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

Gothtober- the Top 10 Goth Albums of 2023

 

Having already started the End of the Year List season of with the Top 10 Post-Punk Albums of 2023, it's time to move in a darker direction with the Top 10 Goth Albums of 2023. If this seems premature,  record labels have already sent me most of what this year has to offer. After I sort through sorting through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I use those lists to compile the top 10 albums of the year. 2023. Perhaps it was marginally better than the previous year, though given the current climate of the world, we are progressing on a downward spiral, making dark music more important as a soundtrack for this.   As far as 2023 goes for Goth, a lot of great music came out forcing me to make hard choices. 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 Goth albums of 2023.

10- Bosco Sacro-"Gem" 

This quartet out of Italy plays a very dark and atmospheric kind of music that is hard to pin down. . There is more in common with neo-folk or goth. The spectacular job of creating this can not be denied and a must for those into dark atmospheric folk.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/02/bosco-sacro-gem.html

 

9-Skeletal Family-"Light From the Dark" 

These guys are an old-school goth band from the 80s who reformed with a new singer. They came out shortly after Siouxsie so it's not like these guys are a new band trying for a retro sound that is just how it's going to come out,.Anneka Latta employs a broader range of influences. a wonderfully written album that touches so many sonic colors I enjoy.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/gothtober-skeletal-family-light-from.html

  

8- Male Tears-"Krypt" 

It reminds me a great deal of Drab Majesty and perhaps this is what happens when millennials grow up listening to Drab Majesty rather than Bauhaus. It is very dance-oriented, so I can see young kids requesting this on goth night. Everything is draped in a haze of reverb aside from the retro jazzercise beats. It grows on you, if you have a high threshold for synths. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/gothtober-male-tears-krypt.html

                          

7-Naut -"Hunt" 

It is hard to believe at times this is not a long-lost album from the early 90s I somehow missed back in the day. In many ways this is defined by the sum of it's parts and the influences that make those up but this album is also a great deal of fun.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/02/naut-hunt.html

 

6- Ville Valo -"Neon Noir"

Better than the last HIM album, aside from the happy moments and weak bass tone, it is surprisingly well written, not that I was not already clued into the fact he is more than capable of cranking out slapper, it is just good to hear that he still has it. while the production is not as dark as I might like the vocals are really dialed in.   

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/01/ville-valo-neon-noir.html

5-Night Goat - "Totem" 

This band from Portland is kicking up an interesting blend of sonic abrasion that takes Death Rock in a heavier direction.  Imagine L7 jamming with 45 Grave and you are pretty close to what is happening here. The vocals are tortured screams and moaning. It darkly broods like a storm closing in.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/02/night-goat-totem.html

4-Troller- "Into Dust"

 Troller's Relapse debut opens with the Texas trio droning through a thick atmosphere that is coupled with haunting vocals. Adam Jones of the band SURVIVE is working the synths of this album, so these kids did not just pop out of nowhere. They have a sound they are very focused on but make things interesting enough to tell a story with the mood.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/05/troller-drain.html

 

 3-VOSH- "Vessel"

This album's strength is how it splits the difference between the guitar-driven goth and dark wave. Their singer throws her voice around in an interesting manner, as they capture  a wonderful balance of old and new goth sounds

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/gothtober-vosh-vessel.html

2- Myrkur - "Spine" 

The refinement on this album finds her on the more ethereal side and blending post-rock with goth rock, since it has more drive, it is poppy in terms of melody but not in the saccharine manner of dream pop and feels like waking from a depressive episode in the woods, rather than a fey wonderland. She edges out VOSH due to the more organic way she achieved this. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/gothtober-myrkur-spine.html

1- 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

Gothtober -Wil’s 9th Annual Halloween Playlist

Here is my 9th annual Halloween Playlist. The world holds as many distractions and diversions as the previous years, I am just making a more concerted and intentional effort to focus on celebrations of the Halloween season around me since my soundtrack pretty much remains constant year. I believe if we forget the things that brought us joy as children, we will become miserable adults buried in anxiety over bills and the stock market. This makes a proper soundtrack dedicated to darkness even more needed to capture the magical excitement of Halloween. . Perhaps these songs might bring some sonic horror to ears and carry Halloween into the rest of the year for you. . This year all but one song are from new releases. I am continuing the tradition of not repeating artists from previous years. Goth and all its various sub-genres are the most obvious tombs to plunder, I am including a few artists that lean in a more rock or metal direction. Lyrically, the songs are at least metaphors for things that go bump in the night or are related to the season. This year’s theme seems to be death. As the veil between the living and the dead thins, may you be happily haunted and continue to play this loudly in dark places.

 

 Male Tears-"Domin8"

 

 Snow Ghosts - Curse

 

Still Patient - "All Dead"

   

VOSH- "Superstition"

   

                               

Orphans of Dusk- "Victim of a Vampire"

   

 Temple of Angels - "Torment"

   

Troller - "Gore"

   

Shores of Null- "A New Death is Born"

   

Night Goat - "Death Crow Dance" 

The Top 10 Goth / Post Punk Albums of 2023 so far

The great Tik Tok goth craze of 2022 is a distant memory to the lemming minded masses and it is  just another depressing day for actual goths to celebrate darkness. Since goth is about music with a side order of fashion, it's time to look at the mid year report card for goth, post-punk and industrial music this year.  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. Given my tastes things lean in the more death rock direction. I like my goth to be aggressive, to the point even one metal band made the list. Though most sub-genre's are represented here, though not much of interest in terms of dark wave as really impressed me this year. There is very few projects here that rely too much on electronics as I am a firm believer in actual instruments making music.  I have included links to full review if you want to check these out and with all that said here are the top 10 goth/ post-punk albums of 2023 so far. 

