Blood Mother : "s/t"

Rick Giordano of Lion's Daughter has, in his words, "Killed the Daughter so the Mother might live". Many of the elements are carried over, though this feels less sludge and more black metal as the opening track builds into more of a blasting buzz that simmers to the surface. The second song, " BoneCanter," is back to the more apocalyptic sludge regions they are familiar with. The bass line adds heft with its overdriven tone.

"Trail of the Screaming Dead' splits the difference between the sound of the first two songs and combines them into something with more motion. This album, so far, is massive-sounding and carries a cinematic darkness with it. The vocals carry a sludgey bellow. It is, however, the moments of atmosphere that counterbalance the momentum to a song like "the Wound of Heaven' that make it intersting. The sung vocals to "Lost in Thunder however, are the true counterpoint that was needed to make what he is doing here stand out. 

The last song "Pulled Apart" works off all the elements that have been in play on this album to create some that is dark, dynamic and moves with a hypnotic throb, yet when you think about the timing of an album like this, it's not great considering Neurosis put out a new album this year and I expect anyone who listens to this sort of thing would be preoccupied with that album. I like the dark atmosphere it invokes to the weighty pound, I will give it a 9. 

239

the Top 10 Albums of 2023

At the end of the day... or in this case, year, these are the albums I listened to the most. The reason these albums earned the top spot is because I listened to over 2000 albums this year and these are the ones that endured the influx of new music that hit My inbox every morning and made me want to hear them again and again. Yes, this is the culmination of all the other lists done up to this point for other blogs and was refined down to this master list of all genres.  So here ya go...

10-the Lion's Daughter -"Bath House" 

There is a great deal going on with this album. The synths are very present in the mix going into the otherwise hammering open song. Throaty vocals are aggressive but howled more than growled. Sung vocals often emote over what is a  more brooding turn for the band. There is an ominous feel to counterbalance the more grandiose feel. I really enjoyed this one it's an improvement over what they did on "Skin Show" This album grew on me, and carries great depth.  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/the-lions-daughter-bath-house.html

9-Rid of Me -"Access to the Lonely" 

Having added a second guitarist for this album and you can hear how it adds in the denser sonic layers. The new sound of this album " is heavier and punches with a more sludge-ridden sound. Dissonant guitar passages cut through, along with more guitars on this album, to add a more firey rock n roll attack. She really proves herself as a singer on this album, still maintaining punk integrity. There a many dynamic vocal colors being introduced. They show you punk can be so much more than what we take for at face value. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/11/rid-of-me-access-to-lonely.html

8-Code  Orange - "Above" 

 I have been pretty invested in this band's career since being blown away by their 2017 album "Forever".  They broke away from the conventions of hardcore, which they continued to perfect with "Underneath". This set pretty high expectations for this album. Once I accepted the fact that they were no longer playing metal, I was able to really enjoy this album. It was tough to let go of this idea as they are still rather punchy in places, but they owe more to late 90s rock than hardcore or even nu-metal here. It is wonderfully written and shows there is no limit to what they are capable of. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/code-orange-above.html

7- Temple of Angels - "Endless Pursuit" 

I sat down with this album and weighed the dream pop shoegazing moments versus those that owe more to romantic darkness, and came to the conclusion that this album leans into the shadows at least 60 percent of the time, and even when it lightens up a bit their songs are still haunted by a melancholy longing that still earns their place here.  They might not dress the songs up for Halloween in the way other bands on this list do but they are better songwriters, which is why they take the number one spot. These songs are passed by plenty of heart-gripping moments.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/04/temple-of-angels-endless-pursuit.html

6-Harm's Way - "Common Suffering" 

After being convinced to check them out upon hearing the "Undertow" single featuring the singer of King Woman, I was surprised by the rest of the album, which hits in the way that I typically want my hardcore to slap me. Harm's Way has a gritty musculature to the riffs, and the vocals punch in all the right places to rally the head bob inducing syncopations shift with a groove. There is a great deal of emotion to the construction of the songs that paints things in a bleak shade of gray rather than just being the macho in-your-face beat down you might expect this to be

