the Top 10 Folk / Country Albums of 2024

For some time I've combined country and folk music into this list since they are on the fringe of what is normally reviewed here. The two genres have a great deal of stylistic overlap since pop country is not my thing, and I like folk music that is darker and more melancholy. These albums do not really give a damn about the Nashville status quo even when it comes to the artists in the more commercial spotlight. These are not the coolest albums, but the best, fuck what other blogs say. 

 After I sort through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I use those lists to compile the top 10 albums of 2024 list. 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. I've included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out the audio on these guys. Anyway here are the top 10 country and folk albums of 2024

10-Hovvdy-"s/t" 

If Justin Vernon had grown up in a trailer park listening to country music, Bon Iver might have sounded like this. The twang is subtle, meaning if they were trying to be country, it would be more upfront, as that is the act they are putting up. It's detectable, but I think they are trying to make indie pop, but that is what comes out. It's not pop country though I think they recorded this in an actual studio and not their bedroom, like the sometimes lo-fi Soundcloud quality tries to emulate. Though this is their 5th full-length album they have taken enough trips into the studio to settle into their skin.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/12/hovvdy-st.html

9-the Death South - "Chains & Stakes" 

One of the best modern bluegrass quartets is back with a collection of songs that finds them moving back in a darker direction. They move back in the direction of Murder Ballads. They remained consistent in what they do which is already pretty great so that works for this album.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/02/the-dead-south-chains-stakes.html

8- 49 Winchester -"Leaving This Holler" 

This Virginia-based band plays a traditional style of country, that is a little more upbeat than what I normally listen to, but it's well done. All the instrumentation fits in the lush mix. Lyrically the outlook is pretty bright, making up home that the drink it up songs go south so I can hear songs about alcoholism. At the end of the day the great guitar playing and singing won me over . 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/49-winchester-leavin-this-holler.html

 

7-the Decemberists -" As it Ever Was, So it Will Be Again"  

The songwriting has been streamlined, and though they get really progged out on the last song, the album is typically an eclectic mix of bard-like folk. as they dip their toes into styles, sometimes taking you back to the 70s as flutes wander around. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/the-decemberists-as-it-ever-was-so-it.html

         

  

6-Amigo the Devil -"Yours's Until the War is Over" 

Danny has been playing big rock festivals for a few summers now, and we are beginning to hear how that is influencing him. There is more of an edge here. There are depressing songs that ponder suicide, and by and large, this album is a continuation of the Murder Ballad theme that has driven the bulk of his music. He colors these with different influences, like the touch of Tom Waits which can be felt at times.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/02/amigo-devil-yours-until-war-is-over.html

5-Faye Webster -"Undressed at the Symphony" 

She could have also crossed over into the top 10 pop albums list that I have yet to finish, but if this was Joni Mitchell doing the exact same songs it would be folk so, here we are. In the 70s there was a genre called adult contemporary. It was the kind of organic loungy music that was not the bubble gum of pop but found artists in the middle of country and jazz. There was none of the country twang, nor the complex excursions in jamming that jazz ventures off into. More produced than folk;, but many former folk artists would cross over into this for radio play. Mellow is certainly a fitting word to describe it. There are no aspirations to induce dancing. This is what Webster's music invokes.

4-Waxahatchee- "Tigers Blood" 

 This album took some time to sink in. Katie Crutchfield is more of a country singer than not. Sure she is soulful. But there is an honest twang that offsets most of her indie sensibility. She has certainly settled into her skin as an artist. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/03/waxahatchee-tigers-blood.html

 

3-Kacey Musgraves -"Deeper Well" 

This is the singer's 6th album. Funny enough the title track is about how she quit smoking pot, but it sounds like still was hitting the bong when she wrote the opening track. It has a 60s ambiance to it. The title track also carries more atmosphere than what you might expect from a country musician who is not smoking pot. From her past work, I would never have taken her as a pot smoker, so it's funny that the album she is not smoking sounds like the one she's smoking the most on. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/08/kacey-musgraves-deeper-well.html

      

2-Johnny Blue Skies- "Passage Du Dasir" 

Not sure why Sturgill Simpson needs an alter ago as this is more country than some of the albums he's released under his name. Strong guitar playing throughout, sometimes it's touched with a bit of 70s soul, and sometimes he jams closer to what Pink Floyd does. His voice sounds great and it's another testament to his songwriting, where else are you going to hear country songs about fairies? 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/07/johnny-blue-skies-passage-du-desir.html

1-Chelsea Wolfe -"Unbound" 

 If She said the versions of these songs found on this EP were how they were originally written, before being re-mixed into what was presented on "She Reaches Out to, She Reaches Out to..." it would make perfect sense as this sounds more like who she is. This is emotionally powerful and feels like  true expression of who she is. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/chelsea-wolfe-unbound.html

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July's Top 10 Albums

It's time for July's top 10 albums. Staying abreast on the month's highlights might help casual readers see what they missed and check these artists out. I am not doing little blurbs on them, just linking the reviews. I'll use this to 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 October 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 Country to Black Metal so you may find your new favorite among them. Here are the Top 10 albums for July 2024.

