BEST METAL ALBUMS OF 2023! 

The Best Best Of List I've seen so far! Great descriptions!

First like and comment, hell yeah. I didn’t really get into the latest Wytch Hazel album however its predecessor ‘III: Pentecost’ ruled hard.

Love your new music lists because I haven't heard of most of the bands you put up there (like Mellow Carpet in Vertoomis Seizure😂) and I don't have to sift through all of the 1000's of albums - I trust your taste and the comparisons you make give me a pretty good idea if I will like it also. And I'm too old to discover this stuff for myself. Great editing in this episode too! Gonna listen to Church of Misery now, hope I survive.

Tony Martin era Sabbath is tragically overlooked, but man it is so good. Rarely do other musicians ever mention this era. I'd love to see you do a deep dive into those different Sabbath eras. Great video and awesome picks!

My top ten favorite albums are as follows 1. Autopsy- ashes blood organs and crypts 2. Vastum-inward to gethsemane 3. Tomb mold- the enduring spirit 4.Godthrymn- distortions 5. Gravesend- Gowanus death stomp 6. Spirit adrift- ghost at the gallows 7. Incantation -unholy deification 8. Dying fetus - make them beg for death 9. Horrendous -ontological mysterium 10. Thantifaxath- hive mind narcosis

Listening to that Wayfarer album right now and holy shit... well done my friend, putting that on my radar. I'm just scratching the surface on those tracks but you can tell there's a shit ton of effort and creativity put into it.

Great list man, looks like I have some homework. Cheers Nate!

Thanks, I will check all these, honestly I didn't listen to these records. So here's my top so far : 1 : Cattle Decapitation - Terrasite : Heavyweight champion. A real blast. 2. Carnation - Cursed Mortality : if the two bands I miss the most (Edge of Sanity and Bolt Thrower) had a son it would be Carnation. I was amazed by their previous record Where death lies, they are still kicking ass. 3. Gorod : The Orb. It's not to be chauvinistic but France is not only Gojira we have a lot of great bands. 4. Katatonia - Sky void of stars. Once again, they made me dive into a maze of melodic agony 4 ex aequo Ghost at the gallows. Made me think of a journey in the deep south of Louisiana. 5. Xoth : Exogalactic. Great techdeath album full of shredding melodies That's it !

Great list and interesting explanations. The Moonlight Sorcery will be in my Top 10 as well. I was a bit disappointed by the new Wytch Hazel after their fantastic previous album. My current top 10 is: 1. …and Oceans - As in Gardens, So in Tombs 2. Sühnopfer - Nous sommes d'hier 3. Sulphur Aeon - Seven Crowns and Seven Seals 4. Moonlight Sorcery - Horned Lord Of The Thorned Castle 5. Ahab - The Coral Tombs 6. Roadwolf - Midnight Lightning 7. Auld Ridge - Folklore From Further Out 8. +1476+ - In Exile 9. Wormhole - Almost Human 10. ILDSKÆR - Blod & Jern But a lot of other great releases this year and still some interesting ones to be released during the last month like new albums from Bloedmaan, Laang, Deathcode Society, Herzog...

Great list! Totally different from mine but very respectable picks (we do share some though)

Your list is the best man!Thank you!

I like your list (& your band spirit adrift). Some good ones there to check out. I would have to throw in some 2023 options for albums by: Drain, Asinhell, Thy Catafalque, The Crawling, Memoriam.

Amazing picks. You”re the man.

Great pics! Definitely down with Majesties, Wytch Hazel (fucking Ashbury, yeah) and American Gothic as two of the best. As far as stuff I think would fit on the list, Fires in the Distance "Air Not Meant for Us" is probably my favorite album this year, and I always give props to Katatonia for a job well done, and Sky Void of Stars is definitely a job well done. Cheers!

