Aeonsgate are from Sweden and this is their début album.
This is a very ambitious release – one track, almost an hour in length, documenting the last few minutes of someone’s life.
This is a supergroup of sorts, with various musical contributions coming from people who have played in bands such as Candlemass, Therion, Ephel Duath and Necrophagist.
Doom Metal/Funeral Doom lends itself well to a release of this nature. The fact that the vocals are handled by Mats Leven, (Candlemass), means that it instantly has a very authoritative sheen to it. His vocals are on top form as always, and he seems to enjoy himself in the vaguely theatrical Doom atmospheres that are evoked here.
The song goes through many permutations/phases and takes in 70’s-style Doom, Funeral Doom, Doom Metal, synth/keyboard highlights and Progressive Rock elements. While a song of this length by its very nature won’t be for everyone it works well and slowly builds and grows throughout the playing time.
The winding, repetitive nature of the song is hypnotic and slowly develops the theme and narrative of the piece.
This is not without its flaws of course; any hour-long song would have to be pretty perfect to be flawless, but for the most part this is an involving and enjoyable Doom-opera that’s worth the time that needs to be invested in it.
This is the new album from Swedish Doom band Snailking.
Having enjoyed Snailking’s previous work this album held much promise for me and upon listening to it I’m pleased to say they haven’t let me down.
If you’re unfamiliar with Snailking they play Doom Metal with an easy slowness and epic-length songs. Think Electric Wizard with a bit more of a Stoner edge added to the Sludgy Doom.
The band have a raw, earthy sound that has honest appeal to it and a good gritty tone to the guitars. It’s heavy and dirty with a carefree vibe.
The vocals are lazily melodic with a roughened melodic edge. They add deeper growls and other vocalisations when needed but these are not over-used. The singer is relatively low in the mix and his voice seems to fuse with the music at the cellular level.
Riffs the size of mountains regularly tumble out of the speakers and the band effortlessly ply their Sludge-tinged Doom with simple effectiveness. There is a drone-like hypnotic component to their sound that carries you along on a sea of distortion and the promise of Doom.
These are well crafted songs that may sound jammed out but nonetheless display good structure and songwriting skills.
Storm is 53 minutes of expertly played Doom Metal. Highly recommended.
Northern Crown are from the US and this is their debut EP, although at 31 minutes in length it’s the same length as some albums.
The band play Heavy/Doom Metal in its original guise and with added organ accompaniment. Although the band play slow on occasion, this is more on the Heavy Metal side of things than Doom, although there’s a fair amount of crossover in the genres anyway.
Played well and with obvious enthusiasm; Northern Crown are a very likeable and personable band. Choruses ring out and juicy melodies are used. Guitars unleash sonic hell with evocative leads and molten solos. The rhythm guitars are nicely chunky and tasty, emotive riffs are the bedrock of the songs.
These tracks span varying speeds from the up-tempo to mid-paced to straight Doom Metal. All the while the organs add that extra layer to proceedings.
If you like the heavier works of Black Sabbath and Ronnie James Dio then Northern Crown should be right up your street. The inclusion of a Candlemass cover should seal the deal and rounds out the influences.
This is Metal through and through and a very promising start to what will hopefully be a long and productive career.
This is the third album from Norwegian Death Metallers Execration.
So what do we have here then? This is a bit different to what I was expecting. The name certainly implies straightforward Death Metal, but the album cover looks more Black Metal to me. And when you press play…you get a straight up Doom Metal Black Sabbath riff. So far so interesting…
Execration are not your typical Death Metal band. Theirs is the sound of a band experimenting with their chosen medium and pushing the envelope.
They have included elements of Doom, Black Metal and even a bit of Post-Metal into their repertoire. This is Progressive Death Metal that spiritually leaves off where Death ended and builds on the firm foundation left by the masters.
The music on this album is carefully crafted and considered Metal that makes it clear that the band are no longer interested in the old genre restrictions and are more than willing to incorporate whatever Metal influences they feel like to get the sound they want. And more power to them for this.
