Doom – Page 91 – Wonderbox Metal

Aires/Rui P. Andrade/Earthly Beasts – Split (Review)

This is a split between the Aires, Rui P. Andrade and Earthly Beasts, all are Portuguese and solo artists/projects. This is a collection of three tracks of Ambient/Drone that lasts just over 29 minutes in total.

As always with these kind of releases I have to be in the mood for them, but when you are in such a mood this split is a good place to visit.

Aires, who we met before with Aires, starts us off with the first track Solvet Cosmos in Favilla. This starts with tense noises and keeps this up throughout the 9:05 playing time, subtly twisting and morphing it at a glacial pace as the track develops. Subtle samples can be heard in the background and the entire thing comes off with an Industrial/Black Metal vibe, almost like an ambient work by a band like Blut Aus Nord.

Initially I wasn’t too fussed by this to be honest, but it slowly worked its insidious charms on my brain and by the end of the track when it starts to splinter and fracture into nothingness I was hooked. Great stuff.

The next track, Turdus Merula, is by Rui P. Andrade. This ebbs and flows with Ambient patience through the 10:46 playing time to create a dark sonicscape that sounds like the aural equivalent of the release’s cover, really.

I like this track as it has recognisable changes within it, flowing between louder and softer moments and undulating as the artist sees fit, eventually descending into noise territory as it begins to unravel near the 9:00 mark.

The final track on the split, Erebus, is by Earthly Beasts and it starts off with some extremely ominous sounds akin to something from the Silent Hill games. Thankfully the track then goes on to do what I was hoping it would do and it turns into quite a harrowing series of sounds and noises designed to unnerve and terrify.

The purity of horror that this song initially creates though does not last, as even though it does carry on the theme some of the noises take on a pseudo-Techno feel and sometimes I almost expect a dance beat to appear. Thankfully it doesn’t but it changes the dynamic of the song enough to create a different mood than the one of pure malevolence that it started with.

Of all of the tracks here this is the most rhythmic, and it balances the background aura of despondency against the harsher foreground rhythmic noise in such a way that the 9:20 playing time flies by and you’re not sure whether to be scared or relieved.

This is a great showcase for three talented artists. If you’re partial to Drone/Ambient sounds then I heartily recommend you go and get this.

A varied, enigmatic and above all quality release.

Temple of Void – Of Terror and the Supernatural (Review)

Temple of Void are from the US and this is their début album. They play Doom with an infusion of Death Metal.

Temple of Void’s 2013 Demo was a really enjoyable 3-track taster for the band, and this début full length takes those three songs, adds 5 more and results in Of Terror and the Supernatural.

Their sound is one of Doom Metal mixed with an Old-School Death Metal influence, which manifests in the faster sections, the deep vocals and the general air of rotting heaviness that the band exude with every diseased pore.

Opener The Embalmer’s Art is like a microcosm for the album as a whole. It has faster, gritty sections which are tempered by largely slow and Doom-y main parts and morbid, grim vocals. The guitar melodies are haunting, downright miserable and very, very powerful.

Somehow, even though this is only a début, Temple of Void have managed to produce a piece of rotten artistry that sounds as if it has taken decades to coalesce into being. The songs sound mature and so full of atmosphere and dark tidings it seems impossible that these are new songs and not long lost tracks from the vaults of Peaceville history.

Upon first listening to the album it sounds instantly welcoming and familiar without sounding stale or old-hat. Upon subsequent listens this feeling is reinforced and very quickly the album shapes up to be both an old friend and a stunning new discovery.

The vocals are deep growls that have an instant presence and charisma. Somewhat reminiscent of the singer of Opeth at his expressive, malevolent deepest; the singer of Temple of Void has a phenomenal bellow that really clears the cobwebs away.

I’m incredibly impressed with this. The quality of the riffs, the depth of feeling that they evoke and the whole structure of the songs in general speaks volumes about the talent of the band.

Crawling Death Metal-laced Doom has never sounded so good.

Essential listening.

Algoma – Reclaimed by the Forest (Review)

Algoma are a Sludge/Doom band from Canada and this is their début album.

Algoma play the kind of filthy, grim Sludge akin to the likes of Eyehategod, Fistula, Buzzov.en, etc.

The riffs are heavy and large and have the relentless inevitability of a slow-moving avalanche. Reclaimed by the Forest seems to be powered by these monstrous guitars, as if they have an energy all to themselves; self-generating and powerful enough to make everything else follow suite.

Vocally the singer has a voice that’s somewhere between a shout and a bark.

The band’s sound is murky and dense, as one would expect from a Sludge Metal group, but there’s a healthy amount of Doom to their style meaning they go slower than some similar bands.

At almost 42 minutes in length it doesn’t outstay its welcome and the infectious nature of the Sludgy guitars mean that it’s a good album to zone out to and become encased in the heaviness.

Each song is a smorgasbord of heaviness, crunchy guitars and bile.

It’s time to let the forest take you.

