Whoredom Rife : "Winds of Wrath"

 

The band's third album finds their take on trve Norwegian Black Metal, gaining some ground when it comes to having a bigger more refined sound. It holds more in common with Immortal than Darkthrone. Following a more predictable trajectory, they do not waste time getting to the blast beat. They also care about songwriting so there is some substance here. Things have a cold raging speed to them. "A Thousand Graves Endured" just kind of blasts down a well-worn sonic highway. Some of the vocal layers work really well despite the vocals typically being in a midrange rasp.

"the Gospel of Hate' carries a familiar buzzing of guitars. The pulse is a little more purposeful than the previous song.  Fans of the Marduk or 1349 school of Black Metal will enjoy this one. All of the songs are near the seven minute mark of over, which is better than if they were at the ten minute mark or over. Things are still songs rather than sprawling oceans of angry sounds. The vocals are really well produced which makes their scowling more interesting.  "Sea of Diseased Blood" blasts forward in a thundering manner than conforms closer to the template for this style of black metal. It sounds good and is well done , though halfway into the song I can't imagine them dragging for another four minutes in this manner. 

The title track has a more deliberate throb. It works for what they do, though the wheel is not really being re-invented here. "Einride" churns with more heft, the bass tone being more present to hammer things home. Often black metal works off the buzzing speed, and tends to not feel as heavier so it's good to hear a bass being used to do this. The vocals take on a more strangled anguish as the song progresses. I'll give this one an 8.5, really well done, playing into the tropes of black metal, but presenting them bleak majesty, if you want a cut and dry black metal album this is for you. 

pst649

Marasm : "Keine Erde"

 

This German band offers an interesting late entry in 2024's releases. They open things up in a more post-rock fashion. Then blast off into a crusty take on black metal that is not unlike what Ragana does.  Their layered vocals bring out the more well-encrusted edges of their sound and give it more punk roots. Melody is retained in the process that pays off in the songwriting dept. The second song finds them angrier. It launches into a more feral blast of black metal, with the vocals arranged in more of a call-and-response fashion with hard-core punches accenting things. 

Not the best production I've heard on an album this year, but that gives it some of its charm. They get a great deal of credit for being willing to break away from the rowdy hard-core punk throwdowns to use atmosphere and nuanced guitar to create more dynamics than most bands doing this sort of thing. The subtle use of samples works well. "Drexekutive" finds them sonically touching on screamo, which is not far removed where the sounds they work with. When they are at their most explosive as a band the results are not as impressive, as they sound more like everyone else than when they think out of the box and allow things to simmer 

The band's female singer, makes her most noteworthy performance on the last song, as she sings with a more emotive intensity to her voice leading into the song, before it erupts into the screaming this album has conditioned you to expect from it.  These guys have a great deal of potential, I find the female vocalist the most interesting of the two, and the guitars are very well thought out, I will give this album an 8.5, 

pst647

The Top 20 Albums of 2024 : 10 to 1

 

This year I expanded what was once the Top 10 Albums of the Year to the Top 20. The Top 10  was limiting considering there are now 20 best-of-genre lists.  a Top 10 often left off ten albums that captured the top spot for their respective genres.  So we are continuing the countdown here in this second part to the top 10 albums  These are the albums I listened to most. When you take into consideration the fact I listened to over 900 albums this year, it's impressive for these albums to have 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- Weston Super Maim- "See You Tomorrow Baby"

This band is out to crush you with their industrial-strength metal, possessed by chaotic outbursts of jarring mathematics like a grind-core version of Meshuggah. This album proves you can go to the extremes of heaviness while still having a huge sound. At times electronic sounds enter the fray. Impressive guitar work does not hinder the sheer weight this album hits you with while writing memorable songs. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/08/weston-super-maim-see-you-tomorrow-baby.html

 

 

 

9-O Zorn !- "Vermillion Haze" 

