The Top 10 Metal Albums of 2019

After sorting the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I compiled them to make the top 10 albums of the year. Later in the month I am making the top 10 lists for the decade, though to be blunt this is the decade's weakest year for music; although here half the artists  are newer , the rest have been round the block   brief explanation as to why these albums stand over their peers in lower positions on the list. 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. Sure you can bitch and complain about your favorite band not being on the list. However I listen to five new albums a day so yes I heard your favorite album and was not impressed. No, I do not care what you think about it.;I do hope you can find your next favorite on this list. There are links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out audio on these guys. Anyways here are the top 10 Metal albums of 2019.

10-Creeping Death- "Wretched Illusions"


 They care about writing songs and are steeped in old school death metal. They also give me some fucking grooves that keep my head moving. If I was going to compare them to any old school death metal band it would be Obituary. They have the same nasty slime coming off their riffs. The sheer weight and aggression they attack these songs puts this album here.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/08/creeping-death-wretched-illusions.html

9-Death Angel -"Humanicide"

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It was the fact that their 1988 album "Frolic Through the Park" found the band diverting from the thrash sound every open  else had already latched onto, that made me drawn to them. Since reforming I do not hear as much of that coming from them. Instead they are straight up thrash. Like death metal the genre can become one dimensional, but as the album progresses the add the other shades I grew up loving. It's this signature that puts them over Creeping Death. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/05/death-angel-humanicide.html

8-Exhorder<- br="" ourn="" skies="" southern="" the=""> -Mourn the Southern Skies" 
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<- br="" ourn="" skies="" southern="" the="">If you are a fan of Pantera, then you need to know these guys. Having formed in 1985, this New Orleans band played a big part in why Pantera went from power metal and hair spray to the Cowboys from Hell that they became. They start off the album with gritty thrash that gives you the middle finger. They kill trend of Southern grooves with "Asunder" and write Slayer caliber riffs. The vocals are mean yet hold melody like another singer we know. They are relentless and continue to hit you with sharp riffs and barbed melodies. They are a step ahead of every other band on this list, though it was a tough call between this and Death Angel.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/09/exhorder-mourn-southern-skies.html

7-Vous Autres - "Champ Du Sang"

This album grew on me. The top four album did some shuffling, but the more I listened to this album the more clarity I gained as to where it belongs. The heaviness comes from dealing in darkness more than blast beats. They o prove themselves capable of deviating from pulverizing you to incorporate dynamics with atmosphere, this gives a creep glaze to the monolithic stomp of the heavy riffs, we have darkness ,depression and creepy . The feelings are made sounds and sonic in a way no other band tapped into like this.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/04/vous-autres-champ-du-sang.html

6- Coffins-- "Beyond the Circular Demise"


 This band's sound is it is organic, yet dark and dense. When they lock into a mid paced chug , it is probably their best quality. They do not do it every song , or even every other song, but when you hear it there is no denying this fact. It is heavy as fuck. Not to the point they have thrown the song out the window either. The tighter riffing is what beats out  Vous Autres.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/09/coffins-beyond-circular-demise.html

5- Hippie Death Cult" -"111"  




 The key selling point of this band to me is their singer,This guy is fucking outstanding as  he encompasses a great deal of dynamic range while retaining a bluesy sound.ere plenty of things like guitar solos to keep most metal heads happy. There is more proto metal to the riffing, the singer is what really sets these guys apart . Sure there is a little Ian Gillan to his voice at times, but that is better than another half ass Ozzy imitator. They are where they are because they have the best vocals which in turns gives them a more defined identity .

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/11/november-doom-hippie-death-cult-111.html

4- Life of Agony- 'the Sound of the Scars"

The sound of the scars tells me this is the album that should have come after “Ugly” . Not as dense and hard core influenced as the classic “River Runs Red” ,. Caputo’s voice is back where it needs to be to restore uphold the band’s legacy. These songs have warranted hours of repeat listens., more l;listens than I gave Hippie Death Cult.


https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/10/life-of-agony-sound-of-scars.html

3- Lord Mantis - Universal Death Cult"
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This wildly feral sludge band often chugs it's way towards making raw and nasty death metal. Sanford Parker who produced the album made some interesting choice on what he choose to to with the vocals. The sonic darkness of the throb these songs take on is just the kind of heavy I look for in music. More powerful than Life of Agony.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/11/november-doom-hippie-death-cult-111.html
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2-Brume -"Rabbits"

