The Fallen

Hi Ben, can you add Cryptal Echoes and their s/t EP from 2024. It only has 15 ratings on RYM and it looks (and sounds) like a demo, but it is an official release with a CD version available on Morbid Chapel Records. Thanks in advance.

January 2025

1. Black Sabbath - "War Pigs" (from "Paranoid", 1970)

2. Kyuss - "50 Million Year Trip (Downside Up)" (from "Blues for the Red Sun", 1992)

3. Anathema – “Eternal Rise of the Sun” (from “We Are The Bible” E.P., 1994) 

4. Acid Bath - "Jezebel" (from "When the Kite String Pops", 1994)

5. Pallbearer - "Mind Burns Alive" (from "Mind Burns Alive", 2024)

6. Ceremonium - "Into the Autumn Shade" (from "Into the Autumn Shade", 1995) 

7. Neon Nightmare - "Promethean Gift" (from "Faded Dream", 2024) 

8. Slomatics - "Tunnel Dragger" (from "Estron", 2014)

9. Enchantment – “Kneading With Honey” (from “Dance the Marble Naked”, 1994) 

10. Unkirk - "Sky" (from ".burial", 2017)

11. Christbait – “Loose” (from “Yeast” E.P., 1992) 

12. Black Oath - "Wicked Queen" (from "To Below and Beyond", 2022) 

13. My Dying Bride – “The Crown of Sympathy (Remix)” (from “I Am The Bloody Earth” E.P., 1994) 

14. Ataraxie - "Vomisseurs De Vide" (from "Le déclin", 2024) 

Pallbearer - Mind Burns Alive (2024)

I feel I need to recalibrate my approach to Pallbearer. Since their imperious debut, Sorrow and Extinction, they have moved further away from that album's massively crushing and melancholy doom metal in a more gentle, doomgaze-y direction that has found me becoming increasingly disappointed with the results. Mind Burns Alive continues that direction of travel and it is now apparent that the days of Sorrow and Extinction are well in the band's rearview mirror.

Firstly, the production has a light touch, without doom metal's usual focus on the bottom end and with a clear, clean sound that enhances the gentler material, but which, lightens the doom riffs when they hit, preventing them from attaining the overwhelming crushing weight which is most often the point of focus for doom acts. Songwriting-wise, it seems that Pallbearer are steering in a more post-metal direction, achieved by incorporating influences from 1990's and early 2000's alternative rock. A track such as "Signals", for example, has a very alt-rock intro, bringing to mind bands like Radiohead or REM and even when the doom riff kicks in, it feels as much like the heavier alternative or noise rock bands of the turn of the century as it does doom metal. It must be said though that Brett Campbell has the perfect voice for this style, his reedy and nasal delivery is very much suited to that particular alternative rock sound and feels just as much at home with the gentler material as it does the heavier.

I have a feeling that Pallbearer may be taking a leaf out of Patrick Walker's book and taking an emotionally redolent version of doom metal such as Walker perfected on Watching From A Distance and moving in a shoegazey, alternative direction, similar to 40 Watt Sun. As I said at the beginning, I think a reappraisal of Pallbearer is required at this point because, after multiple listens, by which time any lingering preconceptions have been shorn away, Mind Burns Alive is revealing itself to actually be an interesting album and may now even sit as my second-favourite by the band after the mighty debut. The previous few albums, certainly those after Foundations of Burden, have felt incomplete, like a band casting around for a signature sound without exactly knowing where they are heading, but I think Mind Burns Alive has seen Pallbearer arrive where they truly want to be and feels more complete and coherent as a result. Their's is now an emotionally-charged version of doom that builds from gentle, often non-metal, beginnings up to a crescendo whereby the heavy doom riffs act as a kind of catharsis for the fear or sorrow openly displayed during each track's earlier sections. The band are obviously very technically sound, but use this ability to build atmosphere and poignancy within their music, rather than to showcase their technical chops. The guitar solos, for example, sound mournful and full of yearning, used to elicit an emotional reaction rather than wow the listener with the musician's dexterity.

Did I even mention the saxophone solo that jumps out at you during "Endless Place" yet? I'm not completely convinced said solo was entirely necessary, but it does help to illustrate that Mind Burns Alive is actually a lot better and more interesting than I originally gave it credit for. To properly appreciate it, however, I have had to shift my perspective on not only this, but the band as a whole. I wouldn't say this is a perfect album by any stretch, certainly not for my particular taste profile, but it finally sees Pallbearer getting comfortable with a particular sound that plays to their strengths and which is even capable of swaying the opinion of a cynical old bastard like me to their way of thinking. In all honesty, I had been getting a little bit bored of certain sections of the doom metal scene's predictability over recent months, so it is great to hear something that has defied and redefined my expectations.

4/5

Cryptal Echoes - S/T EP (2024)

Cryptal Echoes are a young death doom band from Klagenfurt in Austria and this self-titled, almost thirty-minute, EP is their first release since forming in 2021. At the time of the EP's recording they were a four-piece band, but a couple of lineup changes have since seen them reduced to a trio. They worship at the altar of the old-school death metal gods, with a thoroughly filthy and cavernous sound, which is exacerbated by a very raw, little better than demo-quality, production job. Heavily distorted, lumbering riffs accompanied by deep-throated growls and bellows for vocals are very much the order of the day for the band, punctuated by more uptempo bursts of deathly aggression. This is very much death doom rooted in the genre's early-nineties beginnings with no concession to the progressive tendencies or external genre incorporation of more modern death doom bands, delivering a pure and unfiltered, genuinely old-school death doom experience.

When the band let loose and increase the tempo into out-and-out death metal territory, the raw production values and heavy guitar distortion see things getting a little bit messy and start to blur into one deathly rumble, with the snare drum being the main discernible instrument still propelling the tracks along. I don't necessarily have a problem with this, having listened to a lot of lo-fi stuff over the years, but it could well be a deal-breaker for those raised on modern, crystal clear production jobs. The riffs are decent, although if you are familiar with a lot of early 90's death metal then you won't find them at all original, although that is never the aim here. Cryptal Echoes know exactly what they want to do and that is recreate the original death doom sound as faithfully as possible, a feat they pulled off very convincingly.

Of the six tracks on the EP, four hover around the six minute mark and these are where the meat of the album lie. There is a bit of a departure with tracks four and five, with the sub-two-minute "Spiritual Torture" verging on grindcore and short instrumental, "Dreaded Chasm" being a gently noodling breather prior to closing track, the lumbering and hulking "Desolate Return" with which the band finish in great style. This is my favourite of the six, it feeling the classiest and most developed track with the release's coolest riffs left until last.

This is probably one for hardcore death doom fanatics with a penchant for the old-school, but if that is you then you may well find enough raw meat to sink your teeth into with this.

3.5/5

Sounds interesting Vinny.

All the beauty and brutality to expect in the new Chat Pile album is summarized right here:

I've just reviewed the Chat Pile album. It's another really solid effort too & I tend to prefer it over 2022's "God's Country" debut which I also really enjoyed. I think the Thou record is the better of the two though when it comes to the more popular sludge metal releases though.

So with the start of a new year it's once again time to have a look at the covers for all the releases for each clan. I personally like to rate a whole stack of covers all at once, rather than doing them one at a time throughout the year, as it allows me to get a better feel for where each cover sits in comparison to others. With that in mind, I've just rated every cover for releases in The Fallen for 2024.

Below are some of the releases that are currently competing for the prestigious 2024 The Fallen Cover of the Year Award. The winner will be announced on the 1st of February, so there's still time to get your ratings in.

The following link will take you to the Gallery, displaying the top Fallen releases that you have not rated yet: CLICK HERE

Nice review Sonny. I'm glad you're finally seeing the light too. Here's my review from a while ago:

Being an Australian extreme metal fanatic from way back in the late 1980's, it was perhaps inevitable that I'd possess a strong passion for arguably our most significant metal export (at least from purely an influential & creative sense) in Melbourne's masters of the doom/death sound diSEMBOWELMENT. I'd suggest that very few diehard fans suffer from as complete an infatuation as I do with this band though. I simply worship the ground they walk on & back in the early 1990's I thought of them as being a lot more than mere humans. Without actually knowing the band members, it was very hard for me to envisage them as being every-day people given the remarkably dark, unique & generally foreign sounds they managed to conjure up. I was talking to Bjorn from Grave Upheaval, Grotesque Bliss & Temple Nightside about them the other day & he shares my infatuation to a similar scale so it's not just me. diSEMBOWELMENT had a way of encapsulating everything that was so wonderful about the early 90's extreme metal scene &, to make things even more intense for a young Aussie, they were also from my home country which was a rarity for the elite metal artists in the world at the time. While there's no doubt at all that 1993's "Transcendence Into the Peripheral" album was a game-changer for the global doom/death scene though, for Bjorn & I it was diSEMBOWELMENT's 1992 E.P. "Dusk" that first saw that door opening & I've never felt that it received the respect it deserved because it's a remarkable release in its own right, particularly when you consider that it was the band's first proper release & that there was nothing out there that sounded anything like it at the time.

