Doom Metal

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Wither – Necropolis (2012)

    cover

    Delivering a highly melancholic debut full-length release, today we have “Necropolis” from the Australia two-man band Wither. Featuring a very diverse and depressing sound, this band will surely put you on suicide watch after listening to 50 minutes of brilliant Funeral Doom with some Black Metal and Gothic Rock elements. With elements from bands like Katatonia and the Russian Gothic/Doom band Autumn, this Aussie band has a very well defined sound that is extremely emotional.

    Opening with the heavy riffing of “Sonar Sphere”, the band’s sound immediately starts aggressive but as the melancholic melody sets in, this moves to the background. The raspy vocals are quite desolate and greatly add to the very moody atmosphere of the track. As the song progresses, the mood changes to a slower and even more desolate atmosphere, very similar to what Autumn used to do in their releases. Being the first track, we are completely hooked on how this release creates very bleak landscapes with their music.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Hanging Garden – At Every Door (2013)

    cover

    Continuing with their surprising evolution into a more Gothic Rock-inspired sound, today we have Hanging Garden and their latest release “At Every Door”. On their debut release “Inherit the Eden” the band jumped into the scene with a very melodic Death/Doom Metal and was praised by fans all around. With their second effort “TEOTWAWKI” the band started to mix more Gothic and different elements to make their music more accessible to a broader audience, something that they gracefully continue to do with this release.

    Opening with the trippy “Ten Thousand Cranes”, the band delivers electronic elements with clean vocals making them sound like current Paradise Lost and Tiamat. Not all is lost since their original sound is present underneath everything with powerful riffs and excellent growls. Thankfully the new vocalist can do the growls as deep and powerful as their original one. “Ash and Dust” starts a bit more powerful than the first track, and the atmospheric details added by the keyboards work very well with the song.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Opium Warlords – We Meditate Under The Pussy In The Sky (2012)

    cover

    Delivering one of those releases that makes you wonder why did you actually wasted time listening to it, today we have Opium Warlords and unbelievably their second release “We Meditate Under The Pussy In The Sky”. In this total shit-factory, we have Sami Albert Hynninen of Reverend Bizzare fame, taking a totally dump on music and concocting one of the worst releases ever since Botanist’s “I: The Suicide Tree / II: A Rose From The Dead”.

    After the super dull ‘minimalist’ intro “Sxi-Meru” we have the totally aimless “Slippy”. We know this ‘style’ of music is supposed to be this way, but it is just a random collection of thoughts and a few very nasty riffs put together. Sounding like a low quality rehearsal of something having a seizure while holding a pick to a guitar, “Lament For The Builders Of Khara Khoto” keeps the nonsense going.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Amenra – Mass V (2012)

    cover

    Four years have passed since the band’s last opus title “Mass III”, this enigmatic band from Belgium is finally back after a series of split releases and an EP with “Mass V”. In this crushing release the band brings their in-your-face Doom/Sludge to Neurot Recordings and delivers a release that will put them in direct comparisons to early Neurosis and Year of No Light.

    The first blow is the delivered by the monolithic “Boden” and it’s very natural and unnerving progression. When the powerful riffs finally make their appearance, the listener is well into an hypnotic trance thanks to the tracks slow progression. The screams are pretty typical of a Sludge release, but it’s the drifting guitar work that really hooks the listener into this song.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Narrow House – A Key to Panngrieb (2012)

    cover

    Being huge fans of Doom Metal, we sometimes dabble in the realms of Funeral Doom Metal, its ugly and boring cousin. While we are not huge fans of the genre due to its mind-numbing repetition and ridiculously slow execution, some bands like Shape of Despair and Thergothon are still ok in our book. Hence today we have Narrow House and their less boring approach to the genre with “A Key to Panngrieb”. By introducing lush atmospheric elements that range from keyboards to cellos, this band really grabs ahold of the listener and keeps it engaged for the duration of the huge songs in this album.

