This is the third album from Irish doom metal band Dread Sovereign.
I really like Dread Sovereign’s work, (see 2014’s All Hell’s Martyrs and 2017 For Doom the Bell Tolls), so listening to Alchemical Warfare was a must. Across 52 minutes the band kick out some of their best jams, so trust me when I say that if you’re at all into this style then you should make Alchemical Warfare a priority. Continue reading
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
This is the debut EP from US death/doom metal band Mother of Graves.
In Somber Dreams contains 19 minutes of old-school melodic death/doom. The promo blurb mentions bands such as Katatonia, Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, Cloak, and Khemmis, and these serve as suitable reference points, especially the first two. Continue reading
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
Almost every year I think about how challenging it is to compile a definitive best of list, and how subjective it is, etc. Although that’s still true for this collecting of albums, this year, however, has been easier than most. 2020 has been heavy on the black metal for me. It’s been my most reviewed genre, in all its myriad permutations, and this is reflected in the below list.
For the longest of times the bands in positions 5 and 6 vied for top position, but then October and November happened. All of a sudden, unexpectedly, these two months unleashed a wealth of quality, and stole the top four positions in a rampant display of blackened supremacy.
I hope you enjoy the below recommendations of mine and find something new to obsess over. Let me know how you get on.
Let’s dig in… Continue reading
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
This is the debut album from Pneuma Hagion, a death metal band from the US.
Ugly and heavy, death metal like this feels like it should be able to swallow stars. You can hear influences from both black and doom metal, but mostly you can hear the sound of brutal nightmares forged into music. Continue reading
Subterraen are a French sludge/doom band and this is their debut album.
When the promo blurb states that Rotten Human Kingdom is for fans of bands like Eremit, Jupiterian, Lurk, Eyehategod, Neurosis, 71TONMAN, Conan, and Primitive Man, you know you have to check it out. You won’t be disappointed, either. Far from it, in fact. Continue reading
This is the debut album from UK atmospheric doom metal solo act Sunyata.
The artist describes Sunyata’s music as a mix of funeral doom and modern classical. Although this serves as a decent description, it doesn’t quite do justice to the wealth of rich content that’s to be found on The Great Beyond. Continue reading
This is the fourth album from Soulburn, a black metal band from the Netherlands.
Following up from 2016’s Earthless Pagan Spirit, (via an EP I hadn’t heard, but is actually included here as bonus tracks), Noa’s D’ark is 47 minutes of music with snarling attitude and infectious guitars. Continue reading
