2023 proved to be another excellent and fruitful year for death metal, with swarms of releases (many of which I haven't had the pleasure to put in my ears yet) spanning across the genre's spectrum :
1.) Blindfolded And Led To The Woods - "Rejecting Obliteration" :
Rarely has death metal been so vulnerable and emotional while still retaining the genre's beloved malevolent abresiveness.
"Rejecting Obliteration" manages to weave creative experimentation with brutal technicality as well as moments of genuinely gripping beauty, and for that reason, it made choosing it as my top death metal pick a no-brainer.
2.) The Zenith Passage - "Datalysium" :
Perhaps one of the most talked about and revered death metal releases this year and for good reason. The line between inhumane mechanical precision and the human sense of groove and melody becomes blurred, but not to the point where it becomes overly excessive and soulless as a result (looking at you Archspire). The riffs on this thing are ridiculously fun, outlandish, surprisingly catchy and beg to be experienced all over again.
3.) Sanguisugabogg - "Homicidal Ecstasy" :
I'm usually not very fond of extreme music that over-indulges in graphic, gory lyrical themes and imagery because I just find it corny as hell most of the time and that it detracts from the music itself ; but in Sanguisugabogg's case, between the nu-metal-meets-hardcore-meets-brutal death metal grooves and their status as online memelords, I can't help but indulge in the vile tomfoolery "Homicidal Ecstasy" offers up to those willing to take part.
Seriously though, this thing is so damn groovy and ignorantly heavy, you are left with no choice but to return to monke.
4.) Cattle Decapitation - "Terrasite" :
2023's winner of the "Don't judge a book by its cover" contest.
Like many others, I braced for the worse when "Terrasite" 's questionable artwork was revealed but as it turns out, I actually found it to be a superior album to 2020's already compelling "Death Atlas" and my favourite material from the band so far.
In spite of its goofy appearance, the idea and concept behind the album is anything but and tackles a very real threat that looms over the entirety of humanity and brings up some uncomfortable truths.
Musically, the sheer stamina that is required from all members of the band to pull off this ceaseless barrage of technical deathgrind is tiresome just to think about, and solidifies why Cattle Decapitation are still such a respected name in the scene even over twenty years into their career.
5.) Entheos - "Time Will Take Us All" :
A brilliant return after a prolonged absence since 2017's "Dark Future" and after undergoing some important line-up changes.
Entheos reclaim their spot as one of the most unmistakable voices in technical death metal.
6.) Gorod - "The Orb" :
At this point, Gorod need no introduction since the French powerhouse have earned the international respect of the progressive tech-death metal scene for years by now and "The Orb" acts as a testament as to why that is.
7.) Nightmarer - "Deformity Adrift" :
Perhaps the album with the most unconventional production style for the genre on this list.
I did think I would like this album more but it didn't end up sticking with me as much as I thought it would.
Still haven't had the chance to check out the "stripped down" version of the album the band released later during the year so I'm curious to do a side-by-side comparison whenever I manage!
8.) Asystole - "Siren to Blight" :
The underground hero of this list.
While Asystole stick to brutal tech-death's blueprint for the most part, it still proved to be a very enjoyable, filthy and dissonant debut.
Keep an eye out for them in the future!
9.) Horrendous - "Ontological Mysterium" :
The album I've listened to the most recently on this list, hence the lower ranking.
I did appreciate the stylistic experimentation, and perhaps even "departure" from their previous sound, but it didn't always really land for me.
Perhaps that will change upon revisiting, as it is still a unique-sounding approach to death metal that deserves further observation.
10.) Obituary - "Dying of Everything" :
In a genre that often either preoccupies itself with sounding as inhumanely technical as possible or as savagely brutal as can be, "Dying of Everything" and its thrash leanings is almost refreshing in a way since it mostly focuses on the enjoyment of "simpler" groovy riffs without overthinking it and just continues to appreciate what sparked the genre in the first place.
A worthy expansion of Obituary's legacy and contribution to death metal.
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