Black Metal History - Dead Earth : "Et Disperdam Illud"

It is not surprising that another Scandinavian releasing a new album has deep ties to black metal, and metal in general given the fact that Mathias used to play for Hypocrisy. He is also from the band Algaion. Given his veteran status., he knows a thing or two and had the good sense to bring in some friends to help him with this album rather than trying to do it all himself, when playing drums is not his forte. This also prevents him from having to resort to drum programming. Kim Arnell from Morifade handles the drum duties. There is not a great deal of new ground being broken, however, what he is treading upon here is really well done.

By the third song "Doom Cerulean" there is more of a mid-tempo feel and flourishes of melodic ambiance.  Interestingly, cerulean is in the song's title, as the word which looks and sounds cool, just means the color blue that is found in the sky. Not very dark in concept.  In some regards, the same could be said about what is going down here, but the purposeful manner of the execution almost makes me forget this ominous sound is just referring to the sky, even the lyrics being screamed refer to stars shining. Perhaps it is an ominous metaphor about aliens. "Swords Drawn" is more along the lines of the kind of typical black metal you expect to hear in 2024. Once again really well, and enough thought was put into it that convinced me they care about the song. 

Perhaps this is a joke and this is really blue metal, since  "Lazurite Throne" is also a song on this album, and Lazurite is blue. The growl to this blue metal classic is lower and more death metal, finding the song itself leaning in more of a death metal direction."Speaking Silence' is a more deliberate gallop that not only flows better but sets the stage for sung vocals that break the mood up and add more colors aside from blue and black. "Pyres" just blasts along with epic bombast. It hits all the places most people want, but is also not all that original. To this project's credit, the songs are not long winding droning sprawls of sound, but very purposeful songs. I think they have covered almost every style of black metal scream. They write some riffs with an eerie ring to them, which goes a long way in my book. I will give this album a 9, it sums up a great deal of Swedish Black Metal. 

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pst73

the Top 10 Albums of 2021

 

At the end of the day...year these are the albums I listened to the most. The reason that makes these the best is because I listened to over 2000 albums this year and these are the ones that endured the influx of new music that hit My in box every morning and made me want to hear them again and again. Yes, this is the culmination of all the other lists done up to this point for other blogs and was refined down to this master list of all genres.  So here ya go...

10-Converge & Chelsea Wolfe - " Blood Moon "

I like these two artists almost equally it brings out Converge's best side as I prefer their dark creepy melodic stuff over when they are just a total punk rock freak out the album leans in more of a sludge direction though by the highly experimental definition of that sub-genre, Wolfe's solo work had those elements previously, so this is not a surprise. They work together in a masterful way to create heavy music that is still beautiful in different ways. The range of sonic colors beats out Witnesses. 

Abysmal Hymns: November is Doom - Converge & Chelsea Wolfe :"Blood Moon"

9-Hypocrisy- "Worship"

The 90s never left. This is the vibe I get from the first album in over a decade from one of Sweden's best death metal acts. I first got into them back in 1994 with the 'Fourth Dimension" album. They were ahead of the curve when it came to lyrics dealing with alien conspiracies. Their experience as song writers prevails and makes this better than what a younger band eager to prove how heavy they are would do. Lyrically it is very fitting for the past year so wish it had come out earlier but will take it. They impressively beat out Converge and Ms. Wolfe's collab as these songs hooked me in more. 

Abysmal Hymns: Hypocrisy : " Worship"

8-Bloody Hammers - "Songs of Unspeakable Terror"

What gave these guys the edge is that this album came out back in January and hung tough as an album I would return to at least once a week or so. An impressive feat when you consider how much new music I ingest. This time the band leaned into the punk side of their influences, and it works much better. It is not total Danzig as the Elvis side of the coin is toned down. The vocals are great and very catchy. I can appreciate how this is married to an almost edgy cock rock side of 80s metal, but all horror anthems which earned their place at the top of this list. They beat out Hypocrisy because I just got a little more mileage out of this one. 

