December's Top 10 Albums

 It's time for December's top 10 albums. Staying abreast of the month's highlights might help casual readers see what they missed and check these artists out. I am not writing little blurbs on them and just linking the reviews. Inclusion here does not mean that these albums have been released this month, but it is a list of new or upcoming albums I have enjoyed the most, I have albums in my in-box that are not coming out til next year so I am normally way ahead of the curve in this regard. They are ranked in order of what I have listened to the most. This month there is a wide variety from pop to black metal so you may find your new favorite among them. Here are the Top 10 albums of December.  

10-Justice - "Hyperdrama" 

Electronic / Pop / Dance

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/12/justice-hyperdrama.html

9- Lauren Mayberry - "Vicious Creature" 

Pop

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/12/lauren-mayberry-vicious-creature.html

8-Panzerfaust -'" Suns of Perdition IV :  To Shadow Zion" 

Black Metal- 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/panzerfaust-suns-of-perdition-iv-to.html

7-LEAVS - "Natura Universal" 

Shoe-gaze 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/12/leavs-natura-universal.html

6-Trelldom-"...By the Shadows..." 

Progressive Black Metal 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/12/trelldom-by-shadows.html

5- Hidden Mothers  - "Erosion / Avulsion" 

post-hardcore 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/hidden-mothers-erosion-avulsion.html

4-Boston Manor- "Sundiver"  

Rock

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/boston-manor-sundiver.html

3-Jerry Cantrell -"I Want Blood" 

Grunge 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/jerry-cantrell-i-want-blood.html

2-Pale Waves - "Smitten" 

Pop 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/12/pale-waves-smitten.html

1-Dax Riggs - "7 Songs For Spiders" 

Rock 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/12/dax-riggs-7-songs-for-spiders.html

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The Top 10 Black Metal Albums of 2024

It is not surprising that Black Metal's popularity has waned in the hipster metal scene. It's now called problematic by poseurs who were only into it for superficial reasons in the first place, as the genre has always represented misanthropic hate and nihilistic disdain for the world. These albums captured what black metal should be with very little compromise. Black metal is a sub-genre of metal that is for the true outsiders. Here are the bands captured that best. 

 After I sort through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I use those lists to compile the top 10 albums of the year. 2024. The very fact that these bands made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album; there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all, we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day, what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. Perhaps you can find your next favorite on this list, and I have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out the audio on these guys. Anyway, here are the top 10 Black Metal albums of 2024

10-Inquisition: " Veneration of Medieval Mysticism and Cosmological Violence"

The notorious Colombian black metal duo is back to bring the darkness in a manner more in line with their 2010 album "Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm".  Many of the songs are possessed by an eerie throb while Dagon gives his best croak. It sits more forward in the mix on this album and has a drier sound to it. At times a few phrases were declared in a more spoken tone. The guitars are placed oddly in the mix, single not leads mixed to the front while the main riffs churn behind the crash of the drums. It is one of those odd mixes that creates an interesting effect that gives the overall sound of the album a unique charm. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/inquisition-veneration-of-medieval.html

 

9-Darkthrone - "It Beckons Us All" 

Thought of as one of the forefathers of second-wave black metal, it's been a minute since they conformed to any genre, and have been digging up the graves of 80s Celtic Frost for the past few albums which have done so with varying levels of nostalgia, Nordic atmosphere, and grimness. It takes what they have been going for on the past few albums and executes it in the most focused form yet. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/darkthrone-it-beckons-us-all.html

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8-Svoid- "Neptunian" 

The Hungarian back metal band pounds their sound into a dark manner respecting their signature mood. that respects the mood they are known to create. I do not remember the vocals having this much of a snarl, but here we are. They dialed in the guitar tones in a  more of a post-punk, manner, but lurch into the songs with brooding aggression that helps the focus stay firmly planted on songwriting rather than letting the momentum carry them away. This makes them a more original black metal band as they are working these elements in and doing their own thing.  There is a great deal of punk in their attack, even in the scowl of the vocals that are sometimes sung.  

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/07/svoid-neptunian.html

7-Silhouette -"Les Dires de l 'Ame" 

This French band is back with their brand of haunting darkness. The languid wail of the female vocals haunts the gray haze of the ghostly guitar. Black metal elements crash in with female vocals serving as a counterpoint. Their take on black metal does not try to numb you out with a bunch of blast beats. Instead, they work with the mood. The drummer is very solid when it comes to setting the stage for this. When they slow down and let the chords ring out with a creepy throb it's even more effective and gives the female vocals room to slither in.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/09/silhouette-les-dires-de-l-ame.html

6-1349 - "The Wolf and the King"  

Back to hammer your ears as the defenders of what true Norweigan Black Metal should be. This lineup has been intact since  2001, so they've had nothing but time to perfect their purist definition of black metal that benefits from hooky songwriting without compromising the grimness. There are more deliberate moments on this album that succeed in being aggressive and dark without hitting you with a wall of blast beats.'