I was lucky enough to pick up an original copy of the "Dusk" E.P. as well as diSEMBOWELMENT's second demo tape "Deep Sensory Procession Into Aural Fate" by sending cash to the band in the mail. I can't quite remember the timeline for that taking place in respect to "Transcendence Into the Peripheral" but I think it's fair to say that all three releases would be placed on their own individual pedestals in my teenage bedroom from the time they first hit my ears. I even sought out the band's early 1990 "Mourning September" demo tape through the tape trading scene, a release that I found to be pretty decent without ever hinting at the same levels of euphoria as I'd received from diSEMBOWELMENT's subsequent efforts. It's interesting that, despite the clear crossover of material between the three most significant releases, I still think that both of the proper releases should be considered to be essential as they each bring something a little different to the table in terms of timbre & texture. None of them are particularly polished (which I strongly suspect was intentional) but there's definitely enough variation to keep things interesting.

The "Dusk" E.P. is a half-hour long affair that includes what were arguably diSEMBOWELMENT's finest three tracks so how could it not be a completely mind-blowing experience? It opens with the band's calling card in "The Tree of Life & Death", a nine-minute piece that begins with one of diSEMBOWELMENT's more brutal & blasting death metal passages before descending into the mire with some of the darkest extreme doom metal we'd heard to the time. It's a clear indication of the thick, oppressive atmosphere this band was capable of creating even at such an early point in their recording careers. The version we have here is remarkably similar to the one we receive on the debut full-length in September of 1993 too, despite being the same recording that was first birthed on 1991's classic "Deep Sensory Procession Into Aural Fate" demo. This is followed by the epic twelve-minute "Burial at Ornans", another song that was borrowed from the second demo tape & a piece which I feel still had a bit of work to do before reaching its most complete realization on "Transcendence Into the Peripheral". This is the reason for me not being able to reach full marks for "Dusk" actually as "Burial at Ornans" simply feels a little less complete than it would in the near future with some of the less doomy sections not maintaining such an elite level & the track lacking some of the atmospherics that it would gain on the album version. Eight-minute closer "Cerulean Transience of All My Imagined Shores" is another story altogether though & brings with it the most transcendental aura, transporting me to wonderfully dark & obscure places that I'd never imagined existed before. Although I do feel that the album version is a little more polished & complete, this doesn't diminish the impact of what is undeniably one of the earlier examples of the funeral doom metal genre to hit a proper release. The sum of these three classic works leaves me succumbing to pure devastation & infatuation, very much in awe of my elder countrymen.

While "Dusk" may not quite be as fully realized as "Transcendence Into the Peripheral" was, all of the ingredients were already there to see the global metal scene receiving one of the true greats at their chosen craft. I mean, if this had ended up being the only diSEMBOWELMENT release then one gets the feeling that it would have received far more attention & be referenced by a wealth of extreme doom bands as being highly influential. As it stands though, I can't recommend "Dusk" enough. The monstrous vocals of guitarist Renato Gallina are as scary as you'll ever find in music & the instrumentation around them brings to mind the feeling of being a young child lost in the darkest of forests in the blackest of midnights with drummer Paul Mazziotta's blast-beats being used over the slowest, doomiest riffs imaginable in such a fashion that was completely unheard of at the time. The production is absolutely spot-on too, leaving layers of filth & decay in the guitar tone that works to further accentuate the sheer weight on the diSEMBOWELMENT sound. Perhaps I'm biased given my personal interactions with the band at such a young age (even if it was by mail) but I feel that I'm mature enough to be able to see the forest through the trees these days so I implore anyone who thinks bands like Spectral Voice, Winter or diSEMBOWELMENT's younger sibling Inverloch are where it's at to seek out "Dusk" as I have no doubt that you'll be dazzled by what the true masters of the doom/death genre had to offer way back in 1992.

4.5/5

Thanks guys. No problems with those noms, Daniel, they should fit in just fine.

Wishing a happy New Year to all our listeners

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2rSh9MnfQo9HmPLo2W5MBa

1. Black Sabbath - "War Pigs" (from "Paranoid", 1970)

2. Kyuss - "50 Million Year Trip (Downside Up)" (from "Blues for the Red Sun", 1992)

3. Anathema – “Eternal Rise of the Sun” (from “We Are The Bible” E.P., 1994) [submitted by Daniel]

4. Acid Bath - "Jezebel" (from "When the Kite String Pops", 1994)

5. Pallbearer - "Mind Burns Alive" (from "Mind Burns Alive", 2024)

6. Ceremonium - "Into the Autumn Shade" (from "Into the Autumn Shade", 1995) [submitted by Sonny]

7. Neon Nightmare - "Promethean Gift" (from "Faded Dream", 2024) [submitted by Vinny]

8. Slomatics - "Tunnel Dragger" (from "Estron", 2014)

9. Enchantment – “Kneading With Honey” (from “Dance the Marble Naked”, 1994) [submitted by Daniel]

10. Unkirk - "Sky" (from ".burial", 2017)

11. Christbait – “Loose” (from “Yeast” E.P., 1992) [submitted by Daniel]

12. Black Oath - "Wicked Queen" (from "To Below and Beyond", 2022) [submitted by Vinny]

13. My Dying Bride – “The Crown of Sympathy (Remix)” (from “I Am The Bloody Earth” E.P., 1994) [submitted by Daniel]

14. Ataraxie - "Vomisseurs De Vide" (from "Le déclin", 2024) [submitted by Sonny]

Mournful Congregation - "Weeping" demo (1994)

This early funeral doom demo absolutely blew me away when I first purchased it from the band back at the time of release & it still marks the high point for the entire subgenre as far as I'm concerned. I was tape trading with these Adelaide dudes at the time & found it almost impossible to believe that this material was coming from a few kids in such an unlikely location. "Weeping" is the very definition of doom, combining the incredible harmonies of early Anathema & Cathedral with the deeper & even more depressive atmospherics of Thergothon & Skepticism. The minimal production is perfectly suited to the material with the down-tuned guitar tones of Damon Good (Cauldron Black Ram/Martire/Misery's Omen/StarGazer/VoidCeremony) & Ben Petch allowing some utterly breath-taking twin-guitar doom riffs to reverberate throughout your body. The performances aren't perfect & the transitions could still do with some work but the quality in the song-writing is nothing short of incredible & is easily able to overcome those minor flaws with the deep death growls of Nick Hansen beautifully portraying the pain in the lyrics. I'm sure you all know that I rarely gush this hard but "Weeping" is honestly a top ten metal release for me personally & is one of the most rewarding underground gems you'll ever find. If you can't deal with the plodding tempos of most funeral doom metal then I'd steer well clear of this one though. It's as sombre & downtrodden as they come.

For fans of Ahab, Thergothon & Skepticism.

5/5

Here's my adjusted Top Ten Funeral Doom Metal Releases of All Time list:

01. Mournful Congregation - "Weeping" demo (1994)

02. Esoteric - "The Maniacal Vale" (2008)

03. Esoteric – “Paragon of Dissonance” (2011)

04. Shape of Despair - "Monotony Fields" (2015)

05. Esoteric – “Metamorphogenesis” (1999)

06. Esoteric - "A Pyrrhic Existence" (2019)

07. Ahab - "The Call of The Wretched Sea" (2006)

08. Esoteric - "The Pernicious Enigma" (1997)

09. Evoken – “Atra Mors” (2012)

10. The Howling Void – “Shadows Over The Cosmos” (2010)

https://metal.academy/lists/single/132

I'm not really sure I have enough thoughts on that aspect of the album to say much about it one way or another. I see parts that are black metal, but I also see parts that are gothic metal.

Some brief notes and comments on this month's playlist:

1. Candlemass - "Born in a Tank" (from "Candlemass", 2005)

One of my favourites from Candlemass' great 2005 return-to-form album. Some uptempo epic shit to get us going!

2. Moonspell - "Wolfshade (A Werewolf Masquerade)" (from "Wolfheart", 1995)

I recently checked out Moonspell's "Night Eternal" album and enjoyed it massively, so I thought I would dig a bit deeper and that resulted in this catching my attention from their debut, particularly the guitar work in the latter part of the track.

