November is Doom -Alkymist : "Unnderr"

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 was a big fan of this band's 2020 album "Sanctuary". The Danish sludge masters are back with a more machine-like pounding this time as things have been dialed in production-wise. Vocally they do not conform to just your standard leather lunged roars the genre tends to default to. Things follow a more conventional metal flow on this album. The riffs have a more Meshuggah-like stomp to their groove. The opening track is dark enough for me, so that works, though the second and third songs ran together, I had to go back and give this another listen to fully wrap my head around it. They find a good balance of atmosphere on this that makes the heavy riffs more effective. 

'Diggin the Grave"starts off with an atmosphere not unlike the one established in the first song before rumbling into the chugged riff, It feels closer to rock-inspired metal than I recall hearing from these guys in the past. This is not to say to abandons bring the dense sludge as those riffs are still largely there even in this context. The third song works off a similar formula as the first song but indulges in the atmosphere more to create a creepier vibe. "Light of a Lost Star" works off a more conventional chug. It is still balanced out with melody and ambiance. This album is more accessible than the last one, and the songwriting is hookier without sacrificing heaviness as can be heard on "My Sick Part". I like the use of effects on the vocals in the verse. 

"Fire In My Eyes" reminds me of "Wolverine Blues" era Entombed.  "Masters of Disguise" works well enough I like the vocal shift, but they have been doing so much cool stuff on this album that the bar was held pretty high making this feel like filler. Overall this album is great, though is more straightforward nad adheres to some mainstream metal tropes that they give their own spin, I will give it a 9. 

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the Top 10 Sludge Albums of 2020

 

 

It's that time of year again . We have needed sludge  more than ever this year as it is pretty apocalyptic in nature. So here are the best of the current crop. When I am done sorting through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I will then compile the top 10 albums of the year. 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 for sludge there are only 3 or 4  new bands on this years list .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. 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 10 Sludge albums of 2020

10- Beggar- "Compelled to Repeat" 

This band's sense of groove and the excellent drumming keeps the tropes of the genre in play fresh. This is s very filthy sludge still  able to hold it's own in the songwriting department

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/11/november-is-doom-beggar-compelled-to.html

9-Mantar -" Grungetown Hooligans 2 " 

Yeah, this is a covers album of 90s grunge era bands. This album is a lot of fun even when they dip further in obscurity. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/06/mantar-grungetown-hooligans-2.html

8-Alkymist- " Sanctuary" 

This Danish band is beautifully dark. They have thrown more Celtic Frost influence into the mix with this album which is more introspective. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/04/alkymist-sanctuary.html

 

7- Elephant Tree - "Habits" 

This band blends elements of grunge and shoe gazing into their sound, this more varied and dynamic approach is what put them above other bands on this list. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/11/november-is-doom-elephant-tree-habits.html

 

 

6-Ilsa - "Preyer" 

There is more of a straight forward aggression on this album. It took a minute for this to grow on me but further listens helped to solidify it's place here. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/10/ilsa-preyer.html

 

5-Today is the Day - "No Good to Anyone" 

It's both heavier and more melodic than previous releases though as expected these things meet at a weirds juncture. By heavier it's more an emotional heaviness than metallic heavy. This album hits you with a depressing heaviness. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/02/today-is-day-no-good-to-anyone.html

4- Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean- the Vestige" 

A good example of how it is possible to be heavy as fuck but still take the time to not only care about song writing , but play around with it and take chances. They even cover Death Cab for Cutie.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/11/november-is-doom-chained-to-bottom-of.html

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3- Fange - "Pudeur" 

At times touching on death metal, this French band goes above and beyond with heavy chaos. This could have easily been the number one album, but the top two edged them out in terms of song writing. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/11/november-is-doom-fange-pudeur.html

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2- Thou & Emma Ruth Rundle - "May Our Chambers Be Full" 

Thou is known for experimenting , but aside from their covers have not really wowed me, I think they just needed a different singer as they allow Emma to shine. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/11/november-is-doom-thou-emma-ruth-rundle.html

