The Top 10 Most Disappointing Albums of 2025

Here's the second annual installment of this list that looks at that were more hype than substance for various reasons we can see here, ranging from nostalgia to wanting to offer a diverse or inclusive list rather than just focusing on which albums have the best songs. People live in such a warped reality bubble they can not handle disappointment and would rather pretend the emperor is wearing clothes than admit their favorite artists are falling short. My role has always been to call out things for what they are, as a form of quality. These are not bad albums, but they did not live up to what these artists did in the past, except for one entry that improved but was never that great and got a critical pass from mainstream music media for reasons that have nothing to do with music.  There are only three artists  that are favorites of mine that missed the mark a bit, but in the interest of honest journalism, those are the ones I must draw the most attention to, so here are the top 10 Most Disappointing albums of 2025

10-Dream Theater- "Parasomnia"

They ranked low on the list, as I expected this album to be bad since most have been after "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence." The fact they score an 8 is better than what they have done, but does not hold up against their best work.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/02/dream-theater-parasomnia.html

9-Militarie  Gun   -"God Save the Gun". 

They lost what made the previous album unique, despite having leaned in a more Tunrstile direction, they sound like every other California band that wants to be Blink 182. But it is well done for what it is, just not what I wanted it to be. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/12/militarie-gun-god-save-gun.html

8-the Haunted - 'Songs of Last Resor.t' 

This band might have come about after At the Gates ' 90s breakup, but clearly, their existence is reliant on Slayer as well. They bring the more melodic Swedish guitar solos to the party, but that really feels like the only thing that sets them apart from being a Slayer clone themselves. Some riffs are more Slayer-influenced than others, but the death metal intensity is tempered with the fun-loving thrashing. However, for as long as they have been at it I expect something more original.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/the-haunted-songs-of-last-resort.html

7-Fallujah -"Xenotaph"

 Guitarist Scott Carstairs is the only original member of this band. The last album I reviewed by them was "Undying Light," which I felt played it safe and moved in a more metalcore direction. Things are in a more progressive direction, though it does sacrifice some of the heaviness, and over-produced layers of vocals create an Opeth sound when they would be better served following the path of Cynic

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/03/fallujah-undying-light.html

6-Model/Actriz - "Pirouette"

The first song made me Google

"Is Jamie Stewert from Xiu Xiu in Model/ Actriz??

No, it turns out Colde Haden is doing his best impersonation. This album was released in May, and there has been some confusion among listeners who mistakenly believe it is industrial music. But no, it's not, and yes, I would rather listen to Xiu Xiu despite the hyper here. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/09/modelactriz-pirouette.html

5- Machine Head - "UNATØNED" 

Not letting freedom ring like a shotgun blast here, and most songs are reduced to following current metal trends.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/04/machine-head-unatned.html

4-Billy Idol-"Dream Into It." 

This album gives the impression that his voice has not aged as well as live performances have shown, and the songson this album don't help, though he still scored an 8.5.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/04/billy-idol-dream-into-it.html

3-Turnstile - "NEVER ENOUGH." 

The original review was a 9.5, and I think a 9 might be more accurate as it did not keep my interest aside from a couple of songs and fell short of what they did on their previous album in terms of the punch it packed.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/06/turnstile-never-enough.html

2-Higher Power-There is Love in the World If you Want it." 

An 8 is a decent score, but the overall direction almost made them seem likea  different band as they are not playing to their strengths in this creative shift'/

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/06/higher-power-there-is-love-in-world-if.html

1-the Weeknd - "Hurry Up Tomorrow." 

This album scored a 7.5, when he is capable of creating 10s. "Beauty Behind the Madness" was his creative peak, and with "Star Boy" things began to become streamlined for radio audiences, and he has been on creative decline ever since, while shifting his focus to absurd things like movies and TV shows that failed. This should not have come as a surprise. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/02/the-weeknd-hurry-up-tomorrow.html

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The Weeknd : "Hurry Up Tomorrow"

The Weeknd was once one of this blog's most beloved pop artists.  "My Dear Melancholy" was great but not as great as his work before it, with "After Hours" and "Dawn FM" showing a progressive decline into pre-manufactured mediocrity. He diluted his creative vision by dabbling in non-music-related projects along the way. The tale of the tape on this album does not have me going into it with confidence as was rolled off the assembly line by  45 songwriters on 22 songs and 21 producers on this album. The opening track is a multi-layered disco track that could just as easily be Bruno Mars or Justin Timberlake. 

There is a flicker of hope in "Cry For Me" as it's more sonically interesting than the first song, though lyrically his edge feels like it's dulled for mass consumption. "Sao Paulo" breaks from his post-"Star Boy" so it works for me. "Baptized in Fear" is marginally darker, but not as inspired. Lyrically it's a little better than the "Cry For Me. "Open Hearts" gets more of a groove going. It might be the best song so far.  'Reflections Laughing" and "Enjoy the Show" feel like they run together. The voicemail narrative bridges these two, not surprised Future shows up. It's not his most inspired moment either. Then we get into some overproduced ballads. "Given Up on Me" is a little better than some of these attempts. 11 tracks into a 22-track album I'm just hoping I don't have to sit through another song as boring as "Given Up On Me"  

This hope is not given any more strength in "I Can't Wait to Get There" though it is better than the previous song. Playboi Carti does a better job than Future when it comes to his contribution to "Timeless". "Niagra Falls" is lyrically better than the bulk of the album if we are weighing this against what is consistent with his overall body of work. Perhaps to the point of being creatively redundant. He rides the line between romantic and misogynistic with enough subtly to not get canceled. I guess while we are on redundancy, "Take Me Back to LA" feels pretty phoned in. Sure the synth wave sound captures the retro feel they are going for, but the song itself is somewhat empty. 

Giorgio Moroder pretty much invented what we think of as disco. At 84 his creative tank is running on empty when it comes to "Big Sleep".  "Give Me Mercy" finds the hi-hat helping pick the pace up from getting mired into another ballad. Though no one is going to call this the best song on this album much less his career. The more minimalist approach used to arrange "Drive" fails to provide the needed backbone this song needs.  I was looking forward to hearing him give things another shot with Lana Del Rey as their collaborations were always at least decent, but they are both losing relevancy here.

