!!Zaru's ELITE 2023 LIST!!
I never did one of these anywhere so i'll do it LIVE right now. I'd say maybe the top 3 are actually in order, the rest are basically just my top-ish albums of the year and I can't definitely rank them since they're all diff genres.
Top 10 are roughly my real top 10, everything beyond that is at least a certified Zaru-fresh 3.5/5 so check them ouutt!! |
| 1 |  | The Tubs
Dead Meat
Some sort of 60s jangle pop band got sucked into a wormhole and popped out in 2023 idk. It's very fun, short, straightforward jangle/power pop/indie rock that's just fun to listen to and I found myself going back to it the whole year. Very solid album I really love, especially given it's in a style I typically don't found myself drawn to. |
| 2 |  | Vengeance (PL)
Sewer Surge
Another genre throwback, Vengeance play pure filthy speed metal with a touch of black metal thrown in. It's dirty, catchy, rockin' metal that makes you wanna yell dumb things like PURE FUKKIN SPEEED out loud. There's also a song titled "Disappointing Parking Lot Sex" and (surprise) it also rocks. |
| 3 |  | Trha
Rhejde Qhaominvac Tla Aglhaonamëc
The best Trha album of last year, and a great combination of his more modern icy atmospheric black metal and old Sadness-y depressive black metal. I already wrote a review on this one so tl;dr it's like thirty minutes of suffocating bm go cheq it rn! |
| 4 |  | Fenne Lily
Big Picture
Really delicate, dreamy indie folk album that's also quite solid. All her stuff is great but this one in particular is very nice. |
| 5 |  | Trha
enΩëcunna edëno£sa qud'lhëlh
Trha put out like ten records last year but this was #2 just slightly behind the aforementioned Rhejde... . This one is two 16-minute tracks of highly muffled, lo-fi black metal that's basically driven by its huge epic keyboards. Some of the melody changes on those keyboards hit so hard they're "table flipping" gigantic. They almost work like you expect hardcore breakdowns to shift the dynamic of the song, but on enΩëcunna... it's often to shift into another fist-pumping mid-paced beat that just goes immensely hard. |
| 6 |  | Sonic Poison
Eruption
Do you guys like Terrorizer and Repulsion because I do and I like any band that sounds like old 80s proto-deathgrind, and that's this! Nothing but riffs, nothing but punk beats and blasts. |
| 7 |  | Closet Witch
Chiaroscuro
This was close with Sonic Poison. 18 minutes of pure grindcore violence. The low guitar mixing and prominent drums make it sound closer to a typical war metal production style than most grind, which makes its noisiness sound even more violent despite the riffs not being as clear. It's filthy and Mollie's vocals are punishing. |
| 8 |  | Blood Abscission
I
black metal of the more "epic" atmo-black brand, not exactly like Mgla but in a similar vein, albeit typically faster. |
| 9 |  | Final Eclipse
The Dark World
black metal that's allegedly from the Dark Fortress guys. Sounds kind of like a more lo-fi, crunchier Drudkh. Very hypnotic, low grumbling, oftentimes blasty! cheq cheq cheq |
| 10 |  | Marthe
Further In Evil
One-woman Bathory worship made by an Italian crust punk feminist, so a crustier Bathory album. It's epic, it rocks, it'll have you screaming FURTHER IN EEEVILL, etc. |
| 11 |  | Afterbirth
In But Not Of
I like how they got progier on this one, which isn't something I usually like from my tech death. |
| 12 |  | Penguin Cafe
Rain Before Seven...
