Sadhus “The Smoking Community” are a sludge/doom band and Agnes Vein are a blackened sludge band. Both are from Greece.
Sadhus “The Smoking Community” start us of with their track, Abduction, which is almost six minutes of heaviosity.
This is slow, lazy and heavy, just as sludgy doom should be. It gives a strong impression of the band on stage, heads down, peeling off heavy riffs with stoned concentration and Continue reading “Sadhus “The Smoking Community”/Agnes Vein – Split (Review)”
This is the debut album from this Greek psychedelic doom band Green Yeti.
This is huge music from a huge green monster. What’s not to like?
There’s over an hour’s worth of music on here, spread across four colossal songs. And what damn good songs they are too.
The band jam out riff after riff, exploring psychedelia, doom, stoner and all things Continue reading “Green Yeti – The Yeti Has Landed (Review)”
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)”
Goddess are a Norwegian progressive Doom rock band, and this is their début EP.
Originally appearing in 2014, this is a re-released, remixed, remastered and expanded version. As this is my first exposure to Goddess, I can only assume these changes have improved The Withering, as it is quite an impressive release.
This is one song Continue reading “Goddess – The Withering (Review)”
Sunwølf are a Scottish Post-Metal band and this is their fourth album.
Sunwølf play Post-Metal that takes elements of Doom, Stoner and Post-Hardcore into the mix.
This reminds me of UK Doomsters Palehorse if they were mixed in with Earth and wrapped up in the Post-Metal trappings of someone like Red Sparowes.
Slow, mournful guitar parts crawl along the frost-battered ruins of long-dead mountains while Post-Metal melodies effortlessly gleam resplendently under the uncaring sun.
These tracks paint pictures of dangerous-yet-beautiful landscapes that form a rich and textured release, laced with sorrow and despondency. The songs have a raw, emotive edge to them that’s hard to deny and even on just the first listen you find yourself getting drawn into them. Subsequent spins reveal additional features to catch the attention and the heart.
Vocals are sparse and uncommon; when they do appear they are used well, as required by the song. This includes screams that are tinged with anguish and pain, occasionally taking on a cleaner hue to give vent to a more plaintive side, as well as spoken word sections and chants that are almost buried under the music.
This is a very engaging release that has a lot of content to enjoy over the 51 minute playing time. This is an album that deserves a lot of exposure, although I doubt it will get it, which is criminal.
Highly recommended. Check this out immediately.
This is the second album from this UK Doom/Sludge band.
This is an album full of sprawling epics, lasting 61 minutes in length, largely spread across 4 songs. There are five tracks in total though, with the fifth, (actually track 2 – Evacuate!), being the odd one out as, at under 5 minutes, it’s nasty, frenzied and comparatively short.
Slabdragger are heavy. They have the kind of thick, syrupy rhythm guitar that feels like it could swamp entire cities with its distortion. This immediately makes these tracks a very satisfying proposition, regardless of any other considerations.
Huge Stoner riffs power things, while the pounding drums set the backdrop. These tracks provide an ample exemplar of fuzzed-up filth and Slabdragger use all of the various tools at their disposal to spread their dirt far and wide.
During the playing time the band cover a lot of bases and visit several different grime-covered planets in the Sludge spaceways that they navigate. Yeah, yeah; as Sci-Fi metaphors go, it’s not the best, but it’s a nod to the theme of the album so just run with it… Suffice to say that this is an album that doesn’t get boring and even though it’s long there is a lot of content here to enjoy. Whether you prefer upbeat rage, downbeat misery, reflective calm, monolithic Doom or mid-paced crushers – Slabdragger have it covered.
Drawn-out cleans, insectile screams and dark shouted growls provide more than enough vocal variety and are all buried in the tide of crushing guitar riffs that the band peel off with ease.
Shot through with groovy melodies and ugly intent, these tracks are full of treasures and delights for those brave enough to pick through the musical ruins that the band inhabit; ruins that were probably once a thriving world, crushed and destroyed by the band’s incredible heaviness, I would imagine.
Most of my favourite parts on this release are provided by the guitars, this could be a chunky, grooved-up riff or when the band settle into a hypnotic repetition that you think you can just lose yourself in.
The Doom/Stoner/Sludge concoctions that they have come up with on Rise of the Dawncrusher are so very, very satiating that at the end of this veritable feast of filth you feel full and satisfied. Slabdragger have delivered the goods, make no mistake.
