Drinking the Blood of Christ : Goths For Jesus ( a curated playlist)

 

This was inspired by a post on the “Goths Against Cancel Culture” page that posed the question regarding Orthodox Christianity and being “goth,” which spurned my initial reaction, being the similarities between Jesus and vampires, themes of resurrection, blood-drinking, and the power to compel others to do your bidding. Then I began to consider where the core principles of each lie. Even here, the answers brought more questions, as if goth is a romanticized celebration of darkness and Jesus is the way, the truth, and the light, would not worshipping a sun-god be a conflict of interests? However, Lucifer means light bringer, so perhaps he is another aspect of Jesus? This would go along with Gnostic teachings.

Then there is the matter of whether you are actually following the teachings of Christ, and where the principles align with goth culture and the thematic elements celebrated in the music. In the mythology of Jesus, he lays down his rulebook for his followers, saying they were to be a light in the world, before going on to say they should not be angry or lustful, and if you take away those two things, along with darkness, is it really goth? I think this might be best answered by turning to some of the most notable goth anthems to see where they weigh in on Christianity, so here’s the ‘goths for Jesus?” Playlist

Type O Negative - "Christian Woman"

"all through mass manual stimulation - salvation."

 

 Marilyn Manson- "GodEatGod"

"Dear God, can you climb off that tree?" 

Genitorturers - "120 Days " 

"You're Free from original sin." 

Nine Inch Nails - "Head Like a Hole" 

 "Bow down before the one you serve..."

 

Samhain- "Mother of Mercy" 

"We All Want Our Time in Hell" 

Skinny Puppy- "Crucible" 

>

"Good and evil does not exist 

 

 

  Christian Death- "Spiritual Cramp" 

"Walking on water in  a sea of  incest." 

Ministry- "Psalm 69" 

He wants you to suck off the holy ghost and swallow the sins of man

Twin Temple -"God is Dead" 

"I'm such a lucky girl to have burned up the last church in the world" 

Electric Hellfire Club-"Kiss the Goat" 

"Pray to Satan, Pray to Satan, Pray to Satan" 

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Patriarchs in Black : "Home"

We are venturing into the project with two music legends, Johnny Kelly of Type O Negative fame, and guitarist Dan Lorenzo, who played in the groundbreaking Non-Fiction.  The first two songs are blues-based doom tunes, the opening track featuring Kyle Thomas of Exhorder, who belts it out in his trademark husky soulful swagger. This is a strong song that only holds marginal Sabbath influence in the verse riff. "The Call" which finds Karl Agell from "Blind" era C.O.C., taking the mic, makes me think of Tony Martin; he belts it out in a more nuanced manner than what you might expect from him. Midway into the song, he picks up more of Dio's snarl, as the pace picks up.

Mark Sunshine brings a more unique vocal color to "Burn Through Time". It's higher, making me think a little of the '90s band Collision.  "Frisson" is a more delicate interlude with strings moving the melody. "Kaos" finds things getting much heavier with a more nu-metal groove, as the vocals take on a harsher bark. Joe Ferrarra sings his ass off on 'Storm King" which is back in the more traditional metal style of doom. Things get darker and more melodic on "Celestial Yard" which finds Mark Sunshine returning to delivery an even more nuanced performance. 

"Where Do You Think You're Going" features DMC from rap legends Run DMC, taking the verses, as operatic vocals hover in the background amid many sonic layers to create a rich tapestry of sound. John Kosco from Revel at Dusk, lends his voice to " Beline" which finds itself at the sorrowful intersection of grunge and doom. Mark Sunshine, who is one of the album's main vocalists, now with three songs on this album, returns to a vocal delivery similar to his first appearance on "Pointed Fire."  They take a slight turn to a more rock n roll feel for the blues-based"Enough of You" with Frankie Diaz on vocals. Then they go into a more old-school Biohazard style of NYHC for "Ready To Die"  that has Kelly Abe from "Kaos" on the track. 

"Shadow Grasp" is the song that comes closest to Kelly's Type O Negative past, though I can hear at other points in the album where Non-Fiction's groundbreaking work is referenced, thanks to Dan's forward-thinking playing. Mark Sunshine returns to close the album with the doomier boogie of "Sweet Blood". I will give this album a 9.5, and see how it continues to grow on me, but would say it's one of the year's best doom-minded albums without finding itself too confined to the genre. 

To see my interview with the band, click the link below... as well as "like" and subscribe to stay current on when other interviews with your favorite artists and paranormal / geek culture experts!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBWoOWEqFPI&t=31s

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Neon Nightmare : "Faded Dream"

Spirit Adrift's Nate Garett does his best Peter Steel impersonation for this obvious tribute to the band, which might not perfectly nail down what the Brooklyn base metal legends did, but it's close enough to tell what he is going for. The sound, can all be dialed in. I am sure he was able to download the amp setting, and effects patches, not just on guitars, but the vocal effects especially on "It's All Over" which might as well have been a cover of "Red Water". 

