Doom – Page 98 – Wonderbox Metal

Silence the Father – Memories of Dying (Review)

Next up we have Silence the Father, who are form the US and play Doom.

I do like a bit of drum-and-bass Doom, especially when done well. A lot of bands who play this style tend to be instrumental, but Silence the Father not only have vocals but very good ones too. High-pitched cleans that are as sharp as the dangerous-sounding bass. They sail over the music and provide colour to its relentless grey shadings.

The drums are organic and have a very free feeling as they explore rolls, fills and slow-beatings under the watchful eyes of the omnipresent and oppressive bass.

The bass is the star of the show in many ways. Even though the vocals are usually the central focus and even here have the talent to pull this off, for me the bass is where it’s at on Memories of Dying. It’s a constant presence, a familiar and oppressively bleak aura of heaviness and lurking threat. It runs through the centre of the songs while the drums do their thing underneath the thick strumming and the vocals soar high above everything.

This is stripped down, lean Doom that’s ready for action. It just so happens that the action is slow, but that doesn’t dull the adrenaline rush from hearing such a great collection of Doom tracks. Well written, played and executed; for a début release this is especially notable.

This is Grade A DOOOOM! It’s as impressive as it is enjoyable and there’s absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t get your grimy paws on this.

Fans of everything slow and heavy – here is your new favourite band.

Doom:VS – Earthless (Review)

This is the third album from Doom:VS. Coming from Sweden this is a one-man project featuring a guest vocalist.

This is bleak and sombre Death/Doom Metal that’s haunting and beautiful despite, or perhaps because of, the misery and anguish it portrays.

The album slowly unveils under a cloud of desolation and heartbreak. Mournful riffs seem to slide out of hidden openings and colossal growls give a solid and forceful outlet for the emotive music.

The guitars are rich and textured, as one would expect from a release such as this. The music works well to evoke the necessary feelings of woe and despair required from this style of Metal and yet also manages to find beauty in the negativity.

There are no weaknesses with the recording and the songwriting is top notch. In fact, unless you just don’t care for this style of music you’ll be hard pressed to find any real flaws here.

Taking cues from My Dying Bride, as it’s pretty impossible not to do for this type of Metal, they also pay attention to other areas of the Metal globe and have hints of bands like Agalloch in the mix.

One of the best things about this album is that it never gets boring, stale, dull or repetitive, which is no mean feat for a genre that’s essentially slow and melodic. This is a testament to the talent of Doom:VS and the album sails by in a blur of emotive dirges.

Along with bands like Eye of Solitude and Decembre Noir, Doom:VS are one of the very best bands in the Doom/Death genre now.

Immerse yourself in their despair.

Wo Fat – The Conjuring (Review)

Wo Fat are from the US and this is their fifth album of Doom Metal.

They have a warm sound that’s very welcoming and makes the listener immediately feel at ease; familiar but not overly so. This is Stoner/Psychedelic Doom in the traditional and spaced out way.

The singer has a good voice that seeps like honey over the rolling drums and infectious riffs. Speaking of, there are some glorious riffs to be had on The Conjuring.

And this is heavy. Joyously heavy. The guitars revel in themselves. Occasional solos snake their way in a lazily serpentine fashion across mountainous riffs that should get even the most jaded Metal fan moving.

The band seem to play these songs without any apparent effort, as if it is the easiest thing in the world to peel off colossal riffs with a beat that won’t quit. They give the feeling of being involved in one big jam, but one that’s coherent and focused enough to not sound a mess at all.

A real exploratory album full of trips to the heavy, fuzzy, scuzzy world of Wo Fat; the songs entice and captivate, culminating in the 17:00 monster that is Dreamwalker.

On the whole, very impressive and very enjoyable; a great listen.

Venowl – Patterns of Failure (Review)

Venowl are from the US and play DOOOOOOOOOOM!

Patterns of Failure is like that rickety, shambling, deathless corpse that follows you in your dreams; slowly and surely crawling closer and closer with horror in its eyes. You know the one.

There is a supreme haunting terror at the core of Venowl and I’m not sure I want to know what they do to get it all riled up like this. The howling vocalisations in particular are terrifying in their abandon and make the average “scary band” sound tame and lovable by comparison.

