Soulfly : "Chama"

 

Let's see if Max can bring it again. I really liked their last album, as it had an almost Slayer feel. The first track starts off with a darker apocalyptic drive, which I am also here for. This album carries a more industrial pound that is a mix of 'Roots' era Sepultura, though maybe less Korn in the grooves and more Code Orange. The first three songs are defiant in-your-face bangers, then on "No Pain = No Power," they blend a wider range of sound and include some melody and atmosphere that catches me by surprise. Some of these are thanks to Gabriel Franco from Unto Others who sings on it in places.,  This does not mean there were not some surprises on the first three songs as Todd Jones lends his voice to the track. 

I like how the vocals on this album are produced. Max's voice sounds strong. "Ghenna" gets the point home in under two minutes, but does not rush things like grindcore bands tend to."Black Hole Scum" has some interesting guitar sound layered and works well to continue the sonic mission statement of this album. There is almost more of a Ministry feel to the attack of "Dystopia". The Slayer influence rears back up when it finds its groove.  It also has plenty of space for the song to shift between crushing grooves. This occurs in other places in the album but feels more likea hardcore breakdown here.

Things get even more brooding with the lurking stomp to "Always Was, Always Will Be". This highlights what works so well for me with this album: it is darker than the previous one. The title track closes the album in a crushing manner that not only upholds this band's legacy but also upholds the Sepultura legacy. I will give this one a 10 as it delivers everythinig I want from this band in a darker, more 2025 way. 

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The Top 10 Albums Most Mistaken for Metal in 2024

Once upon a time, the battle cry championed by metal bands was "Death to False Metal", it's a sentiment going back to the earliest beginnings of the genre when it drew lines to separate itself from the bands of the Sunset Strip who wanted the look but were making glammed out pop music. Today kids are thin-skinned and take offense screaming out that this is gatekeeping rather than seeing it as quality control standards. Most of those people just need to feel like they belong wherever they want to go and call those who actually belong there elitists as a projection of their own insecurities. 

I'm here to say fuck your feelings. In the interest of this blog's mission statement pledging to always tell it like it is easy even if you can't handle the truth. After seeing albums like those represented here appearing on metal top ten lists, I think it fair to set the record straight and have some truth in advertising to pick out the top ten offenders in this regard. Four of these entries are great albums, they just are not great metal albums. They are great rock, shoe-gaze, and trip-hop albums, just not metal. There are a few that are terrible, but they are also not metal so here we go setting the record straight for you.  

 10- Unto Others - "Never Neverland" 

These guys used to make cock rock dressed up as goth, but now they are applying that template to pop music, it's catchier than their previous work, Wish it was darker than it is. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/08/unto-others-never-neverland.html

9-Haunted Plasma -"I' 

This album features members of Oranassi Pazuzu, but that doesn't make it metal. It does carry a great dark throb to it and has Mat McNeary lending his voice to this album, so it sometimes sounds like Grave Pleasures on acid. Lots of metal comes from Finland, this project is not counted among that. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/haunted-plasma-i.html

8-Dool- "The Shape of Fluidity" 

There were once doom metal elements to what they did on their previous album. This more rock n roll approach to things works as they are appearing on more end-of-the-year lists, which means they are getting more recognition, which works for me, as they deserve it even if they are growing away from metal. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/dool-shape-of-fluidity.html

7-Bring me the Horizon - ""Post Human -NeX GEn" 

This is a fun pop album, Pierce the Veul might do it better, but kids seem to like this, though kids don't know any better as they are young and dumb, we know better, making it our job to set the record straight, distortion or the occasional scream does not make things metal, even pop bands throw temper tantrums from time to time. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/bring-me-horizon-post-human-nex-gen.html

6-Devin Townsend- "Powernerd" 