This is an extremely ambitious and impressive album, one that you need to have in your collection.
A must listen.
Beehoover are from Germany and play Stoner Doom. This is their latest album.
About their previous album The Devil and His Footmen I said “This is an uncommon band who provide an uncommon listening experience” and I stand by that statement for this newest one.
The band remain a two-piece drum/bass combo that provide the listener with a quirky and characterful interpretation of Stoner/Sludge/Doom that mixes elements of artists like Mike Patton, Tool, Primus and Melvins into its enjoyable and personable style of music.
Considering the makeup of the band there is a lot of content to enjoy on Primitive Powers and the songs are quite infectious. The band are adept at adding real atmosphere into their sound, with the bass seemingly capable of expanding to fill all of the areas that the guitars normally inhabit with other bands, and then some.
The drumming is complex, yet easy to get on board with; along with the music’s warm and intimate production it makes for a very satisfying sound.
Maybe I’m misremembering, but the songs on this album seem stronger and more concise than that of The Devil and His Footmen, and also seem to have a greater abundance of atmosphere and progressive tendencies too.
Either way, Beehoover’s latest release is a left-field success and I heartily recommend it for something a little different. Your ears will thank me.
This is the début EP from US Doom/Stoner band Eternal Black.
Eternal Black play Traditional Doom Metal, (à la Saint Vitus), filtered through a filthy lens and incorporating an influence from bands like Down, Corrosion of Conformity, Orange Goblin and a touch of Eyehategod in the riffs.
The songs pass by with a pleasant rumbling and a companionable fuzzy delivery. The singer’s measured drawl is familiar enough to be enticing, but individual enough to carry off.
With decent grooves and an ear for a good riff, these three songs are over before you realise, despite each lasting about 5-6 minutes each.
A good, earthy sound that’s not too polished breathes life into the tracks, and all of the instruments are clear enough to be heard.
The songs are catchy, memorable and enjoyable. What more is there to say, really?
Recommended.
This is the début album from US Metal band Bedowyn.
Bedowyn’s sound is a mix of the contemporary and classic, combining Metal, Stoner, Doom and Alternative Metal into a 49 minute adventure. Corrosion of Conformity meets Mastodon is not too bad of a description, but that’s only a starting point really.
The problem with the majority of bands that get compared to Mastodon in any way is because of the nature of Mastodon, most of these bands just sound derivative and trite; I’m pleased to say that this isn’t the case with Bedowyn, as they may remind of Mastodon in places but there’s more than enough other influences, all infused with the band’s own personality, to make it merely one reference of many.
The band certainly have the songwriting skill to back up these lofty comparisons and Blood of the Fall is rammed full of explosive tunes and outright anthems.
Using lively drums, spirited guitars and even the odd synth, Bedowyn pound through the playing time with enthusiasm and enough depth to make repeat plays mandatory.
The singer has a charismatic and well-used voice that treads just the right line between rough and silken. He clearly knows what he’s doing and adds further layers to music that’s already multi-faceted and rich.
This is a top quality album that shines through with quality songs and catchiness.
Definitely check this one out.
Mammoth Storm are from Sweden. This is their début album and they play Doom.
Thick, heavy guitars, groove the size of tsunamis and colossal riffs? It can only be Mammoth Storm’s first album. This is heavy, ponderous Doom with a juicy Stoner streak running deep through it.
Charismatic vocals extend out over the songs, animated just above a drawl to provide focus and character to the gargantuan riffs and huge beats.
The guitars are a definite selling point of this music, as the heavy rhythms are meaty as Hell, while the more fragile leads almost have a Post-Metal transcendental quality to them. These are anchored in place by the more earthy guitars so that they remain firmly a part of the music.
The combination of the droning, repetitive nature of the rhythms and the exploratory, unbounded leads make for songs that form a soundscape of textures, writ large in Doom. The vocals cement the idea of a journey through this soundscape, guided by the album art and propelled endlessly forward by the understated-yet-essential drums.
Atmospheric layers are built with ease, immersing the listener in the moods and feelings that the band wish to evoke. It’s extremely effective; it’s easy to slip into these songs and lose yourself in the band’s emotive performance.
This is a substantial début in more ways than one, with the band creating a conceptual storyline to accompany the weighty music. At 55 minutes in length there is a lot of content here to enjoy.
I think this album is pretty much a must-get for any fan of Doom Metal. Check it out.
Wonderbox Metal 