Vocally his strength is being able to mimic Peter Steele's phrasing, allowing his voice to fall on the intervals Steele would have chosen. But where he falls short is his inability to belt out of his chest voice to emote like Steele. He also does not drop that far down into the lower more vampiric range Steele was known for.  There is a little more originality on "LATW2TG". He does make more of an attempt to capture Steele's higher belt on this one it feels like he tried to cram every idea from "World Coming Down" into this song. At almost eight minutes, he does capture the spirit of Type O, in how they wrote long almost progressive epics that sprawled out. 

The lead single "They Look Like Shadows" at least makes more of an attempt to do its own thing and dials the Type O tribute back to a more respectable level. Then they dial it back up for "She's Drowning"  as he emulates their use of harmonies on this one. This might as well have been a cover of "Blood & Fire" "Promethean Gift" is the last song which is over nine minutes long.  There is less of a direct narrowing from a particular song, rather he plays of the tropes Steele dealt in. There is less of a goth mood to these songs than what the band actually did. Granted when trying to imitate someone they just go for the easiest elements  Garett can capture. But a band like Type O is hard as they covered a wide range from more punk songs, to growing Sisters of Mercy moments that were still plugged into 60s psychedelic. This tribute is just stocking to the broad strokes. I will give this an  8.5,  due to the lack of originality, I already own the Type O albums , why listen to some one imitate them ? Out on 20 Buck Spin.

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The Top 200 Greatest Rock Singers - 30 to 21

Now we are in the top 30 and  harder choices are having to be made. I am having to be more honest with myself; in what we are doing here which is focusing not only on technical vocal ability, in terms of range and power, as well as their dynamics, phrasing and the overall character of their voice. Can they emote from different places? How well does their voice hold up live? . How they control a crowd or their entertainment value as performers is also not a factor; there are some great front men who are also sub-par singers. There are also not going to be any Bob Dylan like singers, who are better songwriters than vocalists.

Pop singers, are far and few between, with; a few country or jazz singers who crossover just enough to qualify for this list, while having a significant influence on rock music. Don't expect rappers on this list or metal vocalists who just scream or growl, but never actually sing. I am keen on singers who are derivative of other singers. The bulk of these do their own thing, the few paying tribute to other artists made enough of an impact with their music. Having a unique vocal quality is going to be one of the most important factors often trumping technical ability. If they sound too much like Steve Perry from Journey after listening to their vocal coach rather than developing their own style, it is also not going to fly. Some of these might have been ignored by mainstream music media, but by the time we get to the top 10, I am sure it will all make sense, so here are the Top 200 greatest rock singers.

30-Chino Moreno

From hushed cooing to full on hard core like screaming, his voice has grown over the years which kept his band from being lost in the mire of nu metal an evolving into their own thing.

 

 29-Maynard James Keenan

The Tool singer who has branched out into projects like A Perfect Circle and Puscifer, has come a long way since he was raging with more of a metal band on the Opiate ep, though even then we heard his potential. He might not try as hard these days, but laid the ground  work well.

             

 28- Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

 Not only the greatest of his kind but he brought his traditions into a modern setting by working with western producers. His voice is a spiritual experience.  

            

27-Skin 

 The front woman for Skunk Anansie knows no bounds when it comes to what she does with her voice. It is a shame they never broke bigger in the States as their are singers who have tired to do what she does and got more credit for not even covering half the ground she does vocally. 

               

26 Cedric Bixler

How often would a band like Mars Volta find themselves putting out songs that are even better than what they were doing 20 years ago. Cedric is the reason for this. Not as aggressive as he was during At the Drive In, he has taken his androgynous voice to new highs.  

           

 25--George Michael

 After he shattered the world with the Faith album , he followed it up with an album that solidified him as the best make POP singer of his era. He should have been the one to replace Freddie. 

        

  24- Chris Isaak 

His smooth style of melancholy rock a billy crooning with a mellow western feel , would not hit like it does without his mastery of his falsetto yodels. His low end notes are gutsy and he has tons of power, making him even better live than in the studio.

 

23-Chris Cornell 

 The Soundgarden singer continued to make an impression on people with his solo career before he died. He had a Robert Plant like wail to his voice that made him stand out among his peers who were just baritones.

   

22-King  Diamond 

You might be surprised the King is not in the top 10 , he would if this was just metal singers. He does have the best metal yodel, but metal yodels alone does not the best make, that is even including his death metal demon snarls and doomsayer moans .King Diamond is great at the songs he wrote , but can you imagine him covering some one else in his style? 

  

21-Peter Steele 

How did Peter Steele beat out King Diamond. It was a tough, but, given his band's penchant for covering a song and making it better and his resonate baritone that finds him being able to gracefully navigate a wider range of melodic territory , unless we were ranking by voices most likely to summon Satan then King wins hands down.

