Doom – Page 82 – Wonderbox Metal

True Cross – Pure Divorce (Review)

True Cross are from the US and this is their début album. They play Shoegaze/Post-Rock.

This is an interesting album. The band incorporate elements of Doom here and there and even a hint of Punk in some of the more upbeat parts. For the main though, this is firmly in Shoegaze territory, with Post-Rock filling in the gaps.

Apparently the theme of this release is all about endings, and I can believe that as there’s a definite air of finality about these songs. They’re darkly emotive and heavy on the feeling, creating a despondent attitude without going overboard.

The vocals consist of ethereal cleans that seem to just about have the energy to pull themselves out of the musical melange, adding further layers of emotion to songs that are already thick with mood.

True Cross have created an album full of raw emotion, unfettered by constraint and loaded with negativity. Artful and intense, Pure Divorce is cinematic in scope and shares some of its qualities with that of a soundtrack.

A lot of Shoegaze passes me by as not having enough substance to it, but True Cross have really got their formula sorted out on this album. I’ll definitely be listening to this late at night, in the dark, as I’m sure is intended.

Here’s one to live with and absorb for a while.

Conan – Revengeance (Review)

Conan are a UK Doom Metal band. This is their third album.

If you haven’t heard Conan before – think heavy, think Doom, think crushing. They also have the album art to back this up.

Conan play heavy Doom Metal that reeks of axes and old blood. Not content with playing at only one speed, they also throw a bit of groove into the music here and there to keep things spicy, usually before descending into the slow pit of DOOOOOM for a while.

The singer’s vocals have always been slightly unusual; he somehow manages to pitch his voice as a strange cross between singing and shouting. It’s not an unpleasant style, (in fact it can sound quite powerful in places), but it’s one that always took a little getting used to, at least for me. Now that I’m acclimatized to it though, I’m glad it’s a bit different, and even jarring on occasion, as it gives the band a way to differentiate themselves from the masses.

This is a very strong album, as it could only ever be if you call your band Conan, I suppose. The songs are all very enjoyable and feature gargantuan riffs heavy enough to stomp entire cities. It’s the kind of music that you can easily get lost in, which can actually be quite dangerous as the riffs and vocals can batter and bruise if you’re not paying attention.

Another 49 minutes of crushing Doom from a band who are, at this point, experts in what they do.

Highly recommended.

Lucifer’s Fall – Fuck You We’re Lucifer’s Fall (Review)

This is the latest EP from Australia’s Lucifer’s Fall. They play Traditional Doom Metal.

I really liked Lucifer’s Fall’s début album; it was a definite grower. I was looking forward to listening to this new EP, but also slightly apprehensive as the low-rent cover is in stark contrast to the much better artwork adorning their album.

Of course, this is the classic “don’t judge a book by its cover” syndrome. I was fearful of some under-produced Punk/Doom abomination, (for some reason), but in reality of course the band are still crushing it with their classic take on Doom Metal.

So, apart from the cover, all of the ingredients that made their début album so enjoyable are present and correct – Traditional Doom with hints of the darker modern style, a good sound with an audible bass, loose and mournful vocals, Reverend Bizarre influences…it’s all here and I am very glad that it is.

The songs are effortlessly familiar, enjoyable and seem to roll into your ears with ease.

On this EP the band offer up three tracks spanning 25 minutes and it’s a worthy way to spend your time.

Bosque – Beyond (Review)

Bosque is a one-man Doom band from Portugal. This is his third album.

This is mournful, slow Funeral Doom that’s wonderfully despondent and drenched in desolate negativity. The music reeks of isolation and loss.

The guitars have the timbre of a Black Metal album, but enslaved and put to work down the Doom Metal mines. This lends Bosque quite a distinct blackened feel while still staying mainly in the Funeral Doom camp.

There’s a severe minimalism here too, fed further by the Black Metal aesthetics, that manages to successfully convey a huge amount of darkly emotive themes with limited tools.

