I didn't buy a huge amount of new albums in 2023, but here's a wrap-up of the ones I did purchase - from worst to best.
Well, nothing I picked up last year was particularly poor as such, but the weakest has to be Saxon's More Inspirations. Meh. It's another covers album, and a companion disc to 2021's Inspirations if the title didn't give things away for you. Does anyone ever actually show any kind of enthusiasm for covers albums? 'Cos I sure don't. More Inspirations contains 10 more fairly predictable tracks with numbers such as Alice Cooper's 'From the Inside', Uriah Heep's 'Gypsy', Rainbow's 'Man On the Silver Mountain', KISS' 'Detroit Rock City' etc., all of which are competently performed - because this is Saxon after all, and Saxon are textbook heavy metal legends. But like Inspirations, I've only listened to this thing a handful of times and I'm pretty much done with it. I'll stick with 2022's Carpe Diem thank 'ya very much! The thing is though, More Inspirations doesn't leave a bitter taste in my mouth. Saxon are one of the hardest-working metal bands on the planet considering how long they've been going, constantly touring and recording. We had Carpe Diem in 2022 and they've already announced another brand new proper studio album to be released in just a couple of weeks time - Hell, Fire and Damnation. And like everything they've released in the last 30+ years, I guarantee it will be very strong. A covers album or 2 in between their actual new material LP's is fair enough in my books.
Right, let's talk about Smashing Pumpkins' overblown rock opera, Atum, next. This triple album was extremely hit and miss for me. Act 3 was rather solid overall, with some very enjoyable guitar-driven numbers such as 'Harmageddon', 'In Lieu of Failure' and 'That Which Animates the Spirit' which hearken back to 90's Pumpkins. And there's a handful of songs throughout the first couple of acts which I like too, such as 'Beguiled', 'The Culling', 'Empires' etc. that I really dig. However, a good chunk of this project sounds like a continuation of the synth pop-focused Cyr from 2020 - an album which I really couldn't get into at all. Not to mention the fact Atum features a song called 'Hooray!', which in opinion is the worst SP track Billy Corgan has ever written and recorded, hands-down. To be honest, an album of this size and calibre was never gonna be good from start to finish. It's just too darn ambitious. As a whole I think this record is slightly-above-average, because I find that the tracks I do like are really good, but I won't be listening to all 138 minutes and 9 seconds of this in full, well, ever.
The Sinner Rides Again from KK's Priest is next. I've gotta say, it's a significant improvement over the 2021 debut, Sermons of the Sinner, in pretty much every single respect. That first album was good, but fairly underwhelming overall and not the comeback I was hoping for from KK Downing. Tim 'Ripper' Owens sounded great, and KK's solos were cool, but the riffs were lacking and the songs not entirely memorable overall. The Sinner Rides Again however, I've enjoyed a fair amount more. Tim sounds even stronger to the point where he seems to have gotten better with age as a vocalist in my opinion. I'm not sure if it's because he has more of a personality of his own since recording with so many different post-Judas Priest projects, but he's definitely one of the best traditional heavy metal vocalists going. As for KK's guitar work and songwriting, I think we can safely say that he's comfortably back in the game now. He'd effectively quit playing and recording music for over a decade prior to Sermons of the Sinner, and I feel like he needed to get that so-so album out of his system in order to refresh himself so he could really get back into the groove of things. So, really cool album then - even the production is better this time...
...the only thing that saddens me is simply the fact KK has still not reconciled with Judas Priest and probably won't anytime soon. As much as I've enjoyed The Sinner Rides Again, I'd love to see him back in Priest at the end of the day, playing alongside Richie Faulkner. Glenn Tipton can barely play anymore due to his Parkinson's, and only performs encore songs like 'Living After Midnight' these days - but the man still has far too much power and influence over Priest's management alongside Jayne Andrews. From what I can tell, he and Jayne Andrews (the official band manager) are the key reason why KK is still out of Priest, and it annoys me that Glenn is effectively running the show despite not even really being able to play live with the band anymore. Don't get me wrong, I love Glenn - but for the sake of the band and the fans, just let bygones be bygones with KK and let the man spend his final years in the band that he wrote so many fucking classic songs and records alongside!! It's not like Tim Owens will ever be out of a job either, look at how many different bands and projects he's been involved in! Rant over!
Right, Cannibal Corpse's Chaos Horrific next. I mean, this is more Cannibal Corpse just doing what they do - so it's good! Very good in fact. I thought 2021's Violence Unimagined was great too - Erik Rutan actually being in the band these days as opposed to just producer seems to only be a good thing. The album clocks in at just under 40 minutes, which is perfect for it's technical brutality, the production is spot-on as always, and there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't be picking this up if you liked anything the band have done since Corpsegrinder took over vocal duties way back in 1995. There's really not a lot else to say about this release, it's more gore-soaked mayhem from what I consider to be death metal's most accessible band - if you can believe that.