On the darker side of 90s grunge reviving, these guys kept the anthemic slant minimal, and instead cut themselves and allowed the songs to bleed from it. It is heavy with mood rather than hammering at you. This album took me by surprise and exceeded any hopes I had for it, It grew on me more than any other album becoming a staple of my weekly listening due to the honest melancholy that seeps from its pores. If you like grunge, but not the kind for jocks then this will be up your alley. Really can not sing its praises enough. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/03/o-zorn-vermillion-haze.html

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8-200 Stab Wounds - "Manual Manic Procedures" 

. Less than a year after the previous release, the guys have worked hard to perfect their craft, as this is more nuanced and dynamic songwriting. My only complaint about the first album was that it was so straightforward that there was little to separate it from veterans like Cannibal Corpses. Now they are really bringing it hard this time around. They give the oppressive pounding. Plenty of syncopated punches and little nuances make it clear that this operation is meticulous. Perfect blend of creepy melodic parts, and aggressive hooky riffs. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/death-is-june-200-stab-wounds-manual.html

 

             

7-DEHD - "Poetry" 

Over the years this band continued to grow on me until with this album everything clicked into pace. Their finely tuned garage pop is hookier than most pop on the radio. Some of the songs feel like long-lost classics from the early days of California garage rock, despite this band not being from California. At times this finds Beach Boys sounds colliding with the Velvet Underground. The hooks kept me listening which secured them at the top spot. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/dehd-poetry.html

  

6-Snow Strippers -"Night Killaz 2" 

Producer Graham Perez, and singer Tatiana Schwaninger. have totally killed it here, sonically it's almost like a cross between Charli XCX and Grimes, but on old-school techno drugs. This glitched-out more experimental take on electronica finds the emphasis is on the beats and soundscapes being woven here. Tatiana is not the greatest singer, but the secret to this album lies in how her voice is presented. She has her own charisma in her persona. An infectious listen that got as much playtime as faves like the Cure and Taylor Swift. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/snow-strippers-night-killaz-vol-2.html

 

 

5-Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - "Of the Last Human Being" 

When I place one of my favorite bands on the pedestal of what other bands should aspire to, said band must then meet these exalted expectations. If they are one of the best bands I have ever seen live then expectations are even higher. If they are coming back 17 years later, after you lived thinking their last album was the final chapter, then you can only hope for the best album ever. Sleepytime Gorilla Museum reopened in an attempt to make their best album yet. 2007's "In Glorious Times" is a perfect album, so they were wise not to take it head on but in a more mature step forward, emphasizing more of the chamber music side, while employing all the creepy dissonance they are known for. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/02/sleepytime-gorilla-museum-of-last-human.html

 

 

4- Crippling Alcoholism - "With Love From a Padded Room" 

This band beautifully captures a darkly honest misery. The singer's raspy voice makes you imagine what it might sound like if Tom Waits fronted Interpol. It took the top spot because the songs are uniquely engaging and this album can be played countless times without getting tired of it. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/crippling-alcoholism-with-love-from.html

 

3-Taylor Swift - "The Tortured Poets Department" 

She managed to beat Crippling Alcoholism, based on this album just being marginally more dynamic and a little hookier, as lyrically the two albums were neck and neck.  There is a reason she has a fantastical cult of fans. If we weigh her other albums again this one there might be more debate, but that is where she is as an artist, Swift only has her own work to measure things against. I think this is at least as strong as her more recent work.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/taylor-swift-tortured-poets-department.html

2-Glassing-"From the Other Side of the Mirror" 

 This band has a history of ruling, and it's not stopping. This album was darker and more melodic, giving me more of what I wanted from them. At times, the screamed vocals offset what might otherwise be creepy bass-driven shoegaze. They get feral and deface your eardrums with their tangible sense of anguish. Though none of this is contrived or thought out from a marketing perspective by a record label this is just where they are, perhaps even angrier than the previous album though there is a wide range of emotional colors being used here making them the best metal album of the year with the inner apocalypse they project outwardly. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/glassing-from-other-side-of-mirror.html

 

 

1-The Cure - "Songs Of a Lost World" 