The vocals are low-in-the-mix cleans that sound completely anguished and forlorn. Their sorrowful delivery reminds the listener in no uncertain terms that everything is pointless and nothing has any meaning, other than what is given, and even that is probably worthless.

The songs are quality exemplars of the style and it’s easy to get lost in the misery on Beyond.

It’s rare that you hear Funeral Doom quite this nihilistically bleak and delivered with such conviction.

Recommended.

Favourite Track: Paradox.

Battle Path – Ambedo (Review)

Battle Path are a Progressive Blackened Doom band from the US and this is their third album.

After two extremely gratifying releases, Battle Path are back with a slight change in direction. This time the band have shifted to a more experimental version of their sound, adding keyboards and synths to create expansive songs with an increase in atmosphere.

The blackened bile is still here though, it’s just now wrapped up in a Progressive Metal coating that gives it quite a 70s sheen in some ways, although not properly of course as they didn’t have Black Metal back then. But if they did…

The crushing Doom is still here too. It’s also swaddled in atmospherics that makes everything sound grander and more epic than the band’s previous work. It’s heavy, emotive and devastating.

In reality, of course, there’s no clear delineation between the Black Metal and Doom aspects, with everything flowing and merging together quite nicely. The band have merely added to this already potent cocktail with keyboards/synths, as well as some Post-Metal influences here and there, reminiscent of Cult of Luna, (as embodied on the instrumental title track, for example); in some ways the band are mirroring Cult of Luna’s development into more experimental pastures that offer a wider, more expansive musical scope. Battle Path and Cult of Luna don’t really sound like each other though, it should be stressed, but they do seem to be on similar journeys in some respects.

Vocally we get harsh, blackened screams for the most part, although these are added to by some bowel-shakingly deep growls on occasion. These are used relatively minimally compared to a lot of bands, with the music being allowed to do the talking for the most part, even when the serrated screams are ringing out.

With this album Battle Path have improved and progressed on their already impressive sound and have produced an album that shows a band truly coming into their own. The added progressive elements have enhanced and improved their core delivery so that Ambedo is a truly wonderful listen.

I loved Battle Path before this, and it seems that I love them even more now.

Latitudes – Old Sunlight (Review)

This is the third album from UK Post-Metal/Sludge band Latitudes.

Latitudes are the kind of band who are off doing their own thing and everyone should be happy and pleased that they are.

Latitudes have an apocalyptically heavy sound that masterfully utilises the wall-of-guitars approach to create cascading tsunamis of distorted feeling. Unusually though, this is shot through with streaking arcs of bright melody, raising the emotive levels of the tracks tenfold. Needless to say, this is a talent that most bands lack.

There’s a distinct Sludge-fuelled Progressive element to their Post-Metal that lends the album a cinematic quality, as if the songs are describing various scenes and stories throughout. This is further enhanced by the fact that a sizeable chunk of Old Sunlight is instrumental, with the vocals only appearing at key points throughout.

When vocals do appear, they’re soft, angelic and gloriously melodic. Adding a melancholic sweetness to the tracks, it shows how well Old Sunlight treads the fine line between negativity and positivity, or classically; darkness and light. This is a theme for Latitudes, with their music managing to blur the boundaries between these two points, so much so that they frequently do both at the same time, as hinted at in the name of the album.

The band certainly have a talent for writing these dual-purpose songs, with yet another example of this being complexity vs simplicity, again, usually concurrently. When channelled into creating soundscapes that are both bright and hopeful, yet dark and hopeless, it’s a very beguiling and enticing combination.

This is the kind of album you return to repeatedly, never quite having fully explored all of its winding avenues.

Join me and bask in the light of the dying sun.

Hellhookah – Endless Serpents (Review)

Hellhookah are a Traditional Doom Metal band from Lithuania. This is their début album.