I definitely need to check out some of your choices there, Nate. A great list! Listening to Malokarpatan right now. Damn... very impressed by their unique blend of traditional heavy metal and Bathory-esque black metal. Even though it's early AF before the year ends, here's my personal top twenty-five albums of 2023: 25. Tsjuder - Helvegr 24. Godflesh - Purge 23. Krigsgrav - Fires in the Fall 22. Neo Inferno 262 - Pleonectic 21. Tomb Mold - The Enduring Spirit 20. Cannibal Corpse - Chaos Horrific 19. Dying Fetus - Make Them Beg for Death 18. Cryptopsy - As Gomorrah Burns 17. Sulphur Aeon - Seven Crowns and Seven Seals 16. Model/Actriz - Dogsbody 15. Spirit Adrift - Ghost at the Gallows 14. In Flames - Foregone 13. Blut aus Nord - Disharmonium - Nahab 12. Ulthar - Anthronomicon/Helionomicon 11. Baroness - Stone 10. Horrendous - Ontological Mysterium 9. Sermon - Of Golden Verse 8. Majesties - Vast Reaches Unclaimed 7. Enslaved - Heimdal 6. Hellripper - Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags 5. Cattle Decapitation - Terrasite 4. Thantifaxath - Hive Mind Narcosis 3. Blackbraid - Blackbraid II 2. Downfall of Gaia - Silhouettes of Disgust MY FAVORITE ALBUM OF 2023: Wayfarer - American Gothic There you go!

First time watching your videos and I’m hooked! Great delivery, descriptions, and extras. You even had my wife watching and she doesn’t listen to a lot of these genres. Thanks for turning me onto some new bands! Subscribed and looking forward to more. 🤘🏻🤘🏻

Excellent list! 🤘

You made me realise i have listened to... 4 albums released in 2023 😅 ( don't have much time) : On Thorns I Lay Cadaver - The age of the offended Prong - State of emergency SUP - Octa And i liked them ;) I'll go check some of your recommendations - choir voices over blast beats seem interesting. Will have to watch your video again though - forgot the names already 😂

that Moonlight Sorcery album is ridiculous - it's certainly something special. thanks for a weird video. Cheers from TX

Thanks for the shout out Nate! Worcester was awesome.

Thanks for sharing. I'll check out these releases. In the heavy metal category I'll go with Ghost of the Gallows and I would add Sylosis - A Sign of Things to Come. 🤘🤘🤘

Wow Nate what a fantastic list cannot disagree with any of those. Great to see so many bands that deserve so much more attention Malokarpatan, wow love them Wayfarer ,Moonlight Scorcery & Majesties wonderful stuff. Take care

incredible list Nate!

How did I miss Ashbury back then. Slapping my forehead now! I love Enforced for all the same reasons as you. Wayfarer now has the hook set in my mouth, and Church of Misery? I passed on them in the past, but now they will be on heavy rotation, with a prayer session afterward to get my mind right again. Also, I was stunned when you dropped Wytch Hazel! I thought I was the ONLY one listening to them. Fantastic, eclectic list. Thanks, Nate!

You do an awesome job of describing things. My fav of the year is Cattle Decapitation -- Terrasite.

My favorite album of this year is Demoniac - Nube Negra, demoniac is a chilean band, wonderful band. Nice list, and grat channel, new sub lml

Great list. American Gothic was one of my top 3. Will check out all those i hadn't heard. (On the pronunciation, that's Mug-wa, by the way).

Some great choices, and I’d echo some other comments I’ve seen re Tomb Mold. What do you think of the new Green Lung release as that almost made the cut for me (but was pipped by Wytch Hazel)?

Great list. I know it just came out but the new Suffocation is killer. It will be in my top five of the year forsure.

Excellent picks! I slept on Moonlight Sorcery. You are getting damn good at these edits. That Butt-head Avant Garde moment was great 😂

I know you shouted them out in your mid-year best-of review, but that Cloak album is still on heavy rotation for me. Saw them in Baltimore and they played the audio of the coven bonfire scene from The VVITCH as they took the stage. SIIIIICK. Other favorites off the top of my head: Lamp of Murmuur, Spirit Possession, Frozen Soul, The Dirty Nil (not exactly metal but one of my favorite modern rock bands), East of the Wall, Horrendous, and - obviously - Spirit Adrift.

Hey Nate, have you ever checked out Restless Spirit? They’re criminally underrated. They put an album out this year that is solid but their last album “Blood of the Old Gods” is outstanding. Just straightforward metal with a doomier vibe. Good melodic vocals and sick leads. Kind of gives me some crowbar vibes too at times.

