Black Label Society :" Doom Crew Inc"

 The chug is powerful, and Zakk continues to use his blues inflected belt, though none of those elements lends themselves to coming across as being doom as suggested in the album's title, it is aggressive enough to be metal, at least by the 80s definition of the term. His playing is still Ozzy quality and there is a ton of Sabbath influence to be found on "Destroy and Conqueror".  It has that mid-tempo "Fairies Wear Boots" groove. There is a great dynamic shift on "You Make Me Want to Live". The guitar playing is of course going to be the high light of this album as Wylde has proven himself as one of the best metal guitarists out there. "Forever and a Day" recalls the kind of piano driven power ballads that bogged down the "Use Your Illusion" albums but manage to work here. 

It is when Wylde steps away from the Ozzy influence and does his own thing that he shines the most as "End of Days " is the best song thus far on this album and it has more of a heartfelt grunge moodiness to it.  He knows there are certain expectations of his fan base who know him from his time with Ozzy thus making songs like "Ruins" obligatory.  'Forsaken " kind of splits the difference between his two sides and works better as a song. His singing shines on the 2021 reworking of "Love Reign Down". He has shown us before how soulful he is capable of being this is just a reminder. Then we are back to the Sabbath riffage on "Gospel of Lies". Having spent awhile on the road in his own Sabbath cover band, it is easy to see how it continues to rub off on him. 

We get another glimpse of him not paying homage to Sabbath on "Shelter Me". If not for his thick metallic guitar tone this would sound like an almost radio friendly rock song.  There is a more blues soaked feel to "Gather All My Sins" when he is not winking in the direction of Ozzy's old homeboys. I mean he could have come up with a better title than farewell ballad to close the album with, but the guitar playing is pretty great. Not the best ballad on the album, but it works well, and the harmony vocals came out smoothly. He is an old pro so the fact the production and sound quality are top notch should go without saying. I will round this one down to a 9, as it leans heavily on his legacy, but it is a pretty incredible legacy to have.  

The Top 10 Folk / Country Albums of 2021

Feeling depressed? Need a soundtrack to sitting outside by yourself? This year's current crop of folk albums provided that. As with years past I sort through the genre lists before making the overall top ten of the year list. The fact these artists 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. Sure, you can bitch and complain about your favorite band not being on the list. However, I listen to five new albums a day so yes, I heard your favorite album and was not impressed. No, I do not care what you think about it. I do hope you can find your next favorite on this list and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out audio on these guys. Anyways here are the top 10 folk and country albums of 2021

10-Harmony Woods - "Graceful Rage"

I was going to write if you wanted to hear what Dashboard Confessional would sound like if fronted by a girl, but I think we have already crossed that line with him. There is more of an honest folk feel to the songs penned with clever lyrics that do not get too bogged down in girl power. 

Abysmal Hymns: Harmony Woods : "Graceful Rage"

9- Emma Ruth Rundle - "Engine of Hell" 

After her collaborations with Thou it makes sense that she would need to strip things down to simpler terms and just record more introspective songs with a piano and guitar. The guitar-oriented songs are the stronger of the two, as the piano ones are too delicate for her own good, but even this exercise in getting back to basics is better than most can do. 

Abysmal Hymns: Emma Ruth Rundle : " Engine of Hell"

 

8-Lana Del Rey - " Chemtrails Over the Country Club

Mood wise this album makes me think she has been paying attention to Taylor Swift's quarantine output. Sure, there are some familiar sounds though these are piano based ballads that shine most when they find their dreamy grooves that have been dialed back through a filter of Xanax.

Abysmal Hymns: Lana Del Rey : "Chemtrails Over of the Country Club"

7- Sturgill Simpson - "the Ballad of Dood & Juanita" 

Oddly not the only bluegrass concept album on the list this year. Banjo plays a big role as Simpson digs in with a more back hills melody. At times he picks and grins his way into more traditional commercial country if we are talking about the 60s and 70s thought with less cross over radio aspirations. The story is about a guy named Dood is not clear, but the songwriting holds up to the bar Simpson has set for himself..

