This is the fourth album from US progressive metallers Oceans of Slumber.
Oceans of Slumber is the much-anticipated follow up to 2018’s well-received The Banished Heart.
Oceans of Slumber’s progressive metal takes in elements of doom and Gothic metal to produce music that hits a lot of emotional highs, while still having kick where it counts. The band combine heaviness with ethereal beauty. Some of Continue reading “Oceans of Slumber – Oceans of Slumber (Review)”
August came and went, and left us with some top tunes to enjoy. Here are a selection of those that I’ve particularly liked… Continue reading “Monthly Overview – the Best of August 2020”
This is the debut album from US doom band Vacant Eyes.
Combining funeral doom, death/doom, melodic doom, and progressive doom, A Somber Preclusion of Being contains 75 minutes of sorrowful soundscapes. Continue reading “Vacant Eyes – A Somber Preclusion of Being (Review)”
This is the second album from Hymn, a Norwegian doom/sludge metal band.
Hymn play a mix of doom and sludge, and Breach Us contains 38 minutes of music divided into 4 tracks. The band is made up of only two members, but you wouldn’t necessarily realise this immediately as Breach Us sounds massive. Continue reading “Hymn – Breach Us (Review)”
This is the debut album from Atramentus, a doom metal band from Canada.
Stygian is a monster of dark funeral doom. Three tracks sprawl out over 45 minutes, promising nothing but glacial moods and barren hopelessness, and delivering. There are two colossal songs that bookend a shorter ambient piece. Continue reading “Atramentus – Stygian (Review)”
Incantation are a legendary US death metal band and this is their twelfth album.
The death metal masters return. After 2017’s enjoyable Profane Nexus, I was looking forward to Sect of Vile Divinities, but wasn’t quite expecting just how damn good it would be. Continue reading “Incantation – Sect of Vile Divinities (Review)”
This is the debut album from Finnish black metallers Väki.
Kuolleen Maan Omaksi mixes old and new black metal styles together to create an album that draws from both to weave its dark magicks. The end result is a modern interpretation of blackened extremity, one which ably demonstrates a band with a lot of potential. Continue reading “Väki – Kuolleen Maan Omaksi (Succumbed to the Dead Soil) (Review)”
Primitive Man are a doom band from the US and this is their third album.
I confess a deep love for Primitive Man’s work, (here, here, here, here, here, here, here), so Immersion is much-anticipated by yours truly. Compared to the band’s previous albums, Immersion contains a surprisingly brief 36 minutes of material, but it makes the most of every minute. Continue reading “Primitive Man – Immersion (Review)”
This is the second album from Australian death metal band Faceless Burial.
Speciation contains 38 minutes of classic, old-school death metal. The formula for this sort of music may be tried and tested, but that doesn’t lessen its impact any when it’s done as effectively as it is here. Continue reading “Faceless Burial – Speciation (Review)”
This is the second album from Sinister Downfall, a one-man funeral doom band from Germany.
A Dark Shining Light contains 51 minutes downbeat, mournful music. Slow and moody, this is funeral doom that’s solemn and relentlessly engaging. Continue reading “Sinister Downfall – A Dark Shining Light (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 