Sans Soleil:"A Holy Land Beneath a Godless Sky"

Beautifully mournful in it's melancholy, my first impression of this band was that they bordered on funereal doom. This Texas band carries you off into a four song excursion  that flows like an  ocean of tranquil despair.The narrative voice of the album is a viola that drips off  of the riffs.
If you were  digest this album as if it were  a strictly a metal affair, you might notice that the void left by the absent vocals. The  arrangements keep this missing component well hidden. If this was funereal doom band the guttural gravel of phlegm drenched vocal chords would actually be another layer to the bottom end. The viola instead of trying to replace the vocals occupies that space the lead guitar melody would sit in. The spacious sound could edge this towards being post-rock, as an instrumental project they ravish a similar sonic sphere as Godspeedyoublackemperor. As the aural journey progresses  their trip takes a  darker turn. The bass player drifts  into a stoned jam of his own wandering around under the guitar solo, that rips like 70's freedom rock,

"An Unbral"  find the pace pick up from the sluggish psychedelics as the drugs begin to wear off. This is one of those bands I hear and think "Where were these guys when I was getting high?" The somber throb of "Across Distant Sands" leaves plenty of room for the lamentations of the viola. The guitars  provide a counterpoint to the viola in a more angular fashion than a doom band might employ. The band taps into some very transcendental vibrations in the more introspective passages. Even at the languid tempo this album tends to perpetuate, the hypnotic undercurrent reminds me of the last  Serpentine Path album. Like that album this too could have the soundtrack to Only Lovers Left Alive, even with the sweeping waterfalls of tears some of these melodies invoke.

The almost eleven minute four act, spills out of the previous song. Almost to the point on first listen you might assume "Across the Distant Sands"  just wanders off and hypnotizes itself. The drums do build into more of a harder rock pound, that borders sludge. The pace actually becomes pretty frantic in the song's final few minutes. Still, it sounds like the drummer took a hit of meth while the rest of the band is moving smoothly on their own drug clouds.

The sense of movement this album holds is enough to keep me engaged since I prefer more vocal-centric offerings. This album taps into similar emotions as doom without being metal. The shadows their sounds cast create a heavy atmosphere, but even in the height of their most Black Sabbath jamming, there is no aggression. Doom like goth doesn't rely on aggression, but despondency. They are more doom than most of what you here labeled as "doom-folk", but metal heads must have broadened their horizons to embrace this album. I'll give it an 8.5, I enjoy it when I listen to and while it makes for great background music while I am writing, it's not something I see myself needing to have on my iPod, which is the great test for an album...can I leave home without it.

Xibalba: "Tierra Y Libertad"

Xibalba's last album "Hasta La Muerte" was memorable only by merit of  it's crushing weight. They have shed a few a pounds. It's strange to think this album is coming out on Southern Lord as it sounds like it could have come from Roadrunner Records.The hard core beat down vibe that dominated their last album has given way to a groove laden death-metal. The opener is not far removed from Sepultura. In some area's the production sounds more polished than their last album, but there is still a rough coat of grit to it.

There is a very "Where the Slime Live" slither to the opening of "Guerilla" and then later on in the same song a riff that feels like  the break down into  "Fall From Grace" crops up. They keep just enough death metal in the sound to keep things from falling on the Panterrible side of the fence. The second and third song bleed together, it's not until the dissonant ambiance  of the interlude entitled  "Pausa" that they regain your attention. When they launch back into the actual songs, things take a more lateral step. The main riff to "En Paz Descanse" has a more musical quality than some of the other slabs of meat they whip around on this album. It also sounds like their singer is trying to sing actual notes in the way some of his barks are sustained.

Some of the doomier sections of this album sound like Machine Head if you listened to them after huffing ether. But Xibalba has a greater command of their sound at the slower tempos than when the accelerate. The title track really puts this fact under the microscope. They are not privy to my golden rule that cool riffs alone do not make a good song. They pile the riffs on without relenting. Tuned lower than a bullfrog's belch, the guitar tone this time is more of a rumble. Although they really slam you with the chugfest of "Si Dios Qui" at this point in the album you are becoming numbed out to it's one dimension of  heaviness.

They end the album with a song that clocks in at twelve minutes and forty three seconds. They do not start off with the full frontal jack hammering. Instead they opt for a little foreplay. Effects laden spoken word vocals  are set against the post -rock creep of cleaner guitar,  one of the albums more creative moments, but they are only able to restrain themselves for two minutes before giving in to their need drop the hammer. This closing sprawling song finds  the angry guitar gnashing it's teeth with every chord like it's floating down the river Styx. They are still good at doing what they do, even if it is Neanderthal in delivery, so I'll give it a 7.

