Doom Metal – Page 59 – Wonderbox Metal

Aethyr – Corpus (Review)

This is the second album from Russian Doom band Aethyr.

This is dark and evil music with a Blackened aura to it that accompanies the Doom core like a shroud of malignancy.

The band utilise emotive riffs that play on the negative feelings of the listener and tease them out, bare and vulnerable for all to see. They then take these exposed emotions and weave them into guitar parts that embody them.

In this respect there’s a Post-Metal quality to the guitars as they’re often transcendent and expressive whilst being dragged down into the gloom of Doom.

Mournful hatred and despondent anger seem to simmer just below the surface. If the music is the main receptacle for the miserable aspect of their sound then the vocals are the vehicle for the anger and rage.

The singer alternates between Blackened screams and dark growls. Both are performed well and neither sound entirely human.

Faster sections are included too and the band have a grasp of elegant dynamics. Corpus is a well-paced album with lots of well-written tracks that easily hold attention.

Overall this is an involving and complete listen. Aethyr remind me of a cross between Red Harvest, Zatokrev and some form of primordial Doom Metal.

Aethyr have clear direction in their sound and use the 50 minutes of music here to showcase their abilities with great effect.

Corpus is an impressive album by a talented band. Give them a listen.

My Shameful – Hollow (Review)

This is the sixth album from Finnish Funeral Doom/Death Metallers My Shameful.

My Shameful craft dark and atmospheric Funeral Doom containing elements of Death Metal that are completely bent and broken to Doom’s single-minded will. Even the faster sections carry an aura of depressive longing and tragic woe that no amount of blast beats can erase.

The songs slowly build in intensity and atmosphere using textured guitars and eerie melodies. The band do a great job of stamping their own identity on the Doom/Death template and although it’s obviously recognisable as the genre it is, My Shameful don’t sound generic or stale at all. Kudos to them.

One of the key things about this band which sets them apart from others in the genre is the guitars; Rather than settle for the ever-familiar heavy rhythms with winding leads approach that so many go for, My Shameful have rhythms and riffs that are more nuanced and subtle than the norm for this style. Add some spectral effects and otherworldly sounds, mix in the expressive vocals and wrap it all up in some quality songwriting and Hollow is an album to savour.

This is haunting, strangely beautiful music that fosters a morbidly oppressive mood. Even the vocals, which are brutally evil growls, add to this feeling of ethereal heaviosity where the band seem to strike the right balance between darkness and light. It’s certainly not an equal balance, probably 85/15, but it’s one that allows them to work their Doom Metal magic.

As far as Doom/Death goes it doesn’t get much better than this.

Doomlord – Black Testament (Review)

Doomlord are from Puerto Rico and play Doom Metal. This is their début album.

After enjoying their first release – Almas Malditas – I was eager to check out Black Testament to see if the band had made good on the promise displayed in that first split. The answer is yes.

Doomlord specialise in Classic Doom Metal inspired by the likes of Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus, etc. The personality of the singer and the added organs also speak of a Jon Oliva influence, which adds another level to the band.

The singer has a great set of lungs and the elements of Jon Oliva’s style add a layer of theatricality to the band that is more pronounced on this album than it was on Almas Malditas.

The band have an array of good riffs and the solos are very enjoyable. It’s the whole package here though, as everything works together to create impressive songs that are catchy and full of hooks.

Each of these tracks is a very enjoyable demonstration of just how good Doom Metal can be.

The songs are aided by a strong sound that allows the band the space to show off their skills. It’s a lengthy album at 68 minutes, but it manages to hold interest throughout.

A recommended listen.

Wonderbox Metal End of Year List – Best Metal of 2014

As 2014 closes it’s time to take stock of the year and revive the annual End of Year tradition once more. So, are you ready for another best of 2014 list? Of course you are…

As always, the order below is potentially fluid due to the subjective nature of music, etc.

A lot of good music was released in 2014. Before we delve into the main event, (this year it’s a top 25 list), I want to acknowledge a few runner ups. The following bands all produced some great sounding releases in 2014 but ultimately didn’t reach into the 25 best ones. So here they are, in no particular order –

Corpsessed, Suffering Hour, Pyrrhon, Infestus, Silence the Father, Morbidity, Azooma, Narrow House, Crucifyre, Solace of Requiem, Epitaph, Annihilated, Enthroned, Lord Mantis.

What a great bunch of albums! There are loads more that I could mention of course, but those are the cream of the crop that spring to mind at the moment. I know I’m bound to be accidentally overlooking some though – it’s inevitable.

