Extreme catchiness arrives today under the name of Witches of Doom and their debut release “Obey”. Expertly mixing Doom/Sludge elements with Gothic Rock and infusing them with an extra dosage of grooviness, this Italian band delivers nine superb tracks that are extremely melodic and totally awesome.

The album opens with the Southern/Twangy “The Betrayal”, a song that instantly showcases the band’s talented singer Fed Venditti. With a very deep alternative rock/gothic vocals, this is the signature element that bands need these days to stand out from the pack. As the band goes through tracks like “Witches of Doom”, “Needless Needle” and “To The Bone”, we notice influences of bands like H.I.M, Lacrimas Profundere, and other Gothic Metal/Rock bands, but with a slight Sludgy twist.

Hailing from Colorado, today we have the elusive duo The Flight of the Sleipnir and their fifth full-length release titled “V.”. Featuring seven tracks of very mellow improvisational-style Psychedelic Sludge/Doom, this band delivers a very unique aural experience with over 59 minutes of very diverse and sonically pleasing music that evokes the likes of folk-induced Agalloch, Velnias, mixed with countless Doom Metal acts.

The release kicks off with a very Empyrium-esque opener with “Headwinds”, a track that slowly builds up to some powerful Sludgy riffs and tight drumming. The mixture of and Sludge elements is quite well crafted and the clean vocals nicely fit the bill, the harsh vocals while odd at first create a very contrasting vibe that ultimately fits the song perfectly. Things get a bit more psychedelic, or should we say ‘sludge-chedelic’ in the trippy “Sidereal Course”. This song has a very nice free-flowing vibe and feels like a jam session in some places.

Expertly crafted, “Where Greater Men Have Fallen” continues the legacy of Primordial and their unique Celtic infused Folk Metal. Delivering 58 minutes of engaging tracks that need to gimmicks to appeal to the listener, the band does a great job in keeping their sound and legacy intact with a very high quality release. Any fan of the band will be greatly pleased by this album that brings us some memories of the band’s epic: “Spirit the Earth Aflame”.

The head banging session starts early with the crushing opening of the album’s title track, we love how Primordial has always managed to deliver Folky sounding music with heavy riffs and not a plethora of bagpipes and similar elements. A.A. Nemtheanga’s vocals gracefully lead the band’s musical onslaught with great vocal melodies that perfectly fit the mood of the songs. Make no mistake, there are plenty of heavy sections for the fans that like the harsher side of the band, as we can see on tracks like “Babel’s Tower” and “The Seed of Tyrants”, as well as sprinkled around in between epic melodic passages.

The USA Progressive Metal scene has been growing in the last few years, and surprisingly besides the premiere bands, there are many newcomers (or smaller bands) filled with quality like Oceans of Night. As the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Scott Mosher, “Midnight Rising” marks the third full-length release of the band and greatly shows improvement over their previous albums. Coming in at nearly one hour of music, this release combines early 90’s Progressive Metal elements with the futuristic vibe of Dol Ammad and Ayreon.

Opening with the atmospheric “The Haunted Mind”, the band seamlessly transitions into the Heavy/Power Metal elements of “Midnight Rising”. In this last track, Scott Oliva shines through the expertly crafted riffing and percussions. Breaking up the flow, the highly atmospheric “Critical Mass / The Breathless Sleep” nicely changes the pace of things before the epic “The Burning Sky”. As one of our favorite tracks in this release, the instrumental passages and guitar solos are just amazing in this one (there is a guest solo in this track by Chris Rifkin).

As soon as we received this release with the association of featuring members of Botanist, we braced ourselves for the worst. In return, we actually are quite surprised and pleased on how Lotus Thief’s “Rervm” has turned out, featuring a truly unique and engaging sound that is very structured and free-flowing, unlike Botanist. Delivering six very solid tracks, this is probably at the top of our “Best surprises of 2014” list.

