And now for something completely different.
I am an addict for new music. Lucky for me, then, that 2023 was a fine year for it! By the end of 2023 my playlist was positively groaning with hundreds of tunes plucked mostly from the All New Rock and All New Metal playlists on Spotify, along with the weekly Kerrang! chart.
Don’t worry, I’m not going to stick the whole playlist here. I’d probably blow up my homepage if I did, and I doubt many of you would want to listen to an entire day’s worth of music. Far better to cherry-pick the best bits and put them in a series of posts.
So set aside an hour and let’s take a shamelessly subjective look at some of the very best rock, metal, punk and indie released in 2023. Enjoy!
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Stan Qualen by The Southern River Band
We’re starting off strong with a hard-rock banger I found via Justin Hawkins’s YouTube channel. If you liked how hard and heavy AC/DC’s Whole Lot Of Rosie gets towards the end, then you will love this!
Another Celebration at the End of the World by Mammoth WVH
Continuing in the hard-rock vein we have this juggernaut from Mammoth WVH, aka Wolfgang Van Halen, son of the late Eddie Van Halen. Mammoth WVH is the dictionary definition of a solo act as Wolf sings and plays all the instruments himself, which goes some way to explaining the surreal Multiplicity-style beginning to this video. If you want to get straight to the music, fast-forward to 2:30. Enjoy!
Dad’Algorhythm by Shaka Ponk
More hard-rock goodness, this time from French band Shaka Ponk. They’ve been going for years but this was the first time they appeared on my radar, and what a way to make an entrance! This track grabs you by the throat from the off and barely lets up for 2 and a half minutes. Glorious! Plus it features a revenant dancing herself back to life by throwing some serious shapes. What’s not to love?
Krøterveg Te Helvete by Kvelertak
The guitars. My god, the guitars! Just… just… listen to them! Don’t be put off by the Norwegian lyrics. You won’t need them. If shouty vocals aren’t your thing then, again, don’t worry because you’ve got those guitars! The riffing, the solos, the whole glorious wall of noise is tremendous. I’ve played this video so many times it’s practically burnt into my TV. My neighbours must be sick of it by now. I’m sure as hell not! Again! Again!
Divinity by High Priest
A slight change of pace now. There have been some great stoner rock offerings this year, top of the pile being this storming effort from Chicago four-piece, High Priest. Once this track gets going there’s no chance of you getting off. You’re locked in for the ride, and what a wild ride it is! If you aren’t uncontrollably headbanging and air-drumming through the chorus then check your pulse. After a couple of sporadic EPs the band released their debut album Invocation during the summer, and dammit if they don’t get the recognition they deserve. Stunning.
Superhero Dopeproof by Black Rainbows
No idea what the title means, but this is another stoner winner. Close your eyes and this tune from Italian outfit Black Rainbows wouldn’t sound out of place sandwiched between Black Sabbath and Deep Purple on a 1970s TV show like Beat-Club. Awesome stuff!
Ex-Human, Now Beast by Dozer
More stoner rock, this time from Swedish band Dozer. The thudding drive of this song is a danger to your fillings. The chorus, meanwhile, is great to scream along to, though you might want to make sure all your windows are closed. The video is nifty too, seeing the band attend a showing of their new video only to be sucked into an AI-generated Lovecraftian nightmare. Very cool.
New Beginnings by Yur Mum
Another fun video can be found below, courtesy of Brazilian duo Yur Mum. Stop-motion videos rendered in Lego aren’t a new thing, but this one is funny and very well done. I love how there’s one bloke in the toilet having the world’s longest piss, missing the whole gig. The tune itself is a barnstormer – when Anelise Kunz hollers out “what if I could go BAAAAAAAAAACK!!!!” halfway through I swear she could tear a hole in the space-time continuum. An astonishing vocal performance.
Bogus Operandi by The Hives
The Hives are back and the world is a better place for it. To say I was stoked when I first saw this video would be a serious understatement. I shoved it under the nose of everyone I could, and now it’s your turn. Bogus Operandi is high-octane perfection, and one hell of a way to announce a new album. The video, meanwhile, is a brilliant full-blooded (literally) homage to the original Evil Dead movie. It’s funny as all hell, if you have the stomach for it.
Graveyard Love by Mutoid Man
I’m in love with my gravedigger / I said hey make that hole bigger! Man, I can’t tell you how much I love this song. The goofy lyrics never fail to put a smile on my face. The song itself is a frenetic fusion of rock n’ roll, metal and psychobilly – I could lap up that chunky bassline for weeks. It’s a shame that there’s no proper video for Graveyard Love, but if this floats your boat then be sure to also check out Mutoid Man’s eye-popping video for Call Of The Void.
I Am The Lightning by Des Rocs
Another song without a proper video, but when you hear it I think all will be forgiven. What a riff! What a chorus! I love the 1950s flourish Daniel Rocco puts into his vocals, especially in such previous tracks of his as Used To The Darkness and Let Me Live / Let Me Die, but here he has hit the motherlode. What. A. Song!
Don’t Look Back by The Revivalists
Let’s round off this post with a trio of irresistible shake-your-arse tunes, if only to give your neck muscles a rest after all that headbanging. First up is New Orleans 8-piece The Revivalists. I hadn’t heard of these guys until this year, but then a couple of tracks from their latest album Pour It Out Into The Night wormed their way into my ears and I was sold. I’m a sucker for great sax, the dirtier the better, and I was well-serviced here. So to speak. I’m not kidding when I say this song is irresistible, by the way. If your toes aren’t tapping by the end then the chances are you’ve accidentally left the video on mute.
Only Wanna Dance by almost monday
And swiftly onto a song that’s precision-made to get you up and dancing. I mean, it’s right there in the title, people! almost monday are a Californian trio who’ve popped up a few times in my 2023 playlist, and this track is the best of the bunch. This is a song that always gives me a lift, and you get the impression everyone had a blast making the video.
I Feel The Love by The Heavy
Last but not least we have a proper gospel-fuelled clapper courtesy of UK’s The Heavy. The chances are you’ll have heard their 2009 monster hit How You Like Me Now – it has been used everywhere and with good reason (it’s awesome). In the spring they put out a new album, AMEN, teasing it with this track and another pearler, Stone Cold Killer. Good luck keeping still to this one!
So that was a bit of fun. If you’ve gotten this far then I hope you enjoyed this little step through a few of my musical highlights for 2023. If you have a few of your own then feel free to share them in the comments – I’m always on the hunt for new music! Till Part 2, whenever that will be, keep well and I’ll see you soon.
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