Wall of Sound Presents: “2023 Year in Review” – by Writer/Eurovision Tragic KJ Draven
I have to admit, I thought 2023 started slowly. There were some very good albums from To The Grave, Katatonia, In Flames, Ville Valo and Obituary. The underground came through with killer thrash from Hellripper and France’s Praetor, the stunning Italian journey from Enisum and local legends MUNT. We were all waiting for Metallica’s 72 Seasons and well… I think I said all I need to about that (review here). But with that out the way things picked up thanks to Overkill, BABYMETAL, Currents and Devildriver. Then Foo Fighters returned too, and helped us all share in their grief. Then September happened. It’s a month that will live in metal infamy – quite simply four of my top five came out in September.
Sometimes good music hits you right between the ears, sometimes it’s in the feels and occasionally you gotta dig a little deeper to find it.
TOP 10 ALBUM RELEASES OF 2023
10 – TesseracT – War of Being
9 – BABYMETAL – The Other One
8 – To The Grave – Director’s Cuts
7 – In Flames – Foregone
6 – Cattle Decapitation – Terrasite
5 – Thy Art is Murder – Godlike
4 – Voyager – Fearless in Love
3 – Sylosis – A Sign of Things to Come
2 – Code Orange – The Above
1 – Polaris – Fatalism
At the end of the year, Fatalism is the album I have come back to the most often. It just has those hooks and each song has been my favourite at one time or another. I love that Code Orange challenged themselves and their fans with an album that shifts between genres and moods. Sylosis and Thy Art is Murder just dropped heavy records with great musicianship and killer unclean choruses. I had Voyager as my fave album until September though ‘Promise’ is still my most played song of the year. What a banger.
TOP 5 EPs OF 2023
5 – Lycanthrope – Hydra
4 – Thy Art Is Murder, Fit For An Autopsy & Malevolence – The Aggression Sessions
3 – Ghost – Phantomime
2 – Better Lovers – God Made Me an Animal
1 – Spiritbox – The Fear of Fear
TOP 10 SONGS OF 2023
10 – Foo Fighters – ‘The Teacher’
9 – August Burns Red – ‘Ancestry’ (ft. Jesse Leach)
8 – Currents – ‘Living in Tragedy’
7 – Corey Taylor – ‘Post Traumatic Blues’
6 – Nita Strauss & Alissa White-Gluz – ‘The Wolf You Feed’
5 – Windwaker – ‘SIRENS’
4 – Knocked Loose – ‘Deep in the Willow’
3 – Periphery – ‘Wildfire’
2 – Torrential Thrill – ‘High Society’
1 – Make Them Suffer – ‘Ghost of Me’
TOP 5 EUROVISION SONGS OF 2023
5 – Lord of the Lost – ‘Blood & Glitter’
4 – Let 3 – ‘Mama ŠČ’
3 – Käärijä – ‘Cha Cha Cha’
2 – Loreen – ‘Tattoo’
1 – Voyager – ‘Promise’
I was up very early for the live semis and grand final. Voyager did us all proud with a commanding performance that got plenty of votes. Let 3 and Lord of the Lost did punk and metal proud with outrageous stage shows that suited their style, despite finishing well down the leaderboard. Loreen and Käärijä were next level and deserving top 2 in the final placings. Full Eurovision recap
BEST MUSIC VIDEO OF 2023
Code Orange, featuring Billy Corgan– ‘Take Shape’
TOP 3 GIGS OF THE YEAR
3 – Architects / Counterparts / Thornhill
Frontmen like Sam Carter are a reflection of where we are, far from the cod pieces and toxic masculinity on stage of the 80s and nu-metal 2000s. Full recap here.
2 – Ghost
I took my wife and two of my kids to this and they had a blast. Their first arena metal gig and certainly a memorable one.
1 – Polaris / August Burns Red / Kublai Khan Tx / Currents
A tremendous ceremony of reflection, life, death and breakdowns. Inspiring, emotional and violent. Polaris headlined their first arena show ever and filled the room with energy. The supports were up to it too.
MUSIC FESTIVAL OF THE YEAR?
Knotfest, Melbourne
– What a day. What an outstanding showcase of Aussie and international metal. Full recap
FAV NEW BAND/MUSICIAN DISCOVERED IN 2023?
Psychic Mass out of Melbourne are pretty cool with a 70s psychedelic hard rock vibe. There’s a second EP in the works and hopefully live shows. For fans of Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Ghost and Green Lung.
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO IN 2024?
That Make Them Suffer album is going to be unreal. An unstoppable force. I hope Voyager gets back on the road too and celebrates the success of Fearless in Love. I’ve given up hope of a Metallica tour but there’s so many others coming that I think I’ll be OK.
Written by KJ Draven (Twitter and Instagram)