Brief Reflections on Some 2023 Records

By Jack Rafferty

Poison Ruin, Harvest (2023).

Harvest is the first time I had the pleasure of listening to Poison Ruin. The unique choice to focus on medieval themes is an interesting way to explore the injustices spanning history. This punk group has a gritty sound that is still fun. It has old school tinges but still feels fresh and full of ideas. Really excellent stuff. 

Fit For An Autopsy/Thy Art Is Murder/Malevolence, The Aggression Sessions (2023).

I feel like Fit For An Autopsy hasn’t sounded as heavy as they do on this collaboration EP since 2017. I’ve never been a huge fan of Malevolence, mainly due to the repetitive vocals, but they sound great here as well. The tracks from Thy Art Is Murder (including a cover of “Hammer Smashed Face”) are the most underwhelming parts of the EP. Not terrible, just didn’t grab me the way Thy Art Is Murder usually does. 

Jesus Piece, …So Unknown (2023).

Jesus Piece has really been a highlight of the hardcore/metalcore scene in recent years. Their particular formula of relentless aggression and crushing heaviness hits the right spot for me. It seems like they hone what makes them great with each release into a more distilled and practiced version of what it was previously. Makes me want to break shit. Love it. 

Fuming Mouth, Last Day of Sun (2023).

I’ve always loved Fuming Mouth’s tone. It is fuzzed as hell, but also clean and hefty. They’ve always had a really seamless blend of death metal, hardcore, punk, and more. Fuming Mouth never fails to get me wearing that snarling-nose, frowning-mouth, endearing look of satisfaction that any metalhead recognizes as a sign of a good riff.

Geese, 3D Country (2023).

It feels so great when you discover new music that is just like…what the fuck is this, this is amazing and new, and I’ve never heard anything like this before! Geese certainly struck me that way. There are many familiar elements in their sound, but the way they utilize them, their songwriting structure, is astounding in how fresh it is. It is bands like these that consistently keep me excited by music, and I love them for that. 

Xoth, Exogalactic (2023).

If Carnosus didn’t exist, this would have absolutely been the tech death album of 2023. While it doesn’t quite achieve what Visions of Infinihility does, Exogalactic is absolutely the real deal. It checks all the boxes of what you want from this genre: blistering speed, blast beats, insane vocals, chunky bass coming through loud and clear, but does it to a degree of quality that makes it stand out among most others. Wickedly fun.

Sermon, Of Golden Verse (2023).

I’ve sort of distanced myself a bit from prog metal in recent years, but Sermon’s Of Golden Verse really scratched that dormant itch. This album is intricately crafted, and I imagine was made with painstaking attention to detail. While I do think it has a bit of a slow start, the middle and later sections of the album really shine. There is some fantastic songwriting on display here, and the latter tracks especially contain some excellent atmosphere. 

Bogside Sniper Squadron, Demo (2023).

I never thought I needed IRA-themed blackened death metal in my life, until I found this band. Razor-sharp riffs steeped in Irish trad sound create an overall unique sound, and they pull it off in a way that does not come off as a gimmick. I especially love the demo cover. The style, formatting, and the inclusion of a Bobby Sands’s quote is just perfect. This is something genuinely exciting and new, and I am pained by how short of an offering it is. I will be keeping my eye on them for hopeful future releases. 

Youth Lagoon, Heaven Is a Junkyard (2023).

After a deep struggle with health problems that left Trevor Powers unable to speak or sing, Heaven Is a Junkyard shows an immensely vulnerable picture of him coming to terms with suffering, powerlessness, depression, and acceptance. Trevor was still recovering from something he wasn’t sure he would recover from while recording this album, and the fragility is present in every note. 

Tomb Mold, The Enduring Spirit (2023)

 

By Jack Rafferty

Last year was one hell of a year for death metal. I’ve never gotten heavily into Tomb Mold. I know the metal community has been in love with them since day one, and I get it, their take on old school death metal has always been great, and I enjoyed it, but never really returned for repeat listens. With The Enduring Spirit, it seems Tomb Mold is beginning to branch out and try out proggier, more melodic, sounds. I think this decision was a good one, as I find their sound more dynamic and engaging than I have in the past. Perhaps that can be attributed to taste alone, but I do think that this new direction has Tomb Mold focusing more deeply on songwriting, without sacrificing the brutality they cultivated so well in the past. Enduring Spirit guides the listener through winding, alien pathways that are constantly shifting, keeping us on our toes the entire runtime. Very cool to see how much Tomb Mold has evolved as a group with this release, and I am curious to see where they will go next. 

Year of the Knife, No Love Lost (2023)

 

By Jack Rafferty

Year of the Knife had a gnarly car accident in June 2023, following their show in Salt Lake City. It was a horrible thing. Fortunately, everyone in the band survived, but there were serious injuries. In typical U.S. fashion, it is completely fucked that they had to use GoFundMe to pay for everything, but I’m glad they got the community support they needed. Really cheering on as speedy of a recovery as possible for the band.

No Love Lost is crushingly heavy. I love Madi on vocals. I’ve heard a lot of shit about the vocalist switch, which I think a lot of is tied to unfortunate misogyny in parts of the genre’s fanbase. Regardless, I think she does a fuckin great job, and everyone is dialed in for this record. Crushingly heavy and angry. Brilliant.

Moonlight Sorcery, Horned Lord of the Thorned Castle (2023)

 

By Jack Rafferty


Apart from having an album title that is really fun to say, I am rather conflicted by this one. When it comes to melodic black metal, it really has to be a specific type of sound for me. I lean more into the wretchedness and dark atmosphere of black metal, with a tad of melody. Moonlight Sorcery certainly seems to heavily favor a lot of melody in their sound. There’s a lot of fun riffs here, and the production quality is great (important when considering black metal, to me). There is clearly a lot going on with Moonlight Sorcery that is very much worth paying attention to. My reservations with the album seem simply due to “personal taste,” so check it out for yourself to see if it offers more for you. 

Night Crowned, Tales (2023)

 

By Jack Rafferty

This one is intriguing. Night Crowned play melodic black metal that has tinges of symphonic/melodic/folk infused throughout. Standout elements for me are the vocals and the guitar melodies, they’ve really nailed it on that front. I also enjoy that, while the typical sounds of folk metal are present, they are used sparsely, and are not overbearing. I do not find them distracting like I do in most instances of that sub-genre. One issue I have is I really think they cleaned up the production a bit too much on this release. Their previous releases had a much grittier sound that I think worked better for what they are aiming at. Regardless, Tales is a very solid release. Overall, I think Night Crowned have improved in their songwriting by quite a noticeable amount. 

Wormhole, Almost Human (2023)

 

By Jack Rafferty

What do you get when a brutal death/slam band listens to Ulcerate and goes, “yeah throw some of that in there”? You get this, apparently. Heavy as fuck, while still containing the iconic high- pitched tremolo and alternate-picking-ringing-out-discordant-notes flavor from Ulcerate. I’ve seen in certain places this being referred to as “Tech Slam,” and I don’t really get that from it, but the nitpicking over sub-genres gets a bit ridiculous at certain points, so let’s focus on more nuanced points. The vocals really stand out to me. They make me think if some machine that demolishes boulders were to be synthesized with a machine that dredges the ocean depths. I do think they are a bit monotone (typical of slam, to be honest, a reason that sub-genre doesn’t always do it for me). This album is at its best when it isn’t leaning too heavily in any direction, but pulling from multiple influences and combining them effectively.