It's no secret these guys are one of my favorite bands, but that means my expectations were higher. While Smith and friends claiming the top spot will not be a surprise to regular readers or people who know me, they earned this one.  This album sounds like they picked up where they left off on "Wish". Amazingly, they are still inspired to create something so perfect 14 albums later. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/the-cure-songs-of-lost-world.html

pst646

The Top 20 Albums of 2024 : 20 to 11

This year I have decided to expand what was once the Top 10 Albums of the Year to the Top 20. The Top 10  was a little limiting considering there are now 20 best-of-genre lists, so a Top 10 would leave off ten albums that captured the top spot for their respective genres.  In doing this it's expanded said list into two parts. This is the first part counting down from album 20 to 11.  These are the albums I listened to most. When you take into consideration the fact I listened to over 900 albums this year, it's impressive for these albums to have 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...

1-Iress -" Sleep Now, In Reverse" 

Taking the top spot is this beautiful wave of gloomy gazing from this  Los Angeles-based band.  It was a tough call between this album and Bleakheart, with the vocals of Michelle Malley being the tiebreaker as she delivers an emotionally stunning performance that creates a wonderful contrast to the storm clouds the band summons beneath her sublime melodies. The drumming gives this album a great deal of focused intention which in turn creates songwriting magic as they grow as songwriters. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/07/iress-sleep-now-in-reverse.html

pst623

20-iRESS -

19-REZN - "Burden"

The new album from Chicago's Sonic Sorcerors found them expanding their minds and sound The dark groovin' drive that lurks as the heartbeat of this album, might not be metal, but it is aggressive enough to get the point across.  The plea of the vocals echoes out into the expansive place they have created here. It feels darker than the previous album, but darker in a more hazy moonlit manner. When it comes to making melancholy stoner rock that is heavy on the atmosphere this year these guys can not be beaten. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/rezn-burden.html

 

 18-Charli XCX -"BRAT" 

If you strip away the cultural marketing tactics that put her in the spotlight this year, she already has released an album of Strong Bangers, but she was not letting it just be a great album. It's the nature of the beast she is in the belly of, but that aside, these songs bump seriously, and I have been a fan of hers for some time now, so glad to see she is getting the recognition she deserves. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/charli-xcx-brat.html

17-Witnesses - "Joy" 

 Despite my preference for Kody Ternes as the vocalist, things changed, and  Bibby from Seventh Angel is handling the vocals this time around. He is more of a metal singer than Ternes, he does make melodic choices that think outside of the power metal box, some doom singers lean toward. His voice grew on me.  Not as dark as some of their previous work the album deals more with self -actualization. There is a highly emotive nature they invoke with the atmosphere. It is one of Greg Schwan's strengths as a songwriter. Things are very dynamic, with the vocals soaring above it all. They once again excelled, and if you are a doom fan who enjoys melody then this album is a must.  This band is onto something and it is one of the more original expressions of doom I have heard in a minute. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/november-is-doom-witnesses-joy.html

 

16-Crypt Sermon- "The Stygian Rose" 

Taking their  80s-flavored metal down its darker grittier path, not unlike Savatage or Metal Church, the songs benefit from more vocal colors going on this time around. The riffing carries more thrash, as they hit their stride as songwriters.  There are lots of tasteful guitar solos that relentlessly hit you with killer riffs. This album finds them coming into their own, and standing shoulder to shoulder with the albums these songs draw inspiration from.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/07/crypt-sermon-stygian-rose.html

- 

 

15-Planes Mistaken For Stars - "Do You Still Love Me ?" 

The late Gared O'Donnell recorded this album while undergoing Chemo, before succumbing to his chance at 44. They were always too gritty and real to break through to the mainstream. Their take on rock n roll still pounds the song into you. Unless you share in the inner darkness with which these songs were conceived you might not know what to make of the brooding. To my ears it's beautiful. Some brighter guitar tones on this album than in their previous work, it's clear he was ending things in a manner that still pushed their sound forward. Gared you are missed

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/planes-mistaken-for-stars-do-you-still.html

14-Chelsea Wolfe -"Unbound" 

 If She said the versions of these songs found on this EP were how they were originally written, before being re-mixed into what was presented on "She Reaches Out to, She Reaches Out to..." it would make perfect sense as this sounds more like who she is. This is emotionally powerful and feels like a true expression of who she is. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/chelsea-wolfe-unbound.html

