Dry Wedding : "Thw Back of Beyond"

Portland goth punks make a Samhain-like clanging that is cloaked in shadows. They get more aggressive on the second song, but the moodier vibes of the opening track worked better for me. They feel like they were an obscure band from the 90s that resurfaced, which works in their favor. The ghostly baritone croon of the vocals sits back in the mix until his voice rises to a roar. There are some weird discordant moments from the guitars as well. There are moments where it feels like Danzig is fronting Die Kruzen. They bring more swagger and atmosphere with "Sure as a Gun". There is also a fair amount of influence being drawn from the Birthday Party,

Things drift into darker waters for "Blood Red Vengeance". It is only a two-minute song, so not given enough time to truly build it's dynamis to where you might hope it will go. The bit of bluster that begins to come from the song's crack is in the last twenty seconds. There is more of a punk rumbling in the bass line that drives "One Last Strand". The vocals are muttered in a lower tone here. It runs off energy and attitude more than atmosphere and nuance, which are two factors that are their secret weapons.. The rambling western feel comes through louder on this one. The vocals do not have as much rhyme or reason on this one. 

"Moths" finds the slinky bass line helping to keep the balance between darkness and the rowdy tension lurking under what they do. The vocals kind of wander on this one, leaving the bass line to hold down the weight of the song even as they jam out a bit."Shifting Wilderness closes the album. 

It works off a darker, more hypnotic drone. About a minute and a half, it feels like the song gains its footing. While vocals can be a little hit or miss, I do appreciate what they are doing here enough to give this album a 9. Fans of dark western-tinged pink will dig this one.

6.6

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No Cure : "It is Going to Get Dark"

 

This band plays an in-your-face version of metallic hardcore. You could call it metal core, but I think it's truer to hardcore and feels pretty fucking legit. Jayway from Bayway appears on "Brain Matter" and drops a rap that works well in a less-than-nu-metal manner. I had to go back and give 'Slowly Turning Blue" another listen as they were pretty blistering going into it, and the album starts to collide with your ears as it's a relentless pounding after another. "Ironclad" has a pretty heavy groove. The guitar sound of this album si dense and heavy as fuck.

 There is perhaps an even more confrontational edge to "Starved in Sanctuary"; there are more gang vocals than breakdowns, so that leans them into the hardcore side of the fence. The meanest riff so far gives Slayer vibes on "My World in Flames.". They keep dialing up the heavy as fuck factor with "Convulsing in the dark". "Sharpen the Blade" doubles down on both groove and brutality in equal measure. "Purity Spiral" brings back the more punk elements and gang vocals. But also works in some metal riffs that are pretty crushing.

"I am Still Fucking Straight Edge" is the first song that really clues me in on their stance with this, and I did not know they were a straight edge band going into this album. They close the album on a darker note with "Everything I Love is Dead or Dying". I will have to spend more time with this album; it's as heavy as you can get with this sort of thing, and they still are mindful of the songwriting, so I will give it a 9.5. If you want straightedge hardcore that is heavier than the 90s, then here you go. GIVE IT A 9.5

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June's Top 10 Albums

 

June is now coming to an end, so let's get you abreast of new releases. This might help you, casual readers, with what you might have missed.  I am not doing little blurbs on them, just linking the reviews. This helps me organize my lists for the end of the year by listing the album's genre. This 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 won't come out until August, so I am normally way ahead of the curve in this regard. They are ranked in order of how much I have listened to them. This month, leaned more on heavy stuff ranging from Nu-metal to Proggy Pop, so perhaps you will find your new favorite among them. Here are the Top 10 albums for June of 2026.

10- The Butthole Surfers-"After the Astronaut" 

Experimental Punk

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/06/the-butthole-surfers-after-astronaut.html

9-Lex Legion-"s/t" 

Dark Power Metal 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/06/lex-legion-st.html

8-Muse-"The WOW !. Signal"

Prog Pop

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/06/muse-wow-signal.html

7-Fuming Mouth- 'The Ringing Bell" 

Death Crust 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/06/fuming-mouth-ringing-bell.html

6-Balmora - "These Graven Halls" 

Metalcore

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/06/death-is-june-balmora-these-graven-halls.html

5-Immolation- "Descent:" 

Death Metal 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/06/death-is-june-immolation-descent.html

4-Crucifera-"  "Exostential" 

Goth

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/06/crucifera-era-exostential.html

3-Deftones- "Eros" 

Nu-Metal 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/06/deftones-eros.html

2-The Secrecy -"Pins and Needles" 

Post-Punk

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/06/the-secrecy-pins-and-needles.html

1-Converge - "the Hum of Hurt"

Hardcore 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/06/converge-hum-of-hurt.html