 

A Pale Horse Named Death : 'Infernum In Terra"

 I really liked their last album they released two years ago. Obviously I am also a big fan of Type O  Negative , as well as Life Of Agony, so kept an ear open when it came to what Sal was doing. Up to this point I have appreciated it but did not really give enough of a listen to become a fan until the last one. There is less of the doom vibe that pervaded the last album and more of a Alice In Chains flavored grunge vibe. Less rock n roll, and more intentionally darker metal. There are flirtations with Hot Topic styled goth on songs like "Cast Out From the Sky". In the 90s there was a great deal of darker grunge that had one ear open to what was going on in Los Angeles. Not the more elegant Sisters of Mercy style goth Type O Negative flirted with , but more post- Reznor Marilyn Manson vibes.

There is a more relaxed rambling sense of melody to the more rock tinged "Shards of Glass' which would have been radio friendly in the 90s. Not a ballad but the guitar is not as thickly distorted and more strummed.  The way the vocals are doubled on "Lucifer's Sun" bring it back to more of a grunged tone, even as the guitars get heavier and more  droning.  "Two Headed Snake" finds them paying more homage to Sabbath, who was a hug influence on Type O Negative so this is old news, but done in a way where you hear them dressing this up with some of their own sounds. "Slave to the Master" features vocals that are not as inspired and feel like they are just color by number, to the narcotic pulse of the song that could have been better.

There is a little more of an interesting groove to "Devil's Deed" which seems to be about drugs. The vocals work better on this one, an element that on this album feels more hit or miss than on the last album. It falls somewhere in the sonic spectrum between Godsmack and Marilyn Manson. "Reflections of the Dead" is the last actual song, the track after it is just a piano outro. It was a cool song to end it on and perhaps the most Type O of the bunch as it has a depressive drone to it, not doom, but darker grunge. I will give this album a 9, very solid song writing, if you are a fan of the band this might be a more grunge / hard rock direction and less metal but the songs are well done. This album drops September 24th 

Gothtober - Looking Back in Anger at Type O Negative's: "Dead Again"

In sorting through the top 20 goth albums of the past 20 years list I have been working on I was having a hard time recalling which was the best album between "Dead Again" and "Life is Killing Me" . This is how I am going to to do it .  In fact I am going to review all the albums I am nominating for this  that came out before I started this blog 8 years ago. The title track is more in their punkish mode. It's good and works for them, not my favorite Type O song. I prefer them a little darker and doomy. They are back into a more up tempo punk thing for "Tripping a Blind Man".  It does progress into a groove that highlights Steele's under rate bass playing. It is not until "the Profits of Doom" that I get what I was looking for here. Even then it's three and a half minutes into the song until they give it to me. The piano going into "September Sun " reminds me of "Home Sweet Home"  This is the first perfect Type O song on this album. It has all the elements I need from thing and done well.

Their more punk paced songs might not be my favorite, but that doesn't mean I am totally opposed to this side as it can be done right like on "Halloween In Heaven" .  The female vocal that comes in is a different touch for them.  The vocal on "These Three Things" feels a little cumbersome.  Three minutes into the song it smooths out into a more melodic direction. When it breaks down the guitar begins to do some really cool stuff and as a whole the guitar on this album is the glue more so than on previous releases since "Slow Deep & Hard" .  The only cross over classic like "My Girlfriends Girl Friend" is "She Burned Me Down" . In fact it's the second half of this album that is strongest. Steele begins to finally use hsi more Sisters of Mercy like lower register.  It has incredible dynamics and proves they could move into  more progressive direction.

"Some Stupid Tomorrow" is more straight forward. It returns to the faster more punk sound.  The guitars are at times hookier than the previous punk moments. "An Ode to Locksmiths" might be the album's best song. The best vocal melodies on the album might lie here.Listening back to this album I can here where the guitars are in a more limber rock rock n roll zone.  The rock groove dominates the second half of " Hail and Farewell to Britain".  I think I got my answer as I am giving this album a 9. But check back and I will see how "Life is Killing Me " goes.

A Pale Horse Named Death : " When the World Becomes Undone"

I guess this is as close to Type O Negative as we are going to get . This does seem to be a more intentional stab in that direction. The opening song has more atmospheric layers in it. "Love The Ones You Hate" has a more new wave vocal melody to recapture a darker sound. Production wise the kind of feed back into a jagged rumble of bass meets guitar also plays into recapturing that sound, though the vocal to "Fell In My Hole" goes in it's own direction. The song is not as thick with atmosphere and feels more straight up rock . I don't think this album is as heavy as what I have heard from these guys before, when when they step on the crunch with a song like "Vultures" its more of a grunge sound.

Despite this not being as heavy I would say even a quarter into the albums it's more well written that what I have heard from these guys before. This almost Alice In Chains kind of sound continues on with the deliberate pound of " End of Days" . One of the most metal things about the album is how the guitar solos blaze out of the northern sky. "We All Break Down" carries the grunge torch further into the 90s when metal tried to figure out how to merge with it. I liked that time period 95 to 96. The guitar progression and vocal layering on "Lay With the Wicked " reaches back into more of a "World Coming Down" era Type O, which is more than can be said for the middle of the road radio rock that is "Splinters" It doesn't suck it just is not as interesting of a listen.

