We’re halfway through 2023 and Consequence is looking back at the best pop culture has had to offer so far this year. Check out our list of the 20 metal and hard rock albums of 2023 below, and also take a look at our ranking of the best overall albums, best songs, and best films of the year to date.
The year 2023 has been one of transition for heavy music, following suit with the rest of the music industry. Aside from Metallica dropping 72 Seasons in April, there haven’t been a ton of major releases in the realms of hard rock and heavy metal, and many bigger acts are either touring, writing/recording, or simply taking a breather after a period of post-COVID hyperactivity in late 2021 and throughout last year.
That doesn’t mean there’s been a lack of strong heavy album releases; rather, it’s given us a chance to highlight a plethora of up-and-coming bands and indie label releases that have caught our ear over the past few months. From the dark dream pop of Sleep Token’s Take Me Back to Eden, to the avant maximalism of Liturgy’s 93696, to the orchestral black metal of Portrayal of Guilt’s Devil Music — so many of the acts on this list testing the extremes of their respective genre (or eschewing it entirely) via daring experiments and sonic exploration.
Even if some of those bands might be unfamiliar to the passing casual headbanger, there’s a sense of forward motion in the various subsects of heavy music that’s elevating a new crop of artists to the forefront. These acts are the present and future, and they’re making the most of a relatively slow year in the major-label circuit, deservedly standing alongside a household name like Metallica on our list of the best heavy albums of 2023 thus far (listed in alphabetical order below).
Jon Hadusek,
Senior Staff Writer
Anti-Flag — Lies They Tell Our Children
Anti-Flag have been delivering politically-charged punk rock for more than 30 years now, and they show no signs of slowing down on their latest effort, Lies They Tell Our Children. On their 13th studio album, frontman Justin Sane and company tackle such topics as climate change, imperialism, and Big Pharma, while welcoming such guests as Killswitch Engage’s Jesse Leach, Rise Against’s Tim McIlrath, and more. It’s another uncompromising collection of powerful songs from the veteran Pittsburgh punkers. — Spencer Kaufman
BABYMETAL — THE OTHER ONE
Having proven themselves as more than a novelty act, BABYMETAL have cemented their legacy by growing musically and continuing to defy genres with ease on their fourth album, THE OTHER ONE. The ambitious concept album hooks the listener with the epically symphonic opener “METAL KINGDOM,” then continues on with catchy beats and alt rock undertones on songs like “LIGHT AND DARKNESS” and “DIVINE ATTACK-SHINGEKI.” The track “MONOCHROME” combines wicked double bass drum beats and soaring guitar riffs with a very catchy poppy chorus. Fans of the metal pop fusion now known as “kawaii metal” that BABYMETAL basically invented will not be disappointed. — Colette Claire
Bonginator — The Intergalactic Gorebong of Deathpot
Aside from the synthwave interludes, sci-fi overtones, and the sophomoric humor that lands more often than it should (take, for example, “Zombie Party Rockers/ They came to rock/ They will suck your d**k/ Then eat your c**k”), Bonginator’s debut reaffirms that, when done well, nothing feels as good for the soul as metal. It is, in a word, satisfying, because Bonginator’s foundation is stronger than their window dressing suggests. The group’s Cannibal Corpse affectations and laser-focus on weed certify The Intergalactic Gorebong of Deathpot as one of the purest death metal strains you’ll smoke in 2023. — Colin Dempsey
Boris & Uniform — Bright New Disease
Bright New Disease, brings together Japanese experimental metallers Boris and New York industrial-metal act Uniform. Two of the singles leading up to the album’s release — “You Are the Beginning” and “Surprised” — let listeners know that both bands are wholly represented on the album, equally leaning into the best elements of each depending on the flow of the song. Uniform’s Mike Berdan grates his voice like industrial steel, while Takeshi and Wata hold down their own textured clamor. — Cervanté Pope
Cattle Decapitation — Terrasite
If the world is in need of a soundtrack for our eventual environmental collapse/extinction event, look no further than the eighth studio effort from San Diego deathgrind masters Cattle Decapitation. The portrait that the band paints on Terrasite is a damning one, a brutalist reminder that us humans and our “neurosis of entitlement” are wholly to blame for what we’ve wrought on this planet. Let the vicious blastbeats, scythe-like guitar work, and vocalist Travis Ryan’s unholy screech be the last sounds in our ears as we return to dust. — Robert Ham
