The Top 10 Metal Albums of 2018 ...so far

O.k it's already June so we are half way into 2018, so here's a progress report to take a look at what the best albums of the year are so far.I sorted them by score and then let Last FM tell me what I've listened to the most. After all I can think an album is great on first listen, but if it doesn't keep me returning to it then how great can it be ? This seems less pre-mature than past years, as I think I am caught up on everything coming out before August with all the promos in my in-box. Rather than include audio samples, I put links to the original reviews where those can be found. Six months will tell how these pan out come December.






10-Lychgate :" The Contagion in Nine Steps"

 If  you showed up for black metal I can understand why this might be jarring. It's also really dark and interesting so if you don't recognize that and want just blast beats so eat more glue and chase it with a bullet. This is not to say I approve of every movement in this shifting landscape of angular chaos. I do approve of the sense of adventure and rebellion against the black metal status quo even at risk of not being black metal anymore. I think the atmosphere and melancholy is the albums strong point though it is a listen that makes you think more than you might want to.


 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/05/lychgate-contagion-in-nine-steps.html

9- Necros Christos: " Domedon Doxomedon"

T he third album by this German band is being heralded as their last. It is more melodic and straight forward . They have come out from the murk of cavernous reverb to have a more organic sound. Gone is the darker Incantation worship. For matter there are few moments that sound like Morbid Angel. The vocals carry more of a croak, than the deeper growl I remember from these guys. Due to this the lyrics are more discernible. They are also more of a focal point with the opener being a clear cut take on the Jesus myth.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/04/necros-christos-domedon-doxomedon.html

8-Fister : "No Spirit Within"


 I was surprised these guys didn't lead off hitting me with a wall of fuzzed out distortion. Instead it's reverb drenched western sounding guitar. The first song is just an intro rather than an actual song, as it gives way to the wretched vocal howls and crunching slabs of low tuned riffs I was expecting. It poses the question where does doom begin and sludge end.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/04/fister-no-spirit-within.html

7-Dimmu Borgir : " Eonian" 


An 8 year wait from an album is asking a lot. These guys are one of my favorite bands. I don't expect them to be black metal, I expect them to do what they do. This involves their ever evolving sound that retains the core of who they are. The opener " the Unveiling", finds Shagrath croaking his way through the verses. There is a huge choral sound midway into the song. This confirms they are more of a symphonic metal band than a black metal band. I heard "Inter dimensional Summit" before the album came out , while I think the choral refrain used for the chorus is a little over top and some of the melodies could stand to be darker. But it continues to grow on me as I get used to the changes.


 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/05/dimmu-borgir-eonian.html

6-Watain : "Trident Wolf Eclipse" 


 It is very thundering with the combative thrashing dialed way up.Stay in a blasting fury with equally feral rawness of "Sacred Damnation". This song does carry some more nuanced accents, the overall tone in comparison to  but  to "the Wild Hunt" proves this to be a much more straightforward black metal album, as they return  to their more mean spirited roots. They band could have easily said "This album is going to be a return to our heavier more punishing sound, and they would not have been lying.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2017/12/watain-trident-wolfe-eclipse.html


 

5-Ilsa : " Corpse Fortress" 

The D.C  band is refusing to hold back on  on their debut for Relapse Records. The band's 5th full length finds them continuing to hammer skulls in with the sheer density of their blown out sludge. Dirty and squealing with feedback.I know it has hung tough in my iPod since I got it and has earned multiple listens I think it is a huge step forward for the band.


 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/03/ilsa-corpse-fortress.html

4-LLNN : "Deads" 


 It's rare that I download an album from a band I never have heard before. I typically stream it. I sort through so much music and know such a small percentage will be music that I need to own that I listen to an album a few times, review it then move on. So it says a lot when a really heavy band like this grabs my attention. Hard core might be at the beating heart of this monster. I think what I like about this the most is the sonic intensity.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/03/llnn-deads.html

3-Ministry : "Amerikkka"

 Al slows down and gives into his anger in a way that digs back into the darkness of "Darkside of the Spoon" rather than a struggle with addiction this album finds him struggling with the world around him. I interviewed Al  Jourgensen  back during the summer of the 2016 Presidential Campaign he mad his feelings known about the state of the union. There is enough new to make this feel like it's not a retro flirtation with their past.This album is well balanced and works off mood more than just being in your face. Sure it has more of a smack out feel than a speed ball blitz, so perhaps that is why I am more partial to this side of the band.

