The Top 10 Hard-Core Albums of 2024

Much like punk, hard-core finds itself in an interesting place in this angry world,  There is no shortage of people claiming to play it, but to find real hard-core that is not afraid to point the finger at all sides while refusing to conform is a harder aspiration, given the masses' willingness to conform.   These albums captured the true spirit of hardcore by doing their own thing and bringing the anger.   After I sort through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I use those lists to compile the top 10 albums of the year. 2024. The very fact these bands made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all, we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. Perhaps you can find your next favorite on this list; and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out the audio on these guys. Anyway here are the top 10 Hardcore albums of 2024.

10--Rejoice-"All of Heaven's Luck"

 Rejoice is a band from Ohio who are kicking some venomous brand of metallic hardcore. Their singer's malicious snarl gives it a darker edge along with the Slayer vibes coming from their riffs. They are not afraid of guitar solos but do not overindulge in them. They mosh on the fine line between hard-core and metal. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/rejoice-all-of-heavens-luck.html

         

9-Lifesick - "Loved By None, Hated By All" 

This Danish hardcore band packs a punch that is more metallic than not. They take you back to the 90s when this style really began popping off. If you were a fan of Victory Records styled hardcore then these guys will appeal to you. If you just like in-your-face, hyper-aggressive metal you might also dig this. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/lifesick-loved-by-none-hated-by-all.html

8-New Skeletal Faces- "Until the Night" 

I was not expecting this to be a thrashing hard-core album. Sure some of the death rock guitars tones are in place, but the vocals are screaming at you with more aggression to rally the rest of the band to fall in line behind them. This has more in common with old AFI than it does Night Sins. It is more in-your-face and hard-core than I was expecting, but the songwriting works with the blend of sounds they fused in a more organic manner, that plays to the originality infused into these old sounds. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/new-skeletal-faces-until-night.html

7-Terminal Nation - "Echoes of the Devil's Den" 

This dark hard-core band opens up their new album with a bleak doomy sound of dystopia burning. The vocals snarl and bark with animalistic anger. When they gain momentum it's difficult to hear where the metal ends and the hard-core begins. The chug driving this album is powerful. One of the year's heaviest albums for sure. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/terminal-nation-echoes-of-devils-den.html

6-Knocked Loose -You Won't Go Before You Are Supposed To" 

This album's grooves grew on me.  It was heavier than expected.  It's hard-hitting without falling into too many of the metal tropes. This is the album, that is poised to break these guys big, yet they offer little compromise. The music press miscalculated when trying to hype these guys, as the poster children the next nu-metal revival. These guys declined the position and stuck to their hardcore roots 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/knocked-loose-you-wont-go-before-youre.html

5-SPEED- "Only One Mode" 

These guys have captured the feel of NYCHC pretty well. They pack the metallic punch of hard-core while staying true to the thrashing of the late 80s. The riffs and the overall sound left me pretty impressed by the end of the first song. they found a great balance of hooky metal riffs, breakdowns, and being true to old-school hard-core while trying new things in their homage to it. They took chances with this formula that paid off.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/08/speed-only-one-mode.html

4- Umbra Vitae - "Light of Death" 

 Despite being less of a love letter to the classic death metal these guys grew up on, the sophomore release from this supergroup is every bit as angry as their first album. Riffwise there are more hints of Jacob Bannon's main band Converge. His screams are less guttural than what we heard from him with "Shadow of Life".  The hard core intensity that commands the metallic attack is deadly serious, maker for a darker album. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/death-is-june-umbra-vitae-light-of-death.html

3-Take Offense- "T.O.tality" 

This band is kicking up 80s-era skate punk. This means "Join the Army " era Suicidal Tendencies. There are a few more foot-on-the-monitor guitar heroics, so other late 80s cross-over hardcore could be referenced. The most important thing is they are not just trying to dial in the sound, but they are focused on writing hooky songs, even if they took notes from their heroes on how to do so. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/take-offense-totality.html

2-Candy-"It's Inside You" 

This band's 2022 album "Heaven is Here"  took the number two spot on our Top 10 Extreme Metal Albums list of the year, and tenth on the best overall Metal list of the year.  The bar was high and they cleared it with ease, this album sits more firmly on the side of hard-core but finds them experimenting with industrial sounds on this album in bold new ways, making this one of the year's more interesting listens, even when the lay heavy on the Ministry influence. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/candy-its-inside-you.html

