Throat : "Beyond the Devil's Shroud"

 

One of my pet peeves is having multiple bands with the same name. Yet here we are. This Throat is from Poland, not Finland. They play a dark and grimy version of black metal rather than a burlier take on post-punk. They are equally dark. This album opens with a murky, clanging take on the genre, a cauldron of chaos bubbling with spewed vocals gasping and choking. The guitar is deliberate, and the production is rather raw, leaving the instrumentation to fend for itself in this mix. The drums suffer the most under these conditions. But they use blast beats sparingly and focus on fiendish moods that create the charm.

"Cain's Mark" is rowdier and more upbeat, whih will appeal to fans ot the early second wave of black metal that are looking for something with the punkish attitude of the cvlt charm. It slows down into a more deliberate stomp that is more song-oriented. The track after this is more of an interlude, and jsut creates a droning ritualistic atmosphere. "Corrupted Flesh" finds the vocals dropping down into a more death metal growl with a more sinister intent. They linger on a more brooding doom feel here. 

The last song ' the Pact " is a more feral explosion of wrathful aggression that bands away with a reckless punk abandon, not unlike Darrkthrone. I like the vibes that paint the mood they are creating here, even if there is not much that we have not heard before going on. If you want something that is raw with a murky darkness but not just blasting and tremolo-picked guitars, then this album might be for you I will give it an 8, out on Primitive Reaction. 

pst98

Gothtober- The Top 10 Post-Punk Albums of 2023

 It's that time of year again. It might seem a little early to begin sorting through the year's best post-punk albums, but record labels have already sent me most of what this year has to offer. After I sort through sorting through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I use those lists to compile the top 10 albums of the year. 2023. Perhaps it was marginally better than the previous year, though given the current climate of the world, we are progressing on a downward spiral, making dark music more important as a soundtrack for this.   As far as 2023 goes for post-punk, a lot of great music came out forcing me to make hard choices. The very fact these bands made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all, we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. Perhaps you can find your next favorite on this list; and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out the audio on these guys. Anyway here are the top 10 post-punk albums of 2023.

10--Protomartyr- "Formal Growth in the Desert" 

Protomartyr is expanding the definition of what post-punk can be. This time around there is more of a Western feel, that reminds me more of Nick Cave when it comes to the baritone croon of the vocals, rather than anything more based on punk. The guitars sound great. The reverb rings out into the desert night, which might explain the album title. They go from this very organic, almost rustic feel to something that owes more to the 80s on "

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/08/protomartyr-formal-growth-in-desert.html

 

9-Corker -"Falser Truths" 

 They are leaning toward the more punk side of the equation. Their dark experimental edge creates an unnerving feel to the tension that separates the genre from punk. The aggressive vocals, carry a tinge of death rock to the creepy underpinnings of the otherwise stiff militant jerking of the staccato riffs. This carries an abrasive punch to the angular attack. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/gothtober-corker-falser-truths.html

  8-Ritual Howls - "Virtue Falters" 

What unfolds is not unexpected, though the guitars feel like they are playing a larger role in the overall sound. This creates a swagger that lends itself to the band's ever-increasing cow-punk groove. At times the songs remind you of 90s alt-rock that you might have found playing in the background of any horror movie.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/gothtober-ritual-howls-virtue-falters.html

7-Darkplace-"About the End of the World"

This Swedish band sets themselves out from the pack by the glaring malice of vocals that are not sung in the typical morose baritone, but a reedy tenor, that floats up into a falsetto to accent parts of the melody. This vocal color contrasts the otherwise darker background behind it, as they wander from the typical rock formula. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/gothtober-darkplace-about-end-of-world.html

6-False Fed - "Let Them Eat Fake" 

Compromised of current Discharge vocalist Jeff Janiak, Stig C. Miller of Amebix, and Ministry drummer Roy Mayorga, finds themselves set apart from the typical Joy Division worship haunting many of the bands resurrecting this sound over the past decade, allowing Janiak to indulge himself in the full roar to brings more balls to the proceedings, as the songs are driven by a stormy tension that conjures images of stark gray skies. This makes for a fitting soundtrack for the stark fall to fade into a darker winter. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/false-fed-let-them-eat-fake.html

5-Throat -" We Must Leave You" 

This Finnish band claims their 2023 album is a break-up album with the world. Based on the darker impulses they indulge in here, you can only assume this is true. What stands out about these guys is the dark and foreboding mood that hangs over their otherwise melodic musings. The deadpan baritone of the vocals retains it's brooding narrative that reminds you of the punk rock in its intentions. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/08/throat-we-must-leave-you.html

 4- Dreamwheel- "Redeemer" 

Driven by a post-punk tension that is counterbalanced by the delicate croon of Julia Gaeta. She carries,  some power in her pipes which keeps the songs grounded. She is joined by Skeletonwitch bassist Evan Linger, whose penchant for faster tempos with Skeletonwitch, has kept him on his feet to remind you of the punk side of the post-punk equation.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/gothtober-dreamwheel-redeemer.html