10-the Decemberists -"As it Ever Was, So it Will Be Again"  

Indie Folk

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/the-decemberists-as-it-ever-was-so-it.html

9-Abrams - "Blue City" 

Grunge 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/07/abrams-blue-city.html

8-Hell is Other People - "Moirae" 

Black Metal 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/07/hell-is-other-people-moirae.html

7-the Raveonettes - "The Raveonettes Sing…"

Garage Rock

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/07/the-raveonettes-raveonettes-sing.html

6-Svoid-"Neptunian" 

Black Metal

 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/07/svoid-neptunian.html

5- SeeYouSpaceCowboy -"Coup De Gr​á​ce" 

Experimental Pop Punk

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/07/seeyouspacecowboy-coup-de-grace.html

4-Johnny Blue Skies ( Sturgill Simpson) - "Passage Du Desir" 

Country

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/07/johnny-blue-skies-passage-du-desir.html

3-Softcult- "Heaven" 

Dream-pop 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/07/softcult-heaven.html

2-Crypt Sermon- "The Stygian Rose" 

Metal 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/07/crypt-sermon-stygian-rose.html

1-Iress - "Sleep now In Reverse" 

Doom-gaze

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/07/iress-sleep-now-in-reverse.html

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the Decemberists : "As it Ever Was, So it Will Be Again"

 

This band has matured in a streamlined manner over the years, but maintained the  James Mercer from the Shins joins prog-like sense of adventure and storytelling that set them apart from other indie rock bands. hem for the opening track. The melody works well enough, and it's organically layered with warm sounds. They take you for a tango on the infectious "Oh No !". The Afro-Cuban jazz stylings establish a groove that is more effective than what you might expect from such a pairing.  "the Reapers' is when the prog really buckles in to take you on a ride. Until this point, while eclectic, they were just dipping their toes into styles, taking you back to the 70s with this one. Flutes wander around. Except for the last song they keep the songs to a reasonable length and feel free to leave things out. 

There is a country feel to "Long White Veil". It sits well with the wheelhouse of what you might expect from them along with the story it tells. "William Fitzwilliam"  falls along the lines where folk meets country music with a sense of Appalachia. It is almost more of a ballad. "Don't Go to the Woods" is a somber folk ballad, that reflects back to some of the darker moods they have contemplated earlier in their careers. They continue to strum away on "Black Maria" and get more contemplative of the folk tales they are spinning. It is hard to argue against what works, but I wonder if they fired their drummer. " All I Want Is You" is their take on a sappy love song, which is what it is, all love songs are sappy.

"Born in the Morning" is the most Beatles-influenced moment I recall ever hearing from the band. It works for what it is, but it is beginning to sound like, while they are getting the job done it might not be their most inspired album if we are measuring it against "Picaresque". Then they hit you with a 70s-influenced pop song that sounds like something you would listen to riding your bike through Central Park with "America Made Me":  "Tell Me What's On Your Mind" sounds influenced by solo George Harrison, "My Sweet Love" to be honest,  but still carries the band's identity which is a display of how they make some of these stylistic choices wisely. "Never Satisfied" finds them back flirting with country music again. It works for what it is. Not the most inspired moment of the album. 

They end the album with the 20-minute "Joan in the Garden". A twenty-minute song is a lot to consume so I am going to break this down in chunks. The first two minutes is a folk ballad. A well-produced one since like the bulk of this album all the sounds are dialed in to perfection. Then for two minutes after this they build the ambiance around this folk melody until it reaches a Pink Floyd-like synth state it begins to melt into the following two minutes. This Pink Floyd tribute swells to an impressive sonic state. At the ten-minute mark, they have allowed things to break down into faint ambient noise so everything after should be another track. Then they go into a noise section that sounds like it should be on a Swans album and drone it out for six minutes. This builds into a harder rock jam that could be on a Thin Lizzy album. I would like to hear an entire album of this kind of thing from them. I will give this album a 9.5, as the strong moments balance it, though it falls slightly short of their best work. Which still makes it better than most bands. 