These songs are very impressive and finely realised. This is atmospheric Death Metal that still has the power of the style but has a firm Progressive edge to it that allows them to ably tread new territory with ease. Blackened riffs, technical solos, blasting drums, slow and building Doom, Post-Metal atmospherics, Progressive meanderings; it’s all here and it’s all done remarkably well.
The mixing of styles never sounds forced and each track sees the band develop their sound into a force to be reckoned with.
Mixing bits of bands like Death, Cynic, Atheist, Enslaved, Morbid Angel, Gorguts; this album is a firm winner.
I highly recommend this album. Seek it out now and prepare to be impressed.
Deathronation are from Germany and this is their début album. They play Death Metal.
This is morbid Old-School Death Metal with dark malevolent feelings rubbing shoulders with some nice graveyard tunes.
Their brand of Death Metal has a few influences from the Doom, Black and Thrash Metal genres mixed in with their Deathly attack, which makes for a nice, well rounded album that has good pace and variety.
Doom? Some of the riffs are superbly downbeat, slow and mournful. These sections typically don’t last long but they’re there and they sound good.
Black? A slight Blackened tinge to some of the guitar licks and leads lends a slightly Old-School Blackened feel to the songs on occasion. It’s not overly blatant but it gives the band an extra depth than just employing pure Death Metal influences.
Thrash? This part is apparent in some of the riffs; sometimes they just Thrash out and an older, crusty vibe is brought to the fore.
All of these are worked around an Old-School Death Metal base that places songs, heavy riffs and horror-fuelled melodies firmly in the limelight.
Hallow the Dead is an impressive collection of tracks that remind the listener that it’s not all about the hyper-blast or the Slamming grooves; the most important thing about Death Metal is the songs themselves and the feelings they invoke.
It seems Deathronation have made a great start to their career. It’s definitely worth checking this out.
This is slow Psychedelic Doom with a hazy atmosphere and resplendent aura.
The songs slowly unwind like a tapestry and the band’s rich, textured sound unveils itself like a gradual sunrise. The bass provides a grounding foundation whilst laid back drums work with snaking guitars to form these slow-burning pieces of musical art. Additional instrumentation and effects enhance the songs and facilitate the creation of Doom that is expressive and lazily articulate.
Vocals are merely shadows of expressions and are used like any other instrument to create subtle highlights along the aural journey.
The tracks move with a glacial pace and each of these 4 tracks is a Doom-laden joy to listen to. This is music to become absorbed in and get carried away by.
The songs are emotive and feel less like they have been written and more like they are being channelled, fully formed, into this plane of existence from some entirely other place in space/time. This allows an entirely transcendent listening experience for the listener if engaged with in the right way.
Megaton Leviathan, (a name that instantly conjures images of heaviness), have created an exemplar of psychedelic Doom with this album. It’s a thing of wondrous beauty and awe inspiring talent.
If you like Doom then this is a must; have a listen to this superb band and get lost in their creations.
This is the third album from Germany’s Ophis. They play Funeral Doom Metal.
For the most part this colossal album is a slow-moving beast of depression and negativity, encapsulated in morbid Doom Metal.
Ophis do have a Death Metal influence, however, which rears its ugly head now and again, most noticeably on the final track Resurrectum.
The songs are long and the mood bleak. There is no light in the world of Ophis, only varying shades of grey and pain.
For reference points think bands such as Monolithe, Eye of Solitude, (old) Anathema, (old) My Dying Bride, etc.
The band boast a crushing production that allows the slowness to unveil at its own pace. The strong drum sound underpins everything whilst the guitars chug and wail. Plaintive melodies and downbeat auras pervade everything, with these being overlain by the deep growls of the vocalist.
This is a long and involving album that lasts the course and doesn’t get boring. The added Death Metal influences mean it doesn’t become stale or one dimensional and the songs have enough top riffs and melodies to satisfy fans of this style.
Ophis have produced an album that may be rooted in everything miserable and depressing but that I, for one, find really enjoyable and worthy.
Doomlord are from Puerto Rico and play Doom Metal. This is their début release, one half of a split with King Heavy.
This is Classic Doom/Heavy Metal with a good recording and enjoyable songs. Taking cues from early Doom Metal, the band have a strong sound that emphasises the Metal part of Doom Metal and clearly enjoy what they do.
