Death is June -Pestilence : "Exitivm"

Patrick Mameli is Pestilence at the this point as he is the only original member. This was also the case for "Hadeon" and that was a great album. I do not need to weight this album against 1989's "Consuming Impulse" I am perfectly fine with this album standing along side the more recent "Hadeon". There is less of a sci-fi vibe going on here and they are going more directly for the throat as the maze of twisting riffs comes for you in a full frontal attack. There isa angular dissonance to many of the guitar solos that I appreciate.  New bassist Joost Vander Graaf formerly of Dew Scented, debuts here. His playing is buried under the fast attack of the riffing. They take less twists and turns on the second song and focus on taunt riffing and more groove which plays to their favor. The vocals are more forward in the mix, almost like an Obituary album.

Another new edition to the band is guitarist Rutger Van Noordenburg. The rifs on this album are faster and more aggressive than those on "Hadeon". They are also not as catchy. The guitar solos are  more adventurous. There is a segment of the metal community who will be sold on that fact. I am not numbered among them. I am more interested in songs. Songs times this feels more like an athletic event. "Mortifervm" is the next piece that feels like a song to me. The key is  the syncopation they use to punch into certain parts. They continue in a direction that is more effective song writing with "Dominativ Submissa". The new drummer hammer most of this album with relentless double bass. He rips around his kit in a very Neil Peart manner. 

The album does find it's groove three songs in. There playing can never be called in question as execution is machine like in precision. This brings the question how much feeling do you need in your death metal? This is not to say they are intense and commanding as that is a vibe here. "Inficiat" has strong riffing and composition all the way around. The title track might have to grow on me, but it feels like the emphasis is on the gas pumped into the driving verse riff and is not as impressive as the previous song. The last song finds them not letting up on the  raging momentum. While this need for speed will appeal to some, I think, the more groove and song focus "Hadeon" made for better listening.  I will round this one down to an 8.5 , for this reason. It is still an impressive piece of work.  

the Top 10 Metal Albums of 2018

It is that time again. This lists takes from the best of the other metal lists and is a cross genre best of list. The score from my reviews to help determine the ranking , but also how many times Last FM told me I listened to each album.An album can have all the critical acclaim in the world but if it does not inspire multiple listens then how good can it actually be ? While the top ten lists for other genres were more balanced this list leans heavily on the side of new bloods. Rather than posting media of a track from each band I am leaving a link to the review, which will contain Bandcamp or Full Album Streams. Ok enough talking about it, the time has come to dig into the top 10 metal albums of 2018.

10- LLNN- "Deads"

 Hard core might be at the beating heart of this monster. What I like most is the sonic intensity. They are brutally aggressive, but don't stop there possessing a wider scope of dynamics.Not unlike bands such as Nails or Hexis, where many different sub-genres collide. This band is powered by a dark metallic hard-core draped in cinematic ambiance.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/03/llnn-deads.html

9-Ruin - "Human Annihilation"

 These guys offer a few things I like it my death metal. First and foremost their shit sounds dark. The opener is pretty dense and they do not rely on just speed. There is certainly an old school feel in what they do though it has a blown out quality that is not over produced so I can see how it might appeal to hipsters who were into punk last year. Also their songs are very short and to the point. But also well written



https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/11/ruin-human-annihilation.html

8-Messa - "Feast For Water" 

 My first thought when I heard them was this is like a metal version of Lana Del Ray. The tempo picks up and they fall closer in line to other "occult" rock of their ilk like Christian Mistress. There is more raw rumble going when they gain speed than what their peers typically muster. It's the dreary mood that kept them from just being lumped into stoner rock.