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/harms-way-common-suffering.html

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5-Frozen Soul - "Glacial Domination"

This Texas band pulls from classic death metal without worshipping any band too religiously. Their strength is taking a riff and grooving it without compromising the heaviness, In this way, there is a bit of Bolt Thrower in their DNA, but not enough to lump them in with bands who are clearly trying to re-live that band's glory days. I went into this album only aware of them by name, and by the end was a fan, thanks to hooky riff magic. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/05/frozen-soul-glacial-domination.html

 

 

4-Pierce the Veil - "The Jaws of Life" 

Here is an album that had no business being as good as it is. I only knew this band from the Punk Goes Pop series of tribute albums. Much like that series, they strike me as being more on the pop side of the equation. Now five albums later the band has continued to shine their songwriting formula to create something catchier than other pop that dropped this year, while still carrying the torch for the Myspace era,. Singer Vic Fuentes'   tenor sounds like he is in high school. It is impressive that he has kept this youth vigor now that he is almost forty.  If Justin Beiber made metal the results might be similar. Which is better than it sounds on paper. In fact, it is so good I listened to this album as much or more than any other album this year. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/02/pierce-veil-jaws-of-life.html

3-Grave Pleasures -"Plagueboys"

This year's release by My favorite Finnish post-punk revivalists grew on me with each listen. The songwriting trades bombast for subtlety for the sake of greater melodic value.  They took their tried and true sound, echoing all the way back to their Beastmilk days, and polished it into something even catchier. The sheer replay value of this album solidifies their place at the top.   

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/04/grave-pleasures-plagueboys.html

2-Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit - "Weathervanes" 

Isbell's latest collaboration with his band the 400 Unit is a celebration of songwriting. His voice always finds the perfect place to be. While his solo album "Southeastern" is the masterpiece that this album is going to be measured up against, here he steers things into a more Americana-flavored rock rather than country music. There is a warmth to the album's sound that recalls many classic rock albums with a southern flare, but it is more personable than those. He is one of the best songwriters living today. He transcends country music and does his thing.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/06/jason-isbell-400-unit-weathervanes.html

 

1- HEALTH - "Rat Wars" 

 This band continues to perfect its unique place in industrial music which is both apocalyptic and an androgynous self-loathing. Their heaviest work to date, also finds their arrangements droning on the groove less and letting them spawn into new landscapes.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/12/health-rat-wars.html

The Top 10 Metal Albums of 2023

We continue to need heavy music more than ever this year. This is the culmination of all the other metal lists. Yes, I have done other metal lists for other blogs, and I see them as being a refining process for when I make this list. So, while the result may have varied, this is the final word. I know many of you are ready for 2023 to be over with. Hate to break it to you but if you are watching what goes down in the world daily, 2024 might be the last year, of experiencing life as we know it . The very fact these bands made it on the list means they are the cream of the crop 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 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. Anyway here are the top 10 Metal albums of 2023

10-Nebulae Come Sweet-"De Lumi​è​re" 

This band out of Belarus caught me by surprise, as they go above and beyond to take things in a different direction. This album came out in March and sadly flew under the radar. They feel more European than American in the almost classical manner they go about this. They blend dark melodic brooding with big grandiose choruses. They prove just because you are singing it does not mean you can not do so in a commanding fashion that has balls to it. An album full of dark wonderment. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/nebulae-come-sweet-de-lumiere.html

9-Fuming Mouth -"Last Day of Sun" 

This album of crusty death metal-infused anger grew on me with each listen. They lean into more of hard-core's punk side with the drumming putting them in the sonic zip code of bands like Ringworm  I appreciate the lyrical sentiments, and the overall oppressive mood, that still leaves room for melody shows they care about songwriting, but do not have to compromise to do so. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/11/fuming-mouth-last-day-of-sun.html

8-Horrendous - "Ontological Mysterium"

