Mostly Metal's Favorites 2023

We're nine months into 2023, and overwhelmed with new music, not only in quantity, but also in quality.  I want to share some of my highlights here (in order of their release date) - To be continued... :-)

Dive in, have fun \m/

SIX SIDED STORM

Dance of the Serpent 

January 3rd, 2023

USA

Guitar wizard Addikus Storm delivers high-energetic yet virtuoso instrumental prog

Bandcamp


SAMTAR

Shadow of the King's Charade

January 13th, 2023

USA

SAMTAR's music comes along beautifully melodious, groovy, and a bit crazy

Bandcamp / Interview


MASK OF PROSPERO

Hiraeth

January 27th, 2023

Greece

Modern progmetal from Greece, intense, expressive, and highly emotional

Bandcamp / Review


THE WORLD IS QUIET HERE

Zon

January 27th, 2023

Country: USA

Don't let the band's name fool you, this album isn't quiet at all ;-)

Bandcamp


OUTRUN THE SUNLIGHT

The Return of Inertia 2.0

February 17th, 2023

USA

Excellent, instrumental progmetal, groovy, virtuoso, yet heavy

Bandcamp


ENOCH ROOT

Delusion

February 19th, 2023

USA

A marvelous, touching prog record, telling about a man whose fate was decided for him 

Bandcamp / Interview


HYPNO5E 

Sheol

February 24th, 2023 

France

With this musical piece of art, the avant-garde metal act take us on a challenging ride

Bandcamp / Review


THE RESONANCE PROJECT

Ad Astra

February 24th, 2023

USA

A mighty sounding, yet diverse masterpiece of orchestral fusion metal 

Bandcamp


ABEL SEQUERA

Soundscapes

March 3rd, 2023

Spain / International

Together with 50! guests, the Spanish drummer & composer takes us on a mesmerizing journey

Website / Review


WITCH RIPPER 

The Flight After the Fall

March 3rd, 2023

USA

A crazy, space-themed story, great musicianship, and a proggy approach hidden under a sludge tag

Bandcamp / ReviewInterview


GOROD

The Orb

March 10th, 2023

France

Brutal, highly technical, yet virtuosic and diverse in their compositions 

Bandcamp / Review


TURRIGENOUS

Vesper, The Evening Star

March 14th, 2023

USA

The progmetal four-piece skillfully melt a wide range of styles to tell an epic story

Bandcamp / Interview


MARTIN MILLER

Maze of My Mind

March 31st, 2023

Germany

A mesmerizing piece about the challenging journey to become a better self 

Bandcamp / Review


NEVERUS

Burdens of the Earth

April 21st, 2023

Netherlands

This debut is some serious listening fun, offering majestic death metal 

Bandcamp / Interview / Review


LOAM

Featherbrained

April 28th, 2023

UK / International

Mesmerizing, light-hearted yet sophisticated instrumental prog

Bandcamp


IGNEA

Dreams of Lands Unseen

April 28th, 2023

Ukraine

Mighty third album by the Ukrainian masters of musical story-telling 

Bandcamp


FIRES IN THE DISTANCE

Air Not Meant For Us

April 28th, 2023

USA

Marvelous blend of sadness and melody, coming along atmospheric and intense

Bandcamp


OMNEROD

The Amensal Rise

May 12th, 2023

Belgium

Omnerod deliver the full spectrum from mind blowing craziness to melodious beauty

Bandcamp / Interview


ROGER STAFFELBACH

The Quest

May 12th, 2023

Switzerland / International

On his first solo album, the Swiss guitar wizard offers finest instrumental, neoclassical prog

Bandcamp / Review


NOSPUN

Opus

May 19th, 2023

USA

Outstanding progmetal debut with an incredibly dynamic and varied kind of musical storytelling

Bandcamp / Interview


EINAR SOLBERG 

16

June 2nd, 2023

Norway

11 touching, well-crafted tracks with different guest musicians and co-songwriters

Linktree


THE ARCANE ORDER

Distortions From Cosmogony

June 9th, 2023

Denmark

The Danish extreme metal act transfers Greek myths into our current times - Brutal and relentless

BandcampReview


SCAR SYMMETRY

The Singularity (Phase II - Xenotaph)

June 9th, 2023

Sweden

Highly addictive melting pot of catchiness, guitar virtuosity and mighty riffs

Linktree


THE ANCHORET

It All Began With Loneliness

June 23rd, 2023

Canada / International

An expressive prog masterpiece, unique in its sound, incredibly creative yet always flowing

Bandcamp / Interview / Review


STRUCTURAL

Decrowned

June 23rd, 2023 

Israel

An album with well-balanced sound textures by a band that skillfully melt brutality and melody

BandcampReview


BLACKSCAPE

Suffocated by the Sun

July 7th, 2023

Sweden

A new trio on the metal scenery, unleashing a mighty progressive melodeath beast

WebsiteReview / Interview


ATRIA

Ground Zero

Canada

August 18th, 2023

Mind blowing, modern progmetal, expressing the anger about the world we live in

Bandcamp / Review


NOVERIA

The Gates of the Underworld

August 25th, 2023

Italy

With their 4th album, the Italian powermetal quintet deliver another genre highlight

Bandcamp / Review


POMEGRANATE TIGER

All Input Is Error

Canada

September 4th, 2023

One of this year’s highlights ffo sophisticated, instrumental wizardry

BandcampReview


SPURV

Brefjære

Norway

September 22nd, 2023

The Norwegian instrumental post / progrock masters created a mesmerizing piece

BandcampReview


OBSIDIAN TIDE

The Grand Crescendo

Israel

September 29th, 2023

The progressive melodeath trio further evolved their sound in a wonderful way

BandcampReview


SYLVATICA

Cadaver Synod

Denmark

October 20th, 2023

On their third album, the progressive melodeath band take us to the dark Middle Ages

BandcampReview / Interview


LALU

The Fish Who Wanted to be King

France

October 20th, 2023

Mesmerizing progrock, with the marvelous (and relaxing ;-) vocals of Damian Wilson

Linktree


SORCERER

Reign of the Reaper

Sweden

October 27th, 2023

The Swedish powerhouse unleashed their new doom / heavy metal epic

Bandcamp / Review


XOTH

Exogalactic

USA

November 3rd, 2023

Cosmic tech-death force Xoth landed to bring some interstellar turmoil into your earthly home

Bandcamp / Review


A Flying Fish

El Pez Que Voló - ACT I

Mexico

November 3rd, 2023

A musical quest to unearth the divine gem hidden within oneself, and a special piece of art

Bandcamp


DISSONA

Dreadfully Distinct

USA

November 10th, 2023

The Chicago based progmetal band offer three mighty, Blade Runner related tracks

BandcampReview


ÆOLIAN

Echoes of the Future

Spain

November 10th, 2023

The Mallorcan Melodic Death Metal band close their great, thought-provoking trilogy

Review


TEMIC

Terror Management Theory

Norway / International

November 17th, 2023

A marvelous progmetal debut featuring some in the scene well-known faces

Bandcamp


EARTHSIDE

Let the Truth Speak

USA

November 17th, 2023

Cinematic progmetal, epic regarding the sound yet detailed and mesmerizing in its compositions

Bandcamp


DGM

Life

Italy

November 17th, 2023

With "Life", the Italian quintet share their most mature album to date

Website / Review