"Dreams of the End" is dressed up with a little more atmosphere and the lead in with a heavier ominous vibe. It gets this weird post- Use Your Illusion era Guns N Roses feel to it , which is not a deal breaker. It is however not the album's strongest song. I'll give this one a 9, as it not only reminds me of Type O but gives me some nostalgic feels for that mid 90s metal.

Gothtober -The Top 10 Goth Albums of All Time

The year was 1987 when I realized there was music out there that spoke to the shadows inside of me that way not heavy metal. The album was "Darklands" by Jesus and the Marychain, if I did the top 20 albums list it would be on their so these are albums I have listened to more than that one. It is more on the post-punk side and if you notice the lack of Joy Division that is because I am not counting post-punk. There might be a couple albums that lean in that direction, but the difference between post-punk and goth is pretty clear here, post- punk lacks the romantic elegance of goth.There is not much in the way of dark wave, and that is because even in the case of  Sisters of Mercy who would have also made the top 20, those bands tend to have some good songs, but not albums that are as awesome all the way through as what is represented here.

Many of these albums have set the bar for their respective sub-genres. I am not just sticking to the old guard , even though I can be as get off my lawn as anyone, I do recognize that there is some ew music that measures up just fine against the Cures and Bauhaus' of the old guard bat cave. These lists do lend themselves to a great deal of complaining and butt hurt so let me go ahead and nip it in the bud with one question...over the course of a year how many people read what you have to say about goth music? If that number is less than 100,000 and go ahead add up all the publications you write for then shoot me an email and we can talk about it, because if you or on that tier then you probably already have my email address.

10-Zola Jesus - "Conatus"


Since this list is being ranked by how many times I have listened to these albums, this is way Zola beat out Siouxsie to make it on here. Siouxsie would have made the top 20. The beats on this album are just more infectious.

9-Skinny Puppy- "Too Dark Park"


This is not the top 10 industrial albums. This album however is dark enough to earn it's place here. If you were goth when this album came out you owned it if not you were a poseur.

 

8-Beastmilk - "Climax"


This is the only album that is arguably post-punk, but the vocals are so impassioned they tip the balance and thus is belongs here. The best thing of the revival.

 

7-Type O Negative - October Rust


These guys are a metal band, and this album does have some heavy moments, but the sum of its parts is more goth and then metal and it's beautifully produced and written, pretty much perfect in every way


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6-Dead Can Dance- "Into the Labyrinth"




Goth can be many things, even world music as this project proves and does so by creating the most beautiful music ever.

5-Swans - White Light From the Mouth of Infinity


From their noisy beginnings this band evolved into some thing sonically powerful but still darkly elegant. This could very well be in the number one spot but Last Fm told me the four above this one were listened to more.

 


4-Bauhaus- "In the Flat Field"

No one in their right mind would dispute if they should be on this list so it's more of a question of what album. This one seems the darkest to me and it's also the one Last Fm said I have listened to the most.


 




3-Chelsea Wolfe- "Pain is Beauty"



When I have talked to her she is quick to say she is not goth. She probably gets annoyed for me referring to her as goth after she tells me that , but this album says different.


 

2- Christian Death - "Only Theater of Pain"

This pretty much defined a genre. It has all the darkness and sleeze you could ask for against the elegant delivery of Rozz Williams. It was not only the album they could never touch again , but no one else could either.

1-the Cure- "Disintegration"

Not only the best goth album, but one of the best album's period. It might not be the darkest album on the list, but what it lacks it darkness it makes up for in the other key ingredient of goth, melancholy romantic longing.

Gothtober - The Weekly Playlist vol 10 : Type O Negative

Getting caught back up with the Gothtober editions of the Weekly Playlist, which has proven to be a fairly popular column here in this Abysmal realms. I have already done some playlists featuring certain Artists like David Bowie and Nick Cave, so it seems fitting to continue this trend this week. If you know me or are a regular reader here then you might be aware of the fact that Type O Negative is one of my favorite bands. They blend metal with goth in a way that many bands have imitated but few were able to do with the level of power and elegance these guys did. So given the season it’s only fitting that I dedicate a playlist to them. I am not saying these are their best songs , but they are my favorites that are not the typical hits from “Bloody Kisses” . I typically synch the songs on the playlist with where they fall on their respective albums , but this time I cut my OCD brain some slack and just let them fall where they wanted.


 "Love you to Death" 





 "Everything Dies" 






"We Hate Every One" 





"Be My Druidess" 





"These Three Things" 





"She Burned Me Down"


 


"In Praise of Bacchus"


 


"Pyretta Blaze"


 


"Too Late Frozen" 






"Wolf Moon"

Soundtrack to the Week

Inspiration comes in many ways. An afternoon spent beside a creek. The look in someone's eyes. With depression I can feel like the energy it takes to write one of these is more than I can muster. In the past I have done the iPod shuffle where I just hit shuffle mode and reviewed the songs that came up. These songs are ones that have provided a soundtrack to my week. They have further inspired other inspirations that perhaps made me feel more alive. Sonic shades reflecting glimpses of beauty perhaps but into better words with in these lyrics. Some of these songs are old some are new, the same can be said of feelings, though looking at them with a fresh set of eyes is just as powerful as going back and re-listening to some of these songs for the first time in years, it re-captures the same magic as leaving notes in lockers in high school.So thanks for the inspiration, I hope the universe allows it to keep coming.

