2023 is wrapping up and I’ve decided to put together my two lists, this first list is the greatest finds I’ve made this year. On the 30th I’ll be posting my AOTY (Album of The Year) list, so subscribe and stay tuned for that banger of a list, it’s gonna be heavy af! 🤘🏻
Greatest Heavy Metal Vinyl Album Finds of 2023
The first two bands that I found albums from have been with me for a long long time. I cut my teeth on music in New Orleans, Louisiana while growing up, playing and listening to tons of music in that city and the surrounding country. I saw these bands numerous times in places like Slidell, New Orleans, and Metairie all the while playing gigs all over the place myself in rando places like Houma, Lafayette, Biloxi, and tons of places you’ve not heard of unless you live there like Carriere, Mandeville, D’Iberville, Pass Christian, Waveland, St Bernard, Belle Chasse, Harahan, Chalmette, Meraux, and of course Metarie!
These two albums, one relatively new, and the other super old both ripped a tear or three of euphoria and thankfulness out of my eyes. I didn’t imagine I could even pick up one of these albums anymore and for the other band I was just jazzed that they put together new music!
1st Find
A limited run, was the 2LP press of Exhorder‘s new album Mourn The Southern Skies. Check this sucker out, it’s gorgeous and right smack ya up side your face orange!
I went through a great ordeal to get a workable album for Mourn The Southern Skies. The first copy arrived (I ordered via Amazon) and it arrived warped. I went through the – very easy – return process and got another copy of the album. It too, was warped. I then decided after a few days, while pondering what to do, to go through the process again and get another copy. The vinyl and album overall, was absolutely beautiful, just this warp made it unplayable on record players. The crux being the warp was enough, that at the 45rpm that this album is pressed at, means any light need just goes jumping every time the hump comes speeding around! Thus, the damnable skips!
Eventually I went through this process 5 times, the 5th, I realized this press just includes the warped records (2 LP set, both records end up warped). The solution I have, I found a fat jazz pick that I set on the head and that holds the needle to the grove. Absolutely not ideal, but workable.
2nd Find
This find was extremely rare! Acid Bath‘s album Pagan Terrorism Tactics. This one is such a find for so many reasons. The band no longer exists, I used to hang out with them at their shows in New Orleans, some members have gone to other bands, Audie was killed in a car wreck (RIP Audie Pitre), Dax & Mike went to Agents of Oblivion, and Sammy “Pierre” Duet went on to Crowbar for a while before heading over to Goatwhore! Other members went other directions, but suffice it to say, the band that had immense talent. The band had absolutely huge potential and Audie’s death was utterly crushing and brutal that led to the band splintering apart. Thus the short lived life of 2 albums and Acid Bath still made an amazing ride and put together amazing music!
Finding and buying this album was a very different adventure compared to the aforementioned album. My brother and I were in Vancouver, Washington checking out the vinyl shops. We’d stopped by 1709 Records, an absolutely stellar record shop unto itself, with a cozy sized heavy metal section too! We then strolled over to Everybody’s Music, a shop with a very different vibe focused on audio gear and collectibles among vinyls and CDs, yet stellar unto itself in this vibe too!
I went picking through the vinyl selections and in short order looked up around the walls and saw this Acid Bath 2 LP Album! I was shocked, in the best of ways, and even with the pricier collectible price tag, I immediately pointed it out and offered to buy it. The proprieter got it down, with care (important!), and I laid down the cash for this sucker!
A few days later, I was stoked to sit down and listen through the album and have myself taken back to those days listening to Acid Bath in New Orleans and surrounding dives! What a great band, absolutely love em’!
Here is a map for an idea of where to get to these vinyl shops, because they’re both worth checking out.
3rd Find
Another classic for me, and I believe its a reissue, but I’ll take it! This gem is In Flames‘ EP “Subterranean“.
This In Flames EP goes back to the early line up of Henke Forss, Glenn Ljungström, Jesper Strömblad, and Johann Larsson. A very different line up compared to the current one, however hints at the future line up are evident on this EP.
This album has numerous guest vocalists that include Anders Fridén, Jocke Götberg, Per Gyllenbäck, Robert Dahne, and Oscar Dronjak. Anders of course went on to become their vocalist henceforth and remains today. There are also two drummers that make guest appearances on this album: Daniel Erlandsson and Anders Jivarp. Daniel is the same Daniel that is in Arch Enemy these days, and just for completeness, his brother Adrian Erlandsson is also a drummer and in At The Gates.
As you can see, lots of family connections in and among that Swedish metal scene!
4th Find
The final big win was after several months of searching. Finally picking up Allegaeon‘s “Proponents of Sentience” from an individual collector from Spain!
At the time of this release, one of my favorites from Allegaeon, vocalist Riley McShane was debuting with the band. As icing on the absolute feast of an album this is, Björn “Speed” Strid of Soilwork laid down some guest vocals with guest guitarist Benjamin Ellis of Scar Symmetry. This album has always just seemed like a gift from the masters of technical, melodic death metal!
The next list will be my 2023 Album of The Year (#AOTY) releases. That’ll be coming out on the 30th per this conversation! Included in that list I’ll be publishing and updating a list of all the others putting together AOTY lists!
So stay tuned, subscribe, and catch ya on the 30th!
Vicious Shred 
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