< http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/03/ministry-amerikkkant.html

2-Totalselfhatred : "Solitude" 


One of my favorite bands. It had been 7 years since their last album. This band from Finland had a more aggressive take on depressive black metal, so it is hard to complain about what goes down as it's so well done.In fact maturity is one of this album's characteristics. Gone are the rock god solos, but everything is still well played and there is no doubt they are excellent musicians who have grown up to serve the song. Finds them a little more mellowed with time, but with a wider depth of emotion.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/02/black-metal-history-month.html

1-Voices : "Frightened" 

 Former members of Akercocke formed this progressive metal band. This is way more melodic that I expected and that is what drew me in further to this album. It has a wide array of vocal colors. The metal core of what these musicians creates from doesn't hamper it from bringing other elements ranging from post-punk to post- hardcore, though I guess these post-men aren't just ringing twice as any other post-sub genre can also be found. It's hard to imagine someone else this year being able to bring it in the dark and aggressive fashion these guys do so well.


 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/04/voices-frightened.html

Isenordal : " Spectral Embrace"

This Seattle band's "Shores of Mourning" album earned a 9, so the bar is high. They start off with their more neo-folk side taking the lead. The vocals are soft and the strings holds most of the melancholy. The female vocals join in to add harmonies.It's hazy but not dark. There is a droning quality to it that does have a mesmerizing appeal. It's not until the second song that harsh growled vocals come in over the gentle plucking of the folk that unfolds. The 3rd song transpires in a very similar manner to the first two. The first two songs worked for what they were, but now I am waiting for some kind of dynamic shift, otherwise this is going to feel like the background music at a New Age bookstore. The vocals work well and I get that the hypnosis of drone is what they are going for. If they want to go straight neo-folk they are succeeding. Four minutes in the folk does get more aggressive. The harsh vocals return again and things do get marginally darker.

"An Entrancing Dream" begins with a more ballad like tone. The vocals are very subdued. Now we are back to being new age hippies. So it's safe to say I could stand for this album to be darker. In the last minute and a half the harsher vocals return from behind a wall of distant reverb. Too little too late. "Dissolution Into the Earth" might be slow, but it is not doom, so do not let anyone try to fool you into thinking different. Not that I need them to be doom, I'll settle with darker folk. The vocals stay hushed on this song as well which begins to create a more uniform sound. The harsh vocal come in sooner to counter balance the female vocals, though the over feel of the music remains the same shade of gray. The song breaks into a more energetic strum and percussion enters. This is enough of a dynamic shift to make it work for me. The melody to the last song was song pleasing to the ears and one of the more interesting bits of vocal interplay on the album, but the accompaniment did not stand out and made the song fade into something that was ok, not great or breathtaking.

Overall, this album crosses over into full submersing themselves into neo-folk. Not as dark or heavy ass the previous album, I'll give this a 7.5. If you were always more of a fan of this band's folk side and don't need them to be heavy, then this change won't phase you.



 

Orange Goblin : "the Wolf Bites Back"

Sure this band has been around for decades. They are stoner metal royalty. However you are only as good as your last album, so do they live up to their legend. At first it seems like they might as the band busts into the album with authority though, they come across as one trick pony on "the Wolf Fight Backs" locking into an aggressive boogie that carries over into "Renegade" that continues to exploit the latent Motorhead influence. Stoner and doom are two labels that get used together with out thinking what the latter means. The cross roads where these two intersect is felt on "Swords of Fire". It's jerked out of this question midway into the song as the pace becomes more driving. It also becomes more apparent how much these guys influenced High on Fire.

"Ghosts of the Primitives" has a ZZ -Top like blues groove to it that helps to break thing up. "Suicide Division" is a more driving punk. It's angry but also a little too straightforward in it's bluster for me. I prefer the bluesy tone of  "the Stranger".That finds there singer in a lower register that shifts away from his normal bark to provide a more melodic diversion. When it speeds up, it works better than the "one, two , three ...go !" style punk explosion. The lyrics are about a serial killer and tell a better story than most of the metal-phors they use. "Burn the Ships" also benefits from them ebbing down to a darker and more melodic groove. There playing is seasoned , but none of it really stands out as going above and beyond the call of duty. They do serve the songs and no one shows off.

