the Top 10 Black Metal Albums of 2016

Black metal continues to flourish in even the most obscure corners of the world like it is the new punk rock for a doomed generation. As we do every year here, the top albums are gathered from every sub-genre, veterans are being honored alongside new American bands who are taking risks to push their music into new places. What we don't have is just a collection of boring blast beats recorded in a trash can. So here are the top ten black metal album of 2016 for you to worship while you are stealing the baby Jesus out of the local Nativity scene.

 10- Nevoa- "Re Un "

The atmospheric black metal duo from Portugal that brought the masterful "Absence of Void' are back with a darker and denser offering this time around. In the last minute bellowing vocals come in after they have ridden a droning groove for the bulk of the song. There is a cleaner and more jangling guitar tone to the second song. Around the two minute mark it begins to gain speed. These songs are looser jams than what they gave us on the first album. When the vocals come back in to help build things to more of a boiling point , the guitar gets weirder and then they continue to ebb back and forth like a breeze between roaring thunder storms. This album is much more progressive than the first. This is both a blessing and a curse as it does push their brand of black metal into new places.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/06/nevoa-re-un.html

9-Destroyer 666- "Wildfire"

 It's clear that early Slayer is engraved in this band's dna. I can hear a little Venom in the vocals, but right from the first falsetto scream it's showing you no mercy. The lash out with the chemical warfare of their riffs. They keep up the speed for "Live and Burn". The vocals are well placed. It's a forceful thrash narrative, snarled more than they are screamed or sung.


http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/02/destroyer-666-wildfire.html


8-Abbath- s/t

 Immortal has been slugging it out longer than Queensryche over who owns the rights to their name leading guitarist and front man Abbath Doom Occulta decided to just release this album under his own name enlisting Creature aka Kevin Foley who is Benighted's drummer to pound along with Gorgoroth bassist King ov Hell. So a Immortal / Gorgoroth super group is what we are looking at here. It is though the material on this album are the songs that were written as the follow up to the 2009 full-length "All Shall Fall". From the intensity of the first song, I'm ok with the shift away from what I normally think of as the Immortal sound.

 

7-Black Table- "Obelisk"

Blast beats do show up upon occasion, but are not the sole force propelling these songs, even when they are at their most raging. We have a dark hybrid of many styles meeting and none of them trying to be as cool as the other metal bands from New York work so hard at. Thanks to Billy Anderson this album sounds good. The production really complements the depth of their dynamics.They get things a sonically heavy as it is heavy metal with a juciey coat of  darkness draping it , so all the basis are covered here. They also cover way more ground in one song than half of the bands who drag things out for fifteen droning minutes. It's one of the more impressive metal releases I have heard recently.

    http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/10/black-table-obelisk.html

6-Urfaust "- Empty Space Meditation" 

This Dutch band is no stranger here, as they are one of my favorite weird black metalish projects.  The songs are all just labelled as meditations.  The first meditation is actually just atmosphere you might expect one to meditate to before they blast off into the 2nd meditation that is more snarling and finds them returning to the use of harshly screamed vocals. Keyboards hover over the blasting to create a darker web of cavernous macabre. The more traditional that I have come to expect from this project returns three minutes. It's sung a lighter higher than the more typical booming bellow from their chest voice. They slow out of the blasting into a sonically intense, but still melodic movement before returning to the storm of blast beaten madness. For me returning to it was a little formulaic, but the trve cvltists tend to like keeping simple so this one goes out to them.Overall this album is what you want from Urfaust. The band has added some new textures and layers. It might not be what you typically want from black metal, as they are not the heaviest black metal going, but they are certainly more thoughtful and than most and melodic in a way that doesn't seem like they are begging to be Opeth.



 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/09/urfaust-empty-space-meditation.html

5-Darkthrone- "Arctic Thunder"


 Their 16th album opens with a song that debuted on the inner-webs "Tundra Leach" . This one churns at more of a Celtic Frost pace, even when it shifts into higher gear. Nocturno has more of a gurgling gruffness to his voice than we heard on "Underground Resistance". This is a heavier and darker album that takes us back to more of a "Circle the Wagons" like place. I have to ask myself when I want to listen to Darkthrone that is not from their classic era of second wave black metal am I going to reach for this album or "the Cult is Alive" ? Only time will tell, however Fans of the band will find this sit well next to their other work.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/09/darkthrone-arctic-thunder.html

4-Inquisition- "Bloodshed across the Empyrean Altar beyond the Celestial Zenith "

Dagon lets the chords ring out with such eerie dissonance you know who this is right from the throttling descent into "From Chaos They Came". Drummer Incubus brings some sinister grooves and really lays into his high hat. Vocally...well it is what it is. The croaked vocals sound a little more relaxed on the opener while every thing else is amped up. "Wings of Anu" feels like it carries a similar vibe to it's throb as the opener, though perhaps dialed back a few degrees. Some of their best work to date.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/08/inquisition-bloodshed-across-empyrean.html