1-Nails - "Every Bridge Burning" 

t's been 8 years since the last album from this California-based hard-core band. They are just as angry as they were on "You Will Never Be One of Us".  The grind-core influence on the band has them spitting out minute-and-a-half songs that are propelled by an unrelenting momentum. The faster moments that create a frenzied wall of sound are balanced out by the intentional songwriting masterstrokes delivered here, and find this album as being worth the wait and puts the band on the top of the heap, this time it's the hardcore heap rather than the extreme metal one. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/09/nails-every-bridge-burning.html

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Gothtober - Wil's 10th Annual Halloween Playlist

 Here is my 10th annual Halloween Playlist. The world holds as many distractions and diversions as the previous years, I am just making a more concerted and intentional effort to focus on celebrations of the Halloween season around me since my soundtrack pretty much remains constant year. I believe if we forget the things that brought us joy as children, we will become miserable adults buried in anxiety over bills and the stock market. This makes a proper soundtrack dedicated to darkness even more needed to capture the magical excitement of Halloween. Perhaps these songs might bring some sonic horror to your ears and carry Halloween into the rest of the year for you. This year all but one song is from new releases. I am continuing the tradition of not repeating artists from previous years. Goth and all its various sub-genres are the most obvious tombs to plunder, I am including a few artists that lean in a more rock or metal direction. Lyrically, the songs are at least metaphors for things that go bump in the night or are related to the season. This year’s theme seems to be death. As the veil between the living and the dead thins, may you be happily haunted and continue to play this loudly in dark places! 

Softcult - "Haunt You Still" 

Missiles - "'Deathlike Love" 

Wicca Phase Springs Eternal - 'I Know the Raven"

Glassing - "Ritualist" 

Mothica -"the Reaper"

Umbra Vitae - "Velvet Black" 

 

Cyberaktif- "The Fright" 

Louse- "Human Remains"

  

Svoid - "In Sacred Magic" 

<  

Crippling Alcoholism - "Satan is the One" 

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June's Top 10 Albums

It's time for June's top 10 albums. Staying abreast on the month's highlights might help casual readers see what they missed, and give this the option to check these artists out. I am not doing little blurbs on them, just linking the reviews. This will help me organize my lists for the end of the year, by listing the genre of music the album falls under. This does not mean that these albums have been released this month, but it is a list of new or upcoming albums I have enjoyed the most, I have albums in my in-box that are not coming out til August, so I am normally way ahead of the curve in this regard. They are ranked in order of what I have listened to the most. This month there is a wide variety from post-punk to pop to hard-core, so you may find your new favorite among them. Here are the Top 10 albums for June 2024.

10- INERTH - "Hybris" 

Sludge 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/death-is-june-inerth-hybris.html

9-Julie Christmas -""Ridiculous and Full of Blood" 

Post-rock 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/julie-christmas-ridiculous-and-full-of.html

8-White Stones-"Memoria Via" 

Progressive metal  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/death-is-june-white-stones-memoria-via.html

7-SARS - "Nothing Hurts Quite Like Life" 

Metallic Hardcore 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/sars-nothings-hurts-quite-like-life.html

6-Umbra Vitae - "Light of Death" 

Metal Core

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/death-is-june-umbra-vitae-light-of-death.html

5-$uicideboy$ : "New World Depression" 

Trap

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/uicideboy-new-world-depression.html

4-Swan Wash - "Shadow, Shadow" 

Death Rock

 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/swan-wash-shadow-shadow.html

3-Crippling Alcoholism - "Love From a Padded Room" 

Post Punk 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/crippling-alcoholism-with-love-from.html

2-Charli XCX - "Brat" 

pop

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/charli-xcx-brat.html

1-200 Stab Wounds- "Manual Manic Procedures" 

Death Metal 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/death-is-june-200-stab-wounds-manual.html

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Death is June- Umbra Vitae : " Light of Death"

 Despite being less of a love letter to the classic death metal these guys grew up on, the sophomore release from this supergroup is every bit as angry as their first album. Riffwise there are more hints of Jacob Bannon's main band Converge. His screams are less guttural than what we heard from him with "Shadow of Life".  On the second song, the stomping riffs are catchy, but it feels more like metallic hard-core or a less spastic take on grind-core. "Clear Cutter" is the first death metal-tinged song. The lower accents of the vocals and thundering drums aid in steering it in this direction. It is admirable that they are playing music that is extremely unhinged and aggressive but it's still hooky. 

