The Fallen

Brief thoughts on this month's playlist:

1. Spirit Caravan - "Dead Love / Jug Fulla Sun" from "Jug Fulla Sun" (1999) [submitted by Sonny]
Spirit Caravan is a Wino-led trio that laces their stoner doom with acid. This is my favourite track from their debut and is one of my all-time top stoner metal tracks.

2. Anathema - "Radiance" from "Eternity" (1996) [submitted by Daniel]
Builds really effectively to a Comfortably Numb-style guitar solo climax.

3. Worm - "Empire of the Necromancers" from "Foreverglade" (2021) [submitted by Ben]
Heavy as fuck blackened doom from one of last year's great albums.

4. Cult of Luna - "Cold Burn" from "The Long road North" (2022)
It's CoL doing what they do and doing it supremely well. Quality atmo-sludge no more no less.

5. Crowbar - "Like Broken Glass" from "Broken Glass" (1996) [submitted by Daniel]
It's Crowbar doing what they do and doing it... What? I've used that one already? OK, but you know what I mean yeah?

6. Lethian Dreams - "Shades" from "Red Silence Lodge" (2014) [submitted by Ben]
I really like this album - I have a CD digipak with a nice message and signed by Carline Van Roos that I bought from Bandcamp when it was released This is a gorgeously melancholy track with terrific vocals from Carline that eventually explodes towards the end.

7. Internal Void - "Utopia of Daze" from "Standing on the Sun" (1992) [submitted by Sonny]
This is one of the great unheralded early 90's Sabbath-influenced trad doom albums and Utopia of Daze is my favourite track from it. I finally tracked down an original CD copy recently on Discogs from a guy in South Africa and it was worth every penny!

8. Melvins - "Vile" from "Ozma" (1989) [submitted by Sonny]
Melvins are one of those bands who baffle me with how they can go from ridiculous to sublime seemingly at will. This is a sublime moment and one of my favourites from the US sludgelords - what a brilliant crawling, creeping riff this is.

9. Converge & Chelsea Wolfe - "Blood Moon" from "Bloodmoon: I" (2021) [submitted by Daniel]
The Fallen Album of the Year for 2021 is well represented by this track which beautifully illustrates the strength of this collaboration and the contrast between the two protagonists.

10. Khazad-dûm - "Transmuted" from "Hymns from the Deep" (2020) [submitted by Ben]
If you are a fan of the LoTR books or movies then you will recognise exactly what Khazad-dûm are aiming for - to use funeral doom to recreate the atmosphere of the dwarven mines from whence the band get their name, a task at which they have been supremely successful and no more so than on this brilliant track. Another criminally underappreciated album from the last couple of years.

11. Candlemass - "The Well of Souls" from "Nightfall" (1987)
A genuine classic of epic doom from the Swedish masters with Messiah in full flow. Epic doom doesn't get much beter than this!

12. Swallow the Sun - "Keep Your Heart Safe From Me" from "Moonflowers" (2021)
A real heartbreaker from one of the more emotionally-charged albums in metal.

13. Abandon - "Pitch Black Hole" from "The Dead End" (2009) [submitted by Sonny]
It kind of came out of nowhere and blew me away this one. A mix of sludge and funeral doom that really hits the spot for me.

14. Windhand - "Woodbine" from "Soma" (2013)
I fucking love that uber-fuzzed guitar tone on this album and Dorthia's washed-out vocals suit it just brilliantly. One of the best female-fronted doom metal albums out there.

15. My Dying Bride - "A Doomed Lover" from "Songs of Darkness, Words of Light" (2004) [submitted by Ben]
My old pals are back on the playlist! Still, this is MDB at their best - fortunately Aaron Stainthorpe puts in a quite restrained vocal performance that doesn't overdo the ham. Builds really nicely too.

16. Ufomammut / Lento - "Infect Two" from "Supernaturals - Record One " (2007) [submitted by Daniel]
The January Fallen feature was pretty much universally praised by the membership and with damn good reason too. Black hole-density metal fused with space rock aesthetics for some truly mind-blowing astral projection.

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

1. Dawn of Solace - "Erase" from "Flames of Perdition" (2022)
2. Penance - "A Wayfarer's Tale" from "The Road Less Travelled" (1992) [Submitted by Sonny]
3. Neurosis - "Through Silver in Blood" from "Through Silver in Blood" (1996) [Submitted by Daniel]
4. High On Fire - "Return to NOD" from "Death is This Communion" (2007) [Submitted by Sonny]
5. Mournful Congregation - "As I Drown in Loveless Rain" from "The Monad of Creation" (2005) [Submitted by Ben]
6. Mansion - "Traitor's Dirge" from "Altar Sermon EP" (2015)
7. Counting Hours - "To Exit All False" from "The Will" (2020) [Submitted by Ben]
8. Thou - "Inward" from "Magus" (2018) [Submitted by Sonny]
9. Space Coke - "Bride of Satan" from "Lunacy" (2022)
10. Deathbell - "The Stronghold and the Archer" from "A Nocturnal Crossing" (2022) [Submitted by Sonny]
11. Paradise Lost - "Gothic" from "Gothic" (1991) [Submitted by Daniel]
12. Konvent - "Pipe Dreams" from "Call Down the Sun" (2022) [Submitted by Ben]
13. Messa - "Serving Him" from"Close" (2022) [Submitted by Ben]
14. Inter Arma - "The Survival Fires" from "Sky Burial" (2013)
15. Ahab - "The Hunt" from "The Call of the Wretched Sea" (2006) [Submitted by Daniel]

One other thing - am I the only one who thinks that cover is creepy as fuck?

Nope. It's genuinely squeemish.

When people talk of atmospheric metal releases they usually point to atmospheric sludge or atmo-black albums and it is true, these can both conjure up marvellous atmospheres. I particularly enjoy the natural world atmospherics of atmospheric black metal, be it the icy coldness of bands like Paysage d'Hiver and ColdWorld, the sweeping highland majesty of Saor or the awe-inspiring cosmic metal of Darkspace or Mare Cognitum. However, nothing expresses the atmosphere of the most fundamental forces of the natural world, such as heaving tidal forces, than funeral doom. At it's best it is overwhelming and implacable, either smothering or sweeping away all that stands before it in the same way that lava flows or tidal waves are capable of doing. German four-piece Ahab and their debut album The Call of the Wretched Sea, based on the novel Moby Dick by Herman Melville from whence they get their name, is one of the great albums for summoning up the sensation of being out on the deep ocean and it's immense tidal forces, along with the interaction of Ahab with it's most huge and implacable denizen, the white whale Moby Dick himself. As we all know, Mastodon released their classic Leviathan album two years prior, but the fact that they both draw on the same source material is the only real connection and I don't think Leviathan had any influence on Call of the Wretched Sea at all. The Mastodon album is a straight-up narrative of storytelling whereas Ahab's aims for a more immersive and overwhelmingly tactile experience.

Funeral doom metal is not really for the impatient and will most likely always be a niche genre, particularly with the modern world's obsession with instant gratification and ADHD-like impatience in it's junkie-like hunt for that next dopamine hit. However, for those willing to invest the time and to surrender themselves to it's all-pervasive heaviness, funeral doom is ultimately one of the most rewarding of metal genres. Call of the Wretched Sea is one of the greatest examples of why and is one of the absolute peaks of funeral doom metal in my opinion. There is a genuine sensation while listening to this that forces way beyond our ken or ability to control are at large and that ultimately men are at the whim of these vast, unknowable forces. Whilst listening to this and indeed any truly great funeral doom, I feel like it registers on a physical level and can almost feel it's ebbing and flowing within my own bloodflow, such is the power of this music for me.

Despite being over an hour in length Call of the Wretched Sea never gets dull or overly repetitive as there is more than enough going on to keep things interesting, but it is never hurried and the tracks are allowed the time to develop in a natural and organic way. Funeral doom gets a reputation for being monolithic and eschewing riffs for huge chords, which can certainly be true, but here there are definitely some great riffs, albeit they are exceedingly slow, smothering, and crushingly heavy - check out the riff to The Sermon, it is basically an ultra-slow, mega-heavy sea shanty. Keyboards are used fairly subtly, but they add an extra layer to the already thick atmosphere that increases the cloying nature of the music and adds to the sensation of being dragged down to a watery grave in the lonely isolation of the vast and unforgiving ocean. Daniel Droste's subsonic growl further adds weight and sounds like some Cthulhian elder crooning into a drowning man's ear to just let go and surrender to the ocean's lure.

This is not just one of my favourite funeral doom albums, but one of my favourites of any genre, metal or otherwise and stands as testament to sheer unadulterated heaviness and almost palpable atmospherics.

5/5 classic status.

