Here we go again! Part wishful thinking, part playing detective while piecing together social media updates, and part actual facts! We could only be talking about our latest crystal ball viewing as we look to the year 2023 and hope for the best that those “confirmed” releases actually come out and that maybe our thoughts and prayers are answered when it comes to those with less concrete plans as of this posting. Join us, won’t you?
First up, there’s a lot dropping in January that will be reviewed soon or has already been reviewed so no need to drop a separate blurb, right? Like Katatonia who return on January 20th with their 12th Doom-laden masterpiece on Napalm Records (Our review is here) or Raum Kingdom who’ve mastered their own brand of dark heaviness that’s set to be unleashed on January 27th (And which you can order here). Also arriving before January is through is Ladytron who drop Time’s Arrow on January 20th which, judging by the singles released so far, sounds like a masterful Electro return-to-form from the iconic outfit. We Are Scientists will also start off 2023 with new music in the form of their eighth album, LOBES, which we’ve also just reviewed and you can read here.
Kyuss OG’s Brant Bjork and Nick Oliveri will return with a new offering offering from STÖNER on February 24th (We’ve heard it, it’s brilliant, expect a review soon!) and Swedish legends In Flames unveil their fourteenth full-length on February 10th. Down the road in 2023, Industrial titans 3TEETH look to drop the follow up to 2019’s Metawar, Mutoid Man will release their latest, featuring new bassist Jeff Matz, Texas Hippie Coalition is set to release their latest just shy of their favorite holiday on April 21st, the mighty Devildriver should be releasing the companion to Dealing With Demons I following a just announced co-headline tour with Cradle Of Filth, and while we’re on the topic of former Nu-Metal front peeps, Spineshank’s Johnny Santos makes a return with his more Metal outfit Silent Civilian who have already dropped 2 singles from their upcoming record tentatively due in the spring.
Then there’s the tale of two Every Time I Die’s! Yes, kids, the tumultuous end of ETID sucked for us all but the shining light is that we might have a Max leaves Sepultura sitch here as vocalist Keith Buckley has confirmed he’s working on some heavy music with a new band while guitarist Jordan Buckley has his own batch of tracks in the works with the rest of the former ETID gang including drummer Clayton Holyoak and bassist Stephen Micciche (The latter of which recently confirming that guitarist Andy Williams, who is having the time of his life wrestling in AEW, will not be involved). And if that wasn’t enough, local Alternative Rawk outfit Sunshine Riot is set to release a new EP in April produced by STEVE FUCKING ALBINI with the first single from that arriving on January 27th (Our just dropped review for said single, “Looking at the Past”, is here), Diiv has stuff in the works following 2019’s Deceiver, and Noel Gallagher‘s back with his High Flying Birds who drop Council Skies on June 2nd.
And now, the list:
23. The Faint- TBA (TBC, TBD): Let’s just start with wishful thinking. The last we heard from Omaha’s most favorite Electro titans they were celebrating their career with 2016’s Time Capsule which featured 2 new tracks followed by 2019’s Ego Work. There’s some shows on the horizon (The just announced Just Like Heaven festival among them) so could new music be far behind??? We hope so!
22. Replicant- TBA (TBC/TBD): Another favourite synth-driven outfit of ours, Replicant ended 2022 teasing something on the horizon over on their Instagram page (Check it here) and now the posts have popped up recently on their Facebook page as well. Frankly, we’re on the edge of our seats. Be it a new single or, GASP!, a new album or EP, we can’t get enough of the futuristic flair that Garrett Vernon and company consistently bring to the table. And if you’re impatient like us, try and satiate your thirst with Replicant offshoot Sheer Panic and their debut release of killer Industrial noise here.
21. The Cure- Songs Of A Lost World (TBC/TBD)/Peter Gabriel- i/o (TBC/TBD): Howzabout we shove two long-in-the-works records together in the same space? Okay! It’s been a LOOOOOOOOOONG time since either The Cure or Peter Gabriel have released new material (The Cure’s last record was out in 2008/Gabriel’s in 2011) but with Gabriel just releasing “Panopticon” off the tentatively titled i/o recently and Robert Smith all but confirming that a new record from The Cure is finally complete, 2023 could truly be a landmark year for some long-gestating releases.