Danava — Nothing but Nothing
Within the metal community of Danava’s hometown of Portland, Oregon, it became a running gag that the heavy rock band would never actually finish their fourth studio album. Well, the joke’s on those naysayers as Nothing but Nothing was finally unleashed on this world and immediately upended any and all expectations for what leader Dusty Sparkles and his gang of prog-boogie accomplices were capable of. The eight tracks on this LP are tightly wound epics of time signature abuse and denim-clad groove. — R. Ham
DevilDriver – Dealing with Demons Vol. II
Dez Fafara has been busy as of late, reviving Coal Chamber while continuing his full-time work as the frontman for DevilDriver. After a taking a reprieve during COVID, the latter picked back up with their Dealing with Demons saga, dropping the second iteration back in May. Melding personal lyrical content with DevilDriver’s groovy, blackened thrash, songs like lead single “Through the Depths” are the mark of a veteran band that has matured gracefully and diverted the malaise that so often sets in after two decades of the industry grind. — J. Hadusek
Enslaved — Heimdal
Their second studio album with the current lineup, Heimdal effortlessly builds upon 2020’s Utgard, further cementing Enslaved as masters of modern progressive black metal. They truly emphasize their prog rock tendencies from the jump, with opener “Behind the Mirror” exemplifying their knack for blending vicious guitar riffs and demonic screeching with cascading synths, irregular rhythms, and regal vocal harmonies. All of the remaining material conjures the same irresistible chemistry, with pieces such as “Forest Dweller,” “Caravans to the Outer Worlds,” and “The Eternal Sea” focusing more on serene and sparse folk-metal coatings. From start to finish, it’s an exceptional journey. — Jordan Blum
Full of Hell & Primitive Man — Suffocating Hallucinations
With bands like Primitive Man and Full of Hell, it’d be silly if not outright foolish to expect any sort of gentility or softness. Suffocating Hallucinations is one of THOSE album — one where you have no hope of reprieve, and you shouldn’t expect any. Beginning with the nearly 10 minute long static cacophonies of “Trepanation for Future Joys,” the hasty 26 second fulcrum of “Bludgeon,” and the somewhat demonic closer “Tunnels of God,” you’re completely immersed in the blackest black that could ever black. It’s inviting, in its own way. — C. Pope
Godflesh — PURGE
After two records of apocalyptic Streetcleaner worship from the returning industrial metal group, we finally get a record exploring the hip-hop and dub-driven extreme metal of albums like Selfless and Songs of Love and Hate. Time has been especially kind to this sound, with modern nu-metal acts taking the extremity and experimentalism from these records seriously. Black metal may try, but there’s still rarely a better soundtrack to nihilism than Godflesh. –Langdon Hickman
Jesus Piece — …So Unknown
Even though Jesus Piece has oft been a band described as leaning more on the hardcore side of heaviness as opposed to the straight up metal one, they managed to find a healthy balance of both on their sophomore effort …So Unknown. It continues in a similar vein as their debut by being fierce, unrelenting, and forceful, but what’s different is just how seamless it manages to be. It stands out amongst the current onslaught of angered aural pursuits by not taking itself too seriously. At least, it doesn’t really leave room to. Consider it the Renaissance of the hardcore/metal-as-hell world — there’s a fluidity to the way the tracks flow, an unconscious transition between each that you won’t even realize how deep into the darkness you’ve fallen. — C. Pope
Liturgy — 93696
Liturgy’s new album 93696 feels like the payoff of a 100-episode series in which the protagonist, after much strife and anguish, finally concludes their arc. It recontextualizes everything Haela Ravenna Hunt-Hendrix has experimented with over the past 15 years, ironing out the kinks encountered along the way when toying with trap beats, classical music, and orchestration. In typical Liturgy fashion, it’s bombastic, but balanced by moments of grace that the group never wielded this well. — C. Dempsey
Metallica — 72 Seasons