 Type O Negative- "Wolf Moon"

 


 KMFDM - "Only Lovers"



 Strvngers - "Fetisha"

 

Pale Waves - "Kiss"


 

 New Years Day- "Gangsta"

 

 Curve -"Already Yours"

 


 The Smiths - "Hand In Glove"


 

 Blind Melon - "Mouth Full of Cavities"

 

 This Mortal Coil - "Song to the Siren"

 

 Die Antwoord- "I Fink U Freeky"

 

Gothtober -the Top 10 Goth Albums... of All Time

With 10 days til Halloween, it's as good of a time as any for this one. What made me rank the albums you ask? How did I determine this ? Well the first thing was to say darkness is a quality they must possess and often weighed in here eliminating certain albums and certain artists, who might be beautifully sublime and have a goth fan base, but not dark...sorry Cocteau Twins. Solid song for the duration of the album is also a must, so no random bursts of just shrieking...sorry Diamanda Galas.I have also limited to just one album by each artist. So here our my top 10 goth albums of all time.

 10-Chelsea Wolfe-"Pain is Beauty"

 She has released heavier albums since this one , but not darker. This one finds her at the deepest depths and is filled with chilling atmosphere.

 

 9-My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult - "I See Good Spirits and I See Bad Spirits"

 This band's darkest album still might be one of the most upbeat on this list. It has still stood the test of time and finds me returning to it after all these years

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 8-Siouxsie & the Banshees -"Tinderbox"

 Before you say "What about Switchblade Symphony" or "what about...insert name of any female fronted goth band" the question that needs to be poised is why do we need them if we have Siouxsie? Sure she has more popular albums, but this finds her ins a darker place and "Cities in Dust" seals the deal. End of Story.
 

 7- Type O Negative-" October Rust"

 Here is where it almost immediately came down to tough choices as this could have been in the top ten , as I probably have listened to it more than a couple of albums ranked higher, but the fact that this album was influenced by those albums puts it here.

 

6-Fields of the Nephilim -"Elizium"

This one is pretty much a no brainer. These guys can get so heavy they are almost metal. This album has a very tribal and ritualistic feel to it.I think this is what gives it an edge over "Dawnrazor".



5-Christian Death- "Only Theater of Pain" 

 This album defined death rock, end of story.


 

 4-Bauhaus- "In the Flat Field"

 This was hard. This album has more punk energy to it. Though It lacks a song like "Shes in Parties" or "Silent Hedges" , I think overall this one is more focused as a whole.


 

 3-Dead Can Dance- "the Serpent's Egg"

 Another difficult choice, I feel like one is more passionate in what it is than "Into the Labyrinth" .


 

2-Swans -"White Light From the Mouth of Infinity"

 First I eliminated the proto-industrial albums and then their more jam band newer material before asking the question which album is the darkest. They have some really dismal moments on other albums , but I think this is the overall darkest where the focus is on the songs and not noise or abrasion...sorry "Filth".

 

 1- the Cure- "Pornography"

 Of course it came down in the end to this album slugging it out with "Disintegration" and it came down to this album without question being darker where "Disintegration" was beginning to develop pop aspirations.

 

Wil Cifer's Top Ten X-mas Songs

I prefer the more pagan leanings of this holiday, but when you have a 6 year old they want to hear x-mas music even when they are in their own words " Quarters Jewish". We tried the Taylor Swift x-mas album, but that was recorded when she was in the more innocent xtian side of her country roots so we had to put a stop to that after the second time she said Jesus. So here are some X-mas songs I approve of.

10- The Xmas Song - London After Midnight

Not their strongest song, but better than listening to Taylor Swift's Jesus years.



9- " Christmas Vacation"- Descendants

Lyrically this one is pretty spot on for me this year. I need to give this band more of a shot as I like them when I hear them going to go listen to "Milo Goes to College" while I finish this list.



8-"Merry X-mas( I don't Wanna Fight Tonight)" Ramones

Originally from "Brain Drain" a criminally under rated album, makes me wanna do a top 20 punk albums of all time to show it the props it deserves.




7-" Mistress For X-mas"- AC/DC

Thought about checking out the Halestorm cover, but since I am more fluent in the original it is obviously the way to go even though the 80s production leaves a little to be desired.




6-" If I was Your Vampire"- Marilyn Manson


Six a.m X-mas morning...




5- "Frosty the Snow Man"- the Cocteau Twins

This band is the sound of sparkling lights, if you have never dropped acid while riding around looking at x-mas lights with "Heaven or Las Vegas" playing you have not lived.




4-Black X-mas- Venom

Cronos really sounds good on this one. When the snow turns black , I'll be back...




3- X-mas With the Devil- Spinal Tap

The elves are dressed in leather and the angels are in chains...


