Doom – Page 135 – Wonderbox Metal

Below the Sun – Envoy (Review)

Below the Sun are a Sludge band from Russia and this is their début album.

This is Atmospheric Sludge Metal that’s as heavy as a rhino and as daunting as a pack of predators. Their sound also includes elements of Funeral Doom, Post-Metal and even a bit of a Black Metal feeling in places; anything to heighten the atmosphere and draw the listener further in to their dark domain.

Absolutely colossal vocals stab out of the swirling darkness like natural disasters striking the unwitting and the unwary. They’re loud, inhuman and utterly compelling. They’re also used sparingly, and for the vast majority of the 59 minute playing time the instruments are the firm focus of attention. This works well, as the vocals are so terrifying that any more exposure to them might have the listener running for the hills in fear.

Below the Sun excel at Post-Metal build-and-release mechanics and wrap this up with a Sludgy ambience and general aura of pessimistic negativity that really is quite powerfully done.

The guitars batter, pamper, bruise and heal. At the end of the album you feel like you’ve been through the wringer both physically and emotionally, but you’re more than willing to do it again. This is an album that can only improve with age and repeated spins. Initially you can tell it’s obviously very good indeed, but on subsequent listens it really reveals its delights.

Music like this is never going to be a disappointment. The emotional investment of a band like this is always worth it and there’s so much here to discover and respond to. Envoy is an apt name, as it feels like you’re entering an unknown landscape, the first to explore these strange, exotic climes. You’re not alone though, as Below the Sun are your guides, shining a black light into all of the scary places and somehow making them feel even more harrowing, yet enticing at the same time.

If you’re a fan of Doom, Sludge, Post-Metal or just emotive and engaging music in general then Envoy is an album to journey to far off places to.

Very highly recommended.

Whispering Woods – Perditus et Dea (Review)

Whispering Woods are from Romania and this is their second album. They play Symphonic Gothic Metal.

This style of music was all the rage in the late 90’s/early 00’s and I haven’t heard a band play it so full-on in quite a while.

Recalling bands like The Sins of Thy Beloved and Tristania, this is richly textured operatic Metal with keyboards and flute accompaniment.

And boy, does it take me back! I was listening to a lot of bands like this at one point and Whispering Woods would have easily fit in.

Perditus et Dea has a huge production and sometimes it feels like the guitars are hitting home like a hammer. Everything is ultra-clear and no expense seems to have been spared in helping the band realise their vision.

The powerful female vocals are expertly performed, clearly by singers of great skill and accomplishment. There’s a definite theatricality to these vocals that spills over to the music too, almost as if each song is an act in a play.

The songs themselves are well-composed and have a good balance between the theatrical and operatic elements and the hard Metal core of the band. One of the things I really like about Whispering Woods is that the Metal component of the band has a big presence and is not subordinate to anything else. For all of the ostentation and flair of a band like this, Whispering Woods are a Metal band first and foremost.

I find this is a style that it’s quite easy to sound generic in; Whispering Woods avoid this by good songwriting, some interesting ideas and a strong sound. That they don’t fall into the trap of simply aping what is, by now, a well-worn style is another mark in their favour; instead they take the genre template and infuse it with their own personality to create an veritable exemplar of the style.

If you’re not a fan of female fronted Gothic Metal then this is unlikely to sway you. If, however, you’re partial to the genre and like a bit of Doom and melodrama alongside it, then Perditus et Dea is one to check out.

Me? I’ve really enjoyed this, and I hope you will too.

Primitive Man – Home is Where the Hatred is (Review)

Primitive Man are from the US and play Doom/Sludge. This is their latest EP.

Ahhh the latest Primitive Man release. I always enjoy their work. A band that personify heavy, nasty music perfectly.

And what do they bring us this time? Here we have music that was left out of all of the happy playlists when you were young. This is a style of music that people only get into when they’re older, jaded and consumed by hatred. Primitive Man feed on this.

The first song Loathe starts off with a churning maelstrom of tense riffs and chaotic drumming, only to slow down to a crawl once the pitch-black growling vocals come in. Crikey the singer has a good voice.

The rest of the songs keep up the high quality-control levels. Dirty Sludge Metal cascades out of the speakers in an onslaught of hatred, bile and disgust.