do u like penguin cafe bc i do |
| 13 |  | Grandbrothers
Late Reflections
tied with Penguin Cafe as "chamber classical I like" albums. |
| 14 |  | Maria BC
Spike Field
Psychedelic folk/singer-songwriter, not exactly Grouper-y but kind of under the umbrella. v somber guitar music |
| 15 |  | Trha
§ºanωë Aglivajsamë Cá Nëlh¶iha
This is more typical black metal in the Paysage D'Hiver vein, albeit with some actual riffs this time. Three lengthy songs, icy production, not as much emphasis on the keyboards this time but still a lot of big melodic moments. |
| 16 |  | Mycorrhizae
The Great Filtration
frantic melodic black metal from one of the former False guitarists about mushrooms. Mushrooooms. Riffs for days, blasts that make you tired. |
| 17 |  | Arnaut Pavle
Transylvanian Glare
Heavily d-beat-influenced Darkthrone worship, and the best Darkthrone worship album of the year. This is the perfect combination of their black/punk eras that most of us wanted but never got. |
| 18 |  | Ophanim (CHE)
Tämpelskläng
Another Helvetic Underground Committee band fronted by the main guy behind Ungfell, so you know it's good. Rather straight atmospheric black metal, v solid. |
| 19 |  | Exhibition
The Last Laugh
Crossover thrash/NY hardcore that is very good. |
| 20 |  | Trha
lhum'ad'sejja
more straightforward atmo-black from trha |
| 21 |  | Flesh of the Stars
The Glass Garden
More of that 40-Watt Sun-worshiping doom metal. The vocals are a little low in the mix, but that just adds to the mournful atmosphere. |
| 22 |  | Sufjan Stevens
Javelin
I listened to this album too! But not enough times to remember anything rly outside of it just being good. |
| 23 |  | Yo La Tengo
This Stupid World
this one was good too. |
| 24 |  | Maruja
Knocknarea
post-rock EP! |
| 25 |  | Majesties
Vast Reaches Unclaimed
90's In Flames worship melodeath that's really good. No surprises, but we didn't need any anyway. |
| 26 |  | There Will Be Fireworks
Summer Moon
ten-year wait, it was worth it? sure! |
| 27 |  | Hyperdontia
Deranged
this might be a seventeen-minute EP but it sounds noticeably dirtier than their previous LP, which is a nice change for the band. Gritty death metal! |
| 28 |  | Epica
(Live at the AFAS Live)
Only caveat with this album is that it's not of the whole concert for some bizarre reason, so it's only seven songs. Taking what we're given, though, it's still great. The rest of the band sound great, but per usual it's Simone Simons whose powerhouse voice steals the show. |
| 29 |  | Motstand
Motstand
more straight necro darkthrone worship, ugly and raw, no punk. |
| 30 |  | Trespasser (SWE)
ἈΠΟΚΆΛΥΨΙΣ
anarcho black metal with RIFFS. Pummeling the world for a brighter tomorrow, setting the realm ablaze with liberty, etc. |
| 31 |  | Aodon
Portraits
atmo-black that I think a lot of people missed. |
| 32 |  | Gia Margaret
Romantic Piano
piano time |
| 33 |  | Midwife and Vyva Melinkolya
Orbweaving
like listening to ghosts through a rotary phone. Two grouper-core projects in one. |
| 34 |  | Parannoul
After the Night
real props to this band for putting on a live album that 1) sounds great and 2) pays fitting homage to Fishmans with that big 46-minute ending piece lol. |
| 35 |  | Parannoul
After The Magic
it's them again but also good |
| 36 |  | Afsky
Om Hundrede År
not as good as Ofte Jeg Drømmer Mig Død but still a great cascadian-esque atmo-black album. |
| 37 |  | King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard
PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of...
king giz do another prog thrash album that is unsurprisingly good, wow |
| 38 |  | Century (SWE)
The Conquest of Time
80's trad metal/speed metal that rocks! |
| 39 |  | Ratboys
The Window
another great rat boy record |
| 40 |  | pony
Velveteen
power pop is sometimes good for you and this is a some time is now |
| 41 |  | Pest Control
Don't Test the Pest
crossover thrash band tells you not to mess with the motherfucking pest, and I'm wont to believe them youknowwhat. |
| 42 |  | Autopsy
Ashes, Organs, Blood and Crypts
not quite as good as Morbidity Triumphant, but I'm just glad Autopsy are still cranking out decent death metal, even if it is a little death doomy (gross). |
| 43 |  | Wytch Hazel
IV: Sacrament
epic trad metal band continues to not do wrong. |
| 44 |  | Furia
Huta Luna
This album is kind of a funny one from the band. The A-side is basically black metal in the school of thought of Transilvanian Hunger but more melodic; mostly blast beats, frantic tempo, one idea the entire time for about thirty minutes. It's one-note the entire way through but it goes about as hard as you'd expect. The B-side is of equal length but is completely ambient drone. So it's a short black metal album that burns itself out so hard it disintegrates, haha. |
| 45 |  | Zorn (USA-PA)
Zorn
blackened punk filth |
| 46 |  | Moonlight Sorcery
Horned Lord of the Thorned Castle
symphonic black metal/power metal! It's very epic but the constant epicness and wild solos make it feel like so much of a shorter album that I'm legitimately shocked to find out now that it's actually 44-minutes long; I'd assumed it was like 33-mins given how quick it seems to go by. And because it sticks in my head as a super short album, I also keep forgetting it exists. It's just here one minute and gone the next whenever I go back to hear it again.
Which is why I just forgot until now to put it on the list wooops |
| 47 |  | Shadows (CL)
Out for Blood
Chilean heavy metal band that sounds like if Ghost BC went back to their spooky metal roots. |
| 48 |  | Armagh
Serpent Storm
more trad 80s metal, little bit speed, tinge of black metal. |
| 49 |  | Chappell Roan
The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
synth/dance-pop. Very catchy, fun pop album. |
| 50 |  | Hannah Jadagu
Aperture
an indie/dream pop record that is also very nice. |
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