Tom ‘Crazy Collector’ Schmahl has been the one and only Ringmaster at the mostly German written Rock Circuz since 2011 and delivers his keen eye and wisdom to Legacy Magazine and Nordmensch In Concerts. His tastes are eclectic but always have this highly classic and stylish edge to them. As you can judge for yourself below. And we don’t call him Crazy Collector for nothing, he’s got a few obsessions that will have him hunting for coveted pieces of vinyl all across the globe… Welcome to Tom ‘Crazy Collector’ Schmahl one and only Top 30!

We’re honored to present it here as a list of Favorite Albums of 2023 by one of the Doom Charts Contributors… There are many Contributors as you might know; and many already posted their list of Favorite Albums of 2023 on their own sites or the sites they write for. Some of those lists will be published here as well. And for all the others we advise you to check out all of their personal sites… Cause it might just contain your next very favorite album!

These albums just barely missed the top 30:

DRAIN – LIVING PROOF
(cool Crossover, Hardcore)

INCULTER – MORBID ORIGIN
( if you like Enforced, Power Trip, Fugitive)

BLACK RAINBOWS – SUPERSKULL
(Psych, Fuzz, 70´s, Stoner)

BLOOD LIGHTNING – BLOOD LIGHTNING
(Stoner, Metal)

CHRIS STAPLETON – HIGHER
(what a beautiful album – sit back an relax)

“I tried to cover as many genres as possible – except death metal, because that will have its own top 10.”

“TOP 30 – NO PARTICULAR ORDER”

30. BAHBOON – THUNDER APE
(Stoner, Doom, Metal)
(Tokyo, Japan)

Oh my goodness, what’s going on here? Then I accidentally stumbled upon a band from Japan whose cover artwork caught my eye and gave me the impression that they were very interesting. Just listened to it and what can I say: it’s an absolute blast! I won’t mention any song directly here, just give my musical impressions. Here groovy doomy bass part meets killing stoner riffs. The drums clatter at every nook and cranny, the bass pushes and the powerful vocals deliver perfectly. Psycho parts meet slightly progressive proto-metal riffs. The production is quite warm and, despite all the harshness, not at all overloaded. Of course, bands like Kyuss and Black Sabbath come into play here. The 6 tracks run for 36 minutes and if you have the option, you should consider headphones, because with them you get the real bang – what a killer work!

29. REWOLVER – STRANGE TIMES
(Classic Rock, Hardrock)
(Halmstad, Sweden)

“This band could be the next big thing in classic rock / hardrock”

28. MANSION – Second Death 
(Atmospheric, Dark, Psych, Doom)
(Turku, Finland)

“Atmospheric occult doom – wonderful”

27. SONIC MOON – RETURN WITHOUT ANY MEMORY
(Fuzz, Stoner, Doom)
(Aarhus, Denmark)

“Fantastic Doom with some psychedelic parts – love the drum sound – check out the Opener “The Waters”!

26. ENFORCED – WAR REMAINS
(Thrash / Crossover)
(Richmond, USA)

“The total demolition with a lot of energy and melodies”

25. RIVAL SONS – DARKFIGHTER
(Classic Rock, 70´s)
(Long Beach, USA)

Four years after their last album, the Californians are back with their new work “DARKFIGHTER”. Anyone who likes RIVAL SONS knows what to expect and this is impressively the case this time too. The band once again delivers the best classic rock. Be it the slightly fuzzy opener ‘Mirrors’, the casual rocker ‘Bird In The Hand’ (great catchy tune with cool banjo use), the bluesy ‘Bright Light’, a wonderfully creaky ‘Rapture’ (great chorus), the heavy fuzzy one ‘Guillotine’ (wonderful guitar sound) or the impressive and at the same time concluding title track (terrific play between loud and quiet – super official). The band pulls out all the stops in the 40 minutes and as always, the sound is just phenomenal, everything sounds as old school as from the seventies and especially like Led Zeppelin, but at the same time fresh and modern again – just incredibly good and impressive.

24. WOLFNAUT – VULTURES PARADISE
(Stoner, Desert-Rock)
(Elverum, Norway)

“Second splendid album from the norwegians”

23. LORD MOUNTAIN – THE OATH
(Doom, Heavy Metal)
(Santa Rosa, USA)

“If Black Sabbath were to look for an opening act again this would be it”

22. DEADBLONDESTARS – METAMORPHOSIS
(Grunge, Heavy-Rock)
(Sheffield, UK)

“Welcome to the 90´s – Chris Cornell on vocals?”