Abysmal Hymns: Bloody Hammers : "Songs of Unspeakable Terror"

7-The Pretty Reckless - Death By Rock N Roll" 

Over the course of this year this album grew on me. Which is why it is taking the number 7 spot. They manage to make new rock sounds from fairly blues based Led Zeppelin styled riffs that couple well with her smoky sex dripping vocals. They have been at it for 12 years, so their efforts paid off for everything falling into place for them.  

Abysmal Hymns: the Pretty Reckless : "Death By Rock N Roll"

6-Slothrust- "Parallel Timeline" 

Things are different. The mood has changed and matured. Where "|the Pact" was a much more polished effort than their previous albums, this one is another step forward in the refinement of their sound. They are less grunge than their earlier work, but still pack more punch than say HAIM. At the end of the day

Abysmal Hymns: Slothrust : "Parallel Timeline"

 5-Danny Elfman - "Big Mess" 

Elfman has an ear to what is going on in music for sure. It is heavier than what you might expect from him, yet theater lies in the panned vocals that bounce around these songs.  It is progressive without really trying to be. Like I tell my daughter when she hears Oingo Boingo this is Kack Skellington singing! The drums and guitars are way harder edged than what you would find in Oingo Boingo, which explains why this is not being done under that name. He has both Josh Freese and Robin Finck playing on this album. Guitar is also provided by Warren from the Vandals, so both the Vandals and Nine Inch Nails figures in the mix

Abysmal Hymns: Danny Elfman - "Big Mess"

4-Iron Maiden - "Senjutsu" 

There is no real filler on this album, the first single is the weakest song on the album and that is a relative term as it is still better than anything another band trying to be them could do, and a solid song in its own right even if it is not just what I showed up for, If this is their last album it is a fine summary of their legacy.  They beat out Danny Elfman with more concise and hooky songwriting,  

Abysmal Hymns: Iron Maiden : "Senjutsu"

3-Portrayal of Guilt - "We are Always Alone"

This time around they brought the more sonic kind of heavy I love. They are pretty deliberate using very chilling chord structures.  From the first listen I knew that this was going to be the fucking album to beat this year this shit kicks your face in and is a beautiful dark mess, just what the world needs right now/The parts that did not tug at me right away grew on me, making this an almost perfect album and the best of the heaviest. Beating out Maiden because they took more chances.      

Abysmal Hymns: Portrayal of Guilt : "We Are Always Alone"

2-Chrvches -" Screen Violence"

The Scottish pop band's 4th album. The title come from how they made this album remotely during the pandemic. It picks up where they left off at first and then goes in more interesting places as the album progresses. Mayberry may not employ a great deal of new tools in her arsenal, apart from production tricks, but continues to sharpen what she has been doing. Her growth comes more in the form of her lyrics. 

Abysmal Hymns: Chvrches : "Screen Violence"

1-Amigo the Devil -"Born Against"

After "Everything's Fine" the bar is pretty high going into this one. There is a bigger slicker production sometimes bringing more of a rock dynamic sometimes sounding like a drunk romp arounds the streets of New Orleans. His singing is more dynamic, and lyrics refined his sense of storytelling to bring fresh wallop to the punch of his songs here and worth many repeat listens. 

Abysmal Hymns: Amigo the Devil : "Born Against"

The Top 10 Metal Albums of 2021

We have needed heavy music more than ever this year. This is the culmination of all the other metal lists. Yes, I have done other metal lists for other blogs, and I seem them as being a refining process for when I make this list. So, while result may have varied, this is the final word.  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. At the very fact these bands made it on the list means they are the cream of the crop 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   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 Metal albums of 2021

10-Hooded Menace - "the Tritonus Bell" 

 This band from Finland never struck me over the course of their careers so far as being as creative in the song writing department as they have so midway into the first song of this album. The have really paid more attention to their guitar melodies without becomes cheesy melo-death. The low guttural vocals could always turn into the one-dimensional element that shoots this inspiration down as the album progresses so we will see.   

