Doom Metal

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    Kildonan - Embers (2024)

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    As a continuation of Vostok, Hamish MacKintosh returns with “Embers”, the debut release of Kildonan. With a very emotionally charged Black/Doom Metal style, this release features six tracks and nearly 40 minutes reminiscent of a mixture of Bethlehem on their “Dictius Te Necare” era, and Death/Doom Metal musings. Creating a very deep and powerful atmosphere, this is one of those sleeper releases that we found ourselves enjoying a lot more than we expected.

    Opening with the dreamy atmospherics of the title track, we are treated to dramatic clean vocals, harrowing harsh screams and a very Doomy vibe with Black Metal infused riffs. Kind of similar to Déhà and his exploits on his solo project as well as some Acathexis thrown into the mixture. We particularly love the piercing atmosphere created by the heavy Doom riffs of songs like “Ioliar-Bhuidhe” and “A Desperate Leap for Salvation” and their contrast with heavier and more brutal tempos.

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    The Foreshadowing - New Wave Order (2024)

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    After eight years of waiting, Italian outfit The Foreshadowing is finally back with their gloomy and moody Gothic/Doom Metal with “New Wave Order”. Featuring nine powerful tracks, this release continues the band’s exploration of the darkest depths of the soul and masterfully delivers their signature moody and dark music. For fans of My Dying Bride, Moonspell, Swallow the Sun, and End of Green, this release is a can’t miss for any fan of the genre.

    Opening with the mysterious “Vox Populi”, we instantly get masterfully crafted guitars, perfectly paired with Marco Benevento’s singular clean vocals. The song is quite crafty and nicely explores different rhythms and tempos, but always keeping the band’s characteristic somberness. The more dynamic “Judas Had A Friend” leads with some dramatic weeping guitar leads, melodic catchiness, and expertly delves into more melancholic and atmospheric territories thanks to Francesco Sosto’s keyboards.

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    Glare of the Sun - Tal (2024)

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    Unleashing a hefty dosage of Doom/Post-Metal brilliance, today we have Austrian outfit Glare of the Sun with their latest release “Tal”. Featuring a very well balanced sound that mixes elements of bands like Swallow The Sun and The Ocean, this release delivers nine tracks and nearly one hour of highly emotive and yet crushing music. Highly recommended for fans of bleakness with a dose of heaviness, the music here is both emotive and crushing.

    Opening with the Swallow the Sun-esque “Colossus”, the band unleashes powerful riffs and thunderous harsh vocals. This first track showcases a Doomier side of the band that slowly gets transitioned as other songs like “Rain”, “Äon”, and “Relikt” introduce more layers to the band’s sound like excellent clean vocals, and highly melancholic (and slower) interludes. The mixture of atmospheric elements alongside piercing riffs keeps tracks like “Stonefall” quite balanced and diverse, avoiding falling into formulaic territories.

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    Mourners Lament - A Grey Farewell (2024)

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    Punishing the listener with a gargantuan slab of Doom, today we have Death/Doom outfit Mourners Lament, all the way from Chile, with their latest full-length release “A Grey Farewell”. With over 64 minutes of soul crushing music, this release delivers six tracks filled with ravaging riffs, inhuman growls, and a very mournful pace. For fans of Mourning Beloveth, Shape of Despair, Skepticism, My Dying Bride, this release is packed with sorrow and melody from start to finish.

    Opening with the moody “Towards Abandonment”, we get mournful guitars alongside solemn keyboards building up a very fragile and engaging momentum. With some solid slower interludes, weeping guitar leads, and excellent clean vocals, we got a nice vibe of early Lacrimas Profundere. Next up, we have a 13-minute onslaught of even more melancholy and elegant atmospheric arrangements, perfectly paired with pummeling harsh vocals and masterful tempo changes.

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    Mountaineer - Dawn and All That Follows (2024)

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    Just like clockwork, The Bay Area’s Mountaineer returns after 2 years with their latest opus in melancholy titled “Dawn and All That Follows”. Not on LifeForce records this time, the band unleashes a hefty 50-minute release split into eight highly engaging and very dreamy tracks. For the uninitiated, the band’s mellow sound combines elements of Post-Rock/Post-Metal with some shoegazey influences and highly melancholic clean vocals, creating a very crafty and highly atmospheric release.

    Opening with the devastating “Cradlesong”, the band quickly unleashes their powerful riffs alongside a thick and demoralizing atmosphere, perfectly paced to inflict maximum pain as the mopey clean vocals of Miguel Meza come into play. There are definitely some crafty Doom/Sludge influences in the band’s sound, as tracks like “Hypnos” and “Prism” continue to develop the crushingly melancholic atmosphere, similar to Katatonia, but more ‘alternative’.

