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    The Sabbathian - Ritual Rites (2014)

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    Delivering waves of crushing riffs and hypnotic vocals, today we have The Sabbathian and their debut EP, “Ritual Rites”. Formed by Chad Davis (ex-Hour of 13), Joey Down (Altar Blood), and the charismatic Anette Uvaas Gulbrandsen, this band combines Doom structures with a hefty dose of Heavy Metal influences, giving them a very retro and rich sound.

    The album leads off with the monumental “Ancient’s Curse”. For over seven minutes we get expertly crafted riffs that instantly set you off in a spiraling ‘doom mood’. Anette’s vocals greatly enhance the ritualistic feeling and work wonders on the retro Heavy Metal-eseque passages that are thrown into the mix. The release continues with the slow-paced headbanging anthem “Ritual Rites” delivering over six minutes of enthralling atmospheric riffs. The vocals are a healthy mixture of Jex Thoth and Agnete M. Kirkevaag of Madder Mortem.

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    Frozen Ocean – The Dyson Swarm (2014)

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    The ever changing, busiest man of Atmospheric Black Metal, Vaarwel, delivers us another brilliant Frozen Ocean’s release under the title: “The Dyson Swarm”. With a higher emphasis on the atmospheric side of FO’s music, this release crafts a unique aural experience that is quite trippy and pleasant to the listener. Featuring just the right amount of vocals (two tracks), this album will surely transport you to distant galaxies with its futuristic vibe.

    The journey begins with the lush “Syzgy”, a song that very nicely builds up to the trippy “CE-4”. This track has a weird trip-hop kind of vibe thanks to its beats, the guitars and vocals are what really make it standout and be unique. In “Sloan Great Wall”, we get a certain Germ feeling with its mix of futuristic atmospheric elements and somewhat shoegazy vibe. With a big Doom-sounding riff, “SHGb02+14a” is one tense track that will slowly hypnotize you.

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    Noctem Cursis – Nocturnal Frost (2014)

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    Being huge fans of Melodic/Epic Black Metal, we got pretty excited when reading the press kit from Noctem Cursis “Noctural Frost” full length. Delivering nine tracks of crushing Black Metal surrounded by epic melodic passages; this is one intense release that while not overly original, it is quite enjoyable for any fan of bands like Stormlord.

    After the typical atmospheric intro, the band explodes with the intense “From Space”, a track led by double-kick intensity and low-key atmospheric keyboards. It is quite enjoyable to hear natural old-school keyboards, rather than overproduced orchestrations. Moving to some serious BM riffing territory, “Scars of the Past” keeps things interesting and brutal. Here we get a certain old-school Catamenia vibe from the vocals and tempo the band presents.

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    Ides of Gemini – Old World New Wave (2014)

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    Having loved the band’s 2012 release “Constantinople”, we greatly anticipated “Old World New Wave”. Featuring nine tracks of haunting Psychedelic Doom, this band keeps reminding us of Jex Thoth but with a certain darker and doomier edge. Comprised of Jason Bennett and Serra Timms and Kelly Johnston-Gibson, this trio crafts some of the most unsettling and perfectly creepy music in the world.

    Quickly setting the mood with the crushing distorted guitars of “Black Door”, the band creates a very eerie vibe with the female vocals giving it a retro-horror movie-esque atmosphere. If Purson played Doom, this would be a good way of describing what this track delivers. Things get doomier with the hypnotic “The Chalice & the Blade”, featuring some My Dying Bride-esque riffs paired with ritualistic drumming.

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    YOB – Clearing The Path to Ascend (2014)

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    As one of the most expected releases of 2014, YOB’s “Clearing the Path to Ascend” instantly explodes in the listener’s ears with endless waves of crushing guitar riffs and demolishing drumming… and this is just in the first track. Oregon’s trio delivers what is most likely the most relentless Doom releases of 2014 and they do so with four tracks and around 61 minutes of pure fucking brilliance.

    Slowly opening the door, “Unmask the Spectre” nicely builds up until a vicious onslaught of pummeling guitar riffs and Mike Scheidt’s monstrous growls. This track weaves back and forth between melodic rifftastic passages and crushing vocals. For a 15-minute track, this track goes down very smoothly and with a heavy dosage of headbanging. Arriving in Neurosis-like Post-Metal/Hardcore territory, “Nothing to Win” changes the formula a bit with a combination of screamed and growled sections achieving a duet-like atmosphere that is quite nerve-racking.