Abysmal Hymns: Hooded Menace : "The Tritonus Bell"

 

9- Ruin - "Spread Plague Death " 

They come back nastier and grimmer on the title track of their new album. I really love "Human Annihilation". It had a very tangible hate to its sound. In the time of metal growing kinder and gentler I need it to be more hateful. These miscreants deliver. It is not until a few songs in that things pick up into the faster pounding most death metal is known for. They have not gotten any softer and it is still just as effective when they go from the jack hammer into a more deliberate crunch. All too often heaviness seems to sacrifice a willingness to care about song writing yet here we are with the most dismally gurgled vocals and the songs still have me engaged.  Perhaps this meanness is the only edge they have over Hooded Menace, it is almost too close to call. 

Abysmal Hymns: Ruin : "Spread Plague Death"

8- Flotsam and Jetsam- "Blood in the Water" 

These guys are the masters of power thrash. The album is way heavier than expected, but the songs are hooky, and Erik's voice sounds great, so what else can you ask for these guys, who keep surprising us with some of their best work coming this late in their careers. Songwriting is what beats out the brutality of Ruin. 

 Abysmal Hymns: Flotsam & Jetsam : "Blood in the Water"

 

 7-Glassing- "Twin Dream" 

At first you think ...ok this is a sludge album with a great deal of post rock atmosphere, not an uncommon sub-genre these days. As this album unfolds your ears are bathed in a great deal of powerful heaviness that hits you outside the sonic scope of sludge. Angular twists and turns as well as sections that pound at you like an angry hard- core band, or I suppose screamo since that tends to blend its sonic texture more in this direction. Darker a more powerful emotionally than Flotsam's more headfirst assault.

Abysmal Hymns: November is Doom - Glassing - " Twin Dream"

6-Witnesses - 'the Collapse"

They bravely follow up to "Doom II " which was such a perfect album, In my head this bar they set for themselves, they did not make the same album twice. Instead, they approached this more another angle. Perhaps, not as desolate and dark in the way it occupies sonic space as their previous album. But after a couple days of playtime, it is clear the guitar melodies are as equally haunting. I think in doing so for this album they have allowed the vocals to convey a similar emoting with more subtle flow as the take on a rawer edge. Heavier and more metallic it works in its own way.  Riffs are what beats out Glassing. 

Abysmal Hymns: November is Doom- Witnesses : "the Collapse"

 

5-Converge & Chelsea Wolfe - " Blood Moon "

I like these two artists almost equally it brings out Converge's best side as I prefer their dark creepy melodic stuff over when they are just a total punk rock freak out the album leans in more of a sludge direction though by the highly experimental definition of that sub-genre, Wolfe's solo work had those elements previously, so this is not a surprise. They work together in a masterful way to create heavy music that is still beautiful in different ways. The range of sonic colors beats out Witnesses. 

Abysmal Hymns: November is Doom - Converge & Chelsea Wolfe :"Blood Moon"

4-Hypocrisy- "Worship"

The 90s never left. This is the vibe I get from the first album in over a decade from one of Sweden's best death metal acts. I first got into them back in 1994 with the 'Fourth Dimension" album. They were ahead of the curve when it came to lyrics dealing with alien conspiracies. Their experience as song writers prevails and makes this better than what a younger band eager to prove how heavy they are would do. Lyrically it is very fitting for the past year so wish it had come out earlier but will take it. They impressively beat out Converge and Ms. Wolfe's collab as these songs hooked me in more. 

Abysmal Hymns: Hypocrisy : " Worship"

 

  3-Bloody Hammers - "Songs of Unspeakable Terror"

What gave these guys the edge is that this album came out back in January and hung tough as an album I would return to at least once a week or so. An impressive feat when you consider how much new music I ingest. This time the band leaned into the punk side of their influences, and it works much better. It is not total Danzig as the Elvis side of the coin is toned down. The vocals are great and very catchy. I can appreciate how this is married to an almost edgy cock rock side of 80s metal, but all horror anthems which earned their place at the top of this list. They beat out Hypocrisy because I just got a little more mileage out of this one. 

