Julie Christmas : "Ridiculous and Full of Blood"

If you do not know Ms. Christmas from Made out of Babies then I am going to just go ahead and assume you know her from the album she did with Cult of Luna. The musicians she recruited to help her with this album provide a reasonable expectation of what sonic zip codes it's going take us in, as they include the guitarist from Cult of Luna, the drummer from Spotlights, KEN Mode's bassist, and John from Candiria adding guitars as well. So pretty every genre with post in front of it. Julie adds a playfully unhinged enthusiasm to her vocal performance, that reminds me a little of Rasputina. But with less baroque wistfulness. 

The first two songs are straightforward almost rock songs and the more profound experimentation does not occur until "The Ash" which lumbers like a robot coming to life. The angular ambiance works well to counterbalance her more emotive performance. If Bjork were to dabble in rock music that rocker harder than the Sugarcudes the results might be similar. "Think Skin " hits hard, with a burly bass and her more screamed vocals. She does not commit to her full-on growl until "End of the World" which wanders into more sludge-infested waters, though with rock hooks worked in. At 48 her voice continues to hold up well.  "Silver Dollars' covers more ground, but is less focused, though very true to who she is. 

"Kids" is more hopeful, almost coming closer to an Arcade Fire-like celebration of sound. 'the Lighthouse" wanders back to a more reflective groove. This gives her voice more room to be fully nuanced. It builds into a heavier explosion, that feels like a 90s soft-to-loud moment. "Blast " is more chaotic and carries noise -rock tendencies. The last song looms like a storm as it moves with a doomy trudge. Her vocals dictate the dynamics. Lyrically I can appreciate the "no god or heaven" sentiments. Overall this album is a great listen, she is true to her creative identity and always full of surprises, I will give it a 9.5, and see how it grows on me. 

pst287

The Top 10 Hard Rock Albums of 2023

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 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 Hard Rock albums of 2023.

10- Land of the Lost - "Weapons of Mass Seduction" 

 For a band to take the time to learn another artist's song and then take even more time to record it must mean that the song holds value to them. Or they would be focusing on their own songs. This makes their choices more telling. They put a lot of heart into covers of Billy Idol, Judas Priest, and Bronski Beat, along with beefed-up takes on pop songs. Harms' great voice makes it worth the ride. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/12/lord-of-lost-weapons-of-mass-seduction.html

9-Spirit Adrift- " Ghost at the Gallows" 

Spirit Adrift continues to be pretty consistent in terms of songwriting. Their newest album finds its final form becoming more soulful and melodic, while the energy fires up for the 70s-tinged swagger. There are plenty of chugs to appease metal fans despite a more Thin Lizzy-like mood beginning to creep in. This can also be heard in bands like Mastodon and Baroness, whose Spirit Adrift sounds to be taking a place next to the upper tiers of modern hard rock.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/08/spirit-adrift-ghost-at-gallows.html

 8-Nita Strauss  - "Call of the Void" 

As expected the new solo album from Alice Cooper guitarist opens with an instrumental that is high on the shred factor. She does this with melody and it sounds like it could conceivably still be a song rather than take you on a mind-bender of high-speed picking. I think this album does an ample job of showing who she is as a guitarist

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/07/nita-strauss-call-of-void.html

 7-Till Lindemann--"Zunge" 

The singer from Rammstein is debuting his solo album.  He had help from Sky Van Hoff of Machinemade God who has also produced albums for Rammstein, as well as other German metal bands like Kreator and Caliban. Carach Angren keyboardist Clemens Wijers also lent a hand to things. This album has some strong moments and more often than not delivers what you want from him even without Rammstein. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/12/till-lindemann-zunge.html

6-Djunah-"Femina Furens"

Here is the problem with the diversity push that spread into music, when a woman comes along making music worth listening to and thoughtful perspectives on her feminine experience are brought to the table, if it does not fit neatly into a marketing box then it falls under the radar. I can not believe there is no more buzz about this album, yet a bunch of garbage gets pushed down our throats regularly. In many ways, this could have come from the 90s. There is a grungy grit to the guitars. Sometimes their music has the blistering blitz of PJ Harvey's early days if coupled with beefier metallic bombast. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/03/djunah-femina-furens.html

