THE TOP 20 ALBUMS OF THE MONTH should be self-explanatory, an ordered ranking of twenty albums that’d resonated most throughout this month. If you’re new to the site, the tendency is heavy and/or surreal music. Choices are selected based on temporal immersion, personal connection, impressive style, point of view, aesthetics and with consideration for the lasting value of each selection. All choices are ultimately personal and come without consideration for populism, nepotism, cronyism or perceived “relevance”. Any records left off this list will still be considered for end of the year lists. I am just one man, writing about music is a passion I afford as much time as is manageable and I am grateful to have so much to choose from. Thank you.

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I. The stench of death permeates the lodge… Wafts of garbage, copper, fuming rot, burned oil all craze the mind with alarm that a corpse lingers beneath the floorboards! No, really, there was a dead opossum in our yard and I fear it wasn’t the only corpse to fall to the field. We aren’t having a great week here but heavy music certainly had a fantastic month of October.

II. November isn’t quite as long as October but I’m already beginning to make cuts and pack the weeks full of 7-8 releases each, needless to say next month will be on par or nearby the last. I have ~25 longform reviews planned alongside a couple of premieres. Starting to feel a bit burnt so I am going to break things up a bit with a few video game reviews (Sea of Stars, Blasphemous II, Cyberpunk DLC) and finally publish the year’s Noise Rock list in addition to the usual yearly ‘Nothing But Black Metal November‘ features, of which I’ve planned at least three to replace the usual Short Review features.

III. In 2023 most written reviews will now also have an additional video component. Both edited and off-the-cuff videos will now be embedded or posted to the site regularly (weekly). If you enjoy these please consider following on YouTube. We’ve just reached 600 subscribers, thank you for your support! I’d lean into the video skills more but I want to establish basal consistency as we reach past the first year of ‘video content’. Lots more planned for next year. If you can help with short animation clips/transitions or music for video features feel free to get in touch.

IV. Consider buying stuff from Spirit Coffin Publishing to support this site and the label/distro directly. Everything is on sale until the end of November and it will help fund 2-3 new releases I’m pushing for in 2024.

V. Each day I meditate with all-consuming gratitude aimed toward the bands, labels and PR firms who choose to work with me — Not to mention the kind few readers who donate to the site intermittently. The goals and ethos of Grizzly Butts have not changed in 2023 but I will be looking for ways to more efficiently cover more music worth talking about on a regular basis. Thank you.

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#1	Album of the Month
ARTIST:	MALOKARPATAN
TITLE:	Vertumnus Caesar
RECORD LABEL(S):	Invictus Productions, The Ajna Offensive

The return of Malokarpatan is both surprising, familiar yet developed in signature, and masterful of its varied vernacular yet what helps it stick in mind and earn its place on my shelves is its extra level of storytelling, enriched by occult history and mystère. — “The curious lingering of sulphur and juniper once again hangs in air as Bratislava, Slovakia-borne dark folkloric black/heavy metal quartet Malokarpatan coax and conjure a fourth full-length album musing upon the tragedian life of Rudolph II van Habsburg. An equally idiosyncratic feat as the last, ‘Vertumnus Caesar‘ entrances the unwitting listener with poetic imagery illustrating the secreted unreal, an undying thirst for the unknown per an auld directorial eye-and-ear for the spaces where 70’s progressive rock theatre, 80’s black metal vulgarity, and the swooning corpse of heavy metal might best depict the madness of the unwilling emperor and his occult obsessions.”

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#2
ARTIST:	AFTERBIRTH
TITLE:	In But Not Of
RECORD LABEL(S):	Willowtip Records

So far this third Afterbirth LP has been a joy to return to over the last several months, the ~35 minute spin remains engrossing and memorable but most intense within the momentum of 2-3 spin in a row. I would generally consider this on par with #1 in terms of experiential value, this month the top six or so are all going to feature well on my best of the year. — “A familiar alien synod creating outlandish pastiche from bodies unwillingly brought to life by cock-eyed observation Long Island, New York-borne brutal progressive death metal quartet Afterbirth come well-represented by an eclectic collage of ripped, scribbled and biomechanical parts as an entity which exists entirely within its own afterlife. An early-term abortion revived through chance of kismet two decades after death now ten years revived, these folks are yet wandering between several realms of irreverent, avant-garde actions seeking more immediate and caught-in-a-moshable layers of abstraction. Album number three acts as a vore of possibilities, an eater of many worlds which is yet a tactful digestive tube. ‘In But Not Of‘ chooses carefully what passes through its tightly wound runtime yet doesn’t force the choice between realistic, shoulder-slung render and an indirect feed of alienation, crafting what is naturally surreal per its contributors within an increasingly organic space. The yield is profound yet far from ungainly in scope, detailed yet sleekly threaded through its kaleidoscopic tunnel vision for future-sighted metamodernist post-death metal.”