Okay then, starting at the bottom and working our way up – I give you the Wonderbox Metal-approved Best of 2014 list…

Fallujah start us off at number 25 with their unique take on Death Metal with their very impressive album The Flesh Prevails. Boasting Progressive/Technical Atmospheric Death Metal songs that positively drip with emotion and feeling, Fallujah unleashed a monster on the Death Metal world. After living with this album for a while now it really is a very enjoyable listen, and any band trying to do something a bit different from the norm – and doing it extremely well – should be supported.

At number 24 we have Insense with De:Evolution. Theirs is a highly developed take on Modern Metal that’s full of atmosphere, feeling and top quality songwriting. Insense have a great singer and music to match; full of melody, hooks and enough heaviness to sink a battleship. They also have a suitably massive sound that allows them the space to do what they do best. Insense are the real deal.

Tongues are at number 23 with Thelésis Ignis. Actually an EP rather than an album, it’s so damn good it still warrants inclusion in this list. They play otherwordly Black Metal that immediately grabs your attention and forces you to recognise that a new and important player has just burst into the Black Metal arena. All fans of soul-eating Black Metal should seek this out and pay tribute.

At number 22 sit Columns with their devastating début album Please Explode. This is groovy and passionate Grindcore that’s dynamic and purposeful. There are no wasted moments on this album and Columns are poised to become forerunners of the genre if this collection of tracks is anything to go by. As the only Grind band to sneak into my list this year, (despite some notable releases), Columns have everything to play for in the future.

The mighty Threshold are at number 21 with For the Journey. Threshold are always a pleasure to listen to and this latest album of theirs, (their tenth), is no exception. This is an album of masterly crafted songs full of Progressive Metal treasures and catchy melodies. Threshold have released an album that does them justice as the veterans and leaders that they are.

At 20th place we have Salvaticus with Hidden Manna. A little-known Black Metal band from the US, this album made a huge impact with me as it really drew me into its dark embrace and is an album very easy to get lost in. A raw brand of Black Metal that’s almost on the cusp of bordering on Post-Black Metal but doesn’t quite fully transition due to the inherent Blackness and purity of intent of the music. An exceptional release.

At number 19 is The Great Old Ones with Tekeli-li. This is a real journey of an album that spans Black Metal with a good spread of Post-Metal thrown in. Depth, longevity and class are synonymous with The Great Old Ones and Tekeli-li is a great example of why. In an album of dark moods and emotional resonance there is enough here to satisfy any Extreme Metal fan.

Fisthammer dominate position 18 with the infallible Infallible. Cheap puns aside, this is a truly remarkable album, full of exceptional songs and crushing delivery. Melding a Brutal Death Metal core with a varied and wider Metal approach, Infallible is an album that combines a lot of different influences. Death Metal may be at the beating heart of Fisthammer but there’s a lot of enhancements here too. Pulverising.

At 17 is the enigmatic Dust Sculptures with Far Above the Pines. A Post-Black Metal album that seemingly came out of nowhere, fully realised and ambitious in scope. Taking a Black Metal base and building into it elements of Shoegaze, Progressive Rock and latter-day Anathema; Far Above the Pines is a very impressive release. If you enjoy expansive music that is both intimate and revealing then this is a release you must track down.

In at number 16 is the legendary Cannibal Corpse with A Skeletal Domain. Who can argue with the Death Metal masters? Whenever they release an album you know at the very least it’s going to be good. A Skeletal Domain though was a very, very good release. With such choice cuts as High Velocity Impact Spatter, Kill or Become and Vector of Cruelty A Skeletal Domain has featured heavily on my playlist this year.

A change of pace at number 15; here we have Lethe with When Dreams Become Nightmares. An intriguing project featuring members of Eluveitie and Manes, Lethe play dark and multi-textured experimental music that combines catchiness and intellect to produce a very accomplished and sophisticated dark Rock album. With a wide range of moods and emotions to explore, When Dreams Become Nightmares is an album that keeps on giving.

The Wolves of Avalon take the 14th spot with Boudicca’s Last Stand. An ambitious and impressive release, this is a heavily orchestrated album that features wonderfully diverse instrumentation and female accompaniment. Iceni Queen Unfurl’d In a Tempest of Crows is definitely one of my favourite songs of the year and the whole album is rich in delights and highlights. It’s an hour of interesting, captivating and unique Metal.

Riddle of Steel by Sons of Crom takes the 13th position. An album of epic Viking-influenced Heavy/Black/Folk Metal that’s awash with so many gorgeous melodies and harmonies it’s a veritable embarrassment of riches. This is a shockingly grandiose album that is very easy on the ear and doesn’t just hold up to repeated listens it positively demands them. Epic Viking-Metal rarely sounds as good as this.

