Death-Doom Metal

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    Tomorrow’s Rain - Ovdan (2024)

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    Hailing from Israel, today we have Tomorrow’s Rain and their highly polished mixture of Gothic/Death/Doom Metal, unleashing their sophomore release “Ovdan”. Making a big impact with their debut “Hollow” and its plethora of high profile guests, with this release the band continues on a similar path, but also starts to showcase more their own style in tracks without guests.

    The release kicks off with the elegant “Roads”, a Doomy song that features Andreas Vingback (Dark Funeral) and Tony Wakeford on guest vocals, creating a very sultry and jazzy vibe at times. Transitioning into “Sunrise” we get the band’s uncompromising Death/Doom core with crafty atmospherics, guitar leads, and tempo changes. In “Muaka”, the acoustic guitars give a certain Empyrium-esque vibe that transitions into distorted guitars and dramatic leads alongside Attila Csihar’s vocals.

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    My Dying Bride - A Mortal Binding (2024)

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    The legendary My Dying Bride is back with another mournful release filled with their magical Gothic/Doom Metal exploits. With nearly 55 minutes spread around in seven tracks that showcase the band’s signature powerful style. Never disappointing, the band always delivers very engaging and diverse releases and “A Mortal Binding” is no exception.

    Opening with “Her Dominion”, we instantly get the signature Andrew Craighan riffs alongside the band’s crafty tempo changes, with the drumming handled by Dan Mullins since his return to the band last year. The perfect balance between the fragility of the atmospheric elements like the subtle keyboards and violins is nicely outflanked by the staple combination of growls and dramatic clean vocals of Aaron Stainthorpe, and tracks like “Thornwyck Hymn” and “The 2nd of Three Bells” really exploit these elements.

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    Hamferð - Men Gu​ð​s hond er sterk (2024)

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    As one of the most expected releases of 2024, “Men Gu​ð​s hond er sterk” marks the return of Hamferð and their highly melancholic and fatalistic Melodic/Death Doom Metal. Featuring eight tracks and nearly 45 minutes of heartbreaking music, this release oozes waves of melancholy and misery. Perfectly blending emotive clean vocals, doomy riffs, and deep growls, this release is the perfect medicine for those of us that don’t want winter to be over.

    The release quickly sets a powerful atmosphere with the piercing riffs of “Ábær”, immediately followed by deep growls and a punishing sense of aggression that suddenly transitions into melancholy thanks to the clean vocals. Perfectly balancing light and darkness in their songs, pieces like “Rikin”, “Marrusorg”, and “Glæman” masterfully weave fast paced passages with more melodramatic interludes of minimalist percussions and weeping lead guitars.

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    Grey Skies Fallen - Molded By Broken Hands (2024)

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    Since While Heaven Wept disbanded a few years back, Grey Skies Fallen has been left carrying the torch for that unique mixture of Epic-ish Melodic Doom/Progressive Metal that mostly North American bands have been playing. With “Molded By Broken Hands”, the band further refined their sound while keeping their signature elements and delivering seven tracks and nearly 50 minutes of moody and melancholic music.

    Opening with the acoustic guitars of “A Twisted Place in Time”, the band quickly sets a very melancholic vibe as the doomy distorted guitars come in alongside harsh vocals and engaging atmospherics. The album title track dabbles into more atmospheric territories at first with some crafty guitar leads and it progresses with some excellent moody tempo changes.

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    On Thorns I Lay - On Thorns I Lay (2023)

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    Slowly inching their way to a bigger label like Season of Mist, today we have one of the best Greek Death/Doom Metal bands: On Thorns I lay. Unleashing their eponymous release, the band’s 10th full-length effort has them delivering a dark and cohesive sound that is heavier and more sinister than their earlier efforts (“Orama”, “Angeldust”), still features the band’s signature approach to the genre.

    Opening with the punishing “Fallen from Grace”, the band delivers a good mix of atmosphere and incisive guitar riffs. The band’s sound is heavy, like really heavy, with a certain Septicflesh vibe to it on most tracks, particularly the longer ones like the opener, “Crestfallen”, and “Among The Wolves”. However, the band’s signature sound can still be heard on pieces like “Newborn Skies” and “Raise Empires” that have the melancholic riffing alongside crafty keyboards.

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    October Tide - The Cancer Pledge (2023)

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    Since leaving Katatonia in 2009, the Norrman brothers reactivated their melodic Death/Doom Metal outfit October Tide and have been releasing killer albums since then. On “The Cancer Pledge”, the band unleashes over 45 minutes of crafty melodic music with a hefty dose of heaviness. The band’s sound is quite timeless, as they have continued to add minor tweaks and refined it over the years.

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    Asphodelus - Sculpting from Time (2023)

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    Bringing back the days of mid to late 1990’s Death/Doom Metal, today we have Finland's Asphodelus and their sophomore release “Sculpting from Time”. With a very retro and yet engaging sound, at least for oldtimers like us, we are transported to the time when bands like (early) The Gathering, Yearning, Anathema, Castle, Katatonia, etc. started adding atmospheric elements to Doomy music.

    Opening with the moody guitars of “Waterside”, we are magically transported to the past with a very direct and old-school production and a style we haven't heard in quite a while. Led by Jari Filppu, the band perfectly captures that gloomy vibe and delivers tracks like “Fallen Dreamer”, “Life Painted Vermillion”, and “World of Hollow”. There are also some hints of old-school Finnish Death Metal, and even some 90’s Greek Metal hints from bands like The Elysian Fields.

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    Saturnus - The Storm Within (2023)

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    Finally! After ten years of waiting, Saturnus returns with another full-length release titled “The Storm Within”. Being a fan of the band has meant waiting, and waiting, and waiting some more between releases, but now that the time has come: the band delivers with this one. Oozing soul crushing melancholy, this release features nearly 60 minutes of crushing Doom, just what we expected from this band.

    Opening with the album title track, the release slowly picks up as Thomas and his deep growls come front and center. With two new guitarists: Indee Rehal-Sagoo (lead) and Julio Fernandez (rhythm), the band’s sound is slightly different, with more ‘upbeat’ songs that border more in the melodic Death Metal realm, like “Breathe New Life”. However, the punishing and slow magic of their previous releases is also present in demoralizing pieces like “Chasing Ghosts” and “The Calling”.

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    Mournful Congregation...The Exuviae of Gods - Part II (2023)

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    Unleashing a gargantuan slab of Funeral Doom Metal, today we have Australia’s moodiest outfit Mournful Congregation with part two of “The Exuviae of Gods”. Clocking in at nearly forty minutes of excruciating misery inducing music, this release features three highly demoralizing tracks. If you like your Doom to be slow, painful and soul-crushing, you know that there is no other band better than these guys, and with this release they continue to up their game.

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    Hanging Garden - The Garden (2023)

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    Slowly inching their way into being one of the most exciting Gothic Death/Doom Metal bands in the scene, Hanging Garden returns with their latest full-length release “The Garden”. Featuring eleven expertly crafted tracks filled with melancholy and lush atmospherics alongside enchanting female vocals and a mixture of growls and clean male vocals. As huge fans of the genre, this release has that magical Theater of Tragedy “Aegis” vibe paired in with a modern sound and brilliant productions.

    Opening with the crushing album title track, we get a slowly building piece with excellent heavy passages and a very solid dose of melancholy. Riikka Hatakka’s vocals have a certain Liv Kristine-esque vibe while unleashing unparalleled sweetness to a dark and somber mix as tracks like “The Four Winds”, “The Construct”, and “The Song of Spring” showcase. With each tracking having great melodic undertones, the songs in this release are both catchy and yet eerie and dark.

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