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#3
ARTIST:	FURIA
TITLE:	Huta Luna
RECORD LABEL(S):	Pagan Records

One of the better black metal releases of the year for my own taste and a record I’m still returning to for its effect. — “The suffocating glow of the ironworks, a hammered-at strobe light generated in a place of darkness, steam and billowing smoke sets the scene from which Katowice, Poland-based black metal quartet Furia emerge, barking and rallying across this riveting sixth full-length album. Now achieving two decades of vibrancy as one of the most influential, innovative acts within their realm today none would scoff if ‘Huta Luna‘ was a victory lap or a roots-gripping return for these Silesian folks, and in fact it will appear that way ’til closer inspection reveals a more complete transformation which takes a step beyond the promise of their earlier work and creates something familiar yet new within their sphere. The mystery of their invention and its meaning is not exactly as impenetrable to follow yet still reads aggressively abstract as this rousing, ruggedly expressed attack bashes through an indomitable row of pieces before stepping through the portal and soaking in the ambiance beyond.”

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#4
ARTIST:	CIRITH UNGOL
TITLE:	Dark Parade
RECORD LABEL(S):	Metal Blade Records

While I would have always been happy obsessing over the first three albums from this classic 70’s rock ’til 80’s heavy metal band they’ve done well for their legacy’s revival with this latest full-length. — “Still technically alive-and-kicking Ventura, California-based heavy metal band Cirith Ungol chose the path of wisdom during the pandemic and took their time crafting songs representative of their mood beyond the release of their fifth album, absorbing the doomed gravitas of endtime imminence into this darkest-yet sixth full-length. No question about it, ‘Dark Parade‘ took a lot out of ’em but what becomes evident from the very first strike of the shield herein is that the ceaseless plow of cataclysm inspired a miraculous, from-their-very-marrow sort of work which dissolves the weight of the world one flurry of blazon riff and howling soul at a time.”

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#5
ARTIST:	VERTEBRA ATLANTIS
TITLE:	A Dialogue With the Eeriest Sublime
RECORD LABEL(S):	I, Voidhanger Records

Crepuscular yet inspiring? Introspective yet epic? This is the sort of record which deserves extra time to plumb for depth, feeling, and the fact that I’m still admiring it after scouring through so many times is a testament to the step up achieved beyond their first LP. — “What is perceived as perfection, exclusive and aloof, yields barren summit in a quest for knowledge beyond the limitations of the self as Lombardy, Italy-based avant-garde and atmospheric blackened death metal trio Vertebra Atlantis stretch into a new cloak of skin, a nigh cinematic experience available to its exploration. Their second full-length album, ‘A Dialogue With the Eeriest Sublime‘, already feels several leagues beyond its predecessor now illustrating in brash yet painterly ink of two distinct shades wherein the majesty available to black metal’s ambitious loft retains the grit-scrubbed warp and spasm of death metal’s more sophisticate musculature. A blend of well curated fineries, a trip to unexpected realms, and an ending which will surprise even the most jaded cultivator all make for a feature which is entertaining beyond its years.”

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#6
ARTIST:	DOPELORD
TITLE:	Songs For Satan
RECORD LABEL(S):	Blues Funeral Recordings

Still one of the catchiest records I’ve heard all year and a big standout in the typified stoner/doom metal headspace. — “Wild and alive with the rational glare of wisdom in their red-shot eyes and the unearthly grace of Satan as their strength Warsaw, Poland-based stoner/doom metal quartet Dopelord aggress upon the unsuspecting public with five hymnals directly channeled to the followers of Satan. In solidarity with freakery, witchery and hopped-up skulls alike ‘Songs for Satan‘ surely contains the long-standing traditions of heaviest blues rock, bounding sludge-tones and the stoned-ass doom metal resultant through their own iterations yet their craft is now tuned exactingly to der perfekt traum of fuzz assaulted rhythmic groan and outcast-anthemic songcraft.”

