The Top 10 Worst Albums of 2024

It is that time again. Here we take a look at the worst albums of the year. They come from varied polarities, some are very heavy,  others are commercial pop, and there is even pop punk and folk thrown in the mix here. One of the things that made rap great in the 80s and 90s was rappers calling each other out for being whack. It provided a form of quality control. Now people have grown too sensitive for that kind of hard truth. Some would argue this is all subjective, but music is something that can be defined in technical terms, as well as artistic, and how it holds up over time. Chances are if it is hard is get through one listen it is not going to stand the test of time. For most of these albums, it was hard for me to write a full review as I could not listen to the album as a whole and had to skip around to try to find something worthwhile to listen to. Sure, some of these might have sold a ton of albums but the Fast and Furious movies are garbage in terms of storytelling, so the sheep are not a great barometer. So here are the top ten worst albums of 2024

10-Thou- "Umbilical" 

Thou is one of those bands that gets so much hype and does not deliver much outside of what is expected that I lost interest in. A few songs work, and some of the punchy hardcore energy works but do not show up hoping for a sludge fest as things are more chaotic than that and is more about a temper tantrum of sound than worthwhile songs. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/november-is-doom-thou-umbilical.html

 

9-Four Year Strong- "Analysis Paralysis' 

This band crosses too far into pop punk for me to really be into it but I gave the album a shot. So when it sucked you guys know you can count on me to stand up and tell it like it is. They take the things I do not like about both Blink 182 and the Foo-fighters and combine them into their sound. It got to the point where I had to skim through the songs because even three minutes of this felt like I was wasting my time. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/four-year-strong-analysis-paralysis.html

 

8-Merzbow/ Meat Beat Manifesto - 'Extinct" 

 I should have known this would be more sound-focused than song-focused because the first track is over twenty minutes long. The noise wrestles against the beats for dominance, putting them at the more extreme edge of industrial music. You could not put this on at a club and not close the place down. I would prefer a new Meat Beat Manifesto album not this experiment in performance art. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/gothtober-meat-beat-manifesto-merzbow.html

7-Sonata Arctica -"Clear Cold Beyond" 

It is really hard to even call these guys metal. There is nothing that comes close to feeling metal until "Dark Empath' which is four songs in. Even then most anime opening theme songs go harder. This takes what that band did and dilutes it with video game-like glee. There is such a lack of darkness to it that if you told me these guys were a Christian band I would believe you. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/02/sonata-arctica-clear-cold-beyond.html

 

6-Fentanyl - "s/t" 

Imagine the jangle of punk executed by a grindcore band. This is the sonic attack of this band that features members of Spiritual Cramp, SPY, and World Peace. I imagine what happened here is they wanted to be able to cut loose like back when they were teenagers and freed from the expectation that comes when they have to play the actual songs of their other bands. Before you say I just don't get the joke, my expectations for the music of any genre are the same, write songs worth listening to again, and that will stand the test of time. This is just indulging a youthful feeling to expulse this energy. But maybe that is what you want from punk.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/08/fentanyl-st.html

5-Sheer Mag -"Playing Favorites" 

It's like the Temu version of the Runaways. It typically feels like the singer was not involved in the songwriting process and she came in after the fact and went into the vocal booth just trying to come up with something that might fit.  Decent guitar playing provides a sliver of legitimacy to what would otherwise be some of the worst songs coming from a professional band that I have heard in some time. The more biased hipster voices in music journalism might try to give this band some hype for purely narrative upkeep, that has nothing to do with what we focus on here which is music. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/03/sheer-mag-playing-favorites.html

 

          

4-Bat for Lashes - "The Dream of Delphi" 

My initial impression of the lead single and title track from Natasha Khan's first album in 5 years, was that it was a little too atmospheric, I wanted something with more bones to it. Sadly shocked to find it was the album's least meandering expanse of sound. An album of ambient folk music with songs that are barely there is not what I had hope for, as I like her previous work. 