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the Weekly Playlist Vol 14

Sorry I know it's been more than a week since the last installment. But life happens. I have also been knee deep in the National Novel Writing Month so having to pump out a steady word count on that. Rather than going with a theme like I have in the past, I am going more for a soundtrack of emotions I have been riding the waves on over the past ten days. A lot of life stuff unfolded in the lives of others close to me and myself so there is some of that reflected. In the current "the Sound of Me Before You" series I am doing, I am sharing the sound track of my life in a auto-biographical journey, so this is a more urgent snap shot of the current flux. As the seasons shift toward the holidays, it can cause a morbid subconscious reflection on losses in life, so my focus and goal in these days is to be appreciative for what I have gained. Some of my head ways is not measured in outward accomplishments but the inner journey, so this is more of the soundtrack to that journey, the vulnerability of being present in uncomfortable feelings while knowing it doesn't change where your heart is at. So this is more of a thank you as we enter thanksgiving week, as I have been given something to be thankful for so the acknowledgment of that in these songs might be the best I can do at present when other words fail, yeah I know a writer who finds words fail him, it's easier to do when I am describing metal bands or fantasy scenarios, the closer and more intangible it gets the more I have to rely on the vibrations music brings from inside me.

 The Decemberists _"Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect"

 

 Tears For Fears _ "Head Over Heels"

 

the Weeknd _" Try Me"


 

 Kacey Musgraves _ " Love is a Wild Thing"


 

 Street Sects _ "Dial Down the Neon"

 

 Chvrches _ "Miracle"

 

 Chelsea Wolfe _" Crazy Love"

 

Ryan Adams _ "This Love"

 

 Twin Shadow _ "Littlest Things"

 

Slothrust _ " On My Mind"

 

the Top 10 Rock Albums of 2015

This year there is an eclectic mix ranging for folk rock to hard rock, some albums are darker than others. The inclusion of a pop category this year took anything to happy to rock with it. Most of these albums speak for themselves. A couple of these some lists have had as metal, but not every one knows what metal is...oh, well. Here are the Top 10 rocks albums of 2015.
 10 Cairo Pythian: "Touched"

 Cairo Pythian might have been the best kept secret of the Pacific North Wast. There have been enough post- punk band's worshipping Ian Curtis and friends so why no one at the alter of Love and Rockets. Often they weave a weird piece of dark wave that pulls out the rock n roll more than I anticipated. The synths are darker than the guitar solos that are more Brit pop. The singer can sing, on some songs he carries a seventies glam streak. But we are getting ahead of our selves because it starts of with a colder electro synth pop streak.The industrial elements are glamorized for the dance floor and not really for rivet heads throwing punches in latex. The genius in the production is the lo-fi indie rock distance the songs have to keep them from sounding like something on the oxymoron that is mainstream alternative radio.If you are tired of "cold wave" albums that sound like they were recorded on a four track in the bathroom and open to some genre defying drug crazed nonsense that is fun as all hell, do not waste another second of your life by not hearing this "band". I was able to just stop keeping score as I knew I was going to like each song.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/01/cairo-pythian-touched.html

9-Nostalgist:"Of Loves and Days Ago"

 It's hard to argue against this Seattle band. The baritone vocals are like if the singer from Bellicose Minds sang for a shoegaze band. They have an incredible guitar tone and have combined an interesting array of elements, I can hear touches of everything from Hum and Failure to the more shoe-gazing side of black metal. Not that they go anywhere near a blast beat but they have a similar atmosphere. Being a product of the 90s I enjoy any band that can use samples as a narrative in the songs and they really contribute here. Luckily with a little clicking, I found the band's "name your price" as life currently has me too broke to pay the 8 bucks, though it would have been worth every penny and one of the few albums I would have put on my forced-to-buy list. Good Job kids. 


http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/07/nostalgist-of-loves-and-days-ago.html

8-King Dude:" Songs of Flesh & Blood -In the Key of Light"

 Being the Chelsea Wolfe that I am you would think I'd already be all over this considering he is one of the few artists she has collaborated with and midway into the first song I am not sure why I haven't been. It's more post- punk meets rockabilly than folk or the Johnny Cash singer-song writer thing I assumed it to be. There is more of a Rome like strum to "Deal With the Devil". The things I like about it that is remains dark. Sure Nick Cave is an obvious influence, but Cowgill doesn't get lost in the narrative and forget he is singing a song an not narrating a story. I prefer the fuller sounds and production on this album to some of his older work I heard a few years ago. If you are a long time fan then some of the more sparse and droning moments that didn't grab me off the bat will be more of you thing.
 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/07/king-dude-songs-of-flesh-blood-in-key.html

