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.

Allegedly formed in Svalbard, Norway (but since then relocated to Germany), today we have hyper-raw Black Metal outfit Znafelriff and their crushing 5-song EP titled “Ruin”. Crafting their sound to be as raw and DYI as possible, the band actually manages to create some very old-school sounding music that will infuse nightmares to the uninitiated.

Opening with the old-school Satyricon-esque “Heisere Stille”, the band instantly creates a dark shroud of distortion and rawness around their sound. The recording quality is decent enough to be able to tell all the elements apart, but raw enough to sound trve kvlt. The same rawness is continued with the Immortal-esque “Ruin”, however, the sound quality seems to have become even more trve as we needed to raise the volume on our speakers to continue to enjoy this release.

Continue their evolution into more Progressive and atmospheric territories, today we have Fallujah and their third full-length release “Dreamless”. While the band explores more melodic ideas, their Deathcore nucleus is still intact and will kick your ass in a minute. Searching for the perfect balance between sheer brutality and musical acrobatics, the band delivers twelve solid tracks that show how much they have matured since their 2011 debut release.

Opening with the brutal “Face of Death”, the band commands their attention with perfectly balanced Deathcore-esque growls and ethereal atmospheric elements. Bleeding into the more Progressive and melodic “Adrenaline”, the band nicely transition between styles while showcasing their musical creativity. Our personal favorite is the dreamy “The Void Alone”, which features a superb combination of clean female vocals, intricate drum patterns and pummeling guitar riffs.