"Red Terror" does not really work, as if feels like he just got desperate and agreed to sing over anything they there at him. He feels like he is trying to remember how to get back to a place he once worked on "Without Warning' but can't find direction. The beat that kicks in at the two-minute mark would have sufficed at one point in his career but goes only into all too familiar places with none of the edge he once held. The title track that closes the album is boring, but at least it's over. I'll round this down to a 7.5, it's a bloated mess, that could have been a great EP as there are 6 cool songs buried in this ballad soaked debacle. This album dropped with little buzz considering he was once a huge pop star everyone was into a few years ago, so I think this is why he has become less than memorable.One Canadian import we can do without.  

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The Weeknd : " Dawn FM"

The 5th album by Tesfaye finds him hovering in a synth wave direction not unlike what he did with the last album. To his credit he does employ a little different vocal approach on the verses to the first actual song. "How Do I Make You Love Me", finds him coasting on familiar futuristic grooves that take less chances than he did on the first song.  I know I am never going to get him to go in a direction as dark as "House of Balloons" again, so I am just asking for the shadows of "Starboy" disco, instead we are getting upbeat fragrance counter muzak . I am ok with this even up until "Take My Breath" which as formulaic as it finds him settling still works as a song. 

This all goes down in a much less offensive manner than what happens on Lil Nas X's "Montero" album it does highlight some of the problems with the pop music hit making machine of today. He is one producer shy of Lil Nas X's 15, for a frame of reference, Pink Floyd's "the Wall" has two not including David Gilmore and Roger Waters. he also has only had a handful of engineers compared to the 23 that works on "Montero".  You would think the more songwriters an album has the better it would be, the more the merrier and all, well he beats out Lil Nas X with a whopping 27.  By the time we get halfway into the album it is clear this is not the case. "Sacrafice" still holds my attention with its more organic feel. The production does have this as sleek and plastic as you could want pop music. "Out of Time" however sounds like something Quicny Jones has the good sense to cut from " Thriller".  

Jim Carrey's DJ narrations were done better on Queens of the Stoneage's "Songs for the Deaf" album.  Once we get mired down in ballads things really go south. I am not opposed to him doing ballads, we have just gotten better from him, so why settle for this boring clock punching.  I am still rooting for him to redeem himself on "Best Friend" as the syncopation takes more chances than your normal color by numbers pop. The self-help cliches that color some of the lyrics clue us in to the fact that perhaps he is not doing drugs in the same way he has in the past which is giving a silver lining to the songs that keeps him from being as soul wretched as he was on his better material. His smooth jam ability flies better on "Is There Someone Else" . "Starry Eyes " feels like a much less interesting continuation of the previous song and makes you wonder how all 27 songwriters were asleep at the wheel on this one.  If the vocals were not spoken on "Every Angel is Terrifying" it might have been a pretty decent song instead of an interlude.     

"Don't Break My Heart" finds him taking a few more chances and keeping total disappointment at bay.  He falls back into his comfort zone with "I Heard You are Married". It's not boring like most of the radio so it works for what he is trying to do here. "Less Than a Zero" has a 70s post-disco feel. It is better than the bulk of the songs on this album. I think an 8.5 is a fair score for this album, making it the lowest scoring album thus far and I have been reviewing his work since 2015. If you were going to call it a sellout you are in the right direction although did have double digit producers on "Beauty Behind the Madness " you can tell he had more passion for his job then as a factory worker.    

the Weeknd ; " After Hours"

The opening track is so atmosphere heavy it's almost there. This album does dip much deeper into electronic sounds. The second song goes beyond making cools sounds into actual song writing. His voice is buried in effects this time around. I am fine with this as long his songwriting skills are kept as finely tuned as previous released. Some of the effects are shed on "Hardest to Love".  It might have to grow on me, but the vocal melodies do not grab you like those on "Starboy" or the albums that came before it. I do like the chorus doesn't conform to what you might expect from pop r&b. My other first impression of this album is it is not as dark or melancholy as his previous efforts. Even on a break up song like "Scared to Live"  he is more in Seal territory and not really breaking the kind of new ground he is known for.  He is singing the words and hitting the notes , but I do not hear him feeling it like he used to.

I am also wagering he has toned down his drug use. It does come in the lyrics like on "Snowchild" which is the first song that captures the feel he tapped into on his other albums. It touches on places he has been before on "Beauty Behind the Madness" without sounding like he is retreading, which is what I want from him. "Escape From LA" is not as strong of a song, but it feels a lot closer to what I want from him than how this album started . As far as beats go "Heartless" so far wins . It's also one of the album's most well written songs. It hits all the marks as far as what I want from him. "Faith" kind of splits the difference between what we know works for him and the new more atmospheric side. Taking a shot at new wave is not new for him. He has done it better than he does on "Blinding Lights". It's not a bad song , but I have heard him do this better. It might grow on me.

He continues to use these new wave synth sounds on "In Your Eyes" . I was hoping for a Peter Gabriel cover, but instead we warmed over pop. I am glad it's more up tempo, but not his finest hour in terms of songwriting. 'Save Your Tears" keeps the 80s vibe , but doesn't fell all that inspired. The title track the album ends with starts off in atmospheric murk and pulls it together mid way through with a solid groove. This one is going to need to grow on me I will give it a 9, which would be better than most artists can do , but when it comes to him, this is the lowest score he has earned from me.

the Top 10 Pop Albums of the Decade

The decade began before this blog was started, rather than relying on  previous reviews., I am embedding video clips to support the reasoning for these albums to be listed as such. I  already did a best of the year list for each sub-genre. Pop , hip-hop and electronic music have been sorted into separate lists .  Maybe these are not the hippest albums of the decade when it comes to this genre, btu what matters more is the fact these are the albums I listened to the most when it came to this sort of thing. ; Any ways here are the Top 10  Pop albums of the decade.