7- No Joy :"More Faithful"

   I was anticipating  this new full length from No Joy. Having liked the glimpses I got from this project in the past , but have never gotten a solid taste of what the band could really do  so now we get the big picture. The show you many side right from the first song which has the driving post-punk bass pumping under dreamy vocals. The guitar doesn't come into clearer focus until the second song, which conforms to more indie rock standards than the opener. The vocals smooth out and glide over their brand of dream pop, that comes across more vocal more in the forefront than their previous work. Not quite dancey and shaded with equal dabs of My Bloody Valentine and Sonic Youth.Sure they can gleam like fragile crystal, but can also rock out when they feel like it.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/06/no-joy-more-faithful.html

6- The Decemberists: "What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World"

 What do I want from a new Decemberists album ? Why am I even asking that question aren't they out of place among the typical fare.You might not have guessed that I would be a huge fan of the Decemberists, having listened to the for over a decade and seen them four times live during that time. Their last album the "King is Dead" was a quaint stab at radio airplay, a gamble that paid off for them. So what do a think would be a perfect Decemberists album, well I would like to see the lyrics darken back up...of course and get back to the murder balladry of the past.  A cross between the Hazards of Love with Picaresque.I get this in doses, but not completely.Colin Meloy's voice has improved over the years.This can be heard in the tonal quality of it on "Lake Song". Strummed folk with a jazz like under current it works a familiar magic for the band. Other songs find bands classic sound minus and pirate shanty elements with "Till the Water is Gone". There are moments when You really get a good picture of how good of a guitarist Chris Funk. This is followed with "the Wrong Year" a pop song that is written in the classic world folk sound the band excels. It carries a hook with all the intention that they wrote the last album with, but draped in  sounds long time fans should feel more comfortable with.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-decemberists-what-terrible-world.html

5- Algiers: "S/T"

 Matador records is released this, but not doing much else to promote it. Good thing for the band they have a unique sound that should set them apart.  They formed in Atlanta, but like most other good music Atlanta doesn't know what to think of it so they relocated to varied parts of the world meeting up again in New York. They do take string synths that are slightly goth and set them as a backdrop to the gospel dirge. The singer's husky soulful voice has more rawness to it than I expected and it sits in a bizarre juxtaposition to the noisy industrial clanging that it emotes over. Sometimes it sounds like the rest of the band is going to go along with him and start busting out some 60s soul from within the din. fitting comparison to this band would be they fuse dark electronica to gospel in the same way Chelsea Wolfe has done it with folk. Lyrically I think any religious imagery is being used as a metaphor. If you have any inkling in regards to my spiritual path based on my writing for Cvlt Nation then it should be clear that if this was a christian band I would not give them the time of day. Without a doubt this is an excellent piece of work that was well worth the searching it took to hunt this down.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/06/algiers-st.html

4- Nadine Shah: "Fast Food"

 So many of these new post-punk revival bands are jacking from Siouxsie, but they are only latching onto one element of what  she does.  Nadine might be jacking from Siouxsie, but at least it's a different aspect of Siouxsie that is a path less travelled. The album opens up in a more straight forward manner than I suspected. It still has air-tight song writing.There is an interesting tone to album that juggles an androgynous longing in the lyrics and their delivery. I have no problem just keeping this album on and letting it play.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/04/nadine-shah-fast-food.html

3-Marriages: "Salome "

This trio spawned off of the Red Sparrows and have been killing the stage opening for the likes of Chelsea Wolfe after releasing the impressive "Kitsune". The first thing that grabs your attention this go around is their singer. Her singing gets the most improved award for the album. Not that she was a bad singer before, her vocals have really stepped up to the next level and given the space to be used as an instrument just as impressive as the guitar, bass or drums. She was a more purring alto, which she flexes into some vocal lines that are more aggressive that the guitar that has taken on an even more dreamy quality time time around. At times this gives them more in common with A Perfect Circle or Tori Amos then the Russian Circles post-rock they brewed before. Sure some of the melodies are more radio friendly, but this is a far cry from selling out. You can't blame a girl for wanting to sing. They deserve all the praise they might get for not being afraid to shed some of the pretense of post-rock and just focus on writing good vocal driven songs. Emma has stepped up to the mic with a vocal performance few albums are going to be able to beat this year.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/03/marriages-salome.html

2- Ryan Adams : "1989"

