May's Top 10 Albums

It's time for May'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; I am 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 inbox that are not coming out til August, 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 tends to be a dominant theme of new wave, pop, and goth, though we have a couple of metal bands in the mix as well,  so you may find your new favorite among them. Here are the Top 10 albums of May 

10-HEXVESSEL- "Nocturne"  

Black Metal 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/hexvessel-nocturne.html

9-Swans - "Birthing" 

Experimental Post Punk 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/swans-birthing.html

8-Katatonia -"Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State" 

Prog Rock 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/katatonia-nightmares-as-extensions-of.html

7-Sleep Token - "Even In Arcadia" 

Pop

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/sleep-token.html

6-Ministry - "the Squirrelly Years Revisted"

 

New Wave / Goth 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/ministry-squirrelly-years-revisted.html

5-Peter Murphy- "Silver Shade" 

New Wave / Goth 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/peter-murphy-silver-shade.html

4-Age of Apocalypse - "In Oblivion" 

Hard-core 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/age-of-apocalypse-in-oblivion.html

3-the Callous Daoboys- " I Don't Want to See You in Heaven" 

Metal - Core 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/the-callous-daoboy-i-dont-want-to-see.html

2-Pixel Grip - "Perceptide the Death of Reality" 

Dark Wave  / Pop 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/pixel-grip-perceptide-death-of-reality.html

1-Freeze the Fall - "The Red Garden"

Hard Rock  / Nu-Metal 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/freeze-fall-red-garden.html

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BOOTBLACKS : "Paradise"

 

This Brooklyn-based band is going in a more dark wave direction with their new album, as it's driven by synth pulses, with the reverb-slathered guitar haunting the backdrop. Which works for me. The opening song has a dancey groove and vocals with a purpose, so I do not ask for too much more from this sort of thing. But they also add moody dynamics. The vocals are emoted in a more breathy whisper til the chorus, to create a Love & Rockets feel. A sexy sax creeps out of the shadows to color the song with 80s neon. 

The title track is more of a noticeable shift in a new wave direction. Not as poppy as what this stuff sounds like on the radio back in the 80s, but heading that way. It borders on synth wave by the time we get to "Can You Feel It." The overwrought emoting of the vocals gives more of a goth sound thanks to the impressive croon. It navigates the thin line between Dead or Alive and Duran Duran. It also has the most uptempo dance drive of the album so far. "Wilderness' is darker, still dancey in more of a goth nite way. Some of the synth lines attempt to balance this out with lighter layers. 

"When You Want" is darker, more along the lines of a less dramatic Sisters of Mercy. The guitars add to the atmospheric layers rather than bringing a more rock backbone. "Leipzig" puts 80s dance floors to the forefront of its mission statement, despite the vocals keeping to their more brooding focus that has dominated this album. The chorus is more dynamic in how it hits. The vocals are layered more interestingly with a sax wailing in the background. It has an extended dance remix feel to it. "Fade Away" juggles the goth expectations with the obligations to bring more of a new wave dance feel and split the difference, creating almost a hypnotic drone in the wall of sound this song drums up. 

"Melt' closes the album with a darker and more ambient wave of sound drifting over you like a wall of mist being pumped from a mountain-sized smoke machine, as the groove is buried in a bleak pulse with synth melodies trying to break the surface of the ominous mood. I give this album a 9.5, it's one of the best albums of this brand of dark wave I have heard so far this year.  

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Aesop Rock : "Black Hole Superette"

 

The 10th album from New York's best rapper finds the rhymes flowing like malt liquor. Ten albums into your career, you are going to know how to write a song. He is quick to spit a collage of clever metaphors. You might have noticed we do not cover a great deal of hip-hop here. That's not because it's just not our thing; it's because the bar is held very high due to rappers like this. So, why accept inferior products being rolled off the assembly line of record labels looking to sedate people whose musical tastes reflect their low vibrational state? Here we are with the first song; the bass line gives more of a kick, being "Checkets". He continues to allow his verse to bob and weave around the beats. There is more of a hook to this chorus than the opening track, held. 

He continues refusing to conform to dumbing things down for mainstream hip-hop audiences. "Movie Night" feels more like a freestyle over the disjointed funk organ track and jazz-tinged drum pattern. He is rapping about his pets on this one. When it comes to the sonic depth here, I prefer the more futuristic sound of "EWR" so far; it is the album's hardest bumping song. '1010WINS" has a mellower groove, that feels like walking the streets of New York in the summer while stoned as fuck. There is almost most of a 90s hip-hop feel to this album as many points of this mix remind me of 'Check Your Head".  

