Sonny's Reviews
Brume are a doom metal trio from San Francisco with a sound that features thick, heavy riffs and vocals from singer/bassist Susie McMullan that have the soaring, ethereal qualities of singers like Dorthia Cottrell and Portishead's Beth Gibbons. Their releases are all inexplicably named after animals, this latest, Rabbits (following Rooster and Donkey) features five tracks, mostly spanning the 8 to 10 minute mark.
It kicks off strongly with the albums two heaviest tracks, Despondence and Scurry. Both are doom-laden monsters yet still have a kind of catchiness that makes them memorable. Blue Jay starts as a gentler affair, with piano and strings, but then loads on the heaviness to a peak before fading again to a closing calm. The album's longest track, Lament, begins as another restrained affair, with a feel of bands like the aforementioned Portishead, albeit a much heavier iteration of that sound, as it resolves towards a thunderous climax. Closing track Autocrat's Fool has an earthy, ritualistic atmosphere, supplied by a paganistic drumbeat and naturalistic vocals, punctuated by moments of riff-heavy oppressiveness.
All in all a well-paced album of female-fronted doom metal that taps into the best of the genre, with plenty of variation but without skimping on the riffs.
Dense and sweeping atmospheric black metal that feels like it should accompany aerial shots of the Amazon rainforest and the heaving seas of the mid-Atlantic. Yet it carries an air of melancholy that hints that all is not right with the natural world.
The atmosphere is built up by layers of guitar, whilst the vocals and drums are buried down in the mix, demanding the listener's full attention to appreciate. Hypnotic and meditative, this is great nature-themed BM.
This debut release from Maryland trio Yatra is a dense and sludgy take on the well-established stoner doom template. The vocals are gruff in a manner reminiscent of Lee Dorrian when he does his "evil" voice, the riffs are slow, thick and fuzzy, like wading through molasses in diver's boots and the rhythm section are dependably solid. Unlikely to change the world, but a worthy release for us unrepentant doomheads.
London's Possessor play an energetic, enervating, stonerized breed of occult / horror movie-themed thrash metal. Now, there are great metal acts that are challenging and push boundaries and there are those that just play good tunes. Possessor are one of the latter - they let the songs rip and unleash rif after riff in a way that makes you just wanna let go and have a good time. Song titles like Scorpion Swamp, Slaughter High and Terror Tripping should tell you these guys aren't po-faced misery gutses, but the kind of band you should book for a hallowe'en party. Go on, give in to Possessor...
Heaving, slowly churning doom with nicely subdued keys and, variously, growling and clean, melancholy vocals that explores the impermanence of mortality within the concept of the passing of time - a subject matter well suited to the musical miasma conjured by these forlorn Finns. Unlikely to turn many heads, but I found it effective and quietly contemplative.
Helheim have produced a cracking album of progressive metal in a similar vein to the sort of thing Enslaved have been doing since Isa in 2004.
Well produced, great mucisianship and decent songs sung with all clean vocals, yet still very much black metal influenced. If you still yearn for the days of Deathcrush and Transilvanian Hunger then this may not be for you, but if you get excited by the more sophisticated direction of some BM acts, then you should give this a try.
Came a bit out of left field this one - I wasn't really looking out for it. But hey, it's kind of blown me away. It's funereal death doom is given a great edge with a sound that carries a Killing Joke influence and guitar work that reminds me of The Cult's Billy Duffy. Being a bit of an 80's gothic rock fan, for me this works surprisingly well, especially when coupled with the growled / clean vocal dynamic present in a lot of the tracks. If you're looking for something a bit different doom-wise then this is definitely worth a spin.
Neck-breaking, full-on thrashing, punky, metal madness that has the kind of energy the majority of thrash bands could only ever hope to possess. Pity they were never this good again, but, hell, to make one record this awesome is more than most manage.
As an aside, I don't know if Kurt Cobain ever heard this album, but Shadow of Mordor sounds exactly like Nirvana's Negative Creep... just saying!
Four lengthy tracks of broodingly melancholic atmospheric black metal that feels a lot like funeral doom and, better than most, illustrates a correlation between the hypnotic qualities of atmo-black and the heaving atmosphere of funeral doom.