 This album served as the methadone for my Taylor Swift addiction. My wife doesn't like Taylor Swift, she is banned from being played in the car, but this album is totally acceptable. Ryan Adams who also must be a pretty big fan as well as a metal head...just look up his cover of "Holy Diver", made a bold move in covering Swift's "1989" in its entirety and the results are pretty great.He really makes these songs his own which is an impressive feat and colors them with more of a Bruce Springsteen feel.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/12/ryan-adams-989.html

1- Royal Thunder: " Crooked Doors"

 This band continues to evolve from the blues soaked stoner rock, they have put the Black Sabbath albums away and now have become more of an indie rock band that takes on a rough edged hard rock dynamic. On the opener "Time Machine" which the band premiered on Npr,  Parsonz puts some angry husk to her voice when the band begins to climax toward the end of the song. The band was never fully committed to being a metal band even they they had a fetish for playing with metal bands , but they have taken another step away from metal with this album. This is not a bad thing as the new direction lends it's self to a compelling array of sounds and emotive glimpses into who this band is.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/03/royal-thunder-crooked-doors.html

The Decemberists : "What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World"

What do I want from a new Decemberists album ? Why am I even asking that question aren't they out of place among the typical fare.You might not have guessed that I would be a huge fan of the Decemberists, having listened to the for over a decade and seen them four times live during that time. Their last album the "King is Dead" was a quaint stab at radio airplay, a gamble that paid off for them. So what do a think would be a perfect Decemberists album, well I would like to see the lyrics darken back up...of course and get back to the murder balladry of the past.  A cross between the Hazards of Love with Picaresque.

 I get this in doses, but not completely. The "Singer Addresses His Audience" is a irony coated ballad referring to their fan base and the pros and cons of selling out. There is a 70's strut in the vein of Tom Jones to "Calvary Captain". A little more upbeat than I hoped for , but it is well written, and the Fleetwood Mac hooks in it work well. The Chicago horns  are a tad much."Philomena" finds the band returning closer to classic form. Though there is a tad dab of 50's pop to the guitar. The lyrics have more of a story telling feel to them. The single "Make You Better" is more indie rock and not what I had in mind for the perfect Decemberists album, but it works out better than I could have hoped. They can write the perfect song with ease when they want that rivals almost anything in classic rock.

Colin Meloy's voice has improved over the years.This can be heard in the tonal quality of it on "Lake Song". Here the strummed folk with a jazz like under current it works a familiar magic for the band. There is another introspective ballad this time with even more of the bands classic sound minus and pirate shanty elements with "Till the Water is Gone". You really get a good picture of how good of a guitarist Chris Funk. This is followed with "the Wrong Year" a pop song that is written in the classic world folk sound the band excels. It carries a hook with all the intention that they wrote the last album with, but draped in  sounds long time fans should feel more comfortable with.

They head towards Appalachia on "Carolina Low". His melancholy and casts darker shadow on the album, very much in the Hazards if Love vein. The melody reminds me a little of Dolly Parton's "Jolene" . Better Not Wake the Baby" seems like an extension of "Carolina Low". "Anti-Summer Song" has some of the upbeat country elements from King is Dead, but with a little bit of drunken leprechaun to it and Bob Dylan like harmonica solo. The swanky western of "Easy Come, Easy Go" is back to the darker story telling we want from them. Their is a more Joe Cocker take on the "King is Dead"  om "Mistral", but much smarter than their attempts to placate the masses.

They continue to float around this Bob Dylan like vibe on "12-17-12" which I imagine is his kid's birthday. It's well sung , but very minimal and my least favorite song on this album. "A Beginning Song" closes out the album, which also starts off sounding some more like Meloy's solo work.Until after the first minute when the rest of the bands slowly begins to fall in. The harmonies are particularly strong because it it doesn't sound like the most obvious country basked place to go.Like the bulk of their work there are rock elements with out being rock. This song will grow on me with each listen. I know their songs enough to know this. It doesn't take much to round this up to a 10. So this is the first great album of 2015.This may not slather them over the radio , but it secures their position with fans old and new. Something can be said for compromise.


 

Top 15 metal albums of 2011

The trend this year IS to make top 15 lists instead of the classic top 10. The rise of the Ipod allowing us to digest more music. With Metal this was not a problem though with rock music I had a harder time finding 10 much less 15.Being O.C.D , making lists which rank things in any order became an all to intensive task where i broke out spread sheets and devised scoring formulas.While engaging in that sort of crazy behavior for this I gave my self a little veto power.I looked for good songs, originality, and staying power... how much it was listened to over the course of the year. So here we go in count down order.
the top 15 metal
15-Skeleton Witch- Forever Abomination -Ok thrash is making a comeback i got it . What this album has on some of the others that didn't make the list, ...toxic Holocaust, Absu, etc, is a dark sense combined with hooky guitar interplay and fantastic song. alot of the other bands in a similar vein just didn't tie it altogether as perfectly for me . Sure the vocals are a little one dimensional but we rocked past it.