3-Oathbreaker- "Rheia"

his band from Belgium opens their third album with an acapella vocal before blasting into a more furious take on black metal. A minute and a half in it ebbs back down into a similar vocal to the one that opened the album. The vocals continue to be one of the things that makes this album sound out. Sometimes the go spastic at other moments like the song "Being Able to Feel Nothing" they are very emotive. Emotion and feeling drove this album to the top of the heap.


http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/10/oathbreaker-rheia.html

2-Tombs- "All Empires Fall " 

What happens on Tombs new album should not come as a surprise considering how they have evolved with each album. The last album might not have been as dark as the previous, but Mike Hill and company continue to evolve. With the inclusion of Fade Kainer into the fold on "All Empires Fall" it made me think the industrial influence that has lurking under the surface would rise like Godzilla. This is not the case. They make it clear the metal isn't going anywhere. They kick the fucking door down with a neck crushing riff on the opening instrumental "the World is Made of Fire". They lash into something closer to straight up black metal for "Obsidian". It's not just full blast ahead. These guys have more tricks up their sleeves. Does Kainer's synths bring another sonic layer? Yes, but it doesn't compromise their sound.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/03/tombs-all-empires-fall.html

1-Anagnoroisis -"Perpetia"

 The narrative these songs are woven around provides a more personal touch then most black metal band's allow themselves to create. There are no arctic wastelands or occult gibberish to hide behind. In some ways if it was not for the sonic storm cloud raging as this album's heart beat you might mistake this for hardcore.  The vocals keep their scathing snarl as a static coat of white noise to a similar effect as Deafheaven. Their approach to black metal is less atmospheric and the ambiance if of a more emotional nature. It is without question one of the better black metal albums I have come across recently and these guys have really stepped up their game when it comes to song writing. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/09/anagnorisis-peripeteia.html

AU CHAMP DES MORTS : "Dans La Joie"

It sounds like 2017 is going to be a good year for black metal if the debut album by this French band is any indication of what is to come. This band contains former members of Anorexia Nervosa so it is not their first time around the blackened block. There first song has the blend of dark atmosphere that I need from my black metal with some very depressive undertones. They do get a little blasty on the second song which steers them closer to the heap of your typical black metal bands , but mid way in the mood shifts and even some sung vocals croon up from the chaos. The misery is poured on thicker for the third song with the song after that maintaining the cold darkness that makes this album so lovely but taking it into a smoother groove as the drums are more like a mid paced rock beat.

The title track is another turn toward more conventional black metal with the atmosphere more of the after thought the song eventually finds it self in. At the five and a half minute mark this takes on almost a goth like woefulness. There is more melody in the brooding tribal pound leading into the song that follows, this song really soars into the night sky. A guitar solo even rockets out of the build like something you would hear on a Pink Floyd album. Female vocals lead off the last song which takes a more delicate start.These guys are able to work in plenty of atmosphere and elegance into their sound and still sound heavy, without numbing you out with long sprawling songs. This is an excellent album that has already earned multiple listens, it is depressive black metal with a goth veneer to it. so it has everything I listen for when it comes to this sort of thing. If Alcest is too happy and elf like for you then these guys are the goblins you are looking for. I'll easily give this album a 10. /

the Top Ten Goth /Industrial Albums of 2016

 This is just for the beautiful music of the children of the night now that post-punk is getting it's own list this year. So just like the old days at the club, goth, industrial and death rock are being lumped into the same dark cave for the list of the top 10 goth and industrial albums of a fairly dark year that saw the goth father David Bowie going back up into the stars where he came from. Now we are left with his bastard kids and here are some of the better moments in dark music.

 10- Spit Mask- "Swallow"

Never was into power electronics, but this looked alluring so checking out it and hoping for something that's a cross between Lords of Acid and Youth Code. I'm closer when it comes to the more industrial part of that equation. The synths that hammer around the old school club beat might remind you of "Pretty Hate Machine". It's Rachel's delivery that gives this a more abrasive edge . If there was a dude crooning over this it would sound more like Depeche Mode's new wave days.he album maintains it's sense of movement and if you are dj who spins industrial there is no reason any of these songs couldn't fit neatly into your set. Fortunately there are some different effect on the vocals to "Permission". The album closes with a spoken word  outro of sorts that is layered over a fairly simplistic beat. If you missed out on the whole Cleopatra Records thing in the 90s then this will be really new for you, but even if you are like me and have already been there and done that then you might find that is sets a nice mood for longs night prowling your basement in the gimp costume.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/08/spit-mask-swallow.html

9-Mutterlein- "Orphans of the Black Sun"