21. HOWLIN SUN – MAXIME
(Fuzz, Rock, 70´s)
(Bergen, Norway)

“It’s only Rock n Roll…”

20. CROWN LANDS – FEARLESS
(Prog, Rock)
(Oshawa, Canada)

“If you like Rush these guys are just right for you”

19. DOZER – DRIFTING IN THE ENDLESS VOID
(Stoner)
(Borlänge, Sweden)

“Maybe the best stoner stuff in 2023”

18. KHAN – CREATURES
(Rock, Prog, Psych)
(Melbourne, Australia)

“Atmospheric psychedelic with killer riffs”

17. WYTCH HAZEL – IV: SACRAMENT
(Hardrock, Folk, 70´s, Proto)
(Lancaster, UK)

In the run-up to this release, one could only ask oneself whether WYTCH HAZEL from England can actually top their great predecessor. Their new work “IV: SACRAMENT” starts with the two outstanding mid-tempo hits ‘The Fire’s Control’ and ‘Angel Of Light’ – the twin guitars (like THIN LIZZY) are phenomenal and just out of this world. It continues with the slightly melancholic ‘Deliver Us’ (just great – what incredibly melodic guitars). Then ‘A Thousand Years’ picks up the pace again. Before ‘Digging Deeper’ provides a splendid conclusion, you can go to dreamland with the wonderfully acoustic (what a wonderful atmosphere) ‘Future Is Gold’. It’s really hard for me to say if WYTCH HAZEL actually managed to top their great predecessor, which doesn’t really matter because both albums are absolutely terrific.

16. GODS OF SOMETIMES – GODS OF SOMETIMES
(easy, relaxt, Stoner, Rock)
(Los Angeles, USA)

“How cool can a record be – sit back and enjoy”

15. MONDO DRAG – THROUGH THE HOURGLASS
(Psych, Rock, Prog, 70´s)
(Oakland, USA)

“Just listen to this awesome organ”

14. TAR POND – PETROL
(Post, Doom, Atmospheric)
(Switzerland)

TAR POND were founded by Martin Ain (Celtic Frost R.I.P.), drummer Marky Edelmann (ex Coroner) and singer Thomas Ott. Now the band has released their second output and describes their style as Doom ‘n’ Gloom. The five songs on “Petrol” have a playing time of 38 minutes and impress with their uncanny density. Everything is kept very dark and in parts is reminiscent of the iconic Celtic Frost. Musically, the groovy-doomy ‘Bomb’ opens the new album. The sound is very post-metal, but the powerful number is really fun, especially if you listen to it with headphones. Except for the final ‘Dirt’ (there’s a bit more tempo here, although not much), the rest of the tracks are in the same vein as the opener. One might have wished for a little more variety, but “Petrol” is still a really good album if you like post-rock and doom.

13. GREEN LUNG – THIS HEATHEN LAND
(Epic, Folk, Classic Rock, Heavy)
(London, UK)

“Maybe my album of the year – this Masterpiece has it all”

12. LUCID SINS – DANCING IN THE DARK
(Psych, Occult, Rock)
(Glasgow, Scotland)

Despite two very good albums, LUCID SINS still haven’t really gotten the attention they deserve. This makes you wonder why this might be, because musically the Scots deliver some really great material from the 1970s. With “Dancing In The Dark” the group has now released their third album and what can I say – just listen to the brilliant opener ‘Jack Of Diamonds’ (delicate, fragile, melodic). After the jazzy uptempo track ‘Take Me With You’, it continues with the surprisingly riffy ‘From The Bough’, the folky ‘Sanctuary Stone’, the psycho-blues number ‘Heavy Toll’ and the closing ‘Catch The Wild’ (relaxed, bluesy, wonderfully relaxed) great further. We can only hope that “Dancing In The Dark” finally gets the recognition that such a great seventies work should get – we keep our fingers crossed.

