Sonny's Reviews
Madder Mortem are a five-piece progressive metal band from Oslo formed by brother and sister, guitarist Birger Petter M. Kirkevaag and vocalist Agnete M. Kirkevaag, who are the only two original members still with the band. Deadlands was released in 2002 and I used to have a ripped CD-R copy I got off a friend at work when it came out, but that has long since disappeared in one of many clear-outs. I was a big fan of the album when it came out, but it has been a long time since I last heard it, so I thought it would be ripe for a revisit. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then and I have consumed a lot of music in the intervening years so how does it stack up now? Well, I must admit to not being as blown away by it now as I was back then, I guess my exposure to more and better progressive metal albums have taken some of the shine off this. Don't get me wrong, it is still an interesting album and certainly has it's moments, but it certainly isn't a prog-metal classic.
After a short intro track the album proper begins with the track I remember best, Necropol Lit, with it's groove-laden, doomy main riff it is still an attention-grabber of a track, although it doesn't satisfy in the same way as it once did. Next track, Omnivore, is much better and Agnete's vocals are really on full power on this track, which may be my favourite on the album. A lot of the albums riffs are of the chugging type that is often associated with nu-metal, and about which I am somewhat ambivalent - here they are passable in the main and work quite well in the context of the album and in combination with those terrific vocals. Generally the guitar work is pretty good, with both dissonant and melodic lead passages. The production isn't bad at all, the bass and drums get plenty of space in the mix and aren't swamped by everything else, Pål Mozart Bjørke's basswork in particular is exemplary.
Deadlands has quite a menacing, brooding, gothic vibe to it and gives off an almost cultish atmosphere. The songwriting isn't as complex as a lot of other progressive metal, but it does incorporate some nice temporal and tonal changes and the songs are very tight and efficient with very little technical showiness and window dressing, which is illustrated by over half the album comprising tracks around the five minute mark. The track I struggled with most seems to be one of the album's better-loved, Jigsaw (The Pattern and the Puzzle) which just lays the nu-metal vibe on a bit too thickly and nudges into my nu-metal red zone. Overall, it hasn't held up as well as I thought it might, although it is a fairly unique-sounding release and still has several tracks that are worth checking out.
Genres: Progressive Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2002
I have been a massive fan of doom metal since the 1980s when it wasn't even called doom metal yet. I'm also quite keen on hardcore punk - Bad Brains and Minor Threat are two of my favourite bands. Yet until relatively recently I wasn't especially keen on sludge metal. Early forays into bands like Acid Bath left me cold and it actually wasn't until I heard Mastodon's Leviathan that I finally got switched on to sludge. I mention this merely as a long-winded way of saying that I haven't ever before listened to an entire Crowbar album. Now this seems relevant as the consensus on Zero and Below is that it's another Crowbar album, no more no less and while it is good, it is very much like all the other Crowbar albums. So, at least in that respect, I can come at it with a fresh perspective rather than the rather jaded view of those more familiar with the band's previous material.
It's forty-odd minutes is chock-full of groove-laden and doomy riffs, expertly executed. The vocals are great too - one of my main problems with sludge is the vocals which often just sound too shouty for my personal taste, but Kirk Windstein strikes a decent balance between angsty and tuneful, the laid-back, Louisiana whiskey and cigarettes influence filing the harshest edges off like a single malt compared to rotgut moonshine. There are several tracks that have a significant groove metal factor, such as the opener, The Fear That Bind You and Chemical Godz, but in honesty I prefer the slower, doomier material such as Confess to Nothing and pick of the bunch, the title track Zero and Below. The production sounds great - everything is clear as can be and any distortion is intentional.
Without really being able to compare Zero and Below to the band's earlier discography, this seems like a solid release that is plenty enjoyable without pushing any boundaries or threatening classic status and I know it sounds like damning with faint praise, but sometimes that is enough. It hasn't given me any particular urge to explore Crowbar further, but at least I now know that they are indeed a decent band and I wouldn't avoid them either.
Genres: Sludge Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2022
Ihsahn (b. Vegard Sverre Tveitan), as I'm sure everyone already knows, was the mainman behind black metal legends Emperor. Even before Emperor had been put to sleep he had formed a progressive / avant-garde outfit called Peccatum, playing alongside his wife, vocalist / keyboard player Ihriel (who, incidentally, is also the sister of Einar Solberg of Leprous). At this point Ihsahn was way more interested in the progressive and avant-garde than in continuing to recycle the same old material in Emperor and so the band split in 2001. Five years later and Ihsahn was ready to release his first solo album, The Adversary which he put out on his own Mnemosyne Productions label in April of 2006. Now, personally, I was a massive Emperor fan at this time (and still am) and, to be honest, I really wasn't ready for Ihsahn's new direction and never really engaged with The Adversary at all, so despite giving it cursory attention I rapidly dismissed it.
So a couple of years passed and Ihsahn released a follow-up entitled angL, again released on Mnemosyne in May of 2008. I decided to give Ihsahn another go at this point and actually bought a very nice slipcard-enclosed CD copy which I still have. Sadly, I still couldn't really get to grips with this Ihsahn music that wasn't Emperor and the CD was put on a high shelf to be forgotten... until now that is. Thankfully, and in no small part due to the influence of my membership of Metal Academy, I have become more open to music that pushes boundaries and leads me out of my own personal comfort zone, which Ihsahn's music most definitely does, and listening to this afresh, I now have a much more positive connection to it than I had previously and, indeed, derived a great deal from it and some idea of why Ihsahn felt he could no longer be confined by the limits of Emperor.
Despite saying this, angL actually opens with a track (Misanthrope) that could easily have been released on an Emperor album without raising any eyebrows. However, second track Scarab reveals more of what solo Ihsahn is all about, a song that is far more progressive metal than black metal, despite his typical black metal vocals, with several twists and turns that also illustrate how his songwriting had developed and illustrate why he was unable to stay within the confines of a purely black metal outfit. The next track Unhealer has a guest vocal performance from a certain Mikael Akerfeldt, a musician whose quest for ever more complex musical expression is something I'm sure Ihsahn could identify with at this point. This is quite a melodic little number and suits Akerfeldt's vocals beautifully, with a nice light/dark contrast between gentler, clean sung parts and the heavier sections complete with Mikael's distinctive death growls that makes for a track that will sound familiar to Opeth fans.
Emancipation is a weird track, it is another melodic number, but it's verses sound, in a weird way, a bit like David Bowie and Robert Fripp and another nice melo-prog number. Malediction is another more black metal infused track, in similar style to the opener, Misanthrope that is reminiscent of some of the material on IX Equilibrium such as Curse You All Men! or An Elegy of Icaros. The Alchemist is another track that contains Ihsahn's clean vocals and I'm sorry, but he really does remind me of David Bowie with his intonation (and I don't think this is a bad thing - I love Bowie!) Some great guitar work on this track too that makes it a bit of a standout for me, although everyone else seems to hate it.
Elevator is a dark, disorienting track that feels like a journey into another dimension where up and down, left and right are indistinct as Ihsahn's crooning, cajoling voice anchors the song and provides a stable focus. Next up is Threnody and this starts off sounding very much like Benighted from Opeth's Still Life before opening up with some more nice guitar work. Closer Monolith is once again a more straight-up melodic black metal offering, although it does have a softer proggy centre, and it's weird that all three of the more black metal tracks on angL are the ones that begin with the letter "M" - not a coincidence I'm sure.
Mikael Akerfeldt's presence on angL is no coincidence either I don't think, as it feels like Ihsahn was trying to take a similar kind of direction with his own music as Akerfeldt was doing with Opeth at this point (Watershed was released the same year) and may have been keen on swapping ideas with Opeth's creative mastermind. This is certainly nothing like as difficult a listen as I remember it being, it is probably still 30-40% black metal and quite a bit of it is exceedingly melodic and, dare I say, even catchy, with the avant-garde being (thankfully) non-existent. I'd better move the CD from it's position on the highest shelf to a place where I can reach it much more easily as I think I'll be coming back to this one pretty damn soon!
Genres: Progressive Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2008
Finland's Dawn of Solace was originally the solo project of Before the Dawn / Wolfheart multi-instrumentalist Tuomas Saukkonen and was put on hold in 2013 while he concentrated on Wolfheart. Since restarting Dawn of Solace in 2019 the band has also featured Mikko Heikkilä on clean vocals. Now, I am unfamiliar with the band's previous output and my natural aversion to most gothic metal made this a less than attractive proposal. However, I must admit to being pleasantly surprised by Dawn of Perdition. It manages to convey sorrow and mournfulness without resorting to over-the-top vocal and musical affectations, in fact I would say it is a very restrained album and that is to it's credit. On several tracks I was expecting some harsh death metal vocals to come in as Saukkonen ramped up the instrumental heaviness, seemingly having set them up, yet the duo held fast and stuck solely with Mikko Heikkilä's cleans and defied expectations and thus predictability. There's some nice build up and progressions during most of the tracks with the band not averse to acoustic-led passages to contrast the heaviness of the riffs. Keyboards are well utilised adding a layer of atmosphere and with some almost proggy flourishes for additional flair. An album like this is unlikely to ever make my AOTY, but I found this to be very enjoyable and it left me feeling like I had been listening to a less emotionally draining version of Moonflowers, Swallow the Sun's heartbreaking latest album.
A couple of live-in-the-studio acoustic versions of tracks from previous albums (Dead Air from The Darkness and Lead Wings from Waves) finish off the album and despite not being familiar with the originals, I thought these were really well worked and sounded great.