Déhà is an artist I have a huge amount of time and respect for in his numerous guises, particularly as his funeral doom alter-ego Slow and under his own Déhà banner. To this I can now confidently add his material released as Imber Luminis, a kind of hybrid of the aforementioned couple of projects, combining atmospheric / depressive black metal with funereal doom, particularly on Same Old Sufferings where the doom comes to the fore, albeit in a blackened state. Silence III takes atmospheric bm and puts a real anguished spin on it, in the manner of the better DSBM acts. Both tracks have an epic feel, albeit not in an overblown way and not merely due to the song lengths, but in the way it feels as though it is speaking to a fundamental and ancient yearning in the human soul that reaches back through the ages.
Abigail Williams are a band I've previously had nothing to do with, probably because their name makes them sound like some hideous metalcore outfit. However, the Mariusz Lewandowski artwork of this, their latest release, put them well and truly onto my radar. Luckily this is no Killswitch Engage clone, but rather a melding of atmospheric and melodic black metal, resulting in a typically American release, having a denser, death metal-influenced black metal sound than the oftentimes thinner sound of European BM. Although I favour the more lo-fi aesthetic of black metal, I can still appreciate a well-produced, beefier version of the devil's own music, which is what we have here. There's a few nice changes of pace and tone too, which give the album plenty of variety. This certainly isn't a mindless blastathon (not that there's anything wrong with that), but rather a good example of a number of bands who may well have a wider appeal outside the hard-core BM fraternity.
Clean-sounding death doom that has plenty of variety within the confines of the genre. Well put together songs and proficient execution. The only real gripe I have is that the production is so clean that the album lacks that down 'n' dirty sound I love to hear in my death doom listening experience and as such feels a lighter affair than I usually prefer. Despite that these Italians have still managed to release an impressive debut and have grabbed my attention.
Sarastus are a Finnish black metal duo, Vardøger being the instrumentalist and Revanant is the vocalist and lyric writer.
Their old-school black metal sound and lyrical themes of nature, death and occultism won't win any new converts to BM, but for those of us who already love it, there is plenty to admire here.
Vastum are a band I'm coming to a bit late in the day and I have really been missing out. Modern death metal (with a few notable exceptions) usually leaves me underwhelmed, but these San Franciscans seem to have dropped out of a wormhole from the late 80s or early 90s with their loose, liberated style, the occasional tempo drop for a welcome doom death break and it's shunning of technicality, instead focussing on the crushing power of it's riffs to achieve the necessary levels of heaviness. One of, if not the, best death metal albums of the year.
Intense and emotional doom metal with heart-felt vocals from lead singer Rainbo that convey the loss expressed in the lyrical themes in a manner similar to Patrick Walker of Warning. The music isn't as unrelentingly mournful as Warning, but there are similarities in execution.
Classic heavy metal with just a touch of doom to add a bit of heft. Ass-kicking riffs and a vocalist that has a similarity to latter-day Ozzy Osbourne, there's a couple of solos, but nothing too showy. This mines direct from the motherlode of proper old-school metal - anyone who doesn't love this record doesn't love heavy metal at all!
Another slice of 80s-influenced trad metal that prostrates itself at the altar of Priest, Maiden, Mercyful Fate et al. The vocals are a little too histrionic for my personal taste, but it fair rips along and the songs are decent, if not exactly earth-shaking. Kicks off with the second best song titled Starbreaker and never lets go it's grip on the back of your neck.
A collaboration between two well-established proponents of dissonant black metal, Iceland's Wormlust and Philadelphia's Skáphe. Searingly caustic dissonance and wilfully avant-garde compositions result in a particularly unsettling couple of tracks of modern, intelligent black metal.
With a cover that brings to mind Screaming for Vengeance or Defenders of the Faith, galloping riffs and soaring vocals, this is familiar ground for any fan of 80s British metal albums like the aforementioned Priest albums or Maiden's Somewhere in Time. High velocity heavy metal, veering into speed metal territory at times this is heart-pumping and visceral music guaranteed to get that head a-banging!