 This album was not what I expected going into it. After a few listens it proves early on this is an album I can just let play as it flows with smooth dynamics that do not tire. The drumming is almost as impressive as the soaring vocals. More hypnotic than crushing, the gray melancholy is often more than enough to solidify their place as doom, though their sound tends to be fragile in it's moodiness. It is this level of songwriting that makes me listen to this more than the bigger symphony of despair Lord Mantis created.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/11/november-doom-brume-rabbits.html

 

1- Pulchra Morte : "Divina Autem et Aniles" t


This album is focused and doesn't get carried away with atmosphere. The vocals seem very intentional and not just an after thought as does the addition of strings that seems to increase the deeper into the album you get .. You would think it would be common sense for the focus to be on the songs rather than just beating you into submission. This album came out earlier in the year so it makes sense, I listened to it more since I had the time to simmer on it. Listened to it more since and there was time to simmer on it.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/02/pulchra-morte-divina-autem-et-aniles.html

Tombs : " All Empires Fall"

What happens on Tombs new album should not come as a surprise considering how they have evolved with each album. The last album might not have been as dark as the previous, but Mike Hill and company continue to evolve. With the inclusion of Fade Kainer into the fold on "All Empires Fall" it made me think the industrial influence that has lurking under the surface would rise like Godzilla. This is not the case. They make it clear the metal isn't going anywhere. They kick the fucking door down with a neck crushing riff on the opening instrumental "the World is Made of Fire". They lash into something closer to straight up black metal for "Obsidian". It's not just full blast ahead. These guys have more tricks up their sleeves. Does Kainer's synths bring another sonic layer? Yes, but it doesn't compromise their sound.

The darkness rolls in on "the Last Day of Sunlight". This finds the band reaching the next level. Hill comes in with a low croon. The music slither around him in an almost exotic death rock fashion. We have heard this side of the band before, here it is just more fully embraced. Tribal drumming lead into the bass driven beginning to "Deceiver". Here the band fuses the two sounds into something dark and heavy with a ton of crunch to it. The verse riff has almost of Motorhead feel before going into the more chugged chorus. I had already heard "V" which finds them blending their dark side perfectly with the more metal muscle of their sound. I didn't even have to keep score on this one it gets a 10, this is what I want out of music. The only thing wrong with this release is the fact it's an EP rather than a full length, because it leaves me still wanting more.



 This album is being released on Relapse Records April 1st.

Hivelords : " Tapered Limbs of a Human Star"

One of the first things I thought about this Philly based band is that they have a slight Atriarch thing going on as the vocals start off sung in a more moaning tone than screamed. They are very dark, and would be black metal more often than not, so they doom side Atriarch has is not present, They vocals which are the most interesting part go back and forth between the more typical screams and the sung parts. The drummer is a mean machine for sure. The guitar has a chilly dissonance to them. Not being too familiar with their past work, I know last year they did add one of the guitarists from Tombs so I assume this might play a part in that.  So these guys have several things going in their favor. They favor a more angular black metal sound as they blast into "Vessel" . They hang on the faster drone until slowing down midway into things and the clean moaning vocal returns interject sparse lamentations. It begins to slow into something darker and cavernous, not sure if it is doomy despite the plodding tempo it goes into, it seems their objective is not to mourn but to echo out into oblivion.

The guitar takes a much different tone on"Begotten Grimoire" . The drums keep up a frantic blast and the vocal go for more of a typical higher black metal shriek. At the three minute marks it slows into more of a gallop into a more shining transcendence. The  clean singing is more distant here. The guitar forms an angular melody of the din. The fourth and final song is "I Climbed the Highest Dahkma to Find It" . This one is also the longest at over eleven minutes. The first song is ten so despite being only four songs a lot of music is packed in. They go for a more rapid dizzying pace that forms a sonic tornado around you. The sung vocals are more quickly interchanged with the screams. They transition out of the blasting to give the song more of a punch in the heavier accents that follow. Its not until the almost eight minute mark that the songs breaks down and shifts into a more doomy pound. It's been a minute since a American black metal band has impressed me this year. I'll give this album a 9, and see how it sits with me. More open minded and adventurous fans of black metal should waste no time checking this one out.