Genres: Gothic Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2022
Well you know what they say, "There's no school like the old school". Now Night Hag may not be fully-fledged graduates of the death doom old-school but they sure as hell have studied the curriculum intensely. Despite reportedly forming in 2012, this is the Virginia three-piece's debut full-length, with only a 2018 EP and 2021 split (with Cryptic Brood) being released during the preceding decade. While the band don't do anything new or innovative with that old-school death doom formula, they do go all-in on the doom side of things and as such, this is crawlingly abyssal-sounding for large parts of it's runtime - with no complaints from me! I make no apologies for admitting to preferring the old-school as far as death metal goes and Night Hag claw back to the likes of Cianide, Ceremonium and Rippikoulu for inspiration and do a great job of reproducing that filthy early nineties death metal sound, with the caveat that Phantasmal Scourge's modern production values never allow it to reach the truly foetid and filthy sound that made those early nineties death doom releases such classic records. Imagine someone had taken Autumn Shade or A Descent Into Hell and scraped some of the mould and crustiness off them then you get some idea of what Night Hag have achieved here.
As I said earlier, the band certainly focus on the doom side of their death doom, especially during the early tracks on the album with the tempo almost verging on funeral doom at times (the title track for example) but they can unleash some pretty great quicker metal riffs too when the mood takes them - I love the banger of a riff at the conclusion of opener Slowly Festering in Rigor Mortis to name but one. The guitar tone has that satisfying crunch requisite of OSDM, downtuned and replete with heavy distortion and the vocals have that breaking boulder deep growl that should be familiar to any OSDM fanatic. In all honesty, the album is a track or two overlong, fifty-five minutes being a bit of a stretch, the classics always knew to take their leave around the forty minute mark - better to leave them wanting more than to oversatiate the listener, but this is a quibble really and the length doesn't affect the experience too adversely.
Look, if you've come to this looking for something new and innovative then keep walking because you are definitely in the wrong place. If, however, you know exactly what you want from modern old-school-influenced death doom then you should be right at home here. Should appeal to fans of modern death doom acts like Coffins, Atavisma and Druid Lord as well as the classic nineties acts.
Genres: Doom Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2022
Fragments of Lost Memories is a Japanese funeral doom project about whom very little is known. They may be a band or the product of a single musician, but Divagate is the third album released by the project in a little over a year, along with an eighteen-minute EP, so they are certainly in a very productive period currently. In common with both the previous albums Divagate contains four tracks, although this is considerably longer than the other two with all four tracks clocking in at over fifteen minutes each and the total runtime just short of 70 minutes. I have only heard the debut, Decadence, previously and found it to be a bit wanting, especially during the first two tracks, although the latter two showed some improvement. Luckily, Divagate is much more consistent and is a better album all round. The production is nice and clear and the music has a bit more heft than it did, certainly when compared to the first half of Decadence. I still wouldn't call it crushing in the manner of an Esoteric album, the second half of the title track for example is a very gentle piano-led piece that is particularly lightweight in comparison and, in truth, perhaps goes on a bit too long.
The vocals are suitably Cthulhian with deeply growled, abyssal tones and are one of my favourite aspects of the album. The riffs are overlayed with some nice thin keyboards to add a layer of atmosphere but it doesn't at any point reach the levels of sheer weight and crushing intensity that the genre's best manage, feeling a bit more akin to gothic death doom for a fair bit of it's runtime. It also has a tendency to repetition, which I know may sound strange to those who may not have much experience of listening to funeral doom, but some of the music's motifs are stretched out just a little too long in my opinion.
Despite these reservations it is still a decent enough album and, like the debut, it improves during the second half, third track Nightmare having the heaviest main riff and closer, Mask, for me, being the standout track as it is the most satisfyingly funereal and complete of the four here. I'm sure FoLM may yet have a great album in them, but this still isn't it.
Genres: Doom Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2022
Released in 1994, Allegiance's debut was a bit late to the thrash metal party. By then the binmen were carting the empty bottles away and cleaners were mopping the pools of puke up from the moshpit floor. There was an explosion of exciting and blasphemous new shit coming from the icy wastes of Scandinavia and doom was spreading over the world. To release a debut of pretty standard sounding, albeit fairly well done, Bay Area worship at this point in time meant that Allegiance were never likely to make much of a splash beyond their own shores and prove the old adage that "timing is everything".
The album's temporal misfortunes aside, it is very well done and all involved are impressively competent musicians. The vocalist, for the most part, seems to utilise the intonations of Hetfield and Chuck Billy for that authentic Bay Area sound and the rhythm section is solid. It is the guitar work that makes this worth listening to however with some cool riffing and impressively executed guitar leads.
On the downside there are of course the sparsely used, but ridiculously out-of-place death growls which I'm surprised they stuck with because they sound so jarring in this context. Furthermore, I'm sorry to say that the songwriting didn't exactly overwhelm me either. Although each track is well perforrmed and is inherently fine, I didn't feel as if anything jumped out and grabbed me by the throat and at album's end I struggled to recall anything truly killer.
If it had been released six or seven years earlier it may have been able to stand proudly alongside second-rung stuff like Exodus, but even the titans of thrash were disintegrating into mediocrity or reaching beyond the genre's borders at this point in time, so D.e.s.t.i.t.u.t.i.o.n was always destined for relative obscurity it seems. I would love to be able to claim it is some kind of undiscovered and ill-ignored gem, but in truth I found it to be well-executed but unexceptional Bay Area worship that would struggle to find much purchase outside that scene's most ardent devotees.
Genres: Thrash Metal
Format: Album
Year: 1994
I know I am supposed to bow down in obeisance and offer up my eternal gratitude that Cult of Luna have deigned to provide us with yet more proof of their superiority to us lesser beings in the form of their latest release. But, in all honesty, I just feel a bit... cheated.
I came late to the CoL party, only getting into them since joining Metal Academy and hearing that nearly everyone rated them very highly indeed. And, yes, they are a fantastic band and yes, The Long Road North sounds great. Yet somehow it has still left me feeling strangely empty. The reason why is that it sounds exactly how I expected it to. It is performed, written and produced to a ridiculously high standard, as is everything I've heard from the band and therein lies the problem. It feels like their music, despite being amazing, is so formulaic that you could remove all the covers from your CoL albums and just leave them on the shelf with Cult of Luna written on each in marker pen and it wouldn't matter which one you pulled out and put on the turntable as the experience would be the same.
I understand it sounds ridiculous to say that an album sounds great and then slag it off and I probably sound like a giant arsehole, but I genuinely feel disappointed in The Long Road North. I feel like I've pulled back the curtain on the Wizard of Oz and got wise to his trickery. I could, without feeling any sense of internal conflict, rate this album anywhere from 3.5 (any less would be churlish) to 5.0.
Reviewing it musically, I could go "blah, blah, blah slow build up... blah, soaring crescendo... blah, superb musicianship... blah, blah tight composition" but I can't be arsed if truth be told. For me, I think how highly I regard Cult of Luna albums will be in the order in which I heard them as I get a diminished return from each one, so Somewhere Along the Highway will probably always remain my favourite and possibly the only Cult of Luna album I will ever need.
If you don't share my misgivings then I would say, yes definitely go out and get this album because it IS indeed a very good one and you will love it.
Genres: Sludge Metal Post-Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2022
This is truly one of the hidden gems of the early nineties' doom scene and is a record I can't believe isn't more popular among fans of traditional doom metal. Hailing from Frederick, Maryland, Internal Void were apparently pretty well-known in the Washington DC area, yet seem to have gained little traction outside the US capital's rarified atmosphere, which is a great shame as this album kicks all kinds of ass and, to these grizzled old ears at least, gives more highly-regarded releases from the time a run for their money if not actually whupping them into submission. Despite being in existence for since 1987, with a two-year hiatus around 2013, Internal Void have unbelievably only released three full-lengths of which Standing on the Sun is their debut.
Musically Ithe band sit somewhere between Black Sabbath and Saint Vitus and sound similar to The Obsessed, particularly the guitar work of Kelly Carmichael who's dirty riffs are obviously influenced by Wino. Carmichael also turns in some red-hot solos that seem to howl into the aether like a wounded beast and contain passing nods to both Tony Iommi and, I would dare to suggest, Rush's Alex Lifeson. Vocalist J.D. Williams often times sounds like Ozzy but at others sounds more like Wino but either way, his vocals are perfectly appropriate to this style of grimy trad doom. The rhythm section of future Earthride drummer Eric Little and bassist Adam S. Heinzmann, whilst not doing anything showy or overtly impressive, provide enough of a solid foundation for both Carmichael and Williams to launch their sonic salvos on unsuspecting metalheads' ears.
Standing on the Sun is an impressive slab of doom metal and contains enough remnants of Sabbath's heavy metal to perfectly illustrate what is meant by the traditional doom metal tag. There are some supremely heavy riffs and some that have a nice "groove" to them as well in a more stoner-influenced style. In fact, Kelly Carmichael has turned in one of my favourite guitar performances of nineties doom metal on this, with both his dirty riffs and psych-influenced leads really sticking with me. His intro to Utopia of Daze even apes the anticipatory build-up intro to one of my favourite tracks of all-time, The Stooges I Wanna Be Your Dog, before slowing it down and turning in yet another killer riff-fest.
So there we have it, if you are into old-school, Sabbath-influenced doom metal as practiced by Saint Vitus, The Obsessed, Count Raven or Pentagram then you really should wrap your ear'oles around this fantastic hour's worth of trad doom awesomeness.
