From time to time I surf youtube and try to find good live performances. It was through this method that I came across Crowbar's Bloodstock set from 2023 which can be found here: https://youtu.be/hGih5_AJrPw?si=lUhmBDWJ4GtYbk0f

Now, being a fan of doom and sludge I had of course heard of Crowbar, but what I had been told was that "Planets Collide" was their magnum opus. That particular song doesn't resonate with me, so I didn't dive deeper. It was when they performed "To Build a Mountain" in that live set that something clicked for me. 

...but Zero, that song isn't on this album. 

Correct, so let's talk Symmetry in Black; Crowbar's most common lyrical themes revolve around strength and perseverance in the face of depression, anger, addiction, and unfavorable odds. This is music designed to get a man through his lowest lows. In any Crowbar album you're going to get super thick down tuned guitars, an endless stream of powerful riffs, and Kirk Windstein delivering encouragement in a style that is heavy, gruff, bellowing, and yet completely 100% decipherable. These are possibly the most clear vocals I've heard on anything this heavy, and this is good because as strong as the riffs, and as crushing as the tones dialed in are, it's the lyrics and messages that I'd say are Crowbar's greatest strength. Crowbar's formula and sound are very consistent from release to release. Symmetry just sounds a little bit better to me from a production standpoint and it has some lyrics that particularly connect with me. 

This is an album full of inspiration, but I've chosen the lyrics to "Shaman of Belief" as I feel it encapsulates best what Crowbar is all about.

Shaman Of Belief

"Look up at me

You're crawling

On dirty ground you prowl

Lift up your head

And see me

Your antidote is now

Open up your mind

Time to realize

Now save your energy and use it well

It's not too hard to see

What's real

Look up at me

You're drowning

So far below

Beneath

The answer that eludes you is echoing so deep

Open up your mind

Time to realize

Now keep your energy and use it well

It's not too hard to see

That time will tell

I'm the creator of all your dreams

I am the shaman of belief"

Powerful stuff. Did I mention this is an incredible album to work out to? It is. 

I'd like to conclude by saying that I've watched a lot of Kirk Windstein's interviews, and he seams to be a down to earth, humble, polite, and honest man. The phrase "salt of the earth" comes to mind. The kind of person you can feel good about supporting. I've read that he's pretty accessible and available so when he goes on tour again I will try to meet him.

Arch Enemy return in 2025 with Blood Dynasty and I find myself rather impressed by what's on display here. For starters, when I reviewed Deceivers a few years ago, I heavily criticized it for its lack of originality. To me, Deceivers sounded liked a greatest hits compilation instead of a new album. In 2025, Arch Enemy are at least putting in some much asked about effort. Blood Dynasty shows off a full range of emotions throughout the runtime and it does lead to success...most of the time. It took a while for me to start enjoying the record since the opener "Dream Stealer" has an aura of progressive songwriting as it quickly modulates back-and-forth between about three different ideas that do not compliment one another. "Illuminate the Path" was a little better, but Alissa White-Gluz's clean singing comes out of nowhere and the whole track loses momentum after that. "March of the Miscreants" is when the album picks up and Arch Enemy do a solid enough job of keeping that intensity up until the final moments. Songs like "Vivre Libre" are better constructed for Alissa's clean singing, while "Paper Tiger" takes liberties from classic hard rock/heavy metal. And while it might sound extremely goofy at first, after the second or third listen, I really enjoyed it as a fully developed interlude. 

While nothing on this album screams at me (besides Alissa herself I guess) that Arch Enemy are going above and beyond in the world of melodic death metal, I cannot deny that Blood Dynasty is quite a bit of fun. It still sounds like Arch Enemy, but it isn't status quo Arch Enemy in the same way that Will To Power and Deceivers were, and I greatly appreciate that.

Best Songs: March of the Miscreants, Blood Dynasty, Paper Tiger, A Million Suns

Released in 1996, ‘Black Moon Pyramid’ is the fifth studio album by German hard rock guitarist/band Axel Rudi Pell. It follows on from the incredibly strong ‘Between the Walls’, which marked a creative shift in the band, as the quality of writing, production and overall performances took a huge step up.

However, in all honesty, perhaps they took a slight step back with this one. It’s a solid album, don’t get me wrong, and continues in exactly the same vein as its predecessor, but there’s just nothing overly remarkable I can think of to comment on.