Yeah, "Bloodmoon: I" was my The Fallen Release Of The Year too. It grew on me so much with each successive listen which is a sign of its depth & character. It just oozes class, particularly the way it starts & finishes.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2rSh9MnfQo9HmPLo2W5MBa?si=78f70c3da15e4626

There's a week remaining until we know which release earns itself the best cover of the year award for each clan. As I did last year, I'll be rating every cover for my clans, and I'll probably do The Guardians as well (they have the most consistently great covers in my opinion).

I've just finished rating all The Fallen releases, and it doesn't actually take very long to run a filter in Releases (you can even exclude covers you've already rated) and then rate the ones you like. I encourage you all to do the same so we get enough votes for the result to be somewhat "accurate".

It seems we might get a runaway winner for The Fallen?

Converge & Chelsea Wolfe - Bloodmoon: I

While the album is definitely a genuine collaboration, it does seem to be more of a metal album than Chelsea Wolfe would normally produce, so feels like Converge were the dominant side of the partnership with their music being tempered by Chelsea's presence rather than being an equally divided recording. This is no bad thing and I'm guessing this was the natural way for the album to come about, without worrying about ego and  preciousness, the music coming first.

From the opening track, the almost eight minutes of Blood Moon, it is apparent that Chelsea Wolfe's gothic darkwave influence acts as the perfect temper for Converge's withering intensity, providing the moments within the music that allow it to breathe and offer some introspection rather than merely deploying relentless aggression which, for me personally, is a big plus as I find the sustained intensive aggression of metalcore and mathcore to be insufferable most of the time, but these gentler, more reflective parts provide contrast and context to the whirling maelstrom and make it much more effective as a result. Don't be misled though, there are still plenty of great riffs and metal moments - I'm particularly fond of the riff towards the end of Coil as the track peaks from the extended build-up. Chelsea's influence can also be felt on the crawling, Soundgarden-ish Flower Moon which also has a great riff and crunchy guitar sound as it ramps up the intensity for a real stand-out track. Flower Moon is followed by Tongues Playing Dead which sounds more like I imagine Converge to usually sound and, I must confess, if the whole album sounded like this track then I would struggle with it. Lord of Liars is similarly intense, but the presence of Chelsea Wolfe's clean vocal and the whirlwind guitar work make this a far superior number.

Anyway I have no intention of producing a track by track breakdown, suffice it to say that Bloodmoon:I provides far more variety and interest than I originally expected and although I certainly wouldn't say it's a perfect album, the protagonists, despite coming from very different directions, work well off one another and have combined to produce an album that should appeal to a large cross-section of fans of metal and more mainstream taste alike.

Solid 4/5, has potential to push itself up to a 4.5 with subsequent listens.

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

Tracklisting:

1. Trouble - "The Skull" (from "The Skull", 1985) [submitted by Daniel]
2. Novembers Doom - "The Pale Haunt Departure" (from "The Pale Haunt Departure", 2005) [submitted by Ben]
3. Lake of Tears - "Ominous One" (from "Ominous", 2021)
4. Slomatics - "Futurian" (from "Estron", 2014) [submitted by Sonny]
5. OM - "Unitive Knowledge of the Godhead" (from "Pilgrimage", 2007)
6. Erdve - "Smala" (from "Savigaila", 2021) [submitted by Sonny]
7. Divide and Dissolve - "Oblique" (from "Gas Lit", 2021) [submitted by Sonny]
8. Katatonia - "Without God" (from "Dance of December Souls", 1993) [submitted by Daniel]
9. Memento Mori - "The Monolith" (from "Rhymes of Lunacy", 1993)
10. Bongzilla - "Sundae Driver" (from "Weedsconsin", 2021)
11. Portrayal of Guilt - "Possession" (from "CHRISTFUCKER", 2021)
12. Gorge - "Nokomis" (from "Land Bridge" 2019)
13. Spaceslug - "Osiris" (from "Time Travel Dilemma", 2017)
14. Messa - "Da Tariki Tariqat" (from "Feast for Water", 2018) [submitted by Daniel]
15. Swallow the Sun - "This House Has No Home" (from "Moonflowers", 2021) [submitted by Ben]
16. Ilsa - "Nasty, Brutish" (from "Corpse Fortress", 2018) [submitted by Sonny]
17. Shape of Despair - "Reflection in Slow Time" (single, 2021) [submitted by Ben]
18. ISIS - "Celestial (The Tower)" (from Celestial , 2000) [submitted by Daniel]
19. Tyiptykon - "Aurorae" (from "Melana Chasmata", 2014) [submitted by Ben]
20. Spiritus Mortis - "The God Behind the God" (from "The God Behind the God", 2009) [submitted by Sonny]

Welcome, Deadxxy! It would be interesting to see which clan(s) you plan to choose instead of just The Fallen. Anyway, please feel free to introduce yourself in the Introduce Yourself forums and maybe even share a bit of your life in this thread: https://metal.academy/forum/23/thread/1047 (unless you wanna keep it private of course). If you're feeling up to writing album reviews (which you can in the site), there are clan challenges for you to work on if you're up to earning a 4th clan. You can even create your own public lists compiling some of your favorite releases or albums suitable for a list. There are also monthly Spotify clan playlists to help you find good tracks from your clans whether you've heard them before or just discovered them. And finally, we have monthly feature releases for you to listen to and discuss with the other MA members, and if you're in the mood to contribute to the playlist track suggestions and feature release submissions, ask Daniel and he can add you to the rosters. Have a good metal time here!

1. Hooded Menace - The Tritonus Bell
   
2. Converge & Chelsea Wolfe - Bloodmoon: I
3. Papangu - Holoceno
4. Cult of Luna - The Raging River
5. The Ruins of Beverast - The Thule Grimoires
6. The Flight of Sleipnir - Eventide
7. Worm - Foreverglade
8. Ophis - Spew Forth Odium
9. Unto Others - Strength
10. Dvne - Etemen Aenka

The slower tempos that are tradition in doom metal are surprisingly absent on Rapture's debut album. They feel more like rock grooves then metal ones. It makes guitar leads like the one on "This Is Where I Am" sound not too far off from classic Iron Maiden riffs! That being said, the instrumentation and the composition's do have more in common with the MDM subgenre as they incorporate plenty of polyphony between the death metal howls of the vocalist, and the pretty guitar leads. I would say texturally this record goes down super smooth; it has its formula and Futile are going to show everything that they have! 

I think that the fundamentals are solid, but do have a bit of an independence issue. The percussion is fairly solid in the mixing, but occasionally loses some of its momentum when it goes into autopilot on "While The World Sleeps". As for the bass, it is there, but again, independence from the rhythm guitars would have been more tasteful. A lot of doom metal records have a habit of falling into routine and never deviating away from that routine for long periods of time (see my Monolithe II review). Rapture do have some variety in their music, making it memorable during the last two tracks "Someone I (Don't) Know)" and "(About) Leaving). And more than likely helped popularize this style of gothic doom before Swallow the Sun.

7/10

Thoughts on the December's playlist's tracks:

01. Krux - "Black Room" (from "Krux", 2002)
Krux were one of Leif Edling's bands from outside of Candlemass Black Room is the opener on the first of their three albums and what a calling card it is. Love this track.
4/5

02. Crowbar - "The Lasting Dose" (from "Sonic Excess in Its Purest Form", 2001) [submitted by Daniel]
I have never had anything to do with Crowbar so I don't know how typical this is, but this really kicks vast quantities of ass.
4/5

03. Light Field Reverie - "Dreamwalker" (from "Another World", 2020) [submitted by Ben]
Contrary to popular belief I am not hard-wired to hating anything and everything even remotely gothic related so it may come as a shock when I say I found this track quite delightful, even though I am no fan of the album from which it comes.
3.5/5

04. Moanaa - "Inflexion" (from "Embers, 2021)
Pretty nice expression of the tension between the serenity of post-metal and the aggression of atmospheric sludge metal. There are bands who do this better, but it's not bad at all.
3.5/5

05. Haddock - "Captain Wolfe's Journey" (from "Captain Wolfe's Journey to the Center of the Sea", 2016) [submitted by Sonny]
Great, high-energy stoner metal from an underrated band.
4/5

06. Monolord - "The Siren of Yersinia" (from "Your Time to Shine", 2021) [submitted by Sonny]
Monolord have returned to some kind of form with Your Time to Shine, despite still not recovering to Vaenir's level of awesomeness, and this is my favourite track from the album.
4/5

07. Grief - "Come to Grief" (from Come to Grief, 1994) [submitted by Sonny]
Filthy, greasy and depraved sludgy doom metal that is exactly as it should be. When it kicks in it has a killer riff too.
4.5/5

08. Boris - "Huge" (from "Amplifier Worship", 1998)
Boris yet again supply the soundtrack to the end of the world.
4/5

09. Void of Silence - "Farthest Shores" (from "The Sky Over", 2018) [submitted by Ben]
I am a big fan of Italian doom and am already familiar with this album which is very solid indeed. This is a great track of mournful doom that may not be as crushing as some, but has a gorgeous atmosphere.
4/5