Abysmal Hymns: Bloody Hammers : "Songs of Unspeakable Terror"

2- Iron Maiden- "Senjutsu" 

There is no real filler on this album, the first single is the weakest song on the album and that is a relative term as it is still better than anything another band trying to be them could do, and a solid song in its own right even if it is not just what I showed up for, If this is their last album it is a fine summary of their legacy.  They beat out Bloody Hammers, because well this is Iron Maiden and they do not just stick to one riff no matter how cool it is their songs are an adventure. 

Abysmal Hymns: Iron Maiden : "Senjutsu"

1- Portrayal of Guilt - "We are Always Alone"

This time around they brought the more sonic kind of heavy I love. They are pretty deliberate using very chilling chord structures.  From the first listen I knew that this was going to be the fucking album to beat this year this shit kicks your face in and is a beautiful dark mess, just what the world needs right now/The parts that did not tug at me right away grew on me, making this an almost perfect album and the best of the heaviest. Beating out Maiden because they took more chances.      

Abysmal Hymns: Portrayal of Guilt : "We Are Always Alone"

 

the Top 10 Death Metal albums of 2021

Given the state of the world we need death metal more than ever. Death is something to be celebrated not feared and these albums help provide a soundtrack 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. 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 2021

10-VHS- "I Heard They Suck... Blood" 

 Of course, I am going to like a death metal album about vampires, not as spooky as I wanted it to be, which is why this is more of an honorable mention, but the songs are catchy and fun.

Abysmal Hymns: VHS : " I Heard They Suck... Blood"

9-Asphyx - "Necroceros" 

This is1 the 10th album by this band from the Netherlands who is not drastically changing anything. They are straight up by the books death metal.  Old school to the point their sound brings back the crossroads where death metal sprung from thrash, these guys are the real deal as they have at it since 91 and clearly perfected this aggression into hooky songwriting.  

Abysmal Hymns: Asphyx : "Necroceros"

 

8-Blindfolded and Led to the Woods - "Nightmare Withdrawals" 

The band from New Zealand succeeds in not sounding like any other death metal band I have covered this month which is an accomplishment. Some of this is thanks to the helter skelter angular riffs they throw at you from every direction. It is progressive but in more of a math rock way than wanky shredding.

Abysmal Hymns: Death is June - Blindfolded and Led to the Woods : " Nightmare Withdrawals"

 

7- Carcass- "Torn Arteries" 

This album is a return to form. I was not too thrilled by their 2013 comeback album "Surgical Steel"  When you are a legend like these guys are you have to do better than that.  we know they are never going to be a grind core band again like they were on "Reek of ...", nor do I need them to be. "Necroticism" is my favorite album by them, but it's no longer 1991 . I am more impressive when they bring riffs that have a little more groove to them,

Abysmal Hymns: Carcass : "Torn Arteries"

  6-Hundred Headless Horsemen - "Apokalepsia"

Of all the bands this one might be the most different. There are progressive elements in the atmosphere being kicked up here. The overt battery of ear drums is perhaps dialed back a little, but they are making some beautiful dark music, more prog than I bargained for, but really well done 

Abysmal Hymns: Death is June -Hundred Headless Horsemen : "Apokalepsia"

 

5- Bridgeburner- "Disempath" 

This band from New Zealand is heavily influenced by hard core, we might call this death core but they have nothing to do with the terrible Myspace styled bands who coined the term, they are not only heavier and more aggressive than those kinds of bands but much better songwriters as well. 

