Bell Witch – Wonderbox Metal

Bell Witch/Knoll – Rebellion, Manchester – 14/04/24 (Live Review)

Now here’s an interesting show. A bill of extremes, from the deathgrind mayhem of Knoll to the funeral doom crawl of Bell Witch. How could I miss such a compelling reason to journey to one of my favourite venues in Manchester once more? Continue reading “Bell Witch/Knoll – Rebellion, Manchester – 14/04/24 (Live Review)”

Spectral Voice – Sparagmos (Review)

This is the second album from US death/doom band Spectral Voice.

Featuring members of Black Curse and Blood Incantation, Spectral Voice play the sort of humungous death doom that crushes mountains and destroys villages. Sparagmos boasts 46 minutes of material that’s as distressing as it is rewarding. Continue reading “Spectral Voice – Sparagmos (Review)”

Pyrkagion – The Katechon and the Unending Fire (Review)

This is the debut EP from US black metal band Pyrkagion.

The Katechon and the Unending Fire is a 26-minute EP consisting of two tracks. Brought to us by members of Bell Witch, Human Effluence, and Hissing, Pyrkagion deliver a strong lesson in modern black metal. Continue reading “Pyrkagion – The Katechon and the Unending Fire (Review)”

Bell Witch – Future’s Shadow Part 1: The Clandestine Gate (Review)

Bell Witch are a funeral doom band from the US and this is their fourth album.

Following on from 2017’s now-classic Mirror Reaper, (by way of 2020’s collaboration with Aerial Ruin Stygian Bough: Volume I), Bell Witch have unleashed another giant work of funeral doom art. Continue reading “Bell Witch – Future’s Shadow Part 1: The Clandestine Gate (Review)”

Ggu:ll – Ex Est (Review)

This is the second album from Ggu:ll, a blackened doom band from the Netherlands.

Featuring ex-members of Dodecahedron, Ex Est contains 45 minutes of music that’s sharp, bleak, and harsh. With the promo blurb stating that Ex Est is for fans of Mizmor, Bell Witch, Lord Mantis, Bongripper, and Funeral Mist, I couldn’t help but be intrigued. Let’s dive in… Continue reading “Ggu:ll – Ex Est (Review)”

Mur – Cut the Rivers Vein (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)”

Ethereal Shroud – Trisagion (Review)

This is the second album from UK solo atmospheric black metal band Ethereal Shroud.

Now this is my kind of album. The album boasts three colossal songs, with a total duration of 64 minutes; Trisagion is a dark odyssey that’s well-worth embarking on. Despite being essentially a solo work from a creative perspective, there are a number of other musicians on the album that help to flesh out the artist’s vision, providing bass, viola, drums, and female vocals, (the latter on the 28-minute opener Chasmal Fires). Continue reading “Ethereal Shroud – Trisagion (Review)”

Atramentus – Stygian (Review)

This is the debut album from Atramentus, a doom metal band from Canada.

Stygian is a monster of dark funeral doom. Three tracks sprawl out over 45 minutes, promising nothing but glacial moods and barren hopelessness, and delivering. There are two colossal songs that bookend a shorter ambient piece. Continue reading “Atramentus – Stygian (Review)”

Bell Witch and Aerial Ruin – Stygian Bough Volume 1 (Review)

Bell Witch and Aerial Ruin are both artists from the US, and they have teamed up to bring us 64 minutes of mournful doom. Although no strangers to working together, this is their first fully fledged collaboration.

This is a darkly beautiful work, constructed from Continue reading “Bell Witch and Aerial Ruin – Stygian Bough Volume 1 (Review)”

Dead to a Dying World – Elegy (Review)

Dead to a Dying World are a blackened doom band from the US and this is their third album.

2015’s Litany was a sprawling, ambitious album. It was also very good, although this new release is something quite new and special in some ways. The band have returned with the even more expansive and developed Elegy. Showing greater focus of delivery, (49 minutes vs Litany’s 73), Elegy is also wider ranging and boasts Continue reading “Dead to a Dying World – Elegy (Review)”