Doom – Page 8 – Wonderbox Metal

In the Company of Serpents – A Crack in Everything (Review)

In the Company of Serpents are a doom metal band from the US and this is their fifth album.

I’ve enjoyed watching In the Company of Serpents ply their heaviness over the years. From 2014’s Merging in Light, to 2017’s Ain-Soph Aur, to 2020’s Lux, the band have always put releases out that hit the spot for me. Now, five years after their last album, we have the 44-minute A Crack in Everything to satiate our need for sludge/doom soundscapes. Continue reading “In the Company of Serpents – A Crack in Everything (Review)”

King Witch – III (Review)

This is the third album from UK doom/heavy metal band King Witch.

King Witch play classic doom and heavy metal spliced with equally vintage grunge and heavy rock. It’s a very effective mix, showcasing the band’s songwriting skill as they deliver 44 minutes of the good stuff. III is a high quality record through and through. Continue reading “King Witch – III (Review)”

Serpent Corpse – Retaliate (Review)

Serpent Corpse are a Canadian death metal band and this is their latest EP.

I thoroughly enjoyed 2023’s Blood Sabbath, so am pleased to have this new EP from Serpent Corpse. Retaliate contains 26 minutes of new material – four tracks of hideous old-school death metal for fans of the good stuff. On Retaliate Serpent Corpse have pushed themselves further, with longer songs and a wider breadth of deathly vision. Continue reading “Serpent Corpse – Retaliate (Review)”

Hiroe – Wield (Review)

This is the debut album from Hiroe, a post-rock/post-metal band from the US.

Wield is a 48-minute instrumental album that combines elements of doom, progressive rock, post-metal, and shoegaze into a compelling post-rock framework. Hiroe are skilled worldbuilders, and their debut album is a strong one. Continue reading “Hiroe – Wield (Review)”

Goya – In the Dawn of November (Review)

Goya are a doom metal band from the US and this is their fourth album.

It’s been a long time since 2017’s Harvester of Bongloads, so it’s great to finally have a new album from Goya. The band’s previous album was stronger than most in the realms of doom metal, so expectations are high for the 40-minute In the Dawn of November. Continue reading “Goya – In the Dawn of November (Review)”

Year of No Light – Les Maîtres Fous (Review)

This is the latest release from French post-metal band Year of No Light.

Les Maîtres Fous is a single 29-minute track that finds Year of No Light at their most droning incarnation. For context for this record, I’m just going to reproduce some of the promo blurb – “Commissioned by Musée Du Quai Branly in Paris for their 2012 ‘L’Invention Du Sauvage’ exhibition, the trance-metal pioneers approached the ritual practices of the Hauka movement as depicted in the film and responded with their uniquely hypnotic heaviness.

Performed only twice, once at the exhibition on the 6th January, 2012 and again in Bordeaux on the 29th January, 2015; this release is a live recording of the second and final performance of ‘Les Maîtres Fous’. ” Continue reading “Year of No Light – Les Maîtres Fous (Review)”

Lera – Rêverie (Review)

Lera are an Italian post-metal band and this is their debut album.

Containing a graceful mix of post-metal, doom, and post-rock, Rêverie is a 40-minute journey into intricacy and heaviness. Lera have produced a record that is worth spending time with, unravelling its charms and secrets. Continue reading “Lera – Rêverie (Review)”

Gaahls Wyrd – Braiding the Stories (Review)

This is the second album from Gaahls Wyrd, an avant-garde/dark metal band from Norway.

I really liked both 2019’s Gastir – Ghosts Invited and 2021’s The Humming Mountain, so the 42-minute Braiding the Stories is gratefully received. This is not music to be casually experienced, but an experience to be explored at length. Continue reading “Gaahls Wyrd – Braiding the Stories (Review)”

Aphonic Threnody – A Silence Too Old (Review)

Aphonic Threnody are a UK funeral doom band and this is their sixth album.

New Aphonic Threnody is always a gloomy, miserable treat. Of Loss and Grief, The Great Hatred, The All Consuming Void, and the colossal The Loneliest Walk were all exemplars of funeral doom, so make sure you check them out if you haven’t. This time around, the artist behind Aphonic Threnody gives us 64 minutes of darkness in the shape of A Silence Too Old, which, as an added treat, features the ultra-prolific Déhà on vocals. Continue reading “Aphonic Threnody – A Silence Too Old (Review)”

Coltsblood – Obscured into Nebulous Dusk (Review)

Coltsblood are a doom band from the UK and this is their third album.

Following on from 2019’s split with Un, (which I thoroughly enjoyed), it’s great to have a new album from Coltsblood to get to grips with. It’s four songs, 42 minutes of hideous blackened doom nastiness. Continue reading “Coltsblood – Obscured into Nebulous Dusk (Review)”