HTTPs://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/bat-for-lashes-dream-of-delphi.html

3-Zeal & Ardor- "Grief" 

This was a close call for the number two spot, because of all the singers it took to make this piece of shit. I am not sure how idiots can still refer to this as a metal band, the last album was nu-metal and this has less aggression than that. Manuel Gagnuex decided to let the live band he's toured with for the past years play on the albums. You might think with a full band cranking it in the studio it would cause things to rock a little more, but the opposite is true.  This feels like a product that is just as empty. It's like they asked AI what a rock band might sound like. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/08/zeal-ardor-grief.html

 

2-Iron Monkey- "Spleen and Goad" 

While this was the lowest-scoring album of the year, they did not take the number one spot due to the fact, that they are at least playing their own instruments, and do not have a team of songwriters, they are just taking their chances and sucking their own .This might be the worst vocal performance I have heard on a metal album this year. In some ways, it works with the stomp of this neanderthal minded sludge they are bulldozing you with. It sounds as if a band asked a retarded teenager to scream into a microphone. It is truly difficult to get through each song, if the vocals were further back in the mix it might be more tolerable.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/03/iron-monkey-spleen-and-goad.html

1-Beyonce- "Cowboy Carter" 

The number 2 album is pretty terrible, but it did not take the number one spot since at least it's some poor fools playing actual instruments. It took a whole marketing team to put together this piece of trash. Given the state of the music press these days, the Press creates an echo chamber to willingly cuck for the music industry. They will undoubtedly sing the praises for this album since it supports the narrative they want to promote. Any idiot with half a brain should be aware of the fact Beyonce did not get to where she is today without being a puppet for the music industry. Who is at least trying to work off the press it got for Lil Nas X. If you think any of this was her idea, you are naive. It took  21 songwriters and 13 different producers to push this album off the assembly line. At the end of the day, it's the worst part of pop music trying to be the worst parts of pop country to equate to a mess. What is going to be funny is watching the press eat their own shit when Beyonce gets exposed as being complicit in the Diddy mess.  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/03/putting-cunt-in-country-beyonces-cowboy.html

pst639

November is Doom - Thou : "Umbilical"

Thou is one of those bands that gets so much hype and does not deliver much outside of what is expected that I lost interest in. But seeing how the year is winding down and lists are going to begin surfacing, these guys will be on some of them for no reason other than this is a band the hipsters approve of meaning there does not have to be much substance, though I do prefer these guys over the Body. They are one of the few metallic bands on Sacred Bones which should tell you something. The first song finds the vocals just occupying the needed space, as the guitars lumber over riffs. It does not take long for this song to bore me. They have great fuzzed-out guitar tones, but tone alone is something that can be easily dialed in by a producer.

 Once again on 'Emotional Terrorist" the vocals do not do anything with purpose til the chorus. The accents are more hardcore which I appreciate. "Lonely Vigil" slows down to a scathing stomp. Despite moving at a deliberate crunch there is a great deal of chaos about this song. This chaos is pushed even further for "House of Ideas', there are moments where a chug allows the song to breathe, but it is largely chaos. Two and a half minutes into it and there is no direction, then two minutes later a melodic guitar line helps the song, though the rule here is "cool riffs alone does not a good song make". I feel a great deal of what goes down on this album was done better on Full of Hell's album. " I Feel Nothing When Cry" bangs around and creates a sound to scream over but is not much of a song. This has roughly more in common with hardcore than it does sludge.

"Unbidden Guest" rages with the same feral chaos in its veins. The vocals have a little more purpose though. "I Return as Chained and Bound to You" has the more deliberate stomp you expect from these guys. "The Promis" is one of the first tracks that feels like a song. The album sounds like they just stuck a mic in the practice space. We are heading into doomier territory on "Panic Striken I Flee" with some rock swagger in the verse riff. I will give this album a 7, as there are a few songs that work and some of the punchy hardcore energy works but do not  show up hoping for a sludge fest as things are more chaotic than

pst549

the Top 10 Sludge Albums of 2020

 

 

It's that time of year again . We have needed sludge  more than ever this year as it is pretty apocalyptic in nature. So here are the best of the current crop. When I am done sorting through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I will then compile the top 10 albums of the year. I know many of you are ready for 2020 to be over with. Hate to break it to you but nothing is getting better next year. As far as 2020 goes for sludge there are only 3 or 4  new bands on this years list .The very fact 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. Sure you can bitch and complain about your favorite band not being on the list. However  I listen to five new albums a day so yes I heard your favorite album and was not impressed. No  I do not care what you think about it.I do hope you can find your next favorite on this list and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out audio on these guys. Anyways here are the top 10 Sludge albums of 2020