11. DUANE BETTS – Wild & Precious Life
(Southern, 70´s, Jam)
(Sarasota, USA)

“What guitar harmonies on Duane’s first solo album”

10. MAMMOTH WVH – MAMMOTH II
(Heavy-Rock, Grunge)
(Los Angeles, USA)

“Second great rock album from the son of guitar legend Eddie Van Halen”

09. GOV’T MULE – PEACE…LIKE A RIVER
(Blues, Soul, 70´s, Jam-Rock)
(Atlanta, USA)

“Warren Haynes never disappoints”

08. I AM LOW – UMA
(Grunge, Psych, Fuzz, Rock)
(Umea, Sweden)

“Back to the 90’s with I AM LOW – great Rock/Grunge”

07. GRAVEYARD – 6
(Classic Rock, 70´s)
(Gothenburg, Sweden)

One of my absolute favorite bands has really taken its time and hasn’t released anything in five years. Now her new work, simply titled “6”, has been published and surprises with very quiet sounds. Anyone who celebrated the boys’ wonderful vintage rock has to be brave now, because with ‘Twice’, ‘Just A Drop’ and ‘I Follow You’ only three real rockers made it onto the new long player. I would describe the remaining six numbers as bluesy-psychedelic seventies rock – there’s a lot of emotion involved here. Especially tracks like the magnificent ‘Breathe In Breathe Out’ (incredibly light and the guitar towards the end – it couldn’t be more brilliant), the beautifully relaxed opener ‘Godnatt’ (put on your headphones and dream away) or the slightly soulful ‘No Way Out’ are just three hits from a really great album that surprises but also inspires at the same time.

06. BLODET – DEAD MOTHER
(Post Rock/Punk, Doom, Noise)
(Skelleftea, Sweden)

Unfortunately, the Swedish BLODET were never really on the radar, although the band has been around since 2014. Now their third album has been released and offers us 40 minutes of atmospheric post-doom, with delicate vocals from singer Hilda Heller. I won’t single out any track in particular here, because the five songs are all great cinema and anyone who likes A.A. Williams, Emma Ruth Rundle or the Italian band Messa can put BLODET’s new long player on their shelf without hesitation.

05. OCEANLORD – KINGDOM COLD
(Doom, Psych, Stoner)
(Melbourne, Australia)

“Wonderfully relaxed atmospheric doom”

04. TIGERCUB – THE PERFUME OF DECAY
(Indie, Rock, Goth, Stoner)
(Brighton, UK)

“The better version of the band MUSE”

03. WESTING – FUTURE
(Classic Rock, Psych)
(Visalia, USA)

Who, like me, celebrated Slow Season from California with their three albums, will also lick their ten fingers at WESTING, because WESTING consists of ¾ Slow Season plus Ben McLeod from the cool All Them Witches. Oh my god, I love the drum sound that used to only be heard on Led Zeppelin and now only the Rival Sons can pull off. It’s also Led Zeppelin that the guys here take off their hats to. The great ‘Big Trouble (In The City Of Love)’ alone is a hit and sounds so incredibly close to ‘The Ocean’ from the classic album “Houses Of The Holy”. But also songs like the wonderful opener ‘Back In The Twenties’, the fuzzy-bluesy ‘Nothing New’ (to kneel down) or the wonderfully relaxed ‘Artemisia Coming Down’ make “Future” an indispensable classic rock work. As already mentioned at the beginning, those who loved Slow Season will also have to put WESTING on their home shelves.

02. ENSLAVED – HEIMDAL
(Progressive, Black Metal, Viking)
(Bergen, Norway)

“If you love ENSLAVED you will also adore this album”

01. DEATHCHANT– THRONES
(Hardrock, Fuzz, Psych, Heavy)
(Los Angeles, USA)

After two very good first albums, the Americans have now recorded their third long player, which in my opinion is a step higher. As on the two predecessors, DEATHCHANT also deliver us a fireworks display of twin guitars on “Thrones” and should therefore put a big grin on the faces of all Thin Lizzy disciples. Just check out the great opener ‘Canyon’. But the driving ‘Mirror’, the wonderfully relaxed ‘Mother Mary’, a wonderfully harmonious ‘Chariot’ and the light-footed ‘Earth’ also ensure that “Thrones” will definitely appear in my annual charts for 2023 – 37 minutes of pure enthusiasm!

Tom Schmahl

http://www.rock-circuz.de