10- Halsey- Hopeless Fountain Kingdom" - 2017 








9- Madonna -"Rebel Heart" 2015











8- Karin Park - "Apocalypse Pop" - 2015 











7- Ed Sheeran - "Divide" - 2017



 





6- Miley Cyrus - 'She is Coming" - 2019






4- Twin Shadow - "Eclipse" 2015 










3- Pale Waves - "My Mind Makes Noises " 2018













2- the Weeknd -" the Beauty Behind the Madness"- 2015




 




1- Taylor Swift - " 1989 " 2014





 

The Weeknd " My Dear Melancholy"

I was afraid that he might have become too preoccupied with being a TMZ personality and consumed with the celebrity of being a celebrity or trying to make comic books to focus on music. He has had enough in the way of personal drama to fuel a song or two , but would this happen. If he pushed the pop envelope further I felt he was going to lose what set him apart from the other mainstream r&b singers, though artist could apply to him the same can't be said of his peers who are closer to being entertainers than musicians. My fears were laid to rest as picks up where he left off before "the Beauty Behind the Madness" . It has a much darker feel to it and employs some of the pitch shifted vocals that remind me witch-house. "Hurt You" is the only song that really strikes me as coming from the era of the "Star Boy".  This is mainly do to the beat which has more of an 80's 808 sound and a few bpms more up-tempo than the other murky ballads.

The six songs breeze by pretty quickly. I think with all the press in his personal life we know who these songs are about. It is a similar brand of ballad as "Earned It" though with less sex fueled momentum. It's more introspective and shows him feeling sorry for himself. "Try Me" feels like an over all better song. Musically the production is more interesting and experiments a little. He floats up into a falsetto. The chorus is chanted with more of a hip hop hook to it. He has some pretty good lines in "Wasted Times" like his dick is in auction and if you are an equestrian then ride it like a champion. We also get more of the witch house pitch shifted vocals and a more interesting beat.  It is slicker than when he used to do this sort of thing, but more money is changing hands when he goes into a studio these days. There is a weird juxtaposition between the darker current running under the synths on "I Was Never There " and the more hopeful melody of the vocals. The vocals feel less focused and more like they are wandering around the song. The hook is more focused on "Hurt You" which I have already mentioned. I am not sure I feel the same depth of emotion on this one, but it's a decent song.

The album closes with "Privilege" which is thick on the atmosphere and more minimal. Vocally its a fine performance, think it could use a more solid beat, but as far as pop ballads go it's better than most. The first song he really mentioned drugs, so I think he might be sobering up a bit in real life. No coke references. I'll round it up to a 9.5, not his strongest work , but good enough to fit along side the other albums for now.

This Was 2016 ....My Year In Music

2016 was a hard year, it came to a crushing conclusion that is opening a frightening new chapter, and I have hinted and mentioned certain events in various posts and social media, those closest to me in real life know the details, others might just have clues, I have shared my life in writing and pictures with you on this blog so here is my 2016 month by month paired up with the most fitting song. Some of these fit more neatly than others. In OCD like fashion I debated with the committee of one in my head how to do this. At first this was going to be all songs from 2016, and while there are some I think the songs gathered here provide the most fitting soundtrack to describe what the past year of my life has been like. There are multiple layers and emotions connected to various events in certain places in time, so I am trying to depict the shifting perspective of the years events in a manner than not as cryptic as it could have been. I'll let the music do the talking from here.

January -the Talking Heads - " This Must Be the Place"


February- The Decemberists - "Of Angels and Angles"


March- The National - " I Should Live In Salt"




April- Black Foxxes - "Slow Jams Forever"



May - Peter Murphy "Keep Me From Harm"



June- Cold War Kids- " All of This Could be Yours"


July- Siouxsie and the Banshees - "Happy Home"


August - The Weeknd - "Attention"


September- Pallbearer- "the Sound and the Fury"


October - Sia- " Elastic Heart"


November Planes Mistaken For Stars - "Clean Up Mean"


December Taylor Swift-"Back To December"

the Top 10 Pop / Electronic Albums of 2016

We have a column called "Report to the Dance Floor" so the more twerked out nature of this list should not come as a huge surprise. There are a couple albums that are somewhat more organic than  others, then at the other end of the spectrum we are throwing hip-hop in with this since it's certainly not organic music. So here's to the guilty pleasures of booty shakin that rocked the iPod in 2016.

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10- Jane in Space - "s/t"

 On this projects debut the vocals are very moody, they remind me of a more low key version of Stabbing Westward. The vocals are the center piece with the beats wobbling and clicking around them, Sometimes they have more effects on them. Sometimes they are more up front than other times. By the second song Night Riots was coming to mind, though this project is much darker. This is much more ebm than industrial. It is a very hazy narcotic dance floor that these songs dance upon. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/11/report-to-dance-floor-jane-in-space-st.html

 8-  Night Riots- "Love Gloom"

Just speaking of these guys ...right from the first song "Nothing Personal" it's obvious we are going a more Gotye pop route with this. There might be a little more gain on the guitars, but don't fool yourself if you want to make this more rock than it is. I love pop music. This might come as a surprise, but after I have been sitting in front of a computer listening to death metal all day that is the last thing I want to hear on my walk to the gym. With that stand their is some excellent song writing at work here and vocal hooks galore.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/10/night-riots-love-gloom.html





7- Body of Light- "Let Me Go "

These two brothers from Arizona sound like they are Euro-trash. They look like a couple of kids from the straight edge scene rather than pumping out the up tempo new wave tinged dance found on this album. With the second list the song's groove began to sink in. While there are some of the quirky plastic coated staples from the earlier of new wave that spawned artists like Depeche Mode, these sounds move and flow in a very modern manner. If you listen close enough you can here the retro mood is deeply intertwined with a modern dance feel, leaving the croon of the vocals that steps out further in the mix by the time you get to the third song.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/10/body-of-light-let-me-go.html

6- Gucci Mane - "Everybody Looking"

So never reviewed this album. This is big dumb fun that I listen to when riding the train into the hood.