>> FULL STREAM <<

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#7
ARTIST:	CEMETERY URN
TITLE:	Suffer the Fallen
RECORD LABEL(S):	Hell’s Headbangers Records

A solid death metal record, great sound, has big enough balls to fill a pair of JNCOs. — “Melbourne, Australia-based death metal band Cemetery Urn have burnt the coming eternity into your skull per their own bull of Phalaris here on this impressive return for a fifth full-length album. Resilient and ingenious in their own right yet traditional by most any credible account these folks once again produce elite death metal brutality on ‘Suffer the Fallen‘, work which may very well read familiar yet differs in substantial ways from past accomplishments. As is tradition in their enduring reign some actors might phase in and out of their station but the core purpose and potency of the band remains world class in its presentation of pure, blood-curdling and fire-flinging death metal.”

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#8
ARTIST:	AIWASS
TITLE:	The Falling
RECORD LABEL(S):	King Volume Records

A haunting doom metal experience which works both as a focal point listening and as backgrounded mood music. — “Left in the throes of the incessant dictation of an incorporeal whisperer echoing through the chambers of the physical heart, an unbelievable possession takes place as Austin, Texas-based psychedelic doom metal act Aiwass documents one’s reach into the shadowed, unheard-of corners of their own singularity in divining this sophomore full-length album. As a second, far more serious undertaking beyond their first stumble into view ‘The Falling‘ reads as a glowing Leslie speaker warped peer into the afterlife and one which which leads to better actualization of the self-apart. A rare stoner-readied doom outlier in growling cathedralesque burst, consider this work entirely unique as an amplifier set upon the process of tearing apart the fiction of the self and carrying away only what is real.”

>> FULL STREAM <<

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#9
ARTIST:	DREAM UNENDING / WORM
TITLE:	Starpath
RECORD LABEL(S):	20 Buck Spin

Not sure which side of this split to freak out about, honestly. Totally rad split and far more substantive than expected. — “Though the pairing seemed odd at a glance per the wildly different tonal reach of each band a split between Florida-borne black/death doom act Worm and Toronto/Boston-conceived atmospheric death/doom metal duo Dream Unending pairs nicely at this current point where each group extend their reach by way of surreal guitar-virtuosic highs, romanticist 90’s metal gloom, and modern extreme doom idealization. They are worlds apart but from my point of view that only ends up making the release all the more interesting; The gist of this split LP is that we’ve got one side wherein one band extends the voice of their most recent album and the other introduces their latest sound, a mid-transition sound, both of which seem to indicate the future-sighted direction they’ll take going forward.”

>> SHORT REVIEW <<

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#10
ARTIST:	SLIDHR
TITLE:	White Hart!
RECORD LABEL(S):	Debemur Morti Productions

Picking up the latest Slidhr album was a choice I’d made less as a ‘reviewer’ and solely as a listener, having enjoyed past releases to such a degree that I knew this was an act to be admired and trusted. ‘White Hart!‘ is eventful to say the least, reaching for a bigger personality through song rather than merely aggression means most all of this record stood out. At the end of the year it’ll probably be his other project (Verminous Serpent) that I’m praising but I definitely spent a solid couple of weeks wrapped around this one extracting its purpose-driven voice.

>> FULL STREAM <<

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#11
ARTIST:	BARING TEETH
TITLE:	The Path Narrows
RECORD LABEL(S):	I, Voidhanger Records

These folks return for their best album to date, or, at least the latest stage of their ascension as they’ve been incredibly consistent and on-point for every single release. This one explores pacing more thoroughly, showcasing the elasticity of their work for a stunningly atmospheric yet needled-at tech-death experience. — “A score of pandemia writ codas depicting scenes of nihil, dysfunction and spectacularly dark landscapes befit the crookedly scrawled and fifteen plus year developed vernacular Dallas, Texas based trio Baring Teeth present in downward-cast spiral as they continue to surprise and horrify on this fourth full-length album. A rare species of technical death metal considered ahead of their time a decade ago, the unflinching hand of these folks continues to mold their own brand of atonal discordance set within dissonant-phrased surrealism on ‘The Path Narrows‘. Heated environs, frenzied movement, richer kinetic interactions, and increasingly despairing tonal reach retain the anxietous throes they are known for but this fourth passage hums with the radiance of unbearable pressurization, a headspace where spontaneous combustion and frantic disembodiment threaten at every turn.”

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#12
ARTIST:	CARDINALS FOLLY
TITLE:	Live By The Sword
RECORD LABEL(S):	Soulseller Records

While I’ve always had nothing but praise for this band this time around I think they’ve actually delivered their best songcraft and guitar work overall. Memorable and full of personality. — “Whereas many amongst the ‘true’ are still flattened, mulching themselves beneath the dire circumstance of the endtime cometh Helsinki, Finland-based doom metal trio Cardinals Folly return for a sixth full-length album touting an unholier-than-thou heavy metal spirit within this latest spellsword tome. Beyond its clear-enough title ‘Live By The Sword‘ bears an uncanny boldness which we can only assume arrives by way of their fists deeply goring the depths of the dark arts, weilding hidden magickry as a now decade solid line-up. As they’ve extended their sphere of influence and reached a point of high confidence so has their songcraft become increasingly engaging, tuneful, and rife with its own recherché personality to the point that it not only isn’t being done by anyone else but couldn’t’ve been.”

