This is the debut album from Obed Marsh, an Australian blackened doom band.
Well, I love the album cover, so we’re off to a good start already. It’s the music that matters, of course, but it’s always nice to like the artwork too. The band also have a member of Ur Draugr in their ranks, so another plus point in their favour.
Do you ever get the feeling that the doom you’re listening to is just not doomy enough? Do you Continue reading “Obed Marsh – Innsmouth (Review)”
This is a split between black metallers Minenwerfer from the US and Ukrainian blackened death/doom band 1914.
First up we have Minenwerfer, with 21 minutes of fast and barbaric black metal.
Their side of the split contains four tracks; 3 originals and a re-recording of a song off their debut demo. Continue reading “Minenwerfer/1914 – Ich hatt einen Kameraden – Split (Review)”
This is the debut album from US black metallers Predatory Light.
Featuring members of Mania, Triumvir Foul and Ash Borer, this release comes with high expectations before it even starts. As you can probably guess, those expectations are fulfilled.
Predatory Light play black metal with a serving of doom and a keen Continue reading “Predatory Light – Predatory Light (Review)”
This is the debut release from Kalloused, a UK blackened sludge/doom band.
Kalloused have a powerfully heavy sound that they still manage to insert nuance into when the need arises. This release features a plethora of textured riffs that manage to show a certain degree of subtlety and finesse even when they’re smashing your skull in.
The band have a black metal element Continue reading “Kalloused – Damn You Believer (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)”
This is the debut release of Nekhen, a blackened doom solo project from Italy.
Even though this is the project’s first journey out into the world, the brains behind the outfit is obviously not lacking in ambition. According to the press blurb – ‘The album is intended as Continue reading “Nekhen – Entering the Gate of the Western Horizon (Review)”
Rorcal are a Blackened Doom band from Switzerland. This is their fourth album.
Rorcal are an intriguing band. Having produced a lot of Doom/Sludge/Post-Metal music over the years, their last couple of releases have shown an increasing Black Metal side to their sound, which they now seem to have fully incorporated into their repertoire, (see their split with Process of Guilt, for example). In fact, they’re pretty much at the point now where you could describe them as a Black Metal band and not raise too many eyebrows.
This latest album sees the band offer forth four new tracks spread across 53 minutes, each one a monster. κρέων (Creon) once more demonstrates the band’s mastery of Extreme Metal in all its guises.
The Black Metal elements are present and correct, as are the Sludge, Post-Metal and Doom ones. Rorcal have always had a surprisingly clean and sophisticated sound, despite their predilections for darkness, and κρέων (Creon) is no different. The music may be grim and charged with an energetic negativity, but the band always seem to manage to sound cutting edge no matter what they’re doing, even in their sludgiest or most blackened moments.
These songs mix blackened fury with progressive intent and atmospheric Sludge. As always, whatever aspect of whatever style that Rorcal are currently focusing their attentions on seems to work for them, and the aura of malevolent aggression and downbeat nastiness that these songs exude is palpable.
So, Rorcal return, triumphant, bold and victorious. They are fast becoming one of my favourite purveyors of darkened delights.
Bosque is a one-man Doom band from Portugal. This is his third album.
This is mournful, slow Funeral Doom that’s wonderfully despondent and drenched in desolate negativity. The music reeks of isolation and loss.
The guitars have the timbre of a Black Metal album, but enslaved and put to work down the Doom Metal mines. This lends Bosque quite a distinct blackened feel while still staying mainly in the Funeral Doom camp.
There’s a severe minimalism here too, fed further by the Black Metal aesthetics, that manages to successfully convey a huge amount of darkly emotive themes with limited tools.
The vocals are low-in-the-mix cleans that sound completely anguished and forlorn. Their sorrowful delivery reminds the listener in no uncertain terms that everything is pointless and nothing has any meaning, other than what is given, and even that is probably worthless.
The songs are quality exemplars of the style and it’s easy to get lost in the misery on Beyond.
It’s rare that you hear Funeral Doom quite this nihilistically bleak and delivered with such conviction.
Recommended.
Favourite Track: Paradox.
Battle Path are a Progressive Blackened Doom band from the US and this is their third album.
After two extremely gratifying releases, Battle Path are back with a slight change in direction. This time the band have shifted to a more experimental version of their sound, adding keyboards and synths to create expansive songs with an increase in atmosphere.
The blackened bile is still here though, it’s just now wrapped up in a Progressive Metal coating that gives it quite a 70s sheen in some ways, although not properly of course as they didn’t have Black Metal back then. But if they did…
The crushing Doom is still here too. It’s also swaddled in atmospherics that makes everything sound grander and more epic than the band’s previous work. It’s heavy, emotive and devastating.
In reality, of course, there’s no clear delineation between the Black Metal and Doom aspects, with everything flowing and merging together quite nicely. The band have merely added to this already potent cocktail with keyboards/synths, as well as some Post-Metal influences here and there, reminiscent of Cult of Luna, (as embodied on the instrumental title track, for example); in some ways the band are mirroring Cult of Luna’s development into more experimental pastures that offer a wider, more expansive musical scope. Battle Path and Cult of Luna don’t really sound like each other though, it should be stressed, but they do seem to be on similar journeys in some respects.
Vocally we get harsh, blackened screams for the most part, although these are added to by some bowel-shakingly deep growls on occasion. These are used relatively minimally compared to a lot of bands, with the music being allowed to do the talking for the most part, even when the serrated screams are ringing out.
With this album Battle Path have improved and progressed on their already impressive sound and have produced an album that shows a band truly coming into their own. The added progressive elements have enhanced and improved their core delivery so that Ambedo is a truly wonderful listen.
I loved Battle Path before this, and it seems that I love them even more now.
Dead to a Dying World are a Blackened Doom band from the US and this is their second album.
Featuring a wealth of instruments and influences, this is an epic album that lasts 73 minutes and takes the listener on a tour of all of the dark places.
The bedrock of the band’s sound is grim, murky Black Metal; this immediately differentiates them from some other Blackened Doom bands as usually the style is predominantly Doom with added Blackness; here it’s a good mix of two, probably leaning towards the Black Metal side of the equation a little more overall. There’s plenty of serrated Blackened parts to keep the blood pumping.
Elements of Crust, Post-Metal and pure Doom work their magic in among the blood-fed trees of the Black Metal forest in which the music grows. Litany is powerful, wonderful, ambitious and terrifying in equal measure. Taking aspects of bands like Hope Drone, Neurosis, Wolves in the Throne Room, Myrkur, Usnea, Nux Vomica, Bergthron, Lycus and a whole host of others, this is an impressive body of music that brings something different to the table with each track, all within the established framework of the band.
Sharp Blackened screams are juxtaposed with softer cleans, both male and female. Dark growls populate the undergrowth and harsh, rolling shouting stabs in like spikes. Guest vocals appear throughout the album, making the entire performance varied and interesting for the listener.
The overall feeling is one of a refined, sombre misery. Viola and other instruments give the music an additional air of sophistication and Dead to a Dying World are nothing if not accomplished at the spells they weave; the band are adept at creating thick atmospheres and dark moods.
The recording has a sickly, unnatural warmth to it, like something alive that shouldn’t be. It’s soft when it needs to be and roiling, churning and destructive at other times.
This is a long, involving and emotive listen that builds, crests and waves through the six tracks like a dark tsunami, crushing and destroying yet followed by calm and retrospection, reflecting on all that has been lost.
A very special album.
Wonderbox Metal 