5- Dalek-"Asphalt For Eden"

Here is the 7th album by this hip-hop duo, I would call them experimental, but they are doing it right and everyone else is lazy.They come on strong with a dark dense sound, that might be argued to offer a shoe gaze take on hip- hop, but Massive Attack already does that. They continue to get darker on "Guaranteed Struggle". The Mc has skills, but unlike mainstream hip hop where the backing track is often uninteresting the lyrics sit back in the music in a manner that has more in common with punk or metal production that pop music.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/04/dalek-asphalt-for-eden.html

4- Bat For Lashes -"the Bride"

 Natasha Khan's voice is just as impressive as it was on "the Haunted Man". She sticks close to the shadows and continues to pick up where Sinead O'Connor left off in her hey day.
. I'm fine with her becoming more of an ethereal torch singer. I think she might have a edge of Lana Del Ray here because her pipes slightly outclass Ms. Del Ray. Not sure if lyrically she carries the same edge and that might be where Lana edges her out. I can say this album takes less chances than "the Haunted Man". I would say perhaps this is just a phase, but it feels more like a cause of her maturity taking her in a different direction that might not be where I prefer her to go. She has a great voice and this album is pretty damn good, for me it really depends on if I am in the mood for this sort of thing.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/09/bat-for-lashes-bride.html

3- Aesop Rock - the Impossible Kid"

 This is one of my favorite new school MCs. Right from the first song the new album hits like hip hop should. There is a dark under current to the electronic whirl. His voice is front and center with his dizzying flow schooling the inferior MCs that the masses follow out of ignorance. I was a little worried because his verse on the new Atmosphere felt dialed in, but the first song on this album pretty much blew away Atmosphere's whole album. He slows down a little on "Rings". Then midway into the second song the wheel in my ahead begin to spin and I find myself asking "Is this as good as "None Shall Pass?".There are no awkward dips into r&b or anything with pop aspirations just bad ass verses that can't be stopped. Yes it holds up to his other work.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/09/aesop-rock-impossible-kid.html


2- Future-"Evol"

 ... Aesop can rp better than Future there is no question and the duet with the Weeknd "Low Life" got me in the door no question, but it's a fun album with stupid but effective hooks that made me come back to it's trap attitude take on maoinstrean rap that erned so many listens from me.

1- the Weeknd- Star Boy

 The tone of this album is much different and embracing more of a dance vibe with strong ties to house music. With the amount of drugs is supposedly does this is no surprise. The Micheal Jackson influence can be still felt on songs like "Rockin" though musically it is much more like Euro dance

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-weeknd-star-boy.html
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the Weeknd : "Star Boy"

I have been waiting for this one ever since I heard the title track which I have been wearing out, though I have avoided other spoilers so "Party Monster " was a happy surprise. I had seen the video for "False Alarm" and was still as unsure about that song as I was the first time I heard it. In some ways it reminds me of Bloc Party. This is not the only hint of new wave as "Secrets" would not be out of place on a Pet Shop Boys album.   The tone of this album is much different and embracing more of a dance vibe with strong ties to house music. With the amount of drugs is supposedly does this is no surprise. The Micheal Jackson influence can be still felt on songs like "Rockin" though musically it is much more like Euro dance.

This is dramatically less of an r&b album, so when the ballads do come with songs like "True Colors' it has more of a pop feel.Lyrically there is also a little more hope and much less self deprecation as he beings to see how functional of a drug addict he may or may not be. I'm really sure about the interlude Lana Del Ray gets on this album, but it's pretty unoffensive and finds her in more of Siouxsie like place. I am not much of a Kendrick Lamar fan so I was braced when it came to " Sidewalks". It is not the album's strongest song , but the competition is pretty fierce. "Six Feet Under" which reminds me more of his "House of Balloons" period falls out of the previous song and is more than solid. It sound like like Future is on this song as well as "All I Know " which he is credited with. This songs feels more like something that Future would be on more so than the more foreign depths of " All I Know"

The lighter tones of this album are once again demonstrated on " Love to Lay", which could be a Phil Collins song. It's a lot happier than I think I am ready for considering where I am in life, but well written and I commend the use of colors that are very different than what we heard from the last album. "A Lonely Night" grooves in a much more light hearted funk infused way than the title might suggest. When it comes to break up, he is not taking them as hard here. "Attention" does sound like more familiar territory, though it is not ground that is being re-tread. Lyrically this song rings true for me in regard to relationships past and present. Production wise things are pristine and one of factors that prevents this album being as dark as some of his other work. "Ordinary Life' winks that " No Ordinary Love" in the way it kicks in. A little of the shadows creep in on "Nothing Without You". It's ballad but with enough electronic elements to keep it from wallowing in the emotions.  This is another song whose lyrics hit me as being  pretty timely." Die For You" is another powerful break up song that creates a weird blend of pop, electronic and soul.

When Daft Punk re-joins him it is for a very late 80's Michel Jackson styled piece "I Feel It Coming" which I do not hear fitting on the radio as well as "Starboy".  Well crafted and true to what Daft Punk would bring to the table I think there are much stronger songs on this album. Overall lighter in tone , but still a well crafted and written album I'll round it up to a 10.

 

 

The Top 10 Vocalists of 2015

Often left as the icing on the cake or as an after thought these days , particularly with metal, vocals are what I scrutinize the most and is most often the deal breaker for me. Here we are talking about singing, there are a couple on the list who incorporated screaming in various degrees into what they do , but this list are the singers that went that really poured their hearts and souls into each note.

10-Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden

 This is almost more of an honorable mention as there is more strain on his highs which are not as high as well even a "Matter of Life and Death" , but then again being the Trooper , Bruce came back from a bout of cancer that could have made matter's much worse so that combined with taking his age into consideration, Bruce still does better than most.

 9- Lariyah Hayes of Khaotika

Hayes dominates "the Flame Unleashed" with a range that dips down into a urgent alto before soaring up into her more power metal soaring register. She manages to pull off a classic metal vocal without getting mired down in cliches of 80s metal yodeling. Even at her most melodic she doesn't take away from the heaviness of her band and can rough it up with the boys who provide most of the backing growls. Expect big things from her in the future and check out their most recent album if you have yet to give it a spin.
 



