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Trastorned – Into The Void
Despite forming more than a decade ago, Into the Void is the first full-length from Trastorned. The Chileans look back to ’80s thrash for much of their inspiration, particularly drawing from the dangerous strains of Sacred Reich and Pleasure to Kill-era Kreator. With such a concise listen as this half hour of power, you would hope every song to smash the spot, and Trastorned oblige with an array of technical details, mega riffs, and memorable moments. “Dreadful Fate” surprises rather as a clean atmospheric interlude, but the album as a whole is charged, aggressive fun.
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For I Am King – Crown
Layering a harsh and abrasive melodic death metal sound with subtle synths and clean vocals, Crown sees oft-under-the-radar Dutch crew For I am King start off their 2023 with a bang. Everything about this record is tight and powerful. It’s full of muscularly catchy riffs and razor-wire vocals, with plenty to offer anyone who wraps their ears around it, and I have no compunction recommending it as my album of the month to kick off 2023.
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Twilight Force – At The Heart Of Wintervale
I had the honour of power metal’s most divisive band being my gateway into 2023. Yes, they are just as batshit crazy, overblown, pompous, nerdy and nutty as they always have been – but this time with an added sense of hugeness. It’s like the Swedes are deliberately trying to be as over-the-top as physically possible. At The Heart Of Wintervale has some of Twilight Force’s most massive choruses, helmed by the phenomenal Alessandro Conti (who was definitely the only person for the job). It may not have as much quantity as Dragonstar, but it’s perfectly mixed and the two ten-minute tracks more than make up for what isn’t there. In a time where the world needs magic, Twilight Force brought dragons. Magic dragons. Of steel.
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Great Cold Emptiness – Immaculate Hearts Will Triumph
I guess there’s no month like January to get a new frigid, black metal release; and no more perfect weather to have than the incessant, freezing rain of winter to imbibe this latest release from – wait for it – Great Cold Emptiness. And as long as we’re on the topic, there is probably no better village in all the United States than St Agatha, Maine in which to compose such an album as Immaculate Hearts Will Triumph. The album is a poignant musical portrait of profound isolation, albeit punctuated with a few glimmers of candlelight at the end of a thousand-mile tunnel. The riffs are hollow and distant, the vocals are despondent and disconsolate, and yet the compositions walk along an intricate path in a barren tundra that straddles the terror of cosmic solitude and the abject wonder of universal beauty. Every track is a journey in itself, and the catharsis after finishing the album is palpable and sublime.
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Katatonia – Sky Void Of Stars
A Katatonia new album is always occasion for celebration – because, no matter what, the Swedes never, ever disappoint. Their latest effort Sky Void of Stars is no exception and stands magnificently as one of the best albums Katatonia ever made. The LP is not that far off the style Katatonia had showcased on their previous album City Burials, condensing in the space a single LP the vast universe of influences the Stockholm-based band have taken on board in the course of their three-decade career – from doom, to gothic metal, to electronica, to progressive rock. However, Sky Void of Stars achieves much better results than City Burials, as the new album sounds crisper and more dynamic, and is better balanced between mellow and upbeat moments as well as between guitar-driven music and futuristic electronic elements. Sky Void of Stars feels bold and ambitious, and yet familiar and accomplished. It might just be the pinnacle of Katatonia’s entire discography and a strong early contender for Album of the Year.
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Skyblazer – Infinity’s Wings
This debut album of the keyboardist for Symphonity shows all the promise of a debut power metal album, and all the pitfalls. The production itself is solid, but the vocal production is unfortunate and some elements get lost in the mix. Overall though once I got past the first song the rest of the album was really solid and had a surprising variety of styles from what I might have expected. Johannes Frykholm is a really talented keyboardist and his keys are really what kept this afloat for me. I expect great things from the next one!
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