Blackened Doom Metal – Wonderbox Metal

A Thousand Sufferings – Stilte (Review)

A Thousand Sufferings are a Belgian blackened doom band and this is their third album.

I’ve enjoyed seeing the development of A Thousand Sufferings over the years. Starting with 2015’s sludgy Burden, and then on to 2018’s increasingly blackened Bleakness, the band made a good impression. It’s now 2021 and we have Stilte; the synthesis of black metal and doom has reached its logical conclusion, and the 41 minutes of material on this new album is the band’s richest and most engrossing so far. Continue reading “A Thousand Sufferings – Stilte (Review)”

Vouna – Atropos (Review)

This is the second album from US one-woman blackened doom band Vouna.

Atropos boasts 57 minutes of richly textured doom metal. It’s an old-school brand of doom that’s spliced through with elements of black and Gothic metal, along with cinematic scope, epic grandeur, synth-laden atmosphere, and forlorn Continue reading “Vouna – Atropos (Review)”

Monthly Overview – the Best of June 2019

Phew. After the metallic overload of the past couple of months, June was a bit calmer. Having said that, I have a great selection of releases for you to salivate over, and I still had to cut a few for the sake of brevity that are definitely worthy of inclusion. Anyway, it’s on with the show! Continue reading “Monthly Overview – the Best of June 2019”

Loathfinder – The Great Tired Ones (Review)

Loathfinder are a Polish blackened doom band and this is their debut EP.

To adequately set the scene for this release, you need only stare at the horrors depicted on the album cover. This is what Loathfinder sound like; slow, repugnant, disgusting, and full of bleak horror. Continue reading “Loathfinder – The Great Tired Ones (Review)”

Coldfells – Coldfells (Review)

Coldfells are a blackened doom band from the US. This is their debut album.

This is a blackened doom release that really does blur the line between the two styles. Is this doom metal with a distinctly blackened feel to it, or is this black metal with a doom metal veneer? Possibly more the latter than the former, but either way, the Continue reading “Coldfells – Coldfells (Review)”

Svlfvr – Shamanic Lvnar Cvlt (Review)

Svlfvr are an Italian blackened doom metal band. This is their latest album.

What we have here is essentially a doom metal band that have fallen to darkness and embraced black metal as a secondary influence. There are some other influences detectable in their sound too, (old Anathema), and they all converge together quite nicely over these 56 minutes.

The songs on Shamanic Lvnar Cvlt have muscular guitars and plenty of dark presence. The old-school black metal influences make for a darker sound than most doom metal bands, but the traditional doom metal aspect of their sound means that they don’t wander too Continue reading “Svlfvr – Shamanic Lvnar Cvlt (Review)”

Kade Storm – Beyond Blood & Ashes (Review)

Kade Storm is a solo artist from the UK. This is his début album of Blackened Doom Metal.

The album features a grim, heavy sound that is pleasingly murky.

The vocals remind me of the singer of Cathedral if he had a rawer, Blackened edge to his voice.

Apocalyptic mid-paced riffs form the bulk of the music, relentlessly stomping onwards in a fit of dark vision. The music has a Doom/Sludge feel to it, enhanced by a Blackened twinge and some Classic Metal elements on occasion, especially in the included guitar solos.

The guitars chug and groove in a restrained and bleak way, giving the songs a curious feeling like they’re somehow stuck between styles. This is not necessarily to their detriment, but it is somewhat of an acquired taste. Or, I suppose more accurately; it depends if you’re in the mood for it or not.

The music is consistently similar throughout, giving it a drone-like hypnotic quality in some ways. Individual songs work perfectly well, but taken as a whole the album describes a full movement of crawling, ugly Doom with occult atmospheres and dark designs.

Check it out.

Mourning Pyre – Mourning Pyre (Review)

This is the début EP from Mourning Pyre, a one-man Blackened Doom project from the Ukraine.

A mournful, desolate Classical piece begins proceedings at the start of Saudade before equally mournful, desolate Doom Metal kicks in. It’s highly atmospheric Doom accentuated by subtle keyboards buried beneath the guitars.

Emotive leads in the style of My Dying Bride/Paradise Lost are the main drivers of the songs with crunchy rhythm guitars backing them up.

The keyboard/Classical parts of the songs are done especially well and speak of good arrangement and composition. Rather than sounding like addons to the Metal it’s all integrated well into a cohesive whole.

The drumming may be programmed but that doesn’t mean it’s perfunctory or basic; it’s filled with good rhythms and a nice amount of fills. They also don’t sound overtly programmed either as they have a decent sound.

This is Doom Metal rather than straight Doom, and the Blackened influence means that this EP has plenty of up-tempo moments. Some of the melodies used border on Post-Metal as well – Holding My Breath (Until I Die) is a good example of this.

I’ve enjoyed this EP. As début releases go it’s a good one. Here’s to the future and a full album of morbid delights to come.

Secrets of the Sky – To Sail Black Waters (Review)

This is US band Secrets of the Sky’s début album.

Secrets of the Sky play interesting Progressive Doom/Post-Metal that has a good dollup of Post-Black Metal/Blackened Doom mixed in as well. So many sub-genre labels! As you’ve probably gathered they have a fair bit going on.

The band have a firm grasp of dynamics and of the heavy/light aspects of their sound, and although the songs are of a good length, they also raise the tempo when they need to.

A very sturdy production allows the instruments to sound very solid. Everything is played proficiently and the songwriting makes the most of this.

The music is a pleasing blend of the above, already diverse, sub-genres. Doom riffs, Post-Metal meanderings, Blackened melodics and sound-walls all contribute to the feel of a very colossal album. Extra instrumentation/effects enhance the tracks on occasion adding to an already rich palette.

Largely, the band are are both heavy and dark. Wisely, however, they juxtapose this against lighter, acoustic sections, more hopeful refrains and moments of brighter atmosphere amidst the murk.

Vocally the singer grunts and screams his way over the towering guitars and iron-cast drumming. It’s not until the second song Decline that clean vocals are used for the first time; these are expertly delivered and raise the bar extremely high.

This is a highly accomplished album, all the more impressive for being their first. Highly recommended; whatever secrets the sky holds is obviously serving them well. Seek this out and learn from them.

Favourite Track: Decline. A masterwork in emotive expression and dynamic melodics.

Forlorn Path – Man’s Last Portrait (Review)

This is the début album from US Melodic Doom/Black/Death Metallers Forlorn Path.

For a début this is well-written, ambitious and implemented with a skill a lot of bands would envy.

Melodic and orchastrated, yet still having an intensity born of pure Metal this is more aggressive and outright better than I was expecting. From the name and album cover I thought I would be hearing a second-rate Gothic Death Metal Paradise Lost clone, but thankfully my hasty pre-judgement was incorrect, and instead we get epic, expansive, symphonic and melodic Blackened Doom of the highest quality.

At just over an hour in length a lot of passion and work has gone into this album to create a journey that you can get your teeth into.

The vocals alternate between a Black Metal rasp and an ultra-deep growl that is just a pure pleasure to experience.

The forlorn atmosphere and rich melodic melancholy combined with an more aggressive assault than a lot of bands of this genre attempt means that the album always entertains and for me is up there with recent melodic Metal greats like Amiensus.

A refreshing and surprising album; I’ve had my expectations completely surpassed and it’s an abject lesson to me that you can’t judge a band by their name or their artwork. What matters, all that matters, is what they sound like, and Forlorn Path sound very good indeed. Highly recommended.