 

8- Joy Von Spain of Eye of Nix Joy

Von Spain  can belt out an operatic soprano, but isn't afraid to tighten up her vocal cords and give an anguished scream either. Her vocals set "Moros" ahead of the pack when it comes to bands experimenting with sludge encrusted metal. The dark back drop her band sets behind her compliments her voice and gives her the breathing room to belt it out as needed. Projects like Myrkur which might have gotten more press tried their hand and similar, Von Spain just executed it with a broader emotional range and a more expansive set of pipes.
 

7-Kennedy Ashlyn of Them are Us too

 While Ashlyn's style might wear it's influences on her black sleeves. To pay such homage to Elizabeth Fraser is a feat in and of itself and she nails. You can hear who she is and she doesn't sing in her own made up language so this is not a total hero worship affair. She bends her melodies with fey grace and really made "Remain" an album I keep returning to.
 

6-Ryan Adams

 It was a bold move to cover an entire Taylor Swift album. Up until this point I had respect for Adams and had a curiosity in regards to his stuff ,but the passion he injected into "1989" sealed the deal. He takes pop melodies and puts is heart into them blending a style that mixes Bruce Springsteen with Tom Petty, but much more melodious than either and allowing me to really hear his voice as never before.
 

5- Chelsea Wolfe

 "Abyss" found Wolfe stepping out of the ghostly shadows and baring her voice in a more vulnerable manner than largely shed the effects dripping approach she did so well and showing a lot of growth. Live she was even more impressive, and her praises have already been sung on this site a hundred times over, you are probably shocked that she is ranked higher and while she had the best album of the year , she worked well within the context of the songs and got the job, where the next four singers really caught me by surprise where I saw Wolfe coming a mile away. This is not to say she wasn't awesome after all anyone who made this list really accomplished something considering all the albums I heard this past year.
 

4- George Lewis jr aka Twin Shadow

 Here is where it gets really competitive , "Eclipse" hung tough on my iPod thought out thanks to smooth melodies Lewis had such mastery of . He was often dark yet very soulful and encapsulated everything I could want from a male pop singer as far as dynamics go, despite the fact he largely stays out his head register and I'm a sucker for a good falsetto, but we'll get to that one soon enough. His voice always goes to the perfect places in the song making for something very infectious.
 

3-Emma Beth Rundle - Marriages

 She really came into her own on "Salome" and displayed a more emotive power and greater range. At times she sounds like Tori Amos, but this speaks more to her willingness to cut loose and pour her heart out into the songs, which earned other singers like Ryan Adams a place on this list as well. Emma just managed to make my jaw drop a few more times than most.
 

2- Miny Parsonz of Royal Thunder

Miny  brought it on "Crooked Doors" taking her voice up into places where classic rock gods used to go. She not only flexed her pipes to a greater extent on this album , but really created melodies that stuck in my head and had me listening to this album in binges. She went to some grittier places and also back off and offered some more reserved lines that were just as emotional due to her willingness to get real lyrically and immerse not only herself in the experience , but the listener as well.
 

1- Abęl Makkonen Tesfayeaka aka The Weeknd

 When he preforms at the Grammys this year the secret will be out of the bag. I told you I'm a sucker for falsetto, by Abel comes with a Michael Jackson like tenor, but with more of a gangster lean to it. His music is darker than any soul music has been since Marvin Gaye's "Here My Dear " album, with Abel singing out drug induced antics in a tongue and cheek manner than has a passion to it that makes you wonder where his legend begins and life ends. "Beauty Behind the Madness" is what pop should be.
 

the Top 15 Albums of 2015

OK, this pretty much speaks for itself as this is overall, no genre left behind and ranked by how much I actually listened to it though out the course of the year, which is an impressive feat for an album to stay in rotation as I sometimes listen to an upwards of ten albums a day and that just to review, not counting in the car, walking to the gym etc. So here are the Top 15 Albums of 2015.

15- Tidemouth :"Velvet And Stone"

 If there had not been a hardcore/ punk list this year, this album would have been on the goth list. The trend in the maturation of hard core kids seems to be pulling out Nick Cave and Echo and the Bunnymen albums. This could be due to the interest in vinyl these kids took a few years back which might have caused them to stumble over these old 80s albums. I am fine with this as long as they do no become to slavish in their devotion only to Joy Division. I love Joy Division , but I do think dark music begins or ends with the. in the they do not abandon their hard core side. It is put through a darker filter. An incredible album that gives me just what I needed , they blend the "gothy" elements in a very fluid and natural manner similar to how Atriarch does this with metal. Each listen the more hard core emoish parts grew on me. It's one of those albums that becomes more enriched the further you dig into its grave. Worth your time for sure if you like dark and heavy music, these guys got the balance right without trying to hard.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/06/tidemouth-velvet-and-stone.html






14- Shape of Despair :"Monotony Fields"

 this Finnish band has taken the past fifteen years to perfect their very melodic and atmospheric brand of doom . The vocals range from are a low gurgle, to female oohs and aahs stacked like Type O Negative in the background. The stay on a depressing path through out. The oppressive feeling is almost tangible. The band is aware they have been notorious for putting long spans of time between releases, so everything is right where it should be with every nuance dialed in, so it was not time wasted. It might not dig as deep and dark of a grave as other funeral doom bands , but the songs are masterfully varied and dynamic to create an awesome album.

  http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/11/shape-of-despair-monotony-fields.html

13-Nechochwen : " Heart of Akamon"

 West Virginia is an unlikely breeding ground for this kind of music. Roughly black metal in some sense, it is highly progressive in the same manner as old Agalloch. The clean vocals are stronger and they layer clean sounds and the more metallic grim ones through a different lens than the Portland band. In some ways these sounds are blended much like their label mate Panopticon. The clean tones are very organic and often allowed to stand along. The blast pretty furiously into "Lost on the Trail of the Setting Sun". The drums are masterful insanity in motion. The footwork pretty breathtaking even in a genre where it is expected. The vocals are well layered and punchy. While they work in many twists and turns over the course of a song they do not exceed the seven minute mark. They are also good at not placing the clean vocals in the obvious Killswitch places to make it the good cop/ bad cop dynamic.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/12/nechochwen-heart-of-akamon.html
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 12- Them are Us Too: "Remain"

