Façade are a doom band from the Netherlands and this is their debut album.
Although you could probably label this band as death/doom, Façade are a lot more nuanced than a lot of death/doom bands, and the music on Loathe is an advanced-level exploration of mood, substance, and engaging content. Continue reading “Façade – Loathe (Review)”
This is the second album from Finnish doom metallers Altar of Betelgeuze.
Full of fuzzy stoner riffs, this is stoner doom metal that has bitten off a good chunk of death/doom and regurgitates it across these 49 minutes.
Like a more underground version of Continue reading “Altar of Betelgeuze – Among the Ruins (Review)”
Ordog are from Finland and play death/doom metal. This is their fifth album.
Okay, so let’s start this review off in no uncertain terms – The Grand Wall is a great album. There. I said it.
The songs follow mournful, misery-drenched themes, as is the norm for this style of music, although Ordog seem quite happy to crank up the aggression when they need to. Due to the overall sorrowful atmospheres though, this is a negatively-charged aggression that keeps within the over-arching framework that the band have set for themselves. Continue reading “Ordog – The Grand Wall (Review)”
This is the début album from Norwegian Symphonic Doom/Death band Abyssic.
Well this is an absolute monster of an album. At 79 minutes in length and featuring just four tracks, Abyssic certainly know how to provide the listener with a lot to get their teeth into.
A decent stylistic reference point for Abyssic would initially be the old Peaceville roster, with bands like Anathema, My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost all providing an idea of what the base of the band is like. Only longer and more epic, of course. Once you have this in your mind’s eye, mix in some more modern, epic funeral Doom from the likes of Monolithe, as well as a sterling Classical influence, and you’ll have a good idea of what Abyssic are getting up to here.
The symphonic aspects of Abyssic’s sound are big, bold and unashamedly impressive. Abyssic don’t hold back, and nor should they. This is a band that manage to incorporate the symphonic and Classical elements into their sound in a holistic and complete way, rather than having them just added on at the end. The music easily takes on a cinematic legendary feel and each of these long songs feels like a story. Nay, a saga.
A Winter’s Tale benefits from a huge and lavish production that allows all of the different parts of their repertoire to sound clear and crushing. Thick guitars and textured keyboards merge together with the crushing drums to provide the listener with a very engaging and absorbing listen. The songs may be long, but if you have the time to spare for them then there is so much here to enjoy.
For the most part the vocals are deep, dark growls, of the kind that are pretty much standard for Death/Doom. That’s not to say they’re not effective or don’t do their job though.
Long they may be, but these songs justify their own existence by being so damn impressive and well-put together. The band know their stuff, that’s for sure. Amazingly, given the length, these tracks don’t get boring and the lavish, lush orchestration is a constant joy to listen to, especially when combined with the heaviness of the guitars.
This atmospheric album really nails the best parts of the Death/Doom style for me, and the overwrought symphonic elements are just candy to my ears, pulling the whole thing up to another level.
Very highly recommended.
Lying Figures are a Death/Doom band from France and this is their second EP.
Funereal riffs and Doom melodies are a firm basis of these songs. The winding melodies and dirge workouts pervade the EP like a miasma of misery.
Screaming and growling vocals are used alongside sorrowful cleans to provide a multitude of vocal textures, including a Gothic feeling from the cleans.
The overall feeling is of a band taking the Death/Doom formula and updating for the modern era; whilst it is recognisable as Death/Doom, the band have tinkered with the style enough so that it has a contemporary feel to it.
The songs provide a relatively laid back take on the genre as well, even when the harsh screams and growls are taken into consideration. It’s Doom Metal easy listening, but in a good way. The aggression that they have is contained and channelled appropriately and the songs benefit from this focus of intent.
Lying Figures take elements of bands such as Amorphis, Moonspell, My Dying Bride and Katatonia and fuse them into their own work. Suffice to say, if you like the aforementioned bands I imagine you’ll like this too.
This is an enjoyable EP that bodes well for the future of the band. Let’s see what they do next.
Majestic Downfall are from Mexico and The Slow Death are from Australia. Both play Doom Metal.
This is a much longer split than the norm – 67 minutes in total with each band giving roughly half of that. It also boasts quite a striking album cover. Nice.
Majestic Downfall are first off with a crushingly heavy start to things. They play Doom Metal with a slow Death Metal influence – Death/Doom or Doom/Death, whichever you prefer.
Ready comparisons to newer bands would be the likes of Eye of Solitude and that ilk. For older bands think Paradise Lost/My Dying Bride gone full-on Doom/Death. Majestic Downfall are not a band who are totally mournful and miserable though as a lot of the riffs are more brutal or energetic and they have faster moments too.
The vocals are super-deep and the music is clear and strong. Melodies are a large part of the band’s sound and they make full use of them to produce enjoyable tracks that are largely colossally heavy but also show shading with their use of lighter sections.
With a generally more upbeat take on the genre this is a good listen and makes a decent impression.
After Majestic Downfall’s crisp energetic Doom Metal The Slow Death are like a funeral procession of depressive soundscapes. The Slow Death are a much more mournful proposition and big on proto-Gothic atmosphere.
They can be said to share similar influences and a base sound to Majestic Death but they process it in a different way and the results are therefore different as well. The Slow Death are a lot more downbeat in sound, (although they do still have upbeat moments), and the overall vibe is darker and more negative. Think a band like The Sins of Thy Beloved only with a more subtle Gothic influence.
Melodic guitars draped in misery and rotting dreams are the leading lights in this showcase of loss. The band create dirges that hold interest and have some good riffs in them.
The vocals alternate between clean, ethereal, haunting female singing and deep, dark male growls. It’s a contrast that was done to death years and years ago in the Gothic Metal style but one that’s not so popular these days. I find it makes me a tad nostalgic, even. Regardless, The Slow Death pull it off with style and it sounds almost refreshing to hear the clean female/rough male vocals trading off once again.
A top quality split from two bands who have presented two different takes on a core style. It’s especially worth getting due to the length as each band essentially contribute a mini album’s worth of material to this split.
Be sure to check this out and then track it down.
This is the third album from Doom:VS. Coming from Sweden this is a one-man project featuring a guest vocalist.
This is bleak and sombre Death/Doom Metal that’s haunting and beautiful despite, or perhaps because of, the misery and anguish it portrays.
The album slowly unveils under a cloud of desolation and heartbreak. Mournful riffs seem to slide out of hidden openings and colossal growls give a solid and forceful outlet for the emotive music.
The guitars are rich and textured, as one would expect from a release such as this. The music works well to evoke the necessary feelings of woe and despair required from this style of Metal and yet also manages to find beauty in the negativity.
There are no weaknesses with the recording and the songwriting is top notch. In fact, unless you just don’t care for this style of music you’ll be hard pressed to find any real flaws here.
Taking cues from My Dying Bride, as it’s pretty impossible not to do for this type of Metal, they also pay attention to other areas of the Metal globe and have hints of bands like Agalloch in the mix.
One of the best things about this album is that it never gets boring, stale, dull or repetitive, which is no mean feat for a genre that’s essentially slow and melodic. This is a testament to the talent of Doom:VS and the album sails by in a blur of emotive dirges.
Along with bands like Eye of Solitude and Decembre Noir, Doom:VS are one of the very best bands in the Doom/Death genre now.
Immerse yourself in their despair.
Wonderbox Metal 