Fueled by James Hetfield’s introspective lyricism, 72 Seasons is a poignantly riotous return from the kings of thrash. It kicks off with the invigorating title track, which conjures the intricacies of “…And Justice for All” amidst capturing Metallica at their most energetically unified. Luckily, they uphold that momentum until the end via both other classic-sounding tracks (“Shadows Follow,” “Room of Mirrors,” “If Darkness Had a Son,” “You Must Burn!”) and more contemporary ventures (“Screaming Suicide,” “Sleepwalk My Life Away,” “Lux Æterna”). Throw in the epic multifaceted closer, “Inamorata” (their longest song ever), and you have Metallica’s best record in decades. — J. Blum
Obituary — Dying of Everything
When things look bleak, it’s always nice to know you can rely on old school death metal band Obituary to provide the soundtrack. On their 11th studio album, Dying of Everything, Obituary manage to stay in their wheelhouse without sounding too rehashed. Their brand of mid-paced groovy riffs, thundering beats, unwieldy guitar solos and John Tardy’s venomous spitting vocals stands strong on songs like “Without a Conscience” and “Torn Apart.” Tracks like “War” and the title track also provide just enough ’90s-era thrash sensibility to keep our heads banging and hair swinging. — C. Claire
Overkill — Scorched
Overkill Scorched Album Cover
Overkill are one of the titans of thrash metal, and their sound hasn’t dimmed over the years. On the band’s 20th studio album, Scorched, they present a raw, live-sounding batch of songs, while still utilizing modern, clean, and crisp production. Aside from the sonics, the songwriting is solid, with a mix of old-school thrash and even some prog and classic rock. — Anne Erickson
Periphery — V: Djent Is Not a Genre
There’s no denying that Periphery are an extremely talented collection of musicians, and that skill and creativity comes out on their latest album, V: Djent Is Not a Genre. This album offers straight-ahead, aggressive songs with thick guitars and lots of groove. The production here might be a bit much, but it’s certainly not used to mask Periphery’s abilities, as they are stronger and tighter than ever. — A. Erickson
Poison Ruin — Harvest
If you’ve been a frequent Heavy Consequence reader in 2023, then you know we’re big fans of Philly post-punk act Poison Ruin. After notching multiple placements on our Heavy Song of the Week rundowns and an artist-of-the-month CoSign feature, the band’s debut album Harvest takes its obligatory position on our mid-year list. Much has been made of the group’s distinctive, dungeon-synth/black metal aesthetics, giving Poison Ruin’s otherwise lo-fi post-punk an air of the fantastical. And the bravado to release something so very lo-fi on a big label like Relapse — as your label debut, no less — deserves big ups. The hissy tape sound is central to the album’s charm, recalling the homespun works of Swell Maps and Chrome. — J. Hadusek
Portrayal of Guilt — Devil Music
Austin black metal ensemble Portrayal of Guilt offer up two seemingly different sides of their sonic personalities on their latest release, Devil Music. On one, we get the full meal lava pour of skin flaying fury that explores the pain and pleasure of a particularly toxic coupling from every ugly angle. The flip brings the same songs rendered in almost baroque style as the music is taken on by a small ensemble that includes tuba, cello, and French horn. It’s quite a trick as the more ornate arrangements turn out to be even heavier than their electrified counterparts. — R. Ham
Sleep Token — Take Me Back to Eden
British alt metal innovators Sleep Token come into their own on Take Me Back to Eden. The ambitious lurching opening track “Chokehold” sets the stage for tightened up song writing, sweeping riffs and mind bending genre blending. Tracks like “Vore” signal a refinement of their signature alt metal and meets pop sound. “Ascensionism,” is a quintessential track. At over seven minutes, it starts off with an almost danceable pop feel, then veers into metal core worthy breakdowns before closing out with an introspective piano laden final section. The smooth goth meets indie pop vocals of mysterious lead singer “Vessel” ties the whole thing together into a pleasingly hard-to-pigeonhole package. — C. Claire
Spotlights — Alchemy for the Dead
Much like Hum displayed on their surprisingly metallic reunion record, Spotlights are a band that focuses more on lovingly detailed shoegaze that becomes heavy as all hell. Alchemy for the Dead continues their legacy of taking keen notes from Deftones on how to meld art pop and heavy music interests, wisely letting the heaviness operate more as a riveting backbone to lush and compellingly crafted songs. This is a record to dream to, a comforting cocoon. Lord knows we all need one. — L. Hickman