3. Reverend Bizarre - "Doom Over the World" ( from "II:Crush the Insects", 2005) [suggested by Vinny]

An old Rev Biz classic suggested by Vinny. I love this track, being compelled to nod my head and tap my foot whenever I hear it, so no complaints from me!

4. Anathema - "Cries on the Wind" (from "Eternity", 1996) [suggested by Sonny]

I have been spending a little time filling in the gaps in my listening of the Fallen charts here on Metal Academy and "Eternity" was one of the highest-rated releases I hadn't heard, so I had to put that to rights, with this penultimate track being the one to especially stand out. A real melancholy, creeping-under-the-skin cracker this one with a cool guitar solo.

5. Ministry – “Filth Pig” (from “Filth Pig”, 1996) [suggested by Daniel]

I honestly didn't think Ministry were capable of producing a track as great as this. Good pick Daniel, count me impressed. Sickly, crawling industrialised sludge - sounds like the description of the UK river network!

6. Cult of Luna & Julie Christmas - "The Wreck of the S.S. Needle" (from "Mariner", 2016) [suggested by Sonny]

Another great discovery from my Fallen charts completionist project. Obviously I am familiar with CoL, but I thought Julie Christmas was a stand-up comedienne! As atmospheric as we have come to expect from the band, but Ms. Xmas adds an extra dimension and they sound even more menacing and ominous than usual. A top discovery.

7. Shape of Despair – “Monotony Fields” (from “Monotony Fields”, 2015) [suggested by Daniel]

I am well familiar with this as I bought a digital copy from Bandcamp when it came out and I am always up for some funeral doom, especially as performed by experts like SoD. Another nice pick from Daniel as Monotony Fields is often overlooked in favour of the first two albums, but is a great listen nonetheless.

8. Eyehategod – “Blank” (from “Take as Needed for Pain”, 1993) [suggested by Daniel]

Another album I have become well acquainted with over recent years. Desolate, bleak sludge that comes from a place of pain and frustration. A top example of real sludge metal with loads of hardcore attitude.

9. Castle Rat - "Dagger Dragger" (from "Into the Realm", 2024) [suggested by Vinny]

I have had this on my "to listen" list for a little while, so thanks to Vinny for nominating this one. Nice, catchy chunk of trad doom that reminds me very much of Jess and the Ancient Ones' "Astral Sabbat". Good enough to see me checking out the album at some point I think.

10. The Flight of Sleipnir - "Vingthor" (from "Nature's Cadence", 2024) [suggested by Sonny]

I selected this for submission as I bought the album on vinyl and have been playing it a fair bit over the last few weeks. This is my favourite and a nice indication of where thay are now.

11. Earth – “German Dental Work” (from “Demo 1990”, 1990) [suggested by Daniel]

Much as I love some of Earth's work, the lack of production quality of a demo recording does them absolutely no favours.

12. Grin - "Torre del Serpe" (from "Hush", 2024)

I love the riff on this, although the song is a bit too brief and is over just as it really gets good.

13. Sporae Autem Yuggoth - "Disguise the Odius Spirits" (from "...However It Still Moves", 2023)

I'm always a sucker for some Lovecraft-themed doom metal, so when that also involves a relatively new chilean death doom crew then I am doubly interested. Hulking and ominous-sounding old-school death doom that isn't innovative, but that is still very atmospheric and heavy. Could do with a bit more bottom end though (unless it's my headphones).

14. In the Woods... - "The Recalcitrant Protagonist" (from "Pure", 2019) [suggested by Sonny]

This is from my favourite In the Woods... album since their debut and I have been giving it a fair bit of airtime over the last couple of month's, so thought a track from it would be in order. I love the epic melancholic feel of this track and this is how gothic metal should sound.

15. Pallbearer - "Cruel Road" (from "Heartless", 2017) [suggested by Vinny]

One of Pallbearer's best tracks since the debut album. A nice warm up for a dive into the new album.

16. Dystopia - "Sleep" (from "The Aftermath", 1999) [suggested by Sonny]

I've been getting well into Dystopia just lately. Noisy, pissed-off sludge, just as it was originally meant to be.

17. Toadliquor – “Fratricide: A Requiem” (from “Feel My Hate - The Power Is the Weight - R.I.P. Cain”, 1993) [suggested by Daniel]

This is another sludge metal release I have got more into over the last year or two, so it's good to see a track from it getting nominated here. I like to round the playlists off with some dark shit and this certainly fulfills that criteria. It's pretty fucking heavy too.

18. Yith - "centuries of horror" (from "dread", 2016) [suggested by Sonny]

A seriously overlooked blackened doom outfit who are one of the best in the field. This just exudes horrifying, misanthropic menace and is a genuine black metal / doom hybrid and, I think, a good way to end the playlist.

Unfortunately, I have never got to grips with "Transcendence into the Peripheral". It's been a long time since I last tried so maybe it's due a revisit, but I found it to be very disappointing on previous occasions.

That fact has always very much surprised me Sonny as "Transcendence into the Peripheral" was nothing short of life-changing for me personally & seems like something that is tailor made for your taste profile. It's never been surpassed as the best doom/death release I've ever heard & the influence it's had on many of the current crop of bands is as clear as day. Each to their own though of course.

Yes, exactly Daniel. I am as perplexed as you are as to why it has never resonated with me because, as you say, it seems to be exactly my sort of thing on paper. I really need to try again, because I am not one of those who dogmatically sticks to his guns and I would love to join the party. There are just so many people whose opinions I respect who love that album that I know the problem is mine alone. 

2. Darkthrone - It Beckons Us All

I can't place my finger on it but just cannot get into the latest Darkthrone.  I have loved everything they have done recently but cannot get my head around this one.  Had a fair few spins of it too.  Could be that I am a bit tired of the format/style now and it needs some variety to jazz it up for me.  I keep trying though.

As with any end of year list, my focus is never really on new releases anymore and so I can only vouch for a handful of those (Civerous, Coffins, Ponte del Diavolo and Darkthrone).  Prob should check a few of those out that I missed (The Obsessed,  Hamferð and Spectral Voice).

I'm a total and unapologetic Darkthrone fanboy (or fangrandpa if you will), so I totally understand others not being into them as much as me. I would only bother with the Obsessed album if you really like them already, Vinny, because it's not all that special to my ears. Hamferð and Spectral Voice are both worth a listen though.

I didn't really think the compositions themselves matched the heaviness, but it was a perfectly operable sludge album that was always fun and powerful.  I gave it an 8.5.

Friends of Hell - God Damned You To Hell (2024)

I must admit that I am a bit disappointed that the doom metal legend that is Albert Witchfinder is no longer a friend of hell, his position as vocalist having been superceded by Nifelheim's Per "Hellbutcher" Gustavsson. However, having come to terms with the album's lack of Sir Albert, I must admit that Hellbutcher's vocal style actually suits the band's sound pretty well, not diverging that much from Witchfinder's. That sound, as you may guess from the band name which of course references Witchfinder General's second album, is a throwback style to the early days of traditional doom metal as epitomised by the likes of WG, Pentagram, The Obsessed, Paul Chain and the likes. As such, this sits very much in that area of doom metal that resides nearest to old-school, Sabbathian stoner metal with hooky riffs and catchy choruses, the album even having the audacity to begin with a tolling bell.

To be honest I have heard so many albums like this that trade on the same old traditional doom metal tropes without bringing anything new or particularly exceptional to the table that I am starting to think that maybe I have reached my lifetime limit for such genre-conforming releases and am beginning to tire of each one just a little more than the previous. There really isn't that much to say about God Damned You to Hell and if you have had your ears anywhere near the occult-themed traditional doom metal scene over the years, then I am sure you will be familiar with what is on offer here. Think Reverend Bizarre, but with considerably shorter songs or With the Dead and you would be in the right ballpark.

In all honesty, there really isn't much wrong with this if you are in the market for what they are selling, it is entertaining enough with quite catchy doom metal riffs, hokey, occult-based lyrics and some reasonable guitar solos and at one time, not so long ago, I would probably have lapped this up, but it doesn't do anything remotely special and I find myself increasingly looking towards more extreme and genuinely dark material (as opposed to the theatrical darkness displayed here) when I am seeking my doom metal fix nowadays. I have got to confess that I am feeling a bit bummed out that I have had to shit on this a bit, but I'm really not feeling it, so it is what it is.

3/5

I was planning on just sharing my thoughts on Trail of Tears' 1997 demo When Silence Cries, but then I finally found their rare 1996 demo from when they were originally called Natt, so let's check them both of them out...