With 18 tracks, this equates to a double album, so the levels of inspiration might vary, giving him room for experimentation that runs the spectrum from playing it perhaps to safe on "Send Help"  to the jazzy spoken word feel of " John Something' that might find him going off on a tangent. He hits the bullseye with "Ice Sold Here.  "Costco takes fewer chances with a more deliberate place, but it still works for what he does. "Bird School" rolls out a smoother take on funk that his voice works well over. The ambiguous world view of the lyrics is refreshing. 

Magic is a recurring theme on this album. "Snail Zero" feels more like filler as it's not the album's strongest song, but with that said, it's still better than the hip-hop on the radio. He nails it harder for "Charlie Horse" as his words bounce off the beat. Even when the beat drones, it still feels pretty good, and his phrasing is always immaculate. The bass line adds to his vocal aggression on "Steel Wool," which finds him at peak MC. In some ways, "Black Plums" might sonically conform more to where hip-hop is at today, but it's jsut weird enough to keep him an outsider.

"Red Phone" has the dope beats you want from him, coupled with his charismatic mic magic. The chorus smacks, a perfect song. "Himalayan Yak Chew" has more ambiance than what this album has been bringing, the flow of the verses, anchoring the bong-coated bliss that smoothly floats along.  It almost sounds more like Atmosphere. The last song is an ode to his hamster that escaped. It takes about a minute into this one before the lazy beat rolls in. I will give this one a 9.5, and see how it grows on me, seems like this is an album for the heavy smokers, Not the best album he has ever dropped, but that is a pretty high bar, but it is the best hip-hop album I've heard since the last Suicide Boys. 

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Miley Cyrus : "Something Beautiful"

Miley's 9th album is pretty ambitious. It's framed with preludes and interludes to create a more immersive experience than your average pop. The title track clashes a soulful lounge ballad with a more jarring industrial noise-tinted section, which might be seen as the chorus. Her voice sounds great, this seems to blend her pop sheen with the more rock-inflected moments of albums like "Plastic Hearts". She claims this album is inspired by "The Wall", the saxophone wailing in the background bringing a "Diamond Dogs" styled chaos to the fringes of its sound. 1 am highly amused by the upbeat musical frolic that juxtaposes the lyrical content of "End of the World". 

"More to Lose' is a well-sung, yet more predictable ballad that fits well on the current pop landscape. "Easy Lover" is not the Phil Collins song; it holds little regard for the '80s. But works well for what she is going for. The first shift of vocal color and reflection on her country roots surfaces for "Golden Burning Sun".  She is more nuanced on the verses her and belts it out in her more trademark style for the chorus. Interesting ambiance colors this mix. There is a more Bronski Beat feel to "Walk of Fame' which is my favorite moment so far. Brittnay Howard from Alabama Shakes joins her for this one. 

"Pretend You're God' could have been on alternative radio in the 90s, the production creates a more dream pop vibe. "Every Girl You've Ever Loved" is more of an '80s pop collision with disco.  She does return more to the 80s with "Reborn', which features some interesting vocal layering, and darker production than what I expected , until the chorus, which feels like French future-pop. There are some house elements worked into several songs.  I was not expecting the last song to be a 70s-flavored pop ballad. I can hear where this would be from a musical, though there is also an ABBA vibe.  She is raising the bar, Based off what I have heard so far I am not sure the new HAIM is going to be able to compete with her she is at now. She has entered her hyper-diva phase, expect the gays to worship this album, hell, I will even give it a 10.Flawless Victory.

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Smut : "Tomorrow Comes Crashing"

This Cincinnati-sourced band plays a raw punk-influenced take on indie rock that pulls from the more emotional side of 90s alternative rock. Tay Roebuck has both sugar and spice to her voice, with a syrupy knack for melodies that spill over the attack of the well-layered and intentionally lo-fi guitars. It's an overproduced album that makes it seem like it's just a mic in the practice room, with guitar running through all kinds of plug-ins, to achieve a wide breadth of tones. Roebuck is said to have blown out her voice in the sessions for this album, and perhaps it came from her screaming out during "Syd Sweeney," which was released as the album's lead single. 

"Dead Air' is a dramatic contrast from the previous song, as it is strummed with almost pop ballad intentions. Robuck will get excited even when things begin to take a more building climax on a song like this and let out a brief punk scream. 'Waste Me' finds a sweetly hooky chorus serving as a fitting counterpoint to the brisk phrasing of the verses.  There is a marginally more '80s touch to the guitar tone for "Ghosts." The guitar interplay on this song is interesting and well-layered, as they start delving more into atmosphere. To the band's credit, they are not investing more in the sounds than the songs. 

"Burn Like Violet" benefits from the arrangement that gives the vocals plenty of space. The guitars ring out with more of a rock flair on this one, when not strumming the chords on the verse."Touch & Go" works off the soft-to-loud formulas 90s radio made popular, with a little more introspection in the verses. The strum of brisk guitar carries the melodies to "Crashing in the Coil" forward with hopeful speculation. There is a more Veruca Salt-like feel to "Spit" in the tension to hoe the guitars chug under the vocals. The album ends with what is the equivalent of a 90s alternative power ballad.  I will give this album a 9.5, and see how it grows on me if you are looking for 90s flavored rock with a more modern punk sneer lurking in the corner , this is worth your timr.This drops on Basyonet Records, June 27th.  

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Dolven : "In My Grave...Silence"

This band is half Agalloch. Granted, it's the bass player and drummer, so not the major songwriters. However, it does not stop these guys from wandering into the same melancholic melodies Agalloch once ventured into, when embarking into the more folk-inspired sections of their songs. It's an odd choice for a band with a drummer, making me wonder how they arrived here with this sound. Did they lose their practice space and find themselves forced to rehearse in their apartment?  It does create a unique sound we have not heard since the 90s. The grunge vibes are attributed to this fact, but that does not mean they are ripping off Days of the New here. 

It's the plaintive second tenor vocals from their singer that keep them from being grunge, and set them apart as a more unique entity unto themselves. This is not a metal band, or really all that dark, even when it comes to folk, they are certainly not as dark as Chelsea Wolfe or Death in June. This also plays against the doom thing they are half-committed to here. It's marginally depressive. The album's strength lies in when they are invested in writing songs; when they break away and throw in instrumentals, they feel more like interludes, as the arrangements are not all that interesting, and there is no sense of melody in them until you get to the guitar solo in "Anymore." The vocals do not come in until four minutes into this six-minute track 

The last song is disappointing as it's an instrumental piece that feels more like an outro, though it is also. Five and a half minutes long, which is time wasted, as they certainly could have pulled together a song within six minutes.  Without question, these guys are talented and this album could have been something that set itself apart in a very effective manner. I will give this album an 8 as I like the songs they do commit to, and this is a different project that sets itself apart from where music is heading these days, and they have a great deal of potential. 

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Volbeat : "God of Angels Trust"

 

The 9th album by this Danish rock band. I'm surprised I've never covered them. They are more commercial than what I normally dig into here when it comes to rock music. There has normally been a line where I cover some pop music, as I like it for what it is when it is done well, but I've never been into pop-inflected rock, though bands are beginning to do it better. These guys are obviously influenced by Metallica, which is really pronounced on "By a Monster's Hand". Sure, at times it is a rather heavy-handed wink and Hetfield and company, but overall it works. 

There are elements I normally don't like in music, like the huge production, which somehow end up working here. "Acid Rain" is super major chord arena rock that could have come from the late 70s. "Demonic Depression" is obviously not going to be a power ballad. It is well done, but not something I am really into musically. Part of this is that the chorus is too happy for my tastes. I would be shocked that people do not call them out for almost ripping off Metallica riffs, but people are also pretty stupid, so I would not be surprised by anything at this point in life. 

"In the Barn of the Goat" is supposed to be influenced by Johnny Cash, but it feels more like Danzig. It works well enough for what it is. 'Time Will Heal" works off more of an '80s palm-muted chug.  It loses a great deal of momentum on the chorus. 'Better to be Fueled than Tamed' fnds the sounds beginning to run together, then one just feels a little more rock n roll. The brisk pace they play often factors into this. There is more of a big arena Metallica stomp to "At the End of Sirens". Sure, if more aggressive than a band like Shinedown, but that is not saying much.  I normally want bands to be hooky, but sometimes it just feels like they are trying too hard here.

"Lonely Fields' finds the vocals way up front in the mix. His croon does set him apart from your average rock singer. The piano line that sounds like the theme from the Halloween movies breaks things up for no good reason.  The last song has a more thrashing riff powering the verses. I like how the vocals on the verses are produced. The chorus is a little silly, though. I'll round this album down to an 8.5 for this reason. It drops Juner 6th, if you are a fan my review will likely make little sense as I pick apart some of the finer points of song writing which are obvious not your thing, but it scored as high as it did because they are good at what they do, what they do is just not dark enough for my tastes, proving a goat on the album cover does not mean shit. 

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