Wretch were formed by former Gates of Slumber main man, guitarist and vocalist Karl Simon, after the demise of GoS in 2013 and this self-titled album was their only full-length release during their eight-year existence. The album also features former GoS drummer Chris Gordon, so it would be reasonable to expect the two bands to sound very similar. Well, kinda, but on "Wretch" Simon forewent all the classic metal sword and sorcery imagery so often indulged by his former incarnation and focussed more on personal and emotional issues, largely in rection to the death from a heroin overdose of his best friend and former Gates of Slumber bassist Jason McCash in 2014, as encapsulated in lines from opener "Running Out of Days": "Final day, Sad song, Sung again, The needle stole away my friend".

The album is really quite short, its seven tracks only spanning 32 minutes with two of those being instrumentals and another is a Judas Priest cover of a track from their Rocka Rolla album ("Winter"). Musically "Wretch" is authentic, Sabbath-inspired trad doom as plied by the likes of Saint Vitus or The Obsessed. In fact, in truth, Simon sounds incredibly similar to Scott Weinrich, both in his vocals and guitar playing, with the same kind of "tight but loose", bluesy guitar style and "cigs and whiskey" vocals favoured by Wino himself. Despite its brevity this is not an inconsequential album and has a deep and resonant feeling, both in guitar tone and with the grizzled vocals. A big feature are the blues-infused guitar solos that Simon unleashes at every available opportunity, which have a stoned-out, jamming quality (check out the instrumental "Blood Finger") but which retain coherence thanks to the excellent foundational work of drummer Gordon and bassist Bryce Clarke who hold things together whilst Simon heads off on his six-stringed flights of fancy.

The production is very good indeed with a crispness to the riffing and sound overall that doesn't negate the "smoky cellar" vibe that all the very best trad doom metal tries to reproduce, yet which allows every note to be heard perfectly, with a distinct lack of muddiness that can often bedevil many doom releases. Inevitably, I guess, my favourites are the slower, more down-and-doomy tracks such as the lengthy "Icebound" and "Drown", but there are very few missteps here with even the clean-sounding short instrumental "Grey Cast Mourning" acting as a nice contrast, sandwiched as it is between the album's two doomiest tracks.

Wretch split in 2021 with their only further release being a 3-track EP (two of which were GoS covers) and since then Simon has reformed Gates of Slumber who put out a new album in 2024 (which I have to shamefacedly admit I haven't heard yet). I would have liked to have heard a bit more from Wretch as this, despite its brevity, shows much potential for a top-knotch contemporary traditional doom metal outfit to show some of the less impressive contenders exactly how to do it.

Benedictum, where the f*** were you in all my years of melodic metal?! This is a band any metalhead should listen to find something classic-sounding in these modern times! And not just any band, but one that would surely kick a** and make even the unbelievers believe.

To be more specific, Benedictum is one of several bands reviving the classic 70s/80s heavy metal sound in the 2000s, plus some touches of power metal. What makes them more unique is the angelic AND devilish singing of frontwoman Veronica Freeman. And it sounds about right that she is like a female Dio (RIP). The album even includes two covers of Black Sabbath songs from the Dio era, which we'll get soon. I don't think I've heard female-fronted heavy/power metal sound this bad-a** since Sinergy.

The opening title track starts with a sinister backmasked subliminal message then rises into Sabbath-infused riffing. The chorus has a nice modern touch to balance things out. Then we get to "Benedictum", which can be considered the band's theme song. Here it starts with sinister Latin chanting then once again brings forward the blend of Sabbath and modern heavy metal in different sections. "#4" is a more progressive track with occasional odd time signature changes. The chorus has a HammerFall vibe within the chanting. "Misogyny" slows things down to a doomy pace. I like the keyboard melodies here, including the old-school-sounding synth soloing. Veronica unleashes her lyrics against those misogynistic unbelievers out there.