 

5-Polkadot Cadaver - "Echoes Across the Hellscape" 

Where Dog Fashion Disco is more heavily influenced by Mr Bungle, these guys are straightforward melodic hard rock with a progressive slant. The songs are well written, playing it safe at times with  with strong melodies and interesting lyrics.nd really shines when it comes to songwriting on this one. Not metal for people who like the kind of metal we dive into here, as they will consider this harder-edged rock. Either way, it's very effective. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/12/polkadot-cadaver-echoes-across-hellscape.html

4-In This Moment - "Godmode" 

In This Moment has shifted through a few stylistic personas throughout their career. My favorite was the hyper-sexualized industrial grooves they dug into for their latex-clad "Blood" album. At 45 Maria Brink seems to be aware that dishing out the kind of aggressively erotic purring of the past, might have a more limited shelf life.  That is not to say she is ready to settle down onto the stages of  Vegas. She leans into the nu-metal resurgence. Not hitting as hard as Coal Chamber, but blending pop hooks with hard rocking riffage. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/gothtober-in-this-moment-godmode.html

3-Mutoid Man -"Muntants" 

Cave-In vocalist/guitarist Stephen Brodsky, is releasing the 3rd full-length from his sludge-tinged rock band. Joining him again is Converge drummer Ben Koller, who has been on board since the project's inception. This time around High On Fire bassist Jeff Matz is in the band. There is a rock feel thanks to Brodsky's smooth vocal delivery, but ample bout of math rock in collision with punk energy. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/07/mutoid-man-mutants.html

2- Spotlights - "Alchemy For the Dead" 

 This trio's sound has continued to evolve, as it does not place them somewhere between the shoe-gazing side of post-hardcore and sludge.  The latter is felt in the ominous punches that muscle through the more surreal tension being built. This album benefits from more fine-tuned production that allows for experimentation to pay off with the electronic sound dialed into the drums. The mix helps place each instrument where needed to make the most of its sound. This album gets better with each listen, and the shadows of its mood seep into your head.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/03/spotlights-alchemy-for-dead.html

 1-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

The Top 10 Rock Albums of 2023 so far

As the Doomsday Clock races, time speeds up, finding  2023 already at it's midpoint. These  lists serve as a decent snap shot 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 in-box, so they are really going to need to bring it in order to compete with the top five albums on this list. Rock is being defined here as  basically anything that is not metal, pop, or goth. It might be a little darker or heavier than what you listen to , so we are going by my definition since yours's can't be trusted. 

"But wait that is M....,"

Shut up... in 2023 if you are not bringing it at least as hard as Pantera , it's not metal .We are in a darker and heavier world so the soundtrack even when it is only rock n roll, should still fit the times.  I have included links to full review if you want to check these out and with all that said here are the top 10 Rock albums of 2023 so far. 

10- LA Guns - "Black Diamonds" 

 As long as both Phil Lewis and Tracii Guns are on board then I am fine with LA Guns. This album finds them  continuing to kick ass while their arena packing peers are fat floundering fools. If these guys can still do it with dignity then we should be expecting the same from the Motley Crues of the world. They open this album with a more Zeppelin like groove. At 66 Phil Lewis sounds incredible. They stay true to the era they are from, while not sounding dated .