Horrendous extending themselves further into a jammy progressive, with a more organic feel than what they did on "Idol" last time around. There are clean vocals placed at unpredictable points in the song. I appreciated guitar solos, but only some people are impressed by shredding, take that into consideration when I tell you the guitar solos on this album improve the songs. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/07/horrendous-ontological-mysterium.html

 

7- Will Haven - "VII" 

They hit you with hammering hardcore and manage to pack in a dense atmosphere. The syncopated chugs create the apex of breakdowns.  If you grew up listening to nu-metal but matured into metallic hardcore, then this is the album for you. Really if you like heavy music colored by atmosphere this album is also for you as well. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/06/will-haven-vii.html

6- Mansion- Second Death 

This Finnish band does doom most uniquely at times they blend a minimalist folk not unlike what a  cult would sing as their mantra, as they lurch along in a very creepy manner. The tangible darkness of the music is heavier than the distortion of the guitars of the volume, though they are capable of applying those dynamics as well. I think they tap into cool dark places that few go in a new way. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/11/november-is-doom-mansion-second-death.html

5-Dreamwell -"In My Saddest Dreams, I Am Beside You" 

This is not the heaviest band on the list, but they are the most extreme metal band whose songs beg for you to listen to them more than the other bands on this list. They shift from black gaze to more melodic forms of hardcore and harsher expressions of metal. Their singer is a pivotal force in what enables these transformations. Sometimes hard-core shouted vocals bring the abrasion crashing against the transcendence, which is littered oddly with blast beats. It is not the first time I have heard screamo blended with black metal, but this is done in an angular fashion that is more unique.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/12/dreamwell-in-my-saddest-dreams-i-am.html

 

4-the Lion's Daughter -"Bath House" 

There is a great deal going on with this album. The synths are very present in the mix going into the otherwise hammering open song. Throaty vocals are aggressive but howled more than growled. Sung vocals often emote over what is a  more brooding turn for the band. There is an ominous feel to counterbalance the more grandiose feel. I really enjoyed this one it's an improvement over what they did on "Skin Show" This album grew on me, and carries great depth.  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/the-lions-daughter-bath-house.html

 

3-Downfall of Gaia -""Silhouettes Of Disgust"

This album is more black metal in its feeling than what I remember of the 2019 album. It is both darker and more aggressive. The soaring atmosphere still lingers, but not enough to stop this raging storm of sound they are creating here. The world is a darker and angrier place so this is fitting. It takes more chances than Wayfarer, who are also great songwriters, but in more of a well-fitted groove, as Downfall of Gaia, is not content with a formula. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/02/black-metal-history-month-downfall-of.html

2-Harm's Way - "Common Suffering" 

After being convinced to check them out upon hearing the "Undertow" single featuring the singer of King Woman, I was surprised by the rest of the album, which hits in the way that I typically want my hardcore to slap me. Harm's Way has a gritty musculature to the riffs, and the vocals punch in all the right places to rally the head bob inducing syncopations shift with a groove. There is a great deal of emotion to the construction of the songs that paints things in a bleak shade of gray rather than just being the macho in-your-face beat down you might expect this to be

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/harms-way-common-suffering.html

1-Frozen Soul - "Glacial Domination"

This Texas band pulls from classic death metal without worshipping any band too religiously. Their strength is taking a riff and grooving it without compromising the heaviness, In this way, there is a bit of Bolt Thrower in their DNA, but not enough to lump them in with bands who are clearly trying to re-live that band's glory days. I went into this album only aware of them by name, and by the end was a fan, thanks to hooky riff magic. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/05/frozen-soul-glacial-domination.html

the Top 10 Sludge Albums of 2023

 

Let's face it this might be the last top ten list for this genre I get to make as the world could end at any moment these days. These are the bands that best celebrated the coming apocalypse as Sludge should. 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. 2023. 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. Perhaps you can find your next favorite on this list; and 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 Sludge albums of 2023.