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    Amarok - Resilience (2024)

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    Unraveling a gargantuan Doom/Sludge Metal release, today we have North America’s Amarok and their punishing sophomore release “Resilience”. In the same vein as outfits like Bell Witch, Nizmor, Usnea and Lycus, this band crafts some of the most oppressive and soul crushing long and demoralizing songs we have ever heard. Five tracks and nearly sixty-five minutes of music are a testament to this.

    Opening with the emotional rollercoaster that is “Charred (X)” the band quickly sets a very bleak and desolate soundscape, filled with Sludgy riffs and hellish vocals. If your soul did not get crushed by the 17-minute opener, the 18-minute “Ascension (XI)” will surely achieve that. This track has an even slower pace, throwing Funeral Doom vibes as the weeping guitars make way for slow snarls and piercing growls. Filled with crafty tempo changes, this track is definitely one of the finest of its kind, and a new personal favorite.

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    Shivered - Existential Mourning (2024)

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    Unleashing a very melancholic and bleak sounding Gothic Doom Metal release, today we have a one-man outfit from Iran named Shivered. In “Existential Mourning”, Mohammad Maki delivers ten tracks and nearly one hour of music, in the vein of bands like Katatonia, Fall of the Leafe, Shallow the Sun, and similars. If you are a fan of the genre, this is a very good addition to your collection as each track oozes melancholy and sadness, in a brilliant way.

    Opening with “Paranoiac”, we get a very bleak mood right out the door with weeping guitars, subtle keyboards and very mournful clean vocals. The clean and harsh vocals are very well interwoven, making songs like “Ashes of Innocence”, “The Lighthouse”, and “Existential Mourning” remind you of older My Dying Bride, but with a heaty dose of Katatonia. We love the balance between the aggressive part with lush and solemn instrumental passages.

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    Brume - Marten (2024)

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    Featuring a very sultry and jazzy sound, today we have Bay Area outfit Brume and their latest full-length release “Marten”. Featuring eight tracks and nearly 50 minutes of music, this release has a very hypnotic and enigmatic pace, nicely mixing Doom/Occult Rock with more experimental influences. If you are looking for something unique with a chill vibe, but with some heaviness to it, this is a very interesting release to check out.

    The release opens with the magical “Jimmy”, a six-minute piece filled with moody tempo changes and hypnotic doomy riffs. Susie McMullan’s vocals are quite sultry and perfectly fit the loungey nature of the music, with tracks like “New Sadder You” and its magical cellos, “Faux Savior” and its melancholy, or the dreaminess of “Otto's Song”, showcasing the bands versatility and uniqueness of their style.

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    Arð - Untouched by Fire (2024)

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    After blowing us away with their debut release in 2022, Mark Deeks and Arð return with another monumental release titled “Untouched by Fire”. Perfectly mixing eerie choir arrangements with traditional Doom Metal, or monastic doom as the band has been pegged, this release is more epic, more solemn, and more dreamy than the last one. So be prepared for a truly immersive and mournful listening experience.

    Opening with the crushing riffs of “Cursed To Nothing But Patience”, this outfit sets a very ethereal and regal atmosphere that only a handful of bands can create, like Hamferð and Skepticism. The lush instrumentation adds an extra layer to the music, with tons of intricate elements perfectly introduced in precise moments to capture the cinematic experience of Arð’s music, as show in the opener and other excellent tracks like “Name Bestowed”, “Hefenfelth” and our favorite, the even more melancholic “He Saw Nine Winters” and its weeping lead guitars.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    My Dying Bride - A Mortal Binding (2024)

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    The legendary My Dying Bride is back with another mournful release filled with their magical Gothic/Doom Metal exploits. With nearly 55 minutes spread around in seven tracks that showcase the band’s signature powerful style. Never disappointing, the band always delivers very engaging and diverse releases and “A Mortal Binding” is no exception.

    Opening with “Her Dominion”, we instantly get the signature Andrew Craighan riffs alongside the band’s crafty tempo changes, with the drumming handled by Dan Mullins since his return to the band last year. The perfect balance between the fragility of the atmospheric elements like the subtle keyboards and violins is nicely outflanked by the staple combination of growls and dramatic clean vocals of Aaron Stainthorpe, and tracks like “Thornwyck Hymn” and “The 2nd of Three Bells” really exploit these elements.

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