the Top 10 Albums of 2023

At the end of the day... or in this case, year, these are the albums I listened to the most. The reason these albums earned the top spot is because I listened to over 2000 albums this year and these are the ones that 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-the Lion's Daughter -"Bath House" 

There is a great deal going on with this album. The synths are very present in the mix going into the otherwise hammering open song. Throaty vocals are aggressive but howled more than growled. Sung vocals often emote over what is a  more brooding turn for the band. There is an ominous feel to counterbalance the more grandiose feel. I really enjoyed this one it's an improvement over what they did on "Skin Show" This album grew on me, and carries great depth.  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/the-lions-daughter-bath-house.html

9-Rid of Me -"Access to the Lonely" 

Having added a second guitarist for this album and you can hear how it adds in the denser sonic layers. The new sound of this album " is heavier and punches with a more sludge-ridden sound. Dissonant guitar passages cut through, along with more guitars on this album, to add a more firey rock n roll attack. She really proves herself as a singer on this album, still maintaining punk integrity. There a many dynamic vocal colors being introduced. They show you punk can be so much more than what we take for at face value. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/11/rid-of-me-access-to-lonely.html

8-Code  Orange - "Above" 

 I have been pretty invested in this band's career since being blown away by their 2017 album "Forever".  They broke away from the conventions of hardcore, which they continued to perfect with "Underneath". This set pretty high expectations for this album. Once I accepted the fact that they were no longer playing metal, I was able to really enjoy this album. It was tough to let go of this idea as they are still rather punchy in places, but they owe more to late 90s rock than hardcore or even nu-metal here. It is wonderfully written and shows there is no limit to what they are capable of. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/code-orange-above.html

7- Temple of Angels - "Endless Pursuit" 

I sat down with this album and weighed the dream pop shoegazing moments versus those that owe more to romantic darkness, and came to the conclusion that this album leans into the shadows at least 60 percent of the time, and even when it lightens up a bit their songs are still haunted by a melancholy longing that still earns their place here.  They might not dress the songs up for Halloween in the way other bands on this list do but they are better songwriters, which is why they take the number one spot. These songs are passed by plenty of heart-gripping moments.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/04/temple-of-angels-endless-pursuit.html

6-Harm's Way - "Common Suffering" 

After being convinced to check them out upon hearing the "Undertow" single featuring the singer of King Woman, I was surprised by the rest of the album, which hits in the way that I typically want my hardcore to slap me. Harm's Way has a gritty musculature to the riffs, and the vocals punch in all the right places to rally the head bob inducing syncopations shift with a groove. There is a great deal of emotion to the construction of the songs that paints things in a bleak shade of gray rather than just being the macho in-your-face beat down you might expect this to be

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/harms-way-common-suffering.html

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5-Frozen Soul - "Glacial Domination"

This Texas band pulls from classic death metal without worshipping any band too religiously. Their strength is taking a riff and grooving it without compromising the heaviness, In this way, there is a bit of Bolt Thrower in their DNA, but not enough to lump them in with bands who are clearly trying to re-live that band's glory days. I went into this album only aware of them by name, and by the end was a fan, thanks to hooky riff magic. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/05/frozen-soul-glacial-domination.html

 

 

4-Pierce the Veil - "The Jaws of Life" 

Here is an album that had no business being as good as it is. I only knew this band from the Punk Goes Pop series of tribute albums. Much like that series, they strike me as being more on the pop side of the equation. Now five albums later the band has continued to shine their songwriting formula to create something catchier than other pop that dropped this year, while still carrying the torch for the Myspace era,. Singer Vic Fuentes'   tenor sounds like he is in high school. It is impressive that he has kept this youth vigor now that he is almost forty.  If Justin Beiber made metal the results might be similar. Which is better than it sounds on paper. In fact, it is so good I listened to this album as much or more than any other album this year. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/02/pierce-veil-jaws-of-life.html

3-Grave Pleasures -"Plagueboys"

This year's release by My favorite Finnish post-punk revivalists grew on me with each listen. The songwriting trades bombast for subtlety for the sake of greater melodic value.  They took their tried and true sound, echoing all the way back to their Beastmilk days, and polished it into something even catchier. The sheer replay value of this album solidifies their place at the top.   