Jacob's more punk bark appears on "Anti-Spirit Machine". I am sure the lyrics are interesting, but it might take a few listens before I can discern anything aside from the gang chant of the song's title. The best riff that gives this song its backbone has a more thrashing chug to it. " Reality in Retrograde" is more of a grind-core temper tantrum as they hurtle at you in blasting speed. "Past Tense" is death metal tempered with combat boots of a hard-core band. "Velvet Black" makes no attempt to conform to any genre, and is the best song so far thanks to Bannon, singing on the verses. An absolute slapperoni. 

"Twenty Twenty Vision" rages full speed ahead. This is metal and hard-core in equal balance and what people should mean when they use to the term "metal-core". There is plenty of Slayer influence taking the wheel on this one. "Algorithm of Fear" has a slight wink in a Morbid Angel direction at times. An interesting factor to the sound of the album is the very raw and organic guitar sound that has more in common with Converge than any death metal band not named Entombed. "Empty Vessel' is another fine example of how melody can be used no matter how extreme you are dishing out your heaviness. 

"Cause and Effect" is a chaotic collision of sounds. I need to have a few listens before I wrap my head around the full picture here. The lyrical tone of the album seems to be a bleak condemnation of society which I am glad to hear. "Deep End" is very violent in every respect. "Nature vs Nurture" has more of a death metal chug to it. It reminds me of the coolest parts of the Converge song 'My Great Devastator"  expanded upon in another song. "Fatal Flaw" has more of a groove to it, aligning it more closely with death metal, despite Bannon's scowling and screaming. The title track closes the album with more of a Morbid Angel grind to the main riff driving what seems to be the verses. I will round this up to a 10 as the songs that did not click as solidly the first time will 

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the Top 10 Death Metal Albums of 2020

Given the state of 2020 we need death metal more than ever. Death is something to be celebrated not feared and these albums help provide a sound track for that celebration. I do not like death metal that is too technical or only heavy so these bands all went above and beyond. Ok now that that is out of the way , much like in years past sort through the genre lists before making the overall top ten of the year list. I know many of you are ready for 2020 to be over with. Hate to break it to you but nothing is getting better next year. As far as 2020 goes there is only a couple new bands on this list. 

 The fact these artists made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. Sure you can bitch and complain about your favorite band not being on the list. However I listen to five new albums a day so yes I heard your favorite album and was not impressed. No I do not care what you think about it .I do hope you can find your next favorite on this list and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out audio on these guys. Anyways here are the top death metal albums of 2020

 10- Marche Funebre -"Einderlicht"

Overall everything that goes down in the first song is what I want from metal. It's heavy but catchy and melodic. They do not over due the guitar harmonies as many European death metal bands do. It more like a more ballsy version of Amorphis.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/10/marche-funebre-einderlicht.html 

9- Pyrrhon - "Abscess Time" 

The guys took the term progressive death metal in a new direction and progressed into a death metal version of the Jesus Lizard.  Plenty of crazed angular ugliness to wipe your face in. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/08/pyrrhon-abscess-time.html

 

8-Goat Necropsy- "Bloody and Fresh" 

The more death grind gore side of the genre is not normally something I am into but these guys, gave the blood shed more charm through their ear for riffage.  

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/05/goat-necropsy-bloody-and-fresh.html

 

7-Phobetor- "When Life Falls Silent" 

I like how they use dissonance and keep their melodies ugly. Yes there is also some degree of black metal influence particularly when it comes to the darker side of their ugly sound , but they are not blackened death metal. Branded as just extreme metal, I find most of this he this is used they are just a death metal band, and that is the case here. They have a more organic sound than many of the more modern death metal bands doing similar

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/06/death-is-june-phobetor-when-life-falls.html

6- Abysmal Dawn _ "Phylogenesis" 

While on paper this might not come across as something I would be into. These guys prove a point.. It doesn't matter how heavy or technical you are, you can still give a shit and write good songs. These songs are what wins me over against all odds. Yes the labyrinth of riffs might be a lot when they first hit you with it, but they prove to be catchy. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/06/death-is-june-abysmal-dawn-phylogenesis.html

