This is the second EP from Finnish Death/Sludge Metal band Black Royal.
Black Royal have an interesting style, effectively combining primitive 90s Death Metal with a Sludge/Stoner influence. It’s definitely the path less-travelled and makes for a very enjoyable journey.
The vocals consist of rough, Stoner-esque, semi-cleans, mixed in with deeper growls that have more of a Death Metal slant. Continue reading “Black Royal – The Summoning Pt. 2 (Review)”
This is the sixth album from French Black Metal band, (currently a solo project it seems), Glorior Belli.
Previous album Gators Rumble, Chaos Unfurls was an uncommon blend of Black Metal, Sludge and southern US Metal riffing. Sundown (The Flock That Welcomes) continues this combination of Black Metal and Sludgy Blues Rock, although now the emphasis is much more on the Black Metal side of the equation.
Featuring sharp and cutting riffs alongside serrated vocals, a lot of the music on this album is dangerously bladed, seemingly out to cause harm with its fast guitars and blackened melodies. Continue reading “Glorior Belli – Sundown (The Flock That Welcomes) (Review)”
Fister and Teeth are both bands from the US, and they’ve teamed up for this split release.
Fister start us off with one track – We All Die Tonight. Although they’ve never graced this site before, Fister’s brand of Sludgy Doom is most enjoyable, and this song is no different.
This is the fourth album from Swedish Sludge/ Doom band Pyramido.
Saga was a very strong album, and now that Pyramido return with Vatten it’s clear that it wasn’t a one-off fluke.
Pyramido are heavy and crushing. Vatten exemplifies these traits and the album is 38 minutes of emotively flattening guitars and distorted atmospherics.
Anguished screams tear out of the music as lonesome leads and tortured melodies rise out from the body of the music. Although the heaviness is a constant companion, it’s not Pyramido’s only weapon in the war against silence, as they also show they can play introspectively in more of a Post-Metal way.
On Vatten the band seem to have injected a little more nuance and shading into their songs; even though they had this on Saga for sure, it seems more developed here, with the time being taken to cultivate greater mood and feeling via the leads and rhythms.
Even when all of this happens though, the heavy riffs are not too far away, and the Sludge Metal gets its way in the end. The truly wonderful moments occur when the heavy riffs are providing the emotive content, and on those occasions Vatten is at its best.
These tracks compel you to pay attention, as the groovy and emotive guitars draw you in, engaging with their fury and hypnotic delivery.
Highly recommended.
This is the latest EP from US Post-Black Metal band Tombs.
Tombs continue to be one of the better and more interesting bands in Metal today. Here we have 34 minutes of new music, in equal parts heavy, atmospheric, grand and intimidating, as only Tombs do so well.
Blending Metal, Sludge, Black Metal and Hardcore into a potent brew, their last release Savage Gold is a firm favourite of mine and it seems that All Empires Fall is going the same way, albeit for a few different reasons; Tombs have progressed and changed in some ways since their last release, and the Black Metal component of their sound is much further to the front now, along with added keyboards.
The World Is Made of Fire is a short intro track that essentially sets the scene and sounds quite imposing and epic in scope.
Second song Obsidian showcases the band’s Black Metal side to great effect, with scything screeched vocals and cutting, frozen riffs. Blasting aggression, energetic atmosphere and blackened Hardcore thuggery combine with some deft melody to create a really enjoyable darkened exploration.
After this we get Last Days of Sunlight, which is quite different. Featuring some exotically alluring clean croons, the song stalks along like a hungry predator, all menace and lethal intent. It’s a highly atmospheric slow-burner that showcases a different side of Tombs and once again demonstrates their multi-talented skills.
Deceiver is up next. It’s heavy, memorable and has a catchy, punky, blackened sheen that would do Wolvhammer proud.
The final track is the longest and simply named V. Here we get a mixture of pretty much everything that has come before it, including cleans, blackened riffs, melodic sharpness and catchy delivery.
Like the mighty Rorcal, Tombs are at the top of their game when it comes to modern Post-Black Metal that seethes with power, recognises the past and combines non-blackened genres into its stylistic package.