"Zeitgeist" closes the album. Moodier and more melodic until the throaty vocals come in. It holds traces of Thin Lizzy. There is a little more re-verb applied to the vocals when they go into the more chorus. I'll give this album a 7.5. It's respectable and succeeds in doing what they set out to accomplished which should please fans of the bands.It's a little too straight forward for me. Meaning not dark or weird enough to sit alongside what I normally listen to so if you are fan of this kind of thing you might even round it up to an 8. This album comes out June 15th on Candlelight Records.

Mortuos : " Through the Wilderness"

By definition this could be called a death metal super group, as it features members of Exhumed, Repulsion and Necrot. Into the first song I can tell what I like about these guys is the dark quality that finds classic sounding death metal , met with melody . It also feels like these guys give a shit about writing at song and are not just throwing me into a wall of double bass. It reminds me a little of classic Obituary, though darker and denser. Rather than John Tardy's expressive monster belch of a growl, this is lower and more guttural of a vocal approach. The guitar solo's have that Slayer like chaos to them. "Chrysalis of Sorrow" is more like death doom with it's mournfully deliberate pacing that is interspersed with double bass drive section edging up the aggression. Three songs in and I am already thinking this might be one of the best death metal albums I've heard in the first 6 months of 2018, so lets see if they can keep it up.

I might have spoken to soon as "Dead Yet Dream" comes at you with a slower gurgle, that is not as engaging as the first three songs. The doom elements work better in the ominous "Anguish & Insanity" . It speeds up into more of a death metal pace. Midway into the song it hits a cool My Dying Bride like part, though less melodramatic. The vocals do take on a more maniacal Obituary like tone. The title track finds them slowing down on the verses to create the stomp of a needed groove. While they can play at that more Morbid Angel like pace , I think it's the moments where they show restraint that are more unique to who they are . "Prisoner Unto Past" races off into a more typical break neck death metal pace. It then locks into a more grooving double bass section of what I am guessing is the verses, it's marginally more murky in the structure department.The layered shift of the guitar tone also helps set this song apart. I don't think they should have returned to the opening pace at the end, but it's not a deal breaker.

They throw the more Cannibal Corpse speed at you to end things with "Screaming Headless". Thankfully that only lasts for the first time, as it would have been tedious. The stiff drum beat to that kind of death metal is not my favorite. It does switch up into a more moody ending.  I'll round this up to an 8.5 as it sometimes plays to safely with the death metal conventions. These guys are just slower death metal with a range of emotion that sometimes extends past rage. That is more than can be for half the so-called brutal death metal bands.This comes out June 22 on Tank Crimes.

Ash Code : 'Perspektive

Stark Euro brand of dark wave, has the needed amount of melodic layers to hold my interest and come across as something more than just 80s sounding dark synths dressed up for Halloween.
The vocals are somewhat Love & Rockets on "Icy Cold", there is not a wild variation from the first song in terms of their dynamic range. Their sound is still working, but I am hoping they switch things up enough on the third song to prove to me they are not just a one trick pony. The tense guitar line does make "Betrayed" come across more like post-punk than dark wave. The vocals are more spoken on "Flesh and Words". The song follows a  more typical German goth path. There is a little more of  dynamic range on this song. "Disease" has a darker touch to it that breaks things up slightly. They continue to lean into darker territory on the title track."If You Were Here" keeps things in the shadows as well, but with more of a poppy bounce.

Female vocals take over on "Rivers". It's not their fault that the song falls flat , the electronic drums are stiff and the bass is nowhere to be heard. "Black Gloves" has the synths working for them rather than against and they create more of a driving sound. The bass finally steps up and into the picture making this mix what the rest of the album needed. The female vocals create a more detached narrative, but it works for the song, though not making this the most memorable moment. The album closes on a more cinematic note which doesnt blow me away , but is not half bad either.