14-Peste Noire... L'Ordure à l'état Pur- one of the more unique albums on here, captures a sleazy night of debauchery in Paris or perhaps this is gangsta black metal. The songs are winding almost Mr.Bungle-ish adventures and i would have digested them more regularly if i still did drugs.

13-An Autumn For Crippled Children-Everything - Ever wonder what the Cure's Wish album would sound like if covered by a black metal band? This comes close to capturing that. To be considered depressive suicidal black metal this album is oddly uplifting.This is the year i also re-considered medication.

12-Leviathan - True Traitor , True Whore- This came out late in the year so yet to have it fully grow on me so i can absorb it for the masterpiece i will one day recognize it to be, so for now I see it as Wrest's musical therapy after being charge with sexually assaulting his ex-girl friend with a tattoo gun. If he had actually done this it would have been the most metal moment of all time. the creative growth on here is remarkable and needs more time to sink in.

11-Blut Aus Nord - 777 deSanctification - This feels more like a piece of modern classical music than a black metal album. Dense and seething like a storm cloud in hell. It's more of a score than songs but i don't skip it when it comes on shuffle and fits my mood perfectly for early sunday mornings.

10-Krallice - Diotima- This album may cause dizziness , don't listen it operating heavy machinery . The guitar work on here was created by gloves of + 5 dexterity and worn by a chaos mage. It embodies one of the things i look for in good black metal to be pummeled by the ambiance.

9-Moonsorrow- Varjoina kuljemme kuolleiden maassa- Epic blackend folk metal .I am sure this one topped the pop charts in Middle Earth. I for one have rolled many a 20 sided die to it this year. While the songs are sprawling variations of a theme, it's a theme to ride into glory to.

8-Taake - Noregs Vaapen- Raw Norwegian black metal that still manages to be melodic and experiment beyond the tried and true which at this point would be stagnant.For all it's experimentation none of the fierceness is compromised.Another album i didn't get a hold of until later in the year but it ranked high because i was impressed with the song writing and creativity .

7-Woe - Quietly Undramatically- This howls with fury in a way few American Black Metal bands can capture. While not taking as many chances as Krallice or Liturgy, they make up for it in grit. There's a strong aftertaste of post-hardcore, but that's not a band thing.

6-Loss- Despond - Normally i would not consider myself a fan of funeral doom or doom of any flavor aside from the Doctor, but this album plods with beauty. It trudges the road to unhappy destiny in a way that really resonated with me. it is however better played at home than out and about on my ipod which is why it isn't ranked higher.

5-Primordial -Redemption at the Puritan's Hand- though i was a little disappointed these guys are atheists and not pagan, this one rocks with a grim epicness which made me forget that. Very cohesive playing throughout that always serves the songs. In fact the superior quality of the song writing is why these guys scored so high as i am not always in the mood to roll like Braveheart.

4-Shining- Född förlorare- OK, these are not the Swedes you are looking .They are no longer depressive -suicidal black metal or black metal of any flavor , but like charlie sheen are rocking out like total fucking rock stars from mars . if you have seen the video from this one you know its true. It recalls old Opeth which is fine with me since Opeth is now Emerson Lake and Palmer.

3-Liturgy-Aesthethica- My ipod doesn't care about triple h's pontificating . No all it knows is it likes the abrasive shimmer of guitar these guys spit out. Are they Hipsters? Prolly so, but unlike most hipsters these guys get it done so maybe the Hipsters in Brooklyn rock but everywhere else suck, i dunno. I do know this shit is blisteringly pretty and has stood the test of time when other albums got deleted.

2-Tombs- Path of Totality- Speaking of hipsters i heard this streaming on npr before release and yes i already had winter hours, what impressed me was how dark this son of a bitch is . I am not sure if this is black metal or not but god flesh raping joy division the bowels of the hollow earth. Not a bad word to be said here.