At number 12 we have Apostle of Solitude with Of Woe and Wounds; crunchy Doom Metal with a flavour half-way between old and new. This is an album that connected with me instantly and has the kind of direct appeal of a band who are hitting their stride. Strong songwriting, massive grooves and catchy harmonies mean this is an album I’ll regularly revisit. The songs on this album have a longevity about them that most bands would kill for. Great stuff.

In 11th position is the mythical Eyehategod with their self-titled album, the first in 14 years. I love Eyehategod and this album being in my end of year list is a no brainer really. The band that essentially invented Sludge have done it again with an album filled with negative anthems and a flawless delivery of everything I love about them. Why they aren’t higher up this list is beyond me. What was I thinking?

Usnea are in 10th position with Random Cosmic Violence. Usnea are pretty much the best Blackened Doom band there is, and ever since 2013’s amazing self-titled début I’ve been wanting more. After a brief tease with their split with Ruins, they unleashed their new album and I was a very happy camper indeed. For a band that’s swathed in darkness it’s an important plus that they still write actual songs, just long, heavy, grim ones.

At number 9 is Hyperion by Dirge. This is an album that I fell in love with from the cover alone, and I was extremely pleased that the music matched expectations. Hyperion is crushingly heavy Doom with elements of Post-Metal, Sludge and an Electonic/Industrial flavour. A wide vocal variety and expertly compsoed tracks elevate Hyperion to the ranks of the very best the genre has to offer.

In 8th position are Enabler with La Fin Absolue Monde. Well, what can you say about an album that’s the aural equivalent of an adrenaline shot? This is aggressive Hardcore that specialises in dynamic, emotive songs that are just master crafted examples of the angry arts. Putting lesser bands to shame, Enabler have created a top quality album that screams out to be heard again and again. Leaders, definitely not followers.

At 7th is All Seeing Eyes with Trinity Road. An almost obscenely long release at 1 hour, 48 minutes in length; this duration is only matched by the equally-obscenely talented musicians and their formidable songwriting skills. The album never gets tiring or boring; this is Power Metal at its best and most engaging. As I stated in the review – this is a stunning album and I absolutely love it. What more can I say?

Sorxe are at number 6 with Surrounded by Shadows. Sorxe play textured Doom/Sludge with layered vocals and two bassists. It’s heavy and it’s pretty, both at the same time. With diverse and well-written songs, Surrounded by Shadows is a masterpiece of light and shade. An album this good is just pure listening gold and everyone should get to experience Sorxe as they were intended to – loud.

Wolvhammer are in position 5 with Clawing Into Black Sun. A colossal album and the highest-placed Black Metal release this year. Clawing Into Black Sun has it all, from the groovy catchiness of tracks like Slaves to the Grime to the dark majesty of A Light That Doesn’t Yield. This is a phenomenal album that places songs at the centre of the darkness and no other band has managed to touch them this year for sheer blackness of heart.

At number 4 is Lae with Break the Clasp. This was an unexpected hit with me as I hadn’t heard of them before and wasn’t expecting much but they just blew me away with their hauntingly beautiful sound. Featuring the vocal talents of Steve Austin from Today is the Day; this is an album of heartbreaking depth and personal revelation. The songs managed to connect with me intimately with real passion and feeling. A stunning album.

In the 3rd position is Temple of Void with Of Terror and the Supernatural. Doom Metal and Old-School Death Metal collide to create one of the year’s best releases. This album boasts exceptional songs; crawling Death Metal-laced Doom has never sounded so good. This is an album that gives the listener that rarest of things – real substance and content combined with an excited adrenaline rush at hearing something that’s ultimately just pure-blood Metal.

At number 2 is Execration with Morbid Dimensions. This is non-typical Death Metal that takes elements of other genres, (Doom, Progressive Metal, Black Metal), and makes it their own. Morbid Dimensions is such a ridiculously strong release it’s just silly. The sheer quality of the songs here…these are the rightful heirs to the throne of Death in my mind. This very nearly made it into the coveted number 1 position, as this album is just that damn good.

Finally we come to the number 1 slot, and this is taken by Inter Arma with the absolutely amazing The Cavern. What can you say about this? It’s just a perfect slab of colossal Doom/Sludge/Post-Metal. At three quarters of an hour in length this single, phenomenal track does pretty much everything you could want it to. I cannot stop listening to this and show no signs of getting bored with it in the future, either. Releases like this are the reason that I still love heavy music so much. The Cavern is definitely my pick of 2014 and it’s going to be a long time before something tops it I feel. Just brilliant.