Encoffination – III – Hear Me, O’ Death (Sing Thou Wretched Choirs) (Review)

Encoffination are from the US and this is their third album of Doom/Death Metal.

Now that’s an album cover. If you wanted a cover that said dirty, filthy and wretched, that’s what you’d go for. And they did. Top work.

Encoffination play a blend of Doom and Death Metal that is utterly miserable and carries a strong stench of decay around with it.

This is morbid, rotten Doom Metal filtered through an underground Death Metal influence. Incantation is the obvious reference, although imagine them slower, with a rawer production and sounding a lot more stinking than they normally do.

The band create a fully oppressive atmosphere that’s as all encompassing as it is relentless. The slow, Doom-filled riffs saturate the brain and lull the listener into a sense of foreboding despair that’s surprisingly comfortable to slip into.

This is a long album at just under 1 hour in length but the atmospheres that Encoffination create mean that you don’t really notice the passage of time. What’s 60 minutes compared to the glacial pace of geological time that it feels like the band use?

Slow, heavy and nasty. The palpable aura of desolation and woe is almost overwhelming. The band draw you in and drag you down into their world.

Highly recommended and highly addictive.

John, The Void – EP (Review)

John, The Void are a Post-Metal band from Italy and this is their début EP.

The band play Post-Metal with a gloomy, negative vibe and a bleak aura.

Harsh vocals are screamed out from behind a haze of darkness as the music sweeps away from the point of origination, obscuring all that’s happening with a miasma of night.

John, The Void manage to create and perpetuate this atmosphere over the course of the near 36 minute playing time with ease. This is not a one-dimensional album though as the band, in true Post-Metal style, take their time to build and expand upon the negativity that they create.

Heaviness and lightness, shades of darkness and a rich, varied palette are the mainstays of their sound and they do the genre justice.

Obvious reference points are the usual triumvirate of Cult of Luna/Isis/Neurosis but as is typical with bands of this ilk John, The Void put their own spin on things.

These songs seem to live and breathe in their own right, endowed with life by their mysterious creators to do their bidding. Their expansive, exploratory sound is always mired in the twilight realms and, let’s be honest, this only imbues the band with even more strength. Darkness is a powerful ally after all.

These are well-crafted songs that showcase this relatively new band as a great new addition to the Post-Metal pantheon.

If they can continue to improve on these already impressive writing skills then their first album should be stunning.

Seek this one out.

Trysth – Soulchambers (Review)

Trysth are from Bulgaria and play Atmospheric Doom/Post-Metal. This is their début.

At 51 minutes in length this album takes in all that’s slow, contemplative, expressive and heavy. The band delve into Doom, Sludge and Post-Metal in an attempt to nail down their core sound.

It’s played well, sounds great and the songs themselves are mature compositions simultaneously satisfying fans of the immediate and heavy alongside the slower, brooding nature of this kind of music.

Soulchambers sounds quite apocalyptic and harrowing in places. The slow build/release mechanics that form the core of Post-Metal rub shoulders with the simpler miseries of Doom and the grim edginess of Sludge. The end result is an album of pits and troughs, lows and highs, ebbs and flows; an album that reaches for more whilst strengthening and safeguarding its central identity of desolate and bleak landscapes populated by oases of life and vitality.

The band know their art well and the album is a studied dissection of atmospheric Doom that is remarkable in its completeness. This is especially impressive as it’s the début of the band; such a strong album usually denotes more experienced hands. However, Trysth also share a member with the excellent Blackened Doom band Upyr, so it should come as no surprise really that Trysth should share similar levels of quality.

The vocals are tortured shouts that stop just short of descending into growling territory. These are accentuated by semi-cleans and cleans that are used for added effect and emotive appeal. The singer suits the heaviness of the music and the vocals are used sparingly.

The album cover is a very fitting choice as it visually represents the band’s sound extremely well.

For fans of Neurosis, Cult of Luna, Isis and the rest. Basically, for fans of thoughtful, heavy music. If you like this style then this is a must.

What an album!

Wormwood – Wormwood (Review)

This is the début album of Wormwood who are a Sludge band from the US.

Wormwood play abraisive and caustic Sludge that eats away like acid and is every bit as disfiguring.

The songs aren’t long but they don’t need much exposure to be proven toxic.

Heavy and covered in contagious filth, Wormwood are like the bastard offspring of Today is the Day, Rabies Caste, Khanate and Eyehategod.

It’s ugly, crushing music that’s no good for your health and yet is strangely addictive regardless. The songs infect with their virulent strand of aural disease and you find yourself thinking of them when you least expect, usually when the night is in full swing and the negative thoughts are swirling. Wormwood is the soundtrack to hopelessness and woe.

The songs are surprisingly catchy and their relatively simplistic approach of groove-based, heavy Sludge is tried and tested yet by no means less effective because of it. Eyehategod may have originally wrote the book but bands like Wormwood keep adding pages.

Wormwood lack Eyehategod’s Southern tinge of course, and theirs is a sound that shares aspects of Today is the Day and Rabies Caste in particular, as mentioned above.