2- "Red Water"- Type O Negative

This one is a close call between it and the number one slot who makes more sense for me if you know me.


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1- "No Presents For X-Mas"- King Diamond

I bought this single before "Fatal Portrait" so it holds more sentimental value for me.

Thanks For Nothing : the Top 10 Break Up Songs

Before you are surrounded by depressing X-mas music every time you go out into public for the month to come we are going to wallow in this list of the top 10 break up songs. Many of these touch upon feelings that are as varied as those in the five stages of grief... denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.This roller coaster touches on varied genres ranging from pop to metal.

10-Planes Mistaken For Stars - "Clean Up Mean" 

The newest song on the list off of the band's latest album "Prey". It's taking the number 10 spot since it has stood the test of time like some of the other songs.

 

 9-Marvin Gaye- "Is That Enough"

From the cocaine fueled concept album "Here My Dear", Gaye used powder and pain to propel this opus. He stepped away from the Motown hit formula to pour his soul in these somewhat progressive songs in this concept album that tells the story of his divorce.


 

8-the Twilight Sad - " I Could Give You All That You Don't Want"

These guys opened for the Cure, who are not on this list, because most of their music is happy or sensuous to me. These guys however have the melancholy and longing down. This one moves towards acceptance.

 

7- Alice In Chains - "Sea of Sorrow"
There is more acceptance with a tinge of anger, much like real life the stages of grief bleed into one another.

 

6-Morrissey "I Am Hated For Loving"

 For this I think  for the sake of  this list his solo career beats out the Smiths when it comes this brand of heart ache.

 

5- Taylor Swift - "I Almost Do"

I have alluded to my love for Tay Tay, bu think it is the first time her music has graced this blog. The lyrics and melodies are pretty moving and relate-able. For pop music these days it's the best it gets.



4- Chevelle- " I Get It "

While the lyrical metaphor is thick here, the sentiment fits, with sarcastic anger to serve as a proper middle finger to vent the anger stage of grief.

 

3- Type O Negative- "In Praise of Bacchus" 

These guys have a few, but Peter Steele's lonely drinking song takes the despair out on the streets of Brooklyn in ponderous reflection. It examines the complexities of  heart break in the lonely city.


 2-Chelsea Wolfe- "Mistake in Parting"

 The title track from her first album that has a more grunge tinged conventional rock sound. No ghostly vocals here, lyrically the honesty in this one might be here best work despite not being hidden in the shadows of metaphor she is now known for.

 

1-Megadeth- "In My Darkest Hour"

 This is a classic that has stuck with me even when I began hating Dave Mustaine for becoming a christian and sucking at pretty much life, with making shitty music his worst offense. Here it's dramatic, even putting suicide on the table, but isn't that where metal should go?  His darkest moments here seem believable.

The Top 10 Goth Songs of All Time

It's time for Halloween so here are the top 10 goth songs of all time.Sure some of the more popular artists are missing, while they make great pop songs to dance to, I am talking about what has the two main elements of goth...passion and darkness. The EDM that you wave your cyber dreads to has very little of either. So You can cry about the fact that "Headhunter" is missing, but you should also consider suicide as your next major life decision.




 10- Fields Of The Nephilim- "Submission"

Maybe it was the cowboy hats, but I think this band is criminally under rated in the goth scene. The reason for this more than likely the grit in their sound is too much for the girly boys more into the fashion, but that's why the Crux-Shadows exist. The song is very powerful and high lights every thing there is to love about this band.


 

9- Type o Negative-"Be My Druidess"

You were expecting "Black No. 1". This is not the top 10 most popular goth songs. These are the best and the refrain of "I'll do anything to make you cum" is enough to earn it's spot here. I did wrestle with a few different songs of their's but this one shows so many sides and has a wide enough dynamic range to elevate it above the others.





8-Dead Can Dance - "the Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove"

Sure they have darker songs. More exotic songs.Spookier songs, but this one is Perry singing at his most passionate, with a good slinky groove under him that puts all the pieces together in a more regal manner than other projects can muster.





7- the Smiths - "Unloveable"

 When Morrissey sings "I wear black on the outside because black is how I feel on the inside, and if I seem a little that because I am". I think it makes more sense to have them here than say Joy Division, because even though Ian Curtis and friends often use darker tones than Johnny Marr, there is more of a romantic elegance in the music of the Smiths, with Joy Division coming across more like depressed punk.





6- Swans - "Killing For Company"

A creepy song about serial killers that has an almost erotic darkness to it...how can this not be on the list. It hits that sweet spot I love in music where it is so dark that it's heavy even though it is not metal. Gira's voice sounds great.





5-the Cocteau Twins-"Blue Bell Knoll"

 It might not be as dark as what they were doing on the first album, but I think that this serves as the best example of what they did at the peak of their musical powers. This has the ethereal side coupled with a hypnotic pulse for the angel that is Elizabeth Fraser to sing over. It has enough of a shadow side to earn it's place here, despite the dream pop tag this often gets, Siouxsie was either doing punk or pop, so this has enough of an edge to keep it from becoming 80's night fodder.