 

13-Full of Hell-"Coagulated Bliss"

This album grew on me more than any other this year, partly due to catching these guys live where it all clicked. It's also a huge step of maturity in songwriting. From a production standpoint, it's more organic. They were not darker, but more punk than the sludge-tinged gnarliness that comprised their guitar tone on other albums. The guitarist claims that he learned how to serve the song during their sessions for the album with Nothing. Things here reflect that due to the fact it is angular and mathy, but not spastic. The vocals are more deliberate as well.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/full-of-hell-coagulated-bliss.html

-

 

12-Death Killer -"Total Destruction of the Entire Universe" 

Here is the kind of industrial album I was waiting for. It is both pissed and heavy as hell with a fair dose of chaos in its veins. There is a great balance of instrumentation and programming/ electronic elements. It is not industrial music to dance to it is industrial music that is going to kick your face. Not unlike Ministry's "Filth Pig" album in that regard though this is heavier. It blasts at you like a jackhammer, as it sonically fucks your brains out right from the first song

 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/gothtober-death-killer.html

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11-Nails - "Every Bridge Burning" 

It's been 8 years since the last album from this California-based hard-core band. They are just as angry as they were on "You Will Never Be One of Us".  The grind-core influence on the band has them spitting out minute-and-a-half songs propelled by an unrelenting momentum. The faster moments that create a frenzied wall of sound are balanced out by the intentional songwriting masterstrokes delivered here, and find this album to be worth the wait and put the band on the top of the hard-core heap. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/09/nails-every-bridge-burning.html

pst645

The Top 10 Metal Albums of 2024

As the world finds itself coming closer to critical mass, We need heavy music more than ever. 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. The results might vary to at the end of the day I checked my Last FM to see what I actually listened to the most and here we are with these results. Truth be told this still included most of the number-one picks from the varied sub-genre lists, though other albums that ranked maybe two are three on their respective lists, also earned a place here, due to growing on me or replay value of their albums. While results may have varied, this is the final word. 

The very fact these bands made it to this list means they are 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. You can bitch and complain about your favorite band not being on the list. However, I listen to over six hundred new albums this year, so chances are  I heard your favorite album and was not impressed.  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 2024

10-Deadform - "Entrenched In Hell" 

This is the first full-length from this Oakland-based crust trio which features Dino Sommese from Dystopia on drums as well as sharing vocal duties with Brian Clouse from Stormcrow, who is also playing bass in this project. The furious sounds unleashed on this album highlight the things I love about the Crust genre. It's heavy, yet grooving in its pummeling. There is also a dark apocalyptic mood churning from the songs. The tones coming from their blown-out amps are burly enough to belong to a sludge band, but they are played with more of a punk attitude. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/09/deadform-entrenched-in-hell.html

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9-Maul- "In the Jaws of Bereavement" 

This album clicked for me right away as it packs a powerful punch, yet does not shy from guitar melodies to show they care about writing songs. North Dakota is not where I would expect this to come from but here we are. There is no shortage of head-banging grooves. This album makes a strong argument for having the bass prominent in the mix when it comes to death metal. There are some technical thrashing riffs, that are balanced out by locking into chugs to bring a more deliberate attack that plays to their strengths. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/09/maul-in-jaws-of-bereavement.html

8-Witnesses - "Joy" 

 Despite my preference for Kody Ternes as the vocalist, things changed, and  Bibby from Seventh Angel is handling the vocals this time around. He is more of a metal singer than Ternes, he does make melodic choices that think outside of the power metal box, some doom singers lean toward. His voice grew on me.  Not as dark as some of their previous work the album deals more with self -actualization. There is a highly emotive nature they invoke with the atmosphere. It is one of Greg Schwan's strengths as a songwriter. Things are very dynamic, with the vocals soaring above it all. They once again excelled, and if you are a doom fan who enjoys melody then this album is a must.  This band is onto something and it is one of the more original expressions of doom I have heard in a minute. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/november-is-doom-witnesses-joy.html