A warm, yet musty, analogue sound coats all of the songs like a soft, ripe, fleshy exterior. It sounds good.

At only 18 minutes in length this is a release that doesn’t outstay its welcome; one to definitely keep returning to.

Highly recommended.

Inter Arma – The Cavern (Review)

Inter Arma are from the US and this is their latest EP. Although calling it an EP is a bit of a stretch; at almost 46 minutes it’s pretty much an album.

Oh and did I mention that the entire running time is comprised of just one track? No? Well I have now.

I’ve not heard Inter Arma before, although I’m aware of them by reputation, so this is something that I was eager to listen to.

It starts off gently, with almost 3 minutes of soft, acoustic sounds, before the heavy guitars hammer down like Thor’s own wrath. Inter Arma play a highly talented form of Sludge/Post-Metal/Doom Metal. Ultimately it’s a Doom behemoth that takes in a variety of different genres and subgenres throughout the length of the song.

The Cavern is a very involving and captivating listen that has been masterfully put together with lots of thought to the weaving of the different elements into a complete tapestry of sounds.

Vocally, we get pretty much everything; cleans, semi-cleans, shouts, screams, growls; it’s all present and correct.

The song transitions through various phases and it’s complex and endearing. The band have invited a plethora of different guests onto the EP which only enhances the feeling of something truly special unfolding in front of your very ears. The guests all add something different, (female vocals, violins, synths), and their contribution is valued and integral.

The pacing and dynamics of this song are just astounding. This is the kind of Progressive Metal masterpiece that you always wanted Isis, Neurosis or Cult of Luna to do.

As the song progresses it takes in all available moods, from slow and despondent to psychedelic and expansive, to subtle and coy, to raging and tumultuous. This is an incredibly detailed journey into foreign soundscapes and as tour guides extraordinaire Inter Arma are well placed to blow your mind with their shockingly good display of songwriting. The performance and musicianship is flawless too.

Inter Arma take the Post-Metal template of the masters, (Isis/Neurosis/Cult of Luna), combine it with the extra-dimensional quality of Mastodon, layer it all in their own unique personality, add lots of individual flourishes and quirks and serve up scalding hot; The Cavern is here and it’s a delicious treat.

Stunning.

Epitaph – Crawling Out of the Crypt (Review)

This is the début album from Italy’s Epitaph, only a mere quarter of a century or so after they first formed…

Epitaph play Doom Metal, Black Sabbath-style, with a decent amount of Heavy Metal thrown in. It’s ancient and grand sounding, with mystery and the occult bleeding out of every wicked pore.

Resolutely Old-School, this is nonetheless infused with vitality and interest as if fresh out of the mortuary. You can always tell a good album when you can quickly point out individual songs because each one has its own feeling or unique twist to the formula.

You can tell that some serious time and effort has gone into this album as each song has character and style. The album feels very complete and has a lot of personality to it.

The musicianship is at an advanced level, as is the songwriting, with the tracks being very well developed. Dynamics, pacing, hooks and melodies; all are here in abundance.

Each instrument is represented clearly, even the bass, and the subtle keys add further atmosphere to what is already a strong selection of riffs and song structures. The guitars are heavy and the beats are solid.

The singer has a strong voice that handles the tunes with ease.

Epitaph may have only just produced their début after such a long time, but now that they’re here they have the potential to become a force to be reckoned with in the Metal scene.

Let’s hope that this isn’t the band’s epitaph, and let’s hope album number two doesn’t take as long.

Highly recommended.

Apostle of Solitude – Of Woe and Wounds (Review)

This is the third album from US Doom Metal band Apostle of Solitude.

With a quality album cover I was looking forward to hearing this band and they didn’t disappoint.

This is Doom Metal with an eye on the past and ambitions on the future. Of Woe and Wounds may have an Old-School core but it has a thoroughly up-to-date production that’s warm and organic whilst simultaneously being punchy and in-your-face. It may be Traditional Doom Metal but the recording leaves no-one in any doubt; Apostle of Solitude are a band that are of the here and now and they mean business.

The sound is crisp and crunchy, with the guitars sounding full of vitality and bone-crushing heaviness. Gargantuan riffs rise and fall with the drums sounding immense and the bass being a much more audible rumble than the norm.

Of Woe and Wounds combines the classic artefacts of Traditional Doom with elements of the more modern exemplars of the style such as Down and Orange Goblin to result in a truly wonderful album that combines the best of old and new. I even hear strains of Alice in Chains on occasion and it sounds just great, (Lamentations of a Broken Man, for instance).

The singer has a powerful voice that rings out strong and clear. He effortlessly becomes the focal centrepiece whenever he’s around.

Each song is a first-rate example of Doom Metal and of the depth that it can have. The tracks have a longevity about them that most bands would kill for. Carefully constructed Doomscapes and crawling riffs dominate the proceedings and I couldn’t be happier listening to this.

Apostle of Solitude have produced something special here. Make sure you get in on the action.