The album kicks off with the heavy riffing of “Aeternvm” creating a very hypnotic passage that is later complemented with brilliant atmospheric elements and female vocals. The drumming still has that Botanist edge to it, but it is far less chaotic and fits the music perfectly. There are some trippy atmospheric sounds here and there that nicely complement the atmosphere of this track. Things pick up with “Miseras” and its Sludge/Alt-Rock vibe, showing a different side of the band while retaining its atmospheric uniqueness.

Hailing from Switzerland, today we have Last Leaf Down and their dreamy Post-Rock/Shoegaze. Sounding like a combination of Katatonia, Tides from Nebula, and some sprinkles of Slowdive and Alcest, this band delivers a very unique and ethereal sounding release with “Fake Lights”. Clocking in at 51 minutes, buckle up for a very dreamy and ethereal ride with this one.

As the intro bleeds into “In Dreams”, the dreamy shoegazing galore starts. The band’s sound is very atmospheric and melancholic. Benjamin Schenk vocals are quite hypnotic and they perfectly fit to the album’s overall pace. The Katatonia influences, while on their experimental ‘alternative’ phase, are very clear in tracks like “In These Waters” and “Giant”, we particularly love this last one and its weeping depressive guitars.

In a year filled with killer Death Metal releases from genre greats like Cannibal Corpse, Obituary, Abysmal Dawn, etc., it is still quite easy to distinguish the legendary Centinex from the rest. Returning after an 8 year hiatus, this Swedish outfit arrives with a vengeance and one of the best Swedish Death Metal releases in years. Martin Schulman has managed to come back with a very strong lineup and a killer sound that will snap necks in the mosh pit.

Heavy, creepy and atmospheric are words that we usually like when talking about a release, in “The Kingdom Field” Darkher perfectly crafts her sound around those three words. Hailing from the UK, this female-fronted outfit delivers four brilliant tracks that combine elements from old-school bands like The 3rd and the Mortal, to newer acts like Hexvessel and Jex Thoth.

We are slowly initiated to Darkher’s captivating sound with the atmospheric intro to “Ghost Tears”. The dark and somber vocals work amazingly well with the minimalistic percussions and guitars in this track. We are reminded of a mixture of Jamie Myers (Sabbath Assembly), Jex Thoth, and Kari Rueslåtten (ex The 3rd and the Mortal), as it goes from somber and deep to sweet and innocent in tracks like “Hung”, these changes make this release very versatile and intoxicating.

As one of the least conventional bands in Metal Blade, Downfall of Gaia delivers a punishing 60 minute musical experience with their third full-length release “Aeon Unveils the Thrones of Decay”. Perfectly crafting an apocalyptic sound that fuses Black Metal, Post-Metal, and Sludge elements, this band will mercilessly make your speakers pop and have you begging for more.

Getting down to business with the bestial opener “Darkness Inflames These Sapphire Eyes”, the band spews their message with a brutality and firmness. The Black Metal sections are perfectly craved into the heavy riffing of this track, and the different vocal styles further extend the songs brutality. Just when you things are getting calm, blistering passages change the mood and direction of the songs, like in the epic “Carved into Shadows”. The underlying Doom/Post-Metal elements of tracks like this one and “Ascending the Throne”, make the band’s sound even richer and very diverse, making it harder to pin them down.

Ever since their debut full-length “The Malediction Fields” Fen has always had a very clear and unique sound that has nicely transformed over the years. With “Carrion Skies”, the further elevate their musical magic in six brilliantly composed tracks. Perfectly blending atmosphere with aggression and desolate instrumental passages, this UK trio continues to blow everybody out of the water in terms of Atmospheric Black Metal.

Opening with the tour-de-force tow-part track “Our Names Written in Embers”, the band delivers 18 minutes of their signature atmospheric music paired with a few Post-Rock/Jazzy passages that nicely complement the aggressive vocals and furious riffing onslaughts. On part two, the band nicely crafts playful guitar melodies that are perfect for some melodic headbanging.