Genres: Doom Metal Heavy Metal
Format: Album
Year: 1992
During my latest expedition into the most far-flung corners of the Doomiverse I ended up in 1991 with the self-titled debut of Bostonian sludge/doom outfit, Upsidedown Cross. The band was made up of three members of punk/noise crew Kilslug including the weirdly-named Larry Lifeless on vocals, Cheez on bass and Rico Petroleum on guitar. The lineup was filled out with second guitarist Scott Vangel (aka Shoehorn) and, for this album at least, drummer J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. fame. A later incarnation also included the infamous Seth Putnam on bass.
Well, this is a bit of an oddball in the doom canon with it's amalgam of sludge, doom and noise rock topped off by Larry Lifeless' disconcerting vocal style. This guy is every bit as divisive as King Diamond or Cirith Ungol's Tim Baker with his apathetic, whining style that sounds like Bad Brains' HR coming out of general anaesthetic. Add to this the two guitarists' penchant for ditching any kind of riff and just taking off on their own discordant way at the drop of a hat and it all starts to sound a bit anarchic (although as someone once said, "This is Boston, not L.A."). At times the songs only seem to be held together by Mascis' drumming (which is far better than I would have expected) as he heroically tries to keep things moving forward. The lyrics are deliberately provocative and a bit immature sounding - Shakespeare or Bob Dylan would be unlikely to lose much sleep over them - and Larry Lifeless' delivery makes them sound like the ramblings of a genuinely disturbed human being. The band's live performances were apparently legendarily demented with tales of drink and drug-fuelled psychotic performances, especially from their loosely-hinged frontman that I can definitely believe if this is how they sounded on record.
I am not 100% sure exactly how I feel about the album in all honesty. I kind of applaud it's lack of concession to anyone or anything and it's anarchic flavour harks back to bands like MC5 and The Stooges (only tripping their asses off) which is always good in my book, but the vocals really aren't great, in fact after the first couple of lines of the self-titled opener I thought the guy was taking the piss it sounded that bad, and I sometimes wished they would just at least try to hold it together long enough for the riffs to sink in. I'm definitely glad to have checked it out and it had it's moments, but I wouldn't buy it and probably won't return to it much in future.
Genres: Doom Metal Sludge Metal
Format: Album
Year: 1991
I really love Norwegian black metal, but I've got to say that the French do take some beating when it comes to the most unholy of metal genres. The list of fantastic French black metal albums keeps expanding and the latest to cross my path is Mütiilation's 1995 debut, Vampires of Black Imperial Blood. I can't in all honesty say why it's taken me so long to take the plunge with this, but I'm here now, so it's all good.
Anyway, Mütiilation were a member of the infamous Les Légions Noires and were the brainchild of Meyhna'ch (b. William Roussell) who would have been only about 18 when these tracks were laid down and I guess it takes the cockiness of youth to release an album that is such a "fuck you!" to pretty much everybody as a debut. This youthful lack of fucks-to-give is what black metal's second wave was built upon though, I guess. This is a boss-level second wave album and will most definitely not appeal to everyone. It's lo-fi, stripped down production will put an enormous amount of people off, I suspect, but for those who love this kind of nekro shit (myself included) then they will be in black metal nirvana. When the excess flesh is stripped away what we are left with is the beating heart of, for want of a better expression, true black metal. Without decent production, layered synths, folksy interludes and clean sung parts what becomes important is what really matters when black metal is distilled down to it's most essential elements - the riffs, the blastbeats and the harsh vocals and Mütiilation deliver these in spades. Meyhna'ch is quoted in the booklet to my version saying in September '94 "Today, black metal seems to be dead, trendies has (sic) taken everything in hands... and Black Imperial Blood is one fist in their pigfaces". So I think you can see exactly where this album is coming from and what it aims to achieve.
It must be said thet despite having such a raw, visceral sound what does shine through is Meyhna'ch's uncanny ear for a memorable riff such as those on Magical Shadows of a Tragic Past and Ravens of My Funeral to name but two. There are some nice pace changes throughout with several gloomy, depressed-sounding slower sections contrasting the brutality of the blasting, the track Eternal Empire of Majesty Death being a great example. Believe me though, when the blasting hits, it hits hard and should push the blood pressure of any metal maniac up to hypertensive levels. Meyhna'ch's vocal delivery is of the croaking style rather than shrill shrieking, but still gives me a sore throat just listening to him, such is the rawness of the delivery.
OK, there is some variation in the sound of the tracks, testament to the fact they were recorded at different times with four of the eight being from the previous year's Black Imperial Blood (Travel) demo but with such lo-fi production this doesn't really make a whole heap of difference. If you are into the rawer and more visceral side of black metal then Vampires of Black Imperial Blood is an absolutely essential release. Orginal copies are going for £148 on Discogs and it is well-sought for good reason.
Genres: Black Metal
Format: Album
Year: 1995
I'm returning to this now after a gap of nine months from it's release as I failed to connect with it at all first time around due to it's technical edge, me not being the biggest fan of so-called "technical metal". Now that I have given it chance to settle in I am much better disposed towards it than I was last spring. Yes, there is a degree of technicality to the Dutchmen's thrashery, but it isn't as wanky as some technical thrash bands and the tracks still do what I like thrash tracks to do which is provide sufficient neck-wrenching aggression to facilitate headbanging overload. The musicianship is excellent and the songwriting is great, as I said, it does provide a degree of technicality but never loses sight of the fact that it is first and foremost a thrash metal record and ensures that it delivers on that front before incorporating the technicality into the songs.
I love Laurens Houvast's vocals, they are plenty aggressive and just the right side of ragged to give the impression of a singer pouring his all into his art. The riffs are sufficiently memorable and are tight as fuck with not a single note out of place, no matter how fast they are played and the soloing (always a bellweather in thrash metal) is impressively white hot. So with these thrash fundamentals firmly in place I am more than willing to overlook the odd bit of technical bollocks as it in no way detracts from what I turn to a thrash album for. Better late to the party than never to party at all I guess.
What is of particular interest is the incorporation of that old favourite of 70's prog outfits, the mellotron. It is actually utilised extremely well and doesn't impinge on or blunt the album's aggressiveness in any way. It is most obviously felt, I think, on Prospect of Immortality, which seems to be the track everyone is talking about due to it's slower pace and it's more diverse and even proggy feel. Ostensibly the album is a science fiction concept album, which is no problem for me at all as I love both sci-fi and concept albums, but in all truth I don't think this should be a deal breaker for those who don't as it still works merely as a damn fine thrash album. Nearly everyone is comparing this to Vektor and I will concede to those who know the work of the Arizonans better than I, but I prefer this to Vektor as this just thrashes harder.
So, to summarise my thoughts, this is a great thrash album that happens to have a bit of a technical bent and some interesting use of keyboards that enhance the band's thrash credentials rather than detracting from them. More of this, please.
Genres: Thrash Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2021
Hellfekted are a three-piece from my home town, Stoke-on-Trent, in the UK and ply their trade in the area of aggressive blackened thrash. This is a style that has reinvigorated the thrash scene in recent years with, in particular, a number of very good bands and releases coming from Latin America and especially from Chile. So anyway, Woe to the Kingdom of Blood is Hellfekted's debut album and is one of the few blackened thrash albums to hail from the UK, Craven Idol being the only other real exponent of the style I am familiar with that hail from these shores.
Firstly, I've got to say, that cover is horrible but to be fair keeps well within the thrash aesthetic. The second problem I have is that there is something not quite right with the production. I have no technical knowledge of music production but the top end just doesn't sound right to me as if it's clipped or too compressed and the guitar tone and the cymbals seem to suffer markedly as a result. That said, the bottom end is great and Chris Brownrigg's bass in particular benefits from this, it's growling, crunchy rhythms often dominating proceedings. It is an exceedingly aggressive-sounding album, with a breakneck tempo for most of it's runtime and Liam Stubbs' savage and ragged black metal-styled vocals which sound like they are shredding his vocal chords to ribbons with sheer spite and hatred. I would like to have heard a few more solos as they are in fairly short supply here, although soloing don't seem to be Liam Stubbs' strong point - the one during Fractured for example is quite poor, the extended one during Omen of the Antichrist is a little better but is still subpar when compared to the thrash masters. There are, however, riffs aplenty and pretty good ones they are too in the main. Hellfekted sound better the faster they play and aren't quite as convincing when they throttle the tempo back, such as on the title track where they just sound a bit off.
Overall I would say it's a decent, albeit flawed, slab of blackened thrash with two or three really good tracks such as Tower of Life, Stigma (DSBMthrash?) and Fire at Will that doesn't rival the leaders in the genre, but is still solid enough to warrant the occasional spin. I will look out for the follow-up with great anticipation and hope that they can iron out their technical issues and produce a blackthrash album good enough to put the UK back on the thrash metal map!
Genres: Black Metal Thrash Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2020
I am partial to a bit of darkwave and Chelsea Wolfe has been my favourite exponent of the genre for the best part of the past decade or so, since hearing her 2013 Pain is Beauty album. During that time her music has darkened and become relatively heavier and my appreciation of her style has deepened with each subsequent release. Consequently, unlike most Academy members I suspect, I have approached this as a fan of Ms. Wolfe and not of Converge of whom I know very little, having always been put off by the various -core genre tags associated with them. As a result, I was a bit apprehensive that Chelsea had got herself associated to a bit of a dud, at least as far as I was concerned. Thankfully, nothing could be further from the truth and this collaboration works exceedingly well. I have no idea if this is typical of Converge's sound or not, but if it is then I have done them (and myself) a grave disservice for all this time by ignoring them as they come across as very Cult of Luna-ish, which is always welcome in my book.
