As we barrel down towards the end of the year, we are sharing End of Year lists from staff, bands, and some friends in the business. Check out our esteemed scribe Callum Reid and his picks for the Top Albums of 2023!
No. 10: Paul Gilbert – The Dio Album (Music Theories Recordings/Mascot Label Group)
US super picker, string bender and shredder par excellence Paul Gilbert’s 12-track instrumental tribute album finds yer maestro not only attempting to guitar-mimic the celebrated Ronnie James Dio vocals, but also striving to reproduce/reinterpret the fabled achievements of axe legends Ritchie Blackmore (Rainbow), Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath) and Vivian Campbell (Dio), ie some of the very best geetar sounds since the veritable bucking of the hum. Does Gilbert succeed? You betcha.
The virtuoso host plays every instrument except drums (Bill Ray). Every now and again it sounds like Vic Reeves, Pub Singer. But most of the time, Gilbert gets it spot on – sonically accurate, the vocal nuances and idiosyncrasies intact. The very best of it is “Holy Diver”, “Heaven And Hell”, “Don’t Talk To Strangers”, and the cataclysmically climactic “The Last In Line”. Love conquers all.
No. 9: Ayron Jones – Chronicles Of The Kid (Big Machine/John Varvatos)
Seattle guitarist, singer, songwriter Ayron Jones delivers blockbusting, heartbreaking, beautiful and bluesy rock ’n’ roll on the honest and heartfelt Chronicles Of The Kid.
Why do these songs sound like they’re from a movie? They are epic, widescreen, telling a story, full of indelible images. Jones’ ripe, resplendent guitar grabs you by the throat and keeps seeking answers just as it grants you breath. You can hear the gospel in his voice, and the hip-hoppy influences spicing up his signature dish, “The Title”. “I won’t bow down to any king.” This is a remarkable record.
No. 8: Mutoid Man – Mutants (Sargent House)
Talk about a power trio. Stephen Brodsky (guitar/vocals), Jeff Matz (bass) and Ben Koller (drums) are a rockin’ supergroup made up of members of Cave In, High On Fire and Converge. Some call them metal, some prog, some just ‘alternative’, and they are, of course, all that, as well as punky and frenzied yet, somehow at the same time, supremely controlled.
Brodsky is the leading man of this Brooklyn-founded outfit, his extraordinary riffage and fretboard filigree driving the raucous and anthemic opener “Call Of The Void”. Other highlights include “Broken Glass Ceiling”, “Siren Song” and “Setting Sun”.
If you can accept the analogy of a rock ’n’ roll band as a gridiron football team, with the vocals and guitar the offense, and the rhythm section defence, this dynamic group of guys, on this fine, fine form, could easily win you at least a coupla championships.
No. 7: The Anchoret – It All Began With Loneliness (Willowtip Records)
The Anchoret, new Canadian titans of progressive metal, make their debut with an engrossing, seriously sombre and simply scintillating record, steeped in and fuelled by the legacies of true prog greats while also bang up-to-date in its metal power (take a bow, drummer James Christopher Knoerl). The very best albums, the ones you remember and keep going back to, can take you on a journey. Be prepared for an odyssey.
Stand-out moments include the wonderfully fluid, ripping, rocking lead geetar of Leo Estalles … the brawny, marching power chords and gospel-style vocals (sung by Nimiwari) on “A Dead Man” … and the rifftastic opening and tremendous finale of “Someone Listening?” Yes, guys – we’re listening. “Forsaken” finds vocalist Sylvain Auclair at his very, very best, including some near-death metal growls. Snazzy, jazzy sax takes its place among the fascinating, eclectic soundscape, along with flute, clarinet and, of course, proggy mellotron, as this collective ‘project’ flex their musical muscles, versatility and virtuosity.
No. 6: Desert Storm – Death Rattle (APF Records)
A skilled and experienced Oxford, England, collective, Desert Storm launch into their new album with headlong headbanger “Master Of None”, a fine, fine example of what these guys do so well. A simple but irresistible riff, throat-grabbing, ear-bending vocals (the outstanding Matthew Ryan), a blissfully wandering, absorbing bassline, and then the piercing lead geetar, rising above the cacophony, above the rhythmic, groovy maelstrom, offering a vital sense of dynamic space.
It’s tough to pin down the sound specifically as doom/stoner/sludge/psych/whatever, with some subtle, moody sections amid the howling and growling, so perhaps a vague but appreciative and accommodating “progressive” banner is best? It’s also a bit Pearl Jam, a bit Tool. Whatever you think it is, it’s dance music – and few are doing it better than Desert Storm.