1- (16) -"Dream Squasher" -

Spoiler alert this is in the top five metal albums of the year. The songwriting it pretty much perfect. These guys pulled it together and rose to the occasion as they never have before/

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

Alkymist : " Sanctuary"

The grim Danish masters of heaviness have returned . Things are changing , as  I remember their previous album being more sludgey. The Neurosis influence is still there, but there is more of a Celtic Frost thing going on. What sets sludge apart from doom is there tends to be more of a punk influence, where doom only has metal in it's veins . The vocals are more growled than sung , but still have a form and function in the songs rather than just being an after thought. There are bits of melodic atmosphere that further add to the darker proceedings. Sometimes these are just interludes, but these guys do not throw those into the album to show they can do it, instead the weave these elements into the actual songs. "Draugr" finds them tempo picking up a little , it has almost a more tribal driving feel to it, which brings back the Neurosis feel and by this I mean "Through Silver and Blood" era, though with less over apocalyptic leanings. This is a much more introspective album,. The vocals have more of a croak to their rasp.

On thing I noticed about the album is how the drums sit back behind the guitar, I think if they were given more heft in the mix the overall sound would have had more thunder, but this is what we are working with. I like the creepy feel leading into "Desolated Sky". The riff to this song does feel more doomy than sludge. The lyrics muse the end of the world , which in the days of Corona I can certainly appreciate these sentiments. "Astral Haze" have nonsense metal lyrics that mess with metaphors of oblivion, you know the typical thing. The bass tone is really mean and booming on this one and allows the guitar to play around in the shadows . The lumbering riffs kinda plods, but gets broken up by a guitar solo that shifts the dynamics rather than just shredding.

The last song "Warkeeper" is just an instrumental outro piece. I could have done without all the interludes and would have preferred to have had them all worked into an actual song, but I like the direction they are heading in here and will take what I can get. It is an album I can leave on and let play, yet unlike some albums I have done that with this week the songs do not all sound the same. This is not to say they are bringing in wildly different sonic colors, they are not. What they do is work wisely with the ones they are painting these songs with. I will give this a 9.5 , as it's beautifully dark and darkness is what I want from music.

Alkymist : " s/t"

While they are being called doom, the first song on the band's self titled debut reminds me of a cross between Godflesh and Neurosis. I don't think all doom bands should owe the totality of their existence to Black Sabbath. I do think the difference between doom and sludge lies in the sense of mourning , where sludge has a dirtier more apocalyptic chug to it, that is being displayed here. I'm just working off my first impression of the opener so maybe their entire families get killed before the second song and the album takes a more despondent turn. I can also hear some Crowbar influence in the grunt of the vocals . Midway into the song the bass line does lurch into something darker that comes closer to doom, so they did not need great loss in their lives to get their in time for the guitar solo.

The second song combines a great deal of other elements all carrying an oppressive crunch and meeting somewhere between doom and sludge. There is more melody and atmosphere to "Myling" which retains the hints of Neurosis , but also couple with shades of 90s metal if we are talking Type O Negative, not the band's goth side, but the heavy crunching lumber.  The more Black Sabbath side of things begins to stir on "Paradise". The vocals are almost like My Dying Bride, but not gothy. They eventually go back into the throaty bark that has been their primary function thus far. The vocal colors on this do shift. One such change occurs midway into the song.

"Serpent" started off more Pink Floyd like. The vocals take on a more Amebix feel as the over all sound has that more dystopian crust feel.You can here how Killing Joke also influenced this brand of music. The guitar tone is much cleaner  here and the atmospheric elements are very organic. The roar of the vocals is much more Neurosis like as they sit against the heavier modulation. It's a pretty impressive display of pounding. I'll around this down slightly to am 8.5 , due to the fact this is obviously not the most original thing going. They still manage to make this their own despite that fact and that says a lot so if you are looking for a new sludge album this should be your jam.

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