10- Beggar- "Compelled to Repeat" 

This band's sense of groove and the excellent drumming keeps the tropes of the genre in play fresh. This is s very filthy sludge still  able to hold it's own in the songwriting department

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/11/november-is-doom-beggar-compelled-to.html

9-Mantar -" Grungetown Hooligans 2 " 

Yeah, this is a covers album of 90s grunge era bands. This album is a lot of fun even when they dip further in obscurity. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/06/mantar-grungetown-hooligans-2.html

8-Alkymist- " Sanctuary" 

This Danish band is beautifully dark. They have thrown more Celtic Frost influence into the mix with this album which is more introspective. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/04/alkymist-sanctuary.html

 

7- Elephant Tree - "Habits" 

This band blends elements of grunge and shoe gazing into their sound, this more varied and dynamic approach is what put them above other bands on this list. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/11/november-is-doom-elephant-tree-habits.html

 

 

6-Ilsa - "Preyer" 

There is more of a straight forward aggression on this album. It took a minute for this to grow on me but further listens helped to solidify it's place here. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/10/ilsa-preyer.html

 

5-Today is the Day - "No Good to Anyone" 

It's both heavier and more melodic than previous releases though as expected these things meet at a weirds juncture. By heavier it's more an emotional heaviness than metallic heavy. This album hits you with a depressing heaviness. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/02/today-is-day-no-good-to-anyone.html

4- Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean- the Vestige" 

A good example of how it is possible to be heavy as fuck but still take the time to not only care about song writing , but play around with it and take chances. They even cover Death Cab for Cutie.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/11/november-is-doom-chained-to-bottom-of.html

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3- Fange - "Pudeur" 

At times touching on death metal, this French band goes above and beyond with heavy chaos. This could have easily been the number one album, but the top two edged them out in terms of song writing. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/11/november-is-doom-fange-pudeur.html

3-

2- Thou & Emma Ruth Rundle - "May Our Chambers Be Full" 

Thou is known for experimenting , but aside from their covers have not really wowed me, I think they just needed a different singer as they allow Emma to shine. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/11/november-is-doom-thou-emma-ruth-rundle.html

1- (16) -"Dream Squasher" -

Spoiler alert this is in the top five metal albums of the year. The songwriting it pretty much perfect. These guys pulled it together and rose to the occasion as they never have before/

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/05/16-dream-squasher.html

November is Doom - Thou & Emma Ruth Rundle : "May Our Chambers Be Full"

I love Emma Ruth Rundle and have typically been underwhelmed by Thou. Her voice eventually cuts through a minute and a half into the first song. In places where the snarl vocals from Thous come into play sit behind her vocals . I am not sure what the point is . Her voice pretty much makes this and I like hearing it in the context of heavier music. SHe sounds a lot different on " Monolih" which is a well written song and more up tempo than the first song.  "Out of Exsistence" brings out some of Thou's better playing .We have heard them play in a more rock nroll manner on some of the covers they have done in recent years. This is nothing new her voice just brings out the best in them. When the snrled vocals take over they sound like most metal bands these days. Perhaps they are even more rabid here. 

"Magikal Cost" is almost more straight forward metal. Her vocal meloies are steeped in the trad mark intervals making this a good song, perhaps not the album's  best. If Emma Ruth Rundle is going to be involved then it raises the bar for every one.  "Into Being' is more mid tempo likea Hum song , but with her vocals once switching off withthe harsh ones. Her melodies sound more like what she did on "Marked For Death". This album keeps getting compared to 90s alt rock and while there is a grungey tone to the album there are more harsh vocals in the background than were ever present in mainstream music . That did not become a thing until post Korn. 

"The Valley" is the album's best song because it basically sounds more like an Emma Ruth Rundle song and is less encumbered by the trapping of Thou. That is not to say that I did not plike the heavy elements as  I did it is just clear she can open up and sing more here. "The Valley" is the album's best song because it basically sounds more like an Emma Ruth Rundle song and is less encumbered by the trapping of Thou. That is not to say that I did not plike the heavy elements as  I did it is just clear she can open up and sing more here. I will give this one a 9.5 , one of the better sludge releases, and it does not confine itself to the legacy of Neurosis full of darkness and gloom but still song oritented even at it's most metal. 