No. 5: Crown Lands – Fearless (Spinefarm Records)
This virtuoso, exciting and engaging Canadian duo – guitarist/bassist/keys player Kevin Comeau and singer/drummer Cody Bowles – have delivered a record that, if you have any prog in your soul, will leave you smiling from sated ear to sated ear. As Bowles sings on Context: “If life is a wheel/ Please let it spin/ And doors that may open/ Please let me in …” You’re in guys, you’re in.
Echoes of legendary trio Rush abound, not least the martial, romping, rampant “2112”-style guitar riffs, the dedication to the storytelling, the INTEGRITY, and the high-register tenor vocals, aiming for the Geddy Lee stratosphere.
Aces producer David Bottrill (Muse, Tool, Mastodon) is fully in tune with the duo’s Rushified agenda, but it can’t be stressed enough how ‘modern’ sounding Crown Lands are – there is a counter-culture, politically-astute, anti-colonialist stance highlighting social injustice (Bowles is a half-Mi’kmaq, who identifies gender-wise as Two Spirit).
No. 4: Fall Out Boy – So Much (For) Stardust (Fueled By Ramen)
What a time to be alive. There will be a time when the Boys won’t be here, you know … People tend to forget that Patrick Stump is 39 years old. Pete Wentz is 44. Fall Out Boy have been on the go since 2001, but are still “So Good Right Now” and the live shows never, never, ever disappoint.
This is still a ‘punk’ band, is it? Forget the pigeonholes. Just listen to “Heaven, Iowa”. Luxuriate in the climactic title track. If you feel like telling me I’ve over-sold it, the first 49 seconds of the first song are everything we love about music, aren’t they? And it’s all uphill from there.
No. 3: Green Lung – This Heathen Land (Nuclear Blast)
London-formed Green Lung, pretenders to several psych/stoner/doom thrones, take a major step forward with a kinda folk-horror concept album, a treat to delve into, subtitled: ‘A Journey Into Occult Albion’.
Riff riot “The Forest Church” is Maiden-esque, a statement of intent and a sign of goodies to come, melodic geetar (Scott Black) and strong vocals (Tom Templar) leading the way. The classic sonics were reportedly inspired by records produced by Martin Birch in the 1970s and 1980s, from Rainbow Rising to Black Sabbath’s Heaven And Hell and The Mob Rules, Maiden’s Killers and so many more.
Doom epic “One For Sorrow” absolutely nails the mood. The Dracula-inspired “Oceans Of Time” is a pure, instant classic, a Carpathian, wolfish, hungry “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”. Magical stuff.
No. 2: Starbenders – Take Back The Night (Sumerian Records)
A power-packed showcase of strong, strong pop-rock songwriting and arranging, an album full of punky attitude and thrusting ambition, centred on a Marc Bolan-haired girl dressed in leathers, spandex and black ’n’ white ankle boots, puttin’ on the rizz …
This Atlanta-based crew of androgynous, hedonistic hellions may have been sold to you as a throwback to the glam era, but there is also much of the zeitgeist about them. Synth-burbling, kit-pounding track “Sex” is an all-round, pulsing, throbbing delight, while “If You Need It” lights up the sky – a pure, uncut treat.
Singer Kimi Shelter is the star, the pearl, but the collective excellence and oh-so apparent work ethic are simply undeniable amid a flurry of myriad influences – Abba, Fleetwood Mac, Springsteen, and Van Halen. This genuinely feels like a landmark, from a band with illimitable possibilities.
No. 1: Godthrymm – Distortions (Profound Lore)
Guitar chimes at midnight, pedal to the metal and all pyres blazing – light up the sky! Sonorous melancholy. Riffs to chop wood to, riffs to nail shingles to the roof, riffs to build a house. Riffs that question you – do you doubt yourself?
With huge, weighty, determined first track, “As Titans”, we’re in menacing, haunting, epic territory – transported elsewhere, somewhere beyond, elevated and rejuvenated by the sheer gnarly groove and gristly grind. Plus – exultant, emotional crescendos.
“Devils”, massive riffage, is off the scale, a masterpiece. “Follow Me”, featuring Aaron Stainthorpe (My Dying Bride), is too brief at 12.46 – a keeper, a true friend. After Distortions, the resolutely great first album from this Halifax-based outfit, led by one Hamish Glencrosss, the vibrant, victorious and towering Distortions turns it up a notch. No second-album curse, no faltering, no worries.
Check out Ghost Cult’s Album of The Year coverage here:
Ghost Cult’s Album of the Year Countdown 2023: Part 1 (75-41)