1-Burzum - Fallen- When i was putting this list together , i forgot this album had come out the first of the year, i just thought of it as another classic from the Varg vaults. It has that kind of a timeless quality to it. the addition of clean vocal melodies is positive growth from an old dog you wouldn't assume to be learning new tricks.The vocal hooks on this one i find myself singing under my breath today just as much as i did in January .It has every element i want in my metal...of course aside from King Diamond like yodels. I think Varg's legend obscures the fact he makes some fucking killer music as my inner teenager would say. In a year obviously dominated by black metal it only makes sense he has to take the number one spot.

ok non-metal ...that exists you know .

10- Ancient VVisdom-a God Like Inferno - You think this was going to be kvlt as hell but it turns out to be campfire songs for Satan. I don't have any of those in my Ipod so yes please and thanks.

9-Puscifer- the Conditions of My Parole- I love Maynard, but the first album from these guys didn't do alot for me mostly because all of the songs were sung in a register lower than what i feel he should record a whole album in. This one he is back into his A Perfect Circling croon. I think the scope of melodies he has to work with here lends it's self to more compelling song writing. Sure there are a few songs which sound like Tool's deleted out takes but thats life at the vineyard .

8-Cult of Youth- self titled- This had to grow on me in part because i was unsure about the singers often out of key bellowing. There's also something kinda like if the Pogues wrote their lyric with a Ouija board to this as well. Not to mention the whole are these hipsters trying to find the irony in Death in June factor, But when i made it past that i had fun with it.

7-Mogwai- Hardcore Will Never die but you will-They have been at this for a long time. Another one of those bands who i did not require as much listening time from when i quit doing drugs, however rather than ride on the name they have made for themselves they have craft some beautiful songs here , they have fit many a mood this . You know they have a killer guitar tone , now they have killer melodies to serve with it.

6-the Devil's Blood- Thousandfold Epicenter - Yes , if they ever flirted with metal then they have decided to see other people. The whole occult element seems toned down and the production heavy handed, but great musicianship, i mean unrealized guitar gods of the freedom rock variety. The Jefferson airplane has indeed landed on their street. Now is the singer going to start wearing skimpier outfits?

5-Pain of Salvation- Road Salt Two- Another band who once flirted with metal continues to drift into other waters. I like this one much better than it's predecessor as the blues shuffle felt a little forced to me , i think it is also a good idea the faith no Mormonism is left at home. The vocals are what wins it for me here, the most dynamic singing of the year.

4-Royal Thunder- Self titled Ep- Ok this is only ep i allowed to rank on either list, though Cynic's would be a close second place but feels like Goldilocks would find it too small and this one just right. This is also the only band in the ATL i am giving props, as they put their best foot forward where Mastodudes put out what sounds to be an album of b-sides, i think they might have been wiser to put out an ep instead but oh well. I think Royal Thunder would like to be a metal band, but i think they fill this middle ground much better. the singer sometimes reminds me of Lita Ford, but is full of darkened soul, these songs have a great feel which ranks them this high . if that makes any sense.

3-Glasvegas- Euphoric Heartbreak- The fact that this band's sophomore slump is better than almost everything other rock album that came out this year ,says something. their first album was so good that the bar was set pretty high. the song " what ever gets you through the night " could be my favorite song of the year. i wanted them to take the gut wrenching and tear jerking to 11 but instead i got something wanting to be pop. However this collection of coming out of the closet lamentations fills the void Placebo left when they decided they were just going to start dialing it in. Once the fact this doesn't pick up where the first album left off has begun to sink in i think i can get more out of this than i have in my initial listens and is growing on me .

2- The Decemberists- the King is Dead- In some ways this is a perfect album but this is the Decemberists we are talking about so you know what thy are capable. everytime i wanted to cross my arms and complain they were selling out i was brought back to the fact these are really good songs. Ok leaning towards country and not a sea shanty to be found, but after Hazards of Love i can understand why they would want to strip it down and hey R.E.M isn't making this kind of music anymore so i'll take it.

1-Zola Jesus- Conatus- the lady gaga of Witch house? sure she prays at the altar of Siouxsie. But the conviction she sings with is what helped give her the edge over everything else i have heard this year. i can listen to it all day .the perfect blend of bleak and beats. She gets alot of feeling and sound out of employing very minimal elements. i relate to every lyric it's one of those things where it is the album that sums up where i am at in life so that factors in why it rates so high , not to take away from what she has created . like charlie sheen says of partying .."whats
not to love. looking to make a road trip to see her.

overall list
1-Zola Jesus- Conatus
2-Burzum- Fallen
3-Tombs - Path of Totality
4-Liturgy -Aesthethica
5-the Decemberists- the King is Dead
6-Shining- Fodd forlorare
7-Glasvegas- Euphoric Heartbreak
8-Primordial- Redemption at the Puritans hand
9-Loss- Despond
10-Woe- Quietly Undramatically
10-

Non-metal is the new Metal?