5-White Stones - "Kuarahy" 

Do you miss the days when Opeth was death metal ? Well so does their bass player . So much so he started another band to recapture that sound. 

  https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/06/death-is-june-white-stones-kuarahy.html

4-Temple of the Void - "the World That Was" 

 Tired of the death doom band wagon every one was jumping on so I dis regarded this one when it showed up in my in-box. I regret doing that as holy shit this album is good. It is dark as fuck and darkness is what I listen for. At times they pull influence from bands like Alice in Chains and Ride as much as they were Morbid Angel, so how can you  not check it out.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/03/temple-of-void-world-that-was.html

3- Kruelty"- "Dying Truth" 

I do not always do brutal death metal. But when I do I like for it to sound like Kruelty. With some hard core influence to it. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/06/death-is-june-kruelty-dying-truth.html

2- Umbra Vitae-Shadow of Life" 

Jacob from Converge loves Entombed. He also likes other classic death metal. He created a band to pay tribute to this and it is as awesome or perhaps even more so than we could have hoped for. It was a tough call between this and the number one album , but the scope of what the top spot does beat this out. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/05/umbra-vitae-shadow-of-life.html

 

1-Pulchra Morte - " Ex Rosa Ceremonia"

This is the first time an artist has taken the top spot two years in a row. This speaks to how awesome these guys are. Even with a change of sound and new line up they still manage to earn this all on their own . It is not because I am a fan as I am an even bigger fan of Converge, but here we are tis album speaks for itself.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/10/pulchra-morte-ex-rosa-ceremonia.html

the Top 10 Metal Albums of 2020 ...so far

`

The year is half way gone. So far it has been a very metal year. Some of you have been running scared and hate to think of this as metal, but in doing so proved how metal you are not .  Death, destruction, looming apocalypse, mass anger and chaos... all very metal. I guess we see who has not been paying attention to lyrics as they are now hiding under their beds. Who knows if  music industry is going to recover. Arest of humanity and wiped from the dying earth. Accepting this fact is metal, It has been a fun run guys . But now let us move onto why you clicked . These albums are ranked in order of how much I have listened to them.

You are crying about an album you think I have missed. Chances are unless it sucked really bad  and I could not get through more than a song I reviewed it and was not all that impressed. I have albums coming out in August in my in-box already so I am way ahead of the curve, so this might be more prophetic of the year's best than in years before, considering how  bands can not tour to support releases , many are being delayed .  Who knows if King Diamond is going to come out ? So is this as good as 2020 is going to get ? I think not just in terms of music the answer is yes. Half of you might kill yourselves after what is going to happen in November, If you follow me on social media you know I am getting my transmissions from the aliens which are now even clearer since I am off my meds , but I have been pretty spot on in my predictions so far. It pays to be crazy these days.

10- Temple of the Void- "the World That Was" 

 So densely heavy, this might be a flawless album in it's execution, not something I pop in for casual listening or getting much air time walking to the gym as it can be a lot for my ears to swallow, but never the less deserves mention here. To their credit they draw from more than your typical death doom influences.


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/03/temple-of-void-world-that-was.html

9- Testament - "Titans of Creation"


 It goes to show you never know what is going to come out , as they first few listens to this album and I would have assumed it was going to dominate the year. While it is impressive that this late in their career the band continues to put out shit that is this good, the albums that ranked higher so far made me want to listen to them more. Perhaps it will grow on me and fare better by the end of the year, but considering how much music I ingest on a daily, number 9 on any list is impressive.


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/03/testament-titans-of-creation.html

8-Havok- "V"


I dod not cover much thrash, as I shared my thoughts on the best of it back in high school, most of the revivalists of this genre, missed out the first go round and I have heard it done better by bands who cared about songs. These guys prove an exception to the rule as they care about songs, and write songs that are fitting of the time we live.



https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/05/havok-v.html

 7-Witchskull - "A Driftwood Cross" 

 This is an album that has clawed it's way up the list after repeat listens. Only moderate Sabbath worship that is balanced out by a grungey sound that is all their own. More upbeat that most doom, but the riffs are hard to argue with.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/04/witchskull-driftwood-cross.html

6-(16) - "Dream Squasher" 