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.
Genres: Sludge Metal Post-Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2021
I'd not even heard of this album until very recently and have only the very briefest of dalliances with it's protagonists. The cover is especially uninspiring and gives no clue as to what may be concealed within, so I wasn't completely sure what to expect. Anyway, it all turned out well, because it's heavy, metallized space rock is very much my sort of thing. This is real wall-of-sound stuff, a wall built of the ultra-heavy stoner doom of Sleep and Electric Wizard, cementing it to cosmic-flavoured post-rock, such as that found on Barrows' superb Red Giant album (which this predates by seven years, so may have been an influence on) then reinforcing it with some Hawkwind-style space rock. Some may sniff at the 'Wind comparisons, but the jam during Painful Burns Smoke as the Presence Sets Us Down in Supersonic Waves sounds so much akin to the sort of jams heard on the numerous live versions of classic Hawkwind tracks like You Shouldn't Do That and Brainstorm and The Overload has such a lot in common with The Age of the Micro Man on The Hawklords' 25 Years album that it is impossible to conceive that the UK's veteran cosmic travellers weren't a strong influence. Of course this is way heavier than Hawkwind ever were and certainly has also taken plenty of influence from the best of sludge and atmospheric sludge outfits like Neurosis, ISIS and even Eyehategod. In fact it is so heavy it feels like it creates it's own gravity well and may well be the densest stoner metal ever produced.
I like to think I have a decent imagination and I absolutely love albums that may not possess too much of a narrative of their own, but allow the listener's mind's eye to roam and create it's own narrative structure around the music. Supernaturals - Record One is absolutely one such album and, having listened to it a number of times, I can say it feels like a different journey each time I take it, filled with cosmic power and awe, from the thrusting propulsion of tracks like Infect One and Painful Burns... to the drifting in space, open-mouthed, witnessing of galaxy-wide supernovae sensation of Maestoso. This is absolutely an album in the stoner tradition and I can imagine it would probably take on a whole other level of meaning if listening was pharmaceutically assisted, but those days are long gone for me and I will settle for the raw, unaltered sonic trip as offered up in it's unfiltered form as it is a terrific slab of cosmic metal.
Genres: Doom Metal Sludge Metal Stoner Metal Post-Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2007
I'm not the world's biggest fan of Industrial Metal, maybe because I work in an engineering factory and have the dubious pleasure of listening to mechanical noise all day and so Industrial Metal feels a bit too much like work! For me the best kind of industrial music isn't totally alienating, but also has some humanity to it and I think Fange achieve that here with the sludge and death metal elements working in synergy with the industrial. The hot-blooded passion of the sludge metal vocals provide a searing counterpoint to the coldness of the machine-like death metal riffs. These death industrial riffs are also overlaid with atmospheric sludge lead work that once more lends it a more human face and the layers help to build an interesting atmosphere that speaks of resistance to the inevitable that is yet tinged with a fatalistic futility, anger and self-loathing.
This all makes for an album that is extremely heavy and confrontational and may not be to every industrial fans taste - this isn't Rammstein or Fear Factory, there are no melodic hooks to hang on to, in fact it has quite a negative atmosphere derived from it's sludge metal roots. It is quite short though, comprising just two 15 minute tracks and this definitely works in it's favour as it doesn't allow time to become jaded with the relentless pessimism and crushing heaviness of it's riffing. All in all this has got to be one of my favourite industrial releases of recent years so if you like industrial metal with a bit of sullen intensity then I would strongly recommend Pantocrator.
Genres: Industrial Metal Sludge Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2021
Nemesis would eventually evolve into the band that would become Candlemass, featuring Leif Edling as well as original Candlemass drummer Mats Ekström and guitarist Christian Weberyd. Four of the five tracks, all except closer Goodbye which is an Angel Witch cover, were written by Edling and he handles vocals as well as his usual duties on bass. I think it's safe to say that this ep shows why Leif didn't perform vocals for Candlemass, his range being far too limited to handle the epic nature of Candlemass' songs and in truth he struggles even here. While this is as much heavy metal as traditional doom, there is certainly enough on show to see where Edling was going with his songwriting and is a recognisable early step on his road to almost single-handedly establishing the epic doom genre. There are some terrific Sabbathian riffs, check out the one on opener Black Messiah - it's a real killer and the whole track is amazing, eventually being reworked as Incarnation of Evil on the 1988's Ancient Dreams album with Messiah on vocals. I would really liked to have heard Messiah have a crack at the vocals on this rawer, less well-produced version though, because even with Edling struggling it's still a brilliant song and sounds a bit more immediate than the Incarnation of Evil version.
In God We Trust finds Edling in speed metal mode with a track that could have been penned by Venom, except for the doomy middle section maybe. Theme of the Guardians has simple, but effective main riff that sounds like a staple of the then nascent trad doom genre and one that has been reworked and reinvented a hundred times since. The King Is Dead is arguably the most noticably a Leif Edling-written track, probably sounding the most like Candlemass with a great riff and sterling leadwork throughout from both Weberyd and Anders Wallin (who's contribution here seems to be the sum total of his recorded output). The Angel Witch cover is interesting I think in that it illustrates how Edling's songwriting was influenced by Kevin Heybourne.
In conclusion I found this to be an interesting release, particularly with it's importance in the early history of one of doom metal's most influential figures and even despite it's shortcomings, ie the poor production and weak vocals, it still contains some great tracks and should interest any adherent of early doom metal. As a footnote the 1990 release features a couple of 1984 Candlemass demos, Black Stone Wielder and Demon's Gate which show how quickly Edling and Candlemass were developing from the Nemesis tracks.
Genres: Doom Metal Heavy Metal
Format: EP
Year: 1984
Coroner's debut, whilst still being almost universally lauded, has been overshadowed a bit by their better produced and more technically focussed releases that succeeded it. Whilst that is understandable as they are great records, this less polished and more reckless-sounding release should not be ignored by anyone who considers themselves a fan of either Coroner in particular, or thrash metal generally. For a debut release this is supremely confident sounding and the playing is technically adept to such a level that it puts a lot of their contemporaries to shame, the sheer pace of a song like Suicide Command would ensure it descended into a bit of a mess in less accomplished hands. The style for most of the album is pretty much straight-ahead, uptempo, neckbreaking thrashing, incendiary solos firing off with regular abandon at a thousand notes a minute. I also love Ron Royce's vocals, they sound a lot like Iron Maiden's Paul Di'Anno, a singer who, for me, embodies the power and aggression demanded of metal vocalists and sound perfect here.
1986/87 was arguably the high water mark for thrash metal and Coroner's debut is a release that is well at home in the company of those other legendary releases as well as being a really solid building block for their more technical and accomplished subsequent releases. Unfortunately this passed me by upon it's original release and it would be much later before I got into Coroner, which is a great shame as this would really have appealed to a 25-year-old me.
Interestingly, later editions of the album have a bonus track, Spiral Dream which was written by Celtic Frost's Tom G. Warrior who had a close connection to the band, even performing vocals on 1986's Death Cult demo and indeed, seems to have been a big influence on the band's style. One of the better and more accomplished debuts from the world of eighties' thrash metal and a great place to start if you want to explore Coroner's discography.
Genres: Thrash Metal
Format: Album
Year: 1987
April 2018 and English epic doomsters Solstice released their third album, White Horse Hill, a mere twenty years after their previous, the classic New Dark Age, one of my all-time favourites. Mainman Rich Walker and returning drummer Rick Budby were the only band members common to both albums, Solstice having been through a staggering number of members over the years, including nine - yes NINE vocalists. Obviously there are some differences between the two albums, but the commitment to epic doom metal and the spirit of Old Albion remains a constant. However, I cannot for a minute pretend that White Horse Hill is anything like as accomplished an album as New Dark Age. For starters the production seems horribly muddied - sometimes the guitar lead just springs up unexpectedly out of the mire - and vocalist Paul Kearns seems to be struggling against this muddiness, overstraining to be heard, at least on the more epic sections, although he comes more into his own during the gentler parts such as For All Days, and for None or the quiet section of Under Waves Lie Our Dead. Furthermore the songs don't seem as strong as those on New Dark Age, they aren't bad, but there's no Cimmerian Codex, New Dark Age II or Cromlech here and the album just doesn't flow anywhere near as naturally as New Dark Age. Another thing I miss is the lyrical wordplay of NDA and the absolute requisite of reading the lyric sheet with a dictionary to hand! Somehow WHH seems so much more prosaic, although it's lyrics do invoke an image of Olde England fairly effectively.
On the plus side Walker and ex-Lamp of Thoth guitarist Andy Whittaker seem to have good chemistry and play exceedingly well off each other, the main riff and lead interplay of the title track is worthy of the price alone. Overall I would say that White Horse Hill is a decent album that has been eviscerated by a poor sound and could have been so much more than it turned out. Yet after a twenty year wait for a follow up to such a favoured release, I've got to admit to having been more than a little disappointed.
Genres: Doom Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2018
Drone metal, despite having a reputation for monotony and repetition can actually throw up some very interesting releases and, for me, Divide and Dissolve's Gas Lit is one of them. Now, Divide and Dissolve are new to me, despite releasing three albums since 2016. They are a duo comprising Australian Sylvie Nehill on drums and US-born Takiaya Reed on guitar and saxophone and are based in Melbourne. Their music is mainly instrumental and their themes are based around anti-opression, societal equality and the end of imperialism.