10-STAHV- "simple mercies' 

Maybe there is a DJ out in Seattle who is not afraid of music with instruments. They are likely bumping this album at their goth night while , those of us on the east coast might just have to endure the same old Front 242 songs. It pays homage to the sound of an era while not being chained to it. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/03/stahv-simple-mercies.html

  9--Miranda and the Beat-"s/t'

If Amy Winehouse was making  brooding post-punk that still favored her 50's inspired doo-wop the results would not be unlike what happens on this album. It offers a great deal of sounds and moods while sticking to the boozy back alleys invoked here. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/04/miranda-and-beat-st.html

 

8-Godflesh- "Purge" 

This time around the iconic duo embraces their 90s past, to create throbbing grooves that bring a mass hypnosis as the soundtrack to the current state of pre apocalypse. I mean the world could not have ended with out another album from these guys. The first trumpet from the four horse men, Swams, Killing Joke and the Cure will be the final blasts of the bleakness to come. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/06/godflesh-purge.html

 

7-Bosco Sacro-"Gem"

This quartet out of Italy plays a very dark and atmospheric kind of music that is hard to pin down.The singer uses her voice like an instrument, which I am a fan of rather than verse / chorus pop structure to songs. Artists like Dead Can Dance and Kate Bush , are a fair  measure of what is going on here, which is a compliment in and of itself. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/02/bosco-sacro-gem.html

 

6-Orphans of Dusk - "Spleen" 

This album is not  the most original thing , but I like where they go with and the toys they are choosing to play with are some of my favorite toys in the toy box. If you are a fan of gothy doom do yourself a favor and check this out. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/04/orphans-of-dusk-spleen.html

   

 

5- Ville Valo- "Neon Noir" 

It depends on how attached your are to this sounding like H.I.M , as to how you are going to respond to the sounds gathered here. This feels in many ways like a logical place for him to pick up after where he left his former project .

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/01/ville-valo-neon-noir.html

 

4-Naut-"Hunt" 

Most post-punk revival bands do not have this kind of power in their attack. It is not mistake these guys got signed to Season of Mist in many ways this is defined by the sum of it's parts and the influences that make those up but this album is also a great deal of fun.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/02/naut-hunt.html

  3-Night Goat-"Totem"  

 This band from Portland, is kicking up an interesting blend of sonic abrasion that is equal parts grunge and death rock on their second album. Imagine L7 jamming with 45 Grave and you are pretty close to what is happening  here. It ends up beings heavier than expected. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/02/night-goat-totem.html

2-Grave Pleasures-"Plagueboys"

My favorite Finnish post- punk revivalists are back. There is a more melodic quality in place on these new songs, that takes some of the more metallic edges off. On songs like "Heart Like a Slaughterhouse" they have taken their tried and true sound, echoing all the way back to when they were Beastmilk and polished it into something even catchier. The pleading baritone warble of his croon, even stronger due to the songs being written with vocals at the centerpiece.

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

1-Temple of Angels -"Endless Pursuit" 

I knew they were worthy to carry that torch of dream pop on the first song of their debut album. Fans of moody dream pop with a guitar fueled backbone  that jangles into your bones, will  perhaps be as wow'ed as I am by this album. Sadly it does not come out until July 14th , I promise this is an album to look forward to. For them to beat out Grave Pleasures for the top spot says a great deal.  

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

Temple of Angels : "Endless Pursuit"

Trying to re-create the early 90s dream pop sound  is not about buying the right vintage reverb pedals or using the plug-ins to get a sound, but about the passion of songwriting. There has to be the kind of wistful yearning that this band captures. I knew they were worthy to carry that torch on the first song of their debut album. The brisk two minute post-punk jangle of "Waving to the Wind" makes the most of Bre Morell's vibrant alto that separates them from other post-punk revivalists. They dance into similar sonic gardens as the Cure on "Lost in Darkness". Which despite it's name is hazy brooding alt pop rather what I think of as goth, though it's adjacent enough in it's melancholy to win over fans of the genre, 

"Love Spins Around" has more of an indie rock feel with a more plaintive male croon taking over the mic.  The first song I would call dark is the deeper atmosphere of "When Shadow Smiles" that finds one of the guys joining Morell on vocals, though her voice soars to the forefront to create a more emotionally complex moodiness. This is the first song that a DJ could slip into a set on "goth night" at the club, and less people would notice the stylistic shift. Not that the song is aimed at shaking latex clad booty to, but slithers enough to get the pale ones moving. Same could be said for the bass line to "Torment" which Bre compliments with one of her more ethereal performances. 

She continues to knock it out of the park with her nuanced yet passionate vocal performances on "Secret Places" .Her voice weaves around the guitars perfectly on this song. Which is impressive considering the layered tapestry of sounds she must work around. "Stay" finds a steamy smoldering plea coming from Morell that weaves a web of melodies around the bubbling undercurrent of guitars. The longing that is essential for this kind of music is not only heard in her voice , but the guitars of "the Hill" she only compliments it further. Drummer Patrick Todd takes over lead vocals again for the last song. Not as emotionally charged of a vocal performance his smooth croon carries the kind of indifference that marks the era of music it pays homage to. I will round this up to a 10, as the most heart gripping moments balance out the moments like the last song which work well enough. Fans of moody dream pop with a guitar fueled backbone will  perhaps be as wow'ed as I am by this album. Sadly it does not come out until July 14th so you will have to hold onto the song below in the meantime.