10. Adrift For Days - "The Leech" (from "The Lunar Maria", 2010) [submitted by Daniel]
Kind of cocky-sounding, bluesy stoner metal that smells of whiskey and cigarettes.
4/5

11. Saint Vitus - "Mystic Lady" (from "Hallow's Victim", 1985) [submitted by Daniel]
What can you say about Saint Vitus? One of the coolest guitar tones in metal and one of the most revered and iconic bands in the doom scene for good reason.
4/5

12. The Flight of Sleipnir - "Thaw" (from "Eventide", 2021) [submitted by Sonny]
The best track from one of my favourite's new album. Flight of Sleipnir deserve to be huge with their blackened vocals and memorable doom riffs. Is there such a thing as viking doom metal?
4.5/5

13. Ba'al - "Sepia" (from Reverence EP, 2019)
Chugging and throbbing sludge metal with a great riff. Not the greatest mix, but I love this track all the same.
4/5

14. Ophis - "Default Empty" (from "Spew Forth Odium", 2021) [submitted by Ben]
Superb example of melodic death doom. Sounds like MDB would if they omitted the gothicky bits and just stuck to doom.
5/5

15. My Dying Bride - "The Crown Of Sympathy" (from "Turn Loose The Swans", 1993) [submitted by Daniel]
Look, I really like the riffs but the sub-Hammer Horror theatrics that begin halfway through just makes me want to shout out "He's behind you!!" they are so pantomime-like. Please see previous track for how this style of death doom should be done.
3.5/5

I really enjoyed this one as it was much more complex and ethereal than the common sludgy/stoner album, propped up by a fantastic performance by Sara Bianchin and more jazzy influences like the always welcome sax solo in "Tulsi". While they don't necessarily riff as hard as other bands in their field, that's not necessarily Messa's focus, with most of my enjoyment coming out of the slower, more layered sections with a beautiful chord structure that gives Feast for Water an exquisite but still eerie sound. The overall theme of this album is properly supported the whole way through and while it does get a bit boring during tracks like "White Stains" and "The Seer", I appreciate the sound Messa are trying for. The guitar licks and melodies hearken back to old jazz and blues rhythms and are sufficiently dirty in their own right before transitioning into more sludgy distortion. A really cool pick for a feature and one that I'll have to go back to. 

4/5

I think you've turned all of us into Warning fans over the past couple of years. 

Yeah I didn't mind Warning prior to that but my last revisit blew my mind. The vocals were always a problem for me but they finally clicked & WOH!!!!! "Footsteps" isn't one of my top few songs from the album (I prefer the title track, "Bridges" & "Echoes" which are pretty much perfect examples of the doom metal genre in my opinion) but it's still a damn fine piece in its own right which is a clear indication of the consistent strength of the album overall.

In an attempt to get all the monthly features finished off, I picked a horrible day to listen to this one. Turns out long, drawn out Doom riffs don't pair well with a tight Friday deadline at the office. I'm looking forward to going back to this one in a better headspace because the sheer length of repetitiveness of it made me completely zone out, even though I recognized that there are some fantastic riffs in here. It's cool how great Doom bands are able to take such simple but effective riffs and stretch them out to enormous lengths thanks to great songwriting and progressions. Just wasn't the day for it, so my score will reflect that for now. 

3.5/5

My latest YouTube video has an important description that explains my departure from gothic/doom metal, and then some. Please check it out:

My grand move out of gothic/doom metal commences tomorrow. Farewell, doom......

This is my favourite Fallen playlist to date. There's some serious hardcore Fallen-related shit going on here. OK, so I'm not crazy about that lengthy first track and the Lacuna Coil track is lightweight, but everything else really hits the mark with me. Well done all round to everyone involved. Here's some brief thoughts on each of the tracks:

01. Midnight Odyssey – “Dawn-Bringer” (from “Biolume Part 2: The Golden Ord”, 2021)
2.5/5 Summoning do doom metal - not really for me and way too long.

02. Body Void – “Wound” (from “Bury Me Beneath This Rotting Earth”, 2021)
4/5 Crushing, droning sludge metal that's like a bull elephant standing on your balls. Strongly reminiscent of Burning Witch (which is a good thing).

03. Melvins – “Isabella” (from “King Buzzo”, 1992)
4/5 Ah Melvins. Never has a band made me feel more schizophrenic - sometimes fucking unbearable, sometimes sublime, but never boring! This I like.

04. Lacuna Coil – “Senzafine” (from “Halflife” E.P., 2000)
2.5/5 I had a spell around the time of this EP's release of having quite a thing for Lacuna Coil, but as I have descended further down the extreme metal rabbit hole the less this sort of commercial metal appeals. Nowadays this doesn't sound all that different to Evanescence which, just to clarify, is not a good thing.

05. Earth – “Thrones & Dominions” (from “Phase 3: Thrones & Dominions”, 1995)
4.5/5 Really love this. Like some kind of primordial soundtrack to the formation of planets. I'm not at all as familiar with Earth as I know I should be.

06. King Woman – “Celestial Blues” (from “Celestial Blues”, 2021)
4/5 Will have to check this album out for sure. Shoe-gazey, atmo-sludgy marvellousness.

07. Solitude Aeturnus – “The 9th Day: Awakening” (from “Through The Darkest Hour”, 1994)
4/5 Classic epic / trad doom from a band with a huge debt to Candlemass.

08. Pentagram – “The Ghoul” (from “Pentagram”, 1985)
4.5/5 Proper Sabbathian old-school shit? Fuck yeah!!

09. The Slow Death – “Famine” (from “Siege”, 2021)
4.5/5 Initially soaring, turning infernally subterranean, death doom that has a lot going on.

10. Black Lodge – “Dissonance” (from “Covet”, 1995)
4/5 Great track from a criminally overlooked album.

11. Esoteric – “Dominion Of Slaves” (from “The Pernicious Enigma”, 1997)
5/5 Yet another example why Esoteric are the greatest funeral doom band of all time. Unremittingly bleak and desperate doom metal just how I like it.

12. Vouna – “Vanish” (from “Atropos”, 2021)
4.5/5 Eigenlicht's Yianna Bekris proves (if proof were needed) that women can contribute more than just nice, ethereal vocals to extreme doom metal. If not for Skepticism this would have been my funeral doom album of the year (so far).

As much as I want to agree with Saxy here since we both had similar experiences of having to start this album over 3 or 4 times to get all the way through it, I think it's unfair to the Funeral Doom genre to have any sort of set-in-stone opinion after only one listen. I've always been one to rate fairly concretely after only one listen, which is something that I'm sure some other music fans despise, but I think there's a place for having an initial impression rating vs one that may fluctuate over time. If I don't want to spend 5 hours and 5 spins of an album to know that it's a 2/5 then I don't think that I should have to take that time. 

Although for Monolithe, it feels wrong giving this a score that may not reflect the potential I feel like this album has. It's one of those where I feel like playing the middleman between Saxy and Sonny because while I do have a hard time getting lost in most Funeral Doom albums, there have been plenty of releases from Bell Witch, Evoken, and Esoteric that have seriously captivated me. Monolithe II isn't one that instantly captivated me and, like Saxy, I found it to be pretty dull through and through despite enjoying the slightly more spacey atmosphere and the accordion features. It has almost zero standout moments hardly even dips below the general monotony apart from once in the beginning of the song and briefly at the 22-minute mark to attempt to build towards something. However, the atmosphere of it all also puts me Sonny's camp where the repetition is kind of the point and letting the music and feelings envelop you rather than expecting the composition to completely hold your hand. 

I think where I stand is that while I consider myself to be a pretty patient listener when it comes to all genres of Metal, the band should still have to put in some of the legwork to make their ideas compelling. While I enjoy putting together my own ideas for one album every once and a while, when it comes to a genre as crushing and repetitive as Funeral Doom, the albums that I find to be the best do a great job of having one or two tangible rewards hidden beneath the rubble that most listeners should be able to pick up on even during their first listen. The best one that comes to my mind is the transition portion between "As Above" and "So Below" during Bell Witch's Mirror Reaper, which even on my first listen made me shiver all the way down to my bones. I'm all for having to look deep within an album for its best qualities, but something has to be present in the first place to make me want to dig that deep. 

3/5

My thoughts on some tracks:

My Dying Bride – “A Kiss To Remember” (from “Like Gods Of The Sun”, 1996)

4.5/5. This mournful song of captivating grief is a playlist beginning to remember, especially since it will be the last Fallen playlist with my submissions (including this one), an unforgettable elegy of ethereal doom atmosphere, sounding close to the previous album with doomy lyrical balladry and being 7 and a half minutes long, the longest song of this album. Yeah, the songs in this album are in slightly more radio-friendly lengths, as opposed to the 10-minute monoliths from earlier albums.