Their take on drone metal includes a reasonable amount of doom metal too, but also incorporates instruments more usually associated with classical or jazz music for a seemingly quite avant-garde experience, despite not indulging in the angular and disjointed mechanics of avant-garde music, but letting the disparate sounds flow one into the other in an organic and oddly satisfying way. One moment the horn sound is allowing for a dreamy, meditative sensation and then the massively distorted guitar and fairly primitive-sounding drum patterns gatecrash in with an angry battery of crushingly heavy chords that blow away any sense of peace or calm that may have been accumulated, only themselves to be replaced once more by the serene blowing of horns, as if to say "even this too must pass".
There are songs like Prove it and especially It's Really Complicated that are full-on, earthquake-like rumblings of sonic mayhem and I did enjoy them, but it is the songs that make most use of the dichotomy between light and dark, calm and anarchy that I found most interesting. There is also a track called Did You Have Something to Do with It that is basically just a spoken word recital with only a minimal instrumental backing, invoking the spirit of popular uprising against oppression and performed by painter Minori Sanchiz-Fung.
I know this album probably sounds a million miles away from what a large number of people get into metal for and may be dismissed by some as politically-correct, liberal-artsy bullshit but if you have a taste for the more unusual metal releases or want to try to get into drone then this, especially with it clocking in at a mere 33 minutes, may well be a decent place to start.
Genres: Drone Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2021
Grief Collector were formed in Minneapolis back in 2017 when Among the Serpents' Brad Miller and Signs of Reign's Matt Johnson decided to get together to play some serious doom metal. By 2019 they had come to the conclusion that they needed a credible vocalist and so managed to get ex-Candlemass and Solitude Aeternus vocalist Rob Lowe on board. The resulting trio issued a six-track, thirty minute EP to little fanfare or acclaim in April 2019.
Fast forward two years to summer 2021 and the release of En Delirium, the band's debut full-length. Featuring ten original tracks and a Dio-era Sabbath cover, the album clocks in at over an hour and is very much in the epic doom mould as you could expect from a band featuring a vocalist with Rob Lowe's track record. Comparison to previous Lowe outfits such as Solitude Aeternus and Candlemass is certainly appropriate, at least in terms of style, as was probably Miller and Johnson's intention when inviting him on board, Grief Collector being conceived to play exactly the kind of epic doom Lowe has mainly been involved with. I'm not so sure the comparisons hold up quality-wise however, Grief Collector being at least a rung down on the epic doom ladder from those titans of the genre. Sure, there's some decent riffs, guitarist Johnson fires off some nice solos and Lowe is as good as ever, but there just isn't the same level of quality as far as the songs go. There's not that much that will lodge irremovably into your brain like Candlemass managed so many times over their lengthy career.
The problem with playing metal of a fairly old vintage, such as traditional or epic doom, is that there are so many great albums out there that it needs something exceptional to worm it's way into the affections of the genre's adherents and possibly to usurp some of the old guard's material and while there is nothing inherently wrong with En Delirium this isn't the album that is going to knock over any of the classics. I don't want to give the impression that I didn't like this, because I most definitely did, but it will probably ultimately be filed under "solid, but no classic".
Genres: Doom Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2021
Stephen O'Malley and usual cohort Greg Anderson, have produced some of the most extreme doom metal known to man as well as founding one of the premier doom metal labels, Southern Lord and are probably most well known for being the driving force behind SunnO))). After their short-lived first project, Thorr's Hammer split and before loosening bowels with the aforementioned drone metal titans, these doom metal stalwarts were the integral members of seminal extreme doom outfit Burning Witch. The band also featured vocalist Edgemont Martin (aka Edgy 59) and bassist G. Stuart Dahlquist (aka G. Subharmonium) along with a couple of drummers (successively, not at the same time)!
I think it is pretty safe to say that seldom has doom metal been served up that is more extreme-sounding and gruelling an experience than Burning Witch. As if the titanic, world-destroying chords of O'Malley and Anderson weren't enough then the tortured and deranged shrieks of Edgy 59 are sure to push you over the edge. This is most definitely not comfortable doom metal, in whose all-encompassing embrace you can wallow and luxuriate - no, this is deliberately confrontational, difficult and just downright unpleasant-sounding in order to throw you off balance and make you feel ill at ease and feed your suspicions that something IS indeed rotten in Denmark. A track like Country Doctor is certainly only going to appeal to those who like their metal music to confront them with the distressing and difficult-to-love, although there are a couple of slightly more accessible tracks such as Sacred Premonitions that are more conventional, at least relatively speaking. One aspect of almost all of O'Malley and Anderson's music that cannot be ignored is that it is written with an additional instrument in mind. That instrument is sheer, unadulterated volume. Throughout their careers their music is seemingly intended to be as much a physical sensation as an auditory one and can only really be fully appreciated within the context of extreme volume, which is another reason that they should be considered as genuinely inhabiting the most extreme end of the doom metal spectrum. Sure, high volume has played a part in metal for all of it's fifty year reign, but with these guys it isn't just an option, it is an integral part of their whole sound.
Crippled Lucifer is actually available in a couple of versions, the original 1998 version being sub-titled Seven Psalms for Our Lord of Light, it is now available in an extended version which carries the sub-title 10 Psalms for Our Lord of Light. The original version contain seven of the eight tracks contained on the Rift.Canyon.Dreams and Towers EPs. The 2008 expanded version also contains the track Rift.Canyon.Dreams from a split release with Asva and Burning Witch's two tracks from their split with Goatsnake, which is pretty much the sum total of the band's recorded output and is the version I would recommend as the CD is a nice package altogether.
Whichever version you listen to, be sure that you are going to be subjected to a crushing, bleak-sounding, nihilistic version of doom metal, a million miles removed from Candlemass, My Dying Bride or Saint Vitus, that takes no prisoners, gives no quarter and, to be honest, couldn't even give a fuck if you like it or not. Be prepared.
Genres: Doom Metal Sludge Metal
Format: Compilation
Year: 1998
I have a massive soft spot for Arkham Witch and I buy virtually everything they put out. It is their combination of doom-inflected heavy metal riffing, Lovecraftian horror and irreverent sense of humour that endear these Yorkshiremen (and woman) to me so much. I listen to an awful lot of extreme metal, but sometimes it's great to put something on that is just a load of fun and not too demanding on the old grey matter. I don't think that bands like Arkham Witch and Australia's Lucifer's Fall, who are very much in the same vein, get anything like enough credit for keeping the flame of good old, fun-loving heavy metal alive.
Three Bladed Doom (a purposely ridiculous title I suspect) is eight tracks spread over a mere thirty minutes and is a great length to put on when you just need a bit of a headbang with a smile on your face after another day of crap. With track titles like The Return of Klankenstein, Cult of the Dead and Droid Fucker you know you're getting the musical equivalent of a Roger Corman film rather than The Exorcist or The Shining and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. All hail these quirky Yorkies and long may they reign!
Genres: Heavy Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2021
I originally became aware of Ophis via their 2010 album Withered Shades, but found it to be nothing special and promptly put the band out of my mind until hearing a track from Spew Forth Odium (Default Empty) on the Academy Fallen playlist for December (many thanks, Ben) and, in truth, I couldn't even believe it was the same band. This is right up my street as far as death doom goes, being crushingly heavy and filthy sounding, but having melodic enough riffs to make each track remain long in the memory. A lot of the album, but especially opening track Default Empty, sound a lot like classic era My Dying Bride, but with all the gothic pretensions stripped away. There is a desperation and yearning permeating the album that you can feel in the depths of your soul, as perfectly expressed during the melancholic, but majestic, Of Stygian Descent. Other tracks have a more aggressive stance with some powerful death metal riffing, Conflagration Eternal, for example, kicks off like something from early Incantation before slowing to a more deliberate pace as Philipp Kruppa's gurgling growl intones the futility and hopelessness of existence. This is exactly how I want my death doom to sound, morose but defiant!
Spew Forth Odium sounds fantastic and it is a fact that it is no longer necessary for death doom to have muddied production values in order to sound menacingly melancholic. It is a constant source of wonder to me how some bands can still sound so bereft of hope and filled with futility whilst remaining crystal clear, as is the case with Ophis' latest. The bass rumbles along, underpinning all and shaking the foundations like a seismic warning tremor, as Ole Fink's drums batter away, every cymbal crash or double bass kick heard in perfect clarity.
Ultimately this is an album you have to surrender yourself up to and immerse yourself in, allowing the thick riffs to grab hold and drag you deep into it's cloying heart and if you do and are any kind of fan of death doom, then I seriously doubt you will feel short-changed by Spew Forth Odium.
On early listenings I had this pegged as a solid 4/5, but it keeps calling me back (when I should be clearing up my end of year lists!) and every time it does I get even deeper into it, to the point where I can't in all conscience give it anything less than five stars. What's more, I've now got it sitting as my Album of the Year, in a year which I feel has had some excellent releases, so that should tell you exactly how highly I rate it.
Genres: Doom Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2021
Rapture are yet another melodic death doom band I have been aware of but not listened to until now. I have often seen them compared to Katatonia, a band I can either take or leave, so that's probably why I haven't been too rigorous in checking them out up to this point, especially as I prefer my death doom to be of the filthy, old-school kind rather than the melody-driven style employed by Katatonia et al.