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/04/messa-feast-for-water.html

7-Totalselfhatred - "Solitude" 


7 years since their last album, they once has a more aggressive take on depressive black metal,but it is hard to complain about what goes down as it's so well done. My ears can not escape the fact that the first song falls neatly into the depressive black metal box, where their earlier work had more of a unhinged feral quality to it. I also don't remember synths and piano playing as big of a role as they do here. The album really needed to be played loudly in order to soak in all the layers. Maturity is one of this album's characteristics. Gone are the rock god solos, but everything well played, with no doubt they are excellent musicians who have grown up to serve the song. They are little more mellowed with time, but with a wider depth of emotion.


https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/02/black-metal-history-month.html

6- Evoken-"Hypnagogia"

 After six years of waiting the Jersey doom band proves why they are America's best when it comes to not only funeral doom, but doom as a whole. This finds them picking up where they left off with "Atra Mors". Sonically it feels similar from a production stand point. Mood wise the atmosphere might be thicker. It's pretty dark, though perhaps not as filled with despair as the previous album. Lyrically it uses World War 1 as a metaphor to things they were going through at the time. This is done without the need to maintain some contrived narrative that concept albums tend to have. These guys are masterful songwriters who don't feel the need to drone on to make their point. The beginning is dreamy with low goth like vocals to bring a darker shade against the music. It builds as needed to give them a big metal ending draped in mournful strings that gets better with each listen.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/10/evoken-hypnagogia.html

5- Pestilence - " Hadeon"


 Bassist / vocalist Patrick Mameli is carrying the torch for this band that dates all the way back to 1986. Even with all of the new blood this takes you back to the early days of death metal when it met at the intersection of thrash. This album won me over, it came out early in the year so it also gave me the false hope that this was going to be a good year for death metal, but only one album out shined it when it comes to death metal.


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2017/12/pestilence-hadeon.html

4- Necros Christos -" Domedon Doxomedon"


 A step in a direction that is more melodic and straight forward . They have come out from the murk of cavernous reverb to have a more organic sound. Gone is the darker Incantation worship. For matter there are few moments that sound like Morbid Angel. The vocals carry more of a croak, than the deeper growl I remember from these guys. Due to this the lyrics are more discernible. They are also more of a focal point with the opener being a clear cut take on the Jesus myth.In a genre that often is a one trick pony fueled only by aggression, this album has a range of dynamics and solid songwriting that proves death metal can be much more than that.


https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/04/necros-christos-domedon-doxomedon.html

3-Voices- "Frightened" 


 Former members of Akercocke formed this progressive metal band. The dark sense of melody further into this album with each listen . It has a wide array of vocal colors. The metal core of what these musicians creates from doesn't hamper it from bringing other elements ranging from post-punk to post- hardcore, though I guess these post-men aren't just ringing twice as any other post-sub genre can also be found. This album is very impressive, when I got it back in April it was what I thought to be one of the first contenders for album of the year as I could not imagine someone bringing it in the dark and aggressive fashion these guys do, but alas three other bands did in fact do it better.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/04/voices-frightened.html





2-Ilsa- "Corpse Fortress"

 This band is refusing to hold back on  on their debut for Relapse Records. The band's 5th full length finds them continuing to hammer skulls in with the sheer density of their blown out sludge. Dirty and squealing with feedback. The vocals are phrased in a way that that give the coarse scathing shouts almost more of  sung feel. The lyrics cut through better with this delivery. They shift back into more of a low end pounding that owes more to doom when it comes to the ominous rumble as the momentum continues to build. The flatulent bass can be heard in the din at times, but it generally hits you as one frequency. This album earned multiple listens I think it is a huge step forward for the band


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/03/ilsa-corpse-fortress.html

1-Hangman's Chair -"Banlieue Triste"


