40 Watt Sun

The River – A Hollow Full of Hope Review

The River – A Hollow Full of Hope Review

“The United Kingdom’s The River call their style of music “pastoral post-doom.” Pastoral; synonymous with idyllic. In landscape painting it means a pleasing mix of open vistas, farmland, rolling hills, maybe some lazily grazing livestock. There’s a point when “doom” becomes a misnomer. The River indeed inhabits this tenuous space.” Doom in quiet places.

Crone – Gotta Light? Review

Crone – Gotta Light? Review

“When I highly rated Crone’s sophomore record Godspeed, I was pleased at the acclaim it received. When word reached me of the follow-up approaching, I was double pleased to find a multitude of my fellow authors remembering its predecessor fondly still. So when I say I did not expect many to be clamoring for Gotta Light?, I realize I might be selling its popularity short. Let’s see whether Crone will touch as many hearts as it has before.” Croneyism.

Crawl Below – 9 Mile Square Review

Crawl Below – 9 Mile Square Review

“For being a metal review site, an awful lot of barely-metal promos sneak past our guard gorilla and land in the laps of unsuspecting writers. Staff more senior and wily than myself have learned to decipher their signs and avoid them like that guy at the party who wants to tell you about his Battlestar Galactica fan fic. However, because these promos are most often generously tagged as “doom,” yours truly unwittingly walks right into them. Only after I’ve committed do they tear off their fake mustache, throw down their prop cane and gleefully shout, “Ha ha! It is I, unrelated genre!” Thankfully, I’m an open minded metal head, and these things have worked out splendidly in the past. New England’s Crawl Below caught my attention with the “doom” tag, but also because their album 9 Mile Square is a concept piece about the historic and contemporary region of Norwich, Connecticut. This decidedly non-metal theme should have tipped me off, but here we are.” Broken gates and square mileage.

The River – Vessels into White Tides Review

The River – Vessels into White Tides Review

“December is usually not the best time to go for a dip in the promo sump. Historically this is the month where we get deluged with re-releases and more low-fi basement black metal than a barrel full of Vardans could churn out in a fortnight. It takes a steady hand to reach into the brackish murk and pull out something promising, and fortunately, nothing is as steady as the iron hand ov Steel. That brings us to the new release by UK experimental Goth/doom act The River.” Follow The River.

Canyon of the Skull – The Desert Winter Review

Canyon of the Skull – The Desert Winter Review

“I might have a minor masochistic streak when it comes to reviews. Sure, much of my rapidly developing reputation for reviewing dreck (see: Akoma, Invidia, Insatia, Blind Seer) arose from sheer bad luck on blind promo selection. But why else would I stand up and say “I’ll take the ring to Mordor” when Steel mockingly requested volunteers to review a 37-minute, self-released(!), sophomore(!!), single-track(!!!), instrumental(!!!!) doom metal album?” Snakebit.

Loss – Horizonless Review

Loss – Horizonless Review

“It’s been said that “when the gods want to punish you, they answer your prayers.” I first came upon Loss and their brand of unrelenting funeral death-doom back in 2011 when Steel matched wits against the almighty Despond. Prior to this, I’d never been exposed to anything that sounded so grudgingly drawn out or so full of crushing personal failure. It mesmerized me! Not the funeral doom genre itself, but rather the arresting approach specifically promulgated by Loss. It’s been six years since Despond, and lo and behold, Loss are gifting us with a new experience aptly titled Horizonless.” Feel the pain of Loss.

Cursus – Cursus Review

Cursus – Cursus Review

“I consider last year’s 40 Watt Sun album a particularly effective example at creating space and even emptiness with its sparse arrangements and use of repetition, reflecting the social distance in the lyrics. Since every good example is most effective when juxta- I mean, when placed opposite a bad example, Cursus has volunteered to demonstrate.” Doom death, where is thy sting?

40 Watt Sun – Wider than the Sky Review

40 Watt Sun – Wider than the Sky Review

The world became a much darker place in 2009 when UK doom upstarts Warning disbanded after only two albums. When word got out that guitarist and vocalist Patrick Walker would form a new project called 40 Watt Sun with fellow Warning bandmate Christian Leitch, doomsters the world over panted with anticipation. What many people hoped would be a continuation of the morose path constructed by Warning’s farewell album, 2006’s criminally underrated Watching from a Distance, instead were met with softer, but no less intense, waters with The Inside Room. Five years and several label woes later, the band returns with their self-released second album, Wider than the Sky.” Watch the skies (from a distance).