Mutterlein is a project out of France. This kind of music was tagged as a genre called "witch wave". Which makes sense though witch core might be more fitting as it's more aggressive than new wave. Though the traditional instrumentation of punk is not in play here. Synths and organs are being used, but in a manner suited for a 70's art school horror movie rather than anything to dance to. Marion's voice is gritty and carries a punch yet she can really sing when the song calls for it.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/03/mutterlein-orphans-of-black-sun.html


8- CYP6->"Песни Злых Цветов"

 Very dark wave in the sense that all of the beats that open us the album would get a dance floor moving. The operatic vocals are full of drama and a well departure from another band just trying to rip off Sisters of Mercy. The lyrics are all in Russian which makes the vocals sounds like they are being used as an instrument than moping about lost love. The cool thing about the Russian folk influence that dominates this album is the choice of intervals used in the melodies doesn't go with the typical vocal lines you expect from a dark wave band. There is enough spooky in their choices to resonate with most bat-kids. The guitar is very icy and the bass might be more audible on some songs than it others, how ever how many goth band have you already heard that roll down Fascination Street booming in that way so I'm good with something different.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/03/cpy6.html

7-Light of the Morning Star- "Cemetery Glow"

The vocals win me over right way. Is it very similar to new Tombs. Yes, but the goth thing is pushed even further to the forefront here. The guitars are playing too fast to be doom. It's droning but not black metal. The cold baritone croon of the vocals doesn't vary much, but it is so cool that I don't really give a shit.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/05/light-of-morning-star-cemetery-glow.html

 

6-Garden of Mary-"The Agony in Memory" 

 There a tons of hipsters digging through crates of vinyl and finding the jewels of the 80s, but few are implementing those influences in a way that is meaningful. This band does and more importantly gets where those bands were coming from. There is more to playing this music than just getting the right sound with the right reverb. All to often the emotional component is missing and that is the real jewel this band has walked away with. They are not death rock, but they are dark. Of all the labels you might want to slap on this I suppose post-punk works the best even though there is more of a new wave feel at time thanks to the emotive vocals sit back with the guitars and carry enough melodrama in their croon to convince me. The production is murky, but these guys know how to do it and the vocals don't seem like an after thought. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/06/garden-of-mary-agony-in-memory.html

5-Bootblacks- "Veins"

 More new wave than it's dark wave as it's largely coated in a sheen of plastic. The vocals of this Brooklyn based project stay in a baritone croon that reminded me more of Billy Idol on the first song then get a little less rock and a little more melodramatic on the second. The diligence to the 80s is both a blessing and a curse on this album. It's dialed back and the kind of emotion that made the 80s great  when it came to this kind of thing occurs and it makes you feel like you are in one of those John Hughes films.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/05/bootblacks-veins.html

4- King Dude - "Sex"

This album so finds things continuing to change as there is often a great deal more drive due to the fact bass plays a much more prominent role in the songs. A new instrument to  Cowgill he bangs on it with the raw power of punk rock. There is a dark and decidedly more goth like feel to  "Who Taught You How to Love". The guitar tone on this song is awesome and the cadaverous croon summoned to tell this story is equally brilliant.I think when he is sticking his black boots into the gothier waters the songs are at their peak and lose some of their focus when delving to far into the weirdness with the exception being "the Girls". Fans will finds something to love quite easily. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/09/king-dude-sex_13.html

3- Surgical Meth Machine-s/t

 Al is back, this time with a new project that is not under the Ministry banner, though the end result is something not far from the land of rape and honey. He doesn't dip into politics as much this go around and takes jabs at today's internet culture. The second half does take an odd turn so it lives up to Jourgensen's claim that this album is bi-polar. Even though it comes close in terms of aggression it's not a Ministry album and in many ways is more like a punk infused version of Revolting Cocks as the production is not as dense as a Ministry album.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/03/surgical-meth-machine-st.html



2- Atriarch-"We Are the Dead" 

 This tape release heralds a new era for the band, as they now have two new members in the band handling bass and guitar. With the bass driving a deadpan punk narrative self eulogizes over the lingering guitar. The over all sound here is closer to death rock as it's stripped down. While some of the heavier moments from their catalog play off layers of heaviness, This carries a raw urgency. It does build up into the kind of  cathartic metal explosion we have come to know them for. Atriarch is one of my favorite new band's of the past decade, so I might be protective in regards to changes that might  shift them away from the sound I have come to love. I trust their new direction as it proves that darkness is just as heavy as being metallically heavy. The emotional heaviness is very honest and feels more real than many bands who put on the angst ridden act when they get on stage. I don't feel the same ritualistic approach that they once had, but perhaps the ritual here is more internalized and has become a working part of their sound.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/08/atriarch-we-are-dead.html

1- Youth Code- "Commitment to Complications"