Natt (Norwegian for "Night") was the earliest incarnation of Trail of Tears, formed in 1994. They were much different from the Trail of Tears we know. There's barely, if at all, any of the orchestral synths that have marked an important aspect of their later sound. The harsh/female vocal ratio is closer to that of Free Fall Into Fear and Existentia, with the small amount of female singing coming from vocalist Ales Vik, not bad but can't surpass the later female vocalists. The sound itself can be considered melodic death-doom in a similar vein to Amorphis' Tales from the Thousand Lakes and 90s October Tide, rather than Trail of Tears' brand of epic extreme gothic metal. It's a decent demo, though I won't say many of the songs would be considered highlights. The ones I enjoy are in the B-side; "Once a Paradise" (later re-recorded as a bonus track for Trail of Tears' debut Disclosure in Red) and "Sadness". Nice demo, but not worth returning to....

Favorites: "Once a Paradise", "Sadness"

3/5

One year later, the band consisting of bassist Kjell Rune Hagen, guitarists Terje Heiseldal and Michael S. Krumins, and vocalist Ronny Thorsen had the name changed to Trail of Tears and recorded the demo When Silence Cries. I was actually able to find this demo easily when I first got fully interested in this band a year before this comment, that's how common it was compared to the Natt demo. Background synths became more prominently used, though they sound a little odd here. Helena Iren Michaelsen comes in with her operatic soprano that, like I said above, can surpass Ales Vik. The gothic/melodeath sound that is who they are is in full force, kinda like Katatonia's Brave Murder Day with a twist by Epica (Helena would later join that band when they were starting out as Sahara Dust). I love the songs here that are demo versions of some highlights from Disclosure in Red. If you've read my review for that album, you know what I think of those songs. A better beginning for this wonderous band....

Favorites: "Mournful Pigeon", "When Silence Cries"

3.5/5

A quick comment for each track.

01. Cathedral – “Phantasmagoria” (from “The Ethereal Mirror”, 1993)

One of the doomiest tracks on Cathedral's second album is one of it's best.

02. Warning – “Faces” (from “Watching From A Distance”, 2006)

It's Warning. It's from "Watching From A Distance”. I don't think I need to say more.

03. Paradise Lost – “Joys Of The Emptiness” (from “Icon”, 1993)

The first PL album I bought, but funnily enough one of my least favourite. This is a good track though. I'll have to go back to Icon again and see if I have warmed to it over the last couple of years.

04. Type O Negative – “Bloody Kisses (Death In The Family)” (from “Bloody Kisses”, 1993)

I have iterated on many occasions how much I dislike TON. That said, this isn't too bad at all (except it's too long and the crying woman sample is annoying). So along with "Creepy Green Light" that's now two TON tracks I quite like.

05. Candlemass – “Demon’s Gate” (from “Epicus Doomicus Metallicus”, 1986)

What an iconic riff. How can I say that this is anything but awesome, because if I did it would be a lie. The first and best epic doom band showing how and why.

06. Black Sabbath – “A National Acrobat” (from “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath”, 1973)

I have always loved A National Acrobat, but I think the production on SBS robs it of some of the crushing weight which a more bottom-heavy production job would have given it. It is definitely a Fallen track, though - and one of Sabbath's best.

07. Black Flag – “Scream” (from “My War”, 1984)

I must admit I prefer Black Flag when they are in full-on hardcore mode. Their sludge metal stuff just sounds like they were just dicking around at times - and that guitar solo is just horrible.

08. Pentagram – “Forever My Queen” (from “Bias Studio Recordings” demo, 1973)

I love this track - Sabbathian heavy psych heaven.

09. Bedemon – “Child Of Darkness” (from “Child Of Darkness: From The Original Master Tapes”, 2005)

Recorded 73/74 this album is demo quality, but with modern production values this would sound much heavier and rank up with Sabbath's better stuff. Great track either way from the Pentagram guys.

10. Boris – “Untitled” [Feedbacker Part 1] (from “Boris At Last -Feedbacker-“, 2003)

Awesome. Sounds like the birth of a star.

11. The Garden – “Squished Face Slick Pig Living in a Smokey City” (from “Horseshit on Route 66”, 2022)

I haven't heard of these guys before - and never want to again. Horrible.

12. Butthole Surfers – “22 Going On 23” (from “Locust Abortion Technician”, 1987)

Please make it stop...

13. SLIFT – “Weaver’s Weft” (from “Ilion”, 2024)

Another new one on me, but considerably more to my liking this one. Expressive and thoughtful-sounding with a nice climax. A definite thumbs up.

14. King Gizzard & the Wizard Lizard – “Superbug” (from “Infest The Rat’s Nest”, 2019)

I think KG&tWL are a better psychedelic rock band than a metal band. This is OK, but that's all.

15. Rammstein – “Zeit” (from “Zeit”, 2022)

Nice enough, I guess.

16. Chat Pile – “The Mask” (from “God’s Country”, 2022)

These are one of those bands I keep passing over for no particular reason. This is pretty manic sounding. I like it.

17. Woorms – Mouth Is A Wound” (from “Slake”, 2019)

I quite like this album and this is one of it's best tracks.

18. Converge – “Phoenix In Flight” (from “Jane Doe”, 2000)

I like Jane Doe a lot and this certainly sounds sludgy enough to belong in The Fallen, so all is good!

19. Knocked Loose – “Take Me Home” (from “You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To”, 2024)

I am unfamiliar with this band. It's OK as far as it goes I suppose.

20. Nails – “Depths” (from “Unsilent Death”, 2010)

Great stuff. Top-knotch sludge that knock most of the others in the field on their arse.

21. Thou – “House of Ideas” (from “Umbilical”, 2024)

I have only listened to this album once so far, but Thou are a great band and I did like Umbilical a lot, so I had better get on and review it soon.

22. Evoken – “Towers Of Frozen Dusk” (from “Shades Of Night Descending”, 1994)

Fantastic. One of my favourite death doom acts nailing that OS style.

Overall, apart from a flat spot in the middle, pretty good list. Sorry, but I just couldn't get to grips with The Garden or Butthole Surfers. New discoveries I must check out were Chat Pile and SLIFT.

Bongripper's 2010 "Satan Worshipping Doom" album seems to be highly regarded in this space but I haven't quite gotten on with it in the past to tell you the truth. I definitely prefer instrumental post-sludge releases like Year of No Light's "Ausserwelt", Russian Circles' "Memorial" & Omega Massif's "Geisterstadt".

I still really enjoy Snailking but this feels like such a complete package that it's hard not to say it vies for that top album spot.

I'm across everything that Ufomammut did up until 2012's "Oro: Opus Primum" album & "Eve" is easily my favourite of their solo releases. I'd still position the Lento collaboration slightly ahead of it though as it's utterly sublime.

Smoulder - Times of Obscene Evil and Wild Daring (2019)

Smoulder are a five-piece formed in 2013 and centred around married couple, guitarist Shon Vincent and vocalist Sarah Ann. Times of Obscene Evil and Wild Daring marked the band's debut full-length and followed their well-received three-track demo, The Sword Woman, which supplied two of the six tracks featured here.

Musically the album skirts the border between epic doom and good, old-fashioned heavy metal, tinged with a pinch of USPM. They lean more towards the triumphal heroicism of Solstice's brand of epic doom rather the more mournful laments of, say, Solitude Aeternus with the tempos of most of the tracks edging towards the pacier end of the doom metal arsenal, never really dropping to the ploddingly mournful pacing more common of most doom metal albums. The downtuned guitar and meaty bottom end still sit this within the doom metal sphere, though, with only a couple of tracks, "Bastard Steel" and "Voyage of the Sunchaser", edging into heavy or power metal territory and both of which are riotous, fist-pumping headbangers. The riffs on display throughout are solid and project vitality, power and strength, whether galloping at pace or hulking at a more sedate pace. The riffs are more than capably bolstered by a tight-knit rhythm section of drummer Kevin Hester and bassist Adam Blake, both of whose work is neat and effective. The leadwork of both Shon Vincent and second guitarist Collin Wolf is confidently done, with some fine solos that are expressive and exhilharating without ever leaning towards the self-indulgent.

Inevitably, though, the main focus of attention is going to be vocalist Sarah Ann Kitteridge whose powerful pipes are perfectly suited to the more epic style that Smoulder are going for. Like a female Messiah Marcolin, her voice soars above the instrumentation, demanding the attention of the listener. This is no slight on the rest of the band members, but her voice does project such irresistible power that it is impossible for it not to become the focus and luckily she has the talent to carry off such a central role, never wavering or losing pitch which, unfortunately, I hear all too often nowadays from vocalists operating outside their capabilities.

