Delivering over 45 minutes of highly enigmatic and atmospheric Doom Metal, today we have Canada’s Tribunal and their debut release “The Weight of Remembrance”. Perfectly blending crushing riffs and haunting cello arrangements, this release is sort of a mixture of My Dying Bride and SubRosa to some extent. Highly recommended for fans of the genre, this album creates an oppressive atmosphere while delivering a few surprises.

The release quickly sets a moody tone with the powerful “Initiation” and its slowly crushing riffs alongside Soren Mourne’s hypnotic vocals. Similar to Jex Thoth, Soren’s deep and enigmatic vocals give a very eerie and solemn tone to the music, as heard on pieces like the crushing “Of Creeping Moss and Crumbled Stone” and the desolate “Apathy's Keep”. The band’s ability to craft truly haunting and sinister atmospheres is top notch as each track delivers its own unique magic.

Unleashing nearly 45 minutes of hellish Black Metal, today we have international supergroup Høstsol and their debut full-length “L​ä​nge leve dö​den”. Featuring Niklas Kvarforth on vocals, Cernunnus (Manes) on guitars, Rainer Tuomikanto (Ajattara) on drums, and Vesa Wahlroos (Ajattara) on bass guitar, this stacked lineup delivers five tracks of intense music that is both moody and demoralizing.

After an atmospheric mood setting opening, “As seen through the eyes of the prophet” nicely warms up to melodic riffs and Niklas Kvarforth’s signature snarls. While the opener does not show all the cards the band has, “Det som en gång var (det kommer aldrig igen)” quickly escalates into crushing heaviness with intense drumming and blistering guitar-work alongside a throbbing bass guitar line. This track is as sinister as they get, perfectly shifting the release to higher gears.

Storming the listener with waves of melancholy and aggression, today we have one-man project Oerheks and their 2023 demo “Landschapsanachronismen”. Delivering nearly 25 minutes of music in two crushing tracks, this release showcases a very promising band with excellent ideas and a knack for oppressive atmospherics paired with lush interludes.

Creating a truly haunting and crushing release, today we have Germany’s Fvnerals and their devastating release “Let the Earth Be Silent”, which we are sure the earth will be after listening to this towering album. Presenting an amalgamation of Doom/Post-Metal and Ambient elements, this release unleashes over 40 minutes of highly intoxicating and yet bone-chilling music.

Opening with the masterful “Ashen Era”, we are quickly led down a dark and sinister path thanks to the punishing riffs and eerie atmospherics. As soon as Tiffany Ström’s vocals come into play, the vibe is weirdly shifted with eerie dreaminess but still delivering its dark nature. This overall feeling of helplessness is perfectly maintained as “Descent”, “For Horror Eats the Light”, and the enigmatic “Annihilation” pass by making their mark.

Delivering a very interesting concept of covering tracks from each other, today we have Norwegian artists Frøkedal and Sâver. In this split release we get two very unique pieces, one highly atmospheric, the second with a Folkier edge, creating a dark and engaging release that we found ourselves playing in repeat a few too many times.

Unleashing waves of old-school Symphonic/Melodic Black Metal, today we have one-man battalion Inherits the Void and and ‘their’ sophomore full-length release “The Impending Fall of the Stars”. Mixing elements from the early days of bands like Old Man’s Child and Dimmu Borgir, with the raw melody of Immortal, this release delivers 43 minutes of intense music.

Opening with the album title track, we instantly get waves of crushing riffs, a la Galder style, perfectly adorned with subtle but lush keyboards and hellish screams. The immediate vibe is quite retro, but with crisp production values. As “Palingenesis”, “Where the Oceans Lost their Might” and “Sullen Laments of the Wanderers” roll by, the listener will find itself headbanging to the expertly crafted melodic core of the band’s sound.

With all the killer reviews coming out in January, we almost missed “Into Sorrow Evermore”, the epic seventh full-length release of Germany’s Imperium Dekadenz. Featuring around 50 minutes of melodic and highly atmospheric Black Metal, this release feels like a mixture of Vreid with Der Weg einer Freiheit. If you like atmospheric stuff, this is probably one of the best in quite a while.

Opening with the engaging “Into Sorrow Evermore”, the band nicely sets a moody vibe as the wave of blistering guitar riffs and furious drumming sets in. We like this tempered approach as the band’s sound slowly expands and envelops the room very effectively. The headbanging continues with the crushing “Truth under Stars” and it nicely mellows out with the solemn opening of “Aurora”.

Unleashing a very interesting compilation of some of their earlier digital material, today we have A Diadem of Dead Stars with “Emerald Sunsets”. Hailing from Greece, this band has a very unique and at times gritty sound that perfectly blends influences from bands like early Ulver, Empyrium, and more modern Atmospheric Black Metal elements from outfits like Heretoir and Saor.

Opening with the blistering “The Furrow of Woes”, we quickly get aggressive BM guitar riffs and a moody tempo. This track nicely evolves into some eerily magical (early) Ulver-esque passages of clean vocals and powerful guitars. There is a certain Doom-ish magic to the band’s sound that nicely keeps things interesting and different, as we can hear in songs like “And Swallows Flew Away From This”.