Doom – Page 128 – Wonderbox Metal

Kade Storm – Beyond Blood & Ashes (Review)

Kade Storm is a solo artist from the UK. This is his début album of Blackened Doom Metal.

The album features a grim, heavy sound that is pleasingly murky.

The vocals remind me of the singer of Cathedral if he had a rawer, Blackened edge to his voice.

Apocalyptic mid-paced riffs form the bulk of the music, relentlessly stomping onwards in a fit of dark vision. The music has a Doom/Sludge feel to it, enhanced by a Blackened twinge and some Classic Metal elements on occasion, especially in the included guitar solos.

The guitars chug and groove in a restrained and bleak way, giving the songs a curious feeling like they’re somehow stuck between styles. This is not necessarily to their detriment, but it is somewhat of an acquired taste. Or, I suppose more accurately; it depends if you’re in the mood for it or not.

The music is consistently similar throughout, giving it a drone-like hypnotic quality in some ways. Individual songs work perfectly well, but taken as a whole the album describes a full movement of crawling, ugly Doom with occult atmospheres and dark designs.

Check it out.

Electricjezus – The Foundation Pit (Котлован)

This is the second album from this Russian Doom/Sludge band.

This is gritty, earthy Sludge that has a bedrock of down-tuned riffage and harsh vocals, providing the listener with plenty of opportunity to engage with the negativity and also have a darn good groove to the music as well.

The music is largely mid-paced with slower sections appearing as necessary to drive the tar-like feeling of Sludge home.

Vocally we get Blackened screams that seethe with energetic disgust and bile. They frequently take second place to the rest of the music and are only used when there needs to be an added violent emphasis to the songs’ downbeat messages.

This is only a two-piece band but they make more than enough noise to make you think otherwise. The beefy, bass-enhanced riffs become hypnotic by their repetition and, as any Sludge/Doom fan knows, it’s easy to become entranced by this kind of relentless, churning heaviness.

The band have an ear for a good riff and this is the kind of Sludge that it’s easy to fall for. Heavy, emotive and crackling with hate; Electricjezus spend 41 minutes flattening the opposition with waves of distortion.

Oh, and there’s a magnificent Sludge cover of Berlin’s Take My Breath Away, too. Top work!

Make sure you check out Electricjezus.

Behold! The Monolith – Architects of the Void (Review)

This is the third album from US Doom Metallers Behold! The Monolith.

The band play Doom mixed with Sludge, producing an album that sits outside of the normal template for both sub-genres and is all the better for it.

In addition to the usual Doom staples, there’s also an anger here. This is manifest in the aggressive vocals and the more upbeat aspects of the songs.

The tracks are a combination of Doom, Sludge and even a bit of Classic Metal and Post-Metal on occasion. This is an interesting and less-travelled path for a band to tread, and in this way Behold! The Monolith remind me of the equally compelling Khemmis.

Architects of the Void is a heavy and dark album, full of slow, agonising crawls through a landscape littered with broken dreams and dying hopes. That’s not to say it’s a completely nihilistic and bleak album like some Doom; this is actually more of a well-rounded release than that, with brighter parts, epic feelings and groovier sections included too. Overall though, it’s heavy, dark and very engaging.

The songs sound introverted and personal, albeit through the lens of a public-facing band. This sounds more like music played for the sake of musical catharsis and outlet than for the need to simply rock out or any such thing. There’s a lot of feeling here, sometimes bubbling beneath the surface and sometimes right in your face.

Due to the mixing of the sub-styles, (Doom/Sludge/Metal), this is quite a varied release and each song has its own personality. The album works well holistically and there’s a lot of depth, nuance and longevity to be had on this release.

Like the tastiest of Metal feasts, Architects of the Void will leave you feeling satisfied and satiated.

Very highly recommended.

My Silent Wake – Damnatio Memoriae (Review)

This is the eighth album from the UK’s My Silent Wake. They play Doom Metal.

This is Atmospheric Doom that takes elements of bands such as, (older), My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost and works them into its own melancholic, gloomy soundscape. There’s a Gothic component to their style, as well as some Old-School Death Metal elements wrapped up in their sound.

Although they have their share of slower sections, for the most part this is not agonisingly slow Doom that crawls along at a minimal speed. No, this is Doom Metal with plenty of groove, mid-paced momentum and Metal riffs, and the Death Metal influence helps the band keep things moving.

Screamed/rasped vocals are the main mode of lyrical delivery, although the odd clean and semi-clean does appear here and there. They’re performed in a really engaging manner, and their real strength is in how they work with the guitars to seamlessly ensure that the songs are greater than the sum of their individual parts.

There are a lot of really tasty, captivating riffs on this release. Combined with the interesting vocal delivery and vocal patterns the two work together to hook and snare the listener. Before you know it you’re nodding along and getting into it quite easily.

The music is enhanced by keyboards and effects that add to the atmosphere, although these are quite subtle and the main show is carried off via the interplay between guitars and vocals.

My Silent Wake’s latest album is full of top quality Doom that harkens back to the early 90s without wallowing in nostalgia or backwoods glancing; it’s simply a sound of the era, impressively realised in 2015.