Gnosis:"the Third Eye Gate"

So far death metal with a touch of blackness seems to be the thing for 2015 is the promos in my inbox are any indication. This Florida band  brought to you by Nuclear War Now! falls more firmly on the death metal side. It's a dirty and dark style of death metal not unlike old Incantation. This is about as straight forward of an old school style death metal as you could ever want. There is some groove interspersed in-between the blast beats. The production on the drums leaves a little to be desired as the snare sounds a tad on the flat side, but if you just want raw lo-fi pounding then you are in good hands. As we commonly say around here when it comes to bands like this , is it's easy to be impressed by the sheer heaviness of the band right out from the gate , but then the pressure is on for them to show us if they can ...write songs.

There is a similar formula at work on the second song, though you could not say it's a carbon copy of the first. If you like this sort of thing, how much variance do you want? I am harder to please than your average death metal fan. There are some thrash accents to some of the galloped punches on the second song, but that seems to be the main thing separating it as the vocal are a raspy lower end variety of growl, not pushed out with enough air to be a roar. By the time the album winds its way to"Chariot of the Sun Moon" do the songs become hard to differentiate, though the chugs start to gather a little more gusto. "Cult of the Blood Serpent" even rises up into a battle metal sort of gallop.

It is true these guys adhere to everything you might want out of classic death metal, but they very rarely challenge the status quo and in doing so don't carve out any kind of niche for themselves that would set themselves at the head of the pact. There is a tinge more of effort in the riffs to "Lotan's Dwelling", but the revert back to the color by numbers death metal when it comes to the verses. The phrasing of the growls is pretty predictable as well.They have redemptive value in the aggressive nature the charge the songs forward with, some listeners might want to dumb it down and just need heavy. The infuse this with  punk rock simplicities. At times when they slow you can hear their bassist is doing some pretty cool fills and accents, but he remains buried more often than not.

Lyrical I heard something about Ancient ones, so it's pseudo occult psycho babble, somewhat along the lines of Blessed Are the Sick Morbid Angel, these guys are not trying to be quite so Satanic or really satanic at all instead opting for a more anonymous darkness. The slower section are something this band needs to explore more often instead of waiting until the album is almost over because that is where some of the album's most inspired moments come from. The charge into battle is not over. They pick up the charge on "Gnosis" which must be their theme song. To call the "title track" a song is an exaggeration as it is more of an outro. I'll give this one a 7 these guys haven't reinvented the wheel by a longshot but if you want some no frills death metal they have got it .
 

Last Glances At 2014- White Lung: "Deep Fantasy"

This is not a metal album, but is the one non-metal album that seems to be on most metal heads end of the year lists. I got this band confused with White Hills during most of 2014. As well as the band that had lung in their  name who I saw open up from Nothing.The metal element slowly turns into something more like a more energetic Hole album. In fact by the second song it's half way into a more punk rock mode.Courtney Love's slur has to have been an influence on this band's singer no matter if she claims Bikini Kill or not. The frantic guitar attack is often spastic more often than not. The opener is the most metal song on the album. These guys and dolls tend to whip through the songs with a rabid recklessness common in punk.

The vocal chants are often catchy. It's easy to see why people like this album, but less obvious to discern if this album is worth the hype. The first real Hole-ism I hear is on "Snake Jaw". The guitar is smarter and more aggressive. The momentum is carried into "Face Down", despite the creative spark losing a little steam. The song begin to sound a like at this point. The vocal phrasing is the only saving grace at this point as every thing begins to fall dynamically flat since the only play at one speed, unless they are trying to play even faster then they reach that velocity.This is most effective on "I Believe You". They do manage to shift into a post- punk intro at the beginning of "Wrong Star", until defaulting back into the speedy grunged out punk that dominates this album. By "Lucky One" all the songs are sounding the same and running together.

'Lucky One" sort of sets it's self apart with punchier accents. The guitar is a little more pounding on "Lucky One" as well. They close out the album with a more effected guitar sound that is somewhat more sonic and melodic on the song "In Your Home". The melody has a little more guts to it as well. The fact singer Mish Way isn't bad too look at doesn't hurt this Canadian band's buzz. When it comes to my iPod it really doesn't care how someone looks, it either has space for good songs or it doesn't have space and needs to make room for better songs. I'll round this up to a 7 it is certainly better than Perfect Pussy.

Hateful Abandon:"Liars/Bastards"

This has been sitting around as a draft for some time so in tying last years loose ends I decided I had better finish it. I am always scouring the inner webs for that perfect band . I know they are out there.  They are dark and heavy. They combine elements of all my favorite music, Industrial , goth, post-punk, shoe gaze, doom, and black metal. I was lead to believer that Hateful Abandon was that band. The duo of Vice Martyr and Swine occupy a similar realm as bands like Pinkish Black and Wreck& Reference. Vocally, the harshness never reaches beyond pissed industrial. Some times taking on a slight croon to the Ian Curtis like monotone baritone narrative. They are supposed to be a really politically minded band but nothing stuck out to me which is just as well since I steer away from politics, since they are about as real as professional wrestling.