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/04/la-guns-black-diamonds.html

9-Riverside -"ID. Entity" 

This album is very impressive and not too prog for its own good. These guys remember that they  are songwriters first and foremost. They are also songwriters with something to say that goes a long way with me. More speculation than shredding is a lesson todays prog bands could learn from. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/01/riverside-id-entity.html

 8-Tigercub- "the Perfume of Decay" 

This trio from England plays a glammed out style of rock that feels like a darker , more androgynous take on what Muse does. This is displayed on the title track opens the album. A trickle of angle guitar cascades of the groove, as the vocals coo over it all. They work more of tense groove rather than feeling the need to glitter bomb everything with grandiose choruses

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/06/tigercub-perfume-of-decay.html

 

7-Narrowhead- "Moments of Clarity"

Now  this band coats their songs with the glaze of shoegaze . The vocals are more introspective. The title track has a harder syncopated jangle, as they remind you, they did not leave their distortion pedals at home. The vocal lines pack a hookier punch hookier, as their song writing has been sharpened this time around. They use a similar formula, but with more dynamic ebb and flow 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/03/narrow-head-moments-of-clarity.html

  6- Queens of the Stone Age - "In New Times Roman..." 

The band does what they to well, though upon a  casual listen all the key elements are in place , though  perhaps due to the almost too pristine production, they sit weird together. Homme's vocals are in his normal cadence, but the highly compressed guitars have odd effects on them.  Though not a huge departure for the band, it perhaps does not rely on grooves as heavily as "Villains" .  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/06/queens-of-stone-age-in-new-times-roman.html

  5-healthyliving- "Songs of Abundance, Psalms of Grief"

Bringing together musicians from Scotland , Germany and Spain, this trio kicks up an impressive melancholic brand of driving rock that borders on metal. This keen sense of dynamics is what I listen for in music from all genres. The stark alto of Amaya is expressive. While  she is not a Siouxsie clone, you can hear traces of that influence. She proves to be a powerful singer capable of belting it out as needed.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/03/healthyliving-songs-of-abundance-psalms.html

4-Deathvalley Girls- "Islands in the Sky" 

This album is darker than their previous once ,as the band firmly adheres to creating astounding layers of sounds, but still serving the songs with them. They combine the 60s pop ballad feel with their more psychedelic pondering  creates something closer to Siouxsie and the Banshees than you might expect. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/03/death-valley-girls-islands-in-sky.html

   

3-Royal Thunder- "Rebuilding the Table" 

It's been seven years since their last album and the band went through some personal shit before returning reconfigured with drummer Adam Diprima back in the fold.  They can not be accused of doing more of the same and the lengthy break brought a fresh coat of sonic musing to the table. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/05/royal-thunder-rebuilding-mountain.html
 

 

2- Metallica- "72 Seasons" 

Sure there is  is some recycling and clock punching, to keep it from being perfect, but if you are a Metallica fan and wish the "Black Album' was more metal and power ballad free then this album is for you. It's fun which has earned it repeat listens . 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/04/metallica-72-seasons.html

1-Spotlights - "Alchemy for the Dead" 

 This trio's sound has continued to evolve, as it not places them some where between the shoe gazing side of post-hardcore and sludge. This album  gets better with each listen, and the shadows of it's mood seep into your head.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/03/spotlights-alchemy-for-dead.html

Spotlights : " Alchemy for the Dead"

 This trio's sound has continued to evolve, as it does not place them somewhere between the shoe gazing side of post-hardcore and sludge.  The latter is felt in the ominous punches that muscle through the more surreal tension being built. On "the Alchemist" you can hear how this album benefits from more fine-tuned production that allows for experimentation to pay off with the electronic sound dialed into the drums. The mix helps place each instrument where it needs it be to make the most of it's sound.  This is even more noticeable when the dynamics shift with the more atmospheric verses of "Sunset Burial". There is the loud to soft alt-rock dynamic of the 90s coloring the sound, but it's very effective.  

The comparison to bands like Failure becomes more pronounced on "Algorithmic" . Fuzzed-out guitars provide the needed heft to balance out the introspective melodies. "False Gods" has a little more of a straight-up rock feel to it. Though beefy sonics of the guitars give a heftier edge. The sax that wails out into the song is a nice touch., that compliments the guitars. I dig the odd-time groove that moves "Repeat the Silence". The vocals coast over it smoothly. Ballad in the Mirror" works off the stomp of guitars, as the vocals are a softer texture to provide calm in this storm. I can hear how fans of the Deftones might also appreciate these guys. 