Abysmal Hymns: Sturgill Simpson : " The Ballad of Dood & Juanita"

 

6- Wardruna - "Kvitravn" 

A folk album so entrenched in ancient tribalism it would be easy to get lost in the ritualistic nature of the sounds and not be aware of the songs. That is not the case here. They have taken a page from Dead Can Dance in this regard. There is a sense of movement that creates a primal groove and layers added to create dynamics. This is the band's first album on a major label, Columbia Records. This is no way has caused them to try to make music more accessible to western audiences.

Abysmal Hymns: Wardruna : "Kvitravn"

5-the Killers - "Pressure Machine" 

 This is an interesting time in their career to check them out as they peaked popularity wise so that gives them more room to play around with what they do. It seems here on their 7th album they have decided to do just that write a folk-rock album about Flower's childhood in the heartland. Harmonica driven ballads is not what they are known for so imagine my surprise finding this out. I do have a thing for artists and their weird phases like disco Kiss and new wave Alice Cooper, so add country Killers to the list.                

Abysmal Hymns: the Killers : "Pressure Machine"

4-Dust Mountain -"Hymns For Wilderness" 

This is darker folk rock with a 60s vibe and understated female vocals. A side project of Toni from Oranssi Pazuzu that creates organically hypnotic sonics not unlike places Swans tapped into. The vocals are being handled by his sister and even the drummer from Hex Vessel is behind the kit for this project, it is so. hypnotic that while left to play the songs glide by rather easy on your ears,

 Abysmal Hymns: Dust Mountain - "Hymns For Wilderness"

3-Bridge City Sinners - "Unholy Hymns" 

There is a great deal of maturation in the evolution of this band on many levels. Production wise to songwriting. This doesn't sound like a bunch of train hopping punks with banjos. What has been sacrificed in terms of the raw grit they once had has been replaced by a lusher sound and wider range of influences. Namely this vaudevillian jazz that gives these songs more of a swing.

Abysmal Hymns: Bridge City Sinners : "Unholy Hymns"

2-Rome - "Parlez-vous Hate"

 Long time fans might feel the neo folk project is selling out by not making the kind of bleakly obtuse that put them in line for Death in June's throne. It does seem like these songs were written with breaking through in the America. There is even a song that kind of parodies Bruce Springteen's "Born in the USA" But all the above works for me as it is very hooky and concisely written songs.

Abysmal Hymns: Rome : "Parlez-vous Hate"

1-Amigo the Devil -"Born Against"

After "Everything's Fine" the bar is pretty high going into this one. There is a bigger slicker production sometimes bringing more of a rock dynamic sometimes sounding like a drunk romp arounds the streets of New Orleans. His singing is more dynamic, and lyrics refined his sense of storytelling to bring fresh wallop to the punch of his songs here and worth many repeat listens. 

Abysmal Hymns: Amigo the Devil : "Born Against"

Devil Electric : " Godless"

 

This Australian band is back with more swagger and attitude. Less metallic in its intentions they have come to boogie down this time around. The use a more blues-based musing when venturing into the darker corners of their sound that owe more to the Doors this time around than Black Sabbath. When the songs give her the room to weave her youthfully belted alto into less obvious melodies that this band is at it's most powerful. There is a harder edge to the dynamics, but this ballsy tone is heavy in attitude and not metal.  When they charge forward with more drive like on the title track it meets at the crossroads where metal was separating itself from rock music in the 70s. 

There is a darker heavier mood on "I Am ". Her voice is very consistent, dynamically not huge shifts in the vocal colors she paints the songs with but makes use of very subtle hooks. You can hear metal influence like on the tense chug of this song. Clean guitar tones appear on " I Will be Forgotten". It is more of a calm before the storm as the drums kick it up into Zeppelin like groove. The lyrics to this song being the first to make me take notice. The sultry nature of her voice offers some punch to her delivery on this song. There is also a really interesting break down in this song. The groove is a little more complex on "Mindset" as the drums play around before the the Pat Benatar like chug takes over the verses.   