 

 

4-Crypt Crawler - "Future Usurper" 

Right from the bass intro they have my ear because they are not opening this going for the throat. It is not to say they are not capable of doing that they just bring more to the table. I suppose this would fall under progressive death metal, though they are not too mathy or wanky. They are a tightly coiled aggression machine with all the hooks that old school thrash used to dish out but run from a filter of classic death metal. They keep this big epic maximum head banging momentum

Abysmal Hymns: Death is June - Crypt Crawler - " Future Usurper"

 

3- Hooded Menace - "the Tritonus Bell" 

 This band from Finland never struck me over the course of their careers so far as being as creative in the song writing department as they have so midway into the first song of this album. The have really paid more attention to their guitar melodies without becomes cheesy melo-death. The low guttural vocals could always turn into the one-dimensional element that shoots this inspiration down as the album progresses so we will see.   

Abysmal Hymns: Hooded Menace : "The Tritonus Bell"

 

2- Ruin - "Spread Plague Death " 

They come back nastier and grimmer on the title track of their new album. I really love "Human Annihilation". It had a very tangible hate to it's sound. In the time of metal growing kinder and gentler I need it to be more hateful. These miscreants deliver. It is not until a few songs in that things pick up into the faster pounding most death metal is known for. They have not gotten any softer and it is still just as effective when they go from the jack hammer into a more deliberate crunch. All too often heaviness seems to sacrifice a willingness to care about song writing yet here we are with the most dismally gurgled vocals and the songs still have me engaged. 

Abysmal Hymns: Ruin : "Spread Plague Death"

 1-Hypocrisy- "Worship"

The 90s never left. This is the vibe I get from the first album in over a decade from one of Sweden's best death metal acts. I first got into them back in 1994 with the 'Fourth Dimension" album. They were ahead of the curve when it came to lyrics dealing with alien conspiracies. Their experience as song writers prevails and makes this better than what a younger band eager to prove how heavy they are would do. Lyrically it is very fitting for the past year so wish it had come out earlier but will take it

Abysmal Hymns: Hypocrisy : " Worship"

Hypocrisy : " Worship"

The 90s never left. This is the vibe I get from the first album in over a decade from one of Sweden's best death metal acts. I first got into them back in 1994 with the 'Fourth Dimension" album. They were ahead of the curve when it came to lyrics dealing with alien conspiracies. Satan no longer has danger in 2021, but sing about what is really going on and people get scared, and scared is the feeling metal should invoke. While the title track that opens the album is pretty cool, the grooves keep getting better on the more head banging "Chemical Whore", Which is about the phramacuetical industry which is way scarier than Cannibal Corpse's more recent output. 'Greedy Bastards' is more straight forward and more thrashy in both lyrical and musical context.  "Dead World" digs deeper into what is going on in the world today and the music is as gripping as the lyrics.

'We're the Walking" offers a bleaker look at where the world is at.  It is more deliberate in its stomp and more about the song than being aggressive. "Brother Hood of the Serpent" feels like a more melodic version of Morbid Angel, though the vocals have more of a touch of black metal in their higher pitched scream.  I like the cleaner guitar tones on "Children of the Gray" they are creepy almost like Slayer's serial killer love songs. The vocals are more commanding.  "Another Day' is the first song that strikes me as your run of the mill color by numbers death metal, "They Will Arrive" has more groove to it so it works better as a song as there is more to latch onto. "Bug in a Net" gets both darker and more melodic. The lyrics are great, and one thing about this album is vocals have a purpose. It almost comes close to low Type ONegative singing.

The last song focuses more on the groove of the riff, with his growl still conveying the lyrics but falling in the places you would expect death metal to adhere to rather than do their own thing as we have heard earlier in the album. Even then their experience as song writers prevails and makes this better than what a younger band eager to prove how heavy they are would do. I will certainly give this album a 9.5, lyrically it is very fitting for the past year so wish it had come out earlier but will take it, 

9.6

Pain : "Coming Home"

After collaborating with Rammstein vocalist Till Lindemann, Peter Tagtgren has elevated himself in experience not only as a musician, but as a producer and songwriter. There is a more more commercial leaning to the opening song that has less of the typical industrial metal sound and more rock n roll to it. That big industrial metal that even Dimmu dips into can be felt on the second song "Call Me". Lindemann makes an appearance here as well.  The lyrics to this song are a lot of fun. "A Wannabe" backs off and has almost a H.I.M if a dose of super-slickly produced radio metal was pumped into the emotional rock. Symphonic strings and strummed guitars fill the spaces , though it doesn't feel as inspired to me.

