The end is nigh. 2023 is just around the corner and album of the year lists are in full swing. The big releases are starting to wind down, heading into hibernation and awaiting a reprise in the new year. But as always, the underground never sleeps. November proves again that there is always a steady flow of heavy goodness just waiting to be found. Here are the very best heavy metal albums of November 2022.
Be sure to also check out October’s best albums!
Anomaly – Somewhere Within The Pines
Genre: Progressive Death Metal | Country: USA| Label: Independent | FFO: Gojira, The Faceless
This is what conceptual albums are all about. Ideas and storytelling portrayed through intimate lyricism and precise songwriting to encapsulate appropriate moods. This is exactly what Anomaly have done on their sophomore album, Somewhere Within The Pines. This album tells the story of a faceless forest demon who abducts children and as ridiculous and b-grade slasher movie-esque as that sounds, Anomaly have penned an intense and fitting score that nails this aesthetic. An onslaught of death metal savagery with loads of progressive elements plays out, providing a captivating atmosphere that often repeats hypnotically. But it’s the fragments in between that really bring out the conceptual visions. Tranquil acoustic passages that seemingly perpetuate feelings of ease slowly blend into heavier sections before breaking down into a flurry of down-tuned chugs. It’s these contrasting sounds that capture the subtle atmosphere of uncertainty and fear that lingers throughout this album, raising doubt and anxiety over the ever-lingering forest-dwelling entity. Curious, deep spoken-word vocals intermittently appear throughout, further instilling that feeling of trepidation. Perhaps the most amusing aspect of this album though is the interlude, telling a few tongue-in-cheek tales over some morbidly folksy guitar that brings a sense of humour before the remaining tracks again succumb to the haunting nature of the woods. Anomaly have crafted a sound that is both musically mature enough to seed serious feelings of dread and uneasiness yet also plays into fairy-tale themes of whimsy that wouldn’t go astray in a Brother’s Grimm novella. You’ve been warned, enter the pines at your own peril.
Black Lava – Soul Furnace
Genre: Death Metal | Country: Australia | Label: Season of Mist | FFO: Ulcerate, Ne Obliviscaris, Hadal Maw
Oozing out of the southern depths of Melbourne, Australia comes Black Lava, a band formed by members of various established entities within the local scene. With their debut endeavour, Soul Furnace, the 4-piece have unleashed a reckoning sound of blackened death metal that is laden with asphyxiating twists and turns. Drawing the bulk of their inspiration from the old school Death Metal scene in eighties America and the frostbitten Black Metal scenes from nineties Scandinavia, the band lays down an onslaught of razorblade riffs and a myriad of crushing tempo changes. The guitar tone in particular is utterly sinister, with a serene dissonance emanating from the buzzsaw sound, providing an overwhelming yet mesmerising atmosphere. Intricate melodies and infectious grooves are interspersed around this dissonance, only heightening the grappling mood. Black Lava have taken the rock-solid foundations of both Death and Black Metal and made them into their own. Their intrinsic use of dissonance chords, progressive grooves and butcher hook melodies exaggerates their experimental nature and provides a listen that is eerie yet tantalising and engaging. Soul Furnace will have you on the edge of your seat, with something new and sinister threatening to emerge from every shadow.
Dream Unending – Song of Salvation
Genre: Death-Doom Metal | Country: USA / Canada | Label: 20 Buck Spin | FFO: Worm, Paradise Lost, Anathema
Dream Unending made waves last year with their debut opus Tide Turns Eternal, a mesmerising journey into an ethereal realm of tantalising death-doom. The duo are no strangers to the limelight, with Derrick of influential Old-School Death revival band Tomb Mold providing guitars and bass and Justin of sludge-ridden Death-Doom juggernauts Innumerable Forms providing the drums and vocals. Just over a year later now and the band have unleashed their second full-length, Song of Salvation. Continuing down the path of its predecessor, the ethereal Death-Doom sound returns, forging immense, luscious soundscapes. Delicate, spellbinding chords meet with the weight of a slow rolling, crushing heaviness led by precise drumming and devastating vocals. Subtle synths roam in the background, elevating the dreamy atmosphere to new heights. It’s these elements that bridge the gap between the two worlds so seamlessly. The last few minutes of the closing track really encapsulate and elevate the overall mood of the album. It enters into a built-up energy that releases into a crescendo of monumental triumph, culminating the overall tone of the album and leaving a lasting impression. Dream Unending have for the second time in just over a year, provided one of metal’s most elevated and immersive records. Song of Salvation is a testament to both members’ incredible songwriting prowess.