"Ashes to Ashes" is filled with rock-on groove. A nice song though not as magical as the others. "Wicca" is one of the most wicked tracks here. Veronica's Dio-esque range shines the most here, as does the rest of the band. But if you wanna hear how much Dio the band can add to their sound, look no further than the first of their Black Sabbath covers, "Heaven and Hell". Veronica can nail those vocals perfectly, and the riffing sounds greatly heavy, the way Tony Iommi has done in the original. Of all the covers I've heard of that song, Benedictum's take might be the best! "Them" cranks up the heaviness while including a catchy singalong chorus. Another powerful standout!

"Two Steps to the Sun" rocks out with more of that guitar heaviness. Indeed it's another more modern take on Dio's sound in both the music and vocals. "Valkyrie Rising" is the album's nearly 9-minute epic, and it shows the band in all its glory without any failure. "Mob Rules" ends this offering as the last of the two Black Sabbath covers. Again, Veronica really has done an excellent job channeling her inner Dio. As great as this one is though, the other Black Sabbath cover has a more mighty edge.

Uncreation can strike you in different moments when you're least expecting it. And those strikes are from the vocal power of Veronica Freeman, as well as the rest of the band. This is not an album or band a metalhead should go their whole life without. It's a masterpiece to tear down the conventional walls!

Favorites: "Uncreation", "Benedictum", "Wicca", "Heaven and Hell", "Them", "Valkyrie Rising"

Named after the ancient Iranian prophet and philosopher, Zarathustra Spitama who was more commonly known as Zoroaster, this trio from Atlanta recall the sounds of Sleep, the progressive sludge of Kylessa and the doom/sludge combination of Unearthly Trance. All are great reference points of course; however, it is a stoner influence that sits strongest for me; even above that trademark sludge sound that Georgia was near-patented when Matador was released. My point is, there is a lot going on here. Yet this is not at the expense of order or structure, as Matador never does sound chaotic. Even during the frenzied mid-section solo of ‘Odyssey’ or the psychedelic sludge of ‘Firewater’, the levels of intensity may well reach critical mass, but they are always measured by a good mix of straight up stoner.

Just listen to the jangling leads of ‘Trident’ to understand why Matador is to all intents and purposes a very cool and incredibly pleasing record. There is a freedom to how the trio express themselves here, yet there is still a respecting of boundaries, a sense that we are not under any circumstances going to go left-field, but we are going to have a fucking good time still anyways. At the same time the calming sense of structure that embodies the album never feels like anyone is being safe or pensive about what they are playing either.

Whilst perhaps not as tantric as Al Cisneros of Sleep and Om fame, the cleaner vocals on Matador could easily be delivered by him. Listening to Matador soon got me in the mood for Om’s Pilgrimage record and that got a couple of spins this week as a result. I feel Matador engages me on the same level of connection that Pilgrimage manages to as both records can easily coast my soul into a peaceful bliss that it yearns for. Tracks such as ‘Old World’ develop a quick sense of familiarity and soothing repetition, whilst the scathing sludge of ‘Black Hole’ still carries that welcoming warmth also. There are not many albums that have grown on me as quickly as this one has. With its array variety of pace and tempos there is still an immense amount of genre stability about Matador, resulting in an experience that suffers from no jarring or obtuse moments. Equally though, this is a record that never becomes boring either.

Last year I checked out the most recent album from the solo black metal project, Blackbraid and it turned out to be one of my more enjoyable metal records from the year. I figured that, since I do not partake in the extreme variety of metal as much as I would like anymore, now seems like a good a time as any to show some love for one of Blackbraid's formative albums; so let's go back and hear how 2023 Blackbraid differs from the modern day sound.

I must admit, this album took me a while to get into. This is not helped by the "Autumnal Hearts Ablaze" intro before the record beats you over the head with "The Spirit Returns". However, the main reason is because Blackbraid II just feels a little tardy. I can let some of that slide given this is an older record, but even for normal black metal standards, it does feel cheesy. Some of the transitions are so wacky that I honestly thought that they must be a joke. "Twilight Hymn of Ancient Blood" strikes me immediately as it begins with this sludgy, almost doom metal groove, which (if you ignore the interlude "Celestial Passage") is a great segue out of the high intensity, foot on the gas pedal of "A Song of Death on Winds of Dawn". But then, about halfway through the song, it switches gears and becomes a thrash anthem...without the anthem part. Sgah’gahsowáh retains their poetic delivery of the words rather than hammering home one particular line of dialogue as one would expect from a band like Warbringer, Havok, or Enforced. The shame is that it actually sounds really cool on its own, but as an extension of the first half of the track, it becomes corny as hell.

