BEST OF 2023 – Rich “The Meister” Dillon (Radio Host/Writer/Editor/Owner) 🇨🇦
You can find the Collective List as well as all our Best of 2023 content including contributors’ individual lists, podcasts and radio DJ shows here: CGCM’s Best of 2023 (Year in Review)
Thoughts from a Cranky Old Guy
Music is my life, life is music. I couldn’t be without it and I struggle to grasp the concepts of those who are seemingly indifferent to music. For me, it ushers in and closes out every day. Constantly playing every second in between be it through speakers, headphones or even just in my own head.
With that in mind, cultivating a 10 best albums of the year is a near-impossible feat. This year my list to consider in the rankings list was well north of 500 albums! Yes, there was that much music this year, if you didn’t know that maybe it’s time you got out of the swirling black hole shittiness of conventional radio and checked out CGCM Rock Radio. While my list spans several subgenres and styles of Hard Rock/Metal, this list is by no means encompassing EVERYTHING released. I’m sure to be missing many. I considered big band releases right down to homegrown independent albums. Hey, at some point nobody knew who AC/DC were right? You never know what you’ll find.
How I Ranked Them
I kept to a steadfast rule of hearing at least a minimum of 3 tracks from an album to test if it “hooked” me. If so, I continued on, if not it was given a “red”. Some albums didn’t make the final cuts as I whittled down, yet they may very well have contained an excellent song or three that entered playlists for my livestream radio/video show. As per the CGCM rules, I did not consider live albums, compilations, re-records or re-issues. Newly created music only. Even though CGCM allows EPs to be considered, I chose not to. It’s difficult to measure a 5 song creation vs. an 8 or 10-song full album. So I have done a separate article naming my top 10 EP choices of 2023. Meister’s Top EPs of 2023 (link).
At the end of it all, here are my 10 top albums in reverse chronological order. Ask me tomorrow and it might be a little different. But first, the ones that were so close to cracking the 10!
Get off my lawn!
Honourable Mentions (the “Could have made my list on a different day” section in no particular order)
JOSE FERRO – Of Darkness and Desire
HAUNT – The Golden Arm
HIGH SPIRITS – The Other Side
KARDANG – Rizky Bizznizz
TYGERS OF PAN TANG – Bloodlines
AIR RAID – Fatal Encounter
ROCK CITY MACHINE CO. – RCMC
AMMOTRACK – Accelerate
ALICE COOPER – Road
AB/CD – Back ‘n Attack
THE BITES – Squeeze
FIRE ROSE – Blood On Your Hands
#10 🇫🇮
TEMPLE BALLS – Avalanche
Temple Balls hit my radar with their second album Untamed in 2019. From there I checked out 2017’s debut Traded Dreams and two years later Pyromide arrived narrowly missing my best-of list that year. Then like my #9 pick it’s thanks to Wildfest Festival Belgium that I got to witness Temple Balls on stage. Unfortunately, that performance was cut short due to an accident on stage. Thankfully the band member is ok after being rushed to hospital. Now they have delivered Avalanche, a really strong collection of riff-oriented melodic hard rockers. Tracks like “Trap“, “All Night Long” and “Strike Like A Cobra” all resonate well in my ears!
#9 🇮🇹
HELL IN THE CLUB – F.U.B.A.R.
I’ve enjoyed Hell In The Club‘s efforts in the past years, they have five full-length albums starting from Let The Games Begin in 2011. And getting to see them live at Wildfest Festival Belgium was amazing. The band was extremely impressive and I thoroughly enjoyed the set. Then arrives this new F.U.B.A.R. album and it resonated with me more than anything they’ve done before. I feel the band really stepped it up here and hit their stride. Fantastic riffs and melodies, engaging songs with sing-along choruses carry the pace of F.U.B.A.R. from start to finish. I hope these Italians are able to maintain this level of quality on future efforts and I’d love to see them live again playing these songs.
#8 🇸🇪
GRAND DESIGN – Rawk
Since hearing the advance singles and playing them on my Meister Music Livestream Radio Show here on CGCM Rock Radio, this one has stuck with me. Probably the album I floated back to most often throughout the year. The Swedes of Grand Design under the guidance of founder and band leader Pelle Saether, have produced an upbeat, feel-good melodic rock record loaded with punchy earworms that remain with the listener long after the sound has faded away. Tracks like “Tuff It Out“, “God Bless Rawk N Roll” and my favourite song, “We Were Born To Rawk N Roll“. A fun album all the way.
#7 🇬🇧
GIRLSCHOOL – WTForty-Five
Often associated with Motorhead, the longest-running all-female rock band Girlschool formed back in 1978 as a facet of the NWOBHM. It’s taken eight years to get a new Girlschool album and frankly, it has absolutely no right being this good. WTForty-Five begins with the uber-catchy (and let’s face it, a little bit annoying phrase when uttered in regular society these days) “It Is What It Is“. From there it’s a fun collection of what you’d expect from Girlschool, upbeat punk-tinged rock with all but 2 of the 12 songs well under the 4-minute mark, it moves along well and holds your attention. “It Is What It Is“, “Invisible Killer“, “Bump In The Night” and lead single “Are You Ready? (feat Joe Stump)” are all top track choices.