 

What is This That Stands Before Me ? : Sacred Bones Black Sabbath Tribute

This is an easy sell. Sacred Bones a label who has kept the new wave of goth alive , takes the artists on their roster and does a Black Sabbath tribute album. Up first is the Soft Moon, who almost nails "Black Sabbath" , the groove on the "coming round the bend" section of gets lost in the murk though they get heavier at the end. The only artist I was not familiar with was Russian synth wave act Molchat Doma, who gets props for taking on "Heaven & Hell". The bulk of Sabbath tributes neglect anything that is not Ozzy. The guy is no Dio. Singing in his native tongue , well I guess this would be a good way to learn a little Russian since I already know the words. The spoken part is a little meh. I do not see these guys listening to a great deal of Sabbath in their free time as it sounds like the are more into Kraftwerk. Thou is the heaviest band here, so they have to nail "Supernaut" which might be the easiest song here. They guitar tone is pretty mean. They use snarled vocals .

Of course Marissa Nadler is going to knock "Solitude" it seems like an almost too obvious choice. I would have spaced Hilary Woods out from Nadler , maybe had her second to last as their styles are somewhat similar. Though Nadler has more of a country thing going. Woods proves to be more atmospheric, as this song is almost not there. If I was her I would have played the bass line with the left hand on the piano. Zola Jesus doing changes is also very obvious. But she sings the hell out of it. If I still smoked pot I would find Moon Duo's take on "Planet Caravan" more compelling. There is actually more going on than the Sabbath version. Dean Hurley does what he calls the bar band version of "the Warning" . The feel of the song is there.  Not familiar with this guy so I am impressed.

Energy wise I know what I was going to get from Uniform doing "Symptom of the Universe". I that the vocal were going to be more of an issue. He is doing more of a punk shout , yes he is a little flat but it comes closer than I would have expected as the vocals are always a sticking point with those guys. I will give it an 8.5 , as the obvious choices that gave it a mellower mood could have been darker. I should not have to say it could have been darker when it comes to Sacred Bones artists.

Thou : "the House Primordial"

They are doing some interesting things here. The more detached guitar as the vocals spew their nastiness over it. It does bleed into the second song in a way that I had to look up from the computer to see how long the first song was , only to find It was on the next song. This could mean they have a uniform sound, but I am going to give them the benefit of the doubt and think this is a one time occurrence. This album is more atmospheric than the burly crunch of the sludge I remember coming from them. Almost to the point that some songs are barely there. This makes "Diaphanous Shift" what I consider to be the second actual song and it does have that blown out massive crunch of sludge they are known for. The minor triplets that manage snake out from under the crushing collapse of distortion give a more metal feel, making it almost like if Eyehategod was less punk.

 The feed back and sludge lead into the almost doom ridden sludge of "Psychic Dominance".
Of the first three actual songs, this one might be the least melodic though they are droning out some chords behind the screaming and the plod of drums. It's loud and powerful, but more dynamically flat. They stick to the trend of making every other song ambient noise. I fast forward though them so see if any music happens and then delete. I only review music here so that is what you are getting. The screaming set against the wall of distortion on "Occulting Light" threatens how music might be defined as it spits in the eye of melody and work more of the apocalyptic rumble.

 They close the album with "Malignant Horror" I guess this album is getting my ears tuned up to review the new album from the Body that is sitting in my in-box. The first two songs are really good and the rest of the album is really heavy. Once again they latch onto heaviness without committing to writing an actual song. They have some good sounds and it's disappointing that they did not live up to the promise of the first two songs, but if you need heavy as fuck then this is for you I'll give it a 6.5.

Doused in Mud, Soaked in Bleach : A Tribute to Nirvana

It's Record Store Day, since I haven't bought a physical album in 5 years, I'll at least review one that the few thousand of so of you who do might be thinking about purchasing. This is third and final Nirvana tribute from Robotic Empire takes on the debut album "Bleach" which was Nirvana's heaviest and darkest. Thou takes a blackened stab at "Floyd the Barber" which was the first Nirvana song I ever heard. The vocals are really the only change here as it's hard to make this one any heavier than it already was. Grind-coring it out would have not been a wise choice as it would have ruined the song's initial intentions. Philly rockers Beach Slang, do "About a Girl" justice, but it sounds like the Foo-Fighters covering it do to the singer's vocal range/inflections.

