Doom – Wonderbox Metal

ArcTanGent Festival 2026 – Fernhill Farm, Compton Martin, 21/08/26-22/08/26 (Live Review)

ArcTanGent is the UK’s premier outdoor alternative music festival, and it’s a great pleasure to have so many great bands here over one weekend, from all over the world.

It’s this writer’s first time at the festival, even if it’s only for the Friday and the Saturday, and it turns out to be an extremely enjoyable and rewarding couple of days. The festival’s organisation, layout, lineup, and everything else have clearly been thought about closely and iterated upon over time. The end result is a festival experience that’s one of the best out there. Continue reading “ArcTanGent Festival 2026 – Fernhill Farm, Compton Martin, 21/08/26-22/08/26 (Live Review)”

Kulk – Choosing to Die (Review)

This is the third album from UK doom/sludge band Kulk.

Now here’s an intriguing release. On the surface of it, Choosing to Die is a 26-minute doomsludge album ostensibly in the vein of many others. Look more closely though, and you’ll find a record far broader in scope and ambition. Kulk take a style that’s been done to death and infuse it with fresh vitality. Continue reading “Kulk – Choosing to Die (Review)”

Todomal – Graveyards of Joy (Review)

This is the third album from Spanish doom metal band Todomal.

Graveyards of Joy brings us 43 minutes of compelling material. Todomal’s style can be described as doom metal mixed with progressive rock stylings and atmospheric depth. Atmospheric doom, in essence. The promo blurb names Pink Floyd, Katatonia, Candlemass, and Anathema, which sets the scene nicely, (you could also throw in Devin Townsend, Green Carnation, and Wolverine as touchpoints too). Continue reading “Todomal – Graveyards of Joy (Review)”

Death. Void. Terror. – To the Great Monolith 2.5 (Review)

Death. Void. Terror. are a black/doom metal band from Switzerland, and this is their latest EP.

This 3-track release from Death. Void. Terror. brings us something otherworldly and foul to become absorbed in. Seeping out its foul corruption across 29 minutes of material, To the Great Monolith 2.5 delivers an unholy ritual that’s sure to ensnare many of the unwary. Continue reading “Death. Void. Terror. – To the Great Monolith 2.5 (Review)”

Abyssal Rift – Relics of Great Ash (Review)

This is the second album from Abyssal Rift, a death metal band from the US.

Prepare thyself for the hulking great chunk of spectral rot that is Relics of Great Ash. This is a hideous collection of malignant death metal, corroded by foul doom corruption and poisoned by industrial waste. Yep, Abyssal Rift have produced a record of dark intensity that’s worth exploring if you’re a fan of unrelenting horror. Continue reading “Abyssal Rift – Relics of Great Ash (Review)”

Aphonic Threnody – Grace My Heart (Review)

This is the seventh album from Aphonic Threnody, a funeral doom band from the UK.

It’s always a pleasure to listen to a new Aphonic Threnody album. The primary artist behind the band, (also in Arrant Saudade, Dea Marica, and Towards Atlantis Lights), has been remarkably consistent over the years, reappearing regularly to unleash another colossal opus on the funeral death/doom underground. With this in mind, your further listening assignments include 2017’s Of Loss and Grief, 2020’s The Great Hatred, 2021’s The All Consuming Void, 2022’s The Loneliest Walk, and last year’s A Silence Too Old. Continue reading “Aphonic Threnody – Grace My Heart (Review)”

Altarage – Cogwheel (Review)

Altarage are a Spanish blackened death metal band and this is their seventh album.

If you’re unfamiliar with the monstrous entity that is Altarage, then prepare yourself for something dread-inducing that will haunt your nightmares. Yes, Cogwheel is here. Offering up an imposing 75 minutes of new material, Cogwheel finds Altarage ready to begin the end times all on their own. Continue reading “Altarage – Cogwheel (Review)”

The Salt Pale Collective – …And God Said Nothing (Review)

This is the second album from UK post-metal band The Salt Pale Collective.

Bringing together doom, sludge, post-rock, and post-metal components into a bleakly compelling whole, The Salt Pale Collective are quite the proposition. Across 35 minutes, …And God Said Nothing channels six nightmare states, each working both together and individually to end the world. Continue reading “The Salt Pale Collective – …And God Said Nothing (Review)”

Stay Dead – Beneath the Weight of Worlds (Review)

This is the debut album from sludge metal band Stay Dead.

Featuring members of Aiwass and High Desert Queen, Stay Dead play a compelling mix of sludge and doom. Beneath the Weight of Worlds contains five original songs, plus a cover, bringing together 36 minutes of material in total.

Beneath the Weight of Worlds focuses primarily on Continue reading “Stay Dead – Beneath the Weight of Worlds (Review)”

Astral Alchemy – Weaving Chilling Magical Dreamworlds (Review)

This is the debut album from US black metal band Astral Alchemy.

Weaving Chilling Magical Dreamworlds unleashes 39 minutes of multifaceted black metal on the world. Astral Alchemy revel in the creation of an alluring mix of the ancient and the modern, leading to a record that captures the strengths from both remarkably well. Continue reading “Astral Alchemy – Weaving Chilling Magical Dreamworlds (Review)”