I must admit that I found the first couple of tracks a bit lacklustre, but when the riff to This Is Where I Am kicked in then I felt much more comfortable. It sounds very much like early Opeth with a doom vibe (I had to check the album information just to make sure it definitely wasn't Mikael Akerfeldt on vocals) and that certainly is not a bad thing, this comparison also feeling appropriate for next track The Fall by which point I am very much more invested in this. These two tracks are fairly uptempo when taken in the context of the death doom sound, but are where the band sound strongest to me and along with the title track are the album's high water mark. Unfortunately, when the band try to infuse their songwriting with a bit more subtlety they seem to lose momentum and just feel a bit weak, as illustrated by the massive drop-off from Futile to the frankly sappy Someone I (Don't) Know and so I much prefer the tracks with the more muscular riffing which are mostly concentrated around the middle of the album.
I can certainly hear why Rapture are held in high regard within the melodic death doom community, as there is no doubt, even to my ears, that they are very accomplished both as songwriters and performers, their music effectively utilising the contrasts of light and dark. But as any rating I dole out has got to be subjective and a reflection of my own personal enjoyment then I am unable to give it the highest of marks as there are parts I personally didn't enjoy, despite there objectively being nothing wrong with them. In fact reading this review back it sounds more negative than I intended, because I really enjoyed the more uptempo (and darker?) tracks, This Is Where I Am, The Fall, Futile and the excellent closer (About) Leaving but the rest I found somewhat forgettable I'm afraid.
Genres: Doom Metal
Format: Album
Year: 1999
I'm sure you are all familiar with that scene in Pulp Fiction when Vincent Vega hits Mia Wallace with an adrenaline shot after a heroin overdose and she sits bolt upright with a huge gasp. That was the effect this album had on me the first time I sleepily put it on just after waking up one morning. There is no subtlety here, there is no light and shade, this is nothing more or less than an adrenaline shot to the heart that will energise you and thrill you. Condor are a Norwegian three-piece and blackened thrash metal is their meat and drink, red and raw. The songs in themselves aren't especially memorable (and that isn't a criticism) - there are no melodic hooks or riffs for your brain to cling on to, the music is far too fast-paced for that, but they are aggressive and they are relentless and they feature some incendiary soloing which is probably what stands out most for me. For thirty-six minutes this album makes you feel like you are on a runaway train without any means of braking, holding on for dear life as it hurtles along. In a way it kind of reminds me of Reign in Blood, in that occasionally the band sound like they are barely holding it together and are on the verge of it all falling apart into chaos, but somehow they manage to maintain the integrity of the songs, which makes for a remarkably thrilling listen. Lyrically the songs mirror the music in that they deal with violence, horror and evil and Chris Sacrifice's ragged shrieking vocals perfectly fit in with this aesthetic. Condor have managed to pull off the extremely difficult trick of, to a certain extent, reproducing the sound of their heroes, such as Sodom, Kreator and Slayer whilst also making it sound modern and relevant to younger audiences as well as appealing to original fans of those bands.
Apparently Condor are members of the Kolbotn Thrashers Union, a loose grouping of thrash bands from the Kolbotn area of Norway, brought together by Fenriz of Darkthrone and include Nekromantheon who have released one of 2021's best thrash albums. In my opinion blackened thrash albums like Unstoppable Power and the aforementioned Nekromantheon's Visions of Trismegistos have saved thrash metal from it's twenty-year long sojourn in the wilderness and bands playing this style are now starting to sound relevant again. Long may it continue as these albums have made me enthusiastic about thrash metal once more.
Genres: Thrash Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2017
I absolutely love Archgoat's blistering approach. Their war-drenched blasphemies assault your eardrums and take no prisoners when it comes to black metal extremity. This latest release, Worship the Eternal Darkness, is not as much carpet bombing as a laser-guided, targeted approach however which results in quite a bit of variety from a band who usually crank out the war metal riffs like there's no tomorrow. I mean, after the short intro, Heavens Ablaze is a typical piece of Archgoat war metal, then this is followed by Black Womb Gnosis which sounds much more like standard black metal fare and then comes All Christianity Ends which verges very much on old-school death doom. This makes a nice change, because no matter what the essential style Archgoat are striving for they still kick ass like few others and this stretching out of their sound is a welcome departure - provided they still throw in the odd war metal face-melter here and there to satisfy the faithful.
The modern production values on Archgoat's releases means that they have to be even more on point than some of the old-school war metal acts like Blaphemy and Beherit because they can't hide any shortcomings in a muddy production job and they accomplish this with aplomb. Lord Angelslayer's are still the most badass vocals in extreme metal too and so with Worship the Eternal Darkness I think the band have done enough to evolve their sound without alienating any fans of their existing rabid style of blitzkrieg metal. I genuinely find Archgoat one of the most exciting modern metal bands to listen to and with this latest ripper they haven't disappointed.
Genres: Black Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2021
Lake of Tears are not a band I have listened to before, despite them being around since 1992. Apparently they now operate as essentially a solo project of mainman Daniel Brennare aided by a number of guest musicians. This is his first release in ten years and 2011's Illwill which dealt with Brennare's diagnosis as suffering from severe leukaemia. This is not quite what I expected from a gothic metal album, especially not from one with a science fiction concept. However, as in the very best science fiction literature, Brennare uses the conceptual tale as a vehicle to explore very human emotions such as alienation and depression, futility and hopelessness. Musically, thankfully, this shies away from the oft-used cliches of gothic metal and there is no heavy-handed sub-Hammer gothic musings of laconic Anne Rice characters, strewn with earnest string accompaniments. Rather, this is a much softer, more reflective release than is my experience with gothic metal, in fact I would question whether large tracts of the album are even metal at all. Daniel Brennare's vocals are quite expressive and are exclusively clean sung, he does sound genuinely reflective and sincere in his emotional expression. It isn't a homogonously low key album, there are heavier tracks, such as Lost in a Moment (which features an homege to / pastiche of Bowie's Space Oddity) and Ominous One which is the album's heaviest track, but I found the gentler, relflective material to be far more successful, feeling more genuine in it's expression.
I have never been backward in expressing my contempt for most gothic-based metal, but there is far more going on here and it doesn't just feel like some kind of gimmick or schtick, in fact the gothic element is more subtly implied as an atmosphere rather than an obvious stylistic choice. For me, this is interesting enough to bring me back, which is more than I can say for a lot of gothic releases.
Genres: Gothic Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2021
I've been following Olde for some time now and they are proving themselves to be a band that just keep getting better and better with each subsequent release. Pilgrimage is their third full-length album and is their tightest and heaviest with undoubtedly the best production job to date. These Canadians play a brand of sludgy doom metal that doesn't really aim for the usual grief-drenched melancholy of doom metal, but is an angrier, more aggressive-sounding beast altogether. A lot of the credit for this more aggressive sound must be attributed to Doug MacLarty's vocals, which owe a lot to hardcore punk's menacing and violent style - as I've pointed out before, to me he sounds very much like Sick of it All's Lou Koller.
Greg Dawson and Chris Hughes make for an ultra-heavy guitar pairing with some solid, heaving doom riffs and a few nice solos, the one during Medico Della Peste being one case in point. I particularly love the ringing, clean-sounding, recurring melody at the beginning and throughout In Defiance, which seems heavily influenced by the intro to The Devil's Blood's Voodoo Dust, a track which is a particular favourite of mine. A major beneficiary of the great production job is drummer Ryan Aubin whose efforts, along with bassist Cory McCallum to add additional depth and heft to the tracks, are well showcased without being thrust too heavily to the fore.
Initially I was reasonably impressed by Pilgrimage, but repeated listens have opened up new treats I may have initially missed and, I have got to say, this is an album that just gets better the more time you're willing to put into it. One of the absolute standout moments for me is guest Nick Teehan's unexpected and brief sax solo during The Dead Hand that all too quickly gives way to a short explosive guitar solo, but I applaud the intention and I hope this is an avenue the band choose to explore further on subsequent releases as it sounds amazing.
This album is of sufficient quality to break the band out of the murky underground shadows they have been inhabiting for too long and will hopefully garner them a bit more recognition which they undoubtedly deserve. If you're a fan of quality doom I heartily recommend this album to you for your perusal.
Genres: Doom Metal Sludge Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2021
Gloosh is a solo project of Siberia's George Gabrielyan (Георгий Габриэльян) who is also the instrumentalist behind duo Frozenwoods. The project seems to be unfairly hindered by having a name that doesn't really fire the imagination of most English-speaking black metal afficianados (despite being Russian for wilderness it doesn't translate well into English) and consequently doesn't glean the attention that he may have otherwise, which is a great shame as Gloosh are a step up from a majority of Russian black metal outfits. He plays a dramatic style of atmospheric black metal that is at once extremely expressive and viscerally savage. Opener Swampsong, for example, is a real whirlwing of a track, blasting along at an impressive tempo, whilst the terrific, ragged vocals shriek about how they are the natural elements that make no concession to Man (all the lyrics are in Russian), a concept I'm certain is familiar to someone who lives in Siberia! It's not all breakneck blasting however, there are some nice tempo changes, sometimes even verging on doom metal pacing, and several more melodic, medium-paced sections that give the tracks plenty of variety and allow for some nice builds and climaxes. The track that was released as a promo, Hexenring, is the prime example of this variety, from an all-out blasting assault of an opening to a funeral doom-like central section it climaxes with a dual female-vocal that is reminiscent of Lindy-Fay Hella's vocals for Wardruna.
Thankfully, despite the thematic predominance of nature and the natural world, Gloosh never resorts to hokey folk metal cheesiness, but keeps within the realms of black metal, in the manner of more talented black metal naturalists, such as Wolves in the Throne Room. I quite enjoyed Gloosh's debut Timewheel, but I consider this a considerable step up in quality, both with respect to the songwriting and dynamism of the performance and also the production values - the album sounds absolutely fantastic. Although it isn't by any means a perfect release, it certainly shows enough potential that allows optimism that he may one day produce a Two Hunters of his own.
