This is the second album from Italian death/doom band Assumption.
Following on from 2014’s The Three Appearances and 2018’s Absconditus, Hadean Tides contains 56 minutes of new material from Assumption. Continue reading “Assumption – Hadean Tides (Review)”
This is the debut album from Chinese progressive rock band OU.
OU have a very striking and unusual sound. Dynamic, vibrant, and atypical, One is an album made for those looking for something a bit different from their music. Continue reading “OU – One (Review)”
This is the debut album from Pyrithe, an experimental sludge/post-metal band from the US.
Featuring a member of Noltem, along with guests from Noltem and Pyrrhon, (among others), Monuments to Impermanence is a 48-minute journey into experimental heaviness. Continue reading “Pyrithe – Monuments to Impermanence (Review)”
Soldat Hans are a doom band from Switzerland and this is their third album.
Es Taut came out of nowhere in 2018 and blew me away. Its multifaceted sound was as impressive and emotive as it was accomplished and well-delivered. No wonder it appeared high on my end of year list. Due to this, Anthaupt had a great deal of expectation placed upon it before I even heard a single second of its 66-minute duration. Continue reading “Soldat Hans – Anthaupt (Review)”
This is the fourth album from one-man blackened doom act Mur.
Cut the Rivers Vein spends 51 minutes mixing together doom, post-metal, and black metal, with elements of folk, ambient, and drone, to great effect. Continue reading “Mur – Cut the Rivers Vein (Review)”
This is the latest EP from US solo blackened doom band Mizmor, or מזמור.
This new 29-minute EP contains just two big tracks. The release combines blackened doom with drone and ambient, resulting in tortured dark landscapes that are paradoxically not without beauty or light. Continue reading “Mizmor (מזמור) – Wit’s End (Review)”
This is the latest EP from French death metallers Barús.
I enjoyed 2015’s self-titled EP, as well as 2018’s Drowned, so when it appeared Fanges was always destined for my playlists. Although billed as an EP, there’s actually an album’s worth of material for some bands here – 34-minutes spread out over two large tracks. Barús play atmospheric death metal with progressive and dissonant elements, and on Fanges they range wider and more freely than they have done before. Continue reading “Barús – Fanges (Review)”
Anatomy of Habit are from the US and this is their third album. They play experimental doom/post-metal.
2014’s Ciphers + Axioms seems like it came out a very long time ago, which I suppose it actually did. Now we have a follow up, however; Even If It Takes a Lifetime offers the listener a journey into sound that’s rich and textured. Continue reading “Anatomy of Habit – Even If It Takes a Lifetime (Review)”
Anomalie are an Austrian post-black metal band and this is their fourth album.
Following on from 2017’s well-received Visions, (via an EP I haven’t heard), Tranceformation contains 44 minutes of new material, and comes with a newly-focused direction to boot. A rough reference point for what Tranceformation sounds like would be a mix of bands such as Schammasch, Enslaved, and old Anomalie, although to be honest this is only a very approximate guide at best, especially as some songs have a modern doom metal flavour too, (most notably opening track). Continue reading “Anomalie – Tranceformation (Review)”
This is the third album from Belgian post-metallers Hemelbestormer.
I’m not the biggest fan of instrumental music, but sometimes a band comes along and makes it work notably well. With 2016’s Aether and 2018’s A Ring of Blue Light, Hemelbestormer were just one such band. Now they’ve returned with Collide & Merge, which boasts a whopping 73 minutes of new material. Can Hemelbestormer continue their upward trend? We shall see. Continue reading “Hemelbestormer – Collide & Merge (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 