Her Despair and Best of 2019
Greetings and Salutations for a brand new year and decade that I am confident will be filled with amazing music. I’m Ro, your musical tour guide, and today I want to share with you some of my favorites from the past year and introduce you to a Goth rock outfit from the UK called Her Despair. Their music will take you right back to those 80s afternoons sitting in your bedroom listening to cassettes—or perhaps your vinyl collection—waiting for the night to fall and bring with it the creepy darkness where anything can happen and life is just a little more interesting. 
Her Despair melds together sounds of Peter Murphy and Sisters of Mercy as well as current artists like Nightwish and HIM. Their latest release, Exorcisms of Eroticism, was released in summer 2019 and contains melodic jams like “Pandaemonium” and “The Exorcism,” which has an appropriately dark music video to go along with it. “In That Moment” is my favorite track on the EP. The haunting, romantic vocals dance over the dichotomy of the synthesizers and guitars, giving it a nostalgic sound, but you could also expect to hear it on a modern-day alternative rock station. “Like a Crucifixion” is another excellent example of their sound. A steady rock beat with powerful lyrics make for an enjoyable combination and will have you slipping into Her Despair like a comfortable pair of black fishnets…or a worn pair of Doc Martens.
For more on Her Despair, check them out at the links below.
“The Exorcism” video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Clqrj6rftJA
https://www.facebook.com/herdespair/
https://www.instagram.com/herdespairband/?hl=en
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVZhKFjVsq1Wpbruy-dryuw/featured
Ro’s Recs
Many great albums were released in 2019, and while I’m not a big list maker, I thought I’d share a few of them here. Some bands have been with us for decades like Slipknot and Korn and others were new to me. Bands like Papa Roach, Sleeping with Sirens, Volbeat, and Bring Me The Horizon took big risks on a new sound that paid off well. We lost Vinnie Paul from Hellyeah, but the band gave him a beautiful sendoff with Welcome Home. Motionless in White and New Year’s Day put out powerful albums that cemented their status in the rock community as artists that have fought long and hard to be there. Baroness returned from a harrowing tragedy to put out a strong album. I Prevail had a fairytale beginning with a cover of Taylor Swift and this year they’ve been nominated for a Grammy! And lastly, The Hu, Fever333 and Bad Wolves were all new bands to me that I am glad I took a chance on. I hope you will too.
Slipknot – We Are Not Your Kind
Bring Me The Horizon – Amo
Papa Roach – Who Do You Trust?
Hellyeah – Welcome Home
Motionless in White – Disguise
New Year’s Day – Unbreakable
Volbeat – Rewind, Replay, Rebound
Korn – The Nothing
The Hu – Gereg
Baroness – Gold and Grey
Bad Wolves – N.A.T.I.O.N.
Fever333 – Strength in Numb333rs
Sleeping With Sirens – How It Feels To Be Lost
I Prevail – Trauma
There’s a wide variety on this list, a little something for everyone, so as we prepare for a new year of music, give some of these a listen.
What are you looking forward to in 2020? Leave a comment and let me know what music I should be looking out for in 2020. And with that, Stay Tuned for more of Merrill’s Musical Musings…
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