There is a little more attack to "Take the Edge Off' where is more of a Runaways styled rock anthem. The palm muted grooves on the verses are cool.  Things then get darker going into "Your Guess is as Good as Mine". Not the album's hookiest song, but I can appreciate what they trying to do here. I will give this one a 9, it's another solid step into solidifying their voice and proves they are not trying to put out the same album twice. 

3

Danny Elfman - "Big Mess"

 Well, Elfman has an ear to what is going on in music for sure. It is heavier than what you might expect from him, the panned vocals bouncing around on the opening track are interesting. It is progressive without really trying to be. Like I tell my daughter when she hears Oingo Boingo this is Kack Skellington singing! The drums and guitars are way harder edged than what you would find in Oingo Boingo, which explains why this is not being done under that name. He has both Josh Freese and Robin Finck playing on this album. Guitar is also provided by Warren from the Vandals, so both the Vandals and Nine Inch Nails figures in the mix. By the third song things get more cinematic, though one foot is still planted in a darker industrial stomp that wads felt on "True".  He was going to perform some of these songs at Coachella, then co-vid happened so he recorded this album instead. 

The magnitude of dynamics employed here is not surprising considering his knack for musicals. Sometimes the results are weird like on "Dance With the Lemurs".  'Serious Ground" is a boozier smoked filled groove. It is hammered around by heavier undercurrents. I like hearing his lower register in places here. His voice has really held up well, so no excuses when your favorite aging rockers do not bring it. "Choose Your Side" is like a industrial strength Jack Skellington ballad as he muses about the turn of events in the world today, which is the overall lyrical theme. He really excels at arranging strings and should be considered every bit as great of a composer John Williams or Hans Zimmer.

"We Belong" is a crooned ballad sung in his lower register, that works for what it is though is the least dynamic of the songs so far and seems more like an interlude in comparison. An electronic pulse flows under "Happy". The vocals are arranged in an interesting manner, more driving drums begin to creep in as the song progresses. It eventually al clangs together in a more punk manner. His vocal performance on this album is even more colorful and diverse than what Mike Patton did on the new Tomahawk album. "Just a Human" carries over the punk drive from the previous song.  "Devil Take Away" has more of a rock groove to its stomp. The syncopation here gives room for Elfman to use more soulful flex of his vocal cords. 

One of the more impressive qualities of this album is how Elfman can blend contrasting styles and instrumentation into tightly coiled songs that work. He often does with with a dramatic flair to the quirkiness as can be heard on "Love In the Time of Covid". There is a cool tension to the verses of "Native Intelligence" which has more of an angular punk vibe when it explodes outward. There are varied shades of quirk and theatrical shifts in dynamics woven together with a masterful smoothness as Elfman tiwsts the narrative by his elastic singing style. "Kick Me" feels like it came from the soundtrack of a spy movie before going sideways with a Mr. Bungle like chaos. This carries over into "Get Over it" to some extent. The first minute and a half of this song already covers a great deal of ground. The last song 'Insects" is an Oingo Boingo song he has reimagined. This is ambitious but flows very naturally for him and he has the right band to help him pull this album off so I will give it a 10 and see how it grows on me, but he is more progressive than most progressive artists who set out to do so.   

Exodus : "Persona Non Grata"

 In highschool I played the hell out of the first three Exodus album, after that I really only return to those. The first track suggests they are trying to keep up with the jones in terms of heaviness. Granted Gary Holt was playing with Slayer for some time, so I am sure that influenced this writing.  Thanks to Steve's voice you can hear that this is in fact Exodus and not any of a thousand bands doing this sort of thing these days. The second song has a more familiar thrashing groove. This is however more fully realized on " Slipping Into Madness" that finds the vocals falling into more hooky places and is a song that holds up better against their more classic work.