Theatre Of Tragedy – “Forever Is The World” (from “Forever Is The World”, 2009)

5/5. I remember this to be the final song uploaded in my previous account (the one before SirZP) before my initial departure from my earlier epic melodic metal taste, so this was the sign that my time submitting Fallen playlist suggestions is over. And yes, it's the beautiful end to Theatre of Tragedy's journey, the title finale of their last album and the conclusion of their final concert performed exactly 17 years after their 1993 formation. Oh the memories from 5 years before the present! Those good poetic lyrics fit well for the end of that era, like an everlasting illusion of reality. This band's lead singer Nell Sigland can sing far better than a popstar like Miley Cyrus, whether back then or now. I nearly cried when those touching lyrics hit me again, though they may sound slightly flat. And yeah this is actual gothic metal, as opposed to my Theatre of Tragedy submission for last month that was basically an orchestral ballad, not sure what I was thinking. I miss this band, they may be gone, but forever is the world....

Saint Vitus – “Saint Vitus” (from “Saint Vitus”, 1984)

4/5. Well with my departure from Fallen playlist submissions that would indicate the possibility of leaving The Fallen, I definitely wouldn't plan on going to the beginning of a traditional doom band's career. This one sounds a bit punky for a doom song though, but that's probably because of the band sharing the scene with Misfits and Black Flag.

Paradise Lost – “The Last Time” (from “Draconian Times”, 1995)

5/5. This is the last song from Paradise Lost for me to submit to a Fallen playlist, this is..."The Last Time". Yet another excellent track, sounding similar to Metallica at the time, this time mixed with Depeche Mode the industrial drumming of Godflesh. As awesome as All That Remains' "The Last Time"!

Anathema – “A Dying Wish” (from “The Silent Enigma”, 1995)

4.5/5. Here's one more 90s death-doom song in the last Fallen playlist with my submissions, though this one isn't my own. Great one, Ben! This one continues the majestic fashion of the earlier parts of its album, retaining some aggression and adding thunderous upbeat riff-wrath similar to the prog-death style of Opeth at that time. Everything in the song from mellow and heavy is a great summary of the album style.

Draconian – “Stellar Tombs” (from “Sovran”, 2015)

5/5. I seemed to peak in early on my possible future departure from The Fallen when I severed my listening connection to this band and a few others besides my death metal departure in April. This is one of only a few Draconian songs I still love, being absolutely epic with tremendous melody, like h*lla f***ing deep! Wonderful...

Cult Of Luna – “O R O” (from “Vertikal II” E.P., 2013)

4.5/5. OK, just a heads-up, if I really do make my Fallen departure, sludge metal would probably be the one Fallen genre I'll still keep, because conventional sludge has some hardcore roots that would also form a genre I still enjoy, metalcore, and post-sludge is, more often than not, closer to the first part of its name. This one can almost act as a bridge between Eternal Kingdom and Vertikal, a standout to blow me the f*** away!

And finally, while I won't be doing anymore Fallen playlist submissions, I'll still be commenting on later Fallen playlists until I decide that my Fallen time is up. Enjoy my submissions while they're still here!

Here's my review. It was written many years ago, but I doubt I'd feel very different about it today.

It’s always difficult to write a review for a favourite album. Expressing how much music means to you in words can be a daunting prospect, as the thought of not doing an album justice weighs heavily on the mind whenever attempting it. Brave Murder Day is such an album for me and I hope that I manage to convey my adoration for it over the next few paragraphs. These Swedes had already impressed me greatly by the time I came across this treasure, with their debut full length album Dance of December Souls and the following For Funerals to Come EP both containing hauntingly atmospheric death doom metal, with fantastic melodies and passion-filled vocals. However, as much as I found their music to be moving and entertaining, there’s no doubt that it displayed some signs of immaturity, with less than tight musicianship on occasion and room for improvement in the way their tracks were structured. Taking all this into account, I figured Katatonia would be all the better for the experience, and that their next album would in all likelihood overcome these awkward moments and deliver something very special indeed. Little did I know that this next album would come very close to never eventuating at all, and how dramatically different it would be once it finally did.

After the success of Dance of December Souls, Renkse and Blackheim were not only struggling to find a stable line-up, but they were also finding it difficult to decide exactly where to take their sound. They had toyed with the idea of performing gothic rock with the Scarlet Heavens recording (eventually appearing on a split vinyl with Primordial) before ditching the idea and reverting back to their original sound. This indecision appears to have come to a head after the For Funerals to Come session in 1994, which led to these long term friends putting Katatonia on hold for an indefinite period of time. Blackheim used the sabbatical to explore other genres of metal, putting his energy into the black metal carnival that is Diabolical Masquerade (creating the amazing Ravendusk in My Heart in the process), and also taking part in a thrash metal band called Bewitched. Renkse on the other hand combined with Fredrik Norrman to form October Tide, recording Rain Without End before the end of 1995. It has to be said that October Tide’s debut album, which wouldn’t be officially released until 1997, is where the Brave Murder Day sound was really established, and one has to wonder whether Katatonia would have gone down this path at all had this short hiatus not taken place.

In early 1996, the duo reformed Katatonia and significantly brought Norrman into the fold. There was however one more issue they needed to deal with before getting down to business. Jonas could no longer perform the harsh vocals he was known for due to the extensive damage it was doing to his throat. They’d have to find a replacement vocalist and what better place to look than amongst your own country mates. In steps Mikael Åkerfeldt from Opeth fame. While the man may receive criticism from a growing number of Opeth bashers (as is the case with anything popular it seems), there’s just no doubt in my mind that Mikael is one of the finest vocalists in metal. His performance on Brave Murder Day may not demonstrate the extent of his capabilities, but the controlled anger and melancholy he brings suits the musical themes perfectly. Blackheim and Fredrik produce multitudes of sumptuous melodies throughout, but the other technique that they utilise to achieve their goal is repetition. These tracks have such a calming, hypnotic effect on the listener, despite the extreme despondency that this sound conveys. The album has influenced so many other bands (not least of all Finnish band Rapture) and changed the perception of what doom death metal is capable of. After all, there’s nothing romantic or gothic about Brave Murder Day. It’s mid paced, droning and raw!

Brave Murder Day’s title is taken directly from the first three tracks on the album, but there are six tracks in all totalling just over forty minutes. The first of these (Brave obviously) is the best of the lot in my opinion, being a ten minute classic built around constant rhythmic riffs and Mikael’s grief-stricken vocals. Murder, Rainroom and closer Endtime come awfully close to matching Brave and are all brilliant, but their lesser running times don’t quite allow them the room to outshine it. 12 stands out as having a slightly different structure to the rest, which isn’t surprising considering it’s actually a reworking of an earlier Katatonia track called Black Erotica, originally recorded for the W.A.R. Compilation Volume 1 for Wrong Again Records in 1995. There’s no question that it’s third track Day that causes the most controversy amongst fans of the band. This depressing little “ballad” was the first track to contain entirely clean vocals from Renkse and many consider his performance here to be a bit weak, despite the fact that he would take over full time clean vocals on all albums from this point onwards. While I agree that he would go from strength to strength with each subsequent album, I still think this track gives the album a much needed shift in intensity and his emotional, vulnerable style only adds to the melancholy.

One of the other things of note when discussing Brave Murder Day is that the album was originally released completely un-mastered. Why this happened is anyone’s guess (perhaps the band felt no need to tinker with the result) but it wasn’t until 2006 that Peaceville would re-release the album in mastered form for the very first time. I haven’t heard this updated version, but to be honest, I see no need to. The production on the original has nothing of note that needs adjusting and the organic sound of the instruments works in its favour rather than against it. The thing that does make the Peaceville release appealing is that it also includes the fantastic EP Sounds of Decay. This three track EP contains the only other material recorded with this line-up and therefore sits perfectly alongside Brave Murder Day, unlike the For Funerals to Come EP which is included on the Century Media version. That being said, both of these EPs can be found on the Brave Yester Days compilation (along with stacks of other rare and unreleased material), so there’s no real reason in my mind to upgrade from the original pressing of this classic album. In the end, Brave Murder Day is an album that all fans of depressive metal should own, regardless of which version you choose. It’s an album I can never get sick of and is thoroughly deserving of five stars.

5/5

My thoughts on some tracks:

Theatre Of Tragedy – “…A Distance There Is…” (from “Theatre Of Tragedy”, 1995)

4.5/5. Interesting how I felt like submitting a song that's more orchestral, but it still has the despair that can be found in gothic doom albums like this one. So beautiful yet depressive, with poetic lyrics from medieval English. Theatre of Tragedy was one of my favorite gothic metal bands from my earlier epic metal taste 5 years ago (and one of only few back then), and the lovely vocals of Liv Kristine are never to be dismissed. Her singing stirs up a scenario of a fairy held captive in a cage, hopelessly begging to be set free. Simply excellent, and could be a good song for when I'm dying in my bed. This is actual awesome gothic beauty, unlike the less serious emo sh*t. Her amazing voice can lead a wonderful choir! A beautiful soft song of enchantment...