20. Anthrax- TBA (TBC/TBD): Megadeth dropped one in 2022, Metallica is due with their latest this year (We’re covering that a little further down the list), and Slayer is no more…. so the last of the Big 4, Anthrax, is the last that’s due to debut some new music in the form of a proper follow-up to 2016’s For All Kings. According to drummer Charlie Benante there’s definitely some time set aside to finish up the Thrash Metal legends 12th record but between a new tour with Black Label Society right around the corner AND Benante venturing out with Pantera this summer, who knows if we’ll see it this year?
19. Narrow Head- Moments Of Clarity (February 10th/Run For Cover Records): From the sounds that the title track, “Caroline” and “Gearhead” are creating, we can almost call it now that the latest from Texas’ Narrow Head is going to be one to watch in this new year. Pre-orders are up already and can be found here along with those aforementioned tracks ready to be devoured over and over again before the new record releases.
18. Jason Bieler And The Baron Von Bielski Orchestra-Postcards From The Asylum (April 14th/TBD): The Saigon Kick axe master, Jeff Scott Soto cohort, Owl Stretching mastermind, and so much more put out one helluva solo record with the Baron Von Bielski Orchestra back in 2021 and there’s no doubt at all what’s coming next will be an absolute banger. The first taste happens on February 3rd with the release of the single/EP for “Heathens” along with pre-orders for Postcards… so stay tuned to all things Bieler here so you don’t miss out!
17. Combichrist- TBA (TBC/TBD): Is this the year a new Combichrist full-length materializes??? 2019 was the last time we had a proper record and since then Andy LaPlegua and company has delivered some gnarly singles that hearken back to Combichrist’s earlier days. With the aggrotech pioneers bringing their “Old school” electronic sets to the States in the spring (Sadly, no Boston date as of yet), might we get a full on follow-up to One Fire before the year is out?
16. 16Volt-TBA (TBD, Metropolis Records): One of our absolute FAVORITE Industrial outfits, Eric Powell’s 16Volt has constantly been the underdog and while it’s been 7 years since their comeback record The Negative Space, there’s still excitement whenever the 16Volt machine starts to crank to life again. Add the recent news that, after 8 years, whatever is coming next will be released on Metropolis Records and you can colour us properly intrigued!
15. Grave Pleasures- Plagueboys (April 21st, Century Media): After single “Society Of Spectres” was recently unveiled along with the new album info, it caused us to restructure our list just so we could firmly plant the Finnish outfit properly in the mix because we’re just that excited. You , too, can stream the new single at all your favorite streaming locations and then make sure you head here to pre-order the new record to get it as soon as it drops.
14. Eldridge Rodriguez- TBA (TBC/Midriff Records): The NYC/Boston hybrid has been steadily working on new material since the release of 2020’s brilliant Slightest of Treason with songs like “Scars in the Vein” and “Have I Gone Too Far” released just last year to give fans a taste of what’s to come next.
13. Project 86- OMNI (March 24th/TBD): The end is nigh for the California metallers who are ending their career with a bang with the first part of of their double album finale arriving soon. And speaking of bangs, singles “Metatropolis” and “0>1” are promising that Project 86 is certainly not going out with a whimper! Pre-orders have already started for the double album with a variety of options here to peruse and peep at your convenience.
12. Cattle Decapitation- Terrasite (May 12th/Metal Blade Records): One of the best things about being a reviewer-type person (Actual professional title) is getting to discover some artists that maybe we didn’t give the time of day to previously… possibly because, in this case, the cover of Humanure horrified us on a daily basis while working in a record store back in the day. But I digress. Having finished the touring cycle for Death Atlas with a spectacular Fall 2022 run with Amon Amarth, Carcass, and Obituary where they premiered upcoming new song “We Eat Our Young” to lucky fans, Cattle Decapitation is back and… heavier than ever? We’ll all find out in May!
11. Will Haven- TBA (TBC/TBD): The reinvigorated and revived Sacramento outfit had been promising new music to come over social media for a bit and we think there’s no time like the present for that follow up to 2018’s masterful Muerte to happen now!
10. VNV Nation- Electric Sun (Early 2023/TBD): In our humble opinion, 2018’s Noire was the pinnacle of the VNV Nation experience and pure Electro excellence. Their newest is supposed to be released in conjunction with a world tour which starts in February so it might not be too long until we finally hear if the new VNV Nation lives up to expectations.
