Obake – Draugr (Review)

ObakeObake are an Italian experimental sludge metal band and this is their third album.

Obake are an unusual band, as you may have surmised from the oddly unsettling album cover. They essentially take a sludge metal base and use this to launch an experimental foray into avant-garde waters, usually quite defying the listener in their expectations. Continue reading “Obake – Draugr (Review)”

Doomed – Anna (Review)

DoomedThis is the fifth album from Doomed, a German doom/death one-man project.

Although Doomed are essentially a one-man band, there are also a plethora of different guests on this release helping to flesh out his vision, (including members of Hail of Bullets, 11th Hour and Camel of Doom, apparently). Some of the guest vocal performances enhance and complement the main delivery of the songs, and once again show what an exciting prospect this band is. Continue reading “Doomed – Anna (Review)”

11Paranoias – Reliquary for a Dreamed of World (Review)

11 ParanoiasThis is the third album from 11Paranoias, a UK sludge/doom band.

The album cover alone makes me feel paranoid, not to mention confused and slightly panicked, and this is before I’ve even pressed play. Continue reading “11Paranoias – Reliquary for a Dreamed of World (Review)”

Black Tomb – Black Tomb (Review)

Black TombBlack Tomb are a sludge/doom band from the US. This is their debut album.

Black Tomb appear to have congealed out of some dank, dark tar pit with the express purpose of creating bleak, filthy doom metal.

Think of Electric Wizard if they were a Continue reading “Black Tomb – Black Tomb (Review)”

Soothsayer – At This Great Depth (Review)

SoothsayerSoothsayer are a doom band from Ireland. This is their latest release.

Soothsayer play atmospheric doom/sludge that thrives on dense, dark emotion and otherworldly atmospheres.

This is slow-building music that wields atmosphere like a wrecking ball, crushing everything around it with the sheer weight of oppressive mood and feeling. Continue reading “Soothsayer – At This Great Depth (Review)”

Gridfailure – Further Layers of Societal Collapse (Review)

Gridfailure

Gridfailure is a one-man solo experimental project from the US. This is his latest EP.

Having been pleasingly surprised, impressed and enthralled with this year’s debut album from Gridfailure – Ensuring the Bloodline Ends Here – I was eagerly awaiting this release. With the exception of handful of releases, (Gensho being a notable one), I’m not hugely into this kind of thing normally, so to find an artist like this that I can really connect to is quite an unexpected treat. Continue reading “Gridfailure – Further Layers of Societal Collapse (Review)”

Year of the Cobra – …in the Shadows Below (Review)

Year of the CobraYear of the Cobra are a US doom metal band. This is their debut album.

Here we find just drums, bass and vocals, but what a combination. Just a duo, the band nonetheless have a large presence with the near 44 minutes of music on …in the Shadows Below. Continue reading “Year of the Cobra – …in the Shadows Below (Review)”