 Right from the first song Kennedy Ashlyn Wenning's voice makes you take notice, before "The Problem With Red Heads" allows her to shed some of the Elizabeth Fraser worship when the duo drifts into an alluringly dreamy rock. Sure this would not have been out of place on  4AD, in the 80s and the band encourages these comparisons. This also reminds of the Gatherings post- metal moments. Her choice of melodies shows she cares abut crafting something that is not just a tribute. I can almost hear more Cure than Cocteau Twins until Cash Askew's guitar comes to prove he has discovered the lost secrets to Robin Guthrie's sound.Their influences might be worn on their sleeves ,but lets face it the Cocteau Twins are never going to make another album or tour again.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/04/them-are-us-too-remain.html

11 -Strangeweather: "S/T"

 Another album that forsakes metallic overdrive and instead employs a more organic yet dark hearted Neo-folk with an Appalachian breeze blowing through it. The members switch off vocals resulting in a wide range of moodiness to the dirge like mourning allowing each instrument and voice embraces while adding another swathe of gray to the sonic tapestry. hey have really created something unique here. The lyrics carry the indignant unease of post- punk, while they set upon a soundtrack with the elegance that is the x-factor many a wanna-be goth bands just doesn't get . This brings the emotional weight making it heavy in feeling rather than metal.When I played this for my wife just dismissed it as more of the droning drug music I like, so you have to listen to this as a whole work to really get the full effect or have to have been involved with heavy narcotic use for a period of more than five years. Do not play while operating heavy machinery.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/03/strangeweather-st.html />

10- Iron Maiden- "the Book of Souls"

 Right behind Black Sabbath when it comes being one of  the most revered classic metal bands  of all  time. This is for good reason as they have they have maintained tons of integrity over the years even if they did break down and use keyboards and made the poor choice of trying to replace Bruce with Blaze. This album upholds their legacy and I would not be surprised if it was their last as it feels they want to try everything they have yet to do and make the most of every solo. It would not be out of place if I decided to make a top ten power metal albums of the year or a top ten prog albums of the year... the latter being more likely as I doubt I listened to ten power metal albums this year, however they transcend both of those genres. Have done better and it might not be on the level of the albums that came before "Fear of the Dark", which is a bar held incredibly high, But they never outright miss the mark and even if this was just dialed in it would still be better than everything else. But that is the beauty of this they are still committed to putting their all into what they do and there is a lot of heart put into this, they are just older and wiser with that wisdom compensating for the fire that was in their music when they were a younger band, this is still an album made by one of the greatest bands ever.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/08/iron-maiden-book-of-souls.html

9- Eye of NIX : "Moros"

 This is more experimental than prog, though it is progressive in the sense the songs go somewhere. That is more can be said for many so called prog bands that remain stagnant in favor of wanking on the fret board. The album starts off as a more post-rock version of Dead Can Dance. Lead singer Joy Von Spain lets it all out in an operatic soprano as things get blasty beneath her. Male growls add a grit to their shifts into crustier paces. While Mykur gave us similar dynamics earlier this year, each end of the dynamic range here is pushed a little further. Joy is dynamic range extends into the not afraid to shred her vocals chords a little with some screams. Sometimes they play by the more typical metal rules and the veer off into slow-core. They sometimes build into the type of chaos that can be found in some of Swans' freak out moments but with a more metallic command.They incorporate every element of music that love into this one album in a cohesive fashion.

  http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/10/eye-of-nix-moros.html

8- Kylesa : "Exhausting Fire"

 These Savannah rockers continue to evolve, in someways that makes them progressive , since they are not where I first found them when I picked up a copy of "To Walk a Middle Course" ten years ago. There sludge roots are still intact but they have enough dark psychedelics is place to appeal to the hesher sect. They used to cover Pink Floyd, so this side of the band should come as not surprise.  Laura's vocals which have continues to grow sometimes take on a more Siouxsie like croon to them. There are plenty of balls this times around injected to these heavy grooves. After a dazed and glazed cover of the Sabbath classic "Paranoid" the path of the band is best in explained in the lyrics of the closing song where Laura says she is throwing caution to the wind and taking her chances again here. Even when they wander off into a more heady direction the bass line holds down the fort, until they bring the smack down the happy ending that blazes out with solos in true rock god/goddess fashion. Another moment of triumph for this band.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/09/kylesa-exhausting-fire.html

7- Health :"Death Magic"

 I first questioned some of the reviews where this project referred to as industrial, they seemed more like edm with a dark and dirty slant to it and a kick , but Industrial ? Well it took many listens to convince me of this. This is their sixth album and it's been five years in the making, so no wonder  they  have become masters at layering some clever vocal melodies over yearning grooves to create some hooks that sink into your brain and pull you along for the ride. The first hint it might just be industrial came in the tribal pound of  drums that open " Men Today" that has some noise to it , while the sounds assembled are cool , for an album with such emphasis place on sex and drugs it feels sometimes like foreplay with no climax.Until the subtle hooks are latched into your brain. There's an old 80s dance feel to "Flesh World" the androgynous are very fey in the same manner of Sliversun Pick ups or Savage Garden. There are some glitch ridden sounds thrown into the sonic jumble. I have always wondered if the remixes are going to sound better than the originals , then why not just make the original songs sound like that in  the first place? Well the solve that by making "Flesh World" sound like it has already been re-mixed. This album made me want to go back and dig up their earlier stuff, which I was unable to do since I was so hooked on this one.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/08/health-death-magic.html

6- Ryan Adams : "1989"

