Tag: Doom

Tongues – Thelésis Ignis (Review)

TonguesThis is the début EP of Tongues, who are from Denmark and play Black Metal.

This is the kind of evil, otherworldly Black Metal that immediately makes you sit up and take notice. As you listen to Thelésis Ignis there’s an almost tangible feeling of something inhuman watching you just out of sight; something lurking behind the thin veil of reality; something hungry and ancient. It’s as if by playing Thelésis Ignis you are playing a small part in a wider plan to summon whatever it is into this world.

These are the initial feelings evoked by this album; Thelésis Ignis contains power, promise and potential.

Thelésis Ignis may be classed as an EP but at 36 minutes in length it’s as long as some albums.

The music is intense, frightening and shares a lurking malice with the very best of involving and engaging Black Metal. The riffs are inventive and bold without dominating proceedings. Everything works together with everything else to complete the ritual.

Tongues have an underground sound that’s perfect for their style of music, allowing their Black Metal to shine darkly whilst not sounding polished or new in any way.

The evil atmospheres created by the band are all-encompassing while the music is playing and even when it stops it seems to linger, unwilling to let go of life. Some of the added sounds and effects that the band employ subtly in the background of the tracks are eerie and unnerving, like the very best occult Black Metal should be.

On the last song, Bloodline of the Blind, Tongues seem to drop all pretension of being a band in the regular sense. Here they fully embrace their ritualistic side and focus on the act of summoning the indescribable horror from another world.

Thelésis Ignis has elements of Death and Doom Metal in its sound which only goes to enhance the rich, dark palette that the band work from. The vocals in particular have a firm Death Metal basis as they are largely deep growls that seem to come from the bottom of the abyss.

This is a jaw-dropping début from Tongues. All fans of soul-eating Black Metal need to listen to this.

Process of Guilt/Rorcal – Split (Review)

POGRThis is a split between Portugal’s Process of Guilt and Switzerland’s Rorcal.

Rorcal’s contribution to the split is 15 minutes of anguished, Blackened chaos.

On their previous album Vilagvege they had a Blackened element to their sound, with dark atmospheres and Black Metal-laced blasting appearing in places; on this split they appear to have embraced this bitingly harsh side of their sound to a greater deal and these three songs have a much stronger Black Metal influence. Having sampled the whirlwind Rorcal seem to have liked their taste of the darkness.

The Sludge is still here though. Blast beats there may be but they also slow things down to let the listener really feel the despair. At least for a short while.

I like Rorcal a lot and think that no matter whether they play fast or slow they have a talent for sounding both evil and agonised at the same time.

The first half of the split is a triumph then.

Having never encountered Process of Guilt before – what of the second half?

Process of Guilt’s contribution to the split is three tracks of Atmospheric Doom Sludge lasting 17 minutes.

They start with harsh screams that seem to escape from the void of negativity that the band shroud themselves with. They have a good sound that veritably screams for the apocalypse to happen and the hammering guitars combined with the very emotive and atmospheric aura of misery that they perpetuate is a treat to listen to.

Deeper, grimmer vocals share stage with these otherworldly shrieks to create a well rounded vocal package that complements the professional delivery of the band. This is Sludge to fall in love with.

Process of Guilt combine the abrasive, twisting parts of Neurosis, the relentless heaviness of Celeste and the dark, gritty atmospheres of Burning Witch to create 17 minutes of feedback-drenched Hell that any Sludge/Doom fan couldn’t help but fall for.

A 32 minutes split featuring quality bands and songs. What’s stopping you from getting this right now?

Kвіти Знедолених Берегів – За небокрай мрій (Review)

Kвіти Знедолених БерегівKвіти Знедолених Берегів is a solo project from Ukraine that plays Atmospheric Death/Doom. This is his début demo.

This is woe-filled Atmospheric Doom with deep growling and swathes of desolate feeling.

The singer has a very powerful growl. It sounds quite primal in its force and carries a strong presence against the backdrop of the mournful music. This is backed up by occasional spoken word sections which are also performed well and have a good place in the mix, as I find spoken word parts are usually too high when most bands employ them. Soft, low-key cleans also unexpectedly appear, greatly enhancing the already varied vocal package. Neither the cleans or the spoken word sections are over done though and the deep growls eclipse them both.

The music shows good composition and everything is played well. The dark melodies have an air of longing to them and really drive the music forward.

Both of the songs on this release slowly build their funeral dirge over the course of about 10 minutes and the winding, plaintive guitars have just the right tone to connect viscerally with the listener without becoming overwrought. Subtle keyboard/piano is used here and there to further add feeling and I like the style of songwriting in general; it’s mainly about heaviness, both musically and emotionally, but there’s enough subtlety and nuance here to satisfy fans of all tastes and preferences.