There is a more driving chug to "Pain in the Ass".  The chorus fills a little cluttered. On paper I am sure this song works more than it does  here.  There are similar problems on "Black Knight Satellite" where is just more upbeat and polished than I like my industrial. The melodic content of the title track takes the edge off. I guess over dramatic goth girls might like this as it's in the same realm of heaviness as Night Wish. By the time we get to the title track I am thinking how it's a shame that this album gave us glimpses of how pop inflected industrial strength metal can work, yet that fun is shattered by a larger display of what it doesn't work. There are just no balls to the title track, yet some of the melodies and grooves could work if they were not slathered in cheese filled synths.

"Absinthe Phoenix Rising" reminds me of Blur at first. It's too happy and upbeat. It does improve for a second when it slows into more of a groove. If you were in Hypocrisy then you are expected to be able to bring heavier than a "Beautiful People" rip-off like "Final Crusade". The intro to "Natural Born Idiot" gives me a little more hope. This hope is popped like a balloon when it breaks down into the verse.The chorus to this song is terrible fluff. The heavier riffs can't save it. Going into the last song "Starseed" I was pessimist after the turn the album had taken and it was really make or break for this band.The chorus is where they lost me rather than hooked and made me come to the conclusion that what this band does Mindless Self Indulgence does better. I'll give this album a 6 because it gets off to a strong start before choking you on this sonic cotton candy that is more fluff than not.

A Tribute to Slayer

So Metal Hammer released a Slayer tribute album. Slayer is going to be hanging it up soon, but it's clear the mark they left on extreme metal. Let's face it, there would not be such a thing without them. Carnifex went for the scream at the beginning of "Angel of Death". It was a little weak, but at least they tried which is more than I can say for Slayer these days. If this is death core than it sound more like death metal to me than hard core. There guitar tone is not as dialed in as Slayer's , but Rick Rubin didn't produce this so they are going to have clicking double bass and less venom in their tone. Battlecross has more of a Skeleton Witch sound, but does a decent job with 'War Ensemble". Once again the chug is lacking on a production standpoint. I'm not sure about Apocalyptica's medley of " South of Heaven and Mandatory Suicide" being the best investment of studio time. Of course Enslave is going to deliver the goods with their cover or "Jesus Saves". It is a surprising choice for them, I thought they might pick something more melodic. It sounds like it could have been recorded in their earlier years, either way they nail it.

I didn't know Hypocrisy was still around. Their bass tone sucks, but they get the job done otherwise with a barked death grunt for vocals. Of Krisiun is going to beat the hell out of "Silent Scream". It is a rather one dimensional attack, but we are talking Slayer not Iron Maiden here so it works. Cataract is a band I have never heard of before, but they summon the best guitar tone so far. The vocals are spit out with anger, but the lyrics are still present. This sends these guys to the top of the heap when it comes to really doing Slayer justice. One of the other high lights is Dark Funeral's take on "Dead Skin Mask". Their guitarist can really shred when he feels like it. Six Feet Under prove just how limited Chris Barnes' vocals are with their attempt at "At Dawn They Sleep". It is the worst vocal performance on the album where stellar vocals are not in high demand. Vader's cover of "Reigning Blood" reminds me of pre-"Beneath the Remains" Sepultura. This was fun and made me want to listen to the original version of these songs. This is more of a mix tape rather than a tribute album, as the release dates of this are a little suspect , but I'll give this an 8.