The songs themselves are slow and covered in rust and grime. They give the impression of something being left out in the rain and exposed to the elements for far too long.

The simplest reference point is Khanate, although whereas Khanate made a corrupted virtue of minimalism Venowl have more meat on their bones; Khanate worked with the spaces between the sounds they created whilst Venowl fill every space with a dire sense of dread and ill.

This is the kind of epically dismal and barren Doom that blackens the heart and freezes the veins. There’s no light here just differing shades of darkness and unrelenting negativity.

Venowl have produced a marathon of filth. It’s time to start running, the deathless corpse approaches once more.

Sól – Black Mountain (Review)

Coming from the US, Sól play Post-Metal and this is their début.

The first thing to grab my attention is the bold and striking album art. I like a good cover.

As for the music, this is dynamic Post-Metal and the band appear to have fully mastered the build/release nature of the genre very early on in their career.

Lighter, relaxed, softer sections wind their way upwards; inevitably building to something darker and heavier than what they might seem to suggest at first.

Initial reference points are the standard triumvirate for this genre – Neurosis/Isis/Cult of Luna – but those are a given really, almost not worth mentioning. More interesting is an additional feeling of atmospheric Metal in places, such as the like that Agalloch produce. Indeed, helped along by the album artwork and title there is a strong feeling of nature and the natural environment throughout these songs that is not commonly felt in the Post-Metal genre as a whole.

The heavier sections can really let loose when they need to as well. The band don’t feel restricted to limiting their style to the perceived limitations of the genre, (as wide as they may be anyway), and when they’re not creating apocalyptic atmospheres reminiscent of horrendous natural disasters, they simply rage.

The feelings created by this release are immense and powerful. Whether soft or heavy, light or dark, this is an exemplary release that shows a multidimensional grasp of what makes exploratory and inventive music such as this as compelling and involving as it is.

Bands like Maeth, Monachus and Sól are truly exciting forces in heavy music these days; pushing the envelope and developing songs that are as addictive and satisfying as the best stories.

Amazingly, this is the first and only thing that Sól have done so far. I already want more.

Eleanora – EP (Review)

Eleanora are from Belgium and play Sludge/Post-Hardcore. This is their début release.

Intense and fierce; Eleanora pour their hearts into these two tracks and the result is as scathing as it is satisfying.

Dark melodies and throat-ripping vocals are the order of the day. Heavy walls of guitars and solid drums crash and damage the landscape around them.

The vocal performance is impressively energetic and violent. Both the music and the vocals are gloriously passionate and emotive.

This is a short EP of only two tracks, a mere taster really. Consider my palette firmly whetted. This is a superb display of Post-Hardcore/Screamo-influenced Sludge and if this is anything to go by the eventual album that they will hopefully release should see the band become major players in this style of music.

It’s always a great feeling discovering a new, excellent band.

Servants of the Mist – Gross Knowledge of Genital Mutilation (Review)

This is the latest EP from US Sludge/Doom Metal band Servants of the Mist.

The EP is 25 minutesin length and after the perfunctory intro we’re into the feedback-drenched first song Undeserving, which at just under 12 minutes serves as the centrepiece of the release.

The music is crushing, monolithic Doom with a corrupted, rotten Sludge veneer and a core of pure hatred.

We get bowel-loosening deep vocals and piercing high-pitched ones, both sound great and complement the music perfectly.

A deep aura of misery pervades these tracks and the band do all they can to punish and obliterate the listener with their steady, slow assault.

This is a really enjoyable form of dank Doom that just won’t give up; the strongly oppressive feeling of the tracks makes for a compelling release that sticks in the mind long after the last foetid chord has faded.

The band have enough talent that whether they are playing agonisingly slow Doom or slightly-more-upbeat Sludge they do it with obvious passion and with riffs to die for.

Negatively emotive and bleakly enticing; Servants of the Mist really know how to write a good Doom tune.

I mean, honestly; if you’re at all into this kind of music what’s not to like here?

Idre – Idre (Review)

Idre are from the US and play Doom.

This is made up of two tracks; the first is 26 minutes long and the second 13 minutes long. As you can probably guess this is a band who likes to take their time.

