TOP FIVE OF 2023 BY METAL ROGER
Hey, Metal Roger here (holy shit, I have way too many nicknames)! My picks for 2023 tell a bit of a story about my year. What a batshit crazy year it was. Each month had crazier shit than the last. These albums helped me get through this crazy year. Here’s my list of my favourite albums of 2023
Blink 182 is a bucket list band of mine. I’m finally seeing them in 2024. I love this album. It sounds like a Blink-of-old album. It also sounds like an evolved version of Blink. When the “One More Time” single was released, boy did everyone cry. What a beautiful message behind the song. Whoever is reading my words right now — Hey, if you have friends or family that you care about, and you haven’t talked to them in awhile for whatever reason, don’t wait for something shitty to happen tell them you love them and how much they mean.
#4. Better Lovers – God Made Me An Animal
It’s an EP, but it’s my rules. The Dillinger Escape Plan and Every Time I Die had a baby — I HAVE to mention this. Good God does this kick ass. “God Made Me An Animal” makes you wanna run through a wall and punt the first person you see across the room. I can’t wait for the full length to come out in 2024, and throw around more heavy weights while it’s on. [Roger lifts weights – Mike]
#3. Sleep Token – Take Me Back to Eden
You either love these guys or cannot stand them, to the point you would rather listen to Nickelback. Just kidding — nothing is that bad. This album makes zero sense. The songs are made in the most random ways you can possibly conceive in your brain. There’s singing, there’s eletronic parts, there’s heavy-as-hell something out of a death metal album parts, and there’s even jazzy parts. The vocalist Vessel is an awesome singer, who should be applauded for his vocals. Seriously, i have no idea why i enjoyed this so much because its out there. I bet Harrison the Unicorn loves this album. It’s that out there.
Speaking of demons. This might be the first CD ever to make me wanna cry. The lyrics — holy shit do they ever resonate with me. At the time of my life that I listened to this album, I NEEDED to hear lyrics like these. A little background about me is that I could have had everything in my life that I wanted and more, but I decided I would let my demons drive for awhile. When I first heard the song “Riptide”, I cried. Then when I listened to it again, I said to myself its finally time to let go and become something people are proud of. Enough is enough. No more excuses no more saying I’m back, only to fall down again. Then when I heard the whole album I thought, “Holy shit, this is exactly how I’m feeling right now.” That it’s time to rise. “When I Was Alive” is the perfect way to end this album. It has the lyrics:
Not gonna be on my deathbed
Knowing I’ll be buried in regret
Thinkin’ ’bout the things I never did
While I’m taking my last breath
No need to fear the end
‘Cause I’ll know I didn’t just live
When I die, I’ll know I didn’t just live
I was alive, I’ll know I didn’t just live
I was alive, live
Not gonna be on my deathbed
Wondering why I was always scared
To say those words I never said
To the ones I loved while I was there
When I die, I’ll know I didn’t just live.
There’s so many things times I’ve held myself back because of fears or taking chances. No more holding myself back. 2024 will be the year this koi swims up the river and becomes a dragon. I want my wife to meet the true me. That song woke me the fuck up. If I wasn’t so biased towards Metallica, this likely would be number 1.
If you have watched some of the shows I’ve been on (for whatever crazy reason), you would know my love for Metallica has no bounds. Actually, it does. St. Anger is garbage, and Lulu is some kind of alien abomination that should have never been created. If you take this CD for what it is, it’s a great hard rock/NWOBHM-inspired love letter in my opinion. “Lux Æterna” (I’m not doing that stupid font, Mike you do it!): Very Diamond Head-ish. “Inamorata” is a Black Sabbath sound-alike to me. The lyrics on this album are both dark and uplifting. To me it tells a story of a man that had demons from his father abandoning him, and eventually fighting back his demons, realizing he’s not too far gone, and not needing the pain and misery to keep carrying on. Maybe I’m reading it wrong, but it sure helped me get through a beyond crazy situation, that whenever I tell people they yell “What the fuck!” Thank you Metallica for helping me keep pushing through this year
Honorable mentions: some heavy shit
Unearth – The Wretched; The Ruinous
Fires In The Distance – Air Not Meant For Us
Cattle Decapitation – Terrasite