Cult of Luna are a Swedish post-metal band and this is their eighth album.
A Dawn to Fear follows on from the massively amazing Mariner, which was my album of the year for 2016, and deservedly so. Now, three years later, they return with 79 minutes of new material spread out over 8 songs. Continue reading “Cult of Luna – A Dawn to Fear (Review)”
This is the third album from US solo blackened doom band Mizmor, or מזמור.
Providing a lethal concoction of black metal, funeral doom, and drone across 57 minutes, this album is a harrowing and affecting journey into lost faith and existential crisis. It’s powerful, and an album that is clearly special upon even the first listen; repeated visits merely reinforce how exceptional it is. Continue reading “Mizmor (מזמור) – Cairn (Review)”
This is the third album from The Fifth Alliance, a doom/post-metal/sludge band from the Netherlands.
2015’s Death Poems impressed, but the band’s new album seems set to do even more than this. Continue reading “The Fifth Alliance – The Depth of the Darkness (Review)”
Wizard Rifle are a US sludge band and this is their third album.
Wizard Rifle are a band that mixes together doom and sludge metal with psychedelic, noise, and progressive rock, creating songs that twist and turn with virile life. A rough approximation of their sound would be a cross between Melvins, Electric Wizard, and Mastodon. Sort of. Continue reading “Wizard Rifle – Wizard Rifle (Review)”
Culted are an international blackened doom band and this is their latest EP.
I really enjoyed 2014’s Oblique to All Paths, and have been waiting for a new Culted release ever since. Well, now it’s here in the shape of this 27-minute EP. Boasting three tracks, Vespertina Synaxis: A Prayer for Union & Emptiness is a sinister exploration of Culted’s world. Continue reading “Culted – Vespertina Synaxis: A Prayer for Union & Emptiness (Review)”
This is the debut album from Mourner, a death/doom metal band from Russia.
In a surprisingly textured mix of gloomy atmosphere and deathly heaviness, Mourner’s first release is an enjoyable take on the death/doom style. It seems primarily influenced by the old-school triumvirate of Paradise Lost, Anathema, and My Dying Bride, and fans of these bands and the corresponding era should find much to enjoy here. Continue reading “Mourner – Apogee of Nihility (Review)”
This is a split between two UK sludge metal bands. Both bands offer up a single song.
We’ve met Moloch before on their split with Cloud Rat. Here they continue with their Continue reading “Moloch/Groak – Split (Review)”
This is the seventh album from Arctic Sleep, a one-man, (with guests), atmospheric/progressive doom band from the US.
Despite the fact that this is the band’s seventh album, this is my first encounter with Arctic Sleep’s music. It seems I’ve been missing out; what we have here is hugely impressive. However, the man behind Arctic Sleep is also the man behind Unearthed Elf, and as I absolutely love Unearthed Elf’s Into the Catacomb Abyss, I suppose it should come as no surprise that Kindred Spirits is as good as it is. Continue reading “Arctic Sleep – Kindred Spirits (Review)”
This is the latest EP from Daxma, a doom/post-metal band from the US.
Following on from 2017’s absorbing The Head Which Becomes the Skull, the band now provide us with two new tracks, with a total duration of 25 minutes. Continue reading “Daxma – Ruins upon Ruins (Review)”
Eternal Black are a doom metal band from the US and this is their second album.
I enjoyed both 2015’s Eternal Black and 2017’s Bleed the Days, so new material from this band is no bad thing. Across 38 minutes Eternal Black bring the doom, and do so very ably. Continue reading “Eternal Black – Slow Burn Suicide (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 