Here is a good case in point of an artist who was in a metal band (Strapping Young Lad) branching off to play other kinds of music, Sure the influence of their metal past is there, but that does not make their current project metal. What this album proves is Def Leppard would be fools for not asking Devy to produce their next album as he sounds more like them than they have in decades. If you are tempted to say Def Leppard is metal then you should keep your mouth shut before you embarrass yourself. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/devin-townsend-powernerd.html

5-Pallbearer - "Mind Burns Alive" 

It was not so long ago these guys were a doom-metal band. People change and artists grow out of genres and do other things, I can accept that. These guys made one of the year's best shoe-gaze albums, so at least if they are no longer a metal band they are good at what they are doing. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/pallbearer-mind-burns-alive.html

 

4-Zeal & Ardor-"Grief" 

This one made it onto my worst albums of 2024 list. This project has a long history of being mislabeled thanks to the wishful thinking of the music press. They were first called black metal when they had more in common with ni-metal, and now they are just a shitty rock band who might as well be Breaking Benjamin or some other radio shit. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/08/zeal-ardor-grief.html

3-Poppy-"Negative Spaces" 

I like this album, and while Poppy has appropriated metal in the past, this album kind of splits the difference between her flirtations with nu-metal and the pop of her previous album. There is a mainstream radio rock formula on most of these songs that she makes work thanks to her quirky charisma. I think the guest appearance she did with Knocked Loose this year has made people unable to compartmentalize her from her own career, but this is not a metal album, industrial-influenced pop at best. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/poppy-negative-spaces.html

2-Linkin Park -"From Zero"

Lumped in with nu-metal, but they have never been a metal band. This album brings that fact to the forefront. It's not a bad album though unable to live up to its hype, this is a fun lighthearted pop album that its fans are taking way too seriously. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/linkin-park-from-zero.html

1-Chelsea Wolfe -" She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She"

She's never made a metal album, there are albums where that is used as a dynamic in a few songs, but never throughout. This is more of a trip-hop album it is closer to Portishead than Motorhead, and yet it keeps appearing on metal lists because people are well ...stupid. I prefer the acoustic episode to this one , as it sounds more like her, but it continues to grow on me.  Regardless of how good it is, if you think this is metal, you clearly don't know what you are talking about. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/02/chelsea-wolfe-she-reaches-out-to-she.html

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The Top 10 Most Disappointing Albums of 2024

Here's a new edition to the end-of-the-year traditions that makes more sense this year than in the past. I've already warned you there would be end-of-the-year lists not only with perhaps albums from my worst-off list but also trying to make a bigger deal out of albums that are more hype than substance for various reasons we can see here, ranging from nostalgia to wanting to offer a diverse or inclusive list rather than just focusing on which albums have the best songs. People live in such a warped reality bubble they can not handle disappointment and would rather pretend the emperor is wearing clothes than admit their favorite artists are falling short. My role has always been to call out things for what they are, as a form of quality. These are not bad albums, but they did not live up to what these artists did in the past, except for one entry that improved but was never that great and got a critical pass from mainstream music media for reasons that have nothing to do with music.  There are only three artists  that are favorites of mine that missing the mark stung a bit, but in the interest of honest journalism those are the ones I must draw the most attention to so here are the top 10 Most Disappointing albums of 2024

10- Tribulation - ''Sub Rosa In Æternum"

This album is an honorable mention, as it's not bad. It's decent for what is it, in fact in my original review I gave it a 9, but the more I listen to it the more lackluster it feels, some of the gloom is more genuine than others, I think the fact they have strayed so far from their death metal beginnings is part of the problem here, if I reviewed this album today it would have gotten an 8, which would not make it contender for any top 10 lists, aside from this one since this band is capable of greatness. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/gothtober-tribulation-sub-rosa-in-ternum.html

9-Dool- "The Shape of Fluidity" 

Another case of a band whose previous work was certainly better. This one scored an 8, on my initial listen, which still put it ahead of most radio rock, but unlike their previous album failed to inspire me to give additional listens , so if I had to rate it today would give it a 7.5, a far cry from a top 10 contender. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/dool-shape-of-fluidity.html