As someone who was at the tattoo the earth festival In Worcester. I'd have to say my top picks would be your album and enforced war remains. You could also throw in overkills new album aswell

Great list! Turned me on to lots of new shit. Thanks for that. My favourite record of 2023 (and maybe my favourite live performance) comes from Blackbraid. . . "Blackbraid II" is a future classic. Heavy, scary, beautiful, and pushes the envelope just enough. . . I mean, there's flute on the record. Flute! And yet it works.

Great shout with sorcerer, the Tony Martin sabbath era comparison is spot on. Wayfarer also fantastic, have similar feelings about black metal but loved this. Enforced will be top 5 for me, good hard hitting, aggressive thrash, with that honest energy, its not forced (pun intended🙂)

Love the Trouble shirt \m/

C.O.M.! I think I still have the split they did with Iron Monkey somewhere in my collection. Top 2 picks were well deserved.

Love your new album! Ghost at the Gallows made my list. Church of Misery is in my top ten. Check out new ones from Healthyliving, Daydream Flights, '68, and Lovewillsaveus!

Def first out the gate! A couple in there I need to check out soon like Outer heaven and church of misery albums. I will probably put Enforced in my year end top 10 too! My list will have the new Autopsy, Frozen Soul, maybe Grotesqueries, VoidCeremony and the latest Immortal too.

That Church of Misery, though! Nice list!

Thanks for Godthrymm, huge Crowbar fan and 90’s kid.

I think that Wayfarer record will become a classic in the future. Masterpiece

Sprirt Adrift is rad. Quality list. Amusing assessments. I have been entertained.

Nice list brother 🤘 My Top 20 Metal albums: 1. In Flames - Foregone 2. Obituary - Dying of Everything 3. Orbit Culture - Descent 4. Sylosis - A Sign of Things To Come 5. Moonlight Sorcery - Horned Lord of the Thorned Castle 6. Bury Tomorrow - The Seventh Sun 7. War of Ages - Dominion 8. Cannibal Corpse - Chaos Horrific 9. Scar Symmetry - The Singularity (Phase II - Xenotaph) 10. Insomnium - 1696 Anno 11. Sevendust - Truth Killer 12. Spirit Adrift - Ghost At the Gallows 13. Hellripper - Warlock Grim and Withered Hags 14. Project 86 - Omni Pt. 1 15. Currents - The Death We Seek 16. Polaris - Fatalism 17. Overkill - Scorched 18. Silent Planet - SUPERBLOOM 19. Blackbraid - Blackbraid II 20. Cliffside - Deeper Water

There’s been a ton of great albums this year, but the one that sticks out most to me is the new Outerheaven album. Absolutely killer stuff and glad you agree 🤘

Some killer stuff. My top 3 in no particular order are enforced, church of misery and one you didn't mention, spirit adrift!!! These three inlisten to every day.

Surprises me that The Zenith Passage didn’t make it on this list. To me, by far the best tech death album put out in a while. Liked that you got Gorod and Enforced in there. Both great albums as well. I think you and I have different tastes so that’s ok!!! You’ve given me a couple to check out though! Thanks for taking the time to make this!!!

dude I met you a couple of months ago at Starship...you should've told me you had a RU-vid. oh well lol I subscribed

Thank you very much for reporting on the release of Church Of Misery. I saw them at Hellfest 2018 and I believe this is their best album. I listened to some of the songs and they are INSANE!

Nice top, we noticed other great albums this year : Primordial - How it ends Carcarias - Afterworld and it seems we will get a very good album of Abduction on december 1st named Toues blessent, la dernière tue !

Great list. Moonlight Sorcery is probably the most exciting new band in black metal right now. Malokarpatan to me has always sounded like Darkthrone playing a Christmas party, in a good way! My personal favorite this year was Black Medium Current by Dodheimsgard. Its so different, unconventional, and unexpected. A true masterpiece and a perfect experimental metal album that goes more for mood and atmosphere than wankery.

The only two I’ve heard this year were Sorcerer and Godthryym but solid picks there. I’ll have to check out Wytch Hazel as that Ashbury Endless Skies album is killer. And clearly my doom itch needs scratched with that Church of Misery. Didnt know they had a new one. Also man i haven’t heard about Prometheus and Bob in like 15 years holy crap. Like the analogy though.