Production wise things have stepped up another level along with the song writing. After a melodic and perhaps dramatic synth intro the kick into the first proper song which kicks more like a rock song energetically than your typical industrial. Unlike your typical industrial there is not an obligatory layer of 90s thrash metal guitar over it. The synths are capable of summoning their own heft. This is in no way saying that there is not metal influence in place or this album isn't heavy. Ben from Goatwhore lends his snarl to the title track. It's interesting as he is not doing anything different from his normal delivery, but it's over a bunch of hammering synths.These kids are the real deal and not just hipsters playing dress up.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/04/youth-code-commitment-to-complications.html

the Top 10 Indie Rock Albums of 2016

Indie rock has become a blanket genre for hip college kids. It often hold more pre-tense and less balls than it's mainstream cousins. Here we have a mix of some albums that rock and others that are more introspective. While none of these artists are mainstream, there are some veterans in the mix who are far from the flavor of the week at the local coffee shop. They are ranked according to the albums that earned the most repeat listens.



10- Leonard Cohen-"You Want it Darker"


When you hear his new album “You Want it Darker” his influence on some like Nick Cave is obvious. He is storyteller first and foremost. His gravelly baritone is weathered, but recites the lyrics with conviction that makes up for what age does to one’s voice. At the end of the day he remains a masterful song writer with a vast amount of power over his words.


http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/10/leonard-cohen-you-want-it-darker_21.html

  9-Decorum- "Vail"


 This trio out of Brooklyn casts an ample shade of gloom over their sound on their new album "Vail". This is not another run of the mill post-punk revivalist band, they do not plug in a single six string and instead hit you with a hypnotic swirl of two basses. Vocally they weave their melodies in between a dizzy entanglement of bass lines  that warble in echoing waves. Male and female vocals dance around one another sometimes harmonizing at other times creating counter points. The male vocals are a dead pan baritone that sometimes reaches more of a croon. The female vocals are an indifferent indie rock alto.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/04/decorum-vail.html

8-Muscle & Marrow- "Love"



This Portland based duo caught my attention when I saw them open for Author and Punisher. Then when I went back to listen to their album that had been sitting around on my hard drive I was not as impressed.  The album's heart beat comes to life with an electronic pulse. Kira Clark's emotive vocals are layered in a dizzy spiral of melodies.The heavier mood is more restrained at times but still just as potent , and often even more so with the improvements in the vocal delivery on this album. The lighter shades which contrast starkly with the darkness are going to take some getting used to.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/05/muscle-marrow-love.html


7-Dead Forest Index- "All That Drifts"

This duo keeps things dark and simple. The vocals are generally androgynous, giving these guys a much different sound than if they were just another band of Ian Curtis impersonators. The music drifts by you with the slow melancholy pulse similar to Chelsea Wolfe's earlier work hovers like a rain cloud over it.Both bleak and graceful, it often defies genres, sure indie rock is the broadest genre, there are more folk and western influences hinted at than writing these guys off as being post-punk. Slow-core bands like Low certainly would be a reference along with the likes of Sun Kil Moon to some extent in the lethargy that lingers it the heart beat of these songs.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/04/a-dead-forest-index-all-that-drifts.html

6-Slothrust- "Everyone Else"



They fuse apathy into the punk  attitude that reminds me of  when  Sonic Youth was once punk. The first real song is "Like a Child Hiding Behind Your Tombstone". This weaves it's wave into some pretty impressive jazz chops. The vocals of Leah Wellbaum are sometimes plaintive and some times emotive. "Horseshoe Crab" which is the first song I heard from these kids is pretty powerful and touches on emo in it's honesty.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/12/slothrust-everyone-else.html

5-the Coathangers-"Nosebleed Weekend"


California vibes have smoothed out the more abrasive garage rock band that I once saw playing out in the parking lots of Little Five Points. Vocally they have really improved and the jangle of their guitars is not more in tune. Some of their rough around the edges punk riot grrrl comes across in "Dumb Baby". The play a squeaky toy on solo the pop tinged drive of "Squeeki Tiki".I enjoyed it a lot more than anticipated going into this. California is treating them much better than Atlanta did, even though they were the critics darlings there. I think they are in an environment where there creative juices are allowed to flow with greater ease out west. If you are a fan of indie rock with a garage rock vibe then this album is a must for you.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-coathangers-nosebleed-weekend.html

4- Self Defense Family- "Colicky"

This ever evolving collective of musicians has been around for ten years. Their newest release finds the more slow core- pacing of what I have previously heard from these guys gone  in favor of a more sonic creeping. The drumming is not heavy or heard hitting, but is very deliberate in more of a Joy Division like fashion. The vocals are lighter and more introspective than the brooding tension the rest of the song stirs. The guitar sounds are once again top notch. The production is just right reminding me of some of the more classic post-hardcore albums of the 90s.


http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/09/self-defense-family-colicky.html

3-Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - "Skeleton Tree"



