This is the debut album from US post-metal band Pillar of Light.
Caldera contains 56 minutes of hulking heaviness and shaded darkness. Pillar of Light blend doom, sludge, and post-metal elements into a churning pot and use these choice ingredients to produce something weighty and thick, yet surprisingly tasty. Continue reading “Pillar of Light – Caldera (Review)”
This is the sixth album from US doom metal band The Gates of Slumber.
Reforming after many years dormant, and now with a couple of members of the superb Apostle of Solitude in tow, The Gates of Slumber are back. Containing 36 minutes of new material, The Gates of Slumber is a powerhouse of traditional doom metal. Continue reading “The Gates of Slumber – The Gates of Slumber (Review)”
This is the tenth album from French doom band Monolithe.
Following on from 2022’s Kosmodrom, Monolithe return, with 55 minutes of new material in the brooding shape of Black Hole District. Monolithe have a strong track record, and their latest release is a continuation of their high quality output. Continue reading “Monolithe – Black Hole District (Review)”
This is the second album from UK post-metal band Codespeaker.
Featuring current/ex-members of Dvne and Frontierer, Codespeaker have arrived ready to flatten with all of the considerable weight they can bring to bear. Taking influence from the post-metal giants of Neurosis, Cult of Luna, and Isis, Codespeaker have crafted a 51-minute journey into darkness. I’ll also mention bands such as Bossk, Briqueville, and Hundred Year Old Man as appropriate reference points too. Continue reading “Codespeaker – Scavenger (Review)”
This is the ninth album from US experimental sludge band The Body.
The Body are an always intriguing and shapeshifting band. Whether it’s their albums, (such as No One Deserves Happiness, I Have Fought Against It, but I Can’t Any Longer, or I’ve Seen All I Need to See), or their collaborations, (such as Ascending a Mountain of Heavy Light with Full of Hell Everything That Dies Someday Comes Back with Uniform), The Body always produce something worth hearing. Continue reading “The Body – The Crying out of Things (Review)”
This is the fifth album from Polish experimental metal band Thaw.
It’s been more than a while since 2017’s Grains, so I was intrigued to see what Thaw have to offer in 2024. An experimental act, who have operated in black metal, sludge, doom, drone, ambient, and noise waters across their career, what does Fading Backwards and its 36 minutes of new material bring us? Continue reading “Thaw – Fading Backwards (Review)”
This is the debut album from Australian post-rock/drone band Black Aleph.
Here we have a compelling work of post-rock and drone, one that’s enriched with doom elements and has a dark atmospheric weight that’s enthralling. Now, with that sort of description you might be expecting a monstrous record of sprawling song lengths from Black Aleph, but you’d be mistaken, as Apsides is a mere 29 minutes long. Continue reading “Black Aleph – Apsides (Review)”
Oryx are a sludge metal band from the US and this is their fourth album.
I enjoyed 2021’s Lamenting a Dead World a great deal, so I knew I had to check out Primordial Sky. Across 41 minutes Oryx once again deliver a weighty slab of blackened sludge doom that’s more expressive than most. Continue reading “Oryx – Primordial Sky (Review)”
This is the second album from US death/doom metal band Mother of Graves.
2021’s In Sombre Dreams marked Mother of Graves as ones to watch, a band playing affecting doom/death that showed great promise. The following year they delivered on this promise with the impressive Where the Shadows Adorn. Now, two years later, The Periapt of Absence appears, providing us with 45 minutes of new material to explore. Let’s dig in and see what Mother of Graves have for us this time around. Continue reading “Mother of Graves – The Periapt of Absence (Review)”
This is the second album from Austrian death/doom metal band Endonomos.
Endonomos II – Enlightenment contains 49 minutes of death/doom, although this tag is a bit misleading. Endonomos’ music is far richer and more emotive than many playing that style, and benefits from a base of traditional doom that’s unexpected. This makes Endonomos II – Enlightenment a much rarer gem than you’d normally find within the death/doom arena. Continue reading “Endonomos – Endonomos II – Enlightenment (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 