9. Metallica-72 Seasons (April 14th/Blackened): The mighty Metallica surprise dropped a new single, new album announcement, and new tour package late in 2022 and we’ll be honest, we get pretty HYPED whenever new music is on the horizon from the Bay Area thrashers because it always seems like an event, y’know? And it doesn’t hurt that both “Lux Aeterna” and “Screaming Suicide” have absolutely ripped to boot!
8. Prong- TBA (TBC/TBD): Any year that Tommy Victor and crew release new Prong music is a good year in our opinion and they already started 2023 right with the release of “Breaking Point” and its’ decidedly “old school” vibe. Will the rest of the upcoming release sound similar or are there surprises still to come? Stay tuned!
7. Drab Majesty: TBA (TBC/TBD): 2022 granted listeners a new record from the DM adjacent VR SEX as well as Drab Majesty making their live return with a tour supporting AFI to close out the year. The last Drab Majesty album, Modern Mirror, was released in 2019 and we’re hoping that the recent return to the stage is a sign that new music is on the way in 2023.
6. A Cause In Distress- TBA (TBC/Cool Thing Records): The ONLY reason this sits just outside our Top 5 is because we’ve been waiting for it for a year now… but we have confirmation from our friends over at Cool Thing Records that the debut LP from one of our most favorite new artists is indeed dropping in 2023. If you haven’t boarded the ACID train yet then you are missing out on some next level musicianship that’s like the best parts of UNKLE and All Tvvins with some kind of indescribable magic. Really. Head here and here to see what you’re missing out on now so you don’t miss out later.
5. Hinayana- TBA (TBC/TBD): 2020’s Death Of The Cosmic was a game changing heavy revelation and now that the Texan outfit has tested their sea legs on that EP out on tour it’s time for a proper follow-up. Seriously, we got into them with just 5 songs which we’re still playing on the regular and with the amount we listen to their most recent offering, we can pretty much guarantee that a full-length is going to be pretty high up the 2023 best of list.
4. Corrosion Of Conformity- TBA (TBC/Nuclear Blast): The North Carolina quartet not only recently confirmed that a new record was on the way but also that Galactic drummer (And In The Arms Of God‘s resident sticksman), Stanton Moore would be handling kit duties and frankly, that’s enough for us. The last time Moore joined the COC for a record, one of our most favorite releases of theirs was produced so it’s a no-brainer to think that their next collaboration will be nothing short of spectacular.
3. Filter- TBA (TBC/Golden Robot Records): Filter is back! While it has definitely been far too long since 2016’s Crazy Eyes, Richard Patrick has hardly been sitting idle. Along with a few Filter singles since then, Patrick has been scoring regularly and working on A Place To Kill, a new project with Jim Louvau. However, the time has come for some proper Filter happenings and with the announcement of their new label home at Golden Robot Records and first single “For The Beaten” from the upcoming record already out there for mass consumption (With limited vinyl on the way featuring the first music from A Place To Kill which you can pre-order here), it seems like 2023 might be a banner year for the Industrial outfit. Oh, AND they’re celebrating the 20th anniversary of The Amalgamut as well. For vinyl copies of that and more, head here.
2. Queens Of The Stone Age- TBA (TBC, Matador): The most action we’ve seen in years from Josh Homme and his friends in QOTSA, the end of 2022 saw the vinyl reissue of not only their self-titled debut with the original artwork, but also of their last two records (…Like Clockwork, Villains) plus the announcement of a bunch of festival dates in the new year (Including a stop at this year’s Boston Calling Festival). Add that longtime confidante Jesse Hughes (Eagles Of Death Metal) pretty much confirmed a new record was done and the writing’s kind of on the wall that something is finally coming from the new school Desert Rawk icons.
1. VOWWS- TBA (March/TBD): It’s always all about VOWWS for us. The Death Pop duo spent some time back on the road in 2022 highlighted by an opening slot for deftones across North America and most recently, “WAIT” revealed an even different sonic side with their somber, acoustic-driven latest song featuring Chelsea Wolfe. Will what’s next exceed Under The World and what’s come since? We think so.
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