Katatonia – “Relention” (from “Discouraged Ones”, 1998)

5/5. An incredible track with simple lyrics of emphasized despair ("I’m returning from something, to something"), as part of the lyrical theme of a lost search for hope. Worth listening to after checking out this month's Fallen featured release (the album before this one).

Saturnus – “Lost My Way” (from “Martyre”, 2000)

5/5. An awesome song of atmospheric death-doom! Enough said...

Sentenced – “Crumbling Down (Give Up Hope)” (from “Down”, 1996)

4.5/5. I've already given up on this band recently because of their earlier death metal sound, but I still revisit their gothic metal material. This is one of my favorite songs from its album Down, more nicely depressive than their previous transition album Amok. The vocals fit greatly for this band when moving to a more melodic sound. This is a d*mn amazing tune, and sadly, any possible chance of hearing more from this band is lost with the passing of founding guitarist Miika Tenkula. RIP... I'm still thankful for this song to love, probably more than Metallica.

Darkthrone – “Lost Arcane City of Uppakra” (from “Eternal Hails......”, 2021)

4/5. Oh it's that band, Darkthrone, part of black metal's second wave in Norway... The riff in the intro sounds so bad-a** like its from an alt-rock/metal band. It's good, but they seem to focus on raw brutality in the music and cover art more than actual production. A very nice banger, but anyone having listening to their previous album Old Star would be wondering what the f*** just happened. Very good, but some parts are a bit cr*ppy, and I'm still not into black metal, OK?!

Isis – “Hand Of Doom” (from “Sawblade” E.P., 1999)

4.5/5. This is from back when Isis had a more doomy sludge sound than their later post-sludge. This cover of a Black Sabbath classic is quite a doomy headbanger to please both fans of Isis and Sabbath. Horns up!

Bethlehem – “Allegoria” (from “Mein Weg”, 2004)

3.5/5. Not really one of the best songs in the playlist, but it's pretty great, I guess...

Septic Flesh – “Έσοπτρον” (from Έσοπτρον”, 1995)

4/5. Again with Septicflesh! Esoptron is one of the band's more doomy albums, while still having the usual symphonic death metal sound I've moved away from, along with programmed drums. Still a great song!

My Dying Bride – “The Forever People” (from “As The Flower Withers”, 1992)

4.5/5. This is more of an example of fast death metal with no gothic elements with fast tempo and wicked growls for a sinister mood. Good song but there they emphasize the death in death-doom. It's all just destructive death metal territory with nothing delicate. And yet it still fits well with this playlist's death-doom section....

I actually took sometime out to explore The Fallen playlist this month and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Great to see Wolvennest on there who are one my current preferred bands but also really enjoyed listening to some ISIS again.  The Melvins, COC, Bongzilla and Witchfinder General all worked for me to and I am liking The Body the more I listen to them.

I really didn't get on with The Gathering, just sounded weird like to styles of music mashed together and sounded terrible.  Beyond Dawn wasn't for me either.  I have experience of Big Brave before and I find them okay without the vocals.

Winning track was that Candlemass one though.  Must play that album later today.

If I am honest this release did at first have me more than a little torn. It is not that I do not enjoy Obliviosus, more that it takes such a monumental amount of effort to even begin to digest it that I do find myself somewhat fatigued by it after each listen. This draining effect I can put down to two factors. Number one, it is so emotionally wrought that you cannot fail to be engaged by the sorrow in this tragedy-soaked release. Secondly, it is such a vast record in terms of its influences that you do find the very fabric of its existence to be a much more detailed tapestry than the tags that get put against the release initially suggest.

Were an alien to land tomorrow and I played them his release I would probably describe it to them as follows. An album written on the scale of an atmospheric black metal album with a cacophony of sludge/post-sludge influences all over it, interspersed with some clear funeral doom (a la Bell Witch) in places – especially the opening track. I am not one usually too hot on the concept of genres/sub-genres but to describe this album without referencing thus would be a travesty.

Now, my individual take on this album (knowing its subject matter) is that the turgid nature of the tracks is a perfect representation of the artists personal battle with grief. Never having gone through a tragedy of the nature of what is described here I may well be quite far off the mark here; however, I do pick up a distinct sense of each track representing a differing stage of grief. Opening track O Brother is an angry yet confused sounding affair that cries out the soul of a person coming to terms with a loss they cannot quite process. In the complexity of this period of trying to process the situation anger takes the driving seat and what you get is a very personal insight into the human psyche during one of life’s true tests of a person’s resilience.

Second track Funus, sounds like a reversal of the opening statement and comes across as the artist trying to seek the positives from the life that is lost or to simply dwell (albeit temporarily) in a positive space. Assuming this to be a (Latin?) translation meaning funeral, the track feels like an attempt to give someone who has caused such obvious disruption to your life the best possible send-off still.

By the time track three rolls around we are back to the unenviable task of trying to process again, only this time the anger gives way to a more desolate and hopeless sound, like the inevitability of the situation simply cannot be challenged. This is one of the more draining tracks here. As an individual track it just comes across as so lost and bereft of hope it sticks with me perhaps more than its astray structure suggests it should do when balanced in the sum of all parts.

The final track here is probably one of the best closing tracks I have heard in a long time. It carries through the lost direction of the previous track initially but then slowly consolidates the emotion and energy back into the angry space the album began in, only this time taking that anger even further and giving it focus to what is a perfect culmination to the record. It incorporates so many elements during the opening ten minutes that it sounds like all the conflicting emotions and fathomless darkness are being positioned finally and to some degree accepted.

The reference to Neurosis that Daniel makes is perhaps the nearest comparator for the whole release I can think of. Whilst not identifiable as such consistently in the sound, the elements of Neurosis are present in the heart and soul that has been put into the record in terms of the writing and the delivery of this very personal and draining release.

5/5

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.

I've never listened to this album before and in all honesty, I'm not even sure if it is really a release that belongs in The Fallen. Sure there are the occasional nods to gothic and doom metal but this strikes me as far more of a progressive metal album and not exactly what I would look for in a Fallen release. In fact, especially in light of the vocals, I personally think this sounds like a heavier version of neo-prog outfits like Mostly Autumn and Magenta (both of who I am a fan of). That aside though, I really did enjoy this and it is more my idea of progressive metal than the Dream Theater-type technical stuff that seems to prevail within that genre. The vocals are fantastic, the songwriting is intelligent and interesting and the instrumentation and production are great. Despite what may seem apparent from comments I have made in the past, I do genuinely love progressive music, especially 1970's prog rock, and this has far more in common with those albums than, say, My Dying Bride or Tiamat. A resounding 4/5 from me.

So, finally managed to get some time to sit down with this month's Fallen playlist.

Some very brief thoughts:

01. Solitude Aeturnus – “It Came Upon One Night”
4/5 - Epic. I like these guys - surprised they aren't more popular.

02. Crowbar – “Existence Is Punishment”
3/5 - A little bit too alt. metal for my taste.

03. Sleep – “The Druid”
3.5/5 - OK, but not my favourite from Holy Mountain.

04. Moonspell – “The Hermit Saints”
2/5 - I've never liked Moonspell and this hasn't changed that.

05. Divide & Dissolve – “We Are Really Worried About You”
3.5/5 - OK, my interest is piqued. Will have to check out more.

06. KYPCK – “2017”
1.5/5 - No no no

07. Lake Of Tears – “The End Of This World”
2.5/5 - A gothic metal James Bond movie theme song.

08. Apostle Of Solitude – “Sincerest Misery (1,000 Days)”
5/5 - The best song from one of doom's great underrated bands. This is a fucking monster!

09. My Dying Bride – “It Will Come”
4/5 - Not heard this album - will have to check it out on the strength of this track.

10. Black Sheep Wall – “Ren”
3.5/5 Interesting - bit of a head-fuck. Gonna check out this album for sure.

11. Cult Of Luna – “Leave Me Here”
4/5 - A quality track as almost always from Cult of Luna.

12. Officium Triste – “Roses On My Grave”
4/5 - I actually rather enjoyed this despite it's gothic leanings.

13. Paradise Lost – “Medusa”
3.5/5 - I,ve never been that impressed with Paradise Lost. This is OK - nowt special

14. The Ruins Of Beverast – “Malefica”

4/5 - Great, despite the echoey beginning that was starting to do my head in just before it ended.

15. Sepulcros – “Magno Caos”

4/5 - Desperate and destructive sludge that flows like magma.

16. Esoteric – “Dissident”

5/5 - It's Esoteric. That should be recommendation enough for anyone!

GM were definitely doom metal on their first couple of releases, but moved away from doom to a trad metal sound certainly by the time of 2008's Iron Will album.

