Fallujah : "Undying Light"

The opener doesn't break much in the way of new ground. All the elements of their sound are in play. The vocals sound more hard-core and less death metal this time around. There is more of an angry scream to them rather than a growl. The lyrics are easier to make out this time. The vocals are also doubled up with a more forcefully shouted vocal. I think the guitar melody to "Last Light" is more memorable. The drums also back off and give things more room to breathe in places. I am hearing the difference on this album being more restraint. There are not guitar solos coming at you from every angle. The atmosphere coming from the guitars is more streamlined. There is more of a metal core sound, than death metal. The more stellar guitar playing that was on there previous albums surfaces midway into third song. There are some stomping djent like grooves that build up. I guess that is fair since I would say Meshuggah also uses the guitar in a similar atmospheric sense.

The riff leading into "Dopamine" is much more melodic. The hard core comparisons would once again arise as the verses progress. I will give it to them that things flow and we are not getting just a bunch of riffs for the sake of riff. The first sung vocal, that has a Deftones like coo pops up.  "the Ocean Above" works off some tricky time signatures, but as a song it is ok, nothing that really grabs me. There is a similar formula at play on "Hollow" . This formula begins to get broken up s they have an almost Swedish melo-death sound with the thrashing speed of "Sanctuary". "Eyes Like the Sun" finds them on a more predictable course. There is some great guitar playing, but it's beginning to sound more along the lines of Thy Art is Murder. The atmosphere is more welcome than just straight up technical death core, but nothing ground breaking despite the whispered sung vocals .

If you are a regular reader then you could have guessed I would like the darker and more melodic direction they go on the Deftones like purr of  "Distant and Cold".  There is more double bass to drive "Departure" that closes the album. This gives it more death metal like muscle. Midway into it the groove switches, but the overall feel doesn't stray from what is expected of metal of their ilk. When it comes to modern metal, I appreciate the layers of atmosphere and more melodic moments. I will round it down to an 8 as I feel this one kinda plays it safe, but if you are into a more metal core sound then you will dig it. Either way the great guitar work can not be denied.

Indestructible Noise Command : "Terrible Things"

These guys are a band whose name I remember from the 80s , but don't recall every actually hearing them. They are very high energy like a more hard-core version of Testament. They use a catchy yet repetitive formula most of the time . "Indentifier" reminds me in places of D.R.I. The lyrics are pretty clever . By the time we get to the title track they begin to get mired into more of a set formula. This does not detract from the fact that they are good at what they do. The singer has a Overkill like spit fire aggression to his aggression, going into higher notes that are more screamed than sung. Though there are a few notes sung on choruses here and there. The drummer is insane , but with thrash that kind of comes with the job description. "Legions Rise" seems to fall out of the previous song with more shredding but little else to distinguish it .


"Unscathed" has some taunt chugging, but shows how if left unchecked thrash can all begin to sound the same. This could be said for a few other metal sub-genres. It was separates the greats from the masses to have a stamp on their own sound. Another reason these guys are not mentioned in the same breath as even bands like Voivod and Vio-lence. "Bonesaw Ballet" marries modern metal to the days of thrash they came from pretty effectively.  "Salmonella" is an odd topic for a song. Even odder that is one of the album's darker songs as it opens with doomy riff before speeding up. The lyrics seem to be more about politics. The main riff is very Judas Priest . The vocals are the most varied on this song as well, almost in a more Pantera direction. "Nemesis" is more typical of late 80s thrash, think Testament meets Nuclear Assault. So not the album's most original moment.

I'll round this up to an 8, due to the fact that while this was never cutting edge in terms or originality the energy and precision they put into these songs is impressive. For some reason I used to always thing these guys had more in common with Brutal Truth back in the day, though I listened to more than my fair share of Testament so it's not like I did not already have this sort of thing filled . If you like thrash then this is worth checking out for sure .

LA Guns : "the Devil You Know"

12 albums later the band survived the 90s so they are not going to be giving up any time soon. I think the fact that they had more of a metal edge than their peers all along helps with this.  The opener sounds like they are clocking in on their heavier , where "Stay Away", does a better job of that . The vocals are way up front in the mix , while Phil sounds great for his age, I could use more guitar. The bass is lost and the drums patter in the background. It is clear these guys are aware it's 2019 and the world has moved past hair metal and now needs something heavier. They stay true to who they are and deliver this on the title track.It's not that they are trying to be Five Finger Death Punch in an attempt to do this. It still sounds like LA Guns.  Their is more of a Guns and Roses feel to "Needle to the Bone". I could also hear this song on the first Motley Crue album, though it's less metal and has more of a bluesy sleaze.

