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" 

pst536

the Top 10 Industrial Albums of 2024

In an Election year, nothing is a more fitting soundtrack to watching the world unravel into a dystopian nightmare than Industrial? You would think fans of the genre would be celebrating this but from what I have seen online, they are crying under the covers like the rest of the sheeple. If you are someone who believes that leaning into the end should be celebrated since it is a natural destination in the cycle then you might appreciate the mood these albums created as much as I did.  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 that 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 Industrial albums of 2024.

10--Black Asteroid - "Infinite'

 This project's evolution makes sense as Bryan Black was a keyboard tech for Prince at Paisley Park Studios, which is a great place to learn your craft and network in the industry. He teams up with everyone from Ian Astbury to ACTRS on this album. It tends to lean in the direction of electronic rather than the stricter definition of industrial. . 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/gothtober-black-asteroid-infinite.html

9-Combichrist-"CMBCRST"

Andy is back for the project's 10th album. He has kept this industrial entity going for the past 21 years, so we know he at least has that experience under his belt. The best I have heard from these guys yet, thanks to he more focused and melodic nature of the songwriting this time around. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/combichrist-cmbcrst.html

8-Livernois -  ":ablation:"

There is a great deal to like when it comes to this project from New Orleans. It also raises the question of why more goth and industrial bands are not coming out of that city? They are very dark and gritty and do not give a fuck about the dance floor. If we think about some of the best industrial that came out of the 90s it also did not care about the dance floor. There is noise, and plenty of rough edges to the opening track that slithers through the gutters

 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/livernois-ablation.html

7-Persher - "Sleep Well" 

This German duo is making electronic oddities with enough drive, to be considered industrial if we consider the more experimental bounds of the genre. A unique experience, that feels like  nothing I have heard before with distorted vocals over what sounds to be real drums playing again a barrage of synth farting in an angular groove that gathers forward momentum

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/persher-sleep-well.html

6-KMFDM -"LET GO" 

 KMFDM is doing it again. This treat for the freaks is less of a truth or dare, and more of a neon-dripping funk explosion that does coke in the same dirty bathrooms as My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult. There is more guitar in "Push!" but it is executed less aggressively than what might be thought of as their classic sound. This gradual change over the past few albums has come to a more noticeable head here,

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/kmfdm-let-go.html

5-Bad Omens  -  "Concrete Jungle" 

Yeah this band seems ike they would just be Gen-z's take on Myspace metal, they have pretty decent taste in music when it comes to the artists they are pairing up on the collaborative album, as the guest list includes Poppy, HEALTH, Bob Vylan, and WARGASM. This album churns out some slappers by taking the nu-skool of industrial and applying it to what Bad Omens does.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/bad-omens-concrete-jungle-ost.html

 

4-Fange -"Perdition" 

This French band delivers the post-apocalyptic goods again. The overall sound they bring is an equal dose of industrial crunch given its sludged-out weight. The vocals are harder than what your average industrial band coughs up. It's pretty crushing

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/09/fange-perdition.html

 

3-Cyberaktif - "eNdgame" 

This industrial project features an all-star industrial lineup of cEvin Key, Bill Leeb, and Rhys Fulber. It sounds like what you would expect, a cross between Skinny Puppy and Frontline Assembly. They are song-focused rather than just throwing beats and sounds at you as the vocals have a purpose. Granted given the minds this music is coming from it could easily slip into the set of any "goth nite" DJ who is worth a shit.  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/gothtober-cyberaktif-endgame.html

 

2-Louvado Abismo- "S/ T" 

This band from Portugal gets it They pack a punch rather than just being loud EDM. This album stomps with a dark aggression making it more sonically intense, The plead of the vocals feels real rather than someone trying to recreate what has already been done, but true to the legacy of the genre

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/louvado-abismo-st.html

 

1-Death Killer -"Total Destruction of the Entire Universe" 

Here is the kind of industrial album I was waiting for. It is both pissed and heavy as hell with a fair dose of chaos in its veins. There is a great balance of instrumentation and programming/ electronic elements. It is not industrial music to dance to it is industrial music that is going to kick your face. Not unlike Ministry's "Filth Pig" album in that regard though this is heavier. It blasts at you like a jackhammer, as it sonically fucks your brains out right from the first song

 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/gothtober-death-killer.html

pst533

Gothtober - Cyberaktif : "eNdgame"

 

This industrial project features an all-star industrial lineup of cEvin Key, Bill Leeb, and Rhys Fulber. It sounds like what you would expect, a cross between Skinny Puppy and Frontline Assembly. They are song-focused rather than just throwing beats and sounds at you as the vocals have a purpose. Granted given the minds this music is coming from it could easily slip into the set of any "goth nite" DJ who is worth a shit.  "Bitter End' feels more like a Skinny Puppy song, though it lacks Ogre's vocal, even though they try to give the vocals a darker edge, it is not the same, but a worthwhile effort. 

As the album moves onto "A New World Awaits" the sonic theme seems to be darker than your average industrial band these days, which includes Front Line Assembly, but is not as dark as Skinny Puppy, which is generally a pretty tall order. Even most of the band's solo work was lighter than Skinny Puppy too. "You Don't Need to See" feels like it would churn up the dance floor more than the previous songs, which is respectful. Lyrically however it is much bleaker than what I have made out from the other songs, so I appreciate that. The chorus works really well. 

As the album bounces around, they visit many of industrial music's varied niches. This works since they created most of them. 'the Fright ' is more introspective as the melody explores the darker sonic landscape.  It is almost like a ballad. It reminds me of Killing Joke's more melodic moments. "Broken Through Time" has more groove, but uses restraint in its aggression. It also showcases their songwriting smarts in how it modulates while keeping its sense of motion.  The vocals on this album are very purposeful and not just an afterthought with some coll melodic moments. The last song works less off groove and hooks and drones on moody ambiance.  I will give this album a 9.5, if you like industrial music it's a must, was released on Artoffact Records

    

pst515