I really, really enjoyed this. I've found that I like the Gothic style of sound on the whole, but the way that certain bands choose to use it doesn't always hit me quite right. Dolorian is exactly how I've always wanted a slightly more Gothic inspired metal album to sound; it has a fantastic atmosphere that doesn't need to be absurdly heavy to leave an impact. Like Ben said it's a pretty nuanced album, with most of it sounding pretty similar in the end, but I never got tired of the repetition. I'll have to check out Voidwards because I'm definitely going to be coming back to this one. 

4.5/5

My thoughts on some tracks (including my suggested ones):

Tiamat – “Divided” (from “Prey”, 2003)

5/5. So here I am in a new world without any of that music from a brutal murderous Hell (you know which metal genre I'm referring to), which includes bands like the first two albums of Tiamat along with Hypocrisy and Samael (the latter being more of an industrial black metal band). I still remember this song from the band's later gothic metal era, and it has placed a sad yet pleasant touch into my heart whenever one of my relatives passed away or if I hear about a relationship breaking up, the latter being what this song is about, and kind of a fitting metaphor for my breakup from death metal. Those melodies truly feasted on my soul with the impressive deep vocals in this work of art that is one of my favorites from Tiamat. It's so perfectly expressive, yet I'm already turning away! Moments like the keyboard fiddling and climatic final chorus during the last couple minutes made me wanna reconsider my move out of death metal (which the band was for their first two albums) even though it's too late for mind-changing. The divorce theme fits great in this sad yet remarkable song. That's the gothic metal I like that I can find in other bands, though I miss the gothic metal of Tiamat. A super excellent song to play on both piano and guitar. I'll keep you in my memories, gothic Tiamat....

The Gathering – “Nighttime Birds” (from “Nighttime Birds”, 1997)

4.5/5. Now this is an atmospheric way to close off the metal part of The Gathering's discography, featuring Indian flute especially in that sample in the middle, followed by a slow soloing march. That's the last bit of heaviness you would ever hear from The Gathering.

Corrosion Of Conformity – “Psychic Vampire” (from “Corrosion Of Conformity”, 2012)

4/5. Normally, I'm not into stoner Southern sludge metal, but this song has some good points. Mike Dean's vocals are so underrated! Y'know, if we ever do include Southern Metal as one of the main metal genres but The Fallen having 6 genres is too much and we end up moving Southern Metal along with Sludge Metal and Stoner Metal into a new clan titled The South, Corrosion of Conformity would be a prime example of that clan. We'll see when we get to that bridge, but for now that's not really my style to hold...

Theatre Of Tragedy – “Storm” (from “Storm”, 2006)

4.5/5. This is a great gothic metal song to listen to. The male vocals are wonderful and the female singing is pretty, the latter being good inspiration for Delain whose debut came sometime after this Theatre of Tragedy album. I might be able to sing the male parts if I can ask one of my female friends in the outside world to sing the female parts.

My Dying Bride – “A Secret Kiss” (from “Macabre Cabaret” E.P., 2020)

5/5. I'm glad to submit this song as well, the usual death-doom can help you remember the band's great earlier era. I just realized I haven't done a review to the Macabre Cabaret EP, I should do that soon...

Isis – “Constructing Towers” (from “SGNL>05” E.P., 2001)

4/5. Interesting sequel to "Deconstructing Towers" from the Celestial album. Enough said!

What a great playlist this month guys, possibly my favourite to date. Some fantastic stuff on here, the only drop-off being tracks 6 to 8 and even those weren't too bad - I've always loved Christina Scabbia's voice, despite not being Lacuna Coil's biggest fan and even the Within Temptation track was OK. I was already familiar with a lot of the material, but the tracks by Corrosion of Conformity and Paradise Lost are new to me and require further exploration. I've also never listened to Sunn O)))'s Black One but the track Báthory Erzsébet is dark as f**k and I will now definitely be checking that album out. I will certainly keep this list saved on Spotify and will probably spin it up from time to time because it's just so good. Nice one!!

I've listened to quite a bit of Within Temptation thanks to stumbling upon them quite a few years ago thanks to my love of Nightwish at the time, but I never decided to go back and check out any of their albums prior to The Silent Force. In terms of female-fronted Symphonic Metal bands they've always seemed to have taken a backseat to their peers, especially since they weren't as operatic or theatrical as early Nightwish or as extreme and dense as Epica, opting for simple but effective songs that use symphonic elements as a backdrop rather than pushing them into the forefront. This is especially apparent with their debut release which is much more in line with Gothic and Doom Metal compared to any of their more modern albums with its moody piano, strings, and somber vocal performance from Sharon den Adel. Since Within Tempation have gone completely off the deep end with 2019 release Resist, Enter was honestly a breath of fresh air that gave me a nice perspective into a mediocre but interesting group that doesn't necessarily deserve to be brushed aside when talking about 2000's Symphonic Metal. 

Overall I enjoyed this album. Even though it's a bit draggy and plodding, I definitely prefer the Gothic Within Temptation compared to pretty much anything else they've done, save for a couple standout songs on The Silent Force. The harsh vocals are admittedly a bit much; guitarist Robert Westerholt doesn't exactly have the most compelling technique in the world, but they work well enough within the brooding atmosphere of the album and provided a nice contrast to Adel's vocals. Her vocals are a bit shaky throughout though, partially due to poor writing on certain occasions, but also due to it being a bit too sing-songy for how Gothic this album sounds. Even though nothing really stands out about this album, I still think it's a solid piece of symphonic-heavy Gothic Metal with a nice atmosphere and some decent replayability. It also really helped to paint the full picture about the evolution of Within Tempation's sound leading up to The Silent Force and eventually into the downfalls of Hydra and Resist. 

And hey, I think "Blooded" is a fine instrumental transition between "Grace" and "Candles". 

3.5/5

Happy 30th anniversary to the very first release of one of the true masters of death-doom! I still don't think The Horde clan is suitable for this release though, see this thread: https://metal.academy/forum/28/thread/689

I can't place exactly why, but I didn't care for this. After the 3rd listen it didn't even feel like one of those albums where I understand why I "should" enjoy it; there's just something about it that rubs me the wrong way. I think Daniel saying "For fans of Atlantean Kodex" is the best explanation I can give, because that band makes me feel the exact same way. There's something about the incessant, soaring lead vocals that just ruins the sound for me, even though the doomy chugs and softer acoustic sections are well written. I can't really say much more than that because I don't quite get why this is bouncing off of me so hard, but it just is. The back half of the album from "Blackthorne" on keeps me much more interested than the front half, although it's still kind of hard to sit through the 15-minute closer. I'll have to come back to this one in a few weeks or months to see if I'm still just clueless on what to think about this one. 

3/5

My thoughts on some tracks (including my suggested ones):

Tiamat – “Whatever That Hurts” (from “Wildhoney”, 1994)

4/5. This psychedelic gothic doom track starts off with strong guitar riffing that may be noticeable by Black Sabbath fans. Then it tones down to the calm without losing its punch. Great suggestion, Ben!

My Dying Bride – “For You” (from “Like Gods Of The Sun”, 1996)

4.5/5. Quite a more optimistically upbeat composition while still having the somber balladry My Dying Bride usually has. It remains another outstanding song with the help of the emotional vocals of Aaron. I don't know if I love this song or HIM's "For You" more. They're both great songs, though this MDB song is slower and that HIM song is more rock-ish with a bit of experimentation.

Paradise Lost – “Victim Of The Past” (from “The Plague Within”, 2015)

4/5. The guitar playing is in impressive aggressive territory, especially in the apocalyptic chorus with some of the fastest tapping and most furious growling ever by the band. That gives the song its own distinct identity compared to the others.

Katatonia – “Velvet Thorns (Of DrynWhyl)” (from “Dance Of December Souls”, 1993)

4.5/5. This is a 13-minute epic that marks the longest song ever made by Katatonia. Guitars slide back and forth through harmonies in uninterrupted hypnotic ambiance. Soon they pick up the pace with a small section of furious energy that's worth great headbanging, sounding a bit like old-school black metal. Then it's back to the slow death-doom, before ending with one of the most mystical keyboard-infused outros I've ever heard.

Cult Of Luna – “Wave After Wave” (from “The Raging River” E.P., 2021)

5/5. Another epic, doing exactly what the title says; hit you with wave after wave of massive flowing transcendence. An epic climax of weaving instrumentation fills up the last few minutes, keeping up the band's lucky album-ending streak.

In response to your enquiry Sonny, my original intention was to spread our feature releases around amongst every subgenre included in the clans but I decided that this approach wasn't working after putting out several features that received very little engagement (goregrind & Celtic metal for example). It also made no sense to be putting out as many niche subgenre releases as the more classic ones (e.g. gorenoise vs death metal). In regards to The Fallen, I got through all of the subgenres with the exception of funeral doom metal which was next on the list when I decided to rethink my approach. It's worth noting though that I didn't differentiate gothic death doom from your regular death/doom or epic doom from your garden variety of doom though. I actually never thought there was much reason to differentiate those until you recently raised the topic & it explained why I didn't get the expected engagement from you on one or two of the past features.

