Will Haven VII

2023 End Of The Year List: Best Albums

The 2023 Audioeclectica End Of The Year Lists now end with the list for Best Album/EP. As always the stipulation for this is that an Album or EP had to be released in 2023.

Vote for your favorite in the comments section. At the end of the month, I will release the results of the readers poll.

Albums 1-10 are in order, the rest are in no particular order. Also, these are just my favorite albums of 2023. I’m sure I missed some that came out. If I did, drop me a message and I’ll be sure to check out your album! Thanks for reading!



2023 Best Albums:

01) Iress- Solace EP
02) Filth Is Eternal- Find Out
03) Loma Prieta- Last
04) Turbid North- The Decline
05) Will Haven- VII
06) Baroness- Stone
07) Better Lovers- God Made Me An Animal EP
08) Ex Everything- Slow Change Will Pull Us Apart
09) Harm’s Way- Common Suffering
10) Crosses- Good Night, God Bless, I Love You, Delete.
11) Venera- Venera
12) Mutoid Man- Mutants
13) Depeche Mode- Memento Mori
14) Arc Angles- Daisy
15) Lived In- Everything Is Just Money Anyway
16) MAL- Come To Light
17) Common Wounds- Common Wounds EP
18) END- The Sin Of Human Frailty
19) Dave Lombardo- Rites Of Percussion
20) The Ocean- Holocene
21) Metallica- 72 Seasons
22) Rival Cults- Indoctrination
23) Full Of Hell & Nothing- When No Birds Sang
24) Rancid- Tomorrow Never Come
25) Unearth- The Wretched / The Ruiness
26) Stress Positions- Harsh Reality
27) Great Falls- Objects Without Pain
28) The Smashing Pumpkins- ATUM
29) Spotlights- Alchemy For The Dead
30) Noel Gallagher- Council Skies

Album Of The Week: Will Haven- VII


The mighty Will Haven are back with a new album that is absolutely intense yet has a balance of atmosphere and experimentation that only they can deliver. VII is the band’s seventh studio album and it takes no prisoners. The record is filled with riffs and grooves while at the same time pummeling rhythms that propel the gut wrenching vocals.

From the moment the album starts with “Luna” you know that this album is just waiting to explode. The sludgy/hardcore elements found throughout the album are classic yet feel fresh. Throughout the album it’s more and more apparent that this isn’t a heavy record for the sake of being heavy, there’s a lot to uncover as each song unfolds. The most prevalent aspect found throughout the album is the use of atmosphere. As each song grabs you by the throat, there is a bit of air between the grasp that explores different grooves and textures not found on most hardcore albums. I’d even go as far as to say there’s some psychedelic vibes going on here. For example the songs “For All Future Time” and “Paloma’s Blessing” both showcase Will Haven at it’s experimental finest. Then you also have a song like “Feeding The Soil” that is eerie as it gets under your skin. And then you have my favorite track on the album (as of this writing) “No Stars To Guide Me.” This song is a true highlight on the album but also in the bands catalog. This song is exactly the song I’d point to if I were to tell someone about Will Haven. It encompasses everything and more to love about this band and album.

Will Haven have indeed left their influential mark in heavy music throughout the years. The band’s cult status has only grown over the years, and for a band this far into their career, to put out an album that has it’s own identity and signature is quite the statement. VII is one hell of an album. I urge you to listen to it loudly and on repeat, because once it stops, your hunger for it will only grow deeper! Be sure to come out to The Knitting Factory in North Hollywood on Wednesday August 30, 2023 to witness Will Haven LIVE along with Cycotic Youth, Curse, Stronger Than Machines and Arc Angles TICKETS HERE!

Overall Rating: 9/10

Will Haven- VII:

Best Of 2023 So Far…

We are a little past the halfway point of 2023 so, why not put together a list of a bunch of my favorite releases of the year… so far!

*This List Is In No Particular Order EXCEPT For Number 1

01) Iress- Solace EP
02) Loma Prieta- Last
03) Will Haven- VII
04) Better Lovers- God Made Me An Animal EP
05) The Ocean- Holocene
06) Metallica- 72 Seasons
07) Turbid North- The Decline
08) Deathgrave- It’s Only Midnight
09) Unearth- The Wretched / The Ruinous
10) Dave Lombardo- Rites Of Percussion
11) Rancid- Tomorrow Never Comes
12) Creeping Death- Boundless Domain
13) Queens Of The Stone Age- In Times New Roman
14) Tunic- Wrong Dream
15) Common Wounds- Common Wounds EP
16) Jerome’s Dream- The Gray In Between
17) Vanishment- No More Torture
18) The Smashing Pumpkins- ATUM
19) Year Of The Knife- Dust To Dust
20) Thrice- The Artist and The Ambulance (2023 Version)