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/04/grave-pleasures-plagueboys.html

2-Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit - "Weathervanes" 

Isbell's latest collaboration with his band the 400 Unit is a celebration of songwriting. His voice always finds the perfect place to be. While his solo album "Southeastern" is the masterpiece that this album is going to be measured up against, here he steers things into a more Americana-flavored rock rather than country music. There is a warmth to the album's sound that recalls many classic rock albums with a southern flare, but it is more personable than those. He is one of the best songwriters living today. He transcends country music and does his thing.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/06/jason-isbell-400-unit-weathervanes.html

 

1- HEALTH - "Rat Wars" 

 This band continues to perfect its unique place in industrial music which is both apocalyptic and an androgynous self-loathing. Their heaviest work to date, also finds their arrangements droning on the groove less and letting them spawn into new landscapes.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/12/health-rat-wars.html

the Top 10 Punk Albums of 2023

Punk has been in an interesting place. There is no shortage of people claiming to play it, but to find real punk driven by the desire to not conform is a harder aspiration, given the masses' willingness to conform.   These albums captured the true spirt of punk, by doing their own thing.   After I sort through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I use those lists to compile the top 10 albums of the year. 2023. 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 Punk albums of 2023.

10- Truth Cult - 'Walk the Wheel"

This Baltimore-based band reaches back to a time when punk had something to say. The Minor Threat / Fugazi influence is more than apparent.  There is also a kind of rock n roll recklessness that drives things. If you like the more underground side of  90s-tinged punk rock this album is for you.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/01/truth-cult-walk-wheel.html

 

9-Scowl -  Psychic Dance Routine " 

This Baltimore band is pretty impressive. They go from a metallic rasped take on hardcore, to a sultry grunge of 90s alt-rock. The palm-muted tensions give the vocals of Kat Moss room to breathe. They should have the queen's share of the spotlight since her voice that elevates what the band is doing over the hundreds of bands playing 90s-influenced punk rock these days. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/scowl-psychic-dance-routine.html

 

8-Institute - "Ragdoll Dance" 

Not sure what these guys are trying to do, but it sounds like they intend to take things back to the crossroads where punk, met rock n roll. While this is not as dark as what I have heard from them on previous albums, the guitar playing wanders around the neck in a more mathy fashion rather than just banging out the chords like most punk bands do. You can't fault this band for their commitment to growth. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/institute-ragdoll-dance.html

7-dust- "et cetera, etc"

This band from Australia released this one back in March and it kicks out the jams with jangly punk energy that still focuses on songwriting. There are enough tense and melodic moments 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/dust-et-cetera-etc.html

 

6-Home front-"Games of Power" 

This Canadian band puts the emphasis on punk while keeping things bleakly tense. More electronic elements creep into their racing pace while the vocals form a chanted hook. What is becoming clear about this impressive debut album is rather than picking one band to pay homage to, these guys are clearly inspired by the 80s. however, they pulled from a mix tape of the decade's more thoughtful punk moments.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/home-front-games-of-power.html

 5-James and the Cold Gun-"S/t" 

 This band could almost keep things going off the raw power of their energy alone.  When they lean into the moody nuance things have a wider range of sonic color to draw from. The album is really well produced, there is a huge drum sound, while the guitars are a little garage rock at times, as they clang out as if just plugged in at the rehearsal studio. They care about songwriting and have written some damn catchy ones that straight-up rock the fuck out.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/08/james-and-cold-gun-st.html

  4-1476 -"In Exile" 

The guys might get blasty at the peak of their dynamic outbursts, but retain a rambling Cult of Youth rowdiness. There are a great deal of sonic textures and vocal colors to this. At times it draws from metal at the more powerful end of their aggressive outbursts, as they blend an array of genres, though at their core it feels like these guys are punk band. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/gothtober-1476-in-exile.html

3-Final Gasp- "Mourning Moon" 

This Boston band, falls back into the late 80s when bands like TSOL and Die Kruzen took a darker turn in a more shadow-drenched direction. They are more aggressive than most bands going in this direction and take me iack to a place in music that I hold close to my black heart. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/final-gasp-mourning-moon.html

2-Spiritual Cramp- ''s/t" 

 The San Francisco band is a highly energetic punk band that leans more toward the Mod side of things. This is not a raw-sounding punk album, but one where they clearly spent some time in the studio to get things dialed in. The songs are assembled in a catchy enough fashion. They tend to make fun of society as punk should. They breathe new life into old sounds.  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/spiritual-cramp-st.html

1-Rid of Me -"Access to the Lonely" 