Have a listen and let the band work their dark magic.

Funerary – Starless Aeon (Review)

This is the début album from US Doom band Funerary.

This is dark, misery-drenched Doom that has a harsh Sludge edge, giving the band a nasty bite.

One of the first things that strikes me about Funerary are the jaw-dropping, ultra-intense vocals. They’re mainly high pitched screams or deep growls, although that description doesn’t do them justice. The screams sound rabid and the growls sound inhuman. Either way, they make a big impression.

This is 34 minutes of mind-numbing despair and utter misery. The songs are heavy, slow and full of depressed fury. This last point is an important one; for all of the Doom and gloom on this record, Funerary have a very angry side that lends their songs an aggressive dominance over all they survey.

Funerary also know how to do subtle though. It’s a downtrodden, malicious subtle and their version of light and shade is multiple shades of black, but subtlety is still within their arsenal. As such, there’s also a side of Atmospheric Sludge to their assault, which is always a welcome addition to any band and further enhances Funerary’s sound, giving them an added depth.

Throughout the release the feeling is one of a filthy, worthless existence, one that has no merits or positive sides just different types of pain and anguish. In itself this obviously doesn’t sound very appealing at all, however, when translated into Funerary’s scorn-filled hate-sludge, it suddenly becomes very appealing indeed.

It’s a relatively varied release, taking in aspects of the main sub-genres mentioned previously, as well as elements of Drone, Post-Black Metal and Experimental Doom. Largely though, it’s an impressive mixture of Doom, Atmospheric Sludge and feedback-laden nihilism, like a cross between Primitive Man, Esoteric and Khanate.

I strongly suggest you get a dose of Starless Aeon.

Fell Ruin – Devices (Review)

Fell Ruin are from the US and play Black Metal. This is their début EP.

This is Black Metal of the raw and underground variety that’s been dragged wilfully through a dark, dank swamp and picked up all manner of Sludge and Doom accoutrements along the way.

It’s essentially an odd, distressing Blackened dirge that combines ferocity of vision with otherworldly vibes to create something that feels both wrong and strange, albeit in a disconcertingly agreeable manner.

If Mayhem and Electric Wizard were to do some form of collaboration, it wouldn’t be too far of a stretch to imagine something like Devices being the end result.

The standard Blackened guitars are supplemented with riffs that are odd, unusual and atmospheric in a claustrophobic, unsettling kind of way. This is a subtle malevolence though, rather than the crushing horror of someone like Ævangelist. Devices gets under your skin.

These tracks are extremely well-written, with subtlety, shading and emotive darkness all featuring heavily in their sound. I really like discovering a band like this as Fell Ruin aren’t your typical Black Metal proposition. On Devices they’re attempting to imprint a well-worn genre with their own style and personality and it works really well.

Oh, there’s some deep fucking oddness here! Not in an ostentatious, extravagant, “look at me” kind of way where some bands feel they need to go to great lengths to show how “wacky” and “weird” they are. No, this is an under-the-radar, “hmm, there’s something not quite right here” kind of way, just before the daemon erupts from someone’s brain and starts slaughtering everyone…

A dark revelation of uncomfortable truths.

Don’t miss it.

Deathrite – Revelation of Chaos (Review)

This is the third album from German Death Metallers Deathrite.

This is Old-School/Classic Death Metal that’s filthy and dirty as Hell. It also has a poisonous mixture of both Doom and Hardcore influences pulsating through its infected blood.

Yes, this is an interesting mixture of different types of extremity all wrapped up in a Death Metal giftbox. There’s an air of the Swedish style to their attack, as well as a whiff of a chainsaw in their sound; there’s a Doomy Asphyx/Incantation vibe going on; there’s a Hardcore/Grindcore energy à la Nasum; and there’s plenty of balls-ahead Death Metal fun for all of the family!

The songs are heavy and nasty, with plenty of bite and a substantial presence. This is a compact little album lasting 35 minutes that doesn’t outstay its welcome and is in fact the kind of thing you’ll find yourself playing again almost straight away.

The singer has a throaty growl that’s malignant and rabid. It complements the aggressiveness of the music perfectly.

This is a top quality album full of decent Metal tunes and plenty of big riffs, with everything you see and hear being covered in filth, of course.

Highly recommended.

Old Witch/Keeper – Split (Review)

Old Witch are from Canada and Keeper are from the US. Both play Doom. This is their split, containing 58 minutes of crawling, evil music.

Old Witch start us off with their half of the split. Their take on Doom is dirty, nasty and filled with malevolent hatred.

Taking the template as laid down by Khanate, Old Witch proceed to bury this in the soil for a thousand years before digging it up and slowly flaying it alive.

The slow, thoughtful assault of their earthy-sounding Doom combines at once an unforced naturalism and a feeling of urban decay and darkness. The minimalistic Khanate-style approach is enhanced with eerie melodies and textured nihilism that has shades of Funeral Doom.

Other apt comparisons would be the murky Sludge of Culted, only without the Blackened elements, or the marathon of filth that is Venowl, only with more of an emotive presence.