I had plenty of reservations about Ashbringer's debut, Vacant, but this is a hell of a step up from that release. I don't know if that is because Ashbringer are now a band proper, with the dynamic that entails, rather than Nick Stanger playing all the instruments without any third party input. Either way, Stanger's songwriting is far superior on this album with beautiful and epic atmospheric BM anthems that really are very impressive. I love it when an artist proves me wrong and I'm pleased to say that is definitely the case with Ashbringer.
Cacophonous and eerie avant-garde black metal from a new extreme metal supergroup, that is mercifully short - any longer and a migraine would probably be ensuing! I don't hate it, but I don't love it either (except for the "vocals" which are suitably ghostly and creepy). I don't know - maybe it's a grower.
NONE's latest bout of depressive black metal, despite the cover, is more about a coldness of the soul than an actual physical coldness. The kind of iciness and hopelessness that accompanies bouts of depression where, like an interminable winter, it sometimes seems as though the hope of spring will never come. The lengthy passages of minimalistic piano notes add to this frigidness in a way that is more effective than any amount of blasting could ever be. May be a little too successful in portraying the feeling of real depression for anyone familiar with that feeling to feel entirely comfortable with.
Excellent modern black metal that isn't just a tired old blast-athon, there's some very good songwriting involving a satisfying amount of variation of pacing. Don't misunderstand, this blasts like a mutha when it has to, but sparingly enough that the listener isn't worn down by relentlessness, but instead can engage when a kick-up in gear starts. They have a great guitar sound and Vargher's vocals are desperate and urgent without excessive shrieking. This swedish duo are fast becoming one of my favourite straight-up black metal acts of recent years.
Kostnatění has used this, his debut album, as a cathartic release for the obsessive thoughts of death which have plagued him for some time. This has resulted in an, obviously, heartfelt and intense release during which he has tried to convey some of the dread that these obsessive feelings have caused in his psyche. The dissonance and aggressiveness of the riffing certainly make it an uncomfortable listen and as such, must be hailed as at least a partial success in it's aims.
There seems to be a lot of love coming this album's way at the minute, but I just don't feel it. I was a big fan of 80's gothic rock such as The Mission, The Cult and Fields of the Nephilim, so a band that combines the sound of such gothic luminaries with a metal edge should be right up my street. Unfortunately most of the songs aren't that memorable and made little impact after the opener, which did manage to pique my interest, just for it to subside after a couple more tracks.
Bitchin' death metal from Arizona with a heavy Autopsy doom vibe that I love to hear when things get deathly...
As the opening track suggests, Anger Breeds Contempt and this album seems to have a surfeit of both anger and contempt, Rae Amitay's vocals seemingly loaded with both. Musically, this extreme metal hydra with it's triple heads of black, death and grindcore is muscular and aggressive, the LP's grooves positively seething with it's unashamed hostility.
Just like the cover, these three lengthy tracks (and a short outro) are gorgeous and menacing. With brilliant songwriting and great execution, this is black metal that has evolved beyond it's early lo-fi, satanic roots into a more nuanced and subtle beast. The songs are atmospheric, although I wouldn't really term this atmo-black, sounding at times desperate, at others majestic. The length of the tracks allows them to develop their ideas fully, especially The Serpent Sting, the Smell of Goat which resolves itself beautifully. I've been listening to a lot of black metal recently and while I'll always have time for old-school blasting this is a great example of how the best in the genre are developing.
I've never been massively sold on Enthroned and there's nothing here on their 11th album to turn my head now either. Old-school black metal with better production and patchy songwriting that amounts to something very ordinary. It's not an awful record, but black metal has moved on and there are many better BM albums out this year.
Overly long with songs that verge on overkill and yet, there is something magnetically engaging about the sheer enthusiasm with which these Danes suffuse their black metal. Melodic it most definitely is, wearing it's classic trad metal influence on it's sleeve, it is easy to tell these guys are compatriots of King Diamond. The vocals are some of the easiest to comprehend without a lyric sheet that I've ever heard in black metal and the music is equally as easy to get into - dense, dissonant and challenging this isn't, but will it get your head nodding or your foot tapping? Yes it probably will and I challenge you not to be won over by the sheer exuberance of tracks like the magnificent The Transylvanian Dream.
Gorgeous nature-inspired atmospheric bm. You can almost smell the spray from the forest waterfalls and feel the breeze from the highland mountainsides. The folk instrumentation is incorporated effortlessly and organically into the mix to enhance the atmosphere. Well worth your time if you are a fan of Saor, Elderwind, WiTTR etc.