8-Body Count- "Merciless" 

This is a band that was never any good, and this album is actually an improvement. At least that is what I thought upon listening to the first few songs then it got worse the deeper into the album you go. I don't care how much they paid David Gilmore to be on this album it's the worst cover of "Comfortably Numb" I've heard. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/body-count-merciless.html

7-Oranssi Pazuzu : "Muuntautuja" 

In my review of this album, I first said they must be growing killer shrooms in Finland. It's a drugged-out mess of an album that captures cool sounds, they never are woven into being cool songs.  They have proven they can balance the two and it's not the case here. If I had to review this one today I would have given it a 7, clearly not best of material. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/oranssi-pazuzu-muuntautuja.html

6-Linkin Park- "From Zero" 

This one is more of a matter of all the hype and buzz around it, there was no way it could live up to the hype, it also highlighted the fact that Linkin Park has always been a pop band despite getting lumped into nu-metal. A few catchy pop songs do not equate to the best of 2024 material. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/linkin-park-from-zero.html

5-Oceans of Slumber - 'Where Gods Fear to Speak" 

Their previous material was doomier and made better use of her soulful voice, this feels rushed and uninspired, well-produced but also very bland. If you think this is the best of anything you did not listen to enough music this year, plenty of bands even did this better than this band. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/oceans-of-slumber-where-gods-fear-to.html

4-Lowen - "Do Not Go To War With The Demons Of Mazandaran"

This album was so bad I could not get through it to review it just felt like a waste of time. It was a flowery mess of symphonic pop rock. The only reason it was disappointing was because it was a shame the album title was so cool, and the music sounded like nothing that should be described like that. 

3-Nightwish- 'Yesterwynde"

Much like the number four I could not get through this album to review it, it's a shame as I liked both "Once" and "Dark Passion Play", there is no backbone driving these songs the attempts at metal sound empty, they would have been better off putting this band to rest. 

2-Unto Others -"Never Neverland" 

I had hoped they would have gone in a more goth direction, but they went in a poppier direction. It sounds like Billy Idol b-sides at times, a great deal of hair metal mixed in but with none of the metal edge.  The pop hooks lured me into giving this album a 9, but if I went back to review this album again I would give it an 8, as the pop hooks did not work to make me want to listen to it again. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/08/unto-others-never-neverland.html

1-Judas Priest - "Invincible Shield" 

Judas Priest is one of my favorite bands from my teen years, age has not been kind to Halford's pipes, though "Nostradomus" was a great album, perhaps I am in the minority in this regard, but it was more inspired than what they have put out since. This album might fool many people just hungry for Priest as it sounds good from a production stand point, though the original members are beginning to dwindle. At the end of the day if we are being honest this album sounds like the record label asked AI to write what it thought a Judas Priest album should sound like and this is what happened. I gave this a 9, when I first reviewed it but the more I listened to it the more I disliked it so I would give it a 7 today.  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/03/judas-priest-invincible-shield.html

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Unto Others : "Never, Neverland"

In some ways, the opening track of this band's new album is an improvement, but I had to get over the onset of the song that sounds just like H.I.M. What was more puzzling was if many of the sonic keystones I listen for in music are in place then why is it not quite clicking. So I dug into my past reviews to find the answer,  all the way back to when they were called Idle Hands. I saw them open for King Diamond during that time and the cock rock influences were fighting with the goth band they want to be.  This more cock rocking side can be heard on "Momma Likes the Door Closed " which has a similar feel to the Micheal Graves era Misfits. 

Perhaps there is a stiffness to the singer baritone croon, that feels more like Volbeat to me at times and less gothy, despite their best efforts. Danzig has a bluesy swagger to his voice that this kid is not nailing. "Angel of the Night" finds this more pronounced. The mix of this album is not going a thick on the reverb to help them shed some of the 8os feel to their sound, this could be the Killers given where everything sits with bringing more mid-range to create a little brighter sound. If they are going for a more goth sound, it plays against that, If they are trying to find a more radio-friendly middle-ground. An anti-suicide anthem is not the most goth thing. This album is also a step away from metal, so if you see it on any end-of-the-year metal lists, call bullshit. After all "Sunshine' is pretty much pop. 