For what is, apparently, a demo release, the production is very professional sounding. Everything is balanced and in its place; everything sounds crisp and punchy.

I’m very impressed with this. Hopefully we’ll see a full album from Kвіти Знедолених Берегів in the future and if it’s even half as good as За небокрай мрій it’ll be very good indeed.

Temple of Void – Of Terror and the Supernatural (Review)

Temple of VoidTemple of Void are from the US and this is their début album. They play Doom with an infusion of Death Metal.

Temple of Void’s 2013 Demo was a really enjoyable 3-track taster for the band, and this début full length takes those three songs, adds 5 more and results in Of Terror and the Supernatural.

Their sound is one of Doom Metal mixed with an Old-School Death Metal influence, which manifests in the faster sections, the deep vocals and the general air of rotting heaviness that the band exude with every diseased pore.

Opener The Embalmer’s Art is like a microcosm for the album as a whole. It has faster, gritty sections which are tempered by largely slow and Doom-y main parts and morbid, grim vocals. The guitar melodies are haunting, downright miserable and very, very powerful.

Somehow, even though this is only a début, Temple of Void have managed to produce a piece of rotten artistry that sounds as if it has taken decades to coalesce into being. The songs sound mature and so full of atmosphere and dark tidings it seems impossible that these are new songs and not long lost tracks from the vaults of Peaceville history.

Upon first listening to the album it sounds instantly welcoming and familiar without sounding stale or old-hat. Upon subsequent listens this feeling is reinforced and very quickly the album shapes up to be both an old friend and a stunning new discovery.

The vocals are deep growls that have an instant presence and charisma. Somewhat reminiscent of the singer of Opeth at his expressive, malevolent deepest; the singer of Temple of Void has a phenomenal bellow that really clears the cobwebs away.

I’m incredibly impressed with this. The quality of the riffs, the depth of feeling that they evoke and the whole structure of the songs in general speaks volumes about the talent of the band.

Crawling Death Metal-laced Doom has never sounded so good.

Essential listening.

Algoma – Reclaimed by the Forest (Review)

AlgomaAlgoma are a Sludge/Doom band from Canada and this is their début album.

Algoma play the kind of filthy, grim Sludge akin to the likes of Eyehategod, Fistula, Buzzov.en, etc.

The riffs are heavy and large and have the relentless inevitability of a slow-moving avalanche. Reclaimed by the Forest seems to be powered by these monstrous guitars, as if they have an energy all to themselves; self-generating and powerful enough to make everything else follow suite.

Vocally the singer has a voice that’s somewhere between a shout and a bark.

The band’s sound is murky and dense, as one would expect from a Sludge Metal group, but there’s a healthy amount of Doom to their style meaning they go slower than some similar bands.

At almost 42 minutes in length it doesn’t outstay its welcome and the infectious nature of the Sludgy guitars mean that it’s a good album to zone out to and become encased in the heaviness.

Each song is a smorgasbord of heaviness, crunchy guitars and bile.

It’s time to let the forest take you.

Encoffination – III – Hear Me, O’ Death (Sing Thou Wretched Choirs) (Review)

EncoffinationEncoffination are from the US and this is their third album of Doom/Death Metal.

Now that’s an album cover. If you wanted a cover that said dirty, filthy and wretched, that’s what you’d go for. And they did. Top work.

Encoffination play a blend of Doom and Death Metal that is utterly miserable and carries a strong stench of decay around with it.

This is morbid, rotten Doom Metal filtered through an underground Death Metal influence. Incantation is the obvious reference, although imagine them slower, with a rawer production and sounding a lot more stinking than they normally do.

The band create a fully oppressive atmosphere that’s as all encompassing as it is relentless. The slow, Doom-filled riffs saturate the brain and lull the listener into a sense of foreboding despair that’s surprisingly comfortable to slip into.

This is a long album at just under 1 hour in length but the atmospheres that Encoffination create mean that you don’t really notice the passage of time. What’s 60 minutes compared to the glacial pace of geological time that it feels like the band use?

Slow, heavy and nasty. The palpable aura of desolation and woe is almost overwhelming. The band draw you in and drag you down into their world.

Highly recommended and highly addictive.

Trysth – Soulchambers (Review)

TrysthTrysth are from Bulgaria and play Atmospheric Doom/Post-Metal. This is their début.

At 51 minutes in length this album takes in all that’s slow, contemplative, expressive and heavy. The band delve into Doom, Sludge and Post-Metal in an attempt to nail down their core sound.