 This album served as the methadone for my Taylor Swift addiction. My wife doesn't like Taylor Swift, she is banned from being played in the car, but this album is totally acceptable. Ryan Adams who also must be a pretty big fan as well as a metal head...just look up his cover of "Holy Diver", made a bold move in covering Swift's "1989" in its entirety and the results are pretty great.He really makes these songs his own which is an impressive feat and colors them with more of a Bruce Springsteen feel.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/12/ryan-adams



5-the Weeknd : "Beauty Behind the Madness"

 Abel Makkonen Tesfaye goes about things in a manner darker than your average r&b singer  and has been known to sample both Siouxsie and the Cocteau Twins, his drug use might explain for this taste in music .He gives many winks to another addict...Michael Jackson. Lyrically the album has bi-polar moments, either he's a pimped out playa or hopeless romantic in the tug of war his pimp side is lyrically more interesting. He is a master of hook and they keep me returning to this album.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/12/report-to-dance-floor-weeknds-beauty.html

4- Tribulation - the Children of the Night

 Was a little torn as to if this album even belonged here, until I went back and listened to the album and "Music From the Other " sealed the deal. While I liked the band's last album, but found them much more fascinating of a creature on stage when I saw them open for Watain, so I am hoping some of those more progressive and wandering qualities have carried over from the road and right from the first few chords of the opener it seems like they have. There is an almost Opeth like lushness to the sound. They don't use the traditional metal crunch, instead just going for an organic tone that they are playing loudly. The vocals are more intelligible than the previous album. When they dive deeper into the darkness answering the question what would it have sounded like if DeepPurple had written the soundtrack to the Exorcist. This is another step forward for the band that continues to grow with every album, they blend the more classic metal elements in with their more ethereal colors with ease, as they are not afraid to push the bounds of what death metal can be.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/03/tribulation-children-of-night.html

 

3-Twin Shadow: "Eclipse" This album caught me by surprise I'll tell you right off the bat it's a strong contender for album of the year. From the first song he shows you how to make a chorus carry the most emotional impact possible.Who said pop music has to be a bad thing? More common with the 80s he sings in an urgent baritone, think Corey Hart but with a larger dose of soul injected in the phrasing. It's a crime not to check out this piece of greatness. Every vocal oozes like a hook in it's own right, one of the most perfect vocal performances.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/03/report-to-dance-floor-twin-shadows.html

 2-Royal Thunder: " Crooked Doors"

 This band continues to evolve from the blues soaked stoner rock, they have put the Black Sabbath albums away and now have become more of an indie rock band that takes on a rough edged hard rock dynamic. On the opener "Time Machine" which the band premiered on Npr,  Parsonz puts some angry husk to her voice when the band begins to climax toward the end of the song. The band was never fully committed to being a metal band even they they had a fetish for playing with metal bands , but they have taken another step away from metal with this album. This is not a bad thing as the new direction lends it's self to a compelling array of sounds and emotive glimpses into who this band is.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/03/royal-thunder-crooked-doors.html

1- Chelsea Wolfe -Abyss

 This might not have been the metal album every one hope it would be but it all works together perfectly. She might balk at being on this list because she denied begin goth when I interviewed her, though she said she like Nick Cave and the Cocteau Twins so she is in denial. This album might not be metal but it does have some pounding beauty. She stays true to her ethereal vocal style which works well over the hammering beats. Though "Iron Moon" seemed surprisingly heavy when the song was first released in the context of the album she is giving you are breather. Even more experimental than "Pain is Beauty" the fuzzed out bass to "Dragged Out" rumbles over her ghostly plea that sits back into the dark background. The chorus builds into a more industrial din as the song expands and contracts.he has not disappointed, in fact exceeded expectations  and the bar was raised really high. I didn't think she could beat "Pain is Beauty" , but that is what has happened.


http://www.cvltnation.com/cvlt-nation-interviews-chelsea-wolfe/

the Top 10 Pop Albums of 2015

I think we know that pop music is my favorite palate cleanser to start the day off with before I spend the rest of the day listening to blacksludgepostdeathcrust metal. Granted my taste is pop is generally darker, and many of these albums would have been battling it out in the over crowded goth list, one of the artists even self identifies as goth.

 10- Camouflage : "Greyscale"
 In the same club as Twin Shadow , but coming from a much more Euro vibe. Think Depeche Mode. Well I don't have to tell you to think anything because if that doesn't come to mind when you hear this I'm not sure what blog you are normally reading. This is however better than anything Depeche Mode has done since "Ultra". They are not totally stuck in the 80s as a song like "Laughing Proves". No wonder the title is "Greyscale" as that is how dark this album is.  So not goth, but it will appeal to goth's who have "Violator" in heavy rotation, as this is which era of Depeche Mode this projects draws inspiration from. They do tend to ride some of the grooves into the ground, but it allows the songs more of a drone.It goes in a chill wave sort of direction, so you have to be in the right mood.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/05/report-to-dance-floor-camouflages.html

9-Lana Del Ray : "Honeymoon"

 When I'm not making a pop list she is obviously more mainstream the majority of the artists I cover, but has enough melancholy to her sound to have her place along side some of the other female artists covered here. She said this album was going to be filled with muddy trap energy and inspired by late night drives listening to Miles Davis. She employs elements of sound to make the album feel like a 60s western soundtrack. Her voice glides with her typical cool croon like it is business as usual. She closes the album with a cover of the Animals " Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" that retain in the organ some of the trippy 60s feel. Overall this album might not be "the Ultra-Violence" as the lyrics are not as biting and the ballads are sleepier, but she excels when she does what she does best.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/11/lana-del-ray-honeymoon.html

8-Prince: "HITNRUN Phase Two"

