This is the debut album from French doom band Monastr.
Crushing together crust, post-metal, and sludge into 40 minutes of scathing doom, On Your Knees is a harrowing journey into the darkness of the real world’s horrors. There’s no escape here, only the harshness of reality. Continue reading “Monastr – On Your Knees (Review)”
Onhou are a doom metal band from the Netherlands and this is their second album.
Onhou crush together sludge, doom, and post-metal into a dense ball of heaviness and mood. Containing four songs spread over 42 very moreish minutes, Monument is a record that any adherent to the cult of sludge should seek out. Continue reading “Onhou – Monument (Review)”
Doubtsower is a one-man Welsh doom metal band and this is his second album.
Ahh, the return of Doubtsower. 2021’s Asphyxiation of a Seasick Soul was an unexpected highlight of that year, and although I was surprised to find a new album available so soon, I’m nonetheless pleased by this unlooked for treat. Once again delivering five tracks of emotive doom metal across 49 minutes, the artist behind Doubtsower continues to produce the very definition of underground gems. Continue reading “Doubtsower – The Endless Shadow of Despicable Power (Review)”
This is the third album from Canadian doom/sludge metal band Heron.
Featuring 37 minutes of material, Heron have produced a very tasty underground gem on Empires of Ash. Instantly engaging, despite its caustic nature, this is the sort of album that doom and sludge aficionados should hungrily devour. Continue reading “Heron – Empires of Ash (Review)”
This is the debut album from US progressive metal band This Is the Last Time.
Acclimation features four songs, with a total duration of 31 minutes. The promo blurb mentions bands such as Cloudkicker, Meshuggah, Isis, Year of No Light, In Flames, Between the Buried and Me, Gorguts, and Pelican, so this should give you some insight into the waters that Acclimation wades in. Continue reading “This Is the Last Time – Acclimation (Review)”
And the floodgates were opened! October boasted so many strong metal albums that I have just really, really fallen for, it’s ridiculous. Choosing which ones to showcase here was hard, and I dislike leaving out so many other good releases. However, in the interests of brevity, here are my top picks for October… Continue reading “Monthly Overview – the Best of October 2022”
This is the second album from French black metal band Iffernet.
Silences assaults the listener with 38 minutes of underground black metal. It’s harsh and unforgiving, but isn’t lacking in finesse or nuance. The promo blurb mentions Weakling, Urfaust, and Fluisteraars, which should give a rough idea of what we’re dealing with here. Continue reading “Iffernet – Silences (Review)”
This is the debut album from Finnish death metallers Devenial Verdict.
Containing an ex-member of Hooded Menace, Ash Blind provides the listener with 44 minutes of atypical death metal. The promo blurb recommends this for fans of acts such as Ulcerate, Aeviterne, Morbid Angel, Mithras, and Blut Aus Nord, which is a good place to start from when approaching Ash Blind. To this list I’ll also add older Rivers of Nihil and Gojira. Continue reading “Devenial Verdict – Ash Blind (Review)”
Psychonaut are a Belgian post-metal band and this is their second album.
Having enjoyed Psychonaut’s 2021 Emerald – split with Sâver, I’ve been looking forward to seeing what the band could do with a longer release. So now we have it – Violate Consensus Reality contains 53 minutes of material for the listener to explore. Continue reading “Psychonaut – Violate Consensus Reality (Review)”
This is the third album from US doom metal band Chrome Ghost.
Okay, let’s get right down to this – House of Falling Ash represents pure emotion given musical form. Crushed into a mere 51 minutes, these highly expressive doom metal hymns drip with emotion and atmospheric presence, and present the listener with an absorbing experience that they might not emerge from unscathed. Continue reading “Chrome Ghost – House of Falling Ash (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 