Oceana are a progressive metal band from Italy and this is their debut album.
As an introductory description of The Pattern, I’m just going to be lazy and quite the promo blurb – “The intent was to mix progressive metal elements with European-style death doom. Influences, from a musical point of view, range from Edge of Sanity to Katatonia, from Paradise Lost to Duran Duran, from Metallica to Dream Theater, in a Continue reading “Oceana – The Pattern (Review)”
This is the third album from Irish doom band Nomadic Rituals.
This is the follow up to 2017’s excellent Marking the Day, which also made it onto my end of year list for that year. It’s great to hear the massive sludge-infused doom of Nomadic Rituals once more, and this new album is a strong contender for the best in their discography. Continue reading “Nomadic Rituals – Tides (Review)”
I’ve decided to do something new for 2020 – a second End of Year list. If you’ve missed it, my standard, definitive best of 2020 list can be seen here, and is made up of albums I was lucky enough to get to review. However, this year I want to also highlight some of the many albums that I’ve enjoyed listening to, but for one reason or another never had the chance to review. So, consider this a complementary list of sorts to the main one. Continue reading “Wonderbox Metal End of Year List EXTRA! – Best Non-Reviewed Metal of 2020”
This is the debut album from Polish death/doom metal band Haunted Cenotaph.
Abyssal Menace contains 41 minutes of gloomy old-school death metal. With a hefty amount of doom metal elements, and a Celtic Frost influence, this is an enjoyable listen for anyone that wants to explore OSDM that has a different perspective on the genre than that of many of the band’s contemporaries. Continue reading “Haunted Cenotaph – Abyssal Menace (Review)”
Aphonic Threnody are an international funeral doom band, and this is their third album.
Having enjoyed 2017’s Of Loss and Grief, and knowing that the band features members of Arrant Saudade, Towards Atlantis Lights, and Dea Marica, as soon as I saw The Great Hatred appear I knew I had to spend some time absorbing its dark doomy delights. Continue reading “Aphonic Threnody – The Great Hatred (Review)”
This is the fourth album from Belgian death/doom metallers Marche Funèbre.
Having been a fan of Eye of Solitude for some time, their split with Marche Funèbre impressed, and made me want to check out the latter band when the opportunity arose. That time is now, and Einderlicht has arrived to carve a space in my collection all of its own. Continue reading “Marche Funèbre – Einderlicht (Review)”
This is the debut album from US death/doom metallers Void Rot.
After enjoying Void Rot’s past work, I’ve been eagerly awaiting Descending Pillars. This is 38 minutes of malevolent death metal that’s been spiked and corrupted by dark doom foulness. Continue reading “Void Rot – Descending Pillars (Review)”
This is the debut album from US doom band Vacant Eyes.
Combining funeral doom, death/doom, melodic doom, and progressive doom, A Somber Preclusion of Being contains 75 minutes of sorrowful soundscapes. Continue reading “Vacant Eyes – A Somber Preclusion of Being (Review)”
Convocation are a funeral doom band from Finland, and this is their second album.
I enjoyed 2018’s Scars Across; the band’s brand of atmospheric funeral death/doom was crushingly oppressive and filled with misery, just as you’d want something like this to be. Convocation have now returned with 45 minutes of Continue reading “Convocation – Ashes Coalesce (Review)”
This is the debut album from US doom metal band Cathartes Aura.
This album is available in two different versions; the first is divided into four tracks, while the second is a single 42-minute song. Needles to say, I recommend the latter as the definitive version, but ultimately the music is the same either way. Continue reading “Cathartes Aura – Cathartes Aura (Review)”