Not all the transitions on this record are bad mind you. "The Wolf That Guides the Hunters Hand" is a song that has an impactful punk flare to it, before gradually mellowing out for its conclusion down to a crawl. I enjoyed how "Moss Covered Bones on the Altar of the Moon" builds over its runtime, only to collapse right back down into a doom-y groove the same way it began. And I would be remised if I didn't mention the incredible chemistry between "Moss Covered Bones on the Altar of the Moon" and "A Song of Death on Winds of Dawn". The way the first one ends on a standstill before the next song ramps up the intensity at a blistering pace was well done. It was a shame that tempo could not be maintained throughout the first section of "A Song of Death on Winds of Dawn" though. 

I felt like, after a few listens, Blackbraid II grew on me. I can hear the vision and how that vision has evolved to the point where Blackbraid are now after Blackbraid III. The record does have some significant hurdles that need to be ascended in order to appreciate what is on the other side, but if you can weather the turbulence, you'll find a very respectable melodic black metal album.

Best Songs: The Wolf That Guides the Hunters Hand, Moss Covered Bones on the Altar of the Moon, A Song of Death on Winds of Dawn, Sadness and the Passage of Time and Memory

I have made my metal origin story public for quite awhile now but for those who are uninformed, I was not listening to metal early in my lifetime. It was not until I became a rebellious teenager that my musical interests broke off from the adult contemporary that my family was listening to. And I knew I did not want to listen to the mainstream pop of the Backstreet Boys, Destiny's Child, or the Black Eyed Peas. I didn't discover Alice in Chains or Tool until my first year in high school! But the thing was I still didn't feel like I fit in with the other "cool" kids in school because the metal I was listening to was so much different than theirs. So I asked "what are you listening to?" and they showed me a copy of The End of Heartache by Killswitch Engage. I did not love it at first, but as my ear for music changed, so did my appreciation for the album and the band who created it.

So, in 2006, As Daylight Dies comes out and the promotional single, "My Curse" is everywhere! And it's a great single too. Some might even go so far as to say its the greatest melodic metalcore song of all time. And with this year being the 20th anniversary of the album that changed metalcore, I went back and listened to it and checked to see how it stand up and... I mean, it's still a pretty solid mid 2000s melodic metalcore record, but perhaps my older (and wiser) ears have soured on it more than I thought they would.

I don't know what it is about As Daylight Dies that has changed over the years because all of the pieces are there for a solid metalcore album: the use of breakdowns to compliment choruses, a mammoth refrain led by the unmistakable vocals of Howard Jones, great bass presence and tasteful percussion, and a strong variety in keys, tempos and styles between the tunes. And yet, I'm not sure I feel the excitement from songs like "Break the Silence" and "Daylight Dies" as I did twenty years ago. Maybe it's... stagnation?

I do not listen to metalcore like I once did and that might be to its benefit. Because if I listened to a new metalcore album (or more) every week, I would be more likely to rate this album poorly, despite its cultural significance. So much of the modern melocore sound (i.e. Architects, Born of Osiris, Polaris, etc.) use Killswitch Engage, and more specifically As Daylight Dies, as the framework for their newest releases and there isn't a whole lot of innovation. And it leaves the whole genre as a whole feeling like it's been left behind. I know there are modern melocore bands who are growing from the As Daylight Dies era of Killswitch Engage, but even listening to this record twenty years later, I cannot help but feel like it has lost its grandeur... and I wish it hadn't.

Best Songs: This is Absolution, My Curse, Still Beats Your Name, Eye of the Storm, Desperate Times