The Spanish-language vocals give the album a nice flavour and helps differentiate the band’s sound. The singer has a good voice and knows his chosen genre well.
The music is well played and the songs have some good moments to them. Tasty riffs and solos abound in these 4 tracks. Keyboards/organs add an extra dimension to the songs and are a nice touch. There a lot of well-written sections in the tracks and the band are adept at creating atmospheric parts to otherwise rocking Metal tunes.
This flies the flag high and proud for True Metal and anyone with a passing interest in the original incarnation of Doom/Heavy Metal would do well to look this up.
The début album by Sorxe – Surrounded by Shadows – is an absolute stunner of an album that will hopefully find Doom fans everywhere frothing at the mouth in anticipation of getting their grubby mitts on it. It really is that good.
I manage to catch up with Tanner Crace to find out what makes this band tick, and just how they created such a good début…
For those who are unfamiliar with your band – introduce yourself!
We are Sorxe from Phoenix AZ . Shane Ocell – Drums , Tanner Crace – Guitar , Vocals and Synths Christopher Jason Coons – Bass Roger Williams – Bass
Give us a bit of history to Sorxe. Also – why two bassists?
The band was formed in the summer of 2012 after Shane and Myself jammed out a few improvs. When looking for a bassist to complete the sound we each had a bass player in mind. Both Roger and Chris already knew each other so it was just natural to have both guys join and just roll with two bassist, it felt right and sounds HUGE!
What are your influences?
Its like what are we listening to now or what influenced us while we were making a particular song? Hard to say cause at any time there could be a number of different influences during the writing process.
Shane is big into Helmet and the Melvins, I have always been partial to Mike Patton for his range vocally and also his choice in melodies. Old Metallica, Soundgarden, Nirvana and Pink Floyd is a big one, all the cliché. I learned the most from two specific groups – Fantomas’ 1st album was a huge eye opener in that there are absolutely no rules in music that one must follow and then Neurosis for the use of space and textures, peaks and valleys in their music.
We all love so many bands and different kinds of music this list of influences could be a book.
What are you listening to at the moment that you would like to recommend?
T-Rex – the slider, Pallbearer’s new album – Foundations of Burden and Take Over and Destroy – vacant face.
The vocals on your album are especially impressive. Anything to reveal about them?
I try to add some variety to the vocal lines, and I also like to texture certain passages, the phrasing is the most important part, lyrics come 2nd. The vocal phrasing is written usually in the early stages, and most of the lyrics for this album were actually the last thing written – some times the lyrics don’t come till I’m actually about to lay down the vocal track – since we recorded the album on our own terms I had the time to experiment and write the lyrics while recording.
What did you want to achieve with your new album? Any specific goals?
We just wanted to put out a dynamic album packed with music that can best possibly portray where we are as a band right now. And also something that will leave a mark on the people who enjoy the tunes.
Are you happy with how it turned out?
Yes, we are proud of having done everything ourselves. But I will never do it like that again cause its a major time consuming bitch!
What can you tell us about the lyrics?
The lyrics are for the listener to interpret in their own way.
Your songs are richly textured and very well composed – give us a bit of information on the songwriting process.
Most of our songs come out of improvs, a lot of the riffs we jam out in practice and then I’ll have Shane lay down some beats and refine them later on back at my home studio. Then bring them back to the rest of the guys and work out all the kinks. We don’t really sit down by ourselves and write, that would defeat the purpose of this bands mission.
How do you see your songs/direction developing in the future?
We are just still learning how to write together so I feel that we will get a lot tighter, and more comfortable together in our jams which will lead to better songs. I already have an outline for the next album based on about 20 songs/riffs that are in the back catalog. Its going to be a lot deeper, darker at times and lighter at times.
Tell us about the Sorxe live show.
Loud, relaxed and crushing.
What’s next for Sorxe?
The 1st half of October we will be on our 1st tour with Godhunter, then Southwest Terror Fest opening for Neurosis in Tucson Oct 18th.
Aeonsgate are from Sweden and this is their début album.
What can you tell us about the lyrics?
Wonderbox Metal 