Album Of The Year: Cavalera Bestial Devastation / Morbid Visions
Top 5 Contenders:
The Damned Darkadelic
Grove Street The Path To Righteousness
Home Front Games Of Power
Ren Sick Boi
Trespasser ἈΠΟΚΆΛΥΨΙΣ
For the few weeks I have been genuinely questioning my choice for the best album of 2023. I finally settled my internal argument between some excellent releases. My choice turned out to be rather odd. Not only am I choosing two albums for the top spot, but I am also choosing two albums that have been re-recorded. The world is officially spinning in the opposite direction. If you seek out my full review of Cavalera’s redo of Bestial Devastation and Morbid Visions, you’ll get a dose of my disdain for re-recordings. I don’t like them and don’t think they’re necessary. In this case, I was wrong. So wrong, in fact, that Bestial Devastation and Morbid Visions albums are my favorite and most listened to records of the year. What the Cavalera brothers pulled off needs to be the future blueprint and standard for what a re-recording should be if a band decides to go that route. Not only did they keep the aesthetics of the original recordings, but they modernized in all the right ways. If these two records sounded like this in 1986, we’d be talking about them as a couple of the greatest death / thrash metal records in history. Kudos, Max and Igor! Next…The Damned are a gift to the world! 47 fucking years later they remain a force when they play live and consistently release wonderful albums. I know when bands get a bit long in the tooth, the tendency to put out a record that is a poor facsimile of their glory days becomes a real thing. Well, Captain and company prove that wrong with Darkadelic. No, they don’t play as aggressively as they once did, but boy do they come off with major style and atmosphere on this record. Mr. Vanian turned in a stellar vocal performance and sounds like he’s 25 again. It definitely takes me back to their Phantasmagoria / Anything and, as any Damned fan knows, there’s zero wrong with that. The Path To Righteousness by UK’s hardcore unit Grove Street entered my world very late this year. It’s been a while since a pure, street-level hardcore record has caught my ear. Upon my initial listen, I instantly heard the best parts of Leeway and Biohazard. The riffs are super and take the songs back and forth between traditional stomping hardcore and some thrashy, crossover vibes. I feel like you could throw a rock at the hardcore scene and hit 10 bands that play this style, but Grove Street have something special happening. Canada’s aggro unit Home Front absolutely killed it with their second release, Games Of Power. They seamlessly incorporate aspects of industrial, post-punk and new wave and wrap it up in an anarcho punk rock blanket without falling directly into any one of the genres. They are so energetic live, and that same vigor just jumps off this record. This album is insanely infectious. Wrapping up my Top 6 was the biggest contender for the number one spot. For those not in-the-know, Ren is a multi-instrumentalist artist from the UK that has gained well-earned fame and respect through YouTube the last year or so. His phenomenal yet harrowing video for the mesmerizing song “Hi Ren” hooked me immediately and since April of this year I have been studying Ren’s music like it’s a test. Sick Boi, his deep stab into the hip hop / electronic world, is only scratching the surface of his talent. I have a full-scale review of the record posted that goes into much more detail because the music is too difficult to explain in this short commentary. It's been quite a while since a new artist has dominated my attention like he has. Ren is someone that I truly believe could become a generational musician and I am feverishly anticipating what he does next. Just because their name falls late in the alphabet, it doesn’t mean Trespasser are in 6th place. Yet, another record that I found further into the year which makes me realize that I need to pay way more attention to new releases. Nowadays it takes quite a bit for a typical/true, more straight-forward style black metal band to remain at the top of the heap. Usually, it’s a new Deathspell Omega, Spektr or Blut Aus Nord and their mangled, maniacal sounds that gain my attention. That should tell you a lot about Trespasser’s sophomore effort ἈΠΟΚΆΛΥΨΙΣ (don’t ask…I have zero idea). This is HEAVY black metal with lyrics that don’t rely on fascism or satanic idiocy. Death metal tones enhance the incredible riffs. Some people call Trespasser melodic. No, they aren’t. What’s being mistaken for melody are their top tier arrangements which make each song memorable and individualized. Trust me, they are quite pulverizing and vicious. If I had more time with this album, it may have crept up to first place. Now, I’m not usually a “honorable mention” type person, but it you haven’t checked out Dolenz Sings R.E.M. and you are a fan of The Monkees or R.E.M., you’re missing out! Happy New Year everyone and stay safe out there!
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