You'd think you'd get rusty after over a decade, but Saturnus delivers exactly what you want from them like having never been away. This album gels—every riff has its place, the songs create a beautiful, dynamic flow, the heavy/pretty contrast plays tug-of-war with the senses, all carried by the expansive, seamless sound they've nailed.

All of the above makes for an album you might need another 11 years to change in any way not for the worse. Looking at 2023's releases in hindsight, this came quickly to mind as better than most, if not all, of the year, and most, if not all, of The Storm Within could hardly have been a more powerful comeback statement.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Starvynth, Nejde, RaduP

This band has managed to get themselves banned in both Germany and Japan for the questionable lyrical content on 2000's Nihil, which still remains the finest performance of our dearly departed Alexi Laiho (Children Of Bodom, also see: the Metal Storm logo). "Brutal music needs brutal lyrics," as vocalist Mika Luttinen tends to argue, and sure, this album opens with a short blast of a song, the title of which translates into "Pissed To The Utter Maximum", and involves lyrics such as "After I buried you I jerked myself off and shouted that I am god!". Unsavoury indeed, but there is no denying the insane conviction and catchiness of songs like the black power ballad "Blood Is Thicker Than Water", the bass-driven craziness of "Let's Fucking Die", and the unforgettable hardcore/D-beat-cum-black-metal of the classic "Ghettoblaster". Whether you're offended or not by Impaled Nazarene, you can't deny the absolute impact and catchiness on display here, and it's a joy to listen to from start to finish. Such a joy that I have the vinyl framed on my wall. Suomi Finland Perkele! "Ghettoblaster, nerve gas, KILL!"

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: RaduP, nikarg

There is absolutely nothing wrong in copying another band's style as long as you do it well - that's what we call "influence". Mgla sure has a big influence on Non Est Deus, but Legacy sets itself apart with its different melodious aspects, production, and songwriting style. Well, at least in certain parts of the album; quite few parts at that, frankly. But what does a lack of originality matter when the result is so immensely memorable and entertaining as Legacy? I think you know the answer: it does not.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Starvynth, RaduP, Nejde, ScreamingSteelUS

I can only agree with Radu's sentiment that "Marko Hietala is the one artist I always knew I needed a solo album from”. After a long and illustrious career in Nightwish that arguably raised that band to the immense level of popularity they enjoy, and with Tarot on indefinite hiatus after the death of their drummer, Marko decided to try his own wings with Pyre Of The Black Heart/Mustan Sydämen Rovio (yeah, it's bilingual, how about that?). Great results ensued: a melodic album full of hard rocking, slightly proggy cuts, excellent bass and vocals (as would be expected), and Tarot-worthy anthems.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: RaduP

After three ambient albums, Anamnesi goes all-in on a style he calls “solar metal”, which makes a lot of sense considering La Proiezione Del Fuoco is melodic black through and through, but with its seven songs having the same uplifting, spiritual, ritualistic quality to them that you might find on such albums as Rotting Christ's Theogonia or Bølzer's Hero.

You should be hooked already from the opening song "Origine Prima”, with its simple core of hypnotic, start-stop rhythms, mediterranean guitar plucking break, and fantastic drumming which characterises the entire album from start to finish. The song “La Precessione Degli Equinozi” is, quite simply, the most memorable song I've heard in a long, long while, and the rare case of a simply perfect metal song. As the final moments of La Proiezione Del Fuoco echoes out with choirs praising the unconquerable sun god Mithras, you will want to hear it all from the beginning again.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: RaduP