 

7-Crypt Sermon- "The Stygian Rose" 

Taking their  80s-flavored metal down its darker grittier path, not unlike Savatage or Metal Church, the songs benefit from more vocal colors going on this time around. The riffing carries more thrash, as they hit their stride as songwriters.  There are lots of tasteful guitar solos that relentlessly hit you with killer riffs. This album finds them coming into their own, and standing shoulder to shoulder with the albums these songs draw inspiration from.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/07/crypt-sermon-stygian-rose.html

6-Full of Hell-"Coagulated Bliss"

This album grew on me more than any other this year, partly due to catching these guys live where it all clicked. It's also a huge step of maturity in songwriting. From a production standpoint, it's more organic. They were not darker, but more punk than the sludge-tinged gnarliness that comprised their guitar tone on other albums. The guitarist claims that he learned how to serve the song during their sessions for the album with Nothing. Things here reflect that due to the fact it is angular and mathy, but not spastic. The vocals are more deliberate as well.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/full-of-hell-coagulated-bliss.html

-

 

5-Death Killer -"Total Destruction of the Entire Universe" 

Here is the kind of industrial album I was waiting for. It is both pissed and heavy as hell with a fair dose of chaos in its veins. There is a great balance of instrumentation and programming/ electronic elements. It is not industrial music to dance to it is industrial music that is going to kick your face. Not unlike Ministry's "Filth Pig" album in that regard though this is heavier. It blasts at you like a jackhammer, as it sonically fucks your brains out right from the first song

 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/gothtober-death-killer.html

4-Nails - "Every Bridge Burning" 

It's been 8 years since the last album from this California-based hard-core band. They are just as angry as they were on "You Will Never Be One of Us".  The grind-core influence on the band has them spitting out minute-and-a-half songs that are propelled by an unrelenting momentum. The faster moments that create a frenzied wall of sound are balanced out by the intentional songwriting masterstrokes delivered here, and find this album to be worth the wait and put the band on the top of the heap. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/09/nails-every-bridge-burning.html

3- Weston Super Maim- "See You Tomorrow Baby"

This band is out to crush you with their industrial-strength metal, possessed by chaotic outbursts of jarring mathematics like a grind-core version of Meshuggah. This album proves you can go to the extremes of heaviness while still having a huge sound. At times electronic sounds enter the fray. Impressive guitar work does not hinder the sheer weight this album hits you with while writing memorable songs. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/08/weston-super-maim-see-you-tomorrow-baby.html

 

2-200 Stab Wounds - "Manual Manic Procedures" 

 Less than a year after the previous release, the guys have worked hard to perfect their craft, as this is more nuanced and dynamic songwriting. My only complaint about the first album was that it was so straightforward that there was little to separate it from veterans like Cannibal Corpses. Now they are really bringing it hard this time around. They give the oppressive pounding. Plenty of syncopated punches and little nuances make it clear that this operation is meticulous. Perfect blend of creepy melodic parts, and aggressive hooky riffs. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/death-is-june-200-stab-wounds-manual.html

1-Glassing-"From the Other Side of the Mirror" 

 This band has a history of ruling, and it's not stopping. This album was darker and more melodic, giving me more of what I wanted from them. At times, the screamed vocals offset what might otherwise be creepy bass-driven shoegaze. They get feral and deface your eardrums with their tangible sense of anguish. Though none of this is contrived or thought out from a marketing perspective by a record label this is just where they are, perhaps even angrier than the previous album though there is a wide range of emotional colors being used here making them the best metal album of the year with the inner apocalypse they project outwardly

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/glassing-from-other-side-of-mirror.html

pst643

The Top 10 Hard Rock Albums of 2024

Hard Rock is defined here as being, more aggressive than rock n roll,, but not dark or mean enough to be considered by Metal, by anyone who knows anything about metal.  These are not the coolest albums, but the best, fuck what other blogs say,   After I sort through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I use those lists to compile the top 10 albums of 2024. 

 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 Hard Rock albums of 2024.

