My top 10 best albums of 2023

The year 2023 has gone by. From my point of view it was not rich in interesting music. Here are my top 10 best albums of 2023.

The albums come in random order, each one is unique in its own way and it's hard to pick the best of them.

Myrath — Karma#

The band Myrath is a real discovery of the year for me. This progressive power metal band from Tunisia amazes with its unique combinations of eastern melodies and western metal. The band's music is permeated with complex percussion, which adds additional depth and energy to it. A special impression is made by clean and beautiful vocals, which are perfectly combined with the musical accompaniment.

Favorite tracks:

• Into the Light
• Candles Cry
• Let it Go

Sergey Golovin — 20/23#

This album is a collection of singles released by Moscow guitarist Sergey Golovin during the last three years. Each composition is unique in its own way. This is the only guitarist whose tracks continuously surprise me. It felt like there was nothing more to add to the guitar shred, it's all been said long ago. The absolute majority of new releases by various guitarists, including stars like Vai and Satriani, are honestly boring for me to listen to. But here I'm struck by the plenty of hooks, and the minimal amount of shred in favor of the original melodies.

Favorite tracks:

• Vision
• Winter Sun
• Hold the Beat

Nitroverts — Endogenous#

Nitroverts is a new and original representative of the FiXT label. This project offers a mixture of electronic with a touch of industrial and perfect vocals. It is based on the duo of talented vocalist Yann Zhenchak and musician and composer Ars Nikonov. Despite the fact that this is their debut album, it impresses with its maturity and completeness.

Favorite tracks:

• Starting Point
• What's Going On
• Where I Belong

Voyager — Fearless in Love#

This album is a real energetic bomb from an Australian progressive metal band with Russian roots. The sound of the album is solid and well-balanced, with a perfect blend of metal and nostalgic pop music of the 80s. However, despite the retro notes, the album sounds fresh and modern, thanks to the modern production. The vocalist is magnificent, showing great skill and emotionality. He gives the band a recognizable and unique style that strikes listeners with its authenticity.

Favorite tracks:

• Dreamer
• Promise
• Listen

Haken — Fauna#

A new masterpiece from the British progressive metal band. This time they decided to move away from the conceptual format, and the result is quite fascinating. The album is literally permeated with complex and rich compositions that create unique musical textures. The vocal, as always, is expressive and unique. The album requires careful listening to reveal its full beauty. However, each re-listening reveals new sides of this masterpiece. The production quality is at the highest level.

Favorite tracks:

• Nightingale
• The Alphabet of Me
• Elephants Never Forget

Daedric — Mortal#

Another album from FiXT label is a mix of electronica and industrial metal with powerful female vocals. The production of this album is absolutely brilliant. The album is perfectly balanced, sounds whole and complete, creating a continuous flow of energy and emotions.

Favorite tracks:

• Mortal
• Wretched
• Dawnbreaker

Earthside — Let The Truth Speak#

After almost 10 years of waiting, the band has unleashed their new masterpiece. Progressive metal with symphonic elements creates magical soundscapes that are impossible to forget. This album continues the traditions of the band's previous work, but at the same time reveals new sides and musical experiments. Numerous guest musicians give each track its own uniqueness.

Favorite tracks:

• Tyranny
• The Lesser Evil
• Let the Truth Speak

Tesseract — War of Being#

This album is an amazing piece of music from the band. It has incredible energy and emotion and each track is a true work of art. Daniel Tompkins' vocal work is simply magnificent. As always with Tesseract, there are complex rhythms and new and exciting musical ideas. This is a very solid work with a unique sound that cannot be mistaken for anything else.

Favorite tracks:

• The Grey
• War of Being
• Burden

Temic — Terror Management Theory#

I heard the album in the last week of the year. The album was so impressive that I immediately included it in this ranking. Despite the fact that this is the band's debut album, it already has a unique atmospheric sound and is noticeably different from other progressive bands.

Favorite tracks:

• Falling Away
• Skeletons
• Acts of Violence

Nospūn — Opus#

This album is the debut conceptual work of the American progressive metal band. The style is a bit like early Haken. At first, after seeing the quite simple cover, I had no desire to listen to it. However, one of my friends highly recommended it as the "discovery of the year". A really powerful release that surprised me with its depth and musical diversity.

Favorite tracks:

• Earwyrm
• 4D Printing
• Within the Realm of Possibility

There are a few more releases in 2023 that I can mention:

• Anubis Gate — Emergence
• Aviations — Luminaria
• Riverside — Id.Entity
• Arch Echo — Final Pitch

Read also album review of the second half of 2022