 This French band has been around for 13 years, so I am not sure how they have eluded me. In terms of conventional metal, they might not fit neatly into the box. They are heavy in the bleak mood they create. This depressing mood brings them closest to doom if they have to defined. The vocals are the key selling point for me as not a note is wasted and they really sell me on the lyrics. They are in a similar zip code as "Viva Emptiness" era Katatonia, but carrying even more despair. The reason they beat Evoken is while "Hypnagogia" is a beautiful album, it's so dense and grandiose, the songs don't hook me in to demand as many listens as this album did which what I need when I forget to take my meds in the morning.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/08/hangmans-chair-banlieue-triste.html

the Top 10 Death Metal Albums of 2018

It is that time again. I find it to be easier to go ahead and bust mine out before I started sending out other more generalized lists out to other blogs. This helps me get my thoughts sorted for those. It was when I began compiling this that I realized I was going to have to set the bar a little lower for death metal as their was more quantity than quality, so while I would not normally consider albums that scored under a 9 when first reviewed , that is what I was going to be forced to resort to for this as there were no death metal albums that scored a 10. Is death metal dying? That is the question we will learn the answer to in the coming year. I not only used the score from my reviews to help determine the ranking , but also how many times Last FM told me I listened to each album.

An album can have all the critical acclaim in the world but if it does not inspire multiple listens then how good can it actually be ? I have assembled a broad cross section of sub-genres, there is some progressive and technical death metal, actually four albums cross over into a more progressive place at some juncture. Some are old school, along with a few newer acts. The veterans normally have more to live up to , but there is only one band here that I have been following for any substantial length of time. Rather than posting media of a track from each band I am leaving a link to the review, which will contain Bandcamp or Full Album Streams. Ok enough talking about it, the time has come to dig into the top 10 death metal albums of 2018.

10-At the Gates : "To Drink From the Night Itself" 


 The Swedish Death Metal icons return with their sixth album which finds Lurking Fear guitarist Jonas Sthalhammar joining an otherwise close to original line up. They were so head of their time that rehashing where they have already ventured is going to sound like modern death metal. They always carried a thrashing slant to their brand of melodic death metal.This well done as they manage to still be relevant.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/05/at-gates-to-drink-from-night-itself.html

9- Bloodbath: "the Arrow of Satan is Drawn" 


 This death metal super group of sorts that features members of Opeth, Katatonia and Paradise Lost. This release feels like there is more heft than the first one that featured the Paradise Lost vocalist. They get real fucking serious as their is more of a weighty grind to this album.it's a very solid piece of death metal proving they know how to please their fans being as it is one of their heaviest albums yet.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/11/bloodbath-arrow-of-satan-is-drawn.html

8-Cult Leader - "a Patient Man" 

 It seems like a more spastic form of death metal with hard core sensibilities.In the absence of Nails , I will certainly take this to help fill that void. I do like how this album is as heavy sonically as it is metal. While it is not the album of the year, I think it's one of the stronger albums of this ilk, which we will call death metal despite the 3 songs with clean singing.


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/11/cult-leader-patient-man.html

7- Obscura-"Diluvium"

 Until I heard this album there were on four "progressive" death metal bands I thought were worth a shit. Cynic, Pestilence, Opeth, Edge of Sanity...ok maybe four then so let's see if these guys can be the fourth I don't always have to have death metal sounding like Morbid Angel or Incantation, what they are doing here works just fine for me. At the end of the day the album might have a ton of busy work , but its still pretty solid as the cool parts out weigh the bloat



 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/07/obscura-diluvium.html

6-Soliloquium : "Contemplations"


I am opposed to mixing death metal elements with doom, in fact this band from Sweden does it well. The take the power of death metal and give a punch to the mourning atmosphere of doom. They are not just playing slow death metal and trying to pass it off as doom. The bass does some interesting things when the guitar gives the songs room to breathe.it's way better than expected when I checked it out on a whim thinking it was going to be doom. If you miss the band Opeth used to be on "Orchid" then this is worth your time or if you want dark melodic death metal of any kind then it's also worth your time.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/04/soliloquium-contemplations.html

 


5-Usurpress -" Interregnum"


 This proggy death metal band out of Sweden, is what you are looking for if you want the emphasis on the metal when it comes to your prog metal. I don't listen to as much of this kind of thing as I once did , but if this was 2003, I would have been all over this. Despite the fact that is asks me to go back to the place when I was really into Opeth, there is no denying these guys excel at what they do.


