Every year when I write the runner up story, I feel kind of bad because I never want any of these records to be seen as anything other than vital additions to metal’s lore. I adore these five albums and listen to them a ton. All are worth your money and time, and each one brings something entirely different to the metallic feasting table.

ICARUS WITCH, “No Devil Lived On” (Cleopatra): Pittsburgh traditional metal power Icarus Witch have the idea in mind of saving the world via witchery on their excellent new record “No Devil Lived On.” It’s a concept piece that imagines a world in total collapse that must be saved by an alliance of wizards, witches, shamans, and other dimensional forces to overthrow the greedy leaders of this world. It’s a reimagining of The Arcadia Witchcraft Mythos created by folklorist Charles Godfrey Leland in 1899, and it sweeps into these nine tracks and dramatic record that’s bursting with power. The band still mines the rich history of heavy metal from the ’70s and ’80s with their own personality and power, making this sixth album one of their most interesting and blazing to date. And most urgent because space witches would be pretty welcome right now. “Heaven’s Ghetto” and “10,000 Light Years From Home” are personal highlights. (Oct. 27)

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/icaruswitch/

To buy the album, go here: https://cleorecs.com/store/?s=Icarus+Witch+No+Devil+Lived+On&post_type=product

For more on the label, go here: https://cleorecs.com/store/

BLOODSTAR, “First Sighting” (Shadow Kingdom): Salt Lake City-based force Blood Star feel like a band that originated 40 years ago and has the sense of rebellion over the reaction from the general population pointing their accusing fingers and their desire to unite the music’s followers. Yet, it’s 2023, and what they do on their exuberant, goddamn great debut record “First Sighting” is create something that is worth fighting for, music that lights your heart and soul on fire in the name of metal. Singer Madeline Smith is an absolute revelation, and there is so much great, classic heavy metal power here such as “All for Nothing,” infectious “Fearless Priestess,” “Cold Moon,” and “Going Home.” This band and album connect with my desire to revel in metal that is timeless and true.  (April 21)

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/bloodstarslc

To buy the album, go here: https://www.shadowkingdomrecords.com/pre-orders.asp

For more on the label, go here: https://www.shadowkingdomrecords.com/

QUIET MAN, “The Starving Lesson” (Riff Merchant/Cursed Monk): Philly sludge doom crushers Quiet Man, who are comprised of anything but quiet people, watch humankind spiraling out into oblivion on their hulking debut record “The Starving Lesson.” Here, the band (formerly known as God Root) refuses to turn an eye away from the existential carnage, going full bore into the chaos, the feeling that everything is coming apart at the seams. They go into terrifying corners thinking of the corrosion of our world, the way many folks treat marginalized people, and our own mental and physical well-being in the face of so much pain and misery. There’s so much to embrace such as “Set to Boil Is the New Standard,” “The Post Abandoned,” and immersive, instrumental closer “All Along, We Were Beautiful Radiant Things,” inspired by Emma Goldman’s autobiography Living My Life where guitars tease and drone, sounds ache, and each angle tricks your thinking. Devastating stuff with a righteous heart. (July 14)

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/Quietmanband/

To buy the album, go here: https://riffmerchant.bandcamp.com/album/the-starving-lesson

Or here: https://astralands.bandcamp.com/album/the-starving-lesson

For more on the label, go here: https://riffmerchant.bandcamp.com/

And here: https://www.facebook.com/astralands/

OXBOW, “Love’s Holiday” (Ipecac): Long-running noise/punk/hardcore institution Oxbow never have done things conventionally over their 35 years together, and that continues on “Love’s Holiday,” an album filled front to back with love songs. No, you’re not going to have a candlelit dinner or slow dance to any of these songs (people still do that, right?), and you’re not staring in the face a slew of sappy ballads. Instead, the band gives love all kinds of sonic treatment from stabbing bursts to longing-filled dirges to heated outbursts when the heart is about to bleed its last. Vocalist Eugene S. Robinson is at his charismatic, sinister best here, and this is one of the band’s most approachable records to date, highlighted by “Dead Ahead,” the driving “Icy White & Crystalline,” “Lovely Murk” featuring Kristin Hayter, and “The Second Talk” where Robinson bluntly reminds, “Fucking is a dangerous game.” (July 21)

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/OXBOW/

To buy the album, go here: https://www.blixtmerchandise.com/collections/ipecac-recordings

For more on the label, go here: https://ipecac.com/

FILTH IS ETERNAL, “Find Out” (MNRK Heavy): Seattle’s Filth Is Eternal are proof that you really can maintain endless momentum over a 14-track record, which they demonstrate on their great new record “Find Out,” a pounder that has absolutely no down time. Punk, grunge, metal, and hardcore all jam themselves into the recipe, and everything here sounds vital and pumping blood, making this a record that will fly by before you know what hit you. There are some strains of their early days as Fucked and Bound, but there’s a different energy, a musical maturity that isn’t stuffy and still takes chances, leaving you guessing what’s coming next in the best way possible. Also, Lis Di Angelo is a charismatic, charged-up singer who reminds me of something in between Joan Jett and Mannequin Pussy’s Missy Dabice, their delivery like no one else’s. This is electrifying, sticky, metallic, brutal, and fun, and every track gets cemented into your brain. (Sept. 29)

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/filthiseternal/

To buy the album, go here: https://mnrkheavy.com/collections/filth-is-eternal

For more on the label, go here: https://mnrkheavy.com/