The next approach I tried was purely to encourage the discovery of new music. I was picking highly-regarded releases that hadn't been rated by any of our regular contributors (with the possible exception of Ben & I) & this saw engagement picking up with people investigating bands & releases outside of their usual comfort zones. I wasn't really paying all that much attention to which subgenre these releases were from though as long as the members were discovering new high quality music. I ended up abandoning this methodology once I saw that people like yourself & Xephyr who are so comprehensive in your ratings for particular subgenres were causing me to skip those altogether though.

Over the last couple of months I've changed it up again & are focusing on a) highly regarded & interesting current releases & b) a mixture of old classics & unheralded gems. I haven't been focusing on the subgenres of these releases all that much or whether they've been rated before or not. It's been more about presenting quality options for everyone to enjoy & I often choose releases that I haven't personally rated as I'm committed to rating all nine of the features each month. My own musical preferences aren't taken into account at all though (as seen by the recent power metal features).

As you can see, it's a very fluid process of improvement. I'm obviously open to everyone's feedback (as seen in the changes we've been regularly implementing in that regard) so if you'd like me to focus on particular areas then feel free to let me know (like you appear to have here).

I decided to check out a few of these this month after misplacing my flash drive that I use to listen to music at work. 

Bands I need to check out from this: 

More Draconian, great track. 

Old The Ocean, I only know their more modern stuff and they sound way better on this 2010 album from what I'm used to. 

That Warning album seems essential for Doom Metal, need to get around to it. 

Need to go back to last month's feature and check out Rosetta, impressive stuff. 

Isis' "The Mosquito Control" E.P. is one of the most underrated metal releases I've ever heard & is actually my favourite Isis record which is really saying something.

Interesting thoughts saxy. I actually think the idea of playing the two releases over the top of each other is a huge wank &, after careful consideration, I chose to rate the album on the individual disks alone as they totally blow me away without ever needing to layer them & that's the way the release comes on Spotify. I honestly can't remember what the layered version sounds like to tell you the truth but I completely agree with you that if the album was genuinely meant to be listened to in that fashion then surely it would have been released that way to begin with.

They are indeed sludge classics, but Mastodon has been within my knowledge the longest, not just in my playlist, but also when I heard a song from the Leviathan album, "Island" in a quick scene from the Pixar movie Monsters University that I watched when it first came out. Besides that, Leviathan is what I believe to be one of the most innovative albums in both progressive and sludge metal. So yeah, Mastodon for me! I'll add my vote along with yours, Daniel:

Leviathan - 1

Panopticon - 1

My thoughts on some of the tracks (including my suggested songs):

Officium Triste – “Your Eyes” (from “Giving Yourself Away”, 2007)

10/10. Perfect start to this playlist and the album this song was in! Officium Triste is one of a few death-doom bands I really love, and this song is a great awesome one of that genre. I don't have to find the meaning of the lyrics, the band tells it all! Some stories you don't have to see but hear, almost like a depressive demonic fairytale. This is the kind of death-doom, Anathema and My Dying Bride had in the early 90s but altered it in different directions. Well done, Officium Triste!

The Ocean – “Rhyacian / Untimely Meditations” (from “Precambrian”, 2007)

11/10 (not exaggerating). Another one of the greatest Fallen tracks ever! The vocals never detract and are instead dark and subversive enough to immerse you in. The bells, piano, and clean guitars stay comfy in the softer parts. Then the heavier parts with riffs and screams help organize the heavier side of progressive sludge. Shortly after the 6-minute mark, most of the atmosphere is decimated by what might be the f***ing heaviest moment in progressive metal, more chaotic than early BTBAM, who also released an amazing masterpiece album that same year. By the grace of The Ocean!!

Anathema – “Far Away” (from “Eternity”, 1996)

8/10. From Anathema's last metal album. Apparently, this stunning song is about letting go of fallen loved ones. Anathema was one of the earliest bands I've enjoyed to have at least a couple death-doom albums. I still can't believe they're now in a mix of prog/indie/electronic/classic rock. The heavier memories are now far away...

After Forever – “Beyond Me” (from “Prison Of Desire”, 2000)

9/10. Two of the most beautiful female symphonic metal vocalists unite early on in their careers! Sharon Den Adel's nice voice adds dark gloom. The beautiful melody tries to avert the darkness but falls into glorious defeat.

Moonspell – “Nocturna” (from “Darkness & Hope”, 2001)

7/10. Just a poppy song with good drive. OK, but not enough to discuss more.

My Dying Bride – “The Return To The Beautiful” (from “The Dreadful Hours”, 2001)

10/10. Another perfect song to end this playlist and the album this song was in! Re-recorded from As the Flower Withers, the epic is extended to over 14 minutes, but you know how the parts go. First part "The Silence" has the usual death-doom. In the second part "The Sadness", it soon descends into a sad funeral doom-ish dirge. Third part "The Lust" switches to a quick groove before slowing down back to the death-doom. Then in the fourth part "The Battle", the instrumentation collapses into the screaming sounds of war before starting a death metal battle. Fifth part "The Return" returns to that dirge and groove with Aaron narrating his last lines.

I do not object to the playlist order in any way, but if I could make a small change to the order, I would probably make the Witchfinder General and Saint Vitus tracks 5 and 6 and the Anathema and After Forever tracks 8 and 9 to fit in The Perfect Metal Album Storm (https://metal.academy/forum/23/thread/442).

As I come off my review of Incantation's Diabolical Conquest, we now find ourselves back in the more traditional form of death doom metal with My Dying Bride. And truth be told, I've never really cared all that much for My Dying Bride. There music has been tolerable and I don't mind at all if it comes up in a playlist or if it gets recommended to me, but something about them just doesn't stick with me.

And with The Dreadful Hours, I think I finally figured out what that Achilles heel was: the synths. I've heard a lot of synths used on metal albums in power metal and gothic doom over the last year, and the albums that does resonate with me are the ones with the inauthentic synthesizers. I know they are called "synths" for a reason, but the strings and choral arrangements don't match with... anything.

Which is a damn shame because the basic fundamental "doom metal" portions are really good. Take for example "My Hope, The Destroyer" as well as  "Le Figlie Della Tempesta". The rhythm and guitar work is solid, and truly spectacular during the dual melodic harmonies. These passages also allow for some adequate bass lines to be pronounced in the mix. It's very simplistic, but I can let it slide given the stylings we are dealing with.

But those synths...they take me out of the experience. One minute this album can be transcendent and I can be soaring amongst the clouds, forgetting everything quibble in the world. But as soon as those choirs hit, I'm immediately brought back to reality. I mean the craftsmanship on display is commendable and is worth hearing just for that, but for me, when I think of early 2000s gothic metal, with complimentary synths, I am going to have to stick with Green Carnation.

7/10

I very much enjoyed this one Daniel. I already knew that the Solitude Aeturnus, Draconian and Evoken tracks are amazing (I selected them for that reason), but the Cult of Luna track is just as incredible! I've not checked out the Julie Christmas collaboration album, but I sure will now. Monolord was pretty enjoyable too.

Probably the only tracks that didn't float my boat were Robots Of The Ancient World (have we heard enough bands with this Sabbath-cloning sound?) and Neptunian Maximalism (which just isn't my thing). Still, I'm happy to know what these bands are about now.

Good stuff!

OK so I’m gonna have to thank saxy profusely for leading me down this path because “Eons” has quite simply left me with my jaw lying on the ground over the last few days & has single-handedly proven the validity of the push to include some more modern feature releases. It’s an indescribably beautiful & gloriously intimidating 128-minute triple album that truly defies categorization. The most common labels attributed to it seem to be avant-garde jazz & drone metal but neither is a terribly good fit in my opinion. It’s easy enough to see why people want to go down those paths but this is a long way from a jazz release even though it consistently draws upon shared tools. It’s also not a metal release when taken holistically but a good portion of the material seems to borrow from that niche subgenre’s intimidating grandeur & there are certainly a few tracks that are a good fit for that tag. I’d throw in ritual ambient & traditional drone as equally strong components of Neptunian Maximalism's sound, particularly due to the consistent pulse that binds their noise-laden soundscapes & the extensive layering of Eastern-influenced sounds on offer, both of which see me often being reminded of Dead Can Dance although the link is more in the aesthetic than the overall sound. There are hints at krautrock in the celebration of experimentation here too. The more drone metal inspired works on the third record are where things come together in their purest & most gripping realization & I’d suggest that the four tracks it contains are very close to perfect. The more jazz inspired pieces don’t have quite the same effect but are just as intriguing from an artistic point of view.