And there you have it! It’s been a great year for quality Metal, and here’s to 2015!

Happy New Year!

Assumption – The Three Appearances (Review)

Assumption are a Doom/Death Metal band from Italy. This is their début EP.

Assumption sound grim, dark and evil. Featuring members of the gruesome Haemophagus it should come as no surprise that The Three Appearances is full of mouldy and decomposing delights.

Cavernous, echoing Death Metal growls seem to be generated through an abyssal fog of misery and pain. Surely something like this can’t be good for you?

The music is murky and ancient, lumbering around like a forgotten, decaying god that’s slowly transformed over the millennia into some form of shambling horror.

Reminding of recent albums from the likes of Encoffination, Ævangelist and Sempiternal Dusk, this is the latest album to blend both Death and Doom into an absolute terror of an album that’s designed to loosen the bowels and scar the soul.

As rotten as what’s left in the sewer and as black as the void, Assumption do a great job of describing the essential futility of life; decay always sets in, entropy will get everything in the end and ultimately there’s very little point. So why bother? Why bother at all?

Well, paradoxically Assumption themselves have given us a reason to continue; their music. This is worth taking the time to listen to.

What a glorious, rancid, noxious find this has been. All hail Assumption!

Fortress – Unto the Nothing (Review)

Fortress are from the US and play Doom Metal. This is their début album.

This is Doom Metal with plenty of heaviness and bite.

Slow, colossal riffs ring out from the speakers, slowly trying to drag you into oblivion. I do like a band that knows how to play at a glacial pace.

The growled vocals sound like a howling daemon rising from the pit to swallow you whole, whilst the marginally less-deep vocals remind of the singer of Cathedral with a rougher voice mixed with the singer of The Meads of Asphodel.

This is Doom with an undercurrent of Sludge running through the waste pipes. There’s a wildness to Fortress that doesn’t need taming; it’s part of their innate appeal.

Feedback-laden, dirty and unkempt; Fortress remind of Grief, only with longer songs, mixed with a band like Conan.

Chunky, heavy riffs power the songs and some of the guitar parts have a Stoner Metal vibe to them. Everything is played at a snail’s pace though, so both Stoner and Sludge influences ultimately get poured into the same drain that’s filled to the brim with DOOOOM!

For quality Doom that’s crushingly heavy and a vibe of total despair and loss, look no further than Fortess.

Favourite Track: Either Lies & Fears; Slow. Heavy. Miserable. Compelling; or The Nothing, with subtle, ethereal female cleans in the background. Haunting.

Eye of Solitude – Dear Insanity (Review)

Eye of Solitude are from the UK and this is their latest EP. They play Funeral Doom Metal.

Eye of Solitude are a favourite of mine, and if you haven’t already you should definitely check out their début album Sui Caedere and their devastating follow up Canto III.

Dear Insanity is one single track lasting 51 minutes. As with the latest Inter Arma EP this is essentially a full length album rather than an EP. However, there’s no hard and fast rule for this kind of thing though. Other bands like Luna and Monolithe, for example, make similar releases and call them albums. And of course you have Reverend Bizarre’s famous “EP” Harbinger of Metal which is a whopping 73 minutes in length…

But onto Dear Insanity.

It starts off all ambient with soft and vaguely unsettling drone sounds. This lulls the listener into complacency and when the crushing guitars suddenly come thundering down on you just after 8 minutes it’s almost startling.

After this Eye of Solitude do what they do best; slow, crushing, emotive DOOOOOM! This is relentless and laden with colossal Doom riffs and vocals as deep as night.

At about the 15 minute mark we get a change, with brief respites added in to soften the mood before the misery begins once more; this time with increased atmosphere.

At 22 minutes subdued piano takes centre stage and really brings home the feelings of dejection and forlorn hopelessness. Subtle, soft, crooning vocals can also be heard at this point; like an echo of a ghost in the background. This is a very well-judged change of pace and works perfectly as a mid-album centrepiece that carries real emotional weight.

At 29 minutes the guitars are back like a long lost friend. The mood is one of solemn reflection and sorrowful realisation. The piano can still be heard playing softly alongside the tidal wave of guitars, with the two disparate instruments merging into a cohesive whole.

There’s another change at 33 minutes, with the music noticeably becoming more expansive and expressive. The atmosphere is really starting to build now, slowly and inevitably heading towards crescendo.