Good list. Waiting on the vinyl to finally listen to that Malokarpatan. Can't wait. Check out The Gauntlet - Dark Steel and Fire and The Night Eternal - Fatale if you haven't. The Gauntlet is basically Under the Sign of the Black Mark era Bathory if they were an arena band with a dash on Manowar and The Night Eternal is a little too similar to In Solitude but goddamn they write massive, anthemic, memorable songs.

Love the Wayfarer (Spaghetti Western Black Metal). My fave albums of the year came from Blut Aus Nord, Bacchus, Cattle Decapitation, Tetragrammacide, Khanate, Agriculture, Wayfarer, Dawn Ray'd and Reverence to Paroxysm.

Seeing as you asked, in no particular order (cause I will struggle): Spirit Adrift - Ghost At The Gallows (obviously!) Urne - A Feast On Sorrow Gel - Only Constant Mansion - Second Death Haunt - Golden Arm Bruise Control - Useless For Something Smoulder - Violent Creed Of Vengeance Knife Club - Our Club, Our Rules Hellripper - Warlocks Grim And Withered Hags I'm also enjoying new releases by Svalbard and Green Lung but haven't had time to fully digest them yet.

this might be the nerdiest best metal of 2023... Nate's explanation of each album is a delight

1 Cattle Decapitation - Terrasite 2 Baroness - Stone 3 Katatonia - Sky Void of Stars 4 Spirit Adrift - Ghost at the Gallows 5 Night Demon - Ousider 6 Enforced - War Remains 7 Unearth - The Wretched; The Ruinous 8 Insomnium - Anno 1696 9 Haken - Fauna 10 Primordial - How It Ends I just listened to that Sorcerer album, and that might make it.... but too soon.

More love for Sorcerer - very cool... Albums I loved especially this year so far: Borknagar - Fall; Hiraes - Dormant, and of course - Judas Priest...

Man, that Enforced is a tough one. I really want to go all in on them but that War Remains track sounds a little too on the nose like Power Trip. I mean I guess that's a good thing since there is no Power Trip anymore but it's pretty conflicting right now lol. After I saw Gatecreeper and Power Trip in 2017, man you were there... you know how special that band was. It's kinda hard to express what I want to say but yeah... I'm going to have to marinate on it a bit I guess.

Vargrav - The Nighthold and Moonlight Sorcery - Horned lord of the thorned castle are my favorites

Great video! Church of Misery is definitely my album of the year. Wayfarer and Wytch Hazel also made my list. I would suggest listening to Triumpher if you haven't already.

I know you guys are now based out of Austin, check us out. We’re a melodic death metal band just south of you and released our debut album Ancient Arts in May of this year planning our first shows in Austin next year 🤘🏻

Nice list, Metal Nate. Liking your content. Shout-out to my twin bro in the Bavarian Alps for sharing. Metal album of '23 gotta be Metallica's 72 SEASONS 💛♠

My Top 10 so Far: 1. Yearning: Promethean Fates Sealed - Fleshvessel 2. Hive Mind Narcosis - Thantifaxath 3. Earth Will Shed It's Skin - Chrome Waves 4. Seven Crowns And Seven Seals - Sulphur Aeon 5. Terrasite - Cattle Decapitation 6. Numen - Alkaloid 7. Alföld - Thy Catafalque 8. The Enduring Spirit - Tomb Mold 9. Disharmonium : Nahab - Blut Aus Nord 10. Kalmah - Kalmah Honorable Mentions: Shades of Sorrow - Crypta Bath House - The Lion's Daughter Mutants - Mutoid Man

Very cool shirt !!!

Danava - Nothing but Nothing I would love to see you guys tour!

I have to give a shout out to Tomb Mold. They're incredible. Definitely check out their new album and their previous ones if you've never given them a listen. Blackbraid's new album is really good too if you like black metal at all.

