Faal are a blackened doom band from the Netherlands and this is their third album.
Mixing elements of black and post-metal into their dark, atmospheric doom, this is grim, unfriendly music, but doesn’t lack in appeal because of this. Continue reading “Faal – Desolate Grief (Review)”
Spectral Lore and Jute Gyte are both one-man black metal bands, the former is from Greece while the latter is from the US.
Although both of these acts offer up black metal that contains psychedelic, progressive, experimental, and atmospheric aspects, they both Continue reading “Spectral Lore/Jute Gyte – Helian – Split (Review)”
This is the third album from Portuguese doom/post-metal band Sinistro.
Slow moving and atmospheric, this album contains almost a full hour of ambient doom and post-metal. Continue reading “Sinistro – Sangue Cássia (Review)”
Monolithe are a doom band from France and this is their seventh album.
I’m a big fan of Monolithe’s increasingly forward-thinking doom metal, (see here, here, here, and here), so I was excited to hear their newest opus. Continue reading “Monolithe – Nebula Septem (Review)”
Nekhen is an Italian blackened doom solo project and this is his second release.
This is a follow up to 2015’s Entering the Gate of the Western Horizon, which was an enjoyable example of present day music inspired by Egyptian art and culture.
Regarding this latest release, I’ll let Continue reading “Nekhen – Akhet (Review)”
This is the latest EP from US doom band Enhailer.
Containing just one 18-minute track this EP straddles genres and styles, but ultimately falls under the doom heading most of all. Continue reading “Enhailer – Dumb Enough to Care (Review)”
2017 was an amazing year for music, with so many top-notch albums seeing the light of day. I pretty much say this every year, of course, but that doesn’t seem to stop it being true. With this in mind, the 2017 list was especially hard to put together, and I agonised over this one more than I did for any of the lists in previous years.
As is traditional, I also want to mention some releases by bands that could easily have made it onto the list, and should have by many rights, if only I could have somehow managed to fit them all in –
Abhorrent Decimation, Amenra, Apes, Artificial Brain, Au-Dessus,
Celeste, Desecrate the Faith, Earth Rot, Earth Witch, Falls of Rauros,
Full of Hell, Gnaw, Gutslit, Helpless, Henry Kane,
Hundred Suns, Ingurgitating Oblivion, Into Orbit, John Frum, Karne,
Kval, Livid, Morbid Angel, Primitive Man, Craven Idol,
Slow, Soulskinner, The Kennedy Veil, Ulsect, Wildspeaker.
I urge you to check out all of the above releases, in addition to the ones in the actual list below. I could probably keep adding more bands you should give a listen to, but a line has to be drawn somewhere, I suppose.
So, without further ado, let’s get right down to it… Continue reading “Wonderbox Metal End of Year List – Best Metal of 2017”
This is a split release between two sludge/doom/post-metal bands from Germany – Blæck Fox and Morasth.
Blæck Fox present us with 15 minutes of layered blackened gloom. Spread over two tracks, Blæck Fox bring the darkness with enviable ability. Continue reading “Blæck Fox – Morasth – Split (Review)”
This is a split between two Swedish one man bands; the doom metal of Blissful Stream and the dark rock of Lightsabres.
Blissful Stream are up first, with the first new material from the project since 2016’s Ascending Demons. Continue reading “Blissful Stream/Lightsabres – Devil’s Night to All Souls – Split (Review)”
Minors are a hardcore/sludge band from Canada. This is their debut album.
This is 19 minutes of ugly feedback and remorseless intensity. Containing elements of hardcore, punk, metal, and powerviolence, all wrapped up in a harsh sludge delivery, Atrophy is a withering, caustic listen. The keyword here is violence. Continue reading “Minors – Atrophy (Review)”
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