 3-Healthyliving-"Songs of Abundance, Psalms of Grief"

Bringing together musicians from Scotland, Germany, and Spain, this trio kicks up an impressive melancholic brand of driving rock that is at times as sonically heavy as metal borders on metal. There is a great deal of explosive punk jangle. but the expressive alto of Amaya commands the album's keen sense of dynamics, which is what I listen for in music from all genres. This band takes those dynamics a step further than most into the melancholy. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/03/healthyliving-songs-of-abundance-psalms.html

2-Bad Pelicans-"ETERNAL LIFE NOW" 

This French band deviates from the norm in the best way possible. Their hooky songs oozes with attitude. The vocals shift from a low baritone croak to a pop-punk croon in the span of the same song. They manage to be both melodic and explosive on the same track. The hooky nature of what they do secured their spot at the top.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/07/bad-pelicans-eternal-life-now.html

1-Grave Pleasures -"Plagueboys"

This year's release by My favorite Finnish post-punk revivalists grew on me with each listen. The songwriting trades bombast for subtlety for the sake of greater melodic value.  They took their tried and true sound, echoing all the way back to their Beastmilk days, and polished it into something even catchier. The sheer replay value of this album solidifies their place at the top.   

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/04/grave-pleasures-plagueboys.html

Throat : "We Must Leave You"

 

This experimental band from Finland is taking a darker more post-punk turn with their new album. The band claims this is their break up album with the world. Which is a common theme I am hearing in many of the albums I have reviewed recently. Primordial, Fange, the Armed, Protomartyr and Dying Fetus all their share this theme on their new albums. What stand out about these guys is the dark and foreboding mood that hangs over their otherwise melodic musings. The dead pan baritone of the vocals serves as the narration for this. When the pace picks up it's more punk in it's intentions. 

The sonic pound leading into "the Transaction" drops down into something that files in line with other bands in the post-punk revival like Bellicose Minds or Alaric. The bass line creeps the groove along, while things retain a more muscular punk quality than bands who go in a more Joy Division direction. The lower vocal refrains taking a more overt goth approach. I like the bass line that drives "Trespassing" but if I am going to be honest, the song fall more closely in line with what other bands trying to emulate this sound are doing and bear less of the band's unique finger print.." Hearsay of Heresy" is more like something King Dude might do if going in a more rock direction. It mainly works off a stagnant tension. 

The album regains it's momentum with "Tiny Golden Murder". It is when the band uses contrasts sound like the reverbed guitar on this song with the more shouted vocals that things come together in a celebration of opposites. There is a Killing Joke like vibe to it that I appreciate. It soars off into a brighter space which is fine as the album overall has been plenty dark so this shimmer is a justified color. The album ends with a turn toward as more hypnotic shoe gazing atmosphere that comes closer to the Cure in ambiance.  I will give this album an 9, as it darkly grooves in a manner I prefer, though the songs do not draw you in with the same kind of graceful songwriting that a band like Grave Pleasures possess to give them the edge on these guys.  

Throat : "Short Circuit"

Reptilian Records is about to  release this album by the Finnish Noise rock  Throat. First  noise rock and a Finland is a is an odd combination, normally think the Finnish are better a making dark music and I might not be wrong. The first song reminds me of a looser more chaotic version of what the German band Dyse does. They find a better groove on 'Polio Stance". Much like the kind of jarring abrasion that the Amp Rep bands used to kick up back in the 90s. The bass drives the angered grumble of  vocals more shouted more often than  than sun though he does make an attempt at it upon occcassion and has a croon tucked away some where.The chorus is stronger on "Dog Wrestle" than it is on other the previous songs . the drummer is good at orchestrating these little burst's of speed they spasm into and some of the weird time changes that adheres to the angular nature of the bands they have taken inspiration from.

There is a heavier chug to "Houston Soup" the syncopation reminds me a little of something Clutch might do. "Roman In " took muscular math rock and riffed it out at maximum volume. This song is swift and rumbles past pretty quickly so it took an additional listen to digest it. They are tight in their rough hewn sloppiness that is part of their sound. The shouted vocals get on my nerves as they are so 90s. I can hear some old Corrosion of Conformity, you know the albums way before they started sounding like Metallica and there are also echoes of Helmet in the mix as well. They back off an allow a little melody to creep into "Unjoy". The vocal are over driven and the bass tone on this album has more than it's fair share of balls I appreciate the sonic sentiments to this song the most . I think it might be the first song on this album that I like. There is a very 90's metal pulse to the build of this song.

This style of music has to be done in a very specific manner like this band Snake Nation did way back in the early 90s and they even had members of CoC in the band, but other than that this is two meat and potatoes dynamically for me as rawness is the staple of this sort of thing, while not taking the heavy to the extreme we are now used to. There was once upon a time when this was though of as some next level heavy shit, not so much in 2015.With that said I will give them a 7 as they are good at what they do.

4.4