        

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/07/1349-wolf-and-king.html

5-Panzerfaust-'" Suns of Perdition IV :  To Shadow Zion" 

This Canadian band brings the darkness again, ranging from a more sludge-like below to a traditional black metal rasp. The songs carry more of a throb, than the blast-beaten sound that typifies the genre. They hit you with a storm cloud of sound, and live up to the hype. If you want black metal that hits you with a tempest of apocalyptic darkness this album is for you. Out on Eisenwald. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/panzerfaust-suns-of-perdition-iv-to.html

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4-Curse Upon a Prayer - "The Worship: Orthoprax Satanism" 

The angriest band on this year's list. This band from Finland has enough balls to refrain from attacking the low-hanging fruit, Christianity, instead, they nut up and attack Islam, whose followers are fanatical enough to come after you for being critical, just ask Salaman Rushdie, who is still in hiding. Rather than just relying on this as a gimmick these guys are legit and bring black metal better than most. Their sound carries all the venom they need to spew to convince black metal fans they are not going for a wider audience here,

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/08/curse-upon-prayer-worship-orthoprax.html

 

3-Vemod -"The Deepening" 

If you get stoned to a black metal album this is the one to do it to. They create an atmosphere that is very organic, jamming the songs out lush layers of hypnotic instrumentation. Not worried about being the trvest black metal band in Norway, played to their strengths as songwriters, and thus a stunning collection of songs was born. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/02/black-metal-history-month-vemod.html

 

2- Nachtmystium - "Blight Privilege" 

One of my favorite black metal projects is back. Blake Judd personifies inner darkness, which can create our darkness, legitimizing his work's melancholy. This new album picks up where they left off. The scathing rasp of his vocals sits back in the mix. The synths play a larger role in the overall sound which is carried by a great deal of drive, thanks to drummer Francesco Miato.  It's fine to welcome back to a band that is badly needed as the world becomes more miserable. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/nachtmystium-blight-privilege.html

1-Ellende -  "Todbringerin" 

 This explains the growth in the more melodic direction of their sound, and the pristine nature of the production that is organic enough to capture the spirit of the genre without being so polished they lose the black metal feel like say Behemoth. These Austrians are doing their own thing in the best way possible without turning off fans of the genre, as the scope of sound has changed but even with the jazzy guitar interludes nobody is going to doubt these guys are a black metal band even when they skimp on the blast beats. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/09/ellende-todbringerin.html

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Panzerfaust : '" Suns of Perdition IV : To Shadow Zion"

 This is a new album by the Canadian black metallers that gained a great deal of buzz when it came up in talks for the best Black Metal albums of the year. Since I enjoyed their previous work, it made sense to catch up and give this one a shot. The vocals once again vary from a more sludge-like below to the more traditional black metal rasp. The album opens with a great deal of drive and power the drums seem like they are laying on more double bass than blast beats but popping things off in that rapid-fire manner. 

The second song is more unrelenting in its blast forward, though not just keeping things at a buzz but allowing layers of sound to carry eerie nuance. The vocals bellow in a manner very similar to what they did on the first song so the vocals are not as thoughtful. "the Damascene Conversions moves with a darker creep to its throb, which works better for me than the pounding of the previous song. The chord progression is color and not color by numbers black metal. The vocals are largely roared, though some slight changes in the cadence which is more effective in this context. 

"Occam's Fucking Razor" creates a really cool mood using samples and atmosphere, but is still heavy. It makes me think of what Behemoth might sound like if they were not trying so hard to play stadium metal. This album does live up to the hype. It does build into the more intense in-your-face blasting feel of black metal, but it works because you have already been given dynamics to put it all in context. They close the album with the 11-minute title track There is about a minute build-up before the song unfolds. When it does take off there is a more brooding throb to it. Though in all fairness I was three minutes into the song and wondering where else they could take it. The answer seems to be to get gradually more aggressive. It could be more dynamic as there is certainly enough time to ebb and flow, but to their credit, it's like being hit by a storm cloud of sound. It lives up to the hype so I will give this one a 9.5. If you want black metal that hits you with a tempest of apocalyptic darkness this album is for you. Out on Eisenwald. 

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Panzerfaust :" The Suns of Perdition, Chapter III: The Astral Drain"

 

If these guys are always as dark and sonically sinister as they are on the opening track of their 6th album, then I have been missing out.  The lack of blast beats is inspiring and while the dense sound has a great deal in common with sludge, this still feels very much like black metal. While I like all the creepy elements of their sound that they have in play, the question becomes, but can you write a song. I always talk about this when it comes to extreme metal genres how they first song grabs you with the sheer heaviness then the sound vs song kicks in. The throaty roar of the vocals could also be applied to so sludge or death metal band as there is less of a scream to them than what you expect from death metal. The second song does work off a very similar throb though the arrangement of the song offers enough dynamic shifts to it once we get mid-way into it. 

Another secret to this band's success here seems to be the production. This album sounds really good, they are not just going for a cavernous cvlt sound but allow nuance to bring out things such as the intricate drumming. "Bonfire of Insanities" is more melodic than the first two songs. The guitar is picked out, and spacious. There is more of a harrowing and hypnotic atmosphere pervading, with sung vocals layered in the background. the vocals are more purposeful in their call and response than most black metal bands where they are just an obligatory human layer of static sound. Though this sounds more like blackened sludge than black metal, until things gain momentum at the end. One point of interest regarding this album is each song is bookended with interludes, though when you let the song play, they just see like they are part of the main song. The exception here being the almost six minutes and driven by percussion and droning guitars, it would almost be a song if it did not just work off the one idea.   

Things have a stormy build temp wise going into " the Far Bank of the River Styx". This is driven more by a thundering under current of brisk double bass. It feels like the blackest of their black metal side so far. The album closes with " Tabula Rasa" . The growls trading off with the more roared vocals give a more Neurosis feel than invoking anything close to Darkthrone. The double bass picks up the pace to keep things from feeling too sludge oriented and putting them in a sonic zip code closer to Tombs. Overall an album that places the mood on equal footing as the heaviness which is an exception to the genre these days . I will give this album a 9.5, as this is one of the best albums that creates an aura of blackness this year.  This album comes out July 22nd on Eisenwald.