It's not secret music outside the bounds of metal is a huge influence on what we band our heads to. It trickles down from musicians pulling from a broader range of influences to listeners , who in the age of mix cd's to Ipods have wider taste buds , even back on the days of myspace the dude with corpse paint on in the music section, would have the random vnv nation or skinny puppy listed. so listening to other forms of music has been acceptable to some extent, though not as widely embraced in the troll circles of sites like metal sucks or blabbermouth.
Recent headlines show Metallica, teaming up with lou reed and Mastodon's latest album full of Thin Lizzy inspired phrasing, but even the more brutal purveyors of real metal ...not what Lars and co try to pass off, such Erik Danielson of Watain who claims he wouldn't be making music if it wasn't for Feilds of Nephilim, who Behemoth also claims as an influence. Varg has said in interview aside from classical music the only band he listens to is the Cure, and Carpathian Forest have covered them. Goth is of an only once removed cousin to metal, the two are more closely intertwined than you average fan might care to admit.
So today we are going to look at ten non metal " bands" the term use more loosely in some instances , if you are going to listen to stuff that's not metal i think tonally it should be a comfortable shift in the ipod , some of it is music that is heavy and dark in mood rather than in chugging guitar.
first off my most recent obsession
1-Zola -Jesus, ... why a metal head would dig it well it's dark and has a subtle abrasive quality to , the siouxsie influences front and center , the vocals both beautiful and almost ominous , un happy electronica , noise under tones, if you don't like female singers or keyboards , this isn't for you but if the yeah yeah yeahs are too upbeat then here you go
2-Rasputina... i had dated more girls who liked this band than any other, so had a prejudice against them until last fm wised me up, mainly cellos and drums, smatterings of piano and other instruments are present like scattered parts of a porcelain doll hit with a hammer, sure the singer sounds like a spoiled child from the Victorian era but the song writing and bizarre lyrical content makes up for it
3-Murder By Death... by their name you prolly though these guys were metal any way, if you checked them out you found it was former members of Cursive making dark western music whose closest relative is maybe Morphine, while they do rock out in their own way it is never through blunt force, the occasional screamed vocal comes into the back ground normally low in the mix ,
4-Slow Dive... highly regarded in the shoe gaze circles, for fans of Alcest who are ready to take the plunge into the real thing, i think most fans of dsbm could appreciate them as well, the guitar sound drowns you as it add as flood to your rainy day
5- Tiger-Army... if you listen to punk rock or dated a chick who has you might have already heard these guys, the pattern with all my picks so far is they are dark, these guys could fall into psycho-billy, the punk edge is still there, like a fusion of A.f.i and chris isaak at times , no not the really duran duran ish A.F.I, though he doesn't ever shred per se, i think guitarists can appreciate their chops, they have balls to them and sing about death as well.
6- Blonde Redhead... ok you can listen to them with out becoming a total hipster now, very experimental while maintaining, drugged out pop hooks..that's popin the carpenters manner of speaking not Katy Perry , their guitar swirls around you like methadone cotton candy, they can be intense at times with out pouring on the loud
7-Aesop Rock...yes this is rap, but it doesn't make you feel like a your are pretty fly for a white guy for listening to it as he is very intelligent and subversive, spits out some pretty grim images and isn't laying on the bass to rattle your car but more challenging sonic landscapes , a very unique rap voice as well
8-the decemberists ... like rush if you judge them by the radio songs you aren't getting a very clear picture of what they actually do this is the only prog band i am putting on here because , most of you i expect already are familiar with yes and king crimson, sure there are acoustic guitar's and Colin's bright vocal tone , but he sings about murder normally grisly murder like macabre would write about , so if you aren't into prog , you still might like these guys , his placement of melody is catchy and unique, while their radio exposure has the wrong people listening to them they are still one of my favorite bands selling out and all
9-Skinny Puppy...i have already praised the Swans, so this is the next most metal non metal band after them, they have every thing you need from a metal band with out being metal... harsh toned vocals , slicing guitar samples, they match Carcass in the lyrical department, don't let the drum machines scare you away
10-Diamanda Galas - she's the only one on this list not already in my ipod, i'm not sure why she isn't , i think i tried to find the album she did with john paul jones online and couldn't and tapes don't convert over so well, any way more satanic than 90 percent of your black metal , she 's fucked up and not fucking around , check out her black mass, she makes gospel music evil and is on a Rotting christ album...so what more do you need