An essential listen.
Sourvein’s latest album Aquatic Occult is surely one of the most enjoyable records to come out so far this year. I managed to catch up with mainman T-Roy and went a bit deeper into the waters…
For those who are unfamiliar with your band – introduce yourself!
Aloha. I am T-Roy I sing and play guitar for Sourvein among many other things.
Give us a bit of background to Sourvein
Well we started in the Cape Fear 23 years ago and we been on the road every since bringing our sound world wide and released many records and still going for it 100%.
What are your influences?
There’s a lot man, everything from Black Sabbath to Howling Wolf to Bad Brains and Amebix to Blue Cheer and Peter Tosh, Blackflag to Bauhaus to Kiss.
What are you listening to at the moment that you would like to recommend?
The new Witchcraft album Nucleus is awesome!!!!! I wanna tour with them…Low Desert Punks, Black Power Flower is rad…and new Goatess album and Iggy Pop’s record. Om is great…Yeah to name a few.
How do you feel that you fit into the wider music scene?
I feel we a straight up and have a good live show and the music can do the talking. I feel given the right opportunity and right setting we can fit in anywhere people like a good rock show.
Give us a bit of background to Aquatic Occult – any particular concepts or ideas you want to discuss?
It’s an idea I had a loose theme of the ocean mysterious and to me that’s what Aquatic Occult means. It’s written in abstract word play and metaphors surrounding the island I am from and the ocean’s creatures. And tales of pirates, sunken ships, hurricanes and castaways.
How do you go about writing your songs?
It starts with a riff or lyric and I just build from there or if someone else has a riff I arrange it to fit my vocals. But it I usually like to start with the music. Sometimes I have lyrics ready or times I have to make them fit. It’s whatever is best for the song.
Was there a conscious decision to keep the songs relatively short, or did that just happen naturally?
Well on some yeah they are interludes like Mermaids and Bermuda Sundown. But some others just came out that way then I noticed we could put more songs in to show different sides and thats something new for us, we usally keep em around four minutes but I don’t like songs too long anyway. Some of my favourite songs from growing up are under two minutes. Like Corrosion of Conformity’s Kiss of Death.
Tell us about the album artwork
It was a vision I had of things that inspired the lyric. All the different elements are in there they all go to the songs and music other images I used are from the island I am from and the Cape Fear river. But artist Jordan Barlow took my sketches and really brought this thing to life. He’s a amazing artist from New Orleans, he tattoos and does other art. He also just did a album cover for High on Fire. We been working together on this for a few years and he really nailed what I wanted.
How did the recording process go?
It was hard work but anything good is going to be. We had some ups and downs but that’s part of it sometimes you just keep rolling. We made it happen no matter what. Mike Dean is great to work with…It really went well though pretty organic in the way it flowed. I thought I worked hard on the lyrics but they also flowed pretty smooth all and all it was a very enriching experience and a pleasure.
What’s your favourite song on the album and why?
Umm, I don’t know that’s hard. I have a few but I’d have to say Capsized. Because I wrote the riffs on my porch and Reed Mullin destroyed that song on drums. And my good friend from the hometown Dave Capps is on it he was the guy already doing in town so he inspired me a great deal so it was awesome to come back and get him on this album. That means a lot to me. It’s a kicking track as well.
What does the future hold for Sourvein?
Support Aquatic Occult. Looking into booking a tour in the UK and Europe now and the USA. So we are touring soon as possible, I wanna go to Australia and Japan. Promoters get in touch. We also want to do one of those metal cruises. Also want to hurry back to the studio already got five songs smoking and to be honest it’s some of my favourite riffs ever so I am looking forward to backing up Aquatic Occult very soon. We are looking forward to everything…Thanks T-Roy
Please order the new album at metalblade.com
This is the fourth album from these US Sludge/Doom veterans.
Sourvein return with an aquatic-themed album, it seems.
The band play their sludge with a raw energy that seems to tap into something primeval and old, probably something lurking in the deepest waters in the darkest ocean.
