Trouble – Wonderbox Metal

Church of Misery – Born Under a Mad Sign (Review)

This is the sixth or seventh album, (depending on who you ask), from Japanese doom metal band Church of Misery.

Born Under a Mad Sign is a 55-minute Black Sabbath-influenced slab of humungous doom metal. It sounds pretty much exactly as you’d expect it to with this description, but it works well, and this is a very enjoyable album that should also find favour with fans of bands such as Electric Wizard, Sleep, Corrosion of Conformity, Orange Goblin, Trouble, etc. Continue reading “Church of Misery – Born Under a Mad Sign (Review)”

Wolf Counsel – Destination Void (Review)

This is the fourth album from Swiss doom metal band Wolf Counsel.

The promo blurb states that this album is for fans of Cathedral, Candlemass, Trouble, and Solitude Aeturnus, and that’s a fair assessment. Continue reading “Wolf Counsel – Destination Void (Review)”

Slaughterday – Abattoir (Review)

Slaughterday are a German death metal band and this is their latest EP.

I have a huge soft spot for Slaughterday. Ostensibly no different to any number of other old-school death metal bands, there’s just something hard to define about them that I just really enjoy, (check out Nightmare Vortex, Ravenous, and Laws of the Occult to see what I mean). Continue reading “Slaughterday – Abattoir (Review)”

Hellhookah – Endless Serpents (Review)

Hellhookah are a Traditional Doom Metal band from Lithuania. This is their début album.

This is Traditional Doom Metal for fans of bands like Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus, Pentagram and Trouble. The album is 35 minutes long and has 7 tracks, one of which is a Saint Vitus cover.

With both eyes firmly on the past, Hellhookah peel off the riffs that mark the style and these songs are easily digested.

I find that these songs are at their best the slower and more moody that the band play, such as on tracks like Endless Serpents.

The singer has a decent voice that does the job required. There’s no complaints in this department.

This entire album has a very authentic sound; it could have been recorded decades ago and just recently unearthed.

A not-unpleasant way to spend half an hour – have a listen and see what you think.

Wicked Inquisition – Silence Thereafter (Review)

Wicked Inquisition are from the US and play Traditional Heavy Metal.

Here we have some good old-fashioned worship of all things 70’s style Doom, with Black Sabbath, Trouble and Saint Vitus all being good reference points.

This is a short EP, with 4 songs in just under 16 minutes, one of which is an interlude-style track.

This kind of music is instantly familiar as soon as you press play; within the first couple of seconds they’ve already established what they’re all about and what you should expect.

The songs are good and the production warm. The singer fits with the vibe of the band and everything gels nicely into place.

They do what they do well and make for a perfectly enjoyable 16 minutes. You know what to expect with this style, and Wicked Inquisition do it as well as any.