Abysmal Hymns
darker shades of metal, hymns of goth and post-punk ...all for the worship of darkness
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Vulture : "Sentinels"
DARKO - "Greyscale"
This UK band blends the punk of the 90s with the punk of today. The vocals range from forceful shouts that navigate the songs with hooky ease, to growls and actual singing. This brings a more Boy Sets Fire mood to the songs. Some technical riffs weave around the impassioned singing. 'Aggro" feels like it racing down the middle of the road is like if AI was asked to write a hardcore song from the late 90s. Sure they are skilled musicians, but hit or miss when it comes to actually writing songs.
"Aux II" has winding rock riffs thrown against growled vocals that are more metal than hardcore. The little melodic guitar passage works well, but the album might be too overproduced for its good, I would have mixed it more like a Coalesce album. Perhaps that is part of my problem with it is that it is too upbeat. Things could be darker and angry for sure. The lyrics seem like they are inspired by people arguing about politics on Facebook,
"Lowest Hanging Fruit' sounds like a faster more tech metal version of Boy Sets Fire. I prefer Boy Sets Fire to what these guys are doing as it feels darker due to the rawer more honest expression, where it feels like these guys are just trying too hard. They might be more convincing doing something more metal like say Finch. That said they are skilled at what they do, it's well executed, and they pulled off what they were looking to do in terms of overall sound so I will give this album an 8. It is being dropped on Lockjaw Records on May 17th.
EIVØR : "ENN"
My Dying Bride : "A Mortal Binding"
The band's 14th full length, stays true to who they are, without being predictable. You never know what side of these guys you are going to get, anything from morose doom to the dark vein of death metal they helped create to melodic goth rock with major depression. This album seems to be uncertain as well. It starts off with compact punchy death metal, and then the second song gifts into their more sorrowful take on doom. Both work well. The wailing tones of the violin weeps over the low-end crunch. Guitar solos are well paced and deliberate with every not counting to draw out the melodies. While Aarons's growl on the first song is not as guttural, his sung vocals are more refined. In both cases, the vocals are really well produced and mixed.
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Einstürzende Neubauten : "Rampen"
Monday, March 25, 2024
Alpha Wolf : "Half Living Things"
This Australian band's name came up when doing research on the phenomena of metalcore bands that are really nu-metal bands. On the first song of their new album, it is easy to hear where this line is crossed. It is also understandable why their name is popping up on this year's rock festival lineups. They remind me of Attila. They are big dumb fun. If these guys are your favorite band you are probably the coolest kid in the trailer park. But you might also have one friend who is a Juggalo. When they pour on the speed things feel a little rushed and like they are not playing to their strength. "Haunter" has more groove, but blends the creep hop elements that make up nu-metal, until they momentum. He screams about how fucked up of a person he is, which contrasts with the more ego-driven lyrics.
They bring Ice-T on, and while I love the "Orginal Gangster" album, and his older work like "Power". It sounds dated and the last time anyone thought he was hard was before he ever played a cop on TV. It is hard to take "Cop Killer" seriously after that. His verse is really just an accent, but still hard to take seriously. There is a more melodic element to "Whenever You're Ready" which has a sung chorus, which is kinda pop punk. "Pretty Boy" has more growled and screamed vocals, that lean them in more of a metal core direction. The groove is what wins me over with it.
They use a more mathy djent-like syncopation on "Mangekyo". I like the lyrics as I can relate to the line "What god ever gave a fuck". I feel that one. But musically it sounds like a metal-core breakdown on wheels. There is a machine-like feel to the riffing of "A Terrible Day For Rain". This song feels like they are playing it a little safe, and it sounds like every other band doing this sort of thing, "Feign" is a little darker, and flows better than the previous song. "Garden of Eyes" continues to work on the djent machine's grinding groove. To the point that it almost feels like dub-step in places. The vocals sound like a more feral version of early Deftones. The title track is more rapped than screamed, until the chorus. There is almost a Mudvayne element to their sound here.
At over five minutes the last song is the album's longest. The first forty-five seconds, being the build-up into that could have been scaled back. There is a more cinematic feel to it, but it's not as hooky as most of the other songs. The sung vocals play a larger role. But they are not all that hooky. I would have been more into this when I was younger if this had come out at the same time Korn had. I will give this one a 9, as it is a great deal of fun. Sharptone might have a hit on their hands when it drops April 15th, as I can hear where the appeal of this lies, and they are one of the more polished bands doing this.