July's Top 10 Albums

July is in our rearveiw, 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 end-of-year lists by including each album's genre. This does not mean these albums were released this month; it is a list of new or upcoming albums I have enjoyed most. I have albums in my in-box that won't come out until October, 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 Indie Pop, so perhaps you will find your new favorite among them. Here are the Top 10 albums for July of 2026.

10- Pretty Reckless,-"Dear God" 

Rock

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/07/the-pretty-reckless-dear-god.html

9-Taylor Bickett- "Nothing I Can't Undo" 

Indie Folk

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/07/taylor-bickett-nothing-i-cant-undo.html

8-DIE ANTWOORD- "ZAMA ZAMA"

Experimental hip-hop

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/07/die-antwoord-zama-zama.html

7-Dead Pony-"Eat My Dust" 

nu-metal

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/07/dead-pony-eat-my-dust.html

6-Eartheater- "Heavenly Body" 

Pop

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/07/eartheater-heavenly-body-if-im-bottle.html

5-Deathgrave- "Hell is Evil" 

Death-grind

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/07/deathgrave-hell-is-evil.html

4-Show Me The Body- "Alone Together"

3-Kacey Musgraves- "Middle of Nowhere" 

Country 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/07/kacey-musgraves-middle-of-nowhere.html

2-Ceremony- "Tell Me Your Dream" 

Punk

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/07/ceremony-tell-me-your-dream.html

1-Charli XCX - "Music Fashion Film" 

Pop

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/07/charli-xcx-music-fashion-film.html

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DEATHGRAVE : "Hell is Evil"

 I gave 2023's "It's Only Midnight" an 8, but I have been listening to more grindcore since then, so I might have more of an appreciation when they veer off the death metal grooves into chaos. The title track that opens the album certainly falls into place better than what they did last time around, with a more polished sound in the studio. It is also three minutes, so they give themselves more time here to develop the song rather than just dealing in angry bursts. "Hard to Swallow" finds even a very dark, deliberate, doomy riff arising to lumber over things. Some of the members of Graves at Sea are in this band, so that should not be surprising. Some of the vocals sound like they could be from a Carnivore album they way they are shouted. 

"I am Here" takes death metal fury and runs it through a grindcore filter but with thrash attitude. Three songs in and it is very clear song writing has been made more of a priority. The vocals are more varied; there are the shrill blackened shriek and low death gurgle, but other variations on that snarled spectrum. "Born From Death " is the first song where brutality is allowed to reign over all else. With a dissonant punk riff clanging in the background at times ot break it up. "Smaller and Smaller" is darker and more harrowing as it takes things in a more sludge-ridden direction. The first five songs are already more dynamic than the last album, and this is with them even descending into blast beats on "Smaller and Smaller," which at almost four minutes is one of the album's longest songs. 

"It's Only Midnight" finds the vocals serving more purpose in the chorus to make it work and a large dose of thrash riding the song. "Yaws 3D" finds them playing a punk-tinged death metal which, in some ways, is the definition of grindcore. "You Pain is Ready" is a more extreme beating to your ears. They rip into "I Won't See You in Heaven" before the bass takes over. The dense bass tone brings things down into the doomy crush of the lingering tempo. It's darker and heavier like this than when they are spazzing out. Many moments on this album remind me of Goatwhore; when they speed up on this song, it is one of them. The last song finds them launching into rough-edged death metal but with the vocals varying in levels of coarseness, so kinda like Entombed. I will give this album a 9.5 and see how it grows on me, but here is what happens when grindcore grows up. Out on Tank Crimes August 21st.  

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Deathgrave : "It's Only Midnight"

Meeting at the intersection of grind core and death metal this band is comprised of dudes from Graves at Sea, Casket Blaster and Owl. The first song is a raw grimy stab at old school death metal. When they are in this mode of playing , the riffs are thick and nasty. It feels pretty good. The grind core side of what they do throws them into the spastic throes of chaos on the second song, though they recover from that bout and find their way back to a more song focused death metal. The fact that these songs are around the three minute mark, keeps them more focused on resolution and taking you somewhere. Even with "Tony's Deli' which is more gurgle with gore. Even here the speed filled blasting feels like a cop out when they have shown they are capable of wielding mean riffs with cool dissonance. In three minutes the cover a great deal of ground riff wise. 

"A Sewer Runs Through Her" is a great song title , but the vocals are gurgles so low at first it is hard to make out the lyrics. Though he goes through a few registers of snarled , almost like Goatwhore. Though this is not as dark as Goatwhore by any means. "the Resigned" is more cut and dry , raw death metal with more of a punk attitude. "Resur' wreck'ed" is another great song title that gets somewhat wasted on very straight forward death metal, which for the first minute and a half of the songs proves to be more punk than it is dark. It shifts some when a more deliberate riff kicks in and the rest of the song is colored with varied shades of chaos. "Rats are Back' opens with bigger more deliberate riffs, that more impact that when they are blasting. They do speed up but it carries more of a thrashing gallop. There is a more melodic section in the middle of the song, where a guitar solo would go if they are wasting their time with such things. 

"Slurring Sermons" rages of the same vitriol that fuels most of this album. A more ominous break down and a little more sonic weight in the overall pound can be felt.  "Your Rulers Are Here" has a more commanding death metal feel, At under two minutes , they make the most with the time they do spend on the song.  "Scratch Sniff Peel Snack" opens with more of a grind core tinged punk feel and slows down midway into it's one minute and forty seven seconds into a darker pulse. While it's a cool riff, there is more to the writing of "Lonely Streets". A crusty punk apocalypse still possesses the death metal current. The drummer lets you know he is serious on this song. The vocals drop into a gurgle. Once again they take a shift into a more powerful deliberate intention of crushing you. The last song is just over a minute and a half. It finds it's groove among the grinding gore. I like what they do here, as it's dirty and heavy, though nothing really unique that we have not heard before is happening so I will round this down to an 8. This is being dropped on TanK Crimes.