This album's main problem is the production. It doesn't do the drum programming any favors. While being stiff is part of the cold appeal to projects like this I think it could be done in a many that does the songs more favors since at the end of the day that is what matters. I'll give this album a 7.5. It's decent if you are into this sort of thing, and if you are a fan it's certainly a must, but not something I I feel the need to own, though it entertained me when I listened to it. So there if you  ever wondering what a 7.5 means in my book there you go.

Pink Cocoon : "Alienation"

This gritty garage band from Montreal plays a gritty feedback soaked style of proto-doom. Even with the raw sound of their mix some interesting guitar tones seep out. The vocals sound more like they are from an indie rock band than a harder rock band. The guitar solos consist of trickling chaos and melting effects pedals. He does get a little more grit in his voice on "No Control" like he is either trying to mimic Wino or Lemmy from the Hawkwind days. "Old Lady at the Window" starts off in a more doomy direction and then gets too many drugs in it's system and goes off the rails. But maybe you are into that.

The drums begin to sound worse of the grungy "Someone Is Out There". It's at this point I realize this album is going all over the place. The playing gets real sloppy on this one. But early grunge was before it got on the radio. "A New Beginning" is just an atmospheric intro. There is more of a boogie to " Child Of Death". It reminds me of Mudhoney if they had been doing the kind of drugs that the Butthole Surfers had been on. The vocals have more of  indie rock feels with a indifference to their more monotone mumble. I appreciate the surreal trippy use of effects that is applied to the second half of this song. I think this kid might have some potential though it's not fully tapped into here.

I'll give this album a 6.5. It has some decent moments. While a finely tuned ear can pick out where all of this is coming from, hip teenage on drugs, who are into the Flaming Lips but want something with a more dangerous edge that is not as heavy as metal might latch onto this album. It might have been more common place in the 90s and would have appealed to the college crowd them. As it is this album started off a better listen then kinda fell off course when the drugs kicked in for them.

Ghost : " Prequelle"

Everything following this band's first album has fallen flat. It's not been metal, which isn't the main problem. The main problem is the fact that it has sounded like Abba covering Blue Oyster Cult. Yep some real Satanic shit if you are a fucking pussy. So "Rats" the lead single off this album was encouraging as it sounds like they are now trying to rip off "Bark At the Moon" era Ozzy. The reverb on everything and the beefed up bass tone. Original...no, an improvement...yes. The more aggressive bass playing compensates for the wimpy vocals. "Faith" finds us not as lucky. The guitar has a little more beef to it than the previous albums, but not enough. Their fetish for keyboards is certainly not the band's strength, but they manage to compensate for it on "See the Light". It starts off more long the lines of Air Supply, but the guitar chugs in to save the day.

One of Ghost's biggest problems is they just are not as dark as they need to be. This is high lighted on the instrumental "Miasma". The heaviest guitar riff on this song could have come from a Ratt album. Ratt is actually more aggressive even on "Way Cool Junior". But if your gimmick centers around being evil then guys you gotta be darker than this/ The 80s continues on "Dance Macabre" which is like when the Scorpions sold out.. As cheesy as that is, it's an improvement over their past two albums. Lyrically its a catastrophe, but I'm trying to like this as much as I can. Somebody needed to throw the keyboards out of the god damn window and they might have stood half a chance. Lucifer tries to whisper silently in your mind on "Pro Memoria" but this piano filled travesty mucks up those sentiments. It's like a Styx song I would fast forward.

They return to the cock rock riffs going into " Witch Image" before wimping out with some real pansy shit leading into the chorus, that is like a Europe power ballad and I start waiting on the final countdown for this song to be over. It's a real shame as they get off to a much better start on this album, but have started to flush all that down the toilet. I'm not sure what is with the shitty instrumentals where they are trying to be Queen, but the second one is no better than first. The keyboards continue to be too happy. The end the album pretty limply. It's a piano driven power ballad. The vocals do benefit from better production this time around. However even with the studio's bag of tricks that are still weak and the ballads only point this fact out. This song is down right terrible. So say it sucks a dick, would make fellatio seem less masculine and leather bars are way more butch than this bullshit. I think giving this album a 5.5 is pretty fair since only the first half is worth a shit. If you think this is metal, the world doesn't need you and I encourage taking the needed measures like walking out into traffic as it is what Satan would want.