It’s played well, sounds great and the songs themselves are mature compositions simultaneously satisfying fans of the immediate and heavy alongside the slower, brooding nature of this kind of music.

Soulchambers sounds quite apocalyptic and harrowing in places. The slow build/release mechanics that form the core of Post-Metal rub shoulders with the simpler miseries of Doom and the grim edginess of Sludge. The end result is an album of pits and troughs, lows and highs, ebbs and flows; an album that reaches for more whilst strengthening and safeguarding its central identity of desolate and bleak landscapes populated by oases of life and vitality.

The band know their art well and the album is a studied dissection of atmospheric Doom that is remarkable in its completeness. This is especially impressive as it’s the début of the band; such a strong album usually denotes more experienced hands. However, Trysth also share a member with the excellent Blackened Doom band Upyr, so it should come as no surprise really that Trysth should share similar levels of quality.

The vocals are tortured shouts that stop just short of descending into growling territory. These are accentuated by semi-cleans and cleans that are used for added effect and emotive appeal. The singer suits the heaviness of the music and the vocals are used sparingly.

The album cover is a very fitting choice as it visually represents the band’s sound extremely well.

For fans of Neurosis, Cult of Luna, Isis and the rest. Basically, for fans of thoughtful, heavy music. If you like this style then this is a must.

What an album!

Wormwood – Wormwood (Review)

WormwoodThis is the début album of Wormwood who are a Sludge band from the US.

Wormwood play abraisive and caustic Sludge that eats away like acid and is every bit as disfiguring.

The songs aren’t long but they don’t need much exposure to be proven toxic.

Heavy and covered in contagious filth, Wormwood are like the bastard offspring of Today is the Day, Rabies Caste, Khanate and Eyehategod.

It’s ugly, crushing music that’s no good for your health and yet is strangely addictive regardless. The songs infect with their virulent strand of aural disease and you find yourself thinking of them when you least expect, usually when the night is in full swing and the negative thoughts are swirling. Wormwood is the soundtrack to hopelessness and woe.

The songs are surprisingly catchy and their relatively simplistic approach of groove-based, heavy Sludge is tried and tested yet by no means less effective because of it. Eyehategod may have originally wrote the book but bands like Wormwood keep adding pages.

Wormwood lack Eyehategod’s Southern tinge of course, and theirs is a sound that shares aspects of Today is the Day and Rabies Caste in particular, as mentioned above.

A warm, yet musty, analogue sound coats all of the songs like a soft, ripe, fleshy exterior. It sounds good.

At only 18 minutes in length this is a release that doesn’t outstay its welcome; one to definitely keep returning to.

Highly recommended.

Inter Arma – The Cavern (Review)

Inter ArmaInter Arma are from the US and this is their latest EP. Although calling it an EP is a bit of a stretch; at almost 46 minutes it’s pretty much an album.

Oh and did I mention that the entire running time is comprised of just one track? No? Well I have now.

I’ve not heard Inter Arma before, although I’m aware of them by reputation, so this is something that I was eager to listen to.

It starts off gently, with almost 3 minutes of soft, acoustic sounds, before the heavy guitars hammer down like Thor’s own wrath. Inter Arma play a highly talented form of Sludge/Post-Metal/Doom Metal. Ultimately it’s a Doom behemoth that takes in a variety of different genres and subgenres throughout the length of the song.

The Cavern is a very involving and captivating listen that has been masterfully put together with lots of thought to the weaving of the different elements into a complete tapestry of sounds.

Vocally, we get pretty much everything; cleans, semi-cleans, shouts, screams, growls; it’s all present and correct.

The song transitions through various phases and it’s complex and endearing. The band have invited a plethora of different guests onto the EP which only enhances the feeling of something truly special unfolding in front of your very ears. The guests all add something different, (female vocals, violins, synths), and their contribution is valued and integral.

The pacing and dynamics of this song are just astounding. This is the kind of Progressive Metal masterpiece that you always wanted Isis, Neurosis or Cult of Luna to do.

As the song progresses it takes in all available moods, from slow and despondent to psychedelic and expansive, to subtle and coy, to raging and tumultuous. This is an incredibly detailed journey into foreign soundscapes and as tour guides extraordinaire Inter Arma are well placed to blow your mind with their shockingly good display of songwriting. The performance and musicianship is flawless too.

Inter Arma take the Post-Metal template of the masters, (Isis/Neurosis/Cult of Luna), combine it with the extra-dimensional quality of Mastodon, layer it all in their own unique personality, add lots of individual flourishes and quirks and serve up scalding hot; The Cavern is here and it’s a delicious treat.

Stunning.