10-Bokassa - "All out of Dreams" 

This Norweigan band occupies a similar place as Kvelertak. But are more stoner rock and not black metal at all, They have a healthy love of punk rock, so much so that Lou Koller from Sick of it All joins in on the second song. The riffing at times has a hint of 80s metal which works for me. Think Judas Priest or Accept here.  The raspy vocals prove capable of holding melodies down. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/november-is-doom-bokassa-all-out-of.html

9-Silly Goose - "Bad Behavior" 

At first listen, it might be easy to write this Atlanta band off as a Limp Bizkit tribute act, but there is more under the surface. The zany rapped delivery of Jackson Foster, does lend Fred Durst comparisons to his suburban white boy approach. But these kids are hard-working and that extends to their songwriting which is pretty hooky, while they might not be skinning your ass raw like a chainsaw, they do bring enough of themselves into the mix. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/08/silly-goose-bad-behavior.html

 

8-Abrams-"Blue City" 

This time around there is a heavier more grunge-tinged aggression that sometimes reminds me of Filter and makes me think of Soundgarden. The big guitar sound swirls around the songs. They are big and anthemic in their attack with nuanced verses that groove while leaving enough room for the vocals to howl and croon around . It's when they reach the balance of melody, groove, and dynamics that the band really shine

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/07/abrams-blue-city.html

 

7-Falling in Reverse- 'Popular Monster'

This album is obviously nu-metal for the post-Myspace generation. Not sure why Radke gets under people's skin, his rap skills are on par with his singing voice, and while this does not ever hit like metal it does have more balls than most rock music earning it's place here. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/08/falling-in-reverse-popular-monster.html

 

6-Modern Witchcraft -"S/T"

 These guys play an ethereal style of atmospheric doom that owes more to The Cure than Black Sabbath. At times this puts them closer to Deftones. The melody is given more emphasis. The emotion of the song washes over you. Sounds swirl around you. It is heavier in feel than it is heavy metal.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/02/modern-witchcraft-st.html

5-Hidden Mothers  - "Erosion  / Avulsion" 

This band combines elements of sludge with the hard-hitting post-hard core that is balanced out by melodic passages that create a somber dreaminess. The arrangements are almost progressive. It all falls together in a very organic fashion to find a happy middle ground. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/hidden-mothers-erosion-avulsion.html

 

4-Boston Manor- "Sundiver" 

This band can switch things up from emo-tinged pop punk to a moody melodic nu-metal explosion that should appeal to fans of Deftones. They write catchy songs that stick to you which at the end of the day is what matters. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/boston-manor-sundiver.html

                      

3- Fatima -'Eerie" 

This French band made the year's most haunting grunge album with urgent vocals and an ominous ambiance, all works perfectly. The guitar carries the needed metallic punch to drive the point home as the bass anchors this down, with a unique songwriting approach. Some 90s elements are lurking under the surface here, and perhaps this is the icing on the cake for me. They bring plenty of power to the overdriven wall of fuzz

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/november-is-doom-fatima-eerie.html

2-Jerry Cantrell- "I Want Blood"  

I've heard some of his solo work before, but it's this album that makes it clear he is Alice in Chains, and Layne was just part of the window-dressing to give their early work added darkness thanks to his junkie charm.  This should have been the album that came out after "Black Give Way to Blue" as it's way better than "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here". His guitar playing remains iconic, as his solo is in every note.  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/jerry-cantrell-i-want-blood.html

 

1-O Zorn !- "Vermillion Haze" 

On the darker side of 90s grunge reviving, these guys kept the anthemic slant minimal, and instead cut themselves and allowed the songs to bleed from it. It is heavy with mood rather than hammering at you. This album took me by surprise and exceeded any hopes I had for it, It grew on me more than any other album becoming a staple of my weekly listening due to the honest melancholy that seeps from its pores. If you like grunge, but not the kind for jocks then this will be up your alley. Really can not sing its praises enough. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/03/o-zorn-vermillion-haze.html

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CMPT :"Na utrini"

 The latest entry of the year comes from this Balkan black metal band. They weave an impressive atmosphere rather than going full blast in your face. The band's sophomore release finds them pretty assured in what they are doing. The choked rasp of the vocals is what grounds the first track in the genre, as it moves at an eerie creep. It's not until the second song that they gain the momentum, that sets them alongside what you typically expect from black metal. This does not mean it's better, it just conforms to what the average listener thinks of when it comes to the genre. There is a more metallic buzz to the guitars.