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/01/usurpress-interregnum.html

4-Ruin - "Human Annihilation"

 These guys offer a few things I like it my death metal. First and foremost their shit sounds dark. The opener is pretty dense and they do not rely on just speed. There is certainly an old school feel in what they do though it has a blown out quality that is not over produced so I can see how it might appeal to hipsters who were into punk last year. Also their songs are very short and to the point. But also well written



https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/11/ruin-human-annihilation.html

3-Horrendous -"Idol"

They are very capable of pulling out some catchy head banging grooves so it's not all math and mirrors. I have grown to like this album a little more with each listen It's head and shoulders over most of the death metal I have heard this year and I have heard a lot as I am trying to get caught up for me end of the year lists. If you like your death metal to challenge you with it's high dexterity score then this album is a must. It's even a must for just plain ole death metal fans
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/11/horrendous-idol.html

2- Pestilence - " Hadeon"


 Bassist / vocalist Patrick Mameli is carrying the torch for this band that dates all the way back to 1986. Even with all of the new blood this takes you back to the early days of death metal when it met at the intersection of thrash. This album won me over, it came out early in the year so it also gave me the false hope that this was going to be a good year for death metal, but only one album out shined it when it comes to death metal.


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2017/12/pestilence-hadeon.html

1- Necros Christos -" Domedon Doxomedon"


 A step in a direction that is more melodic and straight forward . They have come out from the murk of cavernous reverb to have a more organic sound. Gone is the darker Incantation worship. For matter there are few moments that sound like Morbid Angel. The vocals carry more of a croak, than the deeper growl I remember from these guys. Due to this the lyrics are more discernible. They are also more of a focal point with the opener being a clear cut take on the Jesus myth.In a genre that often is a one trick pony fueled only by aggression, this album has a range of dynamics and solid songwriting that proves death metal can be much more than that.


https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/04/necros-christos-domedon-doxomedon.html

Pestilence - "Hadeon"

Bassist / vocalist Patrick Mameli is carrying the torch for this band that dates all the way back to 1986. Even with all of the new blood this takes you back to the early days of death metal when it met at the intersection of thrash. The riffs wind around themselves, the snarl of the vocals is the only thing that keeps this anchored in death metal on a song like "Manifestations". Mameli obviously takes most of the song writing credit here as the tightly palm muted guitar takes you back to the golden years of bands like Bolt Thrower and Sepultura. The bulk of the technical death metal bands pretty much owe the bulk of their careers to these guys who were doing this kind of thing before Death went into this direction. The experience is certainly felt in the song writing which balances keeping the uncompromising  aggression with catchy riffs .

Four songs in and I am pretty fucking impressed. I mean if you have been doing this shit since 1986, then you should be skilled, I think the catch is being able to keep the flame going for this kind of metal. Another way the old school metal breeding of this project wins out is the fact that the songs are all under five minutes. They manage to cover a ton of ground in this time frame even including weird angular robotic interludes on "Astral Projection". The atmosphere added to the songs keeps things interesting, they prove they can shred as needed. "Dis-incarnate Entity" goes into a riff with an almost Morbid Angel like groove. Keeping with the 80's there is a great thrash like bass tone that brings bands like Anthrax and Overkill to mind in the way the pick attacks the strings. The riffs are taunt and in the pocket to make it hard not to head bang to. This is where they get it right and modern tech-death fails.

"Ultra-Demons" is pretty straight forward and aggressive with the production on the vocals making the difference. The robotic effects return. The guitar solos have enough flash and class to make them work and the more proggy time changes work and don't lose the momentum. They don't lose me when the pace picks up which is where many bands fall off. I think they have written songs that hooked me in more than "Layers of Reality". They use a similar rushed speed on "Electro Magnetic" that employs sparse blast beats as accents. Overall this album won me over and if this is any indication 2018 might be a good year for death metal I'll round this up to a 9. This album comes out March 5th.