Darker electronic throb haunts the opening of Nick Cave's new album. This is a much different album than what he has touched upon with the Bad Seeds before. The minimalist arrangement of 'Rings of Saturn" bears a stark vulnerability. Very deceptive as the album is more organic than it sounds on first listen. Theremin and strings create the swells you would otherwise suspect to be Pro-tools plug-in's if this album had been made by any one else. Vocally there is more of narration, leaving me waiting for the moments when he sings. Nick Cave has been a story tellers in the past taking you back to varied colorful pages in the seedy corners of Americana. The darkness painted over these songs is done is shades of gray.Cave more focused on the narrative than letting me hear him sing on some songs, but still stands up with the 15 albums that came before this one. A must for fans.


http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/09/nick-cave-bad-seeds-skeleton-tree.html




2-Marisa Nadler-"Strangers"



She sang on the final Xasthur album and has continued to pave a dark and sometimes country path for her self with her second release on Sacred Bones. It is evident from the opening strains of "Divers of the Dust" that her sense of identity is firmly intact the country croon is equal parts haunting torch singer. "Katie,I Know" is equally ethereal though more firmly rooted in the more Western side of Country. It's evident many of these songs take a few listens before they stick to you, but it's a solid album of intangible songs and feelings.


http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/05/marisa-nadler-strangers.html

1- Emma Ruth Rundle-"Marked For Death"

 In some ways there is not much difference between Emma Ruth Rundle's  second solo album and the last Marriages album, which is a good thing. If you were expecting just her and an acoustic guitar then think again. Perhaps the punches are not as rock and the songs are less jarring in their dynamic shifts, there is a very stormy mood that brews in the first songs.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/09/emma-ruth-rundle-marked-for-death.html

the Top 10 Hardcore/Punk Albums of 2016

This is going to encompass anything that is a bastard son of punk from grind core to emo. This was an emotionally charged year, but none of these albums are really that political. And yet every one tried to console themselves after the election by saying at least punk will get good. Well the tried and true NOFX's have gotten old and might not have been bad, they just are not as good as any of the bands on the top ten hardcore punk albums of 2016 list. If you wanna hear what a band sounds like and are too lazy to find them yourself, then use the review links. 10-Meek is Murder-"Was" The Brooklyn trio returns and the first song is about a minute making it almost as grinding as it is hardcore. Almost like a more spastic and less powerful version of what Nails does . They sometimes opt for a more punk jangle. Very ADD, these guys are pretty fucking impressive when they commit to the results. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/07/meek-is-murder-was.html 9-Thraenenkind-"King Apathy" This band features members of Heretoir, so for some reason they get pegged as being post-rock, post-punk, but it feels like crusty metal to me so I am a little confused. Sure there is some atmosphere to it. The bass player is on point. The title track is straight up metal with little need to try and dress it up with other sub-genres, though it's obvious these guys influences hail from the days of Myspace. Unlike Heretoir I would not call them gaze anything either. They do go from a mid-paced emo like riff into black metal, but that is really as close as they come to that whole thing. While this album is heavier and more metal than Heretoir, it doesn't pull me in as quickly.The throaty vocals feel like this is a more metal version of Hotwatermusic or Coalesce. So post- hardcore is a more fitting sub-genre than post-whatever else. Given the organic feel of this music I am not surprised that these guys are straight edge vegan anarchists . Once upon a time it was more surprising to find some one in the hardcore scene who wasn't. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/05/thraenenkind-king-apathy.html

8-Naive-s/t It's easy to become jaded about post-punk. If you are an old goth who has been listening to the original bands for over twenty years or longer, then you heard most of it played better then first time around. They take the more typical Joy Division sound loosen it up with an almost surf rock guitar tone and female vocals. They curve balls keep coming with the surreal dynamics employed that make you feel like you are on acid.Not what I expected going into my first encounter with this German band. There is more of punk attitude to the second song. Think that weird melodic place that 7 Seconds eventually wandered off to. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/04/naive-st-lp.html

7-Terrible Love-"Change Nothing" Hard-core with a British accent can rub me the wrong way as they never sound angry enough, so I had to go into this pretending it was more along the line of Iceage. Tonally these guys are pretty dynamic and have the sonic palate to create a dark enough sound, without having to go all Converge on us here. They often jangle more than they chug.Even when the pace picks up into a more frantic punk buzz, it's hard for me to think of these guys as hard-core. I like what they did on the first song more than where they go on MT. Misery. I don't need breakdowns, I do need the punch that they eventually find on this one.I suppose post-hardcore is a fitting title for what they are doing since it sounds more like angry indie rock. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/03/terrible-love-change-nothing.html 6-Terminus Cursus-"ON OF" What the hell is going on in Florida? These guys from St. Pete are killing it. Here is a band that came out of no where and really got weird in an original fashion. They are heavy, but not metal, so you know I am going to be a fan of that. the vocals really take it into a more feral place, when these guys explode they come closer to a more garage rock version of the Refused, though the bass line recalls Fugazi. The vocals are more punk than not even when coasting on more of an angular groove. - http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/07/terminus-cursus-on-of.html