The songwriting is generally of a high quality and is split between most of the band members, with only Adam Blake not contributing, which allows for some nice variation, yet illustrates the band's unity of vision as the tracklisting is very consistent. Lyrically, they fall back on the well-worn metal trope of sword and sorcery epic fantasy storytelling for the most part, with opener, "Ilian of Garathorm" delving into an old epic metal staple, Michael Moorcock's world of Elric and The Eternal Champion.

Overall this is a well-executed slab of triumphalistic metal that reaches back to the earlier days of the genre, yet is still refreshingly exciting and vital and should appeal to anyone who still loves the power and glory of epic metal storytelling.

4/5

Here's my review:

Melbourne's Christbait would be a band that I'd become aware of shortly after I'd made my first tentative steps into the wonderful world of Australian extreme metal back in the early 1990's. They were quite well known in the local scene at the time, having played a number of high-quality support gigs with international bands throughout the first part of that decade. My first time hearing their music though would be on a late-night metal radio program that I regularly recorded for my own listening throughout the subsequent week. It would be the opening track "Loose" from their first proper release "Yeast", the subject of this review. I was already well across English industrial metallers Godflesh at the time & was not at all surprised to hear the song paying clear homage to Justin Broadrick & co. given that Christbait had so clearly borrowed their name from the classic Godflesh anthem "Christbait Rising". This was a seriously good track in its own right though & one that I would go on to give a good ol' flogging in my Walkman over the subsequent months. It wouldn't, however, see me seeking out the "Yeast" E.P. or any other Christbait releases for that matter & it's only now, more than thirty years later, that I've found myself committing to my first active listen to a Christbait record for one reason or another.

Christbait initially began life as a death metal/grindcore act back in 1989 but "Yeast" sees them having taken a very different route for the majority of its 28-minute run time. There are a couple of short grindcore blastathons included (see "Nailgun" & "Tug"), both of which sound a little out of place & are easily the least significant tracks of the seven of offer, but the majority of the E.P. sits largely in sludge metal territory. If you were to take the industrial component out of Godflesh's sound to leave just the sludgy riffs & placed them over a more organic rhythm section then you'd go pretty close to describing the sound you can expect to hear on "Yeast". English sludge metallers Fudge Tunnel also spring to mind quite readily & so does Nirvana's "Bleach" album although the shouted vocals of front man Jason Vasallo sit much more firmly within the hardcore punk spectrum than Kurt Cobain would ever venture. It's all done exceptionally well though with the production job of well-known Aussie metal producer Scott Harper (who also produced popular underground releases from bands like Blood Duster, Damaged & Mindsnare to name just a few) being surprisingly heavy for an underground release of the time. There are periods where the Christbait head into slightly psychedelic territory (particularly on psychedelic rock closer "Loose (Edit)") but I think the links to stoner metal are overstated for this release to be honest as the grooves never have me feeling like dancing a jig if you know what I mean. They're colder & more serious than that.

The tracklisting is exceptionally consistent, particularly for a first-up release from a little-known Aussie band. There are no weak songsincluded but I'd suggest that only opener "Loose" feels like a minor classic. The rest of the material is generally very solid with simply-titled pieces like "Swing", "Spagnum" & "Yeast" all offering me plenty of appeal & replay value. It's honestly hard to see how Christbait didn't make more of a dent in the international scene on the strength of this record though because it competes really well with the bands I referenced earlier in the review. I guess this is simply another reminder of just how far away we are from the rest of the world, a distance that was perhaps a little more insurmountable back in the early 1990's. If my description of Christbait's sound tickles your fancy though then I'd strongly encourage you to venture over to YouTube to give the E.P. a crack for yourself as I have no doubt that you'll be pleasantly surprised by a record that has built up a decent level of notoriety in Australian metal folklore.

For fans of Godflesh, Fudge Tunnel & "Bleach"-period Nirvana.

4/5

Moonspell - Wolfheart (1995)

Contrary to appearances, I don't think I am especially dogmatic when it comes to metal appreciation and one illustration of this is the softening of my stance regarding gothic metal over the last couple of years. At one time I wouldn't have given an album such as Wolfheart the time of day, but exposure to top gothic metal perpetrators such as Paradise Lost and Draconian has definitely shifted my view on the genre and what it is capable of. I recently listened to Moonspell's 2008 album, Night Eternal and I enjoyed it quite a bit, awarding it a princely four stars, so I went into the band's debut, 1995's Moonspell, with high hopes.

Was this optimism justified then? Well, yes... and no. Musically there was plenty here that took my fancy, the guitar work especially standing out. The tone of the six-strings is great and the bass supplies a nice deep bottom end. The riffs are dolorous, heavy and quite memorable but the solos are the best thing about the album, in fact it's a pity the leads aren't given a bit more of a free rein as I would have liked to hear more from Tanngrisnir and Mantus in the vein of the soloing in the latter part of the opener.

Unfortunately Wolfheart suffers from the same bugbear that I have always had with a lot of gothic metal, that of excessive cheesiness. This takes the form of a heavy-handed application of synths, smothering a number of the tracks with a suffocating layer of 1980's-like keyboards that just doesn't sit well with me at all. The synths aren't the only issue though because the vocals annoyed me almost as much. The gruff, deathly male vocals are fine, but the forced, deep, clean male vocals that seem intended to mimic Gary Oldman in Bram Stoker's Dracula still sound as ludicrous as I have always found that style of singing to be. There is, of course, several tracks with supposedly ethereal female vocals but, and I have no wish to be unkind, the effect is ruined because, to be frank, Birgit Zacher is here sounding like she is fighting to stay in tune, with "Love Crimes" especially sounding like she is struggling. Then, as if that wasn't enough there is also the track Trebaruna which is a full-on folk metal cheesefest and does absolutely nothing positive for me whatsoever.

Overall, then, I would have to say that although Wolfheart has some aspects I really enjoyed, especially when it is at it's heaviest or when the leads are firing off solos, the album's inherent theatricality is just too jarring for me to excuse completely, no matter how much I may enjoy it's positives and so ultimately it's score has to be accordingly middle-of-the-road.

3/5

Earth - "Demo 1990" demo (1990)

I've got a real soft spot for these godfathers of the drone metal genre & that extends to their earliest recordings with this six-song demo tape being of a very high standard. This material is not all drone metal though. "Methadrine" sounds more like Black Sabbath-inspired stoner metal, "Divine Bright Extraction" sits somewhere between alternative rock & shoegaze while "German Dental Work" & "Dissolution" fit into the industrial metal space alongside artists like Godflesh very comfortably. But then we have the two enormous drone metal pieces that highlighted 1991's classic "Extra-Capsular Extraction" E.P. (i.e. "Bureaucratic Desire for Revenge" & "Ouroboros") with both of them coming across as fully-realised even in this primitive format, particularly "Ouroboros" which is an all-time favourite of mine. If you dig Earth & their various creative endeavours then you'll likely want to hear this one too.

For fans of Sunn O))), Boris & Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine.

4/5

Here's my review:

Finnish funeral doom metal masters Shape of Despair are an artist that I'm very much indebted to my brother Ben for having helped me discover many years ago now & I've followed them with interest ever since. I believe it was 2001's classic "Angels of Distress" that was the first of their releases to grace my ears & it made a significant impact on me at the time. That would have been around 2009 & I'm pretty sure that I've given all of Shape of Despairs proper releases a crack since then, along with their 1998 demo "Alone in the Mist". It's a credit to the band that literally all of these recordings were of a high quality but that somehow hasn't translated into a slew of high ratings from me at the Academy because I'm shockingly still yet to commit to an informed rating or review of any Shape of Despair release until today. Now would seem to be as a good a time as any though & what better way to begin than with a record that I've always felt would probably end up being one of my favourites in 2015's outstanding "Monotony Fields" fourth full-length.

With a lot of funeral doom metal, I find that my mood can play a role in my enjoyment of the music but that doesn't seem to be the case with Shape of Despair's stronger work. Their sound seems to transcend the limitations of the genre in many ways & you won't find a better example of that than with "Monotony Fields" which is ironically one of the least monotonous funeral doom releases you're gonna find. The word "atmospheric" is bandied around the metal scene far too often in my opinion but it would seem to be totally appropriate for Shape of Despair with the influence of genuine ambient music adding an additional layer of depth & emotional engagement. The glistening production job of Max Kostermaa beautifully highlights the depth & substance in this music too with the guitar tone being thick & full & the synthesizers washing over the listener with elegance & class so things never sound too dreary or repetitive. Both of the vocal styles of new male vocalist Henri Koivula (Throes of Dawn) are ridiculously effective with his ultra-deep growls proving to be truly cavernous while his cleans represent some of the highlights of an otherwise already stupendous creative effort. Female vocalist Natalie Koskinen (i.e. the ex-wife of former front man Pasi Koskinen) is used more sparingly but chimes in at the perfect moment to provide further melodic highlights to an already impressive soundscape the effortlessly pulls on my heart-strings, so much so that I felt close to tears at one point during this revisit which is no small feat these days.