This is Traditional Doom Metal for fans of bands like Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus, Pentagram and Trouble. The album is 35 minutes long and has 7 tracks, one of which is a Saint Vitus cover.

With both eyes firmly on the past, Hellhookah peel off the riffs that mark the style and these songs are easily digested.

I find that these songs are at their best the slower and more moody that the band play, such as on tracks like Endless Serpents.

The singer has a decent voice that does the job required. There’s no complaints in this department.

This entire album has a very authentic sound; it could have been recorded decades ago and just recently unearthed.

A not-unpleasant way to spend half an hour – have a listen and see what you think.

Agoraphobic Nosebleed – Arc (Review)

This is the latest release from legendary US Grinders Agoraphobic Nosebleed, although it should be noted that this release is somewhat of an abnormality, much like 2009’s Agorapocalypse. Whereas Agorapocalypse was looking at extremity from a Thrash perspective though, Arc takes in the view from a dirty great Sludge one.

This is a new and different side of the band – heavy and full of Doom. It’s a filthy, Southern-tinged slab of ugly Sludge Metal that still carries the taste of the band’s core aggression and nastiness.

The singer’s harsh screams tear out from the roiling, churning music. Her voice is sharp and serrated, cutting through the thick Sludge of the guitars with ease.

Not a Daughter is an Eyehategod-inspired seven minutes of foulness that is abrasive enough to sand down anything; all thunderous riffs and cataclysmic drums.

Deathbed follows this with a Doomier take on the style, deliberately crawling and evil in tone. Deep, guttural growls join in for this one too, adding a more menacing note to the aggressive screams. About halfway through the track picks up with a huge Southern-styled riff that gives the track quite a jaunty edge and ups the energy levels quite a bit.

Closing the EP is Gnaw, which is also the longest track here. It’s a monolithic 12 minutes of heavy riffs, angry screams and nihilistic feelings. There’s a pounding rhythmic quality to it that really drives the song home.

A positive progression for the band, in what is apparently the first in a series of four EPs, all differently themed around the preferred music tastes of the individual band members. I now eagerly look forward to the next one.

Moros – Life Assisted Suicide (Review)

This is the début EP from US Sludge band Moros.

This is nasty stuff. Starting with a harsh feedback-squeal and followed by some dirty bass, Moros start as they mean to go on and establish themselves early as playing the kind of abrasive, nasty music that any lover of Sludge can get on board with.

The vocals are high-pitched and laced with poison, seemingly able to cut flesh with ease just by sound alone.

There are some choice riffs on this release and their bass-heavy sound is an instant hit with a bass-lover like me. Their percussive know-how is enhanced by the vocal attack of their singer so that everything works together to create tracks that really, really hit the mark.

The music takes the template as laid down by Eyehategod, infuses it with the dynamic musical know-how of a band like Fudge Tunnel, adds the bass-led stomp of bands like Palehorse and Ghold, and liberally sprinkles the passion and filth of bands like Charger and Burning Witch into the mix. The result? Passionate, ugly Sludge Metal that sits well in the genre and is highly enjoyable. If you like getting your ears cleaned out with acid, that is.

Loved it. Moros get a big thumbs up.

Eternal Black – Eternal Black (Review)

This is the début EP from US Doom/Stoner band Eternal Black.

Eternal Black play Traditional Doom Metal, (à la Saint Vitus), filtered through a filthy lens and incorporating an influence from bands like Down, Corrosion of Conformity, Orange Goblin and a touch of Eyehategod in the riffs.

The songs pass by with a pleasant rumbling and a companionable fuzzy delivery. The singer’s measured drawl is familiar enough to be enticing, but individual enough to carry off.

With decent grooves and an ear for a good riff, these three songs are over before you realise, despite each lasting about 5-6 minutes each.

A good, earthy sound that’s not too polished breathes life into the tracks, and all of the instruments are clear enough to be heard.

The songs are catchy, memorable and enjoyable. What more is there to say, really?

Recommended.