Doom – Page 128 – Wonderbox Metal

Flesh of the Stars – Hide (Review)

Flesh of the Stars are from the US and play Doom Metal. This is their début album.

Taking their cues from bands such as Sleep and Black Sabbath, Flesh of the Stars play Traditional Doom Metal with an occult, sinister vibe and 70s accoutrements. Throw in a few elements of bands like Electric Wizard and Ice Dragon and you have a hugely impressive début that is head-and-shoulders above most who attempt this style.

And that’s the thing in many ways; this kind of music has been absolutely done to death, but Flesh of the Stars play it so damn well it’s hard to care. The level of songwriting and dark atmosphere on this album is downright freaky in itself. Surely they’ve sold their souls for these songs?

Out of these seven tracks only four of them are actual songs, so Hide leaves you hungry for more. It’s an addictive release as it’s so very easy just to start playing it again once you’ve listened to it; the hallmark of a great album.

The band create an impressive atmosphere with their music and there are some genuinely creepy/eerie moments on Hide. The interplay between the, (largely), restrained, introspective vocals and the fuzzy guitar is perfectly judged and everything fits into place where it should.

Well, I can’t say enough nice things about this. It’s always great when you discover a band who seem so perfectly attuned to what they’re doing that it’s a genuine pleasure to listen to. This is especially true when the band isn’t actually doing anything different or ground-breaking; Flesh of the Stars are just so massively good at what they do that it’s probably immoral.

Essential.

Favourite Track: Grim Baptist. Well, what a stunning song!

Un – The Tomb of All Things (Review)

Un are a Doom band from the US. This is their début album.

This is an impressive and ambitious release that takes elements of Doom, Funeral Doom, Sludge and Post-Metal into its miserable embrace and crushes them all into a murky paste. Continue reading “Un – The Tomb of All Things (Review)”

Organ – Tetro (Review)

Organ are an Italian Doom band. This is their début album.

Organ play a merging of Doom, Sludge and Psychedelic Metal.

A colossal, crushing sound heralds Tetro’s beginning, and this is a theme which is developed throughout. They’re not without their introspective moments, but the overall emphasis is on heavy atmospheres.

Speaking of atmosphere, Organ have it in buckets. Or rather, waves, as the onslaught of heaviness seems to internally generate its own ecosystem which bleeds out of the speakers like controlled tsunamis of density.

Relentless, repetitive rhythms drive the music forward, while dark vocals seem to lurk just beneath the surface. Harsh screams and cleaner vocals both have a place on this record, although the singer’s voice is used like an additional instrument to merely enhance the power and focus of the main musical maelstrom.

A roiling, churning beast of an album. It’s relatively short for this kind of release at ‘just’ over half an hour in length, but it packs a lot of punches into that time and Tetro is a very worthwhile listen for anyone into layered, atmospheric Doom.

For fans of Om, Electric Wizard, Sleep, Yob, In the Company of Serpents, Ufomammut, Generation of Vipers, etc.

The Nepalese Temple Ball – Arbor (Review)

The Nepalese Temple Ball are a UK Post-Metal band and this is their début album.

Combining elements of bands such as Neurosis, Light Bearer, (who they share a member with), Isis, Converge and No Anchor, The Nepalese Temple Ball have created over an hour’s worth of exploratory, expansive music on Arbor.

This is a diverse album that’s full of different influences and styles, all collected under the widely variable Post-Metal umbrella. Doom, Progressive Metal, Hardcore/Post-Hardcore, Sludge, Psychedelia…even a hint of Black Metal…these are all gathered by the band and melted down to form the songs on Arbor. They have a wealth of skill at doing this, it seems, and Arbor is much more accomplished than it probably should be for a début album.

Lots of different moods and feelings are covered, but the overall impression for me is one of a strange apocalyptic landscape where the world is drowning a chaotic, messy death.

This is music that’s non-standard, atypical and not afraid at all to do its own thing. The band are clearly walking the path that they want to and should be commended for doing this and exploring such rich musical possibilities. This has resulted in a quality album full of interesting areas to explore, with plenty of diversity and depth to attract and hook the listener. This is assuming you like challenging, interesting music of course. If all you’re after is more of the same, then move along now.