Genres: Black Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2021
Italian metal and specifically doom metal, has a fantastic ability to throw us fans a few curve balls now and again - Paul Chain anyone? Messa are another band that attempts to push the envelope and do something a little different with tried and tested metal tropes, in this case female-fronted doom metal which has been very much in vogue over the last few years and has become a bit tired and stale as a sub-genre as successive acts merely regurgitate what has gone before with little attempt to produce anything new or exciting. So when a release like Feast for Water comes along it is like a genuine breath of fresh air.
Following a short intro, the first track proper is Snakeskin Drape which is the most metal track and is fairly orthodox doom within the context of this album. To be honest, despite it being a decent slab of metal, if the rest of the album sounded like this I certainly wouldn't regard it as highly, as there are bands who do the straight-up female-fronted doom thing much better. I presume the track's placement is to ease the listener into the album and not to scare them off by getting too diverse from the outset. The subsequent track Leah also has a very heavy intro, but from then on things become a little less typical as the song alternates between gentle minimalism and crooned vocals to reverb-laden heavy chords with a more earnest vocal.
Messa prove more than willing to bring in other, more mainstream, influences from outside of the metal sphere, such as during the bluesy Seer, but they aren't merely a bolt-on effect to possibly add more mass appeal, rather they become a synergy between the heavier, metal-based material and the more traditional musical styles resulting in seamless transitions between the contrasting styles. She knows has a kind of smooth jazz feel, led by Alberto's gentle piano keys and Sara crooning vocals, being punctuated by a heavy riff-led chorus before segueing into the intriguing Tulsi which begins with what almost amounts to a blast beat and a soaring guitar solo before settling down into it's main riff. The track eventually returns to the jazzy vibe of She knows and actually ends with a brilliant saxophone solo. White Stains has the most memorable riff and chorus and is one of the album's heavier tracks. Closing track Da Tariki Tariqat is an instrumental affair, heavily flavoured with a middle-eastern vibe that builds in intensity to it's zenith and a final release.
The songwriting is excellent, the technical prowess is flawless and Sara Bianchin's vocals are a treat. Messa really are a bit of one-off and are very Italian in their approach to metal, being unafraid to incorporate other influences and take the music to places more cautious and conservative acts would fear to tread. It may not ultimately be to everyone's taste but I applaud the band for their vision and a genuine attempt to push the envelope of what has become an increasingly stale sub-genre.
Genres: Doom Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2018
I have documented previously how I struggle with large chunks of death metal, especially the exaggerated violence and brutality. Overtly technical death metal doesn't really chime with me either as it's often staccato nature disrupts the flow of the tracks too much to my ears. Consequently I have a pool of favoured bands I tend to turn to for my death metal fix - Autopsy, Bolt Thrower and Vader for example. Near the very top of that list come Nile.
Nile were one of the first bands I got into upon my return to metal after my hiatus during most of the 1990s, via their Black Seeds of Vengeance and In Their Darkened Shrines albums, so I remember anticipating the release of Annihilation of the Wicked with some relish. Luckily we Nile fans were not disappointed and with AotW Nile unleashed their tour de force. Though it is technically superb, it doesn't flog that technicality to the expense of the flow of the tracks, each of which run like a dream nor does it short-change on the heaviness front, battering the listener relentlessly with wave after wave of brutal riffs and some of the finest solos I have ever heard on a death metal album, such as those heard on Cast Down the Heretic and Von Unaussprechlichen Kulten. The Ancient Egyptian theme is a great motif but doesn't really have any defining impact on the actual music as we are mercifully spared any goofy, faux-authentic egyptian passages, save the odd intro or interjection such as the intro to User-Maat-Re and briefly during Von Unaussprechlichen Kulten. There is plenty of variation in pacing from hulking, almost doom-like passages to brutal headlong charges with the longer tracks making for some seriously epic death metal. Tracks like the title track and Cast Down the Heretic are honestly some of the finest death metal I have ever heard and the quality overall is exquisite, revealing a band that were absolutely on top of their game as both technicians and songwriters. One of my all-time favourite death metal releases
Genres: Death Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2005
Finnish doomsters Fimir formed from the ashes of Church of Void after the latter split-up in 2018, with four of CoV's five members (excepting drummer Johannes Lahti who went on to form his own project Byron) joining the new band. I had championed Church of Void since their debut Winter is Coming ep back in 2012 so was fairly disappointed when hearing of their split. All seems to have turned out well though, as this debut album from Fimir seems to attest and I would venture that, even though it isn't a massive departure, it is even better than either of the original band's full-lengths.
Tomb of God consists of six tracks of impressive Scandinavian traditional doom metal, very much in the vein of Count Raven and Lord Vicar. Well actually there are technically only four tracks because the second half of the album consists of the three-part title track, although each part plays as a distinct track and work equally well in isolation. It is not an album that is out to push the envelope or even to try much new, but it is very well executed doom metal with some pretty memorable riffs and excellent lead work. I love the guitar tone, especially during the solos which are possibly the highlight of the album. The bass too has a terrific sound and is allowed to shine through on several occasions, most notably during the first part of Tomb of God, the gothic-inflected Obsidian Giant where it is featured as the lead instrument. Vocally Fimir obviously sound like Church of Void as vocal duties are still performed by Markus Pirkkalainen (aka Magus Corvus) but this time on several occasions he has double-tracked some harsher vocals alongside the clean. It's no death metal growl or blackened shriek, but still has a harshness to it that CoV didn't utilise and works quite well. The only real criticism is that the drums are very ordinary and don't really shine through, although as drummer H. Wizzard is the new guy in town, maybe he didn't feel confident enough to exert himself in the studio just yet and possibly that will change with time as he settles into the band.
All in all a very competent and enjoyable slab of traditional doom metal that I will be quite happy to return to often.
Genres: Doom Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2021
I have been a big fan of Monolord since 2015's Vaenir, which is still the summit of the band's output for me, but their previous album No Comfort, despite still being a decent album, felt a little lacking to me and, ironically, a little too comfortable. Your Time to Shine however, sees the band getting somewhat back on track for their debut Relapse Records release, albeit still falling a bit short when compared to Vaenir.
YTtS has big doomy riffs and the band's now familiar washed-out vocal style mixed with the occasional psychedelic part that is pretty much par for the course in quite a lot of modern traditional doom metal. The songwriting is great and the album pacing is superb as it builds from the opening track The Weary, it gains in momentum like a tidal wave so that by the time we get to the title track we are washed away by it's melancholy power. This is also an album of contrasting themes and atmospheres, from light and airy psychedelic moments to heart-crushingly melancholic doom riffs which reaches it's culmination on the epic closer, The Siren of Yersinia.
So with Your Time to Shine Monolord have developed their sound a little further, without abandoning what makes for great traditional doom and in so doing have got themselves back on track after a somewhat lacklustre previous effort.
Genres: Doom Metal Stoner Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2021
To be honest upon first listen I wasn't especially impressed with Skullreader. However, each time I've returned to it it has dug it's claws deeper into me and now I think it has finally "clicked". To be sure it isn't an "immediate" listen and it certainly doesn't grab you like Zhaaral's Darkspace bandmate, Wintherr's Paysage d'Hiver work does (and in truth it isn't really on the same level as Paysage d'Hiver, but then again, not a lot is).
Anyway, back to the release on hand and what Zhaaral has served up is a hybrid of melodic and atmospheric black metal with some occasional, brief post-metal-ly sections. There is a fair predominance of keyboards present, but they aren't at all overbearing or cloying and are very tastefully incorporated into the overall sound. I have seen the album compared to Blut Aus Nord and that is a fitting comparison I feel, especially when compared to the Memoria Vetusta series (although, again, it isn't on the same level of accomplishment). The layers of guitar and synth build an all-enveloping ambience that does allow for some nice mental pictures to flow. Lord of Mind, for example, with it's slower pacing feels like a journey through a huge abandoned alien city.
I initialy disliked the fact that the vocals are buried in the mix, but have actually grown to enjoy that aspect, as the fact that you have to strain a little to hear them properly makes it feel like a voice is reaching out between dimensions or across the veil between life and death to impart some profound insight. This is not merely an album built on atmosphere though, it also has some quite cool riffs, Fire and Thirst for example, which also has some nice Middle-Eastern influenced guitar work and Vanitas whose main riff sounds imperious.
Overall a very good album, albeit one that takes a bit to get into, but one that is worth persevering with. May not ultimately stack up against his more celebrated colleague's back catalogue, or his original band's output, but I would have welcomed hearing further releases from this project to see where they may have led. As it stands however, Sun of the Blind is a one-shot deal so presumably Zharaal has scratched whatever creative itch he may have been feeling within Darkspace, for now at least.
Genres: Black Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2009
Metal Inquisition is one of the most egregious cash-in records ever released into the metalverse. The album was written by and all the instruments (including programmed drums) were played by Leslie Howe who was one half of synthpop duo One 2 One and was put out by Canadian label Cobra, purely with the intention of exploiting the explosion in metal's popularity of the early 80s and making some quick cash. The vocals were handled by the cover's cartoonish, masked maniac Mr. Piledriver (Gordon Kirchin). Now I know the late seventies and early eighties were the heyday of things like exploitation cinema, but this is taking that ethos a step too far for me (and I was ever the biggest fan of that style of movie-making anyway).