With a heavy sound that’s warmly analogue, these songs have a kind of retro vibe to them that manages to eschew any of the normal bullshit trappings that such a term usually involves. Rather, what we have here is music that’s honest, visceral and not afraid to get dirty, (wet?).
The songs have groove and melody, both of which are used well throughout the playing time. It’s an endearing mix of influences that combine on this release, with everything from Electric Wizard, Eyehategod, Black Sabbath, Acid Bath and Mastodon making it into the melting pot.
Short tracks don’t outstay their welcome, and Sourvein know how to flourish a song with a relatively short playing time for maximum effect.
There are some quality and earthy, (aquatic?), guitar solos included, alongside a bass that just sounds really, really good.
The singer reveals himself to be quite versatile, with clean and rough singing, as well as throaty shouts used where necessary. He has a lot of presence and charisma, which can also be said of the songs as a whole. Taken together the music and the vocal performance make for a very strong collection of tracks that are both catchy and memorable.
Well, this is very, very enjoyable. Sourvein stick out from the crowd as having something a bit special and being a bit different from the norm.
You gotta get this, or Poseidon will be pissed.
Uboa is a solo Doom artist from Australia and this is his latest release, which comprises one track that lasts almost 23 minutes.
Holy shit. Okay, that could be my entire review, really. Holy. Shit.
I suppose I should write a bit more though, here goes.
So, it starts off with a sample, some feedback and some slowly-added in noises. Immediately an unsettling atmosphere is created which is maintained throughout in one form or another. Shudder.
Then, all of a sudden, it’s as if all Hell’s daemons are unleashed, as twisted pain-filled screams and maniacal percussion are unleashed on you in a barrage of chaotic frenzy. It’s not pretty, but it certainly is engaging.
Coming across as a depraved mix of Atomsmasher, Khanate and Venowl, Uboa effectively spends these 23 minutes creating a horror-filled semi-organic nightmarescape that defies conventional music in favour of pure mood and feeling, seemingly dredged up from the abyss.
Birthed raw as a twisted combination of sparse Doom and eclectic noise, this is surprisingly enjoyable music, although I suppose I should point out that to most people neither the words enjoyable nor music would seem to apply here. Their loss. This wall of anguished sound hits the right spot with me, and that’s all that matters.
There’s a tense undercurrent to all of this that I find quite tasty; I always like music that uses tension well and on Coma Wall there’s no let up until the final dying sounds have disappeared into oblivion. During the latter part of the track the mayhem subsides, but the tension does not, and just when you think it’s settling slowly into a dying ambience, it gets heavy, sludgy and apocalyptic.
Phew! Very nice. Or nasty. Whatever. Either way, after 23 minutes I’m raring to go and listen to this again.
For true Doom/Noise connoisseurs only; check this one out if you dare.
Abstracter are a Sludge/Doom band from the US, and Dark Circles are a Hardcore band from Canada.
Both of Abstracter’s full length albums, (Tomb of Feathers and Wound Empire), feature regularly in my listening. And with good reason; their brand of heavy, blackened Sludge/Doom is expertly done. On this release they contribute 2 tracks, lasting almost 20 minutes in total.
Barathrum starts off showcasing the band’s blackened aspect, with dark, murky blast beats charging through a sea of tar. This rather quickly spends itself, leading into a slow, sludgy crawl through murkiest waters as Abstracter embrace their dirty Doom side. Occasional forays into speed and groovier territories comprise the remaining running time, with the singer’s thick growl accompanying you the entire way.
If you haven’t encountered Abstracter before then this song is as good an introduction as any into their harsh, underground Sludge Metal.
But we’re not done yet, as there’s a second track; Where All Pain Converges. This is a little longer than the first and generally a bit slower and more considered. If Barathrum showcased the band’s harsher side then this one showcases their more atmospheric. That’s not to say this isn’t harsh and heavy, (it is), but that it also has more of a blatant emotive quality to the guitars than the soul-crushing nihilism of the first. Mixing slower sections with some more upbeat parts, the overall mood is maintained throughout and Abstracter once again show why they’re so very good at what they do.