Factorie is the first track and it starts off with a good, solid Doom riff to set the scene, before exploring subtler climes for a while. When the vocals kick in it’s surprising as instead of the gruff shouting I was expecting we get almost County-esque cleans with a dirty intonation. Think of Neurosis, but the vocals even remind of a band like Soul Savers on occasion and add a different aspect to the band that immediately differentiates them from the masses.

The entire song is a meandering exploration of bucolic pastures punctuated with heavier interludes and atmosphere building. It’s an impressive slow burner and worth the time invested.

The second song is Witch Trial which follows in a similar slow-burning vein with the relaxed vocals coasting on top of the emotive music as the song crests to crescendo. It’s another superbly executed track that is heavily invested with feeling and works its magic subtly.

The recording is unpolished but not in a bad way. It has a very naturalistic sounding production that is slightly too rounded to be called raw and not quite ugly enough to be called filthy. A good word would be earthy, I suppose. It’s a good choice that works well with the music, especially for the charismatic vocals that seem to draw you in with their rustic charms.

This is a very enjoyable and engaging release that feels rather more individual and intimate than other bands who have a sound that makes them feel more sanitised than they might otherwise sound had they a slightly different recording. Idre allows the listener in and lets them get up close and personal with the band. This allows for a special relationship with the music rather than it being simply another musical commodity to be consumed.

And to think, this is merely the début of this talented band. Big things, I tell you, big things.

Fange – Poisse (Review)

Fange are from France and play Sludge Metal. This is their first release.

Ooooohhhh this is has got one Hell of a sexy, filthy, fuzzbastard sound! This is the kind of dirty Sludge I like!

Big beats and harsh, swampy riffs combined with feedback and desolate Doom atmospheres means the songs are like trawling though a mire, (Fange = mire in French). You are struggling for air as the boggy grime seeps into your pores and gets under your skin and into every orifice. Doesn’t sound very nice? It isn’t, but then Sludge should never be nice.

There are some great, bouncy riffs here in addition to the slower onslaughts. Cloches Fendues is a great example as it alternates between a dirty Stoner-esque riff and apocalyptic Doom. Top stuff.

The vocals are low in the mix like something just under the surface. Shrieking, snarling, chanting, beseeching, shouting, spitting, vomiting; who knows what they’re actually doing but suffice to say that the singer’s clearly into it.

Hidden behind the miasma of unclean riffing the band actually have a firm grasp of atmosphere. Ammoniac displays a masterful use of subtle tension to greatly enhance the feeling of danger that the song already gives off.

A good amount of variety, violent playfulness and content sees this release firmly in the winner’s category; 29 minutes of Sludge Metal that takes the standard Eyehategod template, covers it in a tonne of sewage and plays with the remains.

For fans of ugly music done right.

Favourite Track: Suaire. Sludge-tastic.

Mournful Congregation – Concrescence Of The Sophia (Review)

This is the latest EP from Australia’s Doom kings Mournful Congregation.

This is Funeral Doom played slow and insistent. The band have honed their skills over many a long year and this latest release sees them shaping and unleashing two new tracks on the world.

The first song Concrescence Of The Sophia is a 21:41 minute trawl through all things Funeral; the band having refined their sense of dirge to the point of exquisite melancholy and dampened moods. Here we are taken through a slowly unwinding journey where flowing riffs, acoustic passages and deep, end-of-the-world vocals are your travel companions.

The song plays like a slowed down hymn to all things rotten and weary, and just when things pick up slightly and some semblance of speed emerges, all of a sudden hope is lost and we’re back to the misery of existence once more. Suffice to say, in the context of Doom Metal this is a very good thing.

The second song, Silence Of The Passed, seems rather short at 8:56 minutes after this, although the content more than makes up for it. The riffs are warmer and more melodic than the previous composition, although it’s all relative of course as this still crawls along compared to most songs. Nevertheless, the atmosphere and aura is all encompassing and perfectly matched to the longer, more drawn out first track.

Each song works well as a companion piece to the other; similar enough to be recognisable as part of a whole, but differentiated enough not to repeat itself.

This release is worth the acquisition. Let Mournful Congregation into your life and let the despair run through you.

http://www.mournfulcongregation.com/