Compared to the past years, I did not pay too much attention to all the music that came out in 2023. As I see it, there’s simply too much music being released, too many bands out there and not enough time.
That’s why for my 2023 end of year list I only chose 5 releases which I really consider essential and which I really enjoyed a lot.
Here we go:
ASAGRAUM - Veil of Death, Ruptured (Edged Circle Productions)
The Dutch satanic witches have finally released their 3rd album, after quite a long wait. “Veil of Death, Ruptured” is one hell of a black metal record which grips you from the first listen. It took 4 years to be released, but it was definitely worth the wait. The band has progressed enormously these past years, the intense touring must have helped a lot.
In just 36 minutes, Obscura (guitars, bass and vocals) and A.Morthaemer (drums) deliver a fierce slab of cold, merciless and atmospheric black metal, the way it should be played. The 8 tracks combine aggressive riffing and blast beats with mid tempo, double bass drum parts creating a monument of witching black metal splendor. Obscura‘s sinister vocals go hand in hand with Amber‘s excellent drumming patterns, showing how much these 2 fine girls have developed their evil skills.
Over the years Asagraum has created its own trademark and this album shows it from start to finish. Songs like “Ignem Purificat Lililtu“, “Fearless Dominance“, the single “Impure Fire” or the majestic title track show a band true to its essence, always striving to become better and better. Excellent album, totally recommended.
“When the veil of death is ruptured
By the blood of the forest calling me
Where the spirit world arises
I shed my flesh and walk into infinity!“
MARDUK- Memento Mori (Century Media)
When it comes to black metal, Marduk is more than a simple band, it’s an institution. With 15 studio albums and countless live releases in more than 30 years of activity, Marduk has become the synonym for “i don’t give a fuck, I walk my own path” black metal.
“Memento Mori” is the band’s 15th album and is one of the highlights of the band’s career. Not only Daniel Rostén (Mortuus) wrote and composed almost all of the songs on this album, he even took care of the fantastic layout, which can be admired if you own the physical copy.
With 10 songs and 41 minutes, “Memento Mori” sees the band returning to their other favorite topic (besides world war 2 and panzers), namely Satanism and Death. This album represents an ode to the Grim Reaper, which is quite obvious if you read the lyrics, checked out the booklet or watched the 2 promo videos. This record comes as a harsh reminder that we are not eternal and that sooner or later we’ll become just another bag of bones buried in the cold earth, whether we like it or not.
“As you are, we once were
As we are, so shall you be“
“Memento Mori” is an outstanding record from start to finish and contains all the classic elements which made Marduk famous for: insane blast beats, excellent musicianship, insanely good songs (“Heart of the Funeral“, “Shovel Beats Sceptre“, “As We Are“, only to name a few) and fuck off attitude. Fucking buy this album and not only listen to it, check out the booklet as well, it’s a black metal masterpiece.
UNPURE – “Prophecies Ablaze” (Invictus Productions/The Ajna Offensive)
32 years of activity, several demos, splits, a compilation but only 5 full lengths. The Swedish band Unpure has always been the hidden gem of black metal despite its inconsistent activity. 19 years after their last studio album, they came back with a new record, “Prophecies Ablaze“, and with a new line-up, hungrier and stronger than ever.
The founding member Kolgrim has coopted 3 members of the mighty Watain to join him on his unholy crusade from the North. This fresh blood pumped into the band made Unpure kick serious ass on “Prophecies Ablaze“, so it quickly became one of my favorite albums of 2023.
8 songs, 41 minutes of Northern black metal madness, insanely addictive riffs, excellent fast and mid tempo drumming, raspy vocals and catchy tunes: this is how I’d describe this album to someone who’s never listened to “Prophecies Ablaze” until now.
I honestly can’t say which track is my favorite, it’s very hard to pick one, as the whole album is amazing. Should I pick the battering “Small Crooked Bones” (an old song reworked and updated), “The Witch of Upsala” with its wicked thrashy riffs and mid tempo double bass drumming or “His Wrath and Red Soil“, a typical Unpure banger, a perfect Bathörhead tribute? Or maybe the title track, a fierce black metal onslaught on which E. Svensson displays once again his excellent drumming skills? What about “Endtime Dictator“, the longest track on this record, with its cavalcade of riffs and changing tempos, which build into the great headbanging finale with an obsessive guitar part?
