Hailing from France, today we have the return of Southern/Stoner Black Metal outfit Glorior Belli. In “Sundwon (The Flock that Welcomes)”, the band delivers eight tracks and around 48 minutes of very crafty and completely unique music. If you are a fan of the band already, this album further refines their very unique style and you will love it, if you are just curious, be ready for a very bizarre and different musical ride.

Opening with a bang, “Lies-Strangled Skies” delivers a crushing mostly straightforward Black Metal onslaught with heavy guitars and hyper fast drums. Combining the very characteristic sound of French Black Metal with some funky melodic guitars, the band crafts a very powerful opening piece. The second track continues in the same vein, but slowly introduces some of the band’s more melodic and crafty passages near the end.

Hailing from Germany, today we have promising Black Metal trio Sun Worship and their sophomore release “Pale Dawn”. Having influences from ranging from Cascadian Black Metal to old-school Norwegian Black Metal, this band has constantly delivered killer EP and split releases which showcase their raw potential. Hitting the listener like a bag of bricks, this is one of the most intense releases of 2016.

Opening with the ravaging “Pale Dawn”, the wall of sound is instantly lifted with punishing riffs and hyper fast drumming. The band’s raw power is uncanny thanks to their piercing riffing and crushing tempo changes. While the first track has a certain USBM/Cascadian BM vibe, “Lichtenberg Features” quickly changes this with brilliant Immortal-esque riffs and melodic undertones, making it one of our favorite tracks in this release.

Delivering one of the most expected releases of 2016, today we have Pysch/Prog Rockers Purson and their sophomore album “Desire’s Magic Theatre”. Since creating quite a commotion with their creepy debut release “The Circle and the Blue Door”, the band has been gaining fans left and right in all parts of the world. Featuring a richer and warmer sound, this release delivers ten brilliant tracks that perfectly highlight all the awesomeness behind this promising band.

Led by the lovely and equally intimidating Rosalie Cunningham, this UK outfit opens with the fuzziness of the album title track. This piece sets retro Rock vibe with its groovy guitars and hypnotic percussions. The full-on explosion into melodic psychedelic/proggy interludes makes this track quite a solid opener. Moving on into more ‘traditional’ Jimi Hendrix-esque territories, the band delivers the trippy “Electric Landlady”, one of the most playful and engaging songs in this release.

With only enough bandwidth to review music, we rarely have time to review the stuff we actually buy for ourselves. Thanks to all the Internet chatter and other connoisseur recommendations, we acquired Sinistro’s sophomore release “Semente”. Instantly blown away by the fierce combination of punishing riffs and the fragility of Patrícia Andrade’s vocals, this is a release we felt compelled to write about in order to pass on this finding to our readers.

Opening with a commanding riffing onslaught, “Partida” sets a very high bar for this release. The track delves into your traditional Sludge/Doom/Post-Metal territories but is brilliantly contrasted by the hypnotic voice of Patrícia. Creating a very unique contrast the band instantly stands out from the competition. As the album progresses, the band focuses on creating a very unique and oppressive atmosphere which relies heavily on precise tempo changes and the use of keyboards, as tracks like “Estrada” and “Corpo Presente” demonstrate.

While traditional Doom Metal has been flourishing in the last few years, other sub genres of Doom have been dying off such a Gothic Doom Metal. Luckily for us, today we have the return of Italy’s The Foreshadowing with their fourth full-length release “Seven Heads Ten Horns”. Perfectly balancing Doomy tempos and soundscapes with more ‘upbeat’ Gothic Metal influences, this release delivers over 55 minutes of the band’s highly refined music.

After opening with an instrumental intro, “Fall of Heroes” instantly showcases Marco Benevento’s signature vocals. Perfectly placed in between singers like Ville Valo and Aaron Stainthorpe, his signature style is one of the things that instantly identify the band’s music. The album’s first heavy hitter track is the superbly catchy and moody “Two Horizons”. In this song we can perfectly hear the bands mixture of styles with a very dramatic (and catchy) piece.

The superbly consistent October Tide return with their latest effort “Winged Waltz”, and they will surely please all their Melodic Death/Doom Metal fans with this one. Featuring eight tracks and over 50 minutes of music, this release only increases the band’s legendary status in the genre and proves they can release very similarly sounding albums that are still engaging and very entertaining.

Since returning in 2009, Fredrik Norrman and company has managed to record an album every three years. Perfectly continuing the early Katatonia sound into the trademark October Tide style, the band’s musical strengths lie in their uncanny abilities to deliver perfectly paced melodic songs filled with emotions. After opening with the powerful “Swarm”, the band really steps it up with the very melancholic “Sleepless Sun” and its superbly crafted guitar work.

Arriving via Naturmacht Productions, today we have Russian duo Depciting Abysm and their monolithic sophomore release “Passage”. Featuring over 47 minutes of melancholic Atmospheric/Depressive Black/Doom Metal, this release creates the perfect shroud of musical misery. For fans of bands like Forest of Shadows, Shape of Despair, Lifelover and similar outfits, this is one album that will sound very familiar.

Opening with the 11-minute bleakness of “Shelter”, the band slowly introduces us to their sound with incisive riffs, solid harsh vocals and a very mellow tempo that just makes things even more magical. The atmospheric elements thrown into the mix greatly enhance the overall depressive experience the track delivers. On “Shadow” things continue on the Depressive Black Metal side of things with highly emotional vocals and a very powerful bass guitar line. This track reminds us a bit of outfits like Lifelover.

Hailing from Finland, today we have an older release that managed to go under our radar for a while, that is impressive enough to be reviewed all these years later. Crib45 plays a mean Post-Metal with Sludgy influences, allowing them to sound like Neurosis on command, but also deliver a wider range of sounds. With their sophomore release “Marching through the Borderlines”, the band delivers over 70 minutes of soul-crushing music.

Opening with the wall of sound created by crushing pieces like “Gathering the Storms” and “Catharsis”, the band really comes in tune with their characteristic sound with the dramatic “Waiting for Deliverance”. Aside the heavy distortion, the band layers atmospheric elements and dramatic lead guitars that give their music a certain Doomy feeling, setting them apart from the rest. Another interesting element in this song is the vocal experimentation introduced, which allows the song to be more dramatic and engaging.

Hailing from Finland, today we have riff-masters Dö, presenting their EP titled “Den”. In this release, the trio delivers Roadburn-caliber music divided into four songs with different moods. With tons and tons of bands playing Doom/Stoner Metal, it is quite rare to find ones that really make the impression that Dö manages to make in less than 35 minutes.

Sometimes the best way to move forward is to hit the rest button, and this is exactly what Thomas Caser did with his band. Bringing back some of the band’s old members and a couple of new vocalists, Visions of Atlantis returns with a fresh lineup and a new lease on life. The EP “New Waters” features five classic songs from the band’s discography, re-recorded with the new members in order to test the waters.

Opening with the amazing epic “Lovebearing Storm” from the band’s debut 2002 release “Eternal Endless Infinity”, we instantly get a glimpse of the killer chemistry between new vocalists Siegfried Samer and Clémentine Delauney. The song also sounds revitalized more dramatic keyboards and a clear mix.