Having added a second guitarist for this album and you can hear how it adds in the denser sonic layers. The new sound of this album " is heavier and punches with a more sludge-ridden sound. Dissonant guitar passages cut through, along with more guitars on this album, to add a more firey rock n roll attack. She really proves herself as a singer on this album, still maintaining punk integrity. There a many dynamic vocal colors being introduced. They show you punk can be so much more than what we take for at face value. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/11/rid-of-me-access-to-lonely.html

Rid of Me : "Access to the Lonely"

The album opens with a grungy dirge that explodes with anger in the chorus. They get into their brand of punk with "I'm so Lonesome I Could Die" which works off a more 90s feel with the expansive vocal-oriented verses giving way once again to a screamed chorus. They added a second guitarist for this album and you can hear how it adds in the denser sonic layers. 'Cut" is heavier and punches with a more sludge-ridden sound. My first impression is this is a heavier album. Dissonant guitar passages cut through, along with more guitars on this album, to add a more firey rock n roll attack. 

She really proves herself as a singer on this album, still maintaining punk integrity. There a many dynamic vocal colors being introduced. "Pavement" could have been an indie rock jam from the 90s. "How You Say It Is" is a catchy song with a strong melody and cool driving arrangement that makes it the best song so far. "Gutted" has a grungy Hole-like feel that we have heard from them before, though the more wandering guitar parts are more interesting than anything Hole ever did. "Hell of It" has an angrier stomp to it not unlike the rowdier moments of riot grrrl. The guitar creates more of a noise rock atmosphere around the angular churning. 

There is an interesting mood established with "Paid in Prayers". It is a little darker and more introspective. The vocals are a forceful declaration in the face of this sonic pondering. Things contract around a more punk-inflected chant. "Libertarian Noise Rock" finds them digging into a more syncopated crunch that recalls "Bleach" era Nirvana. "Feel You" is driven by the burly bass tone, but also leaves the vocals room for memorable melodies. The last song is perhaps the most brooding, despite the more hopeful tone of the lighter and higher vocal delivery. "Weight of  Your World" is an easy-going strummed ballad of sorts that works for what it is, but the bar is pretty high on this album so it comes across like filler. I will round this up to a 10, to say it's one of the year's best punk albums, is understating things as it goes above and beyond what punk normally does, and is the band finding an expanded sense of songwriting excellence. 

the Top 10 Punk/ Hard Core Albums of 2021

Given the state of 2021 it might be surprising that punk did not get angrier this year. Not that I am into political punk. Those albums I gave up on after two songs.  These albums have more passion to them. Two are made by bands that used to be metal bands, along with some post-hard core and screamo all fall into this category. Ok now that that is out of the way, much like in years past sort through the genre lists before making the overall top ten of the year list. The fact these artists 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. I do 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. Anyways here are the top punk / hard core albums of 2021

10-  Face to Face - "No Way Out but Through" 

I have not listened to these guys since the 90s, well at least on a regular basis there might have been a moment of weakness or three where I got nostalgic for this kind of 90s punk or perhaps was making a list for one blog or another that asked me to dip back into these years. Not much has changed and it plays to their favor. The first song with hookier and more melodic than when they default to the faster though more punk sound. This is more of an honorable mention for still being able to hold it down better than most. 

Abysmal Hymns: Face to Face : 'No Way Out but Through"

 

9- Harakiri For the Sky- "Maere" 

I have not really noticed any hard-core influence from these guys before. Not sure if this was a conscious change of direction on their part or not. Not devoid of their metal, it is just weird how right from the first song it sounds like a kind of Myspace take on post-hard core. To think these guys used to be a black metal band and now look at them over on this list. 

Abysmal Hymns: Black Metal History Month- Harakiri for the Sky : "Maere"

8-Panzerchocolate-"Postal Punk"   

New Hampshire band has a punky kick to its sometimes-metallic hard-core attack This is offset by the  more sugary emotive vocals. This band meets somewhere near the crossroads of emo and hard core bringing the late 90s to mind more often than not. 

Abysmal Hymns: Panzerchoclate " Postal Punk"

7-Wristmeetrazor-"Relica of a Strange Love" 

I really liked their first album, so the bar is high for this one. It opens with lots of wailing and gnashing of teeth for at this band's heart they are a hard-core band. A very emotional one. Even if their vision of hard core just goes back to the days of Myspace, I do not think they are faking the darkness here. Not all the songs are metallic and straight forward some touch on odd electronic sonic corners. 