The first half of the album is utterly stunning with three of the opening four songs (i.e. "Reaching the Innermost", the title track & "The Distant Dream of Life") sitting amongst the greatest metal music I've ever heard in my life. The re-recording of the title track from 2010's "Written in my Scars" E.P. (a bonus track on some releases) is equally as impressive & is a magical way to close out the release. The remainder of the material is all of premium quality too though with only "Withdrawn" failing to see me reaching for my more elite scores. This is funeral doom with hooks & they're as beautiful as you'll find in extreme metal with the keyboards of guitarist Jarno Salomaa playing a starring role throughout. As a long-time fan of ambient music, it's rare that you'll see that genre represented in such an accurate form on a metal record. It's also unusual to hear metal guitarists playing with such restraint in the interest of constructing more subtle yet fully realised atmospheric masterpieces. Shape of Despair just seem to have an incredible understanding of their chosen craft & the sound that they've created here amounts to significantly more than the parts that make it up.

I can't gush enough over "Monotony Fields" to be honest. It deserves a lot more attention than it's received over the years as it's often overlooked in favour of Shape of Despair's earlier works but is clearly playing in the same space in terms of class & quality. It's a rarified air that only the untouchable Esoteric have managed to reach with any sort of consistency & one that leaves me wondering how I could have left it so long to put pen to paper about an act that I've long admired. This is essential funeral doom metal that should be on every The Fallen member's playlist this month.

For fans of Doom:VS, Colosseum & Ea.

4.5/5

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2rSh9MnfQo9HmPLo2W5MBa?si=37a7ea3edc5040d9

Tracklisting:

01. Candlemass – “A Tale of Creation” (from “Tales of Creation”, 1989) [Submitted by UnhinderedbyTalent]

02. Crowbar – “No Quarter” (from “Crowbar”, 1993) [Submitted by Daniel]

03. Dread Sovereign – “Twelve Bells Toll in Salem” (from “For Doom The Bell Tolls”, 2017)

04. Acid Mammoth – “Black Rites” (from “Acid Mammoth”, 2017) [Submitted by Sonny]

05. Tarkus – “Tema para Lilus” (from “Tarkus”, 1972)

06. Black Flag – “Three Nights” (from “My War”, 1984)

07. Have A Nice Life – “There Is No Food” (from “Deathconsciousness”, 2008)

08. Black Sabbath – “Snowblind” (from “Vol. 4”, 1972)

09. Disincarnate – “Immemorial Dream” (from “Dreams of the Carrion Kind”, 1993) [Submitted by Daniel]

10. Samael – “I Love The Dead (666)” (from “Rebellion” E.P., 1995) [Submitted by Daniel]

11. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard – “Gaia” (from “Omnium Gatherum”, 2022)

12. Amenra – “Razoreater” (from “Mass IIII”, 2008) [Submitted by Sonny]

13. Cruciform – “I, To The Heavens Shall Lift My Eyes” (from “Atavism”, 1993) [Submitted by Daniel]

14. Decomposed – “Procession (of the Undertaker)” (from “Hope Finally Died…”, 1993) [Submitted by Daniel]

15. Benediction – “Forged in Fire” (from “Dark is the Season” E.P., 1992) [Submitted by Daniel]

16. Spectral Voice – “Sinew Censer” (from “Sparagmos”, 2024) [Submitted by UnhinderedbyTalent]

17. Nails – “No More Rivers To Cross” (from “Every Bridge Burning”, 2024)

18. Thou – “Narcissist’s Prayer” (from “Umbilical”, 2024)

19. Chat Pile – “grimace_smoking_weed” (from “God’s Country”, 2022)

I thought so Sonny but I can't see that I've rated it & don't have any recollection of it either so perhaps not. I'll put it on my (very long) shortlist for the future.

Currently stomping my foot to that Ponte del Diavolo album.  Absolutely classic Sonny here picking this one, you can always rely on him to find some gloomy European stuff.  Loving the darkwave style to her vocals on this.  Not so enamoured with Scald, those vocals will take a couple of listens I suspect.  That Nirvana track was a curveball and Rammestein also but both belong here in this playlist.

Here's my review:

I've never really given the prolific back catalogue of Los Angeles sludge metallers Thou as good a chance to impress me as I probably should have to tell you the truth. My early experiences with the band were a little hit & miss which is possibly why I haven't found the motivation to explore much further. 2008's "Peasant" sophomore album didn't offer me much in the way of appeal. I did quite like the follow-up in 2010's "Summit" but wouldn't say that it left me feeling entirely convinced either. It wasn't until I had the pleasure of experiencing Thou in a live environment in 2012 that I saw the real potential in them & at that point I committed to giving the Americans another chance. Somehow, that hasn't eventuated though which is one of the reasons that the impact of their brand-new full-length "Umbilical" has been so significant. It's well & truly taken me by surprise & has turned my position on Thou's importance to the global metal scene around in fairly emphatic fashion it has to be said.

"Umbilical" is an ultra-abrasive, super-intense beast of a metal record that wastes very little time with formalities. It's as immediate a release as you'll find, unleashing all of its charms right from the offset as it pulverizes the listener into submission through a succession of savage assaults on the senses. The highlights are nothing short of devastating with the doomier numbers like "Lonely Vigil" & closer "Siege Perilous" being particularly amazing. The incredibly vicious "I Return as Chained and Bound to You" is probably my favourite inclusion though & those three tracks make up a trio of some of the finest examples of the sludge metal genre you're likely to find with the excellent "House of Ideas" not sitting too far behind. The screamed vocals of front man Bryan Funck are the clear focal point & are some of the most ball-tearing & unapologetically violent I've ever encountered which gives the more brutal material an additional edge that sees it achieving the maximum impact available to it. Thou are very much a cohesive unit from an instrumental point of view though so it's hard to pick out individual performances. I will say that I particularly enjoy some of the drum fills which appear at key moments to signal yet another rise in intensity.

I wouldn't say that "Umbilical" is unanimous in its successes though. The tracklisting isn't consistently brilliant enough to achieve my more elite ratings. There's a bit of a lull towards the end of the album with the more accessible "The Promise" sounding a touch out of place, even if it does contain a decent chorus hook that eventually drew me in. It's followed by "Panic Stricken, I Flee" which is the only song that doesn't do much for me but thankfully Thou opted to follow these two which the gargantuan closer "Siege Perilous" which brings things back to where they should be before the end of the release. The rest of the record is rock solid & offers enough in the way of excitement to see me getting very close to pulling out a big score but not quite getting there in the end. Thou should be very proud of what they've achieved here though because, while "Umbilical" may not be the sort of record that you can throw on for any occasion, it serves its purpose extremely well i.e. it severs your limbs from you body & proceeds to beat you with them in a barrage of unrivalled aggression & distain.

For fans of Primitive Man, Indian & Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean.

4/5

I look forward to seeing how it's stood the test of time & what some of our other members think of it.