#6
SCREAMING EAGLES – High-Class Rock and Roll
Hailing from Northern Ireland comes The Screaming Eagles and their October-issued High-Class Rock and Roll album. The outfit issued their debut album in 2013 and High-Class Rock and Roll is the sophomore companion. Wait….what? Why a 10-year wait for album #2? Who knows, but it rocks! Solid working man’s AC/DC tempered hard rock….just the way ole Meister likes it! “Thunder & Lightning” starts the album off famously just as described, but its track #2 (“.45“) that is my go-to here. It’s a steady upbeat tempo that entices my extraordinary air drumming skills out of hiding.
#5 🇬🇧
THE HOT ONE TWO – Superbia
“The Fray” wakes you up right at the outset with its welcoming guitar riff and pounds along for its 3.36 runtime! You have my attention! Well, to be honest, the guys had my ears perked up before this album arrived. I saw them perform at Call Of The Wild Festival back in May 2023 and even though I didn’t know a song prior, they pulled me in with a highly engaging show and great punches and rhythms to their songs. That holds true here on Superbia and I think it’s the guitar tones and riffs that really stand out. Totally stupid band name though….should lose points for that.
#4 🇺🇲
PAUL LIDEL’S SCREAM THERAPY – Scream Therapy
This one sets a furious pace right from the outset (once you pass the dumb 14-second intro….man, those things piss me off) with the title track. The entire collection is peppered with delicious riffs and the unique toned vocals laced with venom….all hard rock all the way. Straight forward, fist bashing, foot stomping high energy good time. Band namesake Paul Lidel (Dangerous Toys, Dirty Looks, 99 Crimes, Adrenaline Factor) has formed this new outfit with some players I’m unfamiliar with and I’m not quite sure what happened to 99 Crimes, his previous band that delivered a solid album in 2019. In any case, I love this and hope there’s much more in the tank. Top tracks include “Run“, “That Bullet” and “Rabbit Hole“, but everything here is strong.
#3 🇸🇪
ENFORCER – Nostalgia
Heavy Metal is alive and well in Sweden! Enforcer have been waving the flag since the early 2000s with this year’s Nostalgia marking their 6th full-length. For me personally, I found Enforcer back a few years with their 2015-issued Far Beyond album, which made my top 10 that year. Also seeing them in Tokyo Japan that same year was magical. A few more live shows since then, namely Toronto in 2016, but then a few years later I started to lose touch with Enforcer. I did not at all enjoy their 2019 album, Zenith. I found the musical path they took to be too soft and wishy-washy with no real earworms or hooks for me.
Happy to say that all is back on form with Nostalgia, an awesome slab of traditional flavoured metal that begins with “Unshackle Me” once you get past the useless and highly annoying 37second intro (I hate intros like this, they serve no purpose, either build it into the track or just get rid of it).
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#2 🇬🇧
TAILGUNNER – Guns For Hire
These young upstarts from the UK have achieved a shit ton of ground in their short existence. Waving the flag for heavy metal, the buzz they are creating is re-igniting the scene. After an independent EP in 2022, Guns For Hire is the full-length debut although it features the EP tracks alongside new songs. The whole thing rips with hunger and fire that you can literally feel from this young band. And live is another story….a better one! I saw them in May at Call Of The Wild and after the set, I just stood there motionless attempting to comprehend what had just taken place. Blown Away for sure. Read about that here: Tailgunner – COTW (Spotlight Review)
#1 🇸🇪
BONAFIDE – Are You Listening?
Bonafide is a band I’ve long followed. Pretty sure I found them via my first foray from Toronto to Sweden Rock in 2013. The band was formed in about 2006 in Malmo by main man Pontus Snibb and has seven full-length albums, one EP, and one live album in their library. That live album (Live At KB)is simply amazing and I reviewed it back in 2019, also seeing Bonafide at a small club in Vasteras, Sweden where I bought the vinyl. It’s been a few years waiting for something new from this Hard Rock/Bluesy band as their last album (before Live at KB) was way back in 2017 with Flames.
The title track leads off the album in top style. This is probably my favourite song of all of 2023…..the vibe, the beat, the “oh oh oh’s”, everything just works! “Are You Listening?” is my current lead-off song to my weekly radio/video livestream show. A great tone-setter just as it is on the album. From there it’s solid AC/DC-styled Hard Rock thumping through the next 9 songs of the collection. Even the Swedish lyrical content of “Snacket” rocks and usually I don’t gravitate to foreign language songs due to my lack of comprehension….lol. Highly recommended, upbeat rocking feel-good album!
Cheers,
The Meister
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