Another brief piano interlude happens at 36 minutes, allowing the emotional pressure to build with gentle coercion.

39 minutes in. The Doom riffs start coming on strong now and the guitars take pride of place in the ongoing avalanche of misery. This is the final stretch of the song and things are moving towards their fatal conclusion. The band start to ramp up the intensity, slowly, which brings us to the last few minutes of the song where all of the emotion has been felt, all of the despair has been used up and we’re left with a gentle feeling of hopelessness so soft that we don’t even realise how lost we all are.

I do love it when bands do work like this, and Eye of Solitude have shown that they can do it even better than most.

A colossal landmark of a release by a band who can seemingly do no wrong. Get this now.

Usnea – Random Cosmic Violence (Review)

Usnea are from the US and play Blackened Doom. This is their second album.

We’ve met Usnea before on their split with Ruins. This, coupled with their début album, (which is absolutely amazing, by the way), means that Random Cosmic Violence is an album that I have high expectations of indeed.

Usnea write riffs that are huge Blackened tsunami’s of tar and malevolent urges. This is Doom that’s as colossal as it is unfriendly. The Black Metal influence is still a definite part of their sound, albeit a little less closer to the surface on this release.

Multiple vocal styles of attack are present on this; from high-pitched screams, to bowel-shaking growls, to spoken word, to haunting cleans.

The interesting thing about Usnea is that their songs may be monolithic slabs of shaded darkness, but importantly they can write actual songs; the shortest track here is just over 12 minutes in length but Usnea have an exceptional ability to write songs that are catchy.

It may sound strange for a band like this, but the winding melodies really seep into your brain and it’s easy to find yourself humming along with the tunes. This was a hallmark of their début and they’ve carried this over to their second album with great aplomb.

The dark atmospheres that the band create are a pleasure to explore. Each track has its own personality, character and place on the album.

Everything about this album screams quality, longevity and depth. The songs draw you in and mesmerise. Even on first listen you know you’re dealing with a truly special album, and after multiple listens it’s confirmed; Usnea are just fucking brilliant.

What more can I say? If you like interesting, heavy music then this is essential.

Wolf Blood – Wolf Blood (Review)

This is the début album from US Doom Metal band Wolf Blood.

Wolf Blood play Doom Metal – a cross between Traditional Doom and Stoner Doom.

The tunes here are memorable and kicked out with obvious passion and no shortage of charisma. It’s a testament to the band’s talent that the melodies and riffs that the band perform sound both familiar and fresh; ancient yet vibrant.

A mix of Traditional Doom and Stoner Doom could theoretically have descended into the mediocre quite quickly but Wolf Blood manage to side step this pitfall by taking the best aspects of each. This has resulted in a collection of songs that have the power and majesty of Doom with the energy and drive of Stoner.

The band have a really warm, welcoming sound that embraces the listener with good feelings and Doomy vibes. It’s not too polished and keeps an underground feel but it does the band justice and the songs sound authentic and engaging.

There’s a lot to like here. Wolf Blood clearly know what they want to achieve and I think their début album succeeds in this.

Listen up Doomsters, there’s a new power in town.

Kвіти Знедолених Берегів – За небокрай мрій (Review)

Kвіти Знедолених Берегів is a solo project from Ukraine that plays Atmospheric Death/Doom. This is his début demo.

This is woe-filled Atmospheric Doom with deep growling and swathes of desolate feeling.

The singer has a very powerful growl. It sounds quite primal in its force and carries a strong presence against the backdrop of the mournful music. This is backed up by occasional spoken word sections which are also performed well and have a good place in the mix, as I find spoken word parts are usually too high when most bands employ them. Soft, low-key cleans also unexpectedly appear, greatly enhancing the already varied vocal package. Neither the cleans or the spoken word sections are over done though and the deep growls eclipse them both.

The music shows good composition and everything is played well. The dark melodies have an air of longing to them and really drive the music forward.

Both of the songs on this release slowly build their funeral dirge over the course of about 10 minutes and the winding, plaintive guitars have just the right tone to connect viscerally with the listener without becoming overwrought. Subtle keyboard/piano is used here and there to further add feeling and I like the style of songwriting in general; it’s mainly about heaviness, both musically and emotionally, but there’s enough subtlety and nuance here to satisfy fans of all tastes and preferences.

For what is, apparently, a demo release, the production is very professional sounding. Everything is balanced and in its place; everything sounds crisp and punchy.

I’m very impressed with this. Hopefully we’ll see a full album from Kвіти Знедолених Берегів in the future and if it’s even half as good as За небокрай мрій it’ll be very good indeed.