This EP is a 31 minute Sludge workout that takes in pummelling Doom, filthy Crust/Grind, Blackened guitars and riffs the size of tsunamis to create the aural equivalent of a torturously slow heart attack. Home is Where the Hatred is is Sludge heaven, if there is such a thing.

It’s hard not to love this band. I mean, assuming you like evil Sludge Metal of course. And if you do, Primitive Man are an absolute must.

Half Gramme of Soma – Marche au Noir (Review)

Half Gramme of Soma are from Greece and play Hard/Stoner Rock. This is their latest EP, their second release.

Half Gramme Of Soma have a sound that rolls out of the speakers with earthen grit and a confident gait.

This EP has a warm sound that makes the guitars come alive with a glorious fuzziness. The production is top notch and thankfully the songs match the sonic quality levels.

The singer’s voice is all gravel and character. He has a powerful voice that’s like a slightly dirtier version of the singer of Disturbed. It sounds great and the performance level is always high.

These songs speak of a confident band who know what they want to do and know exactly how to go about achieving their goals. These are very mature compositions that may sit neatly in the Stoner Rock genre but also borrow from others, such as Hard Rock, Modern Metal and Doom.

This refusal to play entirely by the Stoner template works entirely in their favour and as such Marche au Noir has a lot of different flavours across its 5 tracks. From the upbeat opener Marche, to the jaunty/doomy juxtaposition of Hitch Hike and the crowning centrepiece Cage, this EP has more to offer in 5 songs than most bands of this ilk do in 10.

Marche au Noir is a decent length EP at 25 minutes that showcases the band’s ample talents.

Definitely a recommended listen.

Brothers of the Sonic Cloth – Brothers of the Sonic Cloth (Review)

Brothers of the Sonic Cloth are a Stoner Doom band from the US and this is their début album.

Brothers of the Sonic Cloth are heavy and rocking, which is the Stoner influence; they’re also slow and mournful, which is where the Doom element comes in; however they also have a nasty side that manifests in the Sludge part of their sound.

The vocals are nicely varied, with everything from harsh shouting to crawling drawls. All styles are performed perfectly in line with the emotive music and the variety sounds natural rather than forced.

Like the vocals, there’s a lot on offer musically. The band aren’t one dimensional at all and the songs here truly do incorporate Stoner, Doom and Sludge into a cohesive package that covers a lot of ground during the 45 minutes playing time. The band are all seasoned veterans so I should expect no less really.

I’ve connected with this album on a deeper level than I thought I would. It’s an album that is diverse and feels like it takes you on a journey, which is a feeling I love in my music. More than that though, it’s the sound they’ve created; it’s heavy enough to be crushing but nuanced enough to retain character and personality.

Well, this album has been a surprise and a treat. Get ready to worship.

Sigihl – Trauermärsche (And a Tango Upon the World’s Grave) (Review)

This is the début album from Polish Black/Doom/Sludge Metal band Sigihl.

Sigihl play their Black Metal with added elements of Sludge, Doom and Drone.

This is special, in a disgustingly infectious way. There’s no guitar, but there is a saxophone. Sigihl make Black Metal art by their own rules. It’s intriguing, depraved and utterly compelling.

Calling it Black Metal though is a bit misleading, as although Black Metal is an integral component of their writing, equally important is the Doom/Sludge influence.

The bass-heavy distortion is combined with a saxophone sound that seems dredged up from the most sinister and worrying parts of a Silent Hill game. It’s unusual and instantly appealing. Sigihl have really worked out how to get the most from emotive filthiness.

The wailing vocals are buried by the bass and provide an unhinged counterpoint to the plaintive saxophone melodies.

The repetitive dirge/Drone-like nature of the music is infectious and draws you in, eager to experience the joyful misery that this cavalcade of woe is pedalling.

Sigihl have created a listening experience that’s almost tangible enough to touch.

A very individual release, destined to be tragically overlooked by many Metal fans. Don’t let this be the case with you.

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.

Abstracter – Wound Empire (Review)

This is the second album from US Sludge/Doom band Abstracter.

After really enjoying their 2012 debut album Tomb of Feathers, this is a release that has been eagerly awaited in these parts.

The first track, Lightless, seems to slowly writhe up out of a dark pit of urban decay, attempting to smother the land with its malignant spread. It’s an insidious start to the album and before you realise what’s going on you’re trapped in a nightmare landscape of pitch-black smoke and evil.

