Doom – Page 79 – Wonderbox Metal

Moanaa – Passage (Review)

Moanaa are a Polish post-metal band, and this is their second album.

Passage is the follow up to 2014’s stellar Descent, which has become one of my favourite releases of the style in a while. A combination of post-metal, sludge and progressive metal, all wrapped up with glorious atmospherics and heavy guitars; the album was a slow-burner that just got better and better the more I listened to it.

Now it’s time for their second album, so how have they done on Passage? Continue reading “Moanaa – Passage (Review)”

Kurokuma – Advorsus (Review)

Kurokuma are a UK sludge/doom band and this is their debut EP.

It’s time for Kurokuma to bring the heavy. These three songs are oppressively weighty, consisting of sludgy doom metal with enough intensity to crush a bus.

It’s good that the band know how to add nuance though, as this just makes their music more in-depth and increases its longevity. To this end, elements of psychedelic drone appear here and there, meaning that not only can Kurokuma floor you with their heaviness, but they can also entrance with moody atmosphere. Continue reading “Kurokuma – Advorsus (Review)”

Third Island – Dusk (Review)

This is the debut EP from Irish post-metal/doom band Third Island.

Building atmosphere with steady grace and gentle insistence, Third Island take a subtle, almost-sensual approach to their post-metal explorations. That’s not to say that they don’t know how to ramp up Continue reading “Third Island – Dusk (Review)”

Khaldera – Alteration (Review)

Khaldera are from Switzerland. They play post-metal and this is their second EP.

Khaldera play their music as an instrumental band with plenty of atmosphere.

Weaving heavy, down-beat grooves with atmospheric doom and post-metal contemplation, this 18 minute Continue reading “Khaldera – Alteration (Review)”

Season of Arrows – Give It to the Mountain (Review)

This is the second album from Season of Arrows, a doom/stoner metal band from the US.

This is an album that combines retro/70s doom metal stylings with a more contemporary stoner rock vibe.

The songs on this release merge the various influences of the band effectively, creating tracks that not only worship at the altars of old-school doom and more recent stoner, but also give nods towards post-metal and atmospheric metal in places too. Continue reading “Season of Arrows – Give It to the Mountain (Review)”

Swampcult – The Festival (Review)

Swampcult are a doom metal band from The Netherlands, this is their second album.

The Festival is a H. P. Lovecraft-themed release, completely built and fashioned around one of his stories of the same name.

This is heavily atmospheric doom metal and sees the band mixing elements of classic proto-black metal into their cauldron and Continue reading “Swampcult – The Festival (Review)”

Mares of Diomedes/Dreich – Split (Review)

This is a split between two sludge/doom bands – Mares of Diomedes from Ireland and Dreich from Denmark.

Mares of Diomedes start us off with two songs of bastard-heavy metal, lasting 13 minutes.

This is fuzzed-up and harsh, with colossal riffs drenched in distortion being unleashed like they are going out of fashion. With Continue reading “Mares of Diomedes/Dreich – Split (Review)”

Kalloused – Damn You Believer (Review)

This is the debut release from Kalloused, a UK blackened sludge/doom band.

Kalloused have a powerfully heavy sound that they still manage to insert nuance into when the need arises. This release features a plethora of textured riffs that manage to show a certain degree of subtlety and finesse even when they’re smashing your skull in.

The band have a black metal element Continue reading “Kalloused – Damn You Believer (Review)”

Memoirs of a Secret Empire – Vertigo (Review)

Memoirs of a Secret Empire, (otherwise known as MOASE), are a post-metal band from Portugal, and this is their debut album.

This is expansive and progressive post-metal that creates mood and feeling through instrumental songs that belie the fact that there’s only three members of the band.

Well, I say instrumental – there are some Continue reading “Memoirs of a Secret Empire – Vertigo (Review)”

Morrow – Covenant of Teeth (Review)

Morrow are a UK-based doom/sludge/crust band. This is their latest album.

This is one of those releases that will likely infuriate those who like music that’s easily classifiable. According to the band, they’re emo crust, and I can see why they’d say that. In my opinion, describing Morrow as a d-beat influenced crust band may be superficially correct in some ways, but there’s so much more than that going on here. They have a cello Continue reading “Morrow – Covenant of Teeth (Review)”