The New Bands Thread
This is something I've been considering for a bit now, so I think I'll give it a go, anyway I'm gonna kick off with Serpent, the second album from French sludge/doom duo Blóð. The duo comprises vocalist /bassist Anne Nouk (aka Anna W.) and Ulrich Wegrich, longtime member of Bordeaux black metallers Otargos, on guitar and drum programming.
The band were formed in 2018 in Paris and their self-titled debut was released in 2020.
They sound like a cross between Cult of Luna and Subrosa with a bit of black metal influence to add some edge and extra menace. Their occult theme is served by an almost ritualistic building of atmosphere, rooted in unease and dread.
So to Serpent, released February 10th 2021 on Malpermesita Records via Bandcamp (link below the video). I currently have it sitting quite comfortably in my Top Ten Fallen Albums of 2021 list at the year's halfway mark:
Bandcamp page:
Another band formed in 2018 has grabbed my attention this year. They are Portuguese death doom five-piece Sepulcros. Although the band are very protective of their personal identities - preferring to let the music speak for itself - I believe three of the members make up the death/black metal band Summon.
March saw the release of their debut album Vazio with it's striking Mariusz Lewandowski cover art. I submitted a track from it, Magno Caos, for the June Fallen playlist. The album is filthy-sounding old-school death doom that, at times, verges on funeral doom. From my review: "I always though Portugal was a nice sunny place, but Lisbon's Sepulcros have laid that belief to rest as there must be something very dark lurking there for the band to tap into in order to produce an album this dark-sounding, because what we have here seems to ooze up from unfathomed abyssal depths before exploding to the surface and covering everything with a pall of utter and impenetrably dark bleakness. In other words, ridiculously sublime old-school death doom that often borders on funeral doom, particularly on my favourite track, Magno Caos which should appeal to all Esoteric fans out there."
Though this isn't yet it, I believe that if these guys keep doing what they're doing and honing their craft they could yet produce a modern OS death doom classic album. Anyway give them a listen, I think they're worth your time:
The album's Bandcamp page:
https://sepulcrosdoom.bandcamp.com/album/vazio-atmospheric-death-doom-metal
Planet of the Dead hail from Wellington in New Zealand and style themselves as playing cosmic stoner doom metal. The four-piece formed in 2018 and in 2019 gained a support slot with Eyehategod which should give a clue to how heavy these guys are. They released their criminally-overlooked, self-titled debut album in early 2020 and I for one really dug on it's supermassive stonerized doom riffs, it's throbbing bass lines and harsh, barked vocals. Their lyrical themes are based around classic science fiction and horror tales and did I mention it's exceedingly heavy?!
Members: Malcolm McKenzie - Guitars, Mark Mundell - Vocals, Kees Hengst - Bass, Dion Harris - Drums.
Now here in 2021 they have a new album in the pipeline. Pilgrims is due for release on July 23rd and features eight more tracks of sci-fi-themed, pummelling stoner doom (well at least if the two preview tracks, Escape from Smith's Grove and Directive IV are anything to go by).
Here's the Robocop-featuring video for Directive IV:
So Phyllomedusa aren't the only frog-loving metalheads out there. They have some competition from a one-man, toad-licking stoner from Bristol in England known only as Froglord. His debut EP, The Froglord Cometh, was released in May of 2020, quickly followed by a full-length entitled Amphibian Ascending, released in November on Oakland's The Swamp Records.
Another EP followed in February of 2021, this one entitled Save the Frogs, it actually has a serious ecological message with tracks like Ecocide and Take Action and, of course, Save The Frogs with it's thought-provoking lyrics
"So we stand on the razors edge, here at the brink of collapse,
Balancing upon the precipice, let not your judgment lapse.
200 species have all gone extinct,
In the last 40 years, lost before you even blinked.
We should consider that frogs are indicators of,
The health of the ecosystem, the land they dwell upon.
So much more than a conservation tool, but also integral too,
A way of life and survival, without them we shall fall.
Now here in July, Froglord has unleashed his second full-length, The Mystic Toad. It's not as serious lyrically as Save the Frogs, being a concept album telling the story of an invasion by an alien race who launch their attack by trying to burn The Amazon forest. The Amazon however, is where The Froglord lives and he fights back by summoning the Lovecraftian Ancient One's from across The Void to defeat the invaders. Finally he retakes his place on his throne and warns the Human Race that they too must take heed of his powers and leave his home free or perish. The Mystic Toad is a groovy, sludgy hunk of stomping stoner metal that is not merely a gimmick release. Sure it has some fun samples and doesn't take itself too seriously as far as subject matter goes, but this is still a solid chunk of metal that should appeal to the less poe-faced metalhead looking for something fun to listen to.