But oh dear Lord is it good. Rarely has cloying, suffocating Sludge felt so visceral and nastily enticing.

Abstracter are heavy and grim in the best ways that Sludge and Doom can achieve. These songs are essays in crawling malevolence and destructive passion. The band emanate a very raw darkness that you can feel like a physical presence.

I like the combination of nuanced riffing, heavy guitars and brutally gorgeous delivery. Abstracter effortlessly combine the beauty of Post-Metal with the dirty horror of Sludge. Their songwriting skills are such that moments of ugliness and transcendence are merged together. When the shades of light and dark clash there’s only ever going to be one true winner, but even though the menacing and murky atmospheres encase everything, the light isn’t totally consumed; you can feel it pulsing, straining against its captivity by this Hellish beast. This tense undercurrent is what gives Wound Empire its hidden beauty.

There’s a Black Metal influence to their sound that fits flawlessly into what they do. It’s not overbearing and doesn’t detract from the Doom, it just adds a further layer of thickly encrusted grime to songs that are already intimately familiar with all things subterranean.

With each of these titanic monuments to apocalyptic dystopian futures, I think that Abstracter have outdone themselves and actually managed to top their début album. No mean feat.

With true depth of composition and a talent for wrapping the listener up in their vision of all things gloomy and heavy, Abstracter have produced an album that has blown me away.

Fans of Neurosis, Altar of Plagues, Indian, Inter Arma, Amenra, Yob, Wolvhammer, Thou, etc. should perk up and take notice now.

Essential listening.

Keeper/Sea Bastard – Split (Review)

Keeper are from the US and Sea Bastard are from the UK. Both bands play Doom and contribute a single track to this split.

Keeper are up first with 777, clocking in at almost 14 minutes.

777 is crushingly repetitive Sludge Doom with acerbic, toxic screams that tear through the meaty guitars like a serrated blade through flesh.

This is a song that glorifies the heavy riff, slows it down and then makes it even thicker than normal through some form of arcane jiggery-pokery. Yes, that’s the term.

Imagine Khanate if they had the structure of Electric Wizard. Agonizingly delectable.

Uncompromisingly bleak, Keeper show that they mean business and easily have what it takes to join the big leagues of filthy, hateful Doom.

The wonderfully named Sea Bastard are next with Astral Rebirth, which is almost 21 minutes long.

Astral Rebirth is another lumbering behemoth of a song. Long, slow and heavy; Sea Bastard have come to flatten everything.

Imagine Bongripper if they had deep growling/high screaming vocals and you’ll be in the general area.

This is another song that is relentlessly heavy and is crushingly repetitive; flowing tsunamis of heavy guitars seem to repeatedly peak and crash on the listener. The Doom is huge and we love it this way.

Not content with just playing slow, the pace does pick up but the feeling of being compressed down by an immense weight never leaves. Heaviness is in their DNA.

Both bands to an excellent job of their time on this split and if you’re looking for a good introduction to some top quality Doom then look no further.

Highly recommended.

Unhold – Towering (Review)

Unhold are a Sludge Metal band from Switzerland and this is their fourth album.

Unhold play Sludge Metal with a good grasp of Space Rock, Doom, Post-Metal and Progressive Metal.

The band boast multiple talented singers and each of them brings something to the table, be that Neurosis-style rough vocals, effortless cleans or powerful female vocals.

This is a diverse selection of tracks that feature shades of light and dark, build and release mechanics, dynamic pacing, rich texture and atmosphere by the bucketload. You can just taste the quality dripping off this album like fat.

A warm sound translates into tracks that feel very organic and natural. These songs sound alive and vibrant.

I love albums that feel like a complete listening experience; where each song seems to have its place and has its own identity. Towering is such an album.

Whether it’s gritty Sludge, colossal Doom, Southern-baked meandering or epic Progressive workouts, Unhold play their songs with style, conviction and depth.

There’s a lot of variety here that’s a pleasure to explore. The band have both the discipline and experience to craft songs that have a large amount of depth and longevity. The tracks are composed in ways that seem effortless and unforced. Ideas from all manner of subgenres and styles are incorporated into their repertoire and it seems that every aspect of musical expression they dabble with comes out a winner.

Unhold have produced an exemplar of Sludge Metal that’s going to be hard to top. Be sure to check them out.