
[ FILE UNDER: DARK AMBIENT / DOOM / TRIBAL ]
“Spirit Canoe…” is wholly more atmospheric than BotBO’s previous works but the specter of their doom metal past is still there. What you will find in abundance though is beautifully crafted atmospheres evoking the deep mossy green rainforests of the Pacific Northwest and the indigenous peoples who originate from there.
15. David Eugene Edwards – Hyacinth
[ FILE UNDER: DARK FOLK / NEOFOLK ]
“Hyacinth” sees David Eugene Edward’s unwavering spiritual visions manifesting in 11 beautifully rendered dark folk songs. Like a lone wolf howling in the night each effort, a unique sound in its own rite but somehow perfectly attuned to the nature surrounding it.
14. Hasard – Malivore
[ FILE UNDER: ATMOSPHERIC BLACK METAL ]
Absolutely mind bending black metal from France. I’m not sure if “Malivore” is atonal music or not but there it certainly feels like there is a lot of reaching between the notes. The sum of the parts creates this obsessive pallid fog that seems to permeate even the most impenetrable corners of the mood.
13. Thragedium – Lisboa Depois de Morta
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Upon first listen of “Lisboa Depois de Morta” I almost couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Perhaps the most original and adept mixing of folk and metal since Agollach. But Thragedium is not derivative, they are clearly on their own path here and what a wonderful and wandering one it is.
12. Lankum – False Lankum
[ FILE UNDER: FOLK / EXPERIMENTAL ]
This album seems to have appeared on a lot of lists and it’s no surprise. Lankum’s interpretation of classic folk songs push the envelope to the next level. Ranging from clanging industrial dirges to sleepy lullabies. The things they all have in common is an impeccable air of atmosphere, creativity and musicianship.
11. Rome – Gates of Europe
[ FILE UNDER: NEOFOLK / ROCK ]
What happens when neofolk becomes stadium-rock friendly? I think we can safely answer that question now with Rome’s latest offering “Gates of Europe”. It’s neofolk with a rock-friendly feel. Like a dark Bruce Springsteen, Jerome Retuer combines larger-than-life 80s style synths with softened acoustic guitars to create a tactfully rendered effort that sounds just a small step away from a radio hit.
I enjoyed Sulphur Aeon’s “Seven Crowns and Seven Seals” the first time I heard it but it really snapped into place on second listen. I can’t help but feel there’s some 90s grunge influence lurking somewhere behind this epic wall of crusty death/sludge/doom riffs but if so, it remains shrouded in darkness. Truly impressed with the great heights to which this album reaches.
9. Yellow Eyes – Master’s Murmur
[ FILE UNDER: DUNGEON SYNTH / INDUSTRIAL / BLACK METAL ]
Yellow Eye’s “Master’s Murmer” is so strikingly original it took multiple listens just for me to get my head around. With each listen I seemed to remember it as a different thing. Once a dungeon synth album, then a black metal album… or was it a noise album? That sounds like I’m saying it was forgettable yet it’s anything but that. More like perplexing and entrancing.
8. Nighttime – Keeper is the Heart
[ FILE UNDER: INDIE FOLK / DARK FOLKE ]
Nighttime seems to have followed a similar trajectory as that of one of my other favorite neofolk acts Of The Wand And The Moon in that there was a noticeable shift from a pure dark folk aesthetic to one that more recalls a late 60s/early 70s folk vibe. Keeper is the Heart is just as playful as it is somber with impeccably rendered production and instrumentation. Layered on top is Eva Louise Goodman’s unforgettable vocal delivery which seems to wrap itself around my soul like a warm blanket on a cold winter day.
7. Moral Order – Backlash
[ FILE UNDER: INDUSTRIAL / POWER ELECTRONICS ]
Absolutely flawless delivery of noisy rhythmic industrial from this project that has made themselves a household name in recent years. Larger than life production drives home the heaviest sounds elements while also retaining a dark edge sharper than a razor blade.
6. Trobar de Morte – Carpe Noctem
[ FILE UNDER: PAGAN FOLK / DARK FOLK ]
Due to the success of bands like Wardruna and Heilung pagan folk has blown up across the world but also with that popularity it’s become quite the trope. From TikTok cringe to carefully curated instagram accounts the genre has become quite tired. Thankfully Trobar de Morte rises above those sad imitators to deliver an incredibly cinematic take on the genre with more elements leaning toward medieval instrumentation and composition. The result is a sweeping and expansive work that encapsulates their unwavering vision of satanic medieval folk that calls to the deep.
5. Kinit Her – The Nature Out There
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Full disclosure: I contributed a few accordion layers to this album but my participation ended there so I don’t really feel like I have any skin in the game here. With their final album Kinit Her culminates in a masterwork of experimental folk tunes that are unparalleled. They are a band that simply can’t be mistaken no matter where or how they are heard. Pulling the listener into their world of symbolism and esoterica, it’s simply impossible to listen to this without immediately knowing that they have created their own metaphysical world in which to explore; and being with them there – even if only for a mere hour – feels just so incredible.
4. ØXN – Cyrm
[ FILE UNDER: DARK FOLK / EXPERIMENTAL ]
No one would fault you if you mistook the dark dirging opener of “Cyrm” for a new Lankum album seeing as the band shares members with the Irish folk group. But where Lankum gets into sleepy lullaby territory ØXN keeps things more brooding and melancholy. Stretching the limits of what could be considered folk into passages of industrial clangs and droning synths.
There’s so few great artists in this specific genre that when I find an album that checks all the boxes I really REALLY love it. Matriarchy Roots is the prolific musician Dimitris Doukas also of Restive Plaggona – his more techno-centric pseudonym – but the artist’s exploration with the former project seems to fit the bill perfectly where atmosphere, aggression, and minimalism are concerned. “The Merge” is a throbbing, seething, journey through dimly lit passages in the dead of night.
2. Sutek Hexen & Funerary Call – P.R.I.S.M.
[ FILE UNDER: DARK AMBIENT / INDUSTRIAL ]
These two dark ambient heavyweights collide to create one of the most sinister albums of the year. The noisiness of Sutek Hexen tempered by Funerary Call’s sleight of hand creates a true masterwork of mammoth proportions. Ritualistic and always flowing forth “P.R.I.S.M.” is the absolute pitch black sound bath.
1. At The Altar of the Horned God – Heart of Silence
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Never would I have thought to hear an integration of the sound of Dead Can Dance with black metal but here we are in 2023 and what an incredible year it was for music. Not only is this unholy union executed with commitment but also with complete sincerity and flawlessness. I was driving when I first heard this album in full and by the time “God Is In The Rain” hit the tears started flowing at the sheer ecstasy of AtAOtHG’s sound. This is an album that will hopefully create an unholy matrimony between two genres that will flourish together. On the flip side this album might just be a complete anomaly and we’d better just enjoy it while we have it.