At any rate, this is my first encounter with Old Witch and they have turned out to be an extremely gratify proposition. Their name held a lot of promise as it pretty much evoked images right from the off that gave me high expectations of their sound. I have not been disappointed.

After the grim majesty of Old Witch, many bands would be found wanting. Thankfully, Keeper are not just any old band. Unlike Old Witch I’m already a firm fan of Keeper’s crushing Doom from their recent split with Sea Bastard and their EP The Space Between Your Teeth.

Keeper are heavier than Old Witch and sound like an avalanche of Sludge Metal descending from a great height to destroy anything it lands on.

The acerbic vocals always provide a wonderfully acidic focal point that the guitars seem to congregate around as if feeding off them.

Maybe it’s keeping company with Old Witch, but Keeper sound blacker and darker on this release. The shining, contemplative Post-Metal side of their style is still present and correct, but even this sounds more villainous than usual.

These two songs are just as impressive as I’ve come to expect from Keeper and the entire split, almost an hour of Doom, is a fantastic release that I can’t recommend highly enough.

Definitely one to get.

Hope Drone – Cloak of Ash (Review)

Hope Drone are an Australian Post-Black Metal band. This is their début album.

Well this is a long one; 7 tracks across 77 minutes. Hope Drone don’t do things by halves it seems. But then why should they? This kind of music demands complete immersion and Cloak of Ash provides ample opportunity for this.

The music has a Black Metal base onto which is built Post-Black Metal wanderings and Atmospheric Sludge Metal influences.

Hope Drone take the Cascadian Black Metal template and use it to fashion themselves a wide-reaching, emotive album that’s highly textured and richly delivered. All speeds and tempos are catered to as well as heavier and lighter sections, which means that Cloak of Ash is a diverse and pleasurable listen that succeeds in painting in shades of darkness and light.

The Black Metal is never too far from the surface. Even the Post-Metal and Sludge/Doom elements of their sound have that Blackened twinge to them, although that doesn’t stop them from dripping with a darkened beauty. The band can play ugliness and aggression extremely well, but there are enough moments of resplendent glory and delicate allure here that it’s easy to become mesmerized with the band’s hypnotic performance.

The lighter elements are augmented with some Ambient/Drone interludes. When these segue gently into incredibly effective mid-paced atmospherics it’s a very uplifting and transcendental experience. Of course, I’m aware that words like transcendental get bandied around far too often when describing bands like Hope Drone, but it fits like a glove and conveys the appropriate feeling that the band can sometimes create.

The agonised screams are harsh and unforgiving, reminding you that no matter how the music sounds or where it takes you, this is still music forged from the underworld.

Hope Drone have truly created a wonderfully realised piece of Blackened art. I’m thoroughly impressed and completely in thrall to it.

An essential listen.

Interview with Desolate Pathway

Traditional Doom Metal band Desolate Pathway’s début album Valley of the King is best savoured loud and is a very engaging listen. I was moved to find out more about the band…

For those who are unfamiliar with your band – introduce yourself!

We are Desolate Pathway. A traditional Doom metal band from England playing some Epic style music and telling a bloody good story.

Give us a bit of history to Desolate Pathway

I started the band originally as home based on my own while I was between tours with Pagan Altar. When the band became less active I decided to bring the project to life and start a real band in 2014.

Where did the band name come from?

Strange one really but I found a lot of bands I grew up on had a 2-word names and thought that worked really well. I wanted something dark, gloomy and sinister-sounding.

What are your influences?

Black Sabbath for the riffs, Manowar for the storytelling and Candlemass for the Epic doom style.

What are you listening to at the moment that you would like to recommend?

The new Sorcerer material is excellent. We have also been compared to these guys so that’s superb.

What’s your favourite song on the album and why?

It changes every gig because I see the audience react differently but overall Shadow of the Tormentor. I think that track has like every influence I have in there and I think it’s the only track people can really headbang too.

What are the subjects/themes of the songs on this album?

It’s all a mix up of Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings. Lots of Epic battles, sword fighting and castles. The whole album is a concept based on a prince trying to reach a castle to take the throne but he and his army encounter lots of supernatural and evil things during their journey. Each track unfolds the story in full so it is recommended to listen in one session.

Give us a bit of information on your songwriting process

I have an idea in mind then I write the guitar work first in demo form then add lyrics to them. After that the other guys do their bit, we rehearse and change things up until we are all happy to record.

How did the recording go?

I did all the guitars in my home studio. This way I have the luxury of time to make it perfect. After that we set ourselves deadlines to practice and complete. It was really a great experience but we have learnt a few things to take on board for the next album.

How do you see your songs/direction developing in the future?

They already have developed. We are now making the guitars more full with double tracking each guitar, more than one harmony in a riff section and more Epic.

What’s next for Desolate Pathway?

We have a single due for release on 31st October.
On the A side we have Kostas Solomidis who is the lead guitarist of Greek band Sorrows Path.
He is playing the 2 solos on a track named ‘Into the Realms of Poseidon’.
After that we are finishing our 2nd album that will be solely based on Greek mythology, so the single beforehand is a foot into the album.
To keep update visit our website at http://www.desolatepathway.com