 Once upon a time the only artists I listened to who were not metal were the Violent Femmes , David Bowie and Prince. I got "Purple Rain" X-mas of 1984 and hung tough with him despite changing his name to a symbol and the Bat Dance not parting ways with him until fifteen years later with  s"Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic", though the last I saw him live was on the "3121" tour. The opener might have the social commentary similar to his "Sign O the Times' album,  so it no surprise the upbeat opening remind me of a slower paced "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man". His guitar  has a jazzy Frank Zappa like cadence  following the chant of "if there ain't no justice there ain't no peace" . His voice sounds like he hasn't aged a day. The only sign of age is in his mellowed approach to rock, which finds his guitar using a cleaner jazz tone and forsaking the wild man Hendrix wail of feedback.In some ways it is unfair to compare this album to "Around the World in Day" which is a place in time that he can never get back to but where he is finds the Purple One at a much better place than I expected and makes me want to back back and listen to the albums I missed out on , because if they are as good as this one it will be time well invested.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/12/report-to-dance-floor-princes-hitnrun.html
 
7-Puscifer : "Money Shot"

 Before you balk at this album being on the pop list, first ask yourself what are you doing reading this in the first place if you don't like pop music. Tool used to be one of my favorite bands. A Perfect Circle was up there as well. Puscifer seemed like Maynard's stab at doing his own Massive Attack , but heavy on the jokes. The first album he mainly used his lower range and further separated himself from being the voice of Tool.  First off the album sounds great but sounds best through head phones. More focused on songs and less focused on jokes , with more of an emphasis placed on songs. Closely harmonized with female voices it sounds like this could have been written for a Perfect Circle album that never happened.Even though Former Ministry bassist Paul Barker lays down the grooves this is not industrial, nor is it dark enough to be goth or organic enough to be rock, it is what is good catchy songs, do you not think that what defines pop, it's just low on the sugar.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/10/puscifer-money-shot.html

6-Madonna: "Rebel Heart"

 Me and the Fabulous Ms. M have been out of touch. After "Music" we parted ways, she went on to have a mid-life crisis and released four albums none of which had anything that entered into my consciousness, but then again when I quit doing drugs, I also quit frequenting gays bars. The first song on Madonna's new album "Rebel Heart" makes it apparent gays bars are where she has been hiding out making music. This is perfect for my climate so there is a bit of a nostalgic edge to this which gives me a appreciation for this album which in it's initial sales haven't impressed the rest of the world , but what do those sheep know about good music any way?Oh, well it is what is, don't believe the hype saying this is a bomb, because it's not creatively , try to get the expanded edition there some songs that are actually better than some of these , but this still is getting a 9.5 as Madonna is back in biznasty.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/03/report-to-dance-floor-madonnas-rebel.html

5- Dr. Dre : "Compton"

 Things have changed in the hood. While working on the film "Straight Outta Compton" Dre was inspired to make this album, only his third full length. This album does not feel like a  companion piece to the bi-opic about the rap crew that put Dre on the map, which he produced as well. This is not a retro homage to his days in NWA and perhaps to a fault finds it's place in the modern hip-hop market. While I wore out my copy of "the Chronic" in high school, when I quit smoking pot thirteen years ago rap listening took a decline. Post -Tupac rappers got krunk and began writing twerk anthems because truth be told they just didn't have anything to say as it became harder to distinguish hip-hop from pop-music. The lyric " we load up pro-tools" on Dre's first team up with Kendrick Lamar explains one of the things that has changed in how Dre assembles his beats.The last song finds Dre doing what he does best without having other mcs crowding him. At times This album feels like it is serving two masters he is trying to make sure at 50 he can still sell albums to kids of today while doing what he does best, however this is better than any other hip hop album that came out...the Dr is in.
 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/08/dr-dre-compton.html

Karin Park : Apocalypse Pop"

She already has two Grammy's in Norway and this is her fifth album, so if there is any doubt as if the six foot three fashion model knows what she is doing , this album is a resounding yes. The album opens with a driving pop song with rough and tumble beats pumping under the otherwise carefree vocal.My finance drew Lorde comparison in her fleeting listen to the first single off the album "Shine" which I can hear in her phrasing that sometimes rides the rhythmic line between singing and rapping on a you be be as broke as you want/ you can be as drunk as you like". The lyrics on this album are incredible and often explore her dysfunctional relationships.Needs to be played while driving fast on dark roads...high on coke optional.

abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/05/report-to-dance-floor-karin-parks.html

 3- Chvrches: "Open Every Eye"


 Funny enough I decided to break down and give Chvrches a shot a few weeks ago after hearing them brought up on the State Of the Goth Scene panel at this year's Dragon-con. While not what I consider goth they do have a more serious lyrical tone than most of today's pop music and much like Twin Shadow are an act that proves pop doesn't have to be a bad word. their last album some reviews compared it Taylor Swift's "1989". They took that as a compliment. And this might come as a surprise to readers here who normally click on for the goth/metal/ punk reviews, but I have gained an appreciation for Swifts last two albums. The hooks are addictive and the same can be said for Chvrches. Lauren Mayberry continues to ooze with the same youthful glee that Swift also possesses, the difference being more lyrical as Mayberry doesn't always have to be the protagonist in her songs. She has little regret for not always being nice claiming on "Leave a Trace" that she is as sane as she ever was. Mayberry might make you dance , but she didn't show up to the studio trying to start a party. Fans will not be disappointed if they liked the last album.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/09/report-to-dance-floor-chvrches-open.html

2-the Weeknd : "Beauty Behind the Madness"

 Abel Makkonen Tesfaye goes about things in a manner darker than your average r&b singer  and has been known to sample both Siouxsie and the Cocteau Twins, his drug use might explain for this taste in music .He gives many winks to another addict...Michael Jackson. Lyrically the album has bi-polar moments, either he's a pimped out playa or hopeless romantic in the tug of war his pimp side is lyrically more interesting. He is a master of hook and they keep me returning to this album.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/12/report-to-dance-floor-weeknds-beauty.html

 1- Twin Shadow: "Eclipse"


 This album caught me by surprise I'll tell you right off the bat it's a strong contender for album of the year. From the first song he shows you how to make a chorus carry the most emotional impact possible.Who said pop music has to be a bad thing? More common with the 80s he sings in an urgent baritone, think Corey Hart but with a larger dose of soul injected in the phrasing. It's a crime not to check out this piece of greatness. Every vocal oozes like a hook in it's own right, one of the most perfect vocal performances.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/03/report-to-dance-floor-twin-shadows.html