Highly recommended.

Hooded Menace – Darkness Drips Forth (Review)

This is the fourth album from Finnish Doom-laden Death Metallers Hooded Menace.

Hooded Menace are well-known for playing Death Metal that’s heavy on the Doom influence, and just heavy in general. On this latest release this is taken to its logical conclusion, and the four songs on Darkness Drips Forth really blur the line between Death and Doom Metal, so much so that this is equally for fans of Incantation as it is for Esoteric.

The shortest song here is just under 10 minutes in length, with all tracks being stretched out to their maximum capacity for crawling, sinister, evil Metal.

Dark melodies creep into the thick, crushing music so that the band really foster the ancient Death/Doom influences that sit at the core of music like this. It’s not as overpowering or centralised as some who play similar styles though, allowing the heaviness and pure dirt of a band like this to remain at the fore. Old-school Anathema/Paradise Lost/My Dying Bride fans will be proud.

The singer’s cavernous growls are slow and drawn out, keeping pace with the unhurried music and reminding everyone that ultimately this isn’t pretty music; this wants to drag you down into the murk and consume your soul.

When they’re not playing at a snail’s pace the band have a rhythmic quality to them that’s almost Rocking, albeit one that’s coated in filth and grim intent.

These songs are veritable slabs of monolithic Metal, seemingly passed down through the ages in sealed tomes of forbidden lore, only to be discovered and unleashed by Hooded Menace. Each one is an impressive foray into Doom/Death, only much more malignant and nasty than a lot of the style normally is.

Highly recommended for both Doom and Death Metal fans alike.

Mammoth Storm – Fornjot (Review)

Mammoth Storm are from Sweden. This is their début album and they play Doom.

Thick, heavy guitars, groove the size of tsunamis and colossal riffs? It can only be Mammoth Storm’s first album. This is heavy, ponderous Doom with a juicy Stoner streak running deep through it.

Charismatic vocals extend out over the songs, animated just above a drawl to provide focus and character to the gargantuan riffs and huge beats.

The guitars are a definite selling point of this music, as the heavy rhythms are meaty as Hell, while the more fragile leads almost have a Post-Metal transcendental quality to them. These are anchored in place by the more earthy guitars so that they remain firmly a part of the music.

The combination of the droning, repetitive nature of the rhythms and the exploratory, unbounded leads make for songs that form a soundscape of textures, writ large in Doom. The vocals cement the idea of a journey through this soundscape, guided by the album art and propelled endlessly forward by the understated-yet-essential drums.

Atmospheric layers are built with ease, immersing the listener in the moods and feelings that the band wish to evoke. It’s extremely effective; it’s easy to slip into these songs and lose yourself in the band’s emotive performance.

This is a substantial début in more ways than one, with the band creating a conceptual storyline to accompany the weighty music. At 55 minutes in length there is a lot of content here to enjoy.

I think this album is pretty much a must-get for any fan of Doom Metal. Check it out.

Terra Deep – Part of This World, Part of Another (Review)

This is the third album from US Progressive Black Metal one-man group Terra Deep.

The music on this release is a complicated and sophisticated Progressive Metal feast that’s born out of the corrupted undergrowth of Black Metal’s fertile roots. Progressive and Post-Black Metal elements take control of proceedings quite early on, reinforced by a dark core of frozen steel.

Deep, unsettling growls, evil shrieks and powerful cleans all add a multitude of texture and feeling to music that successfully combines the cold malignance of Black Metal with the expansive, exploratory nature of Progressive music. This is further enhanced by elements of Doom/Depressive Black Metal that add a forlorn, lonesome sheen to some of the tracks. It all adds up to a multifaceted release full of quality music and songs that engage.

Richly textured tracks seem to bleed shades of pain and grim tidings, while still fostering a highly emotive side that connects with the listener in a visceral way. The songs are advanced exemplars of what can be done with a Black Metal base and a will to explore.