After this onslaught of despair and misery, we leave Abstracter to wallow in their pit of pain, and approach, timidly, Dark Circles. This band offer up a different form of gloom with their characterful brand of dark Hardcore. Being familiar with their previous work on MMXIV, it’s good to catch up with them again and here they give us 4 songs, lasting just under 13 minutes.
Ashen starts us off with a squeal of feedback before violently picking up the pace with the band’s dark blend of abrasive Hardcore. One of the things I like about Dark Circles is their ability to inject an emotive bleakness into their raging chaos, engaging the listener and prompting them to move closer, despite the inherent danger. The second track Void follows on in a similar theme, (but with added atmosphere), and both initial tracks blur by in a haze of anger and distorted malice.
After these typically short and nasty affairs both of the next tracks are much longer by comparison, relative to this split and to their work on MMXIV. Isolate starts immediately, all blackened teeth and bile. The longer playing time allows the band the opportunity to flesh out the more atmospheric side of their sound that briefly reared its head during Void. This shows itself to be an apocalyptic Sludge/Doom influence, heavy and foreboding, before the Hardcore energy picks up once more.
The final track is called Epilogue (Quietus) OP. 28 No. 4 and is a little different, as the name suggests; here the band give vent to a dark ambient side and swamp the listener with a slow-building tense piece of drone that creates a nicely unsettling and worrying atmosphere.
Both bands have contributed some very nice work to this split release, and although they do play different styles they also have more than enough overlap and similar themes to complement each other perfectly. As splits go, this works a treat and is definitely one you should check out.
This is a split release between two of Doom’s darkest stars, Primitive Man from the US and Sea Bastard from the UK.
Both excel at what they do and having both of them on one release is quite an exciting prospect.
Primitive Man start us off with two tracks of the grimmest, most evil Sludge-fuelled Doom that there is. It’s 17 minutes of agonised pain and hatred. After many releases, (here, here and here, for example), I still can’t get enough of the horribly bleak noises that they make.
Colossally heavy and nihilistically bleak, Primitive Man always deliver the goods, and on this split it seems that the goods are well past their best-before-date and covered in filth and dirt.
The singer has hands-down one of the best pitch-black growls I’ve ever heard and when his voice first makes an appearance on Cold Resolve it’s like being floored by a truck. That’s if the slow, crushing guitars haven’t flattened you before then. The song proceeds to crawl across your broken corpse, all distorted malice and squealing feedback, slowly pressing you into the ground until there’s nothing left.
The second song of theirs is the shorter of the two, yet is no less nasty for it. Servant starts off with a feedback squeal and is typically crushing from then on in, once again showing off the kind of high-quality Doom that the band have become known for. Dripping with spite and rage-fuelled negativity, as the track unfolds things just get heavier and darker until the playing time is mercifully over.
But there’s no real breather, as we now have Sea Bastard’s colossal near-20 minute behemoth of a track, The Hermit, to deal with.
Like Primitive Man, Sea Bastard keep unleashing quality releases on the world, (here, for example), and this is no exception.
Sea Bastard’s Sludge Metal is less dripping with filth than Primitive Man’s, but no less effective for it. Previously I’ve described them as similar to Bongripper only with screams and growls, and that’s not a band starting point for initial reference.
Sea Bastard specialise in settling into a slow-burning crawling-groove, with a mesmerising heaviness drawing the listener in and repeating itself over and over, but never to the point of where the listener loses interest. This is enticing and hypnotic, and just when you can’t take it any more the band shift gears or change riffs and the suffocating Doom takes on a different edge, no less crushing than the last.
The screamed vocals are the perfect accompaniment to the music’s guitars, and the combination of the two produces a very satisfying feeling deep in the stomach where the bass seems to have set up home.
Picking up the pace a bit halfway through, the band show that it’s not just slow riffs that they can peel off with ease. This doesn’t last, of course, and once spent the juggernaut returns to a malevolent crawl as the song claws its way to conclusion.
The Hermit is just as good as anything the band have released, and combined with Primitive Man’s side of the split this is a pretty damn essential Doom release for anyone who’s into this kind of thing.
DOOM!
Wonderbox Metal 