Regardless of the choice, one thing is for sure: “Prophecies Ablaze” is the come back of the year and the best album Unpure has released so far. Hail the “Coldland”!
WATAIN – “Die in Fire, Live in Hell – Agony and Ecstasy over Stockholm” (Nuclear Blast)
The next album on my list is not a studio album, but a live one. It came out on the 3rd of November, in order to celebrate Watain‘s 25th anniversary.
Recorded live and raw in 2022 in Stockholm during their Swedish leg of the “Agony and Ecstasy Tour“, this record represents another remarkable chapter in Watain‘s cursed existence and discography. Firstly, it features an amazing raw sound, which provides the listener with a first hand experience of the power and energy the band emits on stage. Secondly, the choice of songs played during this show is amazing, as they mixed classic tracks and newer ones in a very inspiring manner.
Besides classic live favorites “Devil’s Blood“, “Reaping Death” (what a banger this is, even after 13 years) or the sick Bathory cover “The Return of Darkness and Evil“, the band played 5 tracks off the new album, including the monster that is “Before the Cataclysm“, a track that I instantly fell in love with after the very first listen. A Watain ceremony cannot end without the beautiful “Malfeitor“, so here we have it as an album closure in all it’s glory (followed right after by the melancholic instrumental “Requiem XIII“).
“Where unchained spirits, rampant, soar
In starless heavens, like before
The cataclysm, in timeless time
When God was not forevermore“
My only regret is that this release did not contain a DVD to accompany the concert, as I truly believe that visuals are a very important part to fully experience a Watain show and somehow this is missing from the release. Nevertheless, “Die in Fire Live in Hell” is an excellent live album performed and released by one of my all time favorite bands and one of the best black metal entities that have ever walked this wretched earth.
XALPEN – The Curse of Kwányep (Black Lodge Records)
From the distant lands beyond the ocean comes the last album on my list, the beautiful and dangerous “The Curse of Kwányep“, Xalpen‘s sophomore album.
Released on March 24th AB, this record represents the most solid work the Chilean maniacs have done so far. What caught my ear in the first place was the melody hidden under the layers of sheer aggression and speed contained in the songs. The 7 tracks (plus the 3 instrumentals) represent a journey into a world of magic and spirituality skillfully invoked and practiced by ancient shamans and the powerful spirits they conjure. This album is the place where raw black metal and the left hand path meet, dance and rejoice, like the snakes that are invoked on the beautiful “Kòlpèwsh“, one of the strongest tracks on the record.
“We whom approach to your slumber!
in ecstasy, claiming your name, – Kòlpèwsh!
Oh, Serpent of four heads wake up from your sleep!
Arise from the depths and unfold your black wings!“
The band basically used all the experience it gathered from their previous works and channeled it into its latest creation, which became their best work so far. The new record is consistent (the songs are good and memorable), coherent (they flow so well one into the other, like telling a story) and powerful (the lyrics have parts written in the Selk’nam language and deal with Satanism and the left hand path).
A video clip has also been shot for the amazing title track, enhancing the audial experience with frightening visions and powerful scenes.
To cut it short, I strongly encourage you to listen to this album (if you haven’t done it yet), as it’s one of the best that came out in 2023. Keep an eye on Xalpen, I promise you’ll hear more from this underrated band, one of the most well kept secrets of the underground black metal scene.
Also be sure to check out both Xalpen and Unpure, as next spring they will embark on the “Europe Ablaze Tour” which will devastate several cities of the old continent.
Europe Ablaze Tour 2024!
04/04/2024 DE Berlin ORWOhaus
05/04/2024 CZ Ostrava Barrak club
06/04/2024 SK Bratislava Pink Whale
07/04/2024 AT Vienna Viper Room
09/04/2024 CH Liestal A_Way
10/04/2024 DE Bochum Trompete
11/04/2024 BE Ghent Asgaard
12/04/2024 NL Arnhem Willemeen
13/04/2024 DATE AVAILABLE (Bremen/Hamburg/Kassel/Hannover area)
14/04/2024 DE Dresden Novatis
02/05/2024 SE Gothenbourg The Abyss
03/05/2024 SE Stockholm Hus7
04/05/2024 DK Copenhagen (Lyngby) Templet
05/05/2024 DE Kiel Alte Meierei
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