10- No Spill Blood - "Eye of Night" 

This Irish band's second album finds them taking and very hard-driving form of sludge and marrying it to synth-driven rock. The more analogue synth soundsslowly drips into their atmosphere. A throaty bark is the narrative. This instills the anger of sludge into the proceedings. Their strength is touching on the sonic space atmosphere is embraced and is at the heart of their heaviness rather than just trying to beat this sound into your ears.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/01/no-spill-blood-eye-of-night.html

9- the Moth - "Frost" 

 The new album from this German trio is an interesting blend of fuzzed-out dark sounds. The vocals are layered, and the guitars drive things in a sludge direction. This is their first album for Exile on Mainstream and is a good snapshot of who this band is. There is a punk simplicity, but a rich layering of vocal melodies thanks to the voice of Cecile Ash. She manages to be equally commanding and despondent.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-moth-frost.html

8- Cinema Cinema - " Mjölnir"

This band has Thor Harris from Swans playing with them, along with Sonic Youth's producer on the board. They also have a hammering anger that gets released in a dynamic fashion with punk tendencies.  Brooding sonic shadows shading their musings, in a manner not unlike bands such as Liars or Xiu Xiu, who both took ample inspiration from Swans with  vocals are a charismatic ranting about hard social truths amid there otherwise explosive nature. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-cinema-mjolnir.html

  7-Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean - "Obsession Destruction"

 Compared to their 2020 album "The Vestige"  the vocals have more of a scathing of a scream. The retain the plodding element of doom but this time it flows more like a indie rock or shoegaze in the manner it shimmers toward the bleak abyss of sound they draw from. This album finds the band taking chances outside their mission statement of just being heavy as all hell which they also achieve. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/05/chained-to-bottom-of-ocean-obsession.html

6-Moor-"Heavy Heart" 

This German band adds more melodic colors to the sludge formula with  less howled almost sung vocals, and post-rock atmosphere, that can only further Neurosis comparisons but at the same time allows the band to find themselves amidst this. They are very effective at painting the picture they set out to convey with their instruments and it's a fun listen .

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/11/november-is-doom-moor-heavy-heart.html

 

5-Obelyskkh -" Ultimate Grace of God" 

This German metal band marries the lumbering crunch of sludged-out doom with crusty punk attitude.This album was teased as early as 2019 so it has been at least 4 years in the making now. Some of the angular twists and turns the riffs make show their more dexterity-induced sense of adventure. The production of this album  is very natural in how the sounds are captured. They have a prog-like sense of wonderment when the songs sprawl out. Their fifth album took five years to bring to fruition, so every note is well thought out.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2022/12/obelyskkh-ultimate-grace-of-god.html

4-Ugly-"Autograph"

In the 90s sludge was more crazed and less composed than the sludge of today. It owed more to crust and punk, than it does today, and this band remembers that. There are certainly metallic moments when every thing converges upon a riff to crush you. I like the darker sonic that include the use of samples. The vocals take a little bit to get use to as they are very raw, with barely any effects on them just crazed man screaming into a mic. Krysta Curry from Landmine Marathon also share vocal duties while helping out with synths, samples, and percussion.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/03/ugly-autograph.html

3- Predatory Void - "the Seven Keys to the Discomfort of Being" 

Combining members of Amenra with the vocalist from Russian Black Metal band Cross Bringer, there is something dark and powerful being created here. While Lina's vocal mainly focus on more brutal harshness, she does sing some passages in a more ethereal alto . The heaviness is a like a crashing wave , it hit and then recedes with a throb. These guys are more sludge than any other genre as the sonic heaviness approaches the shadows rather than bathing in them.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/04/predatory-void-seven-keys-to-discomfort.html

2- Fange- "Privation" 

This French band still connects the dots to hard core, but now have a more industrial influence creeping in. The vocals are still driven by a mean roar. This album finds them getting even darker, so they . It should be said that they come to this sonic intersection without hopping on the Code Orange band wagon. Sometimes the more crushing aspects of the riffing put them in a similar stylistic zip code, but they get there in a very organic fashion, making me suspect they know who they are while doing this. They are actually heavier than Code Orange typically gets with a more metallic intent a more hammering brand of sludge.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/08/fange-privation.html