   4-Christian Death- "Deathwish" 

Another case of this might not be their most popular song...yes, I'm talking about you "Romeo's Distress", but this is their best one. It has more drive and balls to the guitar riff and captures the dirty junkie feeling of 80's Los Angeles.


  

3- Skinny Puppy- " Love in Vein" 

The best song off their best album. This also the best song off the best industrial album, so if I was going to thrown in one industrial song then this had to be it.Darker than Ministry or the bigger more poppy projects could ever muster no matter how many inches they had.







 2- David Bowie- "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)"

 Of course this genre would not exist without Bowie, he touched on many sub-genres from New Romantic to Industrial, in fact I could make a list of Bowie's top ten goth songs, though aside from maybe "Outside" and "Low" I would not say he has put out an entire album of goth, he just colors some of his songs with darker sonic colors, this one being the darkest.


 

1- the Cure :  "One Hundred Years"

While Robert Smith would not want himself to be over Bowie, we are not saying the Cure is better than Bowie as a whole, so there is no need to get your little black knickers in a bunch, as far a goth songs go this one just happens to be the best. It's moody, but has balls. You can dance to it, shoot dope to it or fuck to it. Most of all it is so dark you can feel it.

Pallbearer : "Fear and the Fury"

This is really a single with two covers attached to it. The first is a single originally released on a flexi-disc for Decibel. If you haven't heard this song yet, it's as good if not better than anything from "Foundations of Burden". They also tackle a Dio era Sabbath song with "Over and Over" which often doesn't get as much love as the Ozzy stuff. Brett Campbell handles it well. Dio is a power-house and to emulate him invites cheesy power metal comparisons. He tastefully handles what could have turned this into some stinking power metal and lets the passionate melancholy ooze out.  The solos are nailed pretty well too. The bass player sits back and doesn't get to involved in some of Geezer's wandering runs, over all there is a more relaxed vibe to the song, but it still captures the dark heaviness to it.

 Campbell takes a different approach on their cover of Type O Negative's " Love You to Death". He doesn't doesn't attempt to dip down into Steele's range, instead he focuses on the phrasing, even rolling his r's for the moments from Transylvania. I thought they would think the more goth tinged elements were campy and try to smooth them over. The guitar picks out the keyboard lines. It's evident that Campbell's voice is not as powerful as Steele's or have the same resonance. He tends to picks his battles while doing the job at hand with this one. I'm a huge Type- O fan so if it gets a thumbs up for me then it's saying something.Of the three songs here, the Type O is the weakest, but is still better than the filler on most doom albums I run across and helps cement Pallbearer's place at the top of the heap when it comes to today's doom crop.

The Top 100 albums of the 90s :10 to 1

So here we are at the end, ultimately these are the ten albums I get the most playtime out of with the top 6 still in my iPod and the others shuffling in and out of it, which considering how much new music I ingest on a daily basis says something about their staying power.

 10- Faith No More - "Angel Dust"

When I saw these guys live last month this fact became more than evident. They hit their peak with this one as the bar was raised way to high.

 


9-Janes Addiction- " Ritual De Lo Habitual"

 This was pretty close with "Angel Dust" , but the song "3 Days" gives it the edge. The radio songs just skim the surface and if they are all you have heard you are doing yourself a disservice.


 

8-Mr Bungle- S/T

If it was not for this album " Angel Dust" would have never come about.Mike Patton never sounded better.
 

7-Radiohead- "Ok Computer"

"Kid A" is a close second, but this one sounds good even if I was not on drugs at the time, though when this album came out those moments were few and far between. Yorke's voice is great , but at the end of the day its about the songs and they stand the test of time for sure.

 
6-Tool- "Aenima"

 When this album came out it was played at least once a day, any one who was getting stoned to me in the mid 90s will attest to this. This was more of Tool vs Tool , and this beat out "Undertow" because there are more dynamic layers.



5- Type O Negative -"October Rust"

 More goth than metal, then layers of this album are amazing, if you are going to get high, then sit between two speaker and listen to this loudly. One of the best produced and written albums ever. Peter Steele's voice also had more depth and passion.


 


4 - Swans- "Love of Life" 

 This beat Tool out, because the songs don't take you back to when the album came or feel hampered by how the perception of heavy changes over time, Tool was great, but doesn't seem all that heavy anymore, these guys invoke the same feeling of awe every time played.

 


3- Morrissey - "Vauxhall & I "

 This album came close to being almost as good as The Smiths. If you accept Moz on his own two feet then this is without a doubt some of his best singing and songwriting.


 

2- Cocteau Twins- " Heaven or Las Vegas"


 Heaven should be in this album's title because that is what it sounds like, really the almost 80s drum sound which you almost don't notice once Elizabeth starts singing, is the only thing that gave the number slot the edge as they are not confined to any passage in time.


1- Dead Can Dance- "Into the Labyrinth" 


 These guys are their only competition, so by process of elimination "A Passage in Time" is a compilation and this album is better than "Spirit Chaser". These songs defy time, they could have come out two hundred years ago , and some did or 200 years in the future and it doesn't matter they just happened to have been released in the 90s when this project was at it's peak.