 By the middle of the album you begin to realize what you see is what you get from a compositional stand point, the just gradually add layers in varied levels of subtlety. Though this trend is broken on the last song as "Winter" defrosts from the icy "Running Up that Hill" beat to a womb like pulse of synths. This is a little anti-climatic as is just kinda fades out in a wash. Where are the black metal elements I kept hearing this band possessed , was one question that went unanswered. So in accepting them for what they are, there are elements I like, however I need a few more surprises. Some of the edm and darkwave elements buy them enough time to provide a pay off in this direction, but it never comes into fruition.


This album didn't last to long in my iPod. On the first few listens , it worked for me and even now as I re-listen to this album as I write this I don't mind it, but it is not as gripping as I want it to be. I don't want to be satisfied with pleasant background noise, I want something to fucking rock me. I'll round this down to  a 8.5 . They capture cool sounds the songs are dynamically flat  due to the limitation of their drum machines.

6.5

Last Glances at 2014 : Morbus Chron :"Sweven"

Got this one off Aesop Dekker of Agalloch's top ten list, he had some of the same old same old albums like Yob, but this one caught my ear. The are described as death metal, but the opening song of their latest album that was released way back last February, makes this hard to believe. Tribulation is a band that occupies similar sonic space at time. The beginning of this album uses predominately clean guitar tones and when the distortion does come it has more of a seventies feel than anything I would consider death metal. The vocal are the only real death component. Some of the music sounds like a more angular take on In Solitude.

"Towards the Dark Sky" does find itself in very metal places, though there are long stretches that sound as if they were originally written on acoustic guitar because their purpose is to be lyrical rather than beat you about your ears. Even the heavy riffs are smartly written. The manic growl of the vocals , seems to be more of an after thought. Which is a shame considering all the love and care that was put into the rest of these compositions. It not that I don't feel the growling works , I think it could have been layered in a more interesting fashion than the emotive burst of vomit.The first song that is a straight up metal song is "Aurora in the Offing".

The playing is all around spectacular, they have chops and can play progressively while maintain some soul. The solo tends to go in a more Kerry King direction, but the riffs are immaculate in the winding maze they weave. This is highlighted on "It Stretches in the Hollow". The drumming holds up some of the faster pacing tends to me more energy than approach. Over the course of the album some of the instrumental sections runs together.It took me a minute to realize I was already  half way into "Ripening Life". There is no doubt these guys are infusing this with a grand dark ambiance, At times this creates an almost Opeth like feeling.

In the album's later half I can appreciate the formula established here. The have a very warm organic sound despite the hollowness of the reverb laden guitar.It does begin to lull me into a trance as the music falls into the back ground. The rock cranks back up on the big closing number. The progressive elements still have more balls than newer Opeth, though not as many as perhaps "Black Water Park".
I am not sure how much playtime this album would get since the bulk of it comes across as being instrumental, guitar players should take not of this album for sure. I will around it up to an 8 because I think these guys have found a sound that works.
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Top 15 Albums of 2014

In looking at the list 2014 was an odd year. Some of the greats didn't release what I would consider their best work, but even when the likes of Morrissey dials it in, the result is still better than what most do. Some younger bands stepped up their game and grew in ways that shifted them from one genre to the next. All of these albums either scored a ten or grew on me and proved their perfection down the road.

15- Kall -s/t

Lifelover is back, but not as black.This has a more droning black n roll feel. It just falls shy of being black metal, but an excellent melancholy affair .

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/12/kall-st.html



14-Emptiness -"Nothing But the Whole"

A stunningly desperate soundtrack. This album oozes both atmosphere and emotion defying sub genres.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/11/catching-up-with-2014-emptiness-nothing.html

13- Mayhem-"Esoteric Warfare"

If Mayhem had tried to make another "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" it would have bored the bullet belt right off me. Instead they release an album with pristine production, that takes chances and takes no prisoners. Attila has never sounded better and Hellhammer makes his case for being the best drummer in black metal. As Spinal Tap once asked "How much blacker can you get ? the answer was none then and it is none now.

12-Youth Code- A Place to Stand

One of the best industrial bands I have heard in some time. This duo is dark, mean and confrontational, even if their singer is a little blond girl.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/10/youth-code-place-to-stand.html

11- Atriarch- " An Unending Pathway"

They graduated from the metal chart to goth, as the death rock vibe is stronger. The metal elements are now more of a sonic Neurosis thing and they have left doom and black metal at home.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/10/atriarch-unending-pathway.html

10-Swans - To Be Kind

My favorite band this side of the Smiths takes the number ten, because "To Be Kind" is more like a  series of live jams they translated to the studio, but even when Gira is just playing around he is still better than most.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/05/swans-to-be-kind.html

9- Ice Age -"Plowing into the Field of Love"

These guys have grown in leaps and bounds, so much so the rock swagger injected on this album now makes them much more qualified for this list than being called post-punk.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/09/iceage-plowing-fields-of-love.html

8- Nasheim - "Solens Vemod"

The Swedish act is another one man show. The master mind behind this is Erik Grahn. Grahn  came out  of the gate on his first full length and killed it. This album sweeps you away. Combining the lush romanticism of Emperor, atmosphere and incredible arrangements, my only regret it not finding this masterpiece when it came out under the radar back in February.