Boston's Basement rocks out a convincing version of  "School", one thing about album's like these I like is it gives you the chance to check out some bands that you might not have heard otherwise. One of the more mainstream band's on here is Circa Survive who cover "Love Buzz" . My band in high school also covered this song so it has a soft spot in my black heart. I think at 16 I prolly sang it in a similar tenor. Musically they ape this one almost too close for me to hear them as a band, though their emo Yes thing is toned down here and haven't listened to this band in about a decade. This Will Destroy You are not really an underground band any more, though the are closer to being than than post- My Space Circa Survive. They wised up an didn't try to make this just an instrumental or get too post- rock with it. The vocal sound like they weren't mic'ed but picked up on one of the drum mics as they recorded it. They come too close to being too hip for their own good here, but it all manages to work out at the end of the seven minutes.

Young Widows , who I have confused with True Widow more than once throw their instruments into "Negative Creep" and come across like Sonic Youth making some kind of drunken joke. The fun and games doesn't end their as Mean Jeans goes a smirking rendition of "Scoff". I suppose the irony in them scoffing at the song should not be lost.  Rob Crow from Pinback of course kills "Swap Meet".  Last year Crow said that he was quitting music so I guess not and can begin this is the gateway drug to another Pinback record. One band I'll gladly sacrifice in order to retain Rob Crow is Fall of Troy who covers "Mr Moustache". They have the right energy for this, but don't really bring much personality to the table. Speaking of energy there is a deficit of that in Big Hush's take on "Sifting" . Daughters come back and redeem this album with their on point version of "Big Cheese", which hits the right balance between being true to themselves and capturing the song. The Saddest Landscapes is more of themselves and less like Nirvana on "Downer'. Overall this album hits more than it misses, though some of these flubs I wouldn't want to listen to more than once, But I'll give this an 8.5 .


10.8
 

Various Artists : "Whatever Nevermind"

I like Nirvana. I don't put them on the same throne most do. I would throw away any magazine that use to have Kurt Cobain in their top whatever guitarists. He is nothing special in that department, a decent singer when he wanted to be which not consistent and a better song writer than actual musician. So don't hold "Nevermind" in some hallowed hall when it comes to a bunch of normally pretty cool bands covering it.

Young Widows starts off the album with the weight of the album's biggest song on their shoulder's and make it sound like they are covering Sonic Youth, a band judging by the cover they would have been more suited to handle. Torche would have been more capable with "Teen Spirit" since they hit a home run with their version of "In Bloom" . This should come as no surprise because some of their original material reminds me of the Foo-fighters. In fairness this song should have been given to Young Widows instead. Kylesa tackles "Come as You Are" Laura's vocal work really well. "Breed " is handled by post- hardcore vets Cave-in who do what they do well on this one.

Boris gets weird on "Lithium" before dooming it out. The doom parts work well, but the weirdness sacrifices the integrity of the verses. I was unsure about La Dispute getting one of the albums more melodic songs, but they handle it much better than expected. It was my first time hearing White Reaper who ripped into "Territorial Pissings" with over driven garage punk anger that was needed for the song. Surprisingly Circa Survive grew some balls and was able to not sound like gay Rush when they went after "Drain You".  Touche Amore shows that emo owes something to Nirvana. They also do a damn good job on "Lounge Act".

Another first for me was Wrong who proves themselves to me with their handling of  "Stay Away". They have a very Helmet vibe about them and their bass tone is awesome. It was also my first go around with Pygmy Lush who put their somewhat Brand New-ish sound to "On a Plain". I don't dislike these guys , but this could use some more balls, if Brand New had covered it the song would have had more balls. I know for a fact Nothing has some Nirvana influence so  this was the song I was looking forward to the most.It makes sense Thou would handle the heavier songs "Even in His Youth" and "Endless Nameless" , the first one is better than the second , but I think that is the same with the source material .  Overall it hits more than it misses. I 'll give it a 7.5