There is more of the metallic great that the title track had on "Going High" . There is more of a rock swagger to "Gone Honey".  Warmer and more organic, it's certainly not the most interesting song they have written , in fact it sounds like warmed over Cult with Lewis singing. The more uptempo "Don't Need to Win" is pretty much color by numbers middle of the road rock not unlike the previous song, though Lewis' voice carried more of a sharp barb to it making it very AC/DC. Despite the fact that it's a good song, "Down That Hole " reminds me of Stone Temple Pilots more middle of the road moments. The best song on every level is " Another Season In Hell". The guitar playing is great. Phil sounds at his peak. There is a ton of emotion and sonic layers. It's also one of the album's darker moments which I am sure sways me to some extent. I like the intensity the guitars are strummed with on the chorus. I suppose in some ways this is a power ballad.

The album ends on a playful almost punk note with "Boom". Punk has always been an influence on the dirtier side of glam rock. It's not the best song on the album. The way the gang vocals chime in might be a little too heavy handed, however over all the song works with what these guys do. I'll give this album an 8.5, it's pretty fun and easy to listen to. I liked "the Missing Peace" a little better , but this works as well and proves these guys are holding up better...musically than the bulk of their peers from these time. Yeah some of the guys in Skid Row or Motley Crue might look better, but these guys might have made their heaviest album yet, which is more than you can say for those bands.

Lost Dog Street Band : "Weight of a Trigger"

I like country music it is just dark to know where to look to find the kind that is dark enough for me. After all this darker sub-set of it is not flourishing. It only takes up on dark corner of the genre. So whenever I see something labelled as dark country I jump on it. This is the act's 5th album. The first song comes across as convincing, though I would say there is a lurking melancholy more than this is dark. Not to say that doesn't come as the album progresses . The first song is upbeat. Lyrically the story telling does invoke images for yearning redemption like saying " forward my mail to hell or worse". So there is the doomed feeling of waiting for the other shoe to drop. The average listener might find that dark, but here at Abysmal Hymns he have built up a high tolerance for darkness, so I need more than that .

Country music might be what these songs come from, but there is a more folk element that makes me think of the Decemberists. These guys are not telling a story with the same sense of theatrics are pulling from as many places as the Decemberists do , but I think they are in the same zip code as say 'the King is Dead" album. His voice is more plaintive than  Colin Melroy. There is more of a blue grass twang going into "Bring Back Someday". Speaking of twang that is what I need to keep this out of the Decemberists backyard. This is strange due to the fact that these guys are from Nashville where there should be no shortage of real country music to draw influence from. There is more of a conventional country feel to "Without a Doubt". It has a swift jig in its step, while it might not be the most original song on the album it is well done.

The best song on the album is "War Inside of Me" . Not because it's the darkest or the best sung. But it feels like the most honest and the lyrics strike me in a way that I can really relate to them. It is one of those song where if someone told me to pick the theme song to the soundtrack to my life I could use that one easy. "Diane" is more storytelling of a deal gone wrong with a hooker. When the vocals come in on the title track the rest of the arrangement tries to give the vocals room to breathe, but end up letting them carrying the weight of the song when his voice is not braced for it. "Lazy Moonshiner"  goes back into more of an Appalachian feel. It feels pretty honest which goes a long way with this style of music. The album ends with a bitter sweet ballad, that is good for what it is. Like most of the songs on this album it grows on me.  I'll give this album a 9 for what it lack it shadows it makes up for in heart and songwriting.

Ataraxie : "Résignés"

Almost more on the death doom side of funeral doom. This French band works best when allowing things room to breathe in the despair. I am in a little bit of a low swing myself as I am listening to this album so not sure how that will influence my ears. I know I am not the biggest fan of opening an album with a 21 minute song. But I have not been counting the clock to see how much fat could have been trimmed so I suppose that is a good sign. It's eleven and a half minutes into it before I start looking at the time, which also plays into their favor. The entire album is long songs, so it's not going to get a ton of plays from me . The title track that follows the opener is almost 18 minutes. The vocals are low roar with fair amount of torment behind them. It is at times more blackened doom, than pure doom as the pace picks up. It slow back down and is dense and heavy but just doesn't feel as inspired as the first song.

The clean guitar tones going into "Coronation of the Leeches " is more interesting in the wake of the distortion on pounding volume you hit you with leading up to this. About three and a half minutes in the heavy returns , but with some traces of the more melodic moments they just touched on. In 19 minutes they have plenty of time to cover plenty of ground and get blasty and doomy all in the same song with a cool punchy riff that stomps your head in between the two. The song also could have stopped at the 16 minute mark and I do not think any one would have noticed. Of course for the last song they have to have one that is even longer so they go for a 25 minute marathon. I understand that for doom when you are playing slower it takes more time to get to the finish line. Kinda like fucking an old man, but I have heard plenty of bands do more in a more compressed amount of time. Even doom bands.

