My Top 10 CDs of 2023!

[TageRyche]

MY TOP 10 CDS OF 2023

Since I have posted a piece ranking the concerts I saw this year (CLICK HERE) and another article highlighting the Best of The Cassette Chronicles series (CLICK HERE), I figured in order to complete the trilogy of year-end articles I should break down my ten favorite CDs of 2023 as well.

Of course, the list will appear on KNAC.COM but I like to have a more expansive article as well.

Before we get to the albums, I have to give a special notice about what was the most surprising individual song for me this year.

Pop Quiz, hotshots! What do you get when you cross blazing heavy metal with one of the most enduring science fiction franchises? Give up? 

You get the Star Trek-themed band Of Romulus! Featuring Heather Michele Smith on vocals, Jason Ashcraft on guitar and Chelsea McMasters on bass, the group released two singles in 2023 and really struck a chord with me. The song "Until Time's End" is really good but the namesake track "Of Romulus" is just an astonishing piece of work. Hugely powerful music and killer vocals make for one entertaining five-minute track that pummels you over and over again. I can't tell you how many times I've listened to this song since I first heard it, but it is a pretty high number to be sure. I'm hoping for a full-length album in the near future and who knows, maybe some tour dates? (May I suggest The Vault Music Hall in New Bedford, MA should a tour come to fruition?) But until those come to pass, check out my pick for favorite individual song of the year!

As always, remember that this is MY list. If an album isn't on the list I either didn't listen to it or it just didn't make the cut for the TOP TEN designation.

Here we go!

#10. U.D.O.- Touchdown (Atomic Fire) - While the tour in support of this album got postponed until 2024, the album itself was indeed on fire. It took a couple of spins for me to really get drawn into all of the songs on Touchdown but it's more than just hype when I say U.D.O. has a killer metal record on their hands here. (FULL REVIEW)

#9. Winger - Seven (Frontiers) - It took a number of years for this album to be made as a follow up to Better Days Comin' but Seven ended up being well worth the wait. The big melodic hooks, killer songs and the incredible musicianship allow for Seven to be in the debate for just how it ranks in Winger's overall discography. It is also an album that will get a lot of play from me in the immediate future too. (FULL REVIEW)

#8. Doro - Conqueress - Forever Strong and Proud (Nuclear Blast) - Singer Doro Pesch has a jam-packed damn fine record with her latest release. There's some utterly fantastic music added to her catalog and her performance remains ever enrapturing as she continues to reign as the Metal Queen! (FULL REVIEW)

#7. Escape the Hive - This is Gonna Sting (Vanity Music Group)- The return of singer Michael Thomas Beck to my CD player ended up being quite the surprising addition to my music collection. Filled with engaging vocals and song lyrics combined with some electrifying music, Escape the Hive will take you back to the days of 1970s arena rock without sacrificing a modern sound. The song "Roll The Dice" is a particular standout! (FULL REVIEW)

#6. Overkill - Scorched (Nuclear Blast) - It took Overkill four long years to get their new album in the hands of music fans worldwide, but once it did land, watch out! A massively powerful thrash metal album, Scorched hits with all the power you could expect to find on an Overkill album. Songs like "Twist of the Wick" and "Bag of Bones" help make this one of the finest releases in the band's discography. (FULL REVIEW)

#5. Paul Lidel's Scream Therapy - Paul Lidel's Scream Therapy (Perris) - For an album that wasn't even on my radar until a chance meeting with Paul Lidel this past October, I have to say this was a great "discovery" for me. I called it "a sonic explosion of both fiery and melodically driven rock and roll from start to finish" in my review of the album and I stand by that statement. And the song "Alibi" is magnificent. (FULL REVIEW)

#4. Ray Alder - II (InsideOut Music) - The second official solo album from the Fates Warning singer was a major release for me this year. It all started with the song "This Hollow Shell" and kept getting better from there. Take some incredible music, mix in some challenging lyrical concepts and an overall great performance from everyone involved in creating this album and music fans get an album that will thrill them over and over again! (FULL REVIEW)

#3. Robin McAuley- Alive (Frontiers) - It took me a couple of spins to really get into the first half of this album but once I did, it continued to hit home with me each time I played it starting back in March of this year. And it stayed high in my rankings as it is a GREAT rock and roll record that comes with an incredible vocal turn from McAuley and some strong material that has the perfect blend of fast-moving rock and melodic hooks you can't turn away from. (FULL REVIEW)

#2. Paul Rodgers - Midnight Rose (Sun Records) - Given that this relatively surprise solo release from the Bad Company singer came so late in the year, it might seem a tiny bit strange that it ended ranking so high in my list. But as Rodgers demonstrated that he is still a master of the combined blues, rock and soul musical sound he has made his career on, Midnight Rose is undoubtedly a most effective and affecting albums I heard this year. (FULL REVIEW)

#1. Metal Church - Congregation of Annihilation (Rat Pak) - If consider that my first reaction to hearing the first track featuring new Metal Church singer Marc Lopes was "WTF?", you know I've come a hell of a long way since then. Well, not that far really. I heard that song before the release of Congregation of Annihilation and because it was so different than what had come before from the band, it took me a minute to adjust.

But adjust I did because it was quickly apparent that Metal Church had rebounded from the loss of singer Mike Howe in stunning fashion. With stand-out songs like "Another Judgement Day", "My Favorite Sin", "Say a Prayer with 7 Bullets" (a MONSTER track!), "These Violent Thrills" and "Salvation", Metal Church made sure to honor the past, while moving forward in the here and now.

Congregation of Annihilation is not just one of the best albums the band has done, but it is the singularly best album of 2023! (FULL REVIEW)

So there you have it, my ten favorite albums of 2023.

I should mention that I also loved albums by Rat Rod (Four on the Floor), Johnny O'Neil (Brand New Day) and Pride of Lions (Dream Higher).

I'm looking forward to new albums from Judas Priest, Honeymoon Suite and perhaps there will even be the full-length debut release from All Sinners in 2024, but until next year...KEEP ON ROCKIN'!

[Yngve J. Chapleen]

I have the U.D.O. (listened to it already) and the Doro CD which I haven't got a chance to spin yet. I'm not making a list this year (again) even though I probably have 10 CDs I could rank, but mainly because I still have outstanding 2023 purchases piled up for a meaningful listening session, plus CDs I want to order, yet haven't committed to do so.

The only other album I streamed from your list (half-aware, I must add) is the Rubish McAuley album, and based on my perception of it, your ranking is correct. U.D.O. is on the top and RMA is third from the bottom (if I were to submit everything I streamed to a ranking in addition to my purchases... which I wouldn't do, but that is where Alive sits with me).

Overall I bought fewer new releases this year than I did in the previous year, and perhaps that trend will continue. I do have a much larger pile of reissues (mostly '70s stuff) also awaiting my attention, and that trend might be drying up soon as well since I feel like I discovered everything worth unearthing from the 1970s that got overlooked by my ignorance over the years.

[TageRyche]

My list went bottom from to top so I think you got my rankings confused. You think McAuley's album is near the bottom but I have it highly ranked.

I only have one album bought in 2023 that I didn't get the chance to listen to yet but I have limited time to get things done so I had to make the call for a cutoff date. 

Like you I didn't buy a ton of new releases this year either, but I didn't buy many reissues either.

Thanks for reading the article!

[RJhog (Admin)]

I bought very few new releases this year so I haven’t bothered ranking them. I do have the Winger album and I liked it. I did stream the Paul Rodgers release and thought the first spin was decent.

I really hope to do better in 2024.