What a massive music year 2023 was! I probably listened to more new albums in 2023 than ever before (somewhere between 250-300), fitted in between “new” albums from previous years as well as things from my existing collection. It’s been overwhelming. It’s been busy. It’s been an education. And, more than anything, it’s been fun.
Listening to plenty of music is one thing, but how to rank it all? As usual, where there’s a whip, there is a way.
For the first time, I did not write a single album review in the past year. I noticed that overall, those posts were by far the least read ones, and last year’s experiment with shorter blurbs posted on the Facebook group as part of the end-of-year ranking, rather than links to in-depth posts, got a lot more interest and engagement. Not that this is important by itself, but it told me I could shift my writing focus to the type of categories that people – including myself – would rather spent time on: rock’n’roll war stories, stories behind songs, etc. And there has been a lot more of those type of stories on the site the past year.
But, I have still listened to a heck of a lot new music, and in fact ended up with a Top 100 list. The first half of that list will be very brief mentions and cover quite a few of them in larger chunks, with some more detail as we get closer to the end.
Before we get into it, as always, a few words about my ranking criteria. People will have different approaches, which is fine. This is mine.
The list will basically show which albums were important to me in 2023. When I look back on lists from previous years, I do not always agree with that ranking now, but it will always be an accurate representation of what that music year was like for me there and then. The list reflects this in several ways: what I loved and played over and over again. The biggest mainstays. Those that I didn’t get tired of even with some roadwear. Those that hit the sweet spot. Those that provided earworms. Those that really gave me chills.
Lists are destined to change over time. Some albums will become mainstays, others fall by the wayside. This perspective will only fully emerge over the years, but the here and now is known. If I really like an album now, does it matter how much I’ll like it in ten years? Whatever subjective criteria that exists – if anything impacted me and was part of my life in 2023 to a significant degree, it deserves a good ranking on my 2023 end-of-year list.
OK, enough babble. On to the first 25 on the list.
100) SAINT AGNES – Bloodsuckers
This ferocious UK band are all about honest lyrics, intense vocal performances, plus rage-fuelled music intended to give a voice to those closer to the fringe than the centre. And scary music videos. This is one of the safer ones.
99) JOE BONAMASSA – Blues Deluxe Vol. 2
His sixteenth album is full of classic blues and soul numbers, with two originals amid several covers. Joe has produced albums before with more bite, but rarely with more swing and strut to it than this time. And, it’s just right for the material.
98) JOHN DIVA & THE ROCKETS OF LOVE – The Big Easy
As the name indicates, this band is out to have fun. Their brand of melodic, glam-filled rock’n’roll reminds us of decades past. Straightforward, refreshing rock with distinctive riffs is never totally wrong.
97) WYTCH HAZEL – IV Sacrament
In the parallel universe where the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal happened 600 years early, Wytch Hazel are the band of choice for the discerning headbanger. I got to them late in the year, so while they didn’t get a fair chance to make their mark in 2023 they are now on my radar. Put them on yours, too.
96) GIRLSCHOOL – WTFortyfive?
They are well known as one of the first all-female bands to emerge in the male-dominated world of hard rock. I’m still not sure they get enough kudos for everything they have meant. The new album is – as always – a solid effort and well worth checking out.
95) FEUERSCHWANZ – Fegefeuer
Can humorous German ompa-ompa metal be fun? Yes! Yes, it can! In small doses.
94) KAMELOT – The Awakening
Several years in the making, Kamelot returns with one of their best albums in a long time. Tommy Karevik sings his tailfeathers off here, and the band is tight and sound inspired.
93) TRAGEDY – I Am Woman
Pure fun! You may love or hate disco or metal. But who can dislike Tragedy and their bombastic mix of disco-metal, glitter and revelry? I sure can’t. If you find this video entertaining, do go hunting – they have several!
92) COBRA SPELL – 666
Cobra Spell was formed in 2020 by former Crypta guitarist Sonia Anubis, performing 1980s hard rock with panache and sassiness. 666 is their debut album.
91) DEATH DEALER UNION – Initiation
Fronted by Moldovan singer Lena Scissorhands known from Infected Rain, Death Dealer Union is a cinematic alternative power metal band. Initiation is their debut album.