Blut aus Nord are one of those bands who seem to attract a lot of pretentious twaddle, but the simple fact is that they are a very accomplished black metal band who like to develop their sound, are unafraid to incorporate influences from outside the BM world and don't like to stand still. This album seems to have ruffled a few feathers, being a bit more accessible than a lot of BaN's material, but f**k that, this is a damn fine melodic, atmospheric, black metal album with some psychedelic influences (although not too much) even featuring some nice choral moments. The music is soaring and sweeping and the production is spot on. Sure it is superficially akin to a number of modern atmo-black releases, but the sheer songwriting and technical superiority of the band are evident from the get-go, elevating this far above the general BM hoi-polloi.
Atlantean Kodex try to plough the same furrow as epic doom bands like Solstice and Cirith Ungol, but they haven't the songwriting skill of either of these bands and end up turning out hour-long albums of bloated heavy metal that just kind of blurs into one long LARP soundtrack. It does have some decent moments, but few and far between and the whole is just too damn long.
Death doom with some melodic black influence, akin to early Anathema or Katatonia, I prefer my death doom a bit more guttural and abyssal-sounding. This is a little too clean for my taste, but if you're a fan of the early doom days of the aforementioned bands then there's probably a lot for you to like here.
An amalgamation of the blackest of metals and sludge with a strange, unsettling atmosphere which was seemingly enhanced by being recorded in an abandoned house near to Stockholm (I hope any others nearby were also abandoned or heavens knows what the residents would have made of the unholy cacophony issuing forth). I think this is a release that will take more than a couple of listens to properly sink in and I'm still on the fence with it. It is far from an easy listen, sometimes the aggression feels a bit too much, but I really love some of the sludgier tracks, such as Wormwood Star. One to keep coming back to I think and much respect for daring to step outside the BM-by-numbers artificial confines so many feel compelled to obey or lack the talent to transcend.
I can't believe it's been over forty years since I first saw these guys (supporting Motörhead on one of their '78 or '79 tours if I remember rightly) as a trio (mainman Kevin Heybourne with bassist Kevin Riddles and drummer Dave Hogg [Day Vog]) playing what would become one of the most recognizable sounds of the NWOBHM. After providing the best track on the legendary Metal for Muthas comp, they released their 1980 eponymous debut, one of my all-time favourite albums. Unfortunately the rest of the 80s weren't kind to AW, constant personnel upheavals and a couple of lacklustre albums resulted in the band disappearing from view. Fast forward nearly three decades and The 'Witch released As Above, So Below a return to some kind of form and a shot in the arm for any long-standing fan of the band. So, here we are in 2019 and AW turn in their best and heaviest album since that seminal debut, more focussed than As Above, So Below and with a production job that would have absolutely killed forty years ago. This is hi-octane heavy metal and any band of young bucks would be proud to have put out an album as exhilharating as this, yet alone a band now well into their fifth decade! Long Live Metal!!
Epic, but definitely not overblown, doom metal from Swedes Isole on this their seventh studio album (and first for five years). The clean vocals are the right side of the epic fence, however on several occasions they do employ puzzlingly redundant growled vocals. The guitar tone is full-on and suitably doom-laden, with many Iommi-esque riffs and the rhythm section is solid and forceful. Should appeal to any fan of scandinavian doom metal.
Apocalyptic death doom with abyssally echoing guttural vocals and thundering, pounding rhythms like the hordes of hell unleashed.
Werian's debut full-length weaves three blackened-doom tales of animistic shamen warriors invoking their gods and crushing all their enemies before them. Their interpretation of blackened doom doesn't just involve some doomy slow bits and some faster black metal bits, this is a genuine hybrid of doom and black that both makes the doom feel more aggressive and the blackness more earthy. Then, woven about this black/doom chimera, are influences of shamanic ritualism and psychedelia that allows for a truly unique doom experience. It all comes to a sublime head on the mighty, seventeen-minute-plus March Through Ruins, a track that is fast becoming a real favourite of mine. Additional kudos for recording the album live in the studio - how many bands would dare to do that these days?