"Eons" is a dark, brooding, cerebral & spiritually enlightening experience that seems custom-made for someone like me that likes to be challenged both artistically & emotionally by my music. It's interesting that the cover art is a pretty good graphical indication of what you can expect to find contained within actually. You’ll rarely find an album that more successfully takes the listener outside of their comfort zone & into an entirely new world. Just don’t expect that world to be as immediately welcoming as you might hope because the sheer breadth of this musical undertaking is not for the faint of heart. Neptunian Maximalism have conjured up a release that sounds very much like the soundtrack to a ritualistic human sacrifice. It will undoubtedly have you questioning whether you want to watch such an atrocity however you’ll struggle to look away as the process seems to hint at a spiritual transcendence that only exists in our dreams & fantasies. 

4.5/5

Track by track commentary:

01.    Melvins – “Hag Me” (from “Houdini”, 1993)
I am seemingly one of the few who thinks that sometimes Melvins are extremely overrated. When they are good they are very good, however and this track is a pretty damn fine slab of sludgy, stoner-influenced doom metal. 8/10

02.    Funeral – “This Barren Skin” (from “From These Wounds”, 2006)
Gothic-led death doom that I’m sure appeals to the vast hordes of My Dying Bride fans, but I find most of this stuff outside a few of the more classy acts, insipid and bland, this included. 4.5/10

03.    Theatre Of Tragedy – “Venus” (from “Aegis”, 1998)
See above, add cheesy synths and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast-style vocals, then divide by ten - awful. The metal version of Jim Steinman. Luckily, Spotify played an ad after this and that was preferable! 1/10

04.    Katatonia – “Saw You Drown” (from “Discouraged Ones”, 1998)
..and so to the “mighty” Katatonia. I appreciate they are one of the darlings of the doom scene and indeed they do have their moments, but I really don’t rate them as all that. This would be a good track if the singer didn’t sound so fucking uninterested. 6/10

05.    Tiamat – “Cain” (from “Prey”, 2003)
Is this an outtake from Sisters of Mercy’s Vision Thing album? I’m sorry, but you’re losing me here, in fact I’m beginning to question if I’m actually listening to a metal playlist at all because most of this, up to this point, sounds like bands who would rather be playing anything but metal. 5/10

06.    Cult Of Luna – “Ghost Trail” (from “Eternal Kingdom”, 2008)
I like Cult of Luna very much and this is a nice builder of a track from an album I am unfamiliar with. 8/10

07.    Down – “Ghosts Along The Mississippi” (from “Down II: A Bustle In Your Hedgerow…”, 2002)
Loo-sianna-swamp-mud-thick grooves of southern fried stoner metal from the guy who used to be in that Pantera. 8/10

08.    Elder – “Release” (from “Spires Burn/Release” E.P., 2012)
A lengthy stoner jam from one of the great exponents of the form. 8/10

09.    Reverend Bizarre – “The Devil Rides Out” (from “II: Crush The Insects”, 2005) [Submitted by Sonny92]
I guess I’m biased as this is one of mine and I love Rev Biz anyway, but this is classic heavy metal-based trad doom with goofy Hammer-style horror lyrics. 9/10

10.    Saint Vitus – “Born Too Late” (from “Born Too Late”, 1986) [Submitted by Daniel]
Shit, I fuckin’ love that Wino guitar tone. A molasses-thick, crawling riff and Wino’s whiskey-soaked vocals that hints at smoky back rooms in seedy back alley bars. Outsider lyrics that hark back to a time when metal was still an outlaw brand of music instead of the corporate whore it sometimes appears to be nowadays.10/10

11.    Gore – “Extirpation” (from “Hart Gore”, 1986)
A band I must confess to being completely ignorant of prior to this, but this I like. 8/10

12.    Winter – “Servants Of The Warsmen” (from “Into Darkness”, 1990) [Submitted by Sonny92]
Now this is what I really call death doom, classic old-school shit that has more than a passing relationship with death metal. A true classic of death doom and an album every metalhead should own. 10/10

13.    My Dying Bride – “Catherine Blake” (from “Songs Of Darkness, Words Of Light”, 2004)
Classic-sounding MDB from one of their most popular albums, with a nod to gothic horror tales. 8/10

14.    Couch Slut – “I’m 14” (from “Take A Chance On Rock ‘n’ Roll”, 2020)
Genuine hardcore-derived sludge that shows it’s punk origins as much as it’s metal roots. 7/10

15.    Void Of Silence – “Opus II: With No Half-Measure” (from “Criteria ov 666” (2002) [Submitted by Ben]
More gothic metal-influenced doom, but at least this sounds a bit less polished being based on black metal rather than death metal and as such feels rawer and more vital than that tired old path. 7/10

16.    Boris – “Blackout” (Pink”, 2005) [Submitted by Daniel]
As a more recent convert to Boris I am probably still in a honeymoon phase with the band, but that said this is still a fantastic short droney crawl showcasing their own particular brand of noise metal.

17.    Esoteric – “Rotting In Dereliction” (from “A Pyrrhic Existence”, 2019) [Submitted by Sonny92]
The masters of funeral doom hit it out of the park with last year’s A Pyrrhic Existence and this is that album’s second best track. Bleak, hopeless, savage and anguished, it combines funeral and death doom in a crushing heavyweight of a track that strips away any pretentions and leaves a raw and exposed soul. 9/10

18.    Cult Leader – “Sympathetic” (from “Lightless Walk”, 2015)
Another band I’m unfamiliar with, but I like their angry-sounding, hardcore-derived sludge if this is typical of them. 7/10

Came close to binning this playlist by track five, to be honest. Fortunately it improved steeply after that point and I found a couple of new gems to explore.

When I first came across Swallow The Sun I really, really enjoyed them, and they put on a great live show when I saw them in 2019, but as time as passed they started to drift to the wayside as I found other Doom and Death Doom bands that grabbed my attention. They still have a very unique sound even to this day though, with their Death Doom style leaning way to the Doom side and creating creepy and haunting atmospheres rather than suffocating and crushing ones. Their songs always had so much more depth thanks to the background strings and other slightly progressive elements and their confidence to really slow down their compositions with cleaner, melodic parts before transitioning back into the heavy stuff. 

The biggest problem I've found I have with Swallow The Sun is the sheer length of their albums and ideas, with most of their albums being a massive undertaking to slog through since their style, as refined as it can be, doesn't change a whole lot. They always seem to find new, little ways to add to their creepy atmosphere, but their Death Doom formula has pretty much remained the same old stuff. In this case, the same old same old turns into plodding monotony that I've seldom had the motivation to go back to. So, what does that mean for the 1 hour "EP" Plague of Butterflies?

The title track is obviously the focus, and it does a fantastic job of boiling down Swallow The Sun's style into one extended piece that touches on pretty much everything that lets them stand out. The transitions in and out of the more Death focused riffs are great, the overall atmosphere is haunting and mysterious, and the track progression through all its different movements is impressive, even though I didn't think it was very cohesive on my first listen. "Plague of Butterflies" is definitely a grower in my eyes, since there's so much song to get through. Even though it's technically broken up into three separate parts, it's not as clear-cut in where these begin and end, leaving the listener fully responsible for piecing this 35 minute mammoth together. Although their style can be incredible to listen to whenever it all comes together, Swallow The Sun have always been slightly wonky to me, with their harsh vocals not quite hitting the mark it feels like they should, and the clean vocals being extremely hit or miss, especially on this one. I've gone back and forth as to how much I truly enjoy this track, and I think I'm settling on a higher score than I initially thought just due to the amazing use of the strings and choir elements throughout, since it's so easy to have these elements come off as corny in Doom Metal like this. 

I do think that this 35-minute track is quintessential Swallow The Sun and probably their greatest release. It's a more succinct package that shows what Swallow The Sun does best rather than their other, even more extended works. The rest of the songs are so-so, pretty much just B-sides or maybe songs that didn't make the cut for New Moon at the time. 

4/5

Thoughts (Part Two):

12. Acid Bath – “Dr. Seuss Is Dead”

Another sludge band I can usually take or leave. I'll take this one - I especially like the thrashy tempo change. 7/10

13. 16 – “Candy In Spanish”

Angry-sounding sludge as a father hopes for a better life for his young daughter than the one he's had to endure himself. So actually quite a positive message, albeit tinged with regret and some bitterness, despite the aggressive tone of the track. 8/10

14. Tristania – “Beyond The Veil”

Sorry, but I truly cannot stand this symphonic shit, just sounds like Disney-metal to me. 2/10

15. The Ruins Of Beverast – “Surtur Barbaar Maritime”

Oh man, did I need this after that Tristania track! Proper doom metal that doesn't make me think of anthropomorphised, animated rodents! Blackened doom with an almost ritualistic slant. Superb stuff. 10/10

16. Colosseum – “Towards The Infinite”

I know I'm biased and this was one of my choices, but this shit is what I live for. What a sublime downer of an ending to the playlist. 10/10

All in all an enjoyable playlist - a couple of bands I will be exploring further, a couple of surprises, only one dud and some stone-cold classy tunes.