The new Krigsgrav album Fires in the Fall is great, and they're from Texas ;)

My Top 10 in no order: 1. Night Demon - Outsider 2. Cirith Ungol - Dark Parade 3. Haunt - Golden Arm 4. Sorcerer - Reign of The Reaper 5. Kerrigan - Bloodmoon 6. Legendry - Time Immortal Wept 7. Century - The Conquest of Time 8. Blood Star - First Sighting 9. Smoulder - Violent Creed Of Vengeance 10. Megaton Sword - Might & Power

Moonlight sorcery and Majesties albums are both great! Would have to add Cattle Decap and Frozen Soul to the list can’t stop jamming to those either

Hate to be a shill, but Ghost at the Gallows is my favorite metal album of the year, and my favorite album in quite some time. In Flames latest I've been diggin' a lot when it comes up on the playlist. And that album you gave the co-top-slot to that invokes Jester Race vibes has stood out when it comes up on ye' old playlist. Fuckin' playlists. Fuckin' love 'em, but I don't really have a sense of albums any more. I listened to Ghost at the Gallows in its entirety, then with headphones, then again... and again... and again, because I was looking forward to it, but everything else I just listen to a few songs to see if I might like it, and just put it on my Latest and Greatest playlist, then wait to see what rises to the top to make my All Quality of all time playlist. Been diggin' some Municipal Waste. Thanks for the recommendation! Looks like I'm gonna be listening to a lot of new shit from this list.

Subscribe to The Great Metal Debate on RU-vid to see our albums of the year. Click that little bell notification to do you don't miss it when it gets uploaded in late December. Feel free to check out some of our other content. 🤘💀🤘

That Watch Hazel album is fantastic, so freaking addictive! 🍻

Oh yeah, and Malokarpatan is right up there too!!! Great record. If you liked that one, the new one from Mortuary Drape might all appeal.

Nate, I feel like this is an angry ass list, and other than Witch Hazel and Sorcerer, have not heard of the other bands. Can’t wait to check them out and judge accordingly 😊

Not in any particular order: 1. Spirit Adrift - Ghost at the Gallows 2. Crypta - Shades of Sorrow 3. Nervosa - Jailbreak 4. Angra - Cycles of Pain 5. Torture Squad - Devilish 6. Hellripper - Warlocks Grim and Withered Hags 7. Elegant Weapons - Horns for a Halo 8. The Night Eternal - Fatale 9. Evile - The Unknown 10. Overkill - Scorched I also loved the Enforced and Sorcerer albums

What about the new Cattle Decapitation album Terrasite? This is their fourth album in a row that they have worked with Dave Otero and each of them are flawless IMO. Do you like Cattle Decapitation? Such a great band.

did you check out the new tomb mold? Those guys are on another planet

Yup gorod is the shit I just got wind of them at the beginning of this year now I own all their albums

Forgot about one other one, don’t know if you’re a fan of post metal, but the German band The Ocean Collective released their most recent Geological based album Holocene in 2023 and is a great album. I’m a huge fan of the band, check out their 2007 album Precambrian and 2013 Pelagial. Phanerozoic I in 2018 and Phanerozoic II are also great.

OK Nate I’m gonna check out these nuggets, hopefully finding some bands that catch my ear. Haven’t really latched onto anything new in almost a decade, possibly because of what I don’t like: death, black, vomit vocals. Trying to shed the closed-mindedness of most older folks (like ones parents), I will give every record a taste. I’ll start with the more traditional like Wytch Hazel and Sorcerer and then try in earnest to assimilate the skull crushers in hopes of finding something I wanna play over and over. Here’s to opening the mind and consuming much alcohol!

Horrendous - Ontological Mysterium for me. I'll have to check out your picks for sure, but between Outer Heaven and this'n, Pennsylvania is kicking death metal ass this year. 🤟

Bruh, the year aint over yet 😊

Excepting the mighty Ghost at the Gallows, I think Horrendous takes the cake this year. Ontological Mysterium is so good you can't even call it death metal anymore. Also wanna shout out Enslaved's Heimdal, Hellripper's Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags, and - the best workout album of the year - Sanguisugabogg's Homicidal Ecstasy.