 

Top Ten Metal Love Songs

Some of these might straddle the fence between metal and hard rock, but love songs are always more sensitive, which is why there are so few in real metal, and the harder the song the broader the definition of romance.

 10 - Starry Eyes- by Motley Crue
 9 - Flesh Eater by- Lizzy Borden


8 - Thrills in the Night -by Kiss
 
 7 - 120 Days by Genitorturers


 6 - Welcome Home by Coheed and Cambria

 5 - Magdalena by A Perfect Circle

 4- Soul on Fire- Danzig


 3 -"Sleeping in the Fire" by Wasp


2 - Love You to Death by Type O negative


 1 - Here Come the Tears- Judas Priest

Weekly shuffle

Ok ...you know the drill, I give a click to shuffle Mose and review whatever tracks pop up.

"The Web" by Neurosis, Back when these guys were awesome and there songs crushed you rather than put you to sleep. "Souls at Zero" is my favorite album by them and if I was or when I do make a post about my favorite metal albums of all time this will be on it. I like the reverse delay on the vocals and here is a good example of how do drone with out being a pussy about it. Even though this came out in the nineties the production is great the bass tone is incredible. This is why it's hard for me to take their new stuff seriously.

"Bloodied Yet Unbowed" by Primordial, I'm glad we are getting a lot of metal on here as it seems like I haven't been able to review much of it lately as nothing has grabbed me. I think these guys have popped up on here before, I use to have their whole discography on my iPod and now just "Redemption at the Puritan's Hand". The vocals are a perfect blend of grit and melody here, he is a better singer than growler, his voice like Ics Vortex instantly makes things epic. The double bass build into the blast beat work and is good example of it being put to creative use rather than being a cop out.

"This Place is a Prison" by Postal Service, This song has great lyrics it describes how I feel on most days and it darker than most metal lyrics these days so headbangers set up your game. The vocal melody is subdued which is par for the course the , I like when the stronger beat and the lyric "what does it take to get a drink in this place " sits over it. It's like Death Cab Cab for Cuties album for goths.

"Cursed" by Atriarch, This was my metal album of the year last year, so you already know how I feel about this one , go check out my review for more info if you are unfamiliar them. It's a dark slab of doom, with all the ugliness of black metal you can want. The vocals here are more like old Swans, and the guitar creep in behind it like funeral doom, so everything I could want in one song, so any question as to why I would have set it on such a pedestal.

"Night Witches" by True Widow, These guys fall some where in the same realm as Jesus and the Mary Chain or a Place to Bury Strangers, this album is underrated. The bass player I think is a metal head at heart as he drives this thing harder than you think it would be in the opening strains. This is indie rock done right with some balls to the too hip for their own good attitude.

"Take it Easy" by Bright Eyes, Back in the early 2000s when Conner Oberest was poised to be the next Bob Dylan by hipsters at the time he put out two albums one was country ish the other kinda of dark wave electronica called Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, which was the better of the two any way this one who is Cure influence he could no longer hide, I saw him get blown off the stage by the Faint once so it soured the taste in my mouth I had for him, I think the Fevers and Mirrors album is incredible and he was a great songwriter who fell by the wayside.

"Inarborat" by Negura Bunget, A couple of years ago I was blown away by these guys but the last e.p they put out seemed like they were jumping on Enslaved's band wagon, who is jumping on Opeth's bandwagon.Never the less their older material is incredible . This song has legit pagan/ folk elements to it which darken things up like Dead can Dance rather than dance around the maypole. The use of clean vocals here works really well and this song works for every angle.

" A Mutiny" by Red Sparowes, While I can appreciate the whole post-rock instrumental thing the majority bores me after a while. This band is an exception to that rule as they make their guitars sing in a way that doesn't leave me looking forward to vocals that never come. Their guitar tones are close to perfect, maybe they even are perfect and I just don't want to say it. This song drifts around like something from Pink Floyd's Animals album. They go from more melody and dynamics than being content to drone which wins in my book, the build on this one has a very cinnamic feel.

"Die with Me" by Type O Negative, They got wrongly lumped in with mall metal bands after awhile, but this album is a ten with no question, their pinnacle they never touched this one afterwards. Sure it starts very lazily like Queensrcyhe wanting to be pink Floyd, but by the time their signature fuzz comes in ns the chorus hovers at the rain splatter window we are all...stoned ...I mean enthralled .

"Up Through the Ashes" by Kamelot, "Ghost Opera" would be on that top one hundred metal albums I mentioned earlier. It's too bad they are following NightWish into the where are they now files. The mid paced chug of this once balances it out for. Getting too melodramatic like bands of their ilk are prone to do, the thing I have have like about them is as pretentious as this sort of thing tends to be they darken it up, of the post nineties era bands like this these guys are pretty much the only one of their kind that I listen to , they were amazing live and heavier than you would suspect them to be, but Alas no Roy Khan and I think that intensity is diminished despite the new singer being better than I anticipated.