This type of blatant cash-grab is complete anathema to me and is reason enough for me to take against it by itself, but the lyrics of this album have got to be some of the most crass garbage it has ever been my misfortune to hear. And no, I don't need to lighten up as this goes beyond mere cheese (where would metal be without it) into the realm of infantile and, frankly, insulting to the intelligence of metalheads everywhere. The only reason I haven't furnished this with a very rare half-star rating is because Howe actually can play a pretty mean guitar and the sound is excellent. But aside from that I resent everything else about this album, even feeling a little conflicted about reviewing it and focussing even the slightest bit of attention on it. Shameful and embarrasing.
Genres: Heavy Metal Speed Metal Thrash Metal
Format: Album
Year: 1984
The only band whose first six albums I have listened to more than Iron Maiden is Black Sabbath and then only just, so that probably tells you exactly how much I enjoy this album already. Although Maiden had dabbled in the epic previously, Hallowed Be Thy Name for example, this is the album where Maiden became E.P.I.C.
Kicking off with the tribute to the few in number but ridiculously brave RAF pilots of The Battle of Britain, Aces High, Powerslave shifts immediately into top gear and fair hurtles along, the track's pace encapsulating the velocity and dynamism of the dogfighting Spitfires in their dance of death with the Luftwaffe aces as they join in battle above England's south coast. Following this with the album's first big single release, 2 Minutes to Midnight, Maiden are truly revealed as a heavy metal band operating at the height of their powers, from the scintillating twin leads of Smith and Murray to the soaring vocals of the "Air Raid Siren" sounding better than he ever did either before or since. Following the galloping instrumental Losfer Words (Big 'Orra) come a couple of my favourite less-lauded Maiden tracks, Flash of the Blade and The Duellists, both of which are terrific, but Flash of the Blade especially is an awesome slice of hi-octane heavy metal. Back in the Village is another speed-driven number which is very much in the vein of the opener Aces High and in truth tends to get a bit ovelooked due to it's proximity to the album's towering epics.
And so to the main event: Powerslave and the thirteen-minute Rime of the Ancient Mariner pretty much defined epic heavy metal in the early eighties and perfectly illustrate just how supremely confident Maiden had become at this point. Powerslave's tale of a death bed Egyptian pharoah finally having to face his own mortality is as suitably bombastic and towering as the subject matter would dictate. Fittingly for a track about an all-powerful monarch, Powerslave sound absolutely imperious. The main riff has a glorious Middle Eastern vibe and Steve Harris' bass sounds better than ever before, particularly during the solos of the second half of the track. Now this would be epic enough for most metal bands at this point in the genre's development but Maiden then up the ante even higher. Rime of the Ancient Mariner takes heavy metal and marries it with prog rock sensibilities in a way pretty much unheard of in 1984. Harris and co at this point were riding on such a wave I think they believed that now was the time to do exactly what they really wanted to do as they had accumulated enough kudos to take the fans along with them and a thirteen minute progressive track based on classical literature, although on paper a tough sell (we were only half a decade on from the punks burning prog rock to the ground remember) launched them even further into the stratospere. What can you really say about Rime of the Ancient Mariner? This is an incredible track and one of metal's great narrative experiences. If you want to point at one particular song and say when were Maiden at their peak then this track would be my answer and it may even be the single most awesome heavy metal track ever committed to wax.
I have a fair number of albums that I have rated as five-star releases, but this is mainly based on my enjoyment of them rather than the fact I consider them perfect. Powerslave is one of only a fistful of albums I would give that accolade to (Paranoid, Reign in Blood and Watching FromA Distance being the others). Despite this it still isn't my favourite Maiden album as I have a deeper and more personal connection to the Paul Di'Anno-fronted Killers, but that's just me and Powerslave deserves all the plaudits it has ever received several times over.
Genres: Heavy Metal
Format: Album
Year: 1984
Upon my return to metaldom in the late 90s / early 2000s, I thought a safe bet would be one of my old favourites, Iron Maiden, so I purchased their (then) new album Brave New World from my local recorded music emporium. The last "Irons" album I had listened to at this time was Seventh Son, a decent album but one I have always believed is a little overrated, that however is a story for another day. Like someone who's been in a coma for a decade and wakes up expecting everything and everybody to be the same as before, I was extremely disappointed with Brave New World. This was no Powerslave, this was no Piece of Mind or Number of the Beast so what the fuck went wrong with Iron Maiden I asked myself as I threw the CD to the back of the cupboard and acted like it never existed.
Anyway, after 20+ years and the release of possibly Maiden's final album Senjutsu, I decided to revisit this much-maligned (by me) album. I have more perspective on Brave New World now that I am aware of how disastrous the Blaze years were for Maiden and, indeed, how below-par Bruce's previously final album Fear of the Dark was. So with fresh ears and a greater appreciation of where Maiden were as a band at the time (or more accurately where they had been) I have given Brave New World a reappraisal.
Firstly the facts: Bruce's replacement, Blaze Bayley, was out and Bruce was back in. Adrian Smith also returned to the line-up for the first time since 1988's Seventh Son, but Janick Gers (who's addition is the one decent thing to come out of the Blaze era) stayed on making Maiden a triple guitar, six-headed beast of a band.
Well, in truth I really must have been in a foul mood when I first listened to this because I can't now for the life of me see why I was so pissed off with it at the time. It's not perfect for sure and there are a couple of tracks that I find a bit irritating, Blood Brothers especially has a terrible chorus and if it and The Fallen Angel had been exorcised to produce a more concise runtime I think the album would have been all the better for it. But there is some great stuff here too. Wicker Man is a decent opener and I love the longer tracks, Dream of Mirrors, The Nomad and Ghost of the Navigator, all of which are suitably epic in execution. There's some good 'bangers too - Brave New World, Out of the Silent Planet and the title track to name but three. All in all I would now have to renounce my former idiocy and revise my opinion to a considered and conditional thumbs up for Brave New World. It is a worthy successor to Maiden's eighties' output, whilst not quite achieving the same level of metal heaven due to the lack of any earth-shatteringly killer tracks like Hallowed Be Thy Name, The Trooper or Rime of the Ancient Mariner. But it most certainly is not the abject failure I originally had it pegged for.
Genres: Heavy Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2000
Hour of 13 are the brainchild of North Carolina's multi-instrumentalist Chad Davis and have had a turbulent history with almost constant line-up changes that have inviolved them going from a duo to a quartet and back again. Erstwhile vocalist, veteran of many doom outfits, Phil Swanson has been in and out of the band, but like clockwork, has always been present when the previous three albums have been cut. Black Magick Rites was released for only 24 hours on the band's website back on 1st November 2020 and was then taken down. It has now been re-released by Shadow Kingdom Records in physical format.
Black Magick Rites is basically a Chad Davis solo album released under the Hour of 13 name and is the first to feature Davis himself on vocals, Swanson not being in the picture for whatever reason this time around. Unfortunately for Chad this is the most glaring difference between the latest and the previous trio of albums. Davis is not a terrible vocalist, I have heard far worse in doom circles, but he is no Phil Swanson either. Swanson has a very distinctive voice that is perfectly pitched for traditional doom metal and has a lot of recorded doom under his belt, whereas Davis' vocals sound a little washed out and are not at all remarkable. Some vocalists can raise the quality of a release by the strength of their performance alone (think Mercy with and without Messiah Marcolin) and Swanson is one of those, sadly Davis isn't.
Musically, if you are familiar with Hour of 13's previous releases then there won't be any great surprises here for you. Davis writes convincing, Sabbathian riffs and (ofttimes hokey) lyrics of the occult with decent skill and is obviously well-steeped in traditional doom metal and understands what it's adherents look for in the genre. But I just can't help but ponder what might have been if Davis and Swanson could have resolved whatever differences lay between them for this release and I keep coming to the conclusion that we would have been listening to a better album as a result.
Genres: Doom Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2020
Since previous release, Gloomlord, the Floridian death doom duo have expanded into a trio by adding guitarist Nihilistic Manifesto to the lineup and beefing up their already impressively heavy ranks. For the recording of Foreverglade, they also brought in session drummer L. Dusk. Both new additions have had a positive effect on the band, the rhythm section feels more solid and has a greater depth to their foundations with L. Dusk's addition and NM certainly makes his presence known, especially with some atypical death doom soloing (check out the solo on Subaqueous Funeral) and a bit more of a gothic feel to the guitar sound.
The production sounds much better on this compared to Gloomlord too and I think the album benefits from a clearer sound without losing any of the filthiness that we have come to expect from the band. The riffs are super-downtuned, throbbing death doom chugs in the main that any fan of old-school death doom acts like Autopsy should be right at home with and the vocals have a bit of variety, utilising not only the usual deep growls derived from death metal, but also black metal shrieks which harks back to the band's earliest days when mainman Fantomslaughter ran the band as a black metal solo project.
The band have also developed their songwriting somewhat, with the centrepiece track being the eleven-minute epic Cloaked in Nightwinds which has several tonal shifts during it's runtime for a bit more of a progressive feel (it is still insanely heavy though) and Empire of the Necromancers strays into melodic black metal territory more than once and has a more airy atmosphere to it than the previous tracks, allowing a ray of light into this filth-strewn, foetid swamp. Closer, Centuries of Ooze, somehow combines ultra-heavy death doom with what sounds at times suspiciously like Wall of Voodoo's Mexican Radio for a strange but incredibly effective atmosphere.
So, on the evidence of this, Worm seem to have come on leaps and bounds in the twenty months since Gloomlord's release and if they continue to develop at this rate we will have a serious contender on our hands before long.
Genres: Doom Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2021