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#13
ARTIST:	SEPULCHRAL CURSE
TITLE:	Abhorrent Dimensions
RECORD LABEL(S):	Transcending Obscurity Records

While I’m not sure the album art will attract the sort of folks who’ll like this don’t skip out on this one if you are a fan of death metal, traditional styles or otherwise. — “Wraithlike in its solemn wander through the ruined architectural apex of civilization the beauteous yet destructive waft of Turku, Finland-based melodic black/death metal quintet Sepulchral Curse sets the mind alight at the black-radiant tip of the otherwise brutal, forceful ‘old school’ death metal sorcerer’s stave on this second full-length album. Presenting the agreed-upon peak of civilized extreme metal at its most actively concerted, ‘Abhorrent Dimensions‘ attempts to round-out the permutation frenzy beyond the late 80’s hammer of extremity and the sophistication of the lost-and-found mid-90’s idyll through their own empyrean swerve and a blunt, horrified voice. Cast downward as scalding judgement upon that which has already been damned by time and nuclear dust, expect these ruminations to both punish and delight by the dramatic breath of an intelligent beast-mind, a showing of violence and romanticist tact in full skin-rippling flex n’ carve.”

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#14
ARTIST:	PSICOSFERA
TITLE:	Summa Negativa
RECORD LABEL(S):	Lavadome Productions

An intelligent, affected and expressive avant-garde black metal record which leans into its existential dread to an overwhelming degree. The choice to add vocals to an instrumental band is always good but this vocalist seems to offer something special and it’d taken this record over the top in a good way. — “In this state of miserable torpor and psychic confinement Morón, Argentina-based avant-garde/post-black metal quartet Psicosfera trace the inequal left-and-right ribboned curls of an infinite search for purpose in vain, charting the jagged depths available to the persistent damager. Their third full-length album adds one key actor and exaggerates a once tertiary trait as their sound expands to include maniacal, rawly expressive vocals and a style which approaches dramatist and dissonant black metal full-on. Though we cannot consider ‘Summa Negative‘ a debut it may as well be a new invention, one which has been scraped and moulded from the still-caustic embers of past works and given a haunting, nightmarish severity far removed from the dreamt vignettes of the past.”

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#15
ARTIST:	SAVAGE RUINS
TITLE:	World in Wrath
RECORD LABEL(S):	Cavernous Records

Savage Ruins is a riff-smoking, brutally aggressive late 80’s styled death/thrash metal project from Alp (Desekryptor, Ecferus) who has handled every aspect of this intense record himself. ‘World in Wrath’ is rabid, riff-obsessed, and violent in the best tradition of bands that’d pulled from the violence of classic Kreator and Devastation and wheeled as close to black/death metal as they could without crossing the line into 90’s death metal fixation. I don’t think there was a huge push behind this record but I loved it as this type of well-considered pure thrash metal extremity appears in increasing rarity year over year.

>> FULL STREAM <<

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#16
ARTIST:	MORTAJAS
TITLE:	Mortajas II
RECORD LABEL(S):	Sun & Moon Records

Mortajas is a Villa Alemana, Chile-based traditional doom metal band featuring current/former members of King Heavy, Mourners Lament, Mar de Grises and Procession and of course this means we can expect epic ‘old school’ doom metal for this second full-length album. The most notable point of differentiation in terms of intent here is arguably their choice to stick with the Spanish language as they’d felt that was under-represented in doom metal. I find this opens up a lot of natural melodic possibilities beyond the use of English and this is notable even in the opener for this impressive album. Vocalist Marcos Contreras is the centerpiece to start with a warm sort of Phil Swanson-esque timbre at times but as the album flows past first impressions beyond the first couple of songs where there are some brilliant surprises (“Bajo Un Nuevo Sol” for example) which deepen the mood and leave a profound dent in the mind. This will have to be considered a grower for now as I’m still uncertain of my final score just yet.