The production is solid and allows the music to hit the right balance between heaviness and nuance. It’s a good sound that satisfies and does justice to the differing parts and influences that make up Part of This World, Part of Another.

These five songs are impressively-realised affairs that speak of the experience and talent of the brains behind the outfit. He obviously has a coherent and well-rounded vision for Terra Deep and has the ability and skill to achieve it.

If you combine Opeth, Enslaved, Forgotten Tomb and Ihsahn then you’ll have a good idea of Terra Deep’s style.

There really is a lot here to offer the discerning Extreme Metal fan and I can’t really recommend this highly enough.

Disenchanter – Strange Creations (Review)

This is the début album from US Doom Metal band Disenchanter.

Having enjoyed their previous EP On Through Portals, this album is a welcome chance to catch up with the band and see how they have taken advantage of having a full-length release.

Well, here we have 55 minutes of quality music; on this release the production is heavier and more professional, the playing crisper and tighter without losing their easy-feeling style, and the songwriting skills have been honed to a fine, sharp point.

Disenchanter play Doom Metal with a good Stoner component, which means that the songs almost roll out of the speakers with an easy confidence and a self-assured air.

The singer has a rich, powerful voice that seems to have a natural presence all of its own, irrespective of the warm, heavy riffs that frequently accompany it. Her voice is strong and compelling.

My favourite tracks are the longer ones, which take their time to build and explore their musical horizons more than their shorter, more upbeat brethren.

Female-fronted Doom Metal is something I’ve been enjoying more and more recently and Disenchanter are a really good example of why.

Recommended.

Ad Nauseum – Ad Nauseum (Review)

Ad Nauseum are from the US and this is their latest EP. They play Sludge Metal.

This is harsh, noise-infected, Hardcore-infused Sludge that’s ugly, uncompromising and brutal.

The shouted vocals are aggressively nasty and purposely blunt and ugly. They barely sound human and make all manner of beastly noises, spreading poison and hatred to all who would listen.

This is barbed and raw, full of spite, bile and a visceral sense of derangement. The songs crawl and bludgeon their way through the playing time and listening to Ad Nauseum is like spending 20 minutes confronting bitter pain.

The noise influence is worked well into the tracks and feels like a part of the music rather then being added in at the last moment. This works with the caustic guitars to create a disturbing atmosphere of decayed rot.

Faster parts are included to really rub the sandpaper on the salt-covered wound. Like a festering, open sore that’s exposed over and over to infected materials, these sections ram home the futility of ever trying to get clean and healthy again. Better to embrace the dirt and live in the ground with the worms and discarded flesh.

A recommended listen for all fans of filth and misery.

Livid – Sint (Review)

Livid are a Doom Metal band from the US. This is their début release.

Featuring two tracks and a running time of 23 minutes, this is a murky, dirty introduction to a new band that shows a lot of promise for the future.

Monk-like clean vocals, huge, Sludge-drenched riffs, warm, earthy drums and a nasty, filthy bass sound mean that Livid easily have what it takes to make a mark.

The music is divided into two parts. On the first, we’re introduced to Livid’s hypnotic, trance-like qualities that they inject into their music, borne out of the repetitive dirge of the low and lazy riffing style and wandering drums.

The vocals sail above the other instruments, a sharp contrast to the rough, Sludgy music. It’s almost as if they’re completely separate from it; untouched by the filth, decay and disease of the underworld. They’re clean in every sense of the word, like angels flying above daemonic undercurrents. It’s a beguiling juxtaposition that shouldn’t work, but it really, really does, adding to the hypnotic nature of the tracks.

As the music crawls to a close after 14 minutes, it’s time to hand things over to the second part. How does this differ from the first? Well, at just under 9 minutes it’s a bit shorter, but it also differs slightly in pace and mood, as this track is more mid-paced and lively, although this is all relative, of course, as it’s still Doom Metal.

The vocals are similar in style to the first track, albeit not quite as detached and separate. They do their job amiably, however, and the song as a whole still retains a hypnotic groove.

Livid have created something quite enjoyable here. Give them a listen.