Fleshwater – We’re Not Here To Be Loved
Genre: Alternative Metal / Shoegaze | Country: USA | Label: Closed Casket Activities | FFO: Deftones, Soul Blind, Vein.fm
There’s been somewhat of a revival in recent times. That grungey, shoegazing sound spearheaded by the likes of Thrice and Deftones in the late nineties has been making a resurgence, being mixed eloquently with the likes of metalcore and post-hardcore. Bands like Loathe and My Ticket Home put their spin on it, blending aggressive metalcore with ethereal shoegaze aesthetics, while Turnstile has combined the energy of hardcore with dream pop, harnessing a new sound for the masses. But perhaps most formidable and curious though is the recent arrival of Fleshwater, a project spearheaded by members of Vein.fm, and their debut full-length We’re Not Here To be Loved. The influences from Vein.fm’s seminal sophomore, This World Is Going To Ruin You (one of March’s best albums), run rife throughout this album, but this is so much more than just a side-project. Instead, Fleshwater have recruited Marisa ‘Mirsy’ Sharir to provide an ethereal layer of clean vocals that duet harmoniously with the deeper vocals, creating a mesmerising atmosphere. Melodic hooks and lively choruses pave the way for heavy shoegaze riffs and grooving drum patterns that would be right at home in any CD binder from the early 2000’s. While masses of hardcore bands have seemingly turned in their Teles and Strats for Jaguars and Jazzmasters, Fleshwater have produced an album that elevates them above the trend and into a trailblazing path. While this new offshoot of alternative metal and shoegaze resurgence is only young, the future is bright and exciting with the likes of Fleshwater at the helm. We’re Not Here To Be Loved is an early classic.
Fliege – One Day They’ll Wonder What Happened Here
Genre: Black / Death Metal | Country: USA | Label: Independent | FFO: John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’
Picture this; you’re bunkered down at the United States National Institute Station 4 in Antarctica. Winter is closing in and so is the overwhelming feeling of isolation and a foreboding sense of dread. See, there’s something out there, in the endless white. Some thing beyond recognition but undoubtedly dangerous and as you begin to feel cramped in the confines of the station, paranoia begins to sink in. Ok, yes that’s the plot to John Carpenter’s The Thing, but Fliege have managed to retell this story through their album, One Day They’ll Wonder What Happened Here and perfectly encapsulate that mood. Pulling aspects from a realm of varying genre’s, most notably cosmic black and death metal, the band create an unsettling, fear-mongering atmosphere that perfectly plants the seeds of paranoia and dread. Underlying elements, like synth-laden melodies, shredding guitar solos and an unnerving, monotonous clean vocal delivery really drive home these moods while creating a score that is both interesting and edge of your seat immersive. Fliege have perfectly blended the unsettling atmosphere and thematics into an enveloping and hypnotic sonic journey. Reimagining a movie as iconic as The Thing is no mean feat, but One Day They’ll Wonder What Happened Here accomplishes it gracefully.
Pukewraith – Banquet of Scum
Genre: Death Metal | Country: Canada | Label: Sewer Rot Records | FFO: Cannibal Corpse, Tomb Mold
While Black Metal is more closely associated with the one-man band, there’s the occasional solo gem that arises within the realm of Death Metal. Enter Pukewraith, the grimy, greasy old school output by Brendan Dean, most notably of Gutvoid fame (who produced one of September’s best albums). But while Gutvoid focuses on low and slow Death-Doom, the Pukewraith project dwells on the murky, nauseating mess that is cavernous, Old-School Death Metal. Banquet of Scum wastes no time making its intentions clear, the title itself is a dead giveaway of what to expect from this. Here you’ll find 32 minutes of utterly depraved Death Metal putridity. It’s a decomposing smorgasbord of butcher knife riffs, festering guitar solos, grotesque vocals and tender compositions that promise a head-pounding, face-scrunching affair. While this isn’t exactly anything more than meat and veg Death Metal, the dish has been left out just long enough to produce an oh-so rotten and offputtingly pungent affair. The nauseating stench won’t be leaving your nostrils anytime soon. Straightforward yet brutal, this is a supremely enjoyable death metal delight.
Spiritworld – Deathwestern
Genre: Metallic Hardcore / Death Metal | Country: USA | Label: Century Media | FFO: Fuming Mouth, I Am, 200 Stab Wounds
Spiritworld seems to be somewhat of an enigma. Visually, they convey a pretty damn perfect wild west aesthetic, with a gun-smoking album cover and cowboy hat donning live attire. But their music is a sonic spin kick to the teeth, playing a punishing brand of Metallic Hardcore that promises to drag you to the gallows. Deathwestern is a reckoning amalgamation of these themes and aesthetics, although the western ideals are more visual than sonic, they play into the whole conceptual premise of the album superbly. From the get-go, puppet master riffs take charge, ensuring movement for the duration of this opus. The sheer amount of divebomb riffs is unfathomable, at every twist and turn a new riff seemingly better than the last enters the blood-soaked fray, fired out like bullets in a revolver. While the music itself is predominantly Metallic Hardcore and Death infused, with only subtle notions towards the wild west sound, it’s the lyricism that bridges the gap between the two worlds. Spiritworld manage to take western themes and subtly combine them with the ideals and ethos of Hardcore, creating a sublime crossover that is unlike any other. Deathwestern is a soundtrack to unruly saloon fights and ghost town duels, a violent reckoning of debauchery and lawlessness. Spiritworld have merged two worlds into one upbeat, body-moving package filled to the brim with punishing riffs and crowd-moving anthems. Conceptually and sonically, Spiritworld are here to lay claim to the west.
Honourable Mentions
Dysgnostic – Scar Echoes
Jade – The Pacification of Death
Spider God – Fly in The Trap
Strychnos – A Mother’s Curse
Tallah – The Generation of Danger
Ultar – At The Gates of Dusk
What were your picks for the best heavy metal albums of November? Let us know on Twitter!
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