Here are my TOP 25 METAL ALBUMS OF 2023! In order from 1 to 25. Cause N Effect - Validation Through Suffering Asinhell - Impii Hora Kataklysm - Goliath Harms Way - Common Suffering Thy Art Is Murder - Godlike Atrocity - OKKULT III Mezzrow - Summon Thy Demons Suffocation - Hymns from the Apocrypha Signs of the Swarm - Amongst the Low & Empty Xoth - Exogalactic Prong - State of Emergency Dying Fetus - Make Them Beg for Death Cryptopsy - As Gomorrah Burns Obituary - Dying of Everything KK’s Priest - The Sinner Rides Again Cavalera Conspiracy - Bestial Devastation (EP) / Morbid Visions Metal Church - Congregation of Annihilation Frozen Soul - Glacial Domination The Fallen Prophets - Perpetual Damnation Overkill - Scorched Katatonia - Sky Void of Stars Carnifex - Necromanteum Agora - Empire Myrath - Karma Carnation - Cursed Mortality

Mutoid Man- Mutants.

Headless cross Best black Sabbath album in my book ever.

If you liked Majesties check out Astralborne's new LP Across the Aeons. IMO the melodies are more captivating than Majesties.

I have a top 5…I didn’t really listen to much new metal this year tbh but here are my favorites 5 new cattle decap 4 cannibal corpse 3 new cryptopsy 2 new dying fetus 1 death symbolic

Church of Misery Album ranking in the future?

This is a fantastic but this is definitely way too premature. Especially considering some of the stuff that was released last night. I've listened to the new Shylmagoghnar already and I'm pretty sure it's taking my number one spot. If you're a big fan of their previous 2 this might be their best.

Great list. Shout out to Orbit Culture- Descent. Total banger

Really need some sound along thé comments 👀👀🇫🇷🇫🇷

Church of misery! Hell yes

For me the new Mutoid Man, Hellripper, coffin mulch, Enforced and Exhibition - the last laugh jointly take the trophy. Definitely not metal but new Qotsa is class.

I really liked the new dying fetus album

Great list, a few shared, all of them are in my long list. My Lucky 13 so far, but this is still early days as I'm giving myself a few more weeks to listen before I finalize mine: Metal 1. Spirit Adrift - Ghost at the Gallows 2. Witch Ripper - The Fight After the Fall 3. REZN - Solace 4. Church Of Misery - Born Under A Mad Sign 5. Restless Spirit - Afterimage 6. Haunt - Golden Arm 7. Wytch Hazel - IV: Sacrament 8. Legendry - Time Immortal Wept 9. Sorcerer - Reign of the Reaper 10. Blood Lightning - Blood Lightning 11. Tomb Mold - The Enduring Spirit 12. Green Lung - This Heathen Land 13. Cannibal Corpse - Chaos Horrific Bubbling under: Dopelord, Cardinal's Folly, Heavy Load. Hard Rock 1. Graveyard - 6 2. Queens Of The Stone Age - In Times New Roman . . . 3. Royal Thunder - Rebuilding the Mountain 4. Spidergawd - VII 5. Rival Sons - Darkfighter 6. Maggot Heart - Hunger 7. The Golden Grass - Life is Much Stranger 8. Crown Lands - Fearless 9. Dead Quiet - IV 10. Flight - Echoes of Journeys Past 11. Deathchant - Thrones 12. Rival Sons - Lightbringer 13. Bahboon - Thunder Ape Bubbling under: Kvelertak, live Vintage Caravan album, Owl. Stoner Psych Prog 1. Large Plants - The Thorn 2. Baroness - Stone 3. Blood Ceremony - The Old Ways Remain 4. Lucid Sins - Dancing in the Dark 5. The Fierce & The Dead - News From the Invisible World 6. Glass Hammer - Arise 7. Motorpsycho - Yay! 8. DoctoR Doom - A Shadow Called Danger 9. White Canyon & The 5th Dimension - Gardeners of the Earth 10. Kanaan - Downpour 11. DIIE - The Right Hand of the Devil 12. Black Helium - UM 13. Mansion - Second Death Bubbling under: Rose City Band, Druid Fluids, The Heavy Minds.

I cant be the only one who thought that Ne Obliviscarus album should be in the conversation.... am i?

Pretty sure Mgla is pronounced Migwa, and it means fog.

Xoth???? Nobody heard of em .. . Sad