5-Apologies I Have None-"Pharmacie"

 If you are British it's ok to have a poppier take on punk. You accent and attitude will make it all work out in the end. This is the first lesson we are learning from the opening track of this band's new album. By pop punk think more Brand New than Blink 182. "Wraith" is more introspective and explodes in a manner than expresses aggression in a way that darkens back to Myspace ...in other words bordering on emo. But it is darker so that makes up for it. This album's strong points are it's lyrics and the over all honesty of the emotions poured into it.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/08/apologies-i-have-none-pharmacie.html

4-Bleached-"Welcome the Worms"

 The pop punk swagger, touches on the pop influence from the 50's that the Ramones carried rather than anything like Fall Out Boy.  The album's strength lies in when the instrumentation has the punk attitude without cramping the vocals. The songs are narratives on the party life of West Hollywood's legendary rock scene that still finds band's trying to chase the ghosts of Motley Crue. These girls might have more of dark side than say the Donna's they are more thoughtful than just getting wasted and throwing their t.v. out of the hotel window.If you are looking for something fun, then take a ride with these gals.
 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/04/bleached-welcome-worms.html


 3-Death Index- s/t

 Carson Cox got his start playing in hard core punk bands before starting Merchandise. It is weird hearing his  croon over the more pounding pieces. It makes more sense on "Dream Machine" which has more swagger and finds them meeting at that cross roads in the 80s that I am such a big fan of where punk got darker and more melodic. "The Meal" finds this throbbing down an even darker sonic alley. It's not smoothed out like Merchandise, and has feedback squealing off the edges. When they throw themselves into a more boisterous punk on the short blast of "Furio Controllo" it  has more in common with more the Stooges that say Negative Approach. The punk spasms come from unexpected places.Overall there hasn't been a punk album dark enough to do much for me in sometime so it's good to hear something fresh from an old familiar voice

. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/02/death-index-st.html

 

 2-Nails - "You Will Never Be One of Us" 

 I predicted 2016 as the year grind-core and power-violence breaks through into the metal mainstream. What Weekend Nachos failed to deliver is being jack hammered into your face by this band.  Their guitar tone is as nasty as you can get and still play riffs that hold together actual songs. Even then when I used the word songs here I am describing sharp bursts of anger. Grind-core has never been my forte, typically because of the genre's limited range of dynamic expression. Coloring with only the red crayon of anger can limit what you do, this band from Southern Los Angeles colors with this crayon so well, I know what I'm in for and can hold on for the jolting ride. The first song and title track fakes you out as it seems so maturity might have come into the song writing process for these guys.Fans of their previous work are getting what they asked for after "Abandon All Life " made them scream for more. For them to have sold me on this genre was pretty impressive.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/06/nails-you-will-never-be-one-of-us.html

1-Planes Mistaken for Stars- " Prey"

 These guys were always ahead of their time and finds music of today coming a little closer to meeting them in the middle. There has always been an unhinged side to the band and this is what the new album opens with. "Til it Clicks" is less explosive, but more of what I want from this band. The darker melody hangs around on "Riot Season" even after the pace picks up. The yowls of self loathing still haunt Jared's gravelly vocals riding the line between screaming and singing. The guitar to "Fucking Tenderness" carries some melody before tightening the tension. The vocals fill the spaces in the song perfectly and the band touching perfectly on all their trademarks without feeling like this song is any less urgent than it is.They are back in fine form and not standing stagnant in the legend of yesterday.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/10/planes-mistaken-for-stars-prey.html

the Top 10 Death Metal Albums of 2016

There seemed to be more death metal coming out than anything though black metal was hot on it's heels. I need my death metal to be dark and hateful, this was a dark and hateful year so here are some of the albums that provided the best sound track to that. If you want to hear some of these guys then look to the review links posted along this countdown of 2016's top death metal albums. 10- Death Cult- "Beasts of Faith" The debut from the Swiss band, comes with a strong sense of influence from early death metal in the raw pummeling they dish out. The vocals are manically croaked rather than just growled. This places a sometimes emotionally charged aspect to them. It's dark and for death metal of this kind a reasonable sense of songwriting and dynamics. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/08/deathcult-beasts-of-faith_16.html 9-Wayfarer -"Old Souls" his band from Colorado creates some dark brooding metal makes you forget they are from the States. Primarily they strike me as being a blackened death metal band with the vocals leaning them more in the death metal direction. When the pace picks up a little toward the end the shadowy feeling reinforces the looming black metal influence, but over all there is just a great mood and atmosphere coating this death metal which gives your ears the impression of black metal. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/10/wayfarer-old-souls.html

