Doom Death Metal

Ischemic – Ischemic Review

By Grymm on April 2, 2021 in Reviews, 14 comments

“As 2021 continues to be the DLC to 2020 that absolutely nobody asked for or wanted, bands are using the downtime due to lack of touring and promotion to work diligently on their musical output. Some bands, such as Toronto’s Ischemic, are even going as far as to record and mix their own music, further driving home the fact that DIY can’t, and won’t, be stopped. Not by pandemics, not by lockdowns, not by lack of touring. It’s this admirable and, quite frankly, necessary approach that will eventually separate the diehards from the pack, and on the band’s self-titled second full-length, they didn’t let the pandemic get in the way.” Crisis management.

Cold Colours – Northernmost Review

By Kenstrosity on February 22, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 49 comments

“It’s at times like these—wherein I pick up something from the promo bin of a genre which I haven’t visited in a while—that I am reminded of my indiscriminate taste in metal. In this instance I have selected Northernmost, the fifth installment of atmospheric death-doom from Minneapolis quintet Cold Colours. This will be my first foray into Cold Colours’ music, and my hope was that Northernmost could light a fire within me to check out everything the band released over their over-20-year span.” Terminal ennui.

Onirophagus – Endarkenment (Illumination Though Putrefaction) Review

By Grymm on February 19, 2019 in 2019, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Extreem Music, Reviews, Spanish Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 33 comments

