October 2025 Doom Metal Dominion: "The Fallen" Playlist - Metal Academy Radio
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2rSh9MnfQo9HmPLo2W5MBa
1. My Dying Bride - "Love's Intolerable Pain" (from "A Line of Deathless Kings", 2006) [submitted by Sonny]
2. High on Fire “Blessed Black Wings” (from “Blessed Black Wings”, 2005) [submitted by David]
3. Monolord - "The Bastard Son" (from "No Comfort", 2019) [submitted by Vinny]
4. Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou - “Ancestral Recall” (from “May Our Chambers Be Full”, 2020) [submitted by David]
5. Conan - "Dying Giant" (from "Horseback Battle Hammer", 2014) [submitted by Vinny]
6. Coffinworm – “Sympathectomy” (from “IV.I.VIII”, 2014) [submitted by David]
7. Ophis - "Temple of Scourges" (from "Spew Forth Odium", 2021) [submitted by Sonny]
8. Windhand - "Tanngrisnir" (from "Grief's Internal Flower", 2015) [submitted by Vinny]
9. Messa - "Reveal" (from "The Spin", 2025)
10. Horn of the Rhino - "Weight of Coronation" (from "Weight of Coronation", 2010) [submitted by Vinny]
11. Convocation – Portal Closed (from “Ashes Coalesce”, 2020) [submitted by David]
12. Within Temptation - "Enter" (from Enter, 1997) [submitted by Andi]
13. Völur - "Es wächst aus seinem Grab" (from "Disir", 2016) [submitted by Sonny]
14. KVLL - "Blood to the Altar" (from "Death//Sacrifice", 2020) [submitted by Vinny]
15. 16 – “Summer of ‘96” (from “Dream Squasher”, 2020) [submitted by David]
16. Mercy - "Pain of Golgatha" (from "Witchburner", 1985) [submitted by Sonny]
17. Ahab - "Old Thunder" (from "The Call of the Wretched Sea", 2006)
Here are some thoughts / notes on this month's playlist:
1. My Dying Bride - "Love's Intolerable Pain" (from "A Line of Deathless Kings", 2006) [submitted by Sonny]
I picked up a copy of "A Line of Deathless Kings" recently and I think it has become my favourite MDB album. It is one of their least theatrical-sounding and doomiest albums, which is always going to gain favour from me. The main riff on "Love's Intolerable Pain" is a fucking beast and may be their best ever.
2. High on Fire “Blessed Black Wings” (from “Blessed Black Wings”, 2005) [submitted by David]
I am a fan of HoF's stonerised sludge and their black-hole-collapsing sound seldom hits harder than on the title track to their third album. There is massive compression on the track, but I think it works in the tracks favour here, making it even more gravitationally massive. Oh, and those fucking drums man... awesome.
3. Monolord - "The Bastard Son" (from "No Comfort", 2019) [submitted by Vinny]
I've been a big fan of Monolord since 2015's "Vaenir", but must admit that "No Comfort" is one of my least favoured of their releases. Fortunately this isn't down to the opening track which is featured here, which is great (as are a couple of others), but is down to a serious drop off in the middle of the album that drags it down as a whole. This I like very much, though, a slab of what I like to call "trve doom".
4. Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou - “Ancestral Recall” (from “May Our Chambers Be Full”, 2020) [submitted by David]
I have only very recently checked this album out and thought ERR added a great new dimension to Thou's stonerised sludginess that played a little differently to their usual fare, giving them an even more desperate and emotionally polarised edginess.
5. Conan - "Dying Giant" (from "Horseback Battle Hammer", 2014) [submitted by Vinny]
Absolutely bowel-shaking, droney sludge from their first EP that sounds utterly crushing.
6. Coffinworm – “Sympathectomy” (from “IV.I.VIII”, 2014) [submitted by David]
Abrasive and ascerbic sludge that leans heavily into the genre's hardcore roots. Delivers a damn good savaging.
7. Ophis - "Temple of Scourges" (from "Spew Forth Odium", 2021) [submitted by Sonny]
This album was actually my AOTY for 2021 and it still holds up really well, I think. A hulking monster of peak death doom songwriting.
8. Windhand - "Tanngrisnir" (from "Grief's Internal Flower", 2015) [submitted by Vinny]
I am always glad for any excuse to put up Windhand tracks on these playlists, so thanks Vinny for this one. Quite hooky, despite its inherent heaviness. Windhand are the yardstick for female-fronted stoner doom metal.
9. Messa - "Reveal" (from "The Spin", 2025)
After beginning with a cool bluesy slide guitar intro, "Reveal" soon 'reveals' itself to be one of the heaviest and most dynamic tracks on Messa's latest with a driving main riff and a hyper-distorted solo. Great stuff all round.
10. Horn of the Rhino - "Weight of Coronation" (from "Weight of Coronation", 2010) [submitted by Vinny]
A slow and hulking piece of sludgy doom that has a grungy, bluesy vibe to it. Very nice, kind of like AiC meets Crowbar.
11. Convocation – Portal Closed (from “Ashes Coalesce”, 2020) [submitted by David]
I am a big fan of this album and have a vinyl copy on my shelf, so David is preaching to the converted with this one. Closing track of the album, it is an instrumental that goes from heaving funeral doom to a calm and meditative post-metal conclusion, as if the turgid turmoil of the album finally achieves a peaceful resolution.
12. Within Temptation - "Enter" (from Enter, 1997) [submitted by Andi]
I think this perfectly illustrates the divergence in our metal tastes Andi. This sort of symphonic / gothic bombast does absolutely nothing for me other than bring to mind some kind of Andrew Lloyd Webber musical.
13. Völur - "Es wächst aus seinem Grab" (from "Disir", 2016) [submitted by Sonny]
I picked up on these Canadians after a recommendation, from where I don't recall, but I am glad I did. They are a three-piece featuring Lucas Gadke, bassist of Blood Ceremony, on bass, vocals and keys. This is the droney, doomy instrumental opener to their 2016 debut EP, which features a fantastic bit of violin playing from Laura Bates. I love this.
14. KVLL - "Blood to the Altar" (from "Death//Sacrifice", 2020) [submitted by Vinny]
I notice that Vinny has picked this for his October Fallen feature and on the strength of this track I am looking forward to getting to grips with it and hopefully managing to rustle up a review at some point.
15. 16 – “Summer of ‘96” (from “Dream Squasher”, 2020) [submitted by David]
Angry and belligerent nihilistic-sounding sludge, as we have come to expect from the L.A. foursome. You pretty much know what you are getting with 16 and they deliver it here once more.
16. Mercy - "Pain of Golgatha" (from "Witchburner", 1985) [submitted by Sonny]
An early vehicle for drummer Messiah Marcolin. Yeah, that is right, Messiah (in those days known as "Eddie") was drummer for these swedish doomsters alongside his stint as vocalist. A quite basic mid-eighties doom sound derived from Trouble, Saint Vitus et al with Eddie's trademark vocal style. Even though he is not quite as bombastic here as in Candlemass. he still manages to stamp his mark all over this, although guitarist Andrija Veljaca contributes a really nice solo too. If you like a bit of 80's trad doom then "Witchburner" is definitely worth checking out.
17. Ahab - "Old Thunder" (from "The Call of the Wretched Sea", 2006)
I love me some Ahab and don't need much excuse to trundle out some of their early death / funeral doom magnificence. This is from their superb Moby Dick-themed debut and is as crushing as that old albino cetacean himself.