90) NEAL MORSE – the Dreamer – Joseph, Pt. 1
Morse is known to write albums with deeply religious themes. This is a full on rock opera with telling the story of Joseph as told by the Bible in the Book of Genesis. I can’t imagine the story ever having been more epic. This is just one of several albums Morse is releasing this year – amongst other things he is known from the D’Virgilio, Morse & Jennings-project, which we will get to later in this countdown.
89) H.E.A.T. – Extra Force
Firmly planted in the melodic rock/AOR category, but with a more powerful expression than most bands of that ilk. Extra Force is their 8th album.
88) MADNESS – Theatre of the Absurd presents C’est La Vie
I have never really been a Madness fan and not listened much to them, but am familiar with their hits. When they returned with a new album featuring concepts and suites in their music I was finally fascinated. In this music video, they provide a unique three-part version of the various Theatre of the Absurd tracks on the album.
87) WITHIN TEMPTATION – Bleed Out
The Dutch symphonic power metal combo have evolved to modern rock and metal with crossovers to many genres like urban, trip, alternative, and modern cinematic action driven music.
86) FOO FIGHTERS – But Here We Are
Their eleventh studio album is their first after the death of Taylor Hawkins, and sees Dave Grohl drumming on all the songs. An emotional but ultimately positive album.
85) THE COLD STARES – Voices
The bare-bones guitar and drums duo adds a third member on their new album, which combines blues, roots, and rock’n’roll, making them comparable to Larkin Poe, Joe Bonamassa, Rival Sons, etc.
84) HAKEN – Fauna
A modern progressive rock band from London, England, Haken is one of the genre’s most adventurous forces with every album sounding different than the last. Still, the hooks, off-kilter riffs and flamboyant keyboard lines are never far away. Frontman Ross Jennings never sits still, and is amongst other things also known for the D’Virgilio, Morse & Jennings collaboration.
83) CAIRO – Nemesis
Born out of the ashes of Touchstone, Rob Cottingham put together an album with more mystical influences. Beware the scarab!
82) BLUR – The Ballad of Darren
Hardly recognisable as the band they were in the mid-90s, but that is after all 30 years ago. The new album is very low-key, but with an intense slow-burn quality that befits the material. No instant gratification given, but a very worthy effort.
81) ANGRA – Cycles of Pain
Brazilian power metallers Angra have enjoyed a surprisingly stable run, starting when former Rhapsody of Fire vocalist Fabio Lione surprisingly joined them in 2012. The biggest surprise is probably that he is still around 12 years later, and now they return with another solid album. Long may they continue!
80) SHANA CLEVELAND – Manzanita
The frontwoman of La Luz returns with her third solo album, dreamy and mystic as usual. When you’re in the mood for something more reflective with a lot of ambience and ability to mesmerize, it will hit the spot. If you want to rock out, it will not. Listen accordingly.
79) SCARLET AURA – Rock în sânge și voință
Heavy metal is alive and well in Romania! This is Scarlet Aura’s seventh album. A lot of their output has formed parts of an ongoing saga of epic proportions – which is duly matched by the music. The newer stuff is more hard-hitting and inspired by real-world events.
78) THE HU – Rumble of Thunder
The HU from Mongolia blends screaming metal guitars with traditional Mongolian instrumentation as well as guttural singing. You will never quite have heard anything like it. It’s been great to see them reach a pretty decent level of popularity in Europe, where they now play on the upper card of summer festival line-ups!
77) PHIL CAMPBELL AND THE BASTARD SONS – Kings of the Asylum
After Motörhead ended, Phil Campbell has continued playing with his “bastard sons” in their self-named hard-hitting old-school rock’n’roll band. It oozes energy in a way that Motörhead frequently did, but is somewhat more diverse than the old mothership.
76) KRYPTA – Outo Laakso
The Finnish band Krypta (with a K – the one with a C appears later in the list!) is the side project of Henri Seger, known from Tyranitti. His main band plays traditional metal, while Krypta is more of an occult retro-rock’n’roll project, focusing on building interesting moods – perhaps thematically similar to Blue Oyster Cult, or newer bands like Wytch Hazel, Hällas, and Ghost.
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