"Elitist" might not meet the bar raised by the previous song, but the powerful chug of "Prescribing Horror", does. It is the first song that really grabbed my attention when I just let this album play earlier perhaps because it is darker. It does show how they band can be effective at blending modern metal with what they do and be true to themselves/. "the Beatings Will Continue" is very much in the vein of their "Fabulous Disaster " days. Considering that is the album that made them a household name of sorts, I am sure that is the bar they have chased since the 90s. "the Years of Death and Dying" proves they do not however have to rely on that chase as they can still crank out mean mosh inducing riffs. 

As with any band speed metal or not when they lean too hard on blistering speed the riffs get lost as they blast past you an "Click Bait" is an example of this. Lyrically this is a more political album but given the history of thrash it tends to be given the hard-core influence it came from. "Lunatic Liar Lord" falls along a more color by numbers metal formula but done pretty perfectly. The guitar work on this album is top notch. "Fires of Division" pours on the speed as needed but is dynamic enough when it is time to chug for the song to breathe. The last song "Antiseed" does it's job and is a pretty straight forward thrasher like what you might expect for them, though it relies more on speed than the hooky mosh inducing riffs they crank at the top of their game. It does improve on the chorus. I think a 9 is fair for this album as it is better than what younger bands following in their combat boots are doing , but not quite on the level of their classic work, thought close enough.

Bridge City Sinners : "Unholy Hymns"

 

There is a great deal of maturation in the evolution of this band on many levels. Production wise to songwriting. This doesn't sound like a bunch of train hopping punks with banjos. What has been sacrificed in terms of the raw grit they once had has been replaced by a lusher sound and wider range of influences. Namely this vaudevillian jazz that gives these songs more of a swing. To the point that this has more in common with Amy Winehouse, than Amigo the Devil. The satanic ragtime feel sometimes gives a New Orleans vibe. They have more layers of instrumentation to pain these songs with so there is a much ambitious scope. According to the band the second half of this album is also a concept album. They seemed to be more committed to darkness this time around. Both "Rock Bottom" and "Departed" sort through questions of mortality and what drinking is doing to make her days more numbered.

"Pick Your Poison' has more of a swing feel, vocally she touches back on that sultry Amy Winehouse styled jazz belting but gives it more of a jitterbug. "Devil Like You' comes closer to their old sound but also has the dramatic feel of say Rasputina. "Love of Mine" is more sweeping with the violins. She laments about the flaws of relationships here. The last verse has more of a jammy feel. The concept album being to unfold on the 7th track " the Legend of Olag hai" which is indeed darker. You can almost hear a metal influence. The harsher screamed vocals that come in confirm this. This song is broken into two parts, the second more melodic and not as foreboding, even when the gang vocals come in.

The vocals give 'the Fear" a more crust punk edge. The music races more along the lines of blue grass. This kind of attack continues on "the Damned". The title track that closes the album is more melodic and doesn't not carry the aggressive screaming of the previous songs. It is almost more like a ballad until the tension begins to build midway into the song. It sounds like something that would play at Disney's Haunted Mansion. Overall this album is a powerful step forward I will give it a 9.5. 

the Top 10 Death Metal albums of 2021

Given the state of the world we need death metal more than ever. Death is something to be celebrated not feared and these albums help provide a soundtrack for that celebration. I do not like death metal that is too technical or only heavy, so these bands all went above and beyond.   Ok now that that is out of the way, much like in years past sort through the genre lists before making the overall top ten of the year list. The fact these artists 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. Sure, you can bitch and complain about your favorite band not being on the list. However, I listen to five new albums a day so yes, I heard your favorite album and was not impressed. No, I do not care what you think about it. I do hope you can find your next favorite on this list and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out audio on these guys. Anyways here are the top death metal albums of 2021

10-VHS- "I Heard They Suck... Blood" 

 Of course, I am going to like a death metal album about vampires, not as spooky as I wanted it to be, which is why this is more of an honorable mention, but the songs are catchy and fun.