 

1-the Lion's Daughter -"Bath House" 

There is a great deal going on with this album. The synths are very present in the mix going into the otherwise hammering open song. Throaty vocals are aggressive but howled more than growled. Sung vocals often emote over what is a  more brooding turn for the band. There is an ominous feel to counterbalance the more grandiose feel. I really enjoyed this one it's an improvement over what they did on "Skin Show" This album grew on me, and carries great depth.  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/the-lions-daughter-bath-house.html

the Lion's Daughter : "Bath House"

 

There is a great deal going on with this album. The synths are very present in the mix going into the otherwise hammering open song. Throaty vocals are aggressive but howled more than growled. The second song starts off with more of a frantic thrashing before the metallic chaos ensues with a barrage of barked vocals. The sung vocals break things up in an almost Mastodon-like manner. Then things begin to get darker for "Your Pets Died on TV". The industrial elements creep into the song's corners. There is an eerie feeling to the places the song is given room to breathe. I would say this is more like sludge than any other sub-genre of metal. 

"Liminal Blue" breaks away from the confines of sludge to groove in a more Killing Joke-tinged fashion. The songwriting on this album shows a great deal of growth. There is more of a Neurosis feel to "Rerouted" at the onset of the song, then it wanders off into darker and sometimes more melodic places. Other bands could learn a great deal from this band when it comes to using heavy as a dynamic rather than solely relying on it. More atmospheric elements haunt the background.  "12-31-89"  crosses further in the industrial direction with a heavier synth presence.  A darker groove carries the throb of this song making it one of the album's best.

They get blasty for "Crawler Night". There is stellar drumming in this song and more melodic singing. When things get more deliberate it plays in their favor. "She Does Not Exist" has a John Carpenter-like synth line running through it. They use an almost disco beat in what might pass as the chorus. "End Credit" finds the bass carrying the verse. Sung vocals emote over this more brooding turn for the band. There is an ominous feel to counterbalance the more grandiose feel. I really enjoyed this one it's an improvement over what they did on "Skin Show" so I will give this one a 9.5.

the Lion's Daughter : " Skin Show"

 I am not sure what is going on here and I am not sure how this album passed me by when it came out back in April. There is angry sludge vocals and other metal aggression coming in a stomping over some retro synth wave. This works for me in many ways. 'Curtains" at first listen felt more rooted in the metal tropes ,but a second listen lets you hear some of the atmospheric layers. Perhaps the bellowing of the vocals do not lend for enough of a melodic touch despite the interesting layers of them shouting at you from different directions. There is more melody on "Neon Teeth" as he makes more of an attempt to  sing.  His voice is raspy and retains it's edge. It works for what they are trying to do here. 

There is an interesting juxtaposition of guitars on "Dead in Dreams" . It opens with a apocalyptic pounding that is more industrial before a thrashier riff kicks in. The bass line pounds along with the drums . The retro synths are still in place along with the bellow of the vocals. The drums get almost blasty in parts of  "Werewolf Hospital" which has a more feral attack to it. The thrashing guitar takes a more traditional metal approach, I do not find this song as interesting as the ones before it. The atmosphere and disco like beat to "Sex Trap" make it one of the more interesting songs thus far. Not sure the best as the vocals feel more obligatory. The hold more form and function with the snarl of "Snakeface".  They stay pretty straight forward on the pounding 'All Hell is Mine" until the synths come in. The vocals have begun to sound the same at this point, though it is still forgivable. 

The title track is more on the industrial side of what this project does, so layers with the organic synth wave sounds. Those same sounds play a much bigger role in the last song until the thrash riff come as the song progresses and takes over. Some of the shouted vocals have a more industrial feel to them as well. I will give this album a 9.  I like where they are going with this, in some ways the sound is just as important as the songs if not more, but they still are able to keep your attention.   

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2021/08/underdark-our-bodies-burned-bright-on.html