Aged like fine wine as far as I'm concerned! Wonderful, filthy sound, fine melodies and enchanting atmosphere that keeps calling you back for more and more revisits. I even like the cheesy intro (what can I say, I have to admit that I am fond of cheap 90s synths way too much :-)) I'll be on the lookout for the 2015 CD re-release, containing Paradox and some live tracks.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2rSh9MnfQo9HmPLo2W5MBa?si=8c258823c9cc46b2

Tracklisting:

01. Solitude Aeturnus – “Beyond…” (from “Beyond the Crimson Horizon”, 1992) [Submitted by Daniel]

02. Cathedral – “Frozen Rapture” (from “Soul Sacrifice” E.P., 1992) [Submitted by Daniel]

03. Tiamat – “Undressed” (from “Clouds”, 1992) [Submitted by Daniel]

04. Death SS – “Terror” (from “…In Death of Steve Sylvester”, 1988)

05. Sacrilege – “Father Time” (from “Turn Back Trilobite”, 1989)

06. Ash – “Midnight Witch” (from “Midnight Witch” single, 1971)

07. Flower Travellin’ Band – “Satori Part I” (from “Satori”, 1971)

08. Bongzilla – “Cannonbongs (The Ballad of Burnt Reynolds as Lamented by Gentleman Dixie Dave Collins)” (from “Dab City”, 2023)

09. Dystopia – “Sanctity” (from “Human=Garbage” E.P., 1994) [Submitted by UnhinderedbyTalent]

10. Ten Ton Slug – “Mogore the Unkind” (from “Colossal Oppressor”, 2024) [Submitted by UnhinderedbyTalent]

11. Burning Witch – “Warning Signs” (from “Crippled Lucifer”, 1998) [Submitted by Daniel]

12. The Sins of Thy Beloved – “The Flame Wrath” (from “Perpetual Desolation”, 2000)

13. Shape of Despair – “Angel of Distress” (from “Angel of Distress”, 2001) [Submitted by UnhinderedbyTalent]

14. My Dying Bride – “Gather Me Up Forever” (from “The Thrash of Naked Limbs” E.P., 1993) [Submitted by Daniel]

15. meth. – “Compulsion” (from “SHAME”, 2024)

16. Triptykon – “Goetia” (from “Eparistera Daimones”, 2010) [Submitted by UnhinderedbyTalent]

17. diSEMBOWELMENT – “The Tree of Life & Death” (from “Dusk” E.P., 1992) [Submitted by Daniel]

A Spotify playlist I've made based on my Trail of Tears favorite tracks list, though Disclosure in Red is not on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5PumWxcuPRl0sgAGqglkTt

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2rSh9MnfQo9HmPLo2W5MBa?si=eae70d0ffb59456e

Tracklisting:

01. Frayle – “Darker Than Black” (from “1692”, 2020) [Submitted by UnhinderedbyTalent]

02. Trouble – “The Beginning” (from “Run To The Light”, 1987)

03. Black Sabbath – “Electric Funeral” (from “Paranoid”, 1970)

04. Randy Holden – “Fruit & Icebergs” (from “Population II”, 1970)

05. YDI – “Get Out” (from “Black Dust”, 1985)

06. Flower Travellin’ Band – “Kamikaze” (from “Kamikaze” single, 1971)

07. Black Space Riders – “Black Part 1: Space is Back” (from “Black Space Riders”, 2010)

08. Los Natas – “Hombre de Metal” (from “Nuevo orden de la Libertad”, 2009)

09. Orange Goblin – “Round Up The Horses” (from “Thieving From The House Of God”, 2004)

10. Tad – “Nipple Belt” (from “God’s Balls”, 1989)

11. Culted – “Brooding Hex” (from “Oblique to All Parts”, 2014)

12. Sorrow – “Insatiable” (from “Hatred & Disgust”. 1992) [Submitted by Daniel]

13. My Dying Bride – “The Return of the Beautiful” (from “As The Flower Withers”, 1992) [Submitted by Daniel]

14. Anathema – “…And I Lust” (from “The Crestfallen E.P.”, 1992) [Submitted by Daniel]

15. Couch Slut - “The Donkey” (from “You Couldn’t Do It Tonight”, 2024)

16. Bad Luck Rides On Wheels – “Le livre du ciel et du monde” (from “Semper Eadam”, 2020) [Submitted by UnhinderedbyTalent]

17. Thou – “I Return as Chained & Bound to You” (from “Umbilical”, 2024)

18. Civerous – “Geryon (The Plummet)” (from “Maze Envy”, 2024)

US doom masters Pentagram would record this early stoner metal anthem some time in 1973. Just listen to those blues rock-inspired stoner riffs, psychedelic clean sections & Jimi Hendrix influenced lead solos! Filthy stuff!

This morning we examine the birth of one of doom metal's biggest names with Pentagram's "Bias Studio Recordings" demo being released on 22nd March 1973. It contained this classic doom anthem:

I had a sneaking suspicion that this might be right up your street, Daniel.

The latest offering from My Dying Bride, "A Mortal Binding" is really good. Check that one out.

Yes it was. Ben & I were obsessed with the figurines. Me in particular.

Just revisited this album and my thoughts remain unfazed by time. By now it should be no surprise that I value melody over sheer brutality in my music and Maze Envy is a solid balance of the two elements. By incorporating more doom elements into a death format means that Civerous play some solid grooves and instrumental leads. The structure is pristine by allowing the album to grow from shorter songs at the beginning, to longer, drawn out doom metal during the second half and creates a real sense of growth and development. That it to say, the long songs at the end of this album are more than justified.

Production can be a hit or miss call with some of the pummeling death metal during the first half coming as being just a little too overwhelming. But when it comes to death doom metal in 2024, Civerous are doing it in a way that was much different than I was expecting, but more than thrilled to give a chance.

4/5

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2rSh9MnfQo9HmPLo2W5MBa

1. Buzzov•en - "Crawl Away" (from "…At A Loss", 1998) [submitted by Vinny]
2. Solstice - "Only the Strong" (from "Lamentations", 1994)
3. Hamferð - "Hvølja" (from "Men guðs hond er sterk", 2024) [submitted by Sonny]
4. Oromet – “Diluvium” (from “Oromet”, 2023) [submitted by Daniel]
5. Om - "Unitive Knowledge of the Godhead" (from "Pilgrimage", 2007) [submitted by Vinny]
6. Church of Misery - "I, Motherfucker (Ted Bundy) " (from "The Second Coming, 2004) [submitted by Sonny]
7. The Vision Bleak - "Chapter VIII: The Undying One" (from "Weird Tales", 2024)
8. Plaguewielder - "At Night They Roam" (from "Covenant Death", 2021) [submitted by Sonny]
9. Acid Mammoth - "Atomic Shaman" (from "Supersonic Megafauna Collision", 2024)
10. Grey Skies Fallen - "No Place for Sorrow" (from "Molded by Broken Hands", 2024)
11. My Dying Bride - "A Starving Heart" (from "A Mortal Binding", 2024)
12. Altar of Betelgeuze - "Echoes" (from "Echoes", 2024) [submitted by Sonny]
13. Nightfell - "The Swallowing of Flies" (from "A Sanity Deranged", 2019) [submitted by Vinny]
14. Solitude Aeturnus – “Mirror of Sorrow” (from “Into The Depths Of Sorrow”, 1991) [submitted by Daniel]
15. Hell - "Gog" (from "Hell II", 2010)

This otherwise good song is totally ruined by Lars Eikind's cleans sound awkward and more overly dramatic than melancholic:

Here's my review:

English doom/death legends My Dying Bride had thoroughly blown Ben & I away with their first two releases "Symphonaire Infernus Et Spera Empyrium" & "As The Flower Withers". In fact, their 1991 "Towards The Sinister" demo was really strong too so I had extremely high hopes for their next record as a teenager back in 1993. The band's experimentation with the incorporation of violin & gothic elements had proved to be a master stroke so the expectation around what they'd deliver us with next was certainly very high. Perhaps My Dying Bride's label & management could feel that excitement because they opted to deliver us a short three-track taster in order to tide us over until the arrival of the classic "Turn Loose The Swans" album later on that year. "The Thrash of Naked Limbs" E.P. would land eight months before that spectacular game-changer & it'd only see my passion for the burgeoning doom/death scene rising to fever pitch.

"The Thrash of Naked Limbs" E.P. contains just the three tracks across its eighteen-minute duration, two of which take the form of their signature doom/death metal sound with the other being something a little different for My Dying Bride. The production job on the two metal songs isn't perfect with the rhythm guitars sounding a little wishy washy to my ears & the violin coming across as a tad artificial too. Thankfully though, the riffs are as crushing as we've come to expect from a My Dying Bride release with Aaron's iconic death growls being in full effect. There are some subtle differences from the band's debut album on show here. The guitar tone is starting to head away from the filthy death metal graveyard it had resided in previously &, despite the production issues, the overall package just seems to be a little more polished & professional. The violin parts that permeated "As The Flower Withers" aren't quite as prominent here either as they play more of a supporting role than they do the thematic protagonist we were presented with on some of the band's stronger works to the time. I'd suggest that there isn't quite as much undiluted death metal included in this material either. It's a little more consistently doomy than the earlier releases were.

The E.P. kicks off with the title track which is generally regarded as the strongest inclusion of the three. Interestingly, I'm gonna go the other way & say that it's the track that I connect with the least. Don't get me wrong, it's still a very strong piece that borders on being a classic in its own right but I just don't think it quite gels as well as My Dying Bride's most transcendent & timeless material. Easily the most divisive song is the dark ambient piece "Le cerf malade" that splits the two metal numbers & I have to admit that I've always found it to be the highlight of the record. Admittedly I'm a big ambient music fan & this piece absolutely nails the atmosphere it sets out to explore. In fact, I'd suggest that any ambient artist worth their salt would be drooling over this track to be honest. Closing doom/death anthem "Gather Me Up Forever" goes pretty close to equaling it too. It's the doomier of the two metal songs & doesn't taint its more beautiful & melodic doom moments with chuggier mid-paced riffage as much as the title track does so there's not a hint of filler here with every piece offering the listener a significant artistic & atmospheric pay-off.

