Top 10 for 2023

TheBigBlack's Rock Top 10

Corey Taylor
CMF2

Hard Rock | Album | 15 September 2023

Mudhoney
Plastic Eternity

Grunge Rock | Album | 7 April 2023

Bob Dylan
Shadow Kingdom

Classic Rock | Album | 2 June 2023

The Rolling Stones
Hackney Diamonds

Classic Rock | Album | 20 October 2023

Foo Fighters
But Here We Are

Alternative Rock | Album | 2 June 2023

It probably goes without saying, but this is an album about loss. The death of Taylor Hawkins in March 2022 would have left a large hole in the band, but this isn't the first time Dave Grohl has had to work through grief with music - He had to do the exact same thing almost 30 years prior. He is an older (and arguably wiser) man now, and the songs target his thoughts, but often not through an open outpouring of emotion. Many lyrics are veiled references disguised as odes to lost loves or losing direction. An album highlight, 'Hearing Voices', is more direct in its messaging whereas something like the brilliant opener 'Rescued' is more alluding to the pain of needing to be supported through chaos. Musically the album suffers from a bit of a slump in the middle, but overall this is the best album the band has produced since its early days, and playing it alongside the classic 'The Colour And The Shape' reveals a lot of stylistic similarities between them. The album closes on a sombre note with 'Rest', really nailing home the dark themes overall, and musically using passages from the album opener. Powerful stuff.

TheBigBlack's Rock Honourable Mentions

Bob Dylan
The Bootleg Series Vol. 17, Fragments (Time Out Mind Sessions 1996-1997) [Deluxe Edition]

Classic Rock | Compilation Album | 27 January 2023

U2
Songs Of Surrender

Rock | Album | 17 March 2023

Pearl Jam
Give Way

Grunge Rock | Album | 22 April 2023

Bob Dylan
The Bootleg Series Vol. 17, Fragments (Time Out Mind Sessions 1996-1997) [Deluxe Edition]

Classic Rock | Compilation Album | 27 January 2023

Bob Dylan
The Complete Budokan 1978

Classic Rock | Album | 17 November 2023

The Beatles
1962-1966 [50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition]

Classic Rock | Compilation Album | 10 November 2023

The Beatles
1967-1970 [50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition]

Classic Rock | Compilation Album | 10 November 2023

TheBigBlack's Metal Top 10

Immortal
War Against All

Black Metal | Album | 26 May 2023

Blackbraid
Blackbraid II

Black Metal | Album | 7 July 2023

Generally the word 'sophistication' isn't used when reviewing black metal music. It denotes a degree of finesse and even restraint the genre is not known for. Blackbraid's second album is an exception, with timing and even grandiosity that would normally fit orchestral works - but make no mistake, this is by no means an orchestral work like those of Emperor or Dimmu Borgir. The album is still straight up guitar and drums black metal (again all played by one man, the ingenious Sgah'gahsowah), but takes the listener on an immersive journey by keeping the musical themes of the album tight and repetitive. The debut album (released less than a year ago) was quite an amazing work, but II possibly tops it. It follows a similar template, using traditional indigenous American motifs buried beneath the lush wall of brutality, but does stretch its wings a little to show a greater depth. There is possibly more speed and aggression on display, with tracks like 'The Wolf That Guides The Hunters Hand' sounding closer to death metal in places, but the nemesis to this are the acoustic interludes such as 'Spells Of Moon And Earth' tearing the anger back down. Many of the tracks are long (some clocking in over 10 minutes), but they are multilayered and don't linger in one place too long. The production is top-notch, and every instrument cuts through perfectly. The album ends with an excellent cover of the Bathory's Viking metal masterpiece 'A Fine Day To Die'.

Hellripper
Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags

Speed Metal | Album | 17 February 2023

Speed metal with just a touch of black has been getting quite a following across Europe in the last few years. Hellripper is a one man unit out of Scotland that leans a little more on the black side than most, rasping away though these blazing songs like a demon on a motorcycle. The guitar tones are tasty, with a 80s feel (but a modern sounding production), and the whole album makes you want to throw your horns up in the air and shout the dark lord's name. There is plenty of vintage Slayer and Megadeth here, but it also drips with a dark swagger that only bands like Darkthrone can usually pull off. It isn't just old-school worship though as so many other more recent bands like Warbringer also come to mind. The solos shred and are reminiscent of the leads on faster Maiden, and if this doesn't get your metalhead ass out of the chair leaping around the room - nothing else will.

Obituary
Dying Of Everything

Death Metal | Album | 13 January 2023

Metallica
72 Seasons

Thrash Metal | Album | 14 April 2023

With band members all around 60 years old a band could be forgiven if they decided to start taking it easy. Metallica have many roads available to them when they create music these days, and it felt like they had settled into a nice comfy pattern of 'not too heavy, not too light' with Hardwired To Self-Destruct. Turns out they still have a surprise or two in them yet, as 72 Seasons is the heaviest and most unrelenting album they have ever created. This is a dark album, and as each song rolls by you appreciate the many layers of texture this band have become the masters of laying down. For the most part it is pedal-to-the-floor fast, with little room for air between the songs and riffs, leaving a feeling of suffocation or even claustrophobia that Metallica don't normal conjure. There isn't a ballad or even a clear guitar, but did we need one? Slayer or Exodus never looked back and wished they had written 'Nothing Else Matters', because sometimes you just want intensity when the subject matter calls for it. Standouts for me are '72 Seasons', 'Crown Of Barbed Wire', and 'Room Of Mirrors'. There are riffs everywhere, and the only low points here are a couple of repetitions too many on the slower songs. This will probably not be the album some people wanted or expected, including me - but now that it is in my ears I couldn't imagine anything else I'd want more from Metallica circa 2023.

TheBigBlack's Metal Honourable Mentions

Cavalera
Bestial Devastation

Thrash Metal | E.P. | 23 July 2023

Cavalera
Morbid Visions

Thrash Metal | Album | 23 July 2023

Bob Dylan
The Bootleg Series Vol. 17, Fragments (Time Out Mind Sessions 1996-1997) [Deluxe Edition]

Classic Rock | Compilation Album | 27 January 2023

1997's 'Time Out Of Mind' is often labelled as the great Dylan comeback album. With a number of years passed since his last (mediocre) albums of originals many fans had low expectations, but were pleasantly surprised when he unveiled the late career masterpiece. This Bootleg Series instalment focuses solely on the album (for its 25th anniversary), and has a few great surprises. A complete new remix of the original album removes the swampy and atmospheric production of Daniel Lanois that has divided critics and fans alike for over two decades, and in its place we get a fresh clean sounding version of the album revealing many highlights I'd otherwise missed in the murky mix. There are also three discs of demos and outtakes (although one whole disc is made up of tracks from previous Bootleg Series entries). My only complaint is the quality of the disc of live tracks from the era - Sounds good in principle, but the recordings are reasonably poor unfortunately.