There is a thicker woozy shoe gaze ambiance hanging over "Crawling Toward the Light" . The ring of its melody falls somewhere between the Cure and My Bloody Valentine, before things explode with a more yelled vocal. The title track that closes the album, is an odd choice it is an almost Elliot Smith-like ballad that is fragile until the other instruments converge up on it in the final minutes. It is the only moment on the album that did not grab me upon first listen, but I will still round this album up to a 10 as it gets better with each listen, and the shadows of its mood seep into your head.

Spotlights : " We are All Atomic"

The New York shoe gazers are back with their shadowy take on the genre. There is solid blend of shadowy mood that creeps up through the atmosphere on the opening song. I like how percussive the bass is and mixed into the drums. The vocals are the typically hushed drug lullaby that is typical for the genre. There guitar tones are all masterfully recorded . It sounds pretty fucking gorgeous. I know the headphones I have on lean towards a more bass driven mix, so this is going to be an album you need head phone for rather than trusting your computer speakers. The crunch down and get heavier with the more sludge influence sound that colored the previous album. This is also complimented by a more shouted vocal. That is not to say they are done with more melodic and subdued vocal. It's a great balance of dynamics.

For the records none of the songs have titles , they are only listed as parts. You might as well see this album as one work, almost like a symphony as it is a movement. This can be frustrating if you want them to come with the songs like they did on "Love & Decay" They have a fresh new sound, but recycle it some on the second song which sounds almost like a continuation of the first song. It still sounds great , but is a little redundant from a song writing perspective. The third part is under five minutes and works of tension. It sounds good , not unlike the rest of the album , but the first half of the song still finds you hanging on what is little more than a jammed out intro . In the last minute a more upbeat riff comes in to give it some drive, but it's all build no pay off until the next song.

Maybe this is intentional . If that is the case it's kinda pretentious as that is not how rock music should be ingested . They build off of the third song in the last song of the album. It's almost kind of Tool like in how the groove is to coiled and allowed to the explode. I can hear some Failure in this as well. It is a good thing this song really pays off what they were building so it kinda hard to get mad at them for getting proggy with this concept. There is a dynamic ebb and flow to this song ,which is allow to expand retract. I do not like this as much as " Love & Decay" , but it sounds great as for the most part is really well done, despite the issue I previously state which will not keep me from giving this album a 9.

Spotlights : "Love and Decay"

The question I am asking myself upon the 2nd listen of this album is what are these guys doing that Nothing or My Bloody Valentine don't already do. There is a more post rock like atmosphere to the opening track. The drummer has some chops and this is well recorded. Sometimes the guitar has more of an indie rock feel. Sure Nothing also does this , but there is less of a 90s feel to it. I like the groove and the effects on the vocals of "the Particle Noise". The vocals are typical shoe gaze breathy male that tends to fall . The bass tone is pretty burly which gives the bulk of the heft to their sound. There is a little more of an alt rock feel to the guitar of "Far From Falling".  While their sound is dialed in, they are also not shabby in the song writing department and keep things pretty dynamic.

"Until the Bleeding Stops" finds them more firmly in Nothing's zip code. When the guitar solo comes it is clear the are more polished in that department. But guitar solos are not really Nothing's thing. There is more of a grunge feel to "Xerox". Think the Catherine Wheel here, but with more detached and spacey vocals. It's a pretty straight forward song.  There is a little more of a lazy glaze to the haze of sound running through "Age of Decay" which buckles down and has a heavy chug which might be the album's most metal moment. They continue to get more aggressive on "Mountains Are Forever" . The vocal even get more forceful. They are shouted with anger. 

The album ends with it's most sprawling song. It combines so interesting elements with a electronic beat against clean guitar. Midway into the song it smooths out into a powerful groove. I will give this album a 9. It wades through the influence of the genre past and present to find itself. The nailed the sound and made them songs.