"The Thrash of Naked Limbs" doesn't get quite as much attention as its more highly regarded predecessors but I have a big soft spot for the more mature & refined composition that predicted the direction the band would soon take & this saw it making just as big an impact on my life. In fact, I've tended to think of the E.P. as My Dying Bride's strongest overall work to the time & this revisit has only strengthened that feeling even though there's very little between the three proper releases. This is not only an essential My Dying Bride record but it's an essential release for the doom/death subgenre overall. It rightfully stands alongside the band's finest work & should have Paradise Lost, Anathema & Novembers Doom fans frothing at the mouth.

4.5/5

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2rSh9MnfQo9HmPLo2W5MBa

1. Whores - "Tell Me Something Scientific" (from "Ruiner", 2011) [submitted by Vinny]
2. Gaul - "Megalodon" (from "Gaul", 2011) [submitted by Sonny]
3. Great Falls – “Old Words Worn Thin” (from “Objects Without Pain”, 2023) [submitted by Daniel]
4. Motherslug - "Stoned by the Light" (from "The Electric Dunes of Titan", 2017)
5. Häxenzijrkell - "Part 2: Von Zeit und Form" (from "Urgrund", 2022) [submitted by Ben]
6. Mortiferum - "Faceless Apparition" (from "Disgorged From Psychotic Depths", 2019) [submitted by Sonny]
7. Rapture - "Nameless" (from "Songs for the Withering", 2002)
8. Fange - "Césarienne au noir" (from "Perdition", 2024)
9. Saint Vitus - "In the Asylum" (from "Die Healing", 1995)
10. Black Boned Angel - "Supereclipse II" (from "Supereclipse", 2003)
11. Dopelord - "Scum Priest" (from "Children of the Haze", 2017) [submitted by Vinny]
12. Sempiternal Deathreign - "The Spooky Gloom" (from "The Spooky Gloom", 1989)
13. Cathedral – “Reaching Happiness, Touching Pain” (from “Forest of Equilibrium”, 1991) [submitted by Daniel]
14. Kowloon Walled City - "Gambling on the Richter Scale" (from "Gambling on the Richter Scale", 2009) [submitted by Vinny]
15. Mesmur - "Refraction" (from "Chthonic", 2023) [submitted by Ben]
16. Memento Mori - "Lost Horizons" (from "Rhymes of Lunacy", 1993)

No need to be sorry. Every music listener will find certain albums / styles more compelling than others. It would be boring if everyone had the exact same tastes.

I really enjoyed the Altar of the Stag track you submitted and the Dyatlov Pass Incident has always intrigued me, so that is an album I definitely have on my list to dig into.

It's weird one alright (the incident - not the track).  Currently listening to Dark Histories podcast and the episode about Dyatlov as it happens.

Here's my review:

Dallas-based epic doom metal masters Solitude Aeturnus really surprised me with their 2006 "Alone" sixth full-length when Ben selected it for The Fallen feature release status some time ago. I'd previously allowed the band to pass me by but that record ticked all of my boxes & saw me claiming it as a genuine doom metal classic for the ages. Since that time I've always intended on exploring the rest of Solitude Aeturnus' more highly celebrated releases & thought I'd take this opportunity to kick that exercise off with their debut full-length "Into The Depths Of Sorrow" which is generally regarded as one of the elite examples of the niche subgenre overall.

In many ways "Into The Depths Of Sorrow" is the quintessential epic doom metal release in that it perfectly embodies the sound that the tag was originally created to label. All of the subgenres calling cards are here. Crushing doom riffs? CHECK! A strong classic heavy metal influence? CHECK! Theatrical power metal style vocals? CHECK! Soaring, shredtastic guitar solos? CHECK! A generally epic atmosphere? CHECK! I can't deny that the album is everything it said it would be on the tin & if that description sounds like something that'd appeal to you then you won't be disappointed but it did take me a couple of listens to get fully into for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I'm a much bigger doom fan than I am a heavy metal one & the heavy metal component is particularly prevalent here with those riffs being pretty standard heavy metal fodder & nothing particularly exciting so I find myself waiting around for the doom to return which it inevitably does & with devastating effect too. There's obviously a lot of Candlemass influence on show as this was Solitude Aeturnus' first full-length & Candlemass were, of course, the creators & clear leaders of the epic doom movement so there are clear similarities in the way the two bands go about their craft but the area that Solitude Aeturnus fall down in as far as that comparison goes is in the guitar solos as Edgar Rivera & John Perez aren't quite as virtuosic in their capabilities. Thankfully, the general quality of the song-writing is very strong & the vocals of future Candlemass, Concept of God & Tyrant front man Robert Lowe are exceptional which has gone a long way to seeing me crowning Solitude Aeturnus as my favourite band from the epic doom movement overall regardless.

The tracklisting kicks off in very solid fashion indeed with the short intro track "Dawn of Antiquity (A Return to Despair)" building the atmosphere nicely before the first proper song "Opaque Divinity" kicks in & wastes no time in flexing its muscles. It's followed by "Transcending Sentinels" which is clearly the least impressive track on the album in my opinion but is still pretty decent. The remaining five songs are all very strong indeed though & round out a particularly consistent album with no real blemishes. The reason I don't see "Into The Depths Of Sorrow" competing with "Alone" for bragging rights as my favourite epic doom metal release any time soon is that it doesn't contain as many genuine classics. The utterly mind-blowing "Mirror of Sorrow" is the clear highlight of the album & is frankly one of the best examples of the subgenre I've experienced to date but none of the other material comes close to matching it with the brilliant doom passages regularly having their impact offset a bit by some flatter heavy metal chug riffs. It's a shame really as I think there was a lot of potential for another classic release here if a bit of quality control had been employed.

At the end of the day though, I can't be too critical as "Into The Depths Of Sorrow" is still an impressively consistent first-up effort from one of the leaders of the movement. In fact, I'd go so far as to suggest that it's eclipsed all but "Alone" & Candlemass' classic "Nightfall" album in reaching my personal top three for the subgenre overall which is quite an accolade when you consider the areas of improvement I highlighted above. The experience has certainly left me wondering whether Solitude Aeturnus have managed to top their debut over the course of their next four records so I've penciled a couple of them in for exploration in the not too distant future. In the meantime though, "Into The Depths Of Sorrow" should be essential listening for all of you Candlemass, Solstice & Isole fans out there.

4/5

Had the time to get through this playlist today on my morning walk.  I still have no idea of the attraction of Sunn O))) (sorry Sonny) and I listened to all 14:59 of that track.  It is just not my cup of tea.  Also had to skip Iron Man (those vocals) and The Gathering (a bit too rocky and again the vocals grated).  I have come to the conclusion that Wino's voice actually grates on me nowadays and so I had to skip The Obsessed track also.

Thankfully there was still lots to keep me happy on the list.  Standouts were Dolorian, Crowbar, Goatsnake, Godthrymm, High on Fire and Saturnalia Temple.  Good work Sonny. 

Thanks Vinny. Drone metal is a hard sell, with even it's most ardent followers recognising that it isn't for everyone and Sunn O))) are no exception, so no apologies required. I'm not a fan of Iron Man myself, but I feel it is incumbent upon me to showcase all aspects of the Fallen, despite my own preferences. I wasn't sold on Goatsnake either, to be honest. I have always been a fan of Wino's "cigarettes and whiskey" voice, so I have enjoyed the preview tracks from the new Saint Vitus album.

I gave Khanate an honest try but as Sonny alluded to in his review, I wasn't able to make it fully through. I would have gotten through the whole thing if I didn't run out of time at work yesterday, but I have zero interest in picking it back up or restarting it from the beginning to try and get the full experience. I can see why it would resonate with people as I saw what they were going for with the vocals, but man, really not something for me at the end of the day. So I'll refrain from rating that one, it's very far from my wheelhouse. 

As we have got to know each other's tastes, I would have been very surprised if you had come out in favour of Khanate, Xephyr. They are definitely not for everyone and I would never hold it against anyone who didn't much care for them, even though I absolutely love them. Drone metal is an acquired taste at the best of times and Khanate are by no means an easy listen, even in drone circles.