>> FULL STREAM <<

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#17
ARTIST:	AUTOPSY
TITLE:	Ashes, Organs, Blood and Crypts
RECORD LABEL(S):	Peaceville Records

“Nobody ever said, “Oh man, not another damn Autopsy record!” Pre-or-post hiatus this is a band who’ve always delivered on their good name. I was kinda side-eyeing ‘Ashes, Organs, Blood and Crypts‘ for coming out right after they hit us with a second Static Abyss record, not to mention we’re pretty fresh off ‘Morbidity Triumphant‘ (2022) but hey, no doubt this record is up to par with everything they’ve released post-reformation. When you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go and Chris Reifert & crew still have that diamond diarrhea in terms of riffs, wild-ass vocals, and a classic sound which never gets old per its fundamentals which are rooted in hardcore punk, thrash, and doom metal. I’m guessing they’re writing songs with bassist Greg Wilkinson now as his playing is adding so much to this record that it feels like something new and exciting revealed from old guts. Otherwise: Production values offer more clarity between the guitar and bass guitar tones, doomed riffs are intense but the punkish movements and leads are raw as these folks probably should be.”

>> SHORT REVIEW <<

https://peaceville.bandcamp.com/album/ashes-organs-blood-and-crypts

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#18
ARTIST:	DECAPITATED CHRIST
TITLE:	Glorious Tyrannizing of Human Rats
RECORD LABEL(S):	F.D.A. Records

Although I’d heard of this band and knew their previous record this one was a surprise as a well-rounded and unique death metal record with some unexpected elements interspersed. Classic in purpose yet fairly unique. — “As often as the passage of time successfully erodes the bounds of idealism whether or not it’d by default desiccate the muscle memory of dedicated craftsmanship is open to debate, in the case of Barcelona, Spain-based ‘old school’ death metal quartet Decapitated Christ time only seems to have aided the maturation process of their core sound, setting it under glass for nearly a decade between releases before returning for this, their best album to date. ‘Glorious Tyrannizing of Human Rats‘ may carry some readable inspiration taken from the old greats in its tributed exploration of 90’s death metal groove-and-slash but their work is yet amorphous, far from an exacting clone or scene-hound, instead its own sect which respects both the tenets and the variety available to bygone-era death metal the world over. A cumulative revision of intent in heightened fidelity and a sturdy brick atop their greater progression over time this LP is one for the variety seeking classicist first-and-foremost but eh, also just a cool-ass death metal album with plenty of its own ideas at the end of the day.”

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#19
ARTIST:	AEGRUS
TITLE:	Invoking the Abysmal Night
RECORD LABEL(S):	Osmose Productions

Simple a great black metal record with a deep (but not too deep) melodic current, doesn’t need deep analysis beyond appreciating its well-rounded composition and a few steps outside of their usual skin for the sake of growth. — “Awash with the foaming rivers of slaughter beneath them Kouvola, Finland-based black metal quartet Aegrus present a beauteous yet harrowing display of Satanic pride on this most refined yet classicist fourth full-length album. ‘Invoking the Abysmal Night‘ regains the singularity built within their first decade alive while retailoring their overflowing enthusiasm for dark and ruthless melodicism as part of their oeuvre. A display of rounded capability and glorified expressivity beyond the usual referential sub-genre attaché this record finds the group resplendent as expected yet better rounded in their approach to the full album experience than past works, suggesting their endless pursuit of refinement and personal spirituality begin to achieve perpetual yield.”

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#20
ARTIST:	YELLOW EYES
TITLE:	Master’s Murmur
RECORD LABEL(S):	Sibir Records

Since I’ve only just spent four days with the latest Yellow Eyes album I can conclusively say it is above-average, brilliantly realized, and fantastical in its sound design but I cannot yet tell you what it is (they call it “industrial folk”) or give a complete score. Nonetheless, it must be included here since it is probably one of the most captivating experimental black metal-adjacent things I’ve heard in the second half of 2023. I might try and brave my way through a review of it if time permits this coming week, in that case the score will be updated.

>> FULL STREAM <<

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HONORABLE MENTIONS

• ECOCIDE – Metamorphosis (2023) | REVIEW
• HIPPIE DEATH CULT – Helichrysum (2023) | REVIEW
• SÜHNOPFER – Nous Sommes d’Hier (2023) | REVIEW
• SERAPHIC ENTOMBMENT – Sickness Particles Gleam (2023) | REVIEW
• BARBARIAN SWORDS – Anti-Dogma Megaforce (2023) | REVIEW
• THIRD STORM – The Locust Mantra (2023) | REVIEW
• RESTLESS SPIRIT – Afterimage (2023) | REVIEW
• LUNAR TOMBFIELDS – An Arrow to the Sun (2023) | REVIEW
• THANAMAGUS – Lie in Wait (2023) | REVIEW
• STORTREGN ‘Finitude’ [The Artisan Era]