Onirophagus – Endarkenment (Illumination Through Putrefaction) (Review)

Onirophagus - Endarkenment (Illumination Through Putrefaction)Onirophagus are a Spanish death/doom metal band and this is their second album.

The phrase ‘crushing doom’ was made for a band like Onirophagus. Well, ‘crushing death/doom’ is more accurate I suppose, but it probably doesn’t matter too much. The operative word here is ‘crushing’. Continue reading “Onirophagus – Endarkenment (Illumination Through Putrefaction) (Review)”

Abyssic – High the Memory (Review)

abyssic - high the memoryThis is the second album from Norwegian symphonic death/doom band Abyssic.

Ever since listening to and loving the band’s debut album A Winter’s Tale that was released in 2016, I’ve been hungry for more Abyssic. Well, it’s finally here, and it’s a monster. Continue reading “Abyssic – High the Memory (Review)”

Depleted – Conjurations of Void (Review)

depleted - conjurations of voidDepleted is a one man death/doom band from the US and this is his debut demo.

Brought to us by a member of the rabidly aggressive Maltheist, Depleted is a different proposition, but no less nasty in intent. Continue reading “Depleted – Conjurations of Void (Review)”

Nailed to Obscurity – Black Frost (Review)

Nailed to Obscurity - Black FrostThis is the fourth album from Nailed to Obscurity, a melodic doom metal band from Germany.

Nailed to Obscurity play a modernised version of old-school death/doom. Black Frost contains 47 minutes of material that can be roughly characterised as a combination of old Katatonia mixed with elements of Paradise Lost, Insomnium, Opeth, Décembre Noir, and others. The band definitely let their own collective personalities shine through in the music, however. Continue reading “Nailed to Obscurity – Black Frost (Review)”

Vanha – Melancholia (Review)

Vanha - MelancholiaThis is the second album from one man death/doom metal band Vanha.

Vanha’s debut album Within the Mist of Sorrow struck me hard, and has stayed with me ever since as a quality exemplar of how to provide a textured and highly atmospheric display of 90s death/doom influences. Delivered as a duo, Vanha is now one man, Melancholia is his latest effort. Continue reading “Vanha – Melancholia (Review)”

Majestic Downfall – Waters of Fate (Review)

Majestic Downfall - Waters of FateThis is the fifth album from Majestic Downfall, a Mexican death/doom band.

Having enjoyed very much Majestic Downfall’s 2014 split with The Slow Death, a new album of 52-minute duration is well-received. Continue reading “Majestic Downfall – Waters of Fate (Review)”

1914 – The Blind Leading the Blind (Review)

1914 - The Blind Leading the Blind1914 are a Ukrainian blackened death/doom band and this is their second album.

I enjoy 1914’s work a lot, (check out Eschatology of War and their split with Minenwerfer, for example). With an appropriate concept for a band with this name, their latest creation is crushingly heavy and full of monolithic songs that devastate and destroy. Continue reading “1914 – The Blind Leading the Blind (Review)”

Heads for the Dead – Serpent’s Curse (Review)

Heads for the DeadHeads for the Dead are an international death metal band and this is their debut album.

Here we have another death metal supergroup of sorts from the always reliable Transcending Obscurity Records. Featuring the vocalist of the very tasty Revel in Flesh and the multi-talented Jonny Pettersson, (Ursinne, Ashcloud, Henry Kane, Just Before Dawn, Wombbath, and others), Serpent’s Curse gives us 36 minutes of horror-themed old-school death metal. Continue reading “Heads for the Dead – Serpent’s Curse (Review)”

Gravewards – Ruinous Ensoulment (Review)

GravewardsThis is the debut album from Gravewards, a Greek death metal band.

I have fond recollections of 2017’s Subconscious Lobotomy, so was pleased to see this band’s debut album appear. It’s 43 minutes of old-school death metal that’s influenced by the death metal greats from the 90s, while Continue reading “Gravewards – Ruinous Ensoulment (Review)”