They use a harder-edged guitar, but revert to an almost ghost-flavored style or pop-rock on "Fame". Though the verses flow, better than most of the songs, and everything fits in place arrangement-wise. So there is some smart songwriting, but they are just now figuring out they were never really a metal band in the first place. The song titles are not this album's strength as "When the Kids Get Caught' is awkward, though the song itself works pretty well. I am buying it's more Stephen King-like take on horror. Some of the harmony guitar parts are solid. They double down and try to thrash out "Flatline" but the vocals don't work that great for it. "Time Goes On " feels more like a Blue Oyster Cult song, but it's catchy and works for me. 

They try to go for an 80s feel on "Cold World", but it feels more like 90s Duran Duran to me. The guitar playing is pretty great on it with some jazzy passages. "I Am the Light" waltzes like a circus theme, but as a rock song, it feels like it is trying too hard. "Raigeki" does not find its pieces fitting as solidly. It's the first song that is more of a fast-forward classic. "Hoops" has a clean guitar sound, so much so it reminds me of the Police before it kicks in. One of the more guitar-focused cuts.  The title track closes the album with an awkward fizzle, that does not live up to the album's strongest moments, but overall the album is a success as they realize who they are as a band, which is not a metal band, but writing sardonic pop anthems. I will give it a 9, which stacks it shoulder to shoulder against their other work where their strength were displayed differently. 

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Gothtober - Unto Others : "Strength"

 

Idle Hands by any other name. My first thought on the change is the vocals are more aggressive which plays to their advantage. There is less of an 80s metal vibe. Not that it is shed entirely as the second song has some Iron Maidenish harmony guitar parts. The goth side of the band sits more smoothly into what they do? There is more of a Misfts vibe, though vocally he is more like Graves than Danzig, so a little watered down.  "When Will God's Work Be Done" runs off of the driving bass line. I am not as big of a fan of this one as I am the first two songs/ The guitar parts are more well arranged and constructed. The more melodic "No Children Laughing Now" is somewhat emo in the AFI direction, but still a more memorable song than most. 

"Destiny" also tread down a more melodic path with synths filling up the background, but while it might not be as catchy as the previous song , still proves to be effective. As the album progresses we get further into more clean guitar tones with the drummer this time holding the heavy. In some ways this reminds me of Volbeat if they wrote moody power ballads.  On a song like "Little Bird" the drums help things more aggressive, but most of the weight hangs on the shoulders of the vocals , which fall back on the Volbeat power ballad formula an increasing amount amount as the album progresses. "Why" fakes like they are going to pick things up into more of a punk pacing, and while the drummer is still game for it every one else drops back into the moody emo power ballad thing, this once just has the drums powering through and dragging the rest of the band behind them. "Just a Matter of Time' works off the same formula. In fact it teeters at the brink of going to the well one too many times , but it works however it is just a matter of time before it won't .  

Their cover of "Hell is For Children" is fun , except for the fact he does not try to go up into a falsetto to hit any Pat Benatar notes. Guess he did not take notes when they toured with King Diamond. Or he jut can't do it which seems a more likely answer, as he never strays from his baritone octave. The bass line to "Summer Lightning" not like they have a direct influence of Sisters of Mercy, but of a band who is influenced by Sisters of Mercy like 69 Eyes. So 3rd generation goth .Lyrically this is one of the album's better songs. I like the effects on his voice on "Instinct" . I think some of the rocket launch samples are little over board. It was on the third listen through that I finally figured out the lyrics do have some space shipish references. The title track that closes the album is a little more metal, but over all I feel the song is rather anti climatic.  There are better songs on the album it could have ended with. This album feels like an improvement in many ways though it falls back on formulas frequently , I think a 9 is pretty fair for this one.