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    Necromonkey – A Glimpse of Possible Endings (2014)

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    At Infernal Masquerade, we live for receiving those truly unique releases that transport the listener to other places, and Necromonkey does just that with their trippy “A Glimpse of Possible Endings”. In this 37 minute release the band delivers fixe hypnotic tracks that feature very emotive atmospheric elements and tons of cool instruments thrown into the mix. This Swedish duo will surely captivate your attention with their very original fusion of elements.

    Having a super kvlt name as Necromonkey, we thought this band was going to be an Experimental Black Metal outfit, but we were gladly surprised that this release has a lot more depth than that. Opening with a very playful “There Seem to be Knifestains in your Blood”, the band immediately sets a very unique tempo sort of Trip-hop is with string instruments and eerie Theremin sections. It is quite cool that the band listed the instruments used per track in the liner notes of this slipcase release.

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    Deficiency – The Prodigal Child (2013)

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    Hailing from France, today we have Deficiency, a very promising young band that plays a mean modern sounding Thrash Metal. Presenting us with ten superb tracks, this band showcases that not everybody is just trying to copy what old-school Thrash Metal bands have did in the past. Giving us a certain flair of bands like Mercenary, EverEve (sans the experimental craziness), etc., this is a very entertaining album that will not get dull at any point.

    Blasting away instantly with the album title opening track, the band showcases vicious riffing and versatile vocals. Not settling for your typical Thrash style, the band throws some growls into the mix. As “Unleashed” and “A Prospect of Traveling Beyond” unfolds, the band clearly showcases their unique signature into the music with emphasis on epic vocal sections and incisive riffs. For those of us that enjoy dark and melodic songs, “Those Who Behold” is one hell of a track with lush drumming and the perfect tempo to make it quite memorable.

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    Autumn’s Dawn – Gone (2014)

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    Arriving on Eisenwald Tonschmiede, today we have Australian duo Autumn’s Dawn and their debut full-length release “Gone”. Being no strangers to the scene, Sorrow and Anguish are musicians that play in at least 4 bands each, the most famous of them being Tim Yartas of Germ and Austere fame. Anyways, the band presents nine melancholic tracks of pure brilliance that eerily remind us a whole lot of Tim’s previous band Grey Waters.

    Opening this release we have the very emotive “The Ashes of a Life”, a track that has a very Rock-ish structure and melancholic clean vocals from Tim Yartas. The very ethereal atmosphere is always present and it is allowed to shine (even more) in some instrumental passages. Don’t you think this release only features clean vocals, we get a treat of Tim’s harsh singing through this release, starting with the epic “Until My Heart Corrodes with Rust”.

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    Bölzer – Soma (2014)

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    Arriving like 1000 pounds of bricks to the head, Bölzer’s “Soma” EP further establishes the band as one of the premiere Black/Death Metal acts in the scene. Filled with hateful vocals and crushing riffing, this release brings back some of the best elements of the heydays of Black/Death Metal with a vengeance and delivers nearly 20 minutes of punishing music.

    Released on vinyl through Invictus Productions and with the first pressing already sold-out from them, this is one behemoth release that everybody is expecting. Opening with the soul-destroying “Steppes”, the band makes a quick impact with bestial DM riffs and hellish vocals. Bringing back memories of Centinex and Grave with an extra level of brutality, this track immediately brings out the headbanging cravings on anybody.

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    Katakombi – Katakombi (2014)

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    Arriving today from Finland, we have Katakombi and their very weird, but equally crushing self-titled EP. Featuring three tracks and 26 minutes of music, this release will give you nightmares thanks to the very disturbing atmospheric elements that are used to create ambiance. If you are tired of ‘traditional’ Death/Doom/Sludge releases, this is one EP that will expand your mind thanks to its highly original approach.

    The EP features on side the monumental “Väärä Kuu”, a 13-minute crushing piece of music that nicely builds up starting from creepy atmospheric/drone-like elements into some ghoulish spoken sections before finally delivering some harsh vocals and chilling riffs. The bands musical progression in this track is quite unique and very well crafted, nicely culminating in a powerful aural assault with a very mellow pace.

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