‘Fool Fool’, ‘Getting’ Dangerous’, ‘Hole in the Sky’, ‘Touch the Rainbow’, ‘Aquarius Dance’ and the title track itself are all good songs, displaying furious guitar virtuosity and Jeff Scott Soto’s powerful vocals that demand attention. But that’s about all I can think of worth mentioning. ‘Black Moon Pyramid’ has been on my playlist for quite a white now, and I just couldn’t figure out what to say about it. It’s a solid, hard rock record, simple as that.

I am starting to amass a fandom for Daniel Butler. After finding Acephalix many moons ago and subsequently Vastum a couple of years later, I know have stumbled across Decrepisy (which I am unsure is even an actual term). In a year that has so far floated my death doom boat very little in the first quarter of 2025, I was instantly full of hope when I heard Daniel Butler and Kyle House from Acephalix were involved in Decrepisy. Deific Mourning I am pleased to say, certainly lives up to the expectations that I have of these artists, and the bands numbers being bolstered by current Morbid Angel live drummer (as well as Funebraum and Ascended Blood sticksman of course), Charles Koryn and Jonathan Quintana on guitars (of Ritual Necromancy and Coffin Rot fame), all works out well for their sophomore release.

Deific Mourning sounds like a beast in the throes of uncontrollable grief for it’s fallen lord. It is like an acid bath of sorrow. The density of the sound is like a mournful millstone around your neck, the cavernous vocals grunting and gurning their dismal and gloomy emotions until they surround you. All the while the guitars chug away in a punishing and laborious drudgery, as if consigned to riff away for an eternity of mourning. The leads when they come, are just as melancholic, sharpening the pain as they seep into tracks. These leads are my only element of criticism on the record though, as despite them having impact, they feel placed rather than planned sometimes. Whilst they by no means ruin any of the tracks, they do have a sense of them being an afterthought on more than one occasion.

Koryn’s drumming is well-balanced throughout the record, coming to the fore especially well on the stripped back ‘Spiritual Decay 1/4 Dead’. It sounds like a professional performance from him. Indeed, the only element that feels a bit lost in the mix is the bass. Kyle handles bass alongside his guitar duties, and so perhaps this explains why the four strings have little presence overall (not that you miss them by any means). The multi-talented Leila Abdul-Rauf (Vastum, Cardinal Wyrm), guests on the record, dropping some menacing synths and additional vocals into the fray.

Album highlight for me is the brooding album closer ‘Afterhours’. I suspect Leila is heavily involved on this one with its looming dark ambience and abyssal echoes. It plays like some agonising cabaret in places, yet as some shamanic ritual in others. It is unexpected at the end of an album that to this point has been so clearly rooted in death doom, but it works brilliantly. The distortion applied to the guitars gives a b-movie aesthetic to the proceedings as the threat builds up and up during the track. Decrepisy may have passed me by with their first record, but I am so glad I did not miss this one. Off to blast me some Acephalix and Vastum for the rest of the bank holiday.

Sounds like Windhand. There, got that out of the way early in the review and will try to spend the rest of the paragraphs not mentioning how much this sounds like Windhand (dammit, there I go again). Joking aside, there are worse bands to sound like out there. What Daevar lack in originality they make up for in consistency that eventually overbears even the most ardent of critics. Sub Rosa sets an early tone and sticks to it for the next half an hour. They advertise themselves as having elements of grunge in their sound, an influence I don’t recognise as being that obvious. I can see where it might get called out but in the main, I just hear straight up stoner doom, done well. In a year where I have so far been unimpressed by Messa’s latest offering (there’s a few listens in the tank to go yet but it by no means grabs me like Close did), it is good to find some quality female-fronted doom kicking around.

In their home country of Germany, Daevar are probably pretty much unrivalled in the doom stakes. The quality levels on Sub Rosa are high, and this sounds like a record made by a trio who are tight and used to playing alongside each other. I can’t deem how long they have been together, but they have three albums under their belts now, and this shows here. Balancing all the elements superbly here, the album feels like everyone knows their place with the riffs, bass, percussion and vocals all getting a showing in the sound. There is no sense of jostling for position on behalf of any of the component parts here, probably as a result also of the great production job that allows those hazy and more dense atmospheres to stay present alongside each other so well.

I can’t pretend it will be my AOTY, but there’s a charm to Daevar that makes them great music for summer night campfires. The intense sense of togetherness in their sound is infectious and it is impressive to get such a positive vibe from a record that assess the troubles of the life in the modern 20’s. Whilst it may lack the emotional intelligence of some other artists, it is a success in part because of its direct nature and stark refusal to break from an established sound. Yes, it does still remind me of Windhand, but that by no means is aimed as a criticism.