There's a new Youtube video in circulation showing that when you strip away the distortion from black metal you are basically playing surf-roc, which is what the song "Mesecina" brings to mind. The folk instrumentation that opened the album does resurface, while it is not the most original aspect of the bigger picture of the genre, it does help to break things up dynamically. Once you get midway into the album things have taken on the racing buzz, that is tried and true, this is thankfully broken up by a singing chant to at least add a more organic shade of shadow to the sonic swathe. 

The tempo begins to charge into more of a familiar black metal fury, which then makes me listen for when they break away from sounding like everyone else and do their own thing. The rasp of the vocals conforms to expectations here. Some distant chanting surfaces to give a little ambiance.  They do back off into a more droning ambiance, allowing the guitars to ring out as folk singing echoes out of the gray landscape the song paints. The drums hold things down enough to bob your head to its throb. These more deliberate nuanced guitar melodies are this band's strength. and hope to hear them lean more into them in the future. It beats when they just blast along like everyone else. I will give this album an 8.5  This album is being released by Osmose Productions. 

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Looking Back in Anger at Bloodlet's " Entheogen"

 

This blast from 1996 rode in on the wings of the Victory Records Hardcore scene.  They were more about this evil sound and not straight edge like the bulk of the Victory bands, making them my favorite. The dense distortion the Florida band used was more like sludge than hardcore. The riffs of songs like "Something Wicked" have grooves that flow like hot lava scalding your ears as it explodes from your rain. Yet even the opening track highlights what made this band unique right from the jump. The dark weird breakdown at the two-minute mark is what set them apart from the pack and gave the more punishing heaviness more effective. The throaty bark possessing the vocals is not commonplace in Sludge, but not as much when this album came out in 1996. 

From a songwriting perspective "Annulment " is a concise punch at just over three minutes long. They packed lots of experimental sounds into those three minutes, while not forsaking the bulldozing groove of the song. You can hear how post-hardcore bands like Helmet influenced the drumming. If this album came out today it would seem like the next logical progression of where to go, but in 1996 it came out of nowhere. Timing is everything and this album is a case of when being ahead of your time found the band not hitting the level of success they could have. Granted being a best-kept secret was a badge of honor for hardcore in the 90s as I saw these guys play in a basement, not a club. The tense grooves could have been marketed to more of a nu-metal fanbase at the time but these guys we not about selling out.  

The metal vibes of "Shell" merge with a more hard-core stomp. They are very deliberate in their attack and rather than defaulting to a one-two-three go! punk blast by stepping manically on the gas. Not a guitar solo within six feet of them, yet it is clear these guys are playing with a high level of proficiency in how the instrumentation weaves around the passage in an almost jazz-like fashion. The vocals bob around the riffs and do not follow the straightforward drill sergeant phrasing more commonly employed at this time. The pace does pick up going into the nine-minute "The Triumph", and ebbs back down with the guitar ringing out dissonant chords allowing things to simmer. The drummer might be the MVP on this album as he keeps this song together allowing them to jam around. The slithering shift of riffs is everything you could ask for from these guys. The bass in the final two minutes of the song is also impressive and displays another example of how they stood out from the rest of the Victory Records roster. 

"Eucharist" is impossible not to move your head to. The riffs are almost the band's calling card. If I was going to play a song for your average run-of-the-mill metalhead to convince them this band is awesome it is the song I would choose.  Though I am sure even a staunch Slayer fan might also be sold on the angry groove of "95". The syncopation owes more to hardcore than metal, though this band straddles the fence between the two a great deal on this album. Whenever I hear the last song on this album, I think how cool it could have been if they had used more effects on his voice like they do here. They did a little more on the album that followed, for what this is I will give this album a 10 as it stands the test of time.  

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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

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