    Opening with the crushing “Poslednee Pristanishe”, things start very well with the perfect mixture of slow and painful riffs, commanding growls, and brilliant atmosphere. The simplicity of the music is really well shrouded behind a well-crafted atmosphere thanks to the keyboards. The band does a great job in navigating through such a long song with well-placed tempo changes. The same can be said about the considerably shorter track “Psevdoriatunok”, but with a nice combination of growls and ethereal clean vocals, very reminiscent of Draconian and such bands.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Ashes You Leave – The Cure For Happiness (2012)

    cover

    What better early X-mas gift can anybody ask for than the latest Ashes You Leave album titled “The Cure For Happiness”. Dropping this November 29th, 2012 through Rock’n’Growl, this eagerly awaited release is set to fill that void left in 2012 of an excellent Gothic Doom Metal release. Delivering nine tracks of pure melancholy and powerful emotions, this album is sure to keep the band’s legacy intact of excellent album that are only release when the band really feels they are done right.

    Newly fronted by Giada “Jade” Etro, the band returns in full strength as they have managed to find another excellent vocalist that can lead their melancholic music. Wasting no time, she delivers a commanding performance in “Devil In Disguise”. In this amazing track the band nicely sets a melodic mood with their traditional violins and well-crafted keyboards. Jade’s vocals immediately gave us chills when listening to the song since it is very eerie how well they mix with the band’s sound and greatly enhance the atmosphere.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Forgotten Tomb - …And Don’t Deliver Us From Evil (2012)

    cover

    After a very interesting “Under Saturn Retrograde”, Forgotten Tomb returns with their very weird mixture of Black Metal, Doom Metal, and Gothic Rock. In “…And Don’t Deliver Us From Evil” they deliver seven very inconsistent songs that the more we listen to it, the less and less we like it. Unlike “Under Saturn Retrograde”, this release just feels dull and aimless until the last two tracks that are quite decent.

    Filled with dull sluggish Black Metal tracks, the first four songs in this release are a total snorefest and it is until “Love Me Like You’d Love The Death” that the band really delivers something listenable. With the extra layer of trippy melodic elements in this track, it really helps the band craft something enjoyable and quite engaging after we were about to give up. The guitar work is also worth mentioning since it is quite good.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Subterranean Disposition – Subterranean Disposition (2012)

    cover

    Arriving from Canada’s Hypnotic Dirge Records, today we have a pretty solid Death/Doom Metal band named Subterranean Disposition. Unleashing their self-titled debut album, this one man band features Australian scene veteran Terry Vainoras delivering five tracks of crushing Death/Doom in the vein of bands like Mournful Congregation, Mourning Beloveth, but with a faster pace and a few surprises.

    Opening with the 9-minute epic “Between Apes and Angles” the band has all the hallmarks of a traditional release in the genre and some cool atmospheric elements. The riffs are slow and powerful, and the growls are pretty solid, nothing out of the ordinary if you ask us. However, things start getting interesting with “Prolong this Agony” and some experimental elements here and there. The pop/jazzy female vocals work quite well when introduced in a melodic passage, effectively changing the pace of the track and puzzling the listener for a bit.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Kolp – The Outside (2012)

    cover

    Providing a hefty dose of Black Metal structures with some punishing Doom/Sludge riffs, today we have Hungary’s Kolp and their sophomore release titled “The Outside”. Delivering eight tracks clocking around 40 minutes, the band leaves a deep wound with their razor sharps songs filled with interesting tempo changes and cavernous atmospheres.

    If you like to jump into conclusions, one would immediately discard this band as another run of the mill raw and kvlt BM band with the opening moments of “There Was No Place to Hide”, the first song of this release. Upon further inspection, the guitar distortion sounds a bit off if we are thinking of regular BM, and the Doom/Sludge vibe that suddenly inundates this song makes it quite interesting to listen to. The following tracks keep up with this style, nicely shifting from BM hellish sections into droning passages of powerful riffing and martial drumming.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Chaos E.T. Sexual – Ov (2012)

    cover

    Arriving from France, today we have a very unique record titled “Ov” that mixes all kinds of different influences ranging from drone/doom to Industrial to Trip Hop in a very tight package that is very sexy and intoxicating. Chaos E.T. Sexual is a three-piece from France that has a very hypnotic sound that relies on distorted guitars (shoegaze-ish at some points), catchy beats, and some drone-ish elements that are all perfectly timed and combined to create engaging songs that never get boring.

    Opening with the powerful “Kolmogorov Falls”, this track establishes a very intoxicating mood thanks to its enthralling Trip-Hop elements. The band never loses sight of the heavy side of things and the guitars nicely pummel their way through most of the duration of this track. The dynamic “La Moneda” allows things to move a bit faster and with even catchier sections, this track really engages the listener and hooks him to the band’s sexy sound.

Pages

Recent Image Galleries