I have shit to do, so I break it up into 3 to 5 minutes chunks of listening to this one. I can review an entire album from another band in the same time it takes to make it through this song. At the four minute mark it seems the drummer wants to speed up while everyone else is content at the current speed. They do get on board with building momentum in a more blackened direction. When it slows down and gets more atmospheric , things take on a more convincing emotional current.There are many moments of sonic heaviness coated in shadow, but it's the 12 minute mark before things really moved past sludged out  walls of distortion and become interesting musically. The question then becomes is it interesting enough to keep my attention for 25 minutes. Not really. Though overall the death doom sounds they conjure lean enough toward doom to work for me.  I will round this down to a 7.5 , as the lengthy songs get tiresome, but some people are into that sort of thing.

Looking Back in Anger at Nine Inch Nails' "The Downward Spiral"

This album turns 25 today. I was working at a Record store when it came out. So it was interesting to watch an industrial album go mainstream, though MTV was pointing them in that direction with the videos from "Broken". It starts off with the hammering "Mr. Self Destruct" that I have seen them open with live a few times. I think one of this album's strengths is the lyrics and all the tortured honesty Treznor put into them. Then things simmer down into a sultry groove for "Piggy" which works off of a slinky bass and the refrain of "nothing can stop me now, because I don't care anymore". It pretty much sums up the slacker pathos of Gen X. In many ways this album helped define the 90s as much as "Nevermind" in fact I'll say it's a better album than Nirvana's hit factory which might have gotten more radio play as it opened the doors to grunge pop fodder. This album is more complex and layered. It is more importantly for us here at Abysmal Hymns...darker.

It funny going back to listen to this album, I can almost review it from memory. The synth groove to "Hersey" looks back toward the feeling of the first album. The only difference is the heavier pulse to the chorus of "if god is dead...".  "March of the Pigs" hit's you head on with a blitz.  I think it works better in the smoother groove it breaks down at the minute mark before he asks "doesn't it make you feel better". I however don't think it's as good as the first three songs. "Closer" is pretty much the "Iron Man" of this album. It's an iconic pop song for sure, but I can go the rest of my life without hearing it now. In fact I think "Ruiner" is a better song. I think the groove is better . It gets more chaotic and noisy before the anthemic refrain. If we are talking about songs better than "Closer" , then "Becoming" also goes on that list. Lyrically it rings more true. The chanted refrain of "it won't give it , it wants me dead, god damn this noise inside my head" is one of the albums best moments.

The beat to "I Do Not Want This" is fractured beyond groove. The vocals have to hold the song together, until the more metallic guitar comes in. "Big Man With a Gun" has a more 80s synth groove and almost feels more like a Ministry song.  "A Warm Place" is more of an interlude than a song. Though they make you wait for it the greatest moment of the album are the drums Tommy Lee of Motley Crue played to kick into "Eraser" . This is my favorite song on the album, with the song after that in the number two spot. The vocals are sedate at first but still have a great deal of emotion before things get big and explosive."Reptile" might be the album's darkest song. Lyrically it might be the best on the album.

Oddly the title track is an interlude rather than a song on this album. It ends with "Hurt" which if you are reading this I hope you know, if not go hurt yourself to see if you still feel. If you heard the Johnny Cash cover first then follow those same instructions. This took the power ballad out of the hands of Guns and Roses to show it could be done with half the hair spray. On our rating scale of 1 to 10, this is one of the rare albums that cracks the ceiling to earn an 11. The same volume you should listen to it at.

Subway to Sally : "Hey !"

When folk metal is paired up with industrial the results are better than it might sound on paper. It counter balances the normally too happy results of most bands that delve into this. Sometimes this works better than others. While the opener is great, the second song doesn't fire as brilliantly on the same cylinders. "Konigin der kafer" is a little darker and brings them back a few steps closer to the sound I first liked. There are more electronic elements. "Messias" balances the more anthem like qualities against a simmering darker under current. The song that follows this one has more organic instrumentation, but is hopefully brooding. It paints in lighter shades of gray, while the chug of the guitar adds the tension.There is a bit of a groove to it as well. It is a little more dynamic than the other songs which might explain how it won me over..

I think this band's strength is all of the different places they can take you. When they do this with a darker touch then it is sonic magic. I think keeping the happy out is the one thing they need to focus on. This is their 13th album so they have a pretty solid formula they follow, it just doesn't adhere to what other band's use as a formula so that is why it works so well. Midway into the albums the first less than perfect moments surface and to me they are due to the fact it sounds like Ukrainian nu-metal. These are however balanced out by I guess what other bands might find more experimental , but are common place for these guys . "Alles was das Herz will" is one of their more straight forward rock moments. I guess referring to these guys as metal really depends upon how you define meta. I think regular readers here would find them to be more hard rock. This point in the album it finds them settling into more straight up rock. When it is done with a darker tone it works better for me, but the folk elements are falling by the wayside.

At just two minutes the album ends with the peppy title track. Some of the previous songs were more interesting. I think this album gets off to a good start and when they are engaging their more folk side then the songs stand out  I will round this album down to a 9, while there are some incredible songs it loses a little bit of creative steam when it settles into more middle of the road rock. But overall, it is a refreshing take on folk meeting rock.