Abysmal Hymns: Wristmeetrazor : " Replica of a Strange Love"

 

6-the Armed - "Ultrapop" 

These guys caught my attention with an absurd music video that just happened to also rock. Their rowdy sound is an all-out barrage that makes me think of what it might sound like if Deafheaven was jamming with Andrew WK. I appreciate the lust with which they go for it here even if it tramples the finer points of song writing. 

Abysmal Hymns: the Armed ; "ULTRAPOP"

5- Fiddlehead -"Between the Richness"

Here is the second album from this post- hardcore band that stirred up a buzz with the modest release of their debut that gained a cult following rather quickly. Falling somewhere between the jangle of 90s indie rock and the guts of hard core, they certainly care about the songs even when the more punk recklessness takes over. Though when that is kept in check with restraint and melody

Abysmal Hymns: Fiddlehead : " Between the Richness"

 

 

4-Angkor Wat - "Worst Enemy" 

 The most under rated thrash band of the late 80s. given the era they came from they do not have to try very hard to be more punk than the kids who want to call themselves punk today. This is the second metal band to make that cross over this year. Their 1990 album "Corpus Christi" was light years ahead of it's time, though both of their albums have held up over the years. They have remained marginally active since 1990, with a few small tours here and there and are now picking up where they left off as the first song rips into you have with razor sharp riffing. It is straighter forward than "Corpus Christi" so owes more to their first album "When Obscurity Becomes the Norm" 

 

Abysmal Hymns: Angkor Wat : "Worst Enemy"

3 Drug Church - "Tawny" 

The four songs on the Albany band's new album are a logical progression from where they left off with 2018's 'Cheer" album. All the things that worked best on "Cheer' are in play here. Where the opener has a more slacker 90s post hardcore sound they are angrier and more driving. They found their sweet spot and I hope they hold on to it. 

Abysmal Hymns: Drug Church - " Tawny"

2-Rid of Me - "Travelling" 

Somehow the fact the singer of Low Dose being in another band slipped past me. At times Rosenberg gets more aggressive with her vocals, the overall sound is burlier and noise rock oriented thanks to the beefy bass tones. At the end of the day the songwriting wins out and vaults them to the top of this list. 

Abysmal Hymns: Rid of Me : "Travelling"

1-Turnstile- "GLOW ON" 

The evolution of this band from hard core to whatever they are now happened from the corner of my eye , but now they have my full attention. In some ways there is a Fugazi vibe from the attack of the vocals. This is combined with a Helmet like punchiness . There is still plenty of room for taunt melodies. Musically they bring in sounds from all over the place. Normally I review albums in real time as I listen to them for the first time. This one is so good I played through it a few times before making it to my computer to write about this

Abysmal Hymns: Turnstile : "GLOW ON"

Rid of Me : "Travelling"

 Somehow the fact the singer of Low Dose being in another band slipped past me. Perhaps marginally less punk on the opening track until Rosenberg gets more aggressive with her vocals as the song builds. Her voice continues to improve as this might be more melodic, really it is one of those album's where we are just going to have to wait and see how this album unravels. "23" is more relaxed with a brooding more like mid-period Sonic Youth. Her vocals are not as detached as Kim Gordon, as she carries more melody. Things pick up into a more intense attack on "Travelling: Stormier than explosive, which is not a complaint as this sounds great, just an observation how they are just doing what organically seems to fall from their instruments. 

While I am assuming their name comes from the PJ Harvey album and can hear a mild sonic correlation there is a crossroads that seems to be where hard core and grunge met in the 90s. However, " I Don't Wanna" does find that grungy punk place that still wears combat boots. "Fun" has a heavier, darker and more sonic energy to it that I like. Most of this is driven by the bass line. "True (blue)" is moodier and more melodic as the music slithers around the vocals. "Spilling" is the first straight forward punk song. "Broke Shit" is a more rumbling noisy stomp. The vocals are yelled with convincing anger. 

"Pit" strips everything down to a palm muted guitar and the dynamic vocal exclamations of Rosenberg. This takes the soft to loud explosive trick from the 90s and blows it out of the water. the song slowly expands out of this with her vocals before the guitar crashes in.  The booming thunder of the bass line that is "Dealing" feels like AC/DC's "Hell's Bells" encapsulated by the bass alone and the rest of the band just happens to join in. I will give this album a 9.5, it might one day grow on me to be a 10, but with the reviews the scores is based on where I am at with the album by the time I press publish. This is heavier than the Low Dose album, but not a huge jump.