These Volatile sludge merchants are back and angry as ever. These guys are the brand of sludge more
closely aligned with noise rock than doom. You can  also hear some hard core influence in their more explosive moments. I like the effects on the vocals . Lyrically it reminds me of the Melvins in their chaotic musings


https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/05/16-dream-squasher.html

5-Umbra Vitae- " Sahdow of Life" 


 Jacob from Converge decided to put together a death metal band so he enlisted  guitarists from Hatebreed and the Red Chord, along with the ex- drummer from Job For a Cowboy and the bassist from the Red Chord. It's not pure death metal. The drummer is the only one from a dyed in the wool death metal band as the Red Chord brought other elements into play. This works in the band's favor


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/05/umbra-vitae-shadow-of-life.html

4- Demons & Wizards - "III" 

My bad, I have never given this band the shot they deserve. They not only proved themselves with this come back album, but secure themselves threirthrone at the peak of the genre. Most power metal is not dark enough , so these guys show you how it can be done. https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/02/demons-wizards-iii.html

3- Paradise Lost - "Obsidian"

This album finds the band raising the bar on themselves  and telling their "Medusa" album to hold their beer. More doom paced than death metal. It is not as heavy as "Medusa" , but darker and more melodic with the song writing  totally blowing my mind. Getting more gothed out is certainly a good way to sell me on it.


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/05/paradise-lost-obsidian.html br /







2-Witnessess-"Doom II"

 Best described as progressive doom, this album is not afraid to go somewhere metal often does not venture.Often thanks to the highly polished and evocative vocals. There is little bong worship going on here and even less worship of Black Sabbath. Yeah the songs are long and winding but still keep you drawn into them and continue to grow on you, so much so that it edged out Paradise Lost.


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/05/witnesses-doom-ii.html

1-Code Orange- "Underneath" 


 No they did not turn into an industrial band. Yes there are more electronic influences, but the kick in the death they deliever with the heavy as hell guitar sound is still their , just done with more melody in places and darkly bleaker. A tremendous dynamic range to the songwriting finds the band stepping up once more to the next level

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/03/code-orange-underneath.html <

Umbra Vitae : "Shadow of Life"

Jacob from Converge decided to put together a death metal band so he enlisted  guitarists from Hatebreed and the Red Chord, along with the ex- drummer from Job For a Cowboy and the bassist from the Red Chord. It's not pure death metal. The drummer is the only one from a dyed in the wool death metal band as the Red Chord brought other elements into play. This works in the band's favor as it's not typical death metal. He admitted Converge was not metal despite being hyper aggressive. Vocally he maintains a hyper aggressive approach. He does not trade out his emotive bark for grunting. So it is more mid range and punk that the kind of vocal performance you would call death metal. There are some lower more Morbid Angel like growls. From songwriting perspective he continues to embrace punk by keeping these pretty condensed 3 minute bursts. Though unlike grindcore they are full formed songs.There are the required weighty chugs of death metal though there is a much wider canvas of sonic depth. 

As with any extreme metal band brutality if the pounding become to much of the focus the song suffers. They mange to do this a few times though the collateral damage is minimal. "Mantra of Madness" has a more conventional death metal groove to it. This is not the albums only foray into the expected bounds of death metal. There digging into the darkness of the more standard formula for death metal works well on " Fear is Fossil". The lyrics can be made out during the lower accented growls , but much like his performance in Converge, Bannon uses his voice as another abrasive instrument. "Polluted Paradise" focuses in on the blurred blast of a beating they give you.. "Intimate Inferno" is a continued after shock from the first explosion of the previous song. It is more interesting as more melodic elements are introduced by the guitar and the low growls give a hooky accent.

"Return to Zero" is a fine example of where maximum brutality can be achieved while still making a song worth repeat listens . I think we often mistakenly assume hooks are a form of selling out. They are not they are embellishments that bring you back to a song . They stick with you. "Blood Blossom" is slower, but the drumming is true to the genre. In other places it helps them take this in a more grind core direction. He has great double bass feet. Brutality is sacrifice for a creeping darkness on the title track that closes the album. Normally I would be over the blood red moon for this kind of experimentation when it comes to death metal . The blasty sections feel like the more death grind kinda thing you hear more in the underground corners of the metal scene. I will round this up to a 9.5 it blends hard core and death metal in a very effective manner and a welcome diversion until the next Converge album.