Perhaps the biggest album of the entire year, generally speaking within the music world, was the Rolling Stones' Hackney Diamonds. It's actually insane how good this record is - Mick Jagger is now 80 years old and absolutely killing it! His signature attitude is written all over the album, and songs like 'Angry', 'Get Close' and 'Live By the Sword' perfectly capture the rock n' roll legacy this band created that dates all the way back to the '60s. Of course, Charlie Watts is no longer with us (RIP), but they managed to use drum recordings of his on 'Mess It Up' and 'Live By the Sword'. And there's plenty of guest appearances throughout the album too, with Elton John and Stevie Wonder contributing piano/keyboard work throughout, plus a top-notch backing vocal performance from Lady Gaga on the gospel-like 'Sweet Sounds of Heaven'. Not to mention Bill Wyman even plays a bit of bass here too. Basically, Hackney Diamonds is a prime example of how guest musician slots should be done. They're here, but they don't take away from the classic Stones sound. Even Keith Richards does a good job fronting 'Tell Me Straight'. Great album then, with a diverse tracklisting that feels like a love letter to all eras and sounds of the band.
For me personally, the album I was most excited for in 2023 was Metallica's 72 Seasons. Metallica get a lot of hate from devoted metalheads simply for being arguably the biggest and most popular metal band in the world. But I've got absolutely zero shame in admitting that I like the vast majority of their catalogue (yes, even Load and Reload), and every studio album they've done since 2008's Death Magnetic has been great. 72 Seasons is no exception - in fact, it's my favourite 'Tallica record since the Black Album. Musically it feels like a continuation of 2008's Death Magnetic and 2016's Hardwired... to Self-Destruct with some deliberate 80's Metallica throwback sounds here and there. Both of those albums are great, but not without their flaws. I love the bulk of Death Magnetic's tracks, but Rick Rubin's thin production holds the album back from classic status. The double album Hardwired on the other hand, features excellent production but a handful of filler songs meaning that the songwriting isn't quite as consistent as it's predecessor.
72 Seasons however, is basically top-notch from start to finish, and the production does it's songs justice too. James Hetfield is still in fine form with his vocals, and the songs are nice and heavy throughout. There's no ballads to be found here, which is surprising, but we are treated to an 11 minute proggy epic in 'Inamorata'. 'Too Far Gone' and 'Lux AEterna' successfully blend the sounds of 21st century Metallica with Kill 'Em All while others like 'Shadows Follow', 'Crown of Barbed Wire' and the title track represent the best of modern Metallica. A very respectable effort from the Bay Area boys if you ask me.
Number 1 for me however, is Uriah Heep's Chaos & Colour - though it was very close between this and 72 Seasons. Uriah Heep are one of those classic legacy bands like Deep Purple or Saxon that in my opinion have managed to release some of their finest ever material so late into their career. Chaos & Colour is a perfect continuation of 2018's equally awesome Living the Dream. I've always liked the Heep, but it wasn't really until Living the Dream and the 2019 Wolverhampton gig that I really began to digest their catalogue, and it's so damn difficult to pick holes with this band as they are today. Chaos & Colour once again captures the organ-drenched hard rock '70s sounds they pioneered, but meshes it so well with modern production values and tighter musicianship - a band should get better with age, at least in terms of instrumentation. And I really feel that the band are as tight as ever right now. And vocalist Bernie Shaw might not sound anything like David Byron (the 'classic' Heep vocalist), but he's really moulded himself into a state that makes him perfect for Heep in the 21st century. Plus, I'm a sucker for that distorted Hammond organ tone... and there's not many bands beyond Heep and Deep Purple that are actually still doing this. Plus, no one does it better than Purple or Heep. So yeah!
That's it for albums. In terms of concerts, I saw Karnivool in February, Polyphia in May, Amon Amarth in June and Glenn Hughes in October. Plus I attended Bloodstock Open Air festival, like I do every year. My favourite was Glenn Hughes - it's the only time I've seen him, and he played a Deep Purple set. It was mostly Mk. 3 songs that you'd never get to hear live from Deep Purple themselves these days, which was awesome. And as a singer - jeez, he's still got it. They don't call him the voice of rock for nothing. Amon Amarth were very good too. I've liked them since my teenage years, but I've never considered myself a fan. I'd seen them a few times at open air festivals over the years, but never in a headlining venue setting, and they really impressed me.
As for Karnivool and Polyphia - well, I liked Karnivool. They're not a band I actively follow or listen to very often (although I have been aware of them since my college days, and knew a handful of their songs), but my friend invited me and I had fun listening to their proggy, atmospheric rock sounds. Polyphia on the other hand, just weren't my thing. I can't bash them musically - they're extremely skilled musicians and they performed as tight as a drum live. But their brand of technical instrumental rock/electro is something I just cannot get into. I don't think I'll ever pick up any of their records unless I stumble upon one at a price that's practically giving it away. Again, it was my friend who invited me and I basically just thought 'why not'? I must admit, if I hadn't been drinking I think would've fallen asleep. Bloodstock was fun though, as always. The line ups can be amazing some years, and 'just okay' others - but the atmosphere is always great, and the weekend is always a laugh. Plus, I finally got to see Candlemass! Also, unlike 2022 there was no heatwave so my beer stayed cool in my tent!
2024 is already looking promising. There's new Saxon and Magnum albums out this month alone, which is awesome. But the big one for me is the new Judas Priest album, Invincible Shield, which is to be released in March - I'm also seeing them live the same month with Saxon and Uriah Heep as support! Can't think of a better line up!