8-Krypts-"Remnants of Expansion" en at it's most cheese filled Finnish metal has a knack for darkness. There is not any cheese to be found on  the new one from this band from Finland. They dig up  all of the elements I need from death metal and puts them together in one nasty package. I like the painful ache of their throb that almost borders on doom. When they speed up into the faster double bass sections it makes more sense as we have been shown the contrast of what this sounds like when it is not coming at us with this speed to we can full appreciate the shift. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/10/krypts-remnants-of-expansion.html

7-Master- "An Epiphany of Hate" In need of some old school classic 90's sounding death metal, I jumped at the chance to give this album a shot , even though back in their hey day, I never really listened to these guys. The first thought that hit me is they sound like a faster version of Obituary. This is in part due to the gnarly but decipherable growl of bassist and sole founding member Paul Speckmann. Speckmann comes from a time when no matter how heavy you are trying to be at the end of the day it becomes all about songs . This is the case even when his growl takes on a more garbled sound that is an dynamic effect in and of itself. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/01/master-epiphany-of-hate.html

6-Be'Lakor- "Vessels" Right from the onset of the Australian death metal band's fourth album it is clear something is different here. All too often the term melodic death metal means something is going to go very wrong and we are going to be more concerned with clean singing and shredding than kicking your ass. I would not say this band is really concerned with kicking ass. They have the synths and the clean guitar tones. Which in and of themselves if placed in the right hands can be valuable tools to create metal with. The vocals are a low growl that has been dipped in effects, which is fine by me it gives it a little bit of a Morbid Angel edge. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/07/belakor-vessels.html

5-Asphyx- "Incoming Death" This Dutch death metal band released their first full length in 1991 and have been storming the gates with their very manic take on the genre ever since. Their lead growler did some time in Pestilence, which gives them an edge over being just another death metal band from the 90s. There is more of dry snarling rasp to his weathered voice.  He is also the sole long standing member of the band. These guys are upholding a legacy of a band that hailed from  an era where writing songs came before just being heavy. This album shows great maturation as a band due to it's restraint. When it comes to death metal this might not not always be dark enough for me, but for straight up no frills death metal from the 90s then this is your jam. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/09/asphyx-incoming-death.html

4-Ketzer- "Starless" This German band's third full length is well thought out from every angle. Well produced with out being gaudy. The vocals are the most black metal element to the  album, which is otherwise melodic death metal at it's heart. It is really on a song by song basis as to what shade of darkness these guys are bringing. The first song is oddly upbeat from the onset and they waste no time to defy what is expected from any genre. This is followed by "When Milk Runs Dry' that finds the band coming closer to a more Blackened Death Metal sound , but their is something about these riffs  carry a majestic air that death metal doesn't encompass. On "Godface" The punk influence on thrash can also be felt here, making this almost feel more like black n roll. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/02/black-metal-history-month-ketzer.html

3-Withered- "Grief Relic"

 Speaking of black metal, these guys used to think of themselves as black metal and got on black metal torus , but they are really death metal.They embrace this on their first album for Seasons of Mist.their return after a six year hiatus roars up from the depths with a cavernous blasting. Very dense and heavy, the intensity it hits you with from the onset begs a question we ask most bands that are this heavy after the opening song plows us over ...O.k what else can you do? Write Songs? Yes they can and do with a sense of darkness and sonic heft to them.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/05/withered-grief-relic.html br />

1-Lesbian- "Hallucinogenesis"

 Former members of the Accused formed this band back in 2007. Perhaps back then they might have been doom, but now they are proggy death metal. The vocals are varied and a good blend of sung vocals and growls. The opener has almost a black metal like throb to it. I like the fact that these guys are really dark. In some ways it makes me think of what might have happened if Acid Bath collided with Cynic. There are space like keyboard sounds zooming out of the corners of the song not inhabited by guitar solos.s I really like the weird myriad of genres that combine in the most twisted way possible. Sure it's proggy , but never awkward and puts being mean and heavy before showing off their chops. chops.http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/08/lesbian-hallucinogenesis.html

the Top 10 Doom Albums of 2016

This was a rough year for the genre and the universe, by the end of it I need more gut wrenching than I got but these are the best of the bunch I did get. There are many shades of doom here, a sense of loss and mourning is what I need from doom, more darkness than death metal so that is reflected here.If you want to hear these guys you can find something to listen to via the review links included in our countdown of 2016's best doom albums.


10- Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard- "Y Proffwydd Dwyll"-

This band's name is almost too over the the top for me to take them seriously, but you don't have to get more than half way into the first song before it is hard to deny them. Hailing from Wales these kids have only been at it for a couple of years making this their second album. The guitar sound is big and dense like sludge , but they have enough somber atmosphere to qualify as doom. The croon of the female vocals is not what you would think to pair with the music churning under their melodies.Jessica Bell's voice sets this band apart in a way that leaves the bulk of their more burly barking counterparts in the dust.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/12/catching-up-with-2016-mammoth-weed.html


9-Swamp Witch- "the Withering Bog"


 The hunger for new doom awoke in time for me to dip into the new album from Oakland's Swamp Witch. The vocals are a low death metal growl, but everything else paints the perfect picture of doom. From the first song I was delighted to hear that the album cover perfectly matched the murky darkness being dragged from these sonic waters. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/07/swamp-witch-slithering-bog.html

8-the Howling Void- "the Triumph of Ruin"

The album cover doesn't lie. What is inside sounds just like the images appearing on the 5th full length from this one man project out of Texas. The album opens with a weird mix of tremolo picked guitar running over a track that is otherwise doom paced to create a unique dynamic tension. The vocals are sung , but low in the mix and used more as a passing texture. This is a beautiful album, it walks the line between black metal and doom, with the doom side winning out so if you are a fan of either genre then this is worth a listen. A word of warning to those who prefer the harsher side of either genre , this album really cares about it's lushness.


 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-howling-void-triumph-of-ruin.html

7-Lycus- "Chasms"

 An album that defied  the boundaries of my favorite sub-genre, but are undertaken so masterfully it's hard to complain. Where 2013's "Tempest" had a more mournful elegance the new slab of density from this band finds a more aggressive and raw rumble.The drums give them the thundering opener "Solar Chamber" more propulsion than the band found on the entire last album, just in the first nine minutes. Some of the shift in sonics are due to a line up changes with bassist Brett Tardiff and guitarist Dylan Burton joining the band.< http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/01/lycus-chasms.html

6- Naga- "Inanimate"


The  third album from this Italian trio opens up with a throb showing that it's possible to still be a doom band and not have to crawl along, it's about as fast as a band wants to be without crossing over into sludge. Very hateful mood carries a darker attitude than many black metal band who lose the mood because they are so preoccupied with blast beats. It's what I want out of bands that go in this direction. Dark as it is dense and not so rough around the edges that it loses it's ambiance and kills the mood. If you like doom with teeth and devoid of Black Sabbath worship these guys got ya.
http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/07/naga-inanimate_18.html

5-Spirit Adrift-"Chained to Oblivion"

 Found myself a little torn between whether this band wants to be Candlemass or Pallbearer. Granted everyone one knows Candlemass came before, but there is something in the moody way the vocals are delivered that thinks they might owe more to Pallbearer, who has been out long enough now that we will start to see other bands aside from Khemmis come out trying to cop their sound. They aren't afraid to pick up the pace and the overall end result was pretty rocking, if you are looking for some melodic doom this is worth your time

. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/08/spirit-adrift-chained-to-oblivion.html

4-Heavydeath-"In Circles We Die"

 there is a raw Celtic Frost like vibe to the brand of deathly doom this Swedish band has returned to  grind out. Very rough around the edges, there is still a well balanced sense of atmosphere even when they chug into the more sludge like "Slumbering Monolith" though I prefer what they were doing on the albums opener. The growls are low and gurgling though still deliver the lyrics in a way that can be understood in one listen.Overall the production on this album is a notch above their previous full length. They incorporate a wide range of guitar tones and atmospheric sounds making for a more well rounded experience
http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/09/heavydeath-in-circles-we-die.html

3-Obed Marsh-"Innsmouth" With nasty rasped vocals this sludged dipped doom band delves into Lovecraft. It sounds like their singer is being turned into an aspect of Dagon as he croaks his guts out. It's the gloomy lethargy the opening song is paced with that solidifies this as doom in my book.Going into this know that for the duration you are in for crushing doom with the filth of death metal coating it. These guys should get props for having some of the wickedest growls set to record this year. Normally after a few songs growling can get old for me if it is not varied yet here it works. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/08/obed-marsh-innsmouth.html




 2-Beastmaker - "Lusus Naturae"

 While this band from California indulges in Sabbath worshiping lumber of your more mainstream doom, the manage to have a sound that sets themselves apart from their peers. It's by the third song "Arachne" the vocals are beginning to sound like Acid Bath era Dax Rigg's drugged out baritone that this is most evident. This is fine with me as I prefer this to some one doing a half ass Ozzy impersonation.The bands strengths lie in not playing by the doom rule book and dipping into this darker sound.Still fans of more traditional forms of doom will find lots to love about this album.


http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/03/beastmaker-lusus-naturae.html

1- Khemmis - "Hunted"

At times more NWOBHM than doom and "3 Gates" starts off to uptempo to be doom at all, but in the end it got the most play time and had enough melancholy to qualify as doom, after all Black Sabbath albums didn't always crawl all the way to the finish line so something can be said for the dynamics.This one earned it space at the top not because it was the most dismal, but because I listened to it the most, which at the end of the day is what matters.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/09/khemmis-hunted.html