The Horde - 2023 Roundup

The end of the year means it's time for all the list people to finish listing, so let's see what everyone's been up to for 2023 Death Metal. 

1. Horrendous - Ontological Mysterium
2. Vertebra Atlantis - A Dialogue With the Eeriest Sublime
3. Cavalera Conspiracy - Morbid Visions
4. Fires in the Distance - Air Not Meant For Us
5. Majesties – Vast Reaches Unclaimed
6. Sarmat - Determined to Strike
7. Ulthar - Anthronomicon
8. Ulthar - Helionomicon
9. Cavalera Conspiracy - Bestial Devastation
10. Cruciamentum - Obsidian Refractions
11. Tomb Mold - The Enduring Spirit
12. Hoplites - Ψευδομένη (Probably belongs in The North)
13. Stortregn - Finitude
14. Fleshvessel - Yearning: Promethean Fates Sealed
15. Lunar Chamber - Shambhallic Vibrations
16. Insomnium - Anno 1696
17. Cattle Decapitation - Terrasite
18. Atavistia - Cosmic Warfare
19. Dead and Dripping - Blackened Cerebral Rifts
20. The Zenith Passage - Datalysium
21. Fabricant - Drudge to the Thicket
22. Gorod - The Orb
23. Mithridatum - Harrowing
24. Entheos - Time Will Take Us All
25. Nithing - Agonal Hymns

Again, not really very many new death metal albums for me this year.

1. Torture Rack - Primeval Onslaught

2. Fossilization - Leprous Daylight

3. Tomb Mold - The Enduring Spirit

4. Obituary - Dying of Everything

5. VoidCeremony - Threads of Unknowing

And that's about it so far...

The main contenders for The Horde Release of 2023 Award are Neuropath's "At Damnation's Core", Horrendous' "Ontological Mysterium" & VoidCeremony's "Threads of Unknowing". There's less than a week to go so get those ratings in.

Dying Fetus - "Make Them Beg For Death" (2023)

The new Dying Fetus album is... well... you know... yet another Dying Fetus record with all of the same characteristics as every other one of their releases. Groovy hardcore riffs, slower slam sections, guitar-practice-sounding sweep-picking flourishes... they're all here. The production is super-clean & clinical but it doesn't change the fact that Dying Fetus will always be a band that I unanimously enjoy to some extent but never genuinely love. They just sound a little bit sterile & lacking in quality control when it comes to the use of some pretty lackluster riffs at times which is frustrating when they can be so crushing at others. In saying that, I'd suggest that this might be my second favourite of Dying Fetus' record from 2012's "Reign Supreme" but there's very little between most of them in all honesty. As usual, people will try to attach the tech death tag to "Make Them Beg For Death" but (also as usual) it's not an accurate description of their sound, despite the consciously techy moments which generally sound forced. 

3.5/5

At the moment it would seem like the Neuropath CD is likely to come out on top in the race for The Horde Clan Release of 2023 & while I'm certainly flattered that it appears alongside the most popular releases from the clan over the past year I'm also not sure I feel comfortable with it. For starters, it's numbers have been boosted by me awarding it the full five stars which I'm not sure anyone would blame me for but it's a luxury not afforded to other releases & I wouldn't suggest is not an accurate reflection of the music itself. Secondly, "At Damnation's Core" is a remastered compilation of two demo tapes recorded in 1995 rather than a new release. Regardless of those two points, I'd suggest that it also might not be a very good look to have the moderator's CD winning the award when it's very unlikely to get a mention anywhere else. How does everyone feel about this & how would you propose we move forward? These are the options as I see them but feel free to propose your own:

1. We disqualify "At Damnation's Core" from being eligible for the award.

2. We qualify it but ignore my ratings.

3. We leave it as is & what will be will be.

Open thoughts guys? It's very much the same case in The Gallery too by the way as it's ahead there too.

I would choose option #3. Your work shall earn the award, Daniel!

I certainly don't think it should be excluded, it should be treated the same as any other release. I would suggest, Daniel, that if you feel so uncomfortable with your own rating, you could remove it until after the counting is done then reinstate it after. Personally I don't feel you need to - I gave it 4.5 myself after all and it is deservedly my highest rated Horde release of the year. As far as the cover goes, that is brand new artwork, is it not, and should definitely be allowed to stand as is.

As far as how it looks to outsiders. Who cares... Fuck 'em. If any of the other bands want to join up and give their own albums five stars there's nothing to stop them is there?

Stortregn - "Finitude" (2023)

The sixth full-length from this Swiss outfit is arguably their best & has had me thoroughly engaged over the last couple of days. Forget the tech death talk that's floating around the internet as that tag is not expansive enough to cover Stortregn's sound which sits right in the middle of the space between melodic death metal & progressive death metal with smatterings of Dissection style melodic black metal also entering the equation to go with the really effective raspy blackened vocals. The level of musicianship is wonderfully proficient, particularly the drumming with the ultra-fast blast-beats being astoundingly tight & powerful. I'm not usually a big melodeath fan but I have to make an exception with "Finitude" as it gets the balance of extremity & ambition just right. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that I would place it behind only At The Gates' magnificent "Slaughter of the Soul" record for the melodeath subgenre as a whole which I'm aware is a very big call.

4/5