Abysmal Hymns: VHS : " I Heard They Suck... Blood"

9-Asphyx - "Necroceros" 

This is1 the 10th album by this band from the Netherlands who is not drastically changing anything. They are straight up by the books death metal.  Old school to the point their sound brings back the crossroads where death metal sprung from thrash, these guys are the real deal as they have at it since 91 and clearly perfected this aggression into hooky songwriting.  

Abysmal Hymns: Asphyx : "Necroceros"

 

8-Blindfolded and Led to the Woods - "Nightmare Withdrawals" 

The band from New Zealand succeeds in not sounding like any other death metal band I have covered this month which is an accomplishment. Some of this is thanks to the helter skelter angular riffs they throw at you from every direction. It is progressive but in more of a math rock way than wanky shredding.

Abysmal Hymns: Death is June - Blindfolded and Led to the Woods : " Nightmare Withdrawals"

 

7- Carcass- "Torn Arteries" 

This album is a return to form. I was not too thrilled by their 2013 comeback album "Surgical Steel"  When you are a legend like these guys are you have to do better than that.  we know they are never going to be a grind core band again like they were on "Reek of ...", nor do I need them to be. "Necroticism" is my favorite album by them, but it's no longer 1991 . I am more impressive when they bring riffs that have a little more groove to them,

Abysmal Hymns: Carcass : "Torn Arteries"

  6-Hundred Headless Horsemen - "Apokalepsia"

Of all the bands this one might be the most different. There are progressive elements in the atmosphere being kicked up here. The overt battery of ear drums is perhaps dialed back a little, but they are making some beautiful dark music, more prog than I bargained for, but really well done 

Abysmal Hymns: Death is June -Hundred Headless Horsemen : "Apokalepsia"

 

5- Bridgeburner- "Disempath" 

This band from New Zealand is heavily influenced by hard core, we might call this death core but they have nothing to do with the terrible Myspace styled bands who coined the term, they are not only heavier and more aggressive than those kinds of bands but much better songwriters as well. 

 

 

4-Crypt Crawler - "Future Usurper" 

Right from the bass intro they have my ear because they are not opening this going for the throat. It is not to say they are not capable of doing that they just bring more to the table. I suppose this would fall under progressive death metal, though they are not too mathy or wanky. They are a tightly coiled aggression machine with all the hooks that old school thrash used to dish out but run from a filter of classic death metal. They keep this big epic maximum head banging momentum

Abysmal Hymns: Death is June - Crypt Crawler - " Future Usurper"

 

3- Hooded Menace - "the Tritonus Bell" 

 This band from Finland never struck me over the course of their careers so far as being as creative in the song writing department as they have so midway into the first song of this album. The have really paid more attention to their guitar melodies without becomes cheesy melo-death. The low guttural vocals could always turn into the one-dimensional element that shoots this inspiration down as the album progresses so we will see.   

Abysmal Hymns: Hooded Menace : "The Tritonus Bell"

 

2- Ruin - "Spread Plague Death " 

They come back nastier and grimmer on the title track of their new album. I really love "Human Annihilation". It had a very tangible hate to it's sound. In the time of metal growing kinder and gentler I need it to be more hateful. These miscreants deliver. It is not until a few songs in that things pick up into the faster pounding most death metal is known for. They have not gotten any softer and it is still just as effective when they go from the jack hammer into a more deliberate crunch. All too often heaviness seems to sacrifice a willingness to care about song writing yet here we are with the most dismally gurgled vocals and the songs still have me engaged. 

Abysmal Hymns: Ruin : "Spread Plague Death"

 1-Hypocrisy- "Worship"

The 90s never left. This is the vibe I get from the first album in over a decade from one of Sweden's best death metal acts. I first got into them back in 1994 with the 'Fourth Dimension" album. They were ahead of the curve when it came to lyrics dealing with alien conspiracies. Their experience as song writers prevails and makes this better than what a younger band eager to prove how heavy they are would do. Lyrically it is very fitting for the past year so wish it had come out earlier but will take it

Abysmal Hymns: Hypocrisy : " Worship"