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Top 10 Extreme Metal Albums of 2026 ...so far

Extreme Metal is even more important as the Doomsday Clock races; time speeds up with 2026 at its midpoint. Extreme metal is anything too heavy for the other sub-genres, with an emphasis on crust and grind, but we also have a few blackened bands who are too heavy for the normal black metal list.   These lists serve as a decent snapshot of where the year is heading in terms of music. I have already received promos for albums dropping as far out as August in my inbox, so they are really going to need to bring it to compete with the top five albums on this list. No matter the genre,  darkness trumps speed when it comes to heaviness, so these bands reflect that sentiment. These albums provide a fitting soundtrack to the demise of the US.  I have included links to full reviews if you want to check these out, and with all that said, here are the top 10 Extreme Metal albums of 2026 so far. 

10-Nunslaughter-"Satanic Chaos Legions"

This American band is a staple of the extreme metal scene; they are an aggressive yet dynamic blend of black metal and death metal. The vocal rasps are really the only black metal element. As far as the satanic elements, they are pretty much just lyrical. I am not sensing they are darker than any other death metal band of this type, with Deicide and Archgoat being the unholy standards here. A song like "Jesus Fucking Dies" is fun, but on the thrash side of death metal. There is some tremolo-picked guitar in places that blur the lines a little here and there. They are very good at placing the vocals in the right places for maximum effect, as they are spit out as an accent to the faster guitar flowing under what they do.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/06/death-is-june-nunslaughter-satanic.html

9-Reverse-SUFFER & REMEMBER" 

This Los Angeles-based noise punk band gets things off to an interesting start with a dissonant clamour that still carries a great deal of atmosphere even amid its hazy attack. It's an intersting approach to crust punk that goes toward the blasting end ofthe spectrum 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/06/recvrse-suffer-remember.html

 

8-Harms-"Rebirth of the Cold"

This band from Finland plays a hyper-aggressive blend of metal and hardcore that is in-your-face when it wants to be, without forsaking melody. When they kick back into things after wandering into more atmospheric places, they kick back in with full-on anthemic gang vocals. Then you begin to hear the touches of black metal perhaps in their DNA, jsut from the geography. Granted, there is also a great deal of goth metal in Finland, but darker music seems to be the vibe. It is more aggressive in a hardcore sense than a death metal one, so perhaps atmospheric blackened hardcore might be your best category for these guys, which at this point, we are making this shit up as we go.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/02/black-metal-history-month-harms-rebirth.html

7-Anti-Sapien-"At The Mercy Of The Merciless"

Brooklyn-based ANTI-SAPIEN drops some filthy, crusty, death metal that carries the aggression of Deicide in its angry churn forward. They are capable of shredding when it is called for, but prefer staying locked into the locomotive charge. The kind of hyper-aggression that Nails blurs the genre lines with. When they slow down and lock into a chug, the results are powerful

 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/01/anti-sapien-at-mercy-of-merciless.html

6- World Peace- "For No Man Shall See Me and Live"

What this San Francisco-based band does it pretty interesting as it has groove to it.  But the songs stay true to grindcore and are clocking in at 30 seconds apiece, meaning they lock into these, and then it is over. . If you like your grindcore short and to the point, then this album is worth your time. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/06/world-peace-for-no-man-shall-see-me-and.html

5-Fistula-"Galaxies of Disappointment"

The joking is over on the opening track to Fistula's new album. They go for the throat with the momentum of death metal behind them. The barrage is a powerful sonic force that goes for heft over some of the songwriting smarts they have shown in the past, but it works for what it is. They continue to flex their raw sonic power

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/03/fistula-galaxies-of-disappointment.html

4-Balmora-"These Graven Halls"

Here is another album that blurs the lines between metalcore and death metal. I suspect these kinds of kids feel cooler by having a label for themselves that is not just death metal, since that has become, in some circles, like thinking of it as dad rock

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/06/death-is-june-balmora-these-graven-halls.html

3-Lair of the Minotaur-"I Hail I "

These bruisers are back with more hardcore grit to their attack. The vocals come across as being less growled and more of a burly command. The grooves are as dense as you might want them. There is almost a sludge weight. The aggression is not a full-speed-ahead charge but a massive grind of distraction chugged with malicious intent. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/03/lair-of-minotaur-i-hail-i.html

2-No/Mas -"No Peace"

On the more punk side of grind-core, NO/MAS are angry as fuck. They have a dialed-in guitar sound rather than just a raw outburst, and just because they play grind-core does not mean they have not refined their attack on their instruments. At times, even grooves slide into the riffs, which is an ear for detail,l considering that these songs clock in at two minutes more often than not. They are certainly influenced by Slayer in how some of the riffs are nuanced. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/01/nomas-no-peace.html

1-Portrayal of Guilt ="...Beginning of the End..."

 "We Are Always Alone" stands as a masterpiece against which this band's work is to be measured. Up to this point, they have not met that head-on, but played around with more extreme and experimental sounds at various genre crossroads in heavy music. Grindcore being one of the more frequent ones, hardcore is another more notable sonic flavor they have painted their compositions with. This album finds them expanding their arsenal to include a wider range of sounds, while tightening the songwriting to craft songs that are digestible for broader metal audiences without compromising their unsettling, confrontational style. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/04/portrayal-of-guilt-beginning-of-end.html

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The Top 10- Rock Albums of 2026... so far

As the Doomsday Clock races, time speeds up, as 2026 is at its midpoint. These lists serve as a decent snapshot of where the year is heading in terms of music. I have already received promos for albums dropping as far out as August in my inbox, so they will need to bring it to compete with the top five albums on this list. Rock is anything that's not metal, so both progressive and hard rock bands are included here. Yes, there might be a few screams on these albums, but when stacked against the bands on the metal list, it's clear that these bands belong here. Some I weighed against putting on the pop list, but they are more rock than not. I have included links to full reviews if you want to check these out, and with all that said, here are the top 10 rock albums of 2026 so far. 

10-Armored Saint - " Emotion Factory Reset" 

The last album I spent much time with by these guys was "Symbol of Salvation", but this album does not find the band straying too far from what they worked on there. The album carries a great deal of momentum with some unconventional sounds.The album sounds great and not dated, John's voice shows little wear and tear,

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/05/armored-saint-emotion-factory-reset.html

 9-Puscifer - "Normal Isn't" 

In prepping for the album's release Maynard dropped a "gpth" plalist of songs that were supposedly the inspiration for this album, along with the promo shots showing the band in darker make-up, while I am not surprised that he knows who Tones on Tail is, this is not a goth album, though there are more reverb drenched guitars in the opening track, I would not all it goth. In fact, the title track reminds me more of Devo. But you can here slight Gary Numan influence lurking around if you are the kind of savant like I am who can detect these sorts of things to draw that connection. But it's Maynard, so better than most. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/02/puscifer-normal-isnt.html

 8-Gus G- "Steel Burner" 

 I almost let Gus's new solo album fly under my radar. But that would have been a shame because he is obviously metal as fuck, having played with Ozzy and Firewind.  When it comes to shredding hard rock he does a great job of it.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/05/heavy-maytal-gus-g-steel-burner.html

 

 7-Hoaxed- "Death Knocks" 

This album makes no attempt at draping things in goth window dressing, and we get to see who Hoaxed are: a grunge band. The riffs are more arena-rocking, even when they add tension to a song like "Kill Switch", which at times finds them beginning to drift toward the more straight-up rock n' roll side of grunge. Sonically, they hold a great deal of common ground with the Pretty Reckless, though with more of a penchant for minor ket melodies. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/02/hoaxed-death-knocks.html

 

 6-Julez and the Rollers -Dirty Little Rock N Roller" 

Yes, this is the band with the super-hot drummer. They also happen to write decent songs and are more rock than expected. Going into this, I expected something more like the Beaches. It's more power-pop than the shake your booty kinda of pop you hear on the radio. First off, these gals are playing real instruments and are more like a less punk version of the Runaways.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/04/julez-and-rollerz-dirty-little-rock-n.html

 5-Muse-"The WOW !. Signal"

These guys used to be one of my favorite bands, but being on the radio for too long caused them to take a left turn into grandiose symphonic disco, andd I lost interest. Those elements are all present on this new album. In fact, they meet you at the front door on the first two songs, but the songwriting seems to be a little more focused. Perhaps they never lost focus, and I just need to dig back into the albums I paid less attention to and give them a second chance. This album si great and a powerful return to form for them

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/06/muse-wow-signal.html

 4-Starbenders- "the Beast Goes On" 

On the pop side of glam rock, they do indulge in a more biting dynamic upon occasion, but their strength seems to be leaning into this 80s-drenched sound that marries Pat Benatar and Cyndi Lauper. Music is not created in a vacuum, so the title track that opens the album is darker andd with some Ghost-like aspirations in how it's mixed and the overall vibe to some extent, as it feels like a late 60s hippie-garage for of spooky like Coven or Shocking Blue, but hookier than Muse this time around.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/03/starbenders-beast-goes-on.html

 

 3-Genghis Tron- "Signal Fire"

Every five years is the average release rate for this band, as this marks the fourth album of their 20-year career. Their first album, "Dead Mouth Mountain," blended early metalcore sounds with electronics, and they have been slowly evolving past the more abrasive elements of this formula. Their new album puts the band closer to what someone like HEALTH does, though less industrial in their intentions. The balance of atmospheric and edge is more enthralling here, as it is full of hooks. Where the last album stepped away from harsher vocals, they are back in the mix here, but used as more of a dynamic vocal color. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/05/genghis-tron-signal-fire.html

 2-Deftones -"Eros"

These are 80 percent finished demos, not sure what they still had left to do on them, as it sounds like I would expect an album from this era to sound.  There was a porn theme to this album, and all the songs are named after a woman, presumably a porn star.  Though the lyrics are typical abstract Chino metaphors crooned against a dreamy shoegaizing backdrop. Given the nature of this release in its raw format, it is better than some of their 2000s albums

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/06/deftones-eros.html

 1-Karnivool-"In Verses"

Australia's Karnivool have been around for almost 30 years, but this is their fourth album, meaning they are very calculated and meticulous when writing and producing music. Which can be heard on this album. They are not prog in the sense that there is a ton of guitar solos, but subtly shifting arrangements with djent-like time changes bubbling up under anthemic rock songs that are also very moody and melodic.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/02/karnivool-in-verses.html

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Fuming Mouth : "the Ringing Bell"

These guys are back with their brand of crusty death metal that still carries more of a hardcore attitude. This time they have Jay Weinberg fromm Slipknot/ Suicidal Tendencies behind the kit. They waste no time doing what they do. The album does not have the overproduced sheen you might expect from a band that is now playing bigger stages. It is pretty raw and almost feels more like a Nails record, the way the riffs crash into you. There is a weird thing going on where they are also using a rougher, more in-your-face approach to songwriting that is not driven by hooky riffs, as it has the bandd work as a unified machine. It is, in other words, taking what they did on their last album and making it more confrontational.

The songs are compact and punchy. "A Blaze of Nihilism" works off a dense rumble with more melodic guitar parts circling its rumble. "After Oblivion" stirs up more of a punk sense of sonics. There is a bit of sludge to some of the heavy-handed riffs. The vocals drop into a lower death metal growl. There is a doomier mood at the onset of "Hidden in the Moor," but the pace quickly picks up."Vivid Reflections" finds more melody beginning to creep in the edges, and this album takes on a darker, more apocalyptic feel." The Flourishing Flesh" is just over a minute yet manages to find its footing.

There are actual sung vocals on the title track. This was unexpected. Guitar-wise, there is a bleaker sound that reminds me of old Kylesa. "Barbarian Scourge" is more straightforward and pummeling until it wanders off into a darker riff in the middle, and feels more like they are jamming out into the guitar solo. They close out the album with the crusty stomp of "Respect Mortality." This album is darker than the previous one but very much on par with it. I will give it a 9.5 and see how it grows on me.

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Witchsorrow : "The Devil And All His Works"

This is the 3rd album we have reviewed by this band, so it is unlikely there wil be any major surprises. On their last album, which had begun to move in a direction that combined the rumble of Electric Wizard with the grit of High on Fire. The opening track finds the moving into the more hypnotic side of this equation, which works for me, though with an eleven and a half minute song, there is room for fat to be trimmed. The fuzed-out stomp is deliberate and sounds great, but in terms of songwriting leans more into the sound than the song.  The longest song they save for the first, as the other songs hover around the six to eight minute mark. 

If you are really high and playing "Bacchus" at a high ear ringing volum it is more impressive. The vocals are more of an accent than a hook on the first two songs. They use more effects on this album, so it creates an interesting atmosphere, but dynamically, they tread similar ground. The guitar solos do create a more jammy feel, but there is always room to switch things up more, arrangement-wise.. The vocals build to more of a shout than the creepy acid thing they were doing earlier. At least more dynamics than we got from the previous song. "Hades Chains" finds the drummer waking up and building the tempo. Serena Cherry of Svalbard adds some roars to the occasion..This is where they begin to lean more in that High on Fire direction I mentioned earlier, but the vocals are sticking to what they do, which works better here.  This carries more of a sludge drive.

"Altar" carries a weighty throb. I like the approach of the vocals, but I feel they could come up in the mix. By falling back into the guitar, they feel more like an afterthought, but this song is darker and works more for me. It reminds me of Atriarch. 'In Triumphant We Rot" has a more traditional metal gallop, but the vocals are more Snake from Voivod, so it's almsot like Snake fronting old Iron Maiden."Lamentation" is more of an interlude and feels like the intro to the last song. The last song wallows more in diusmal doom, but is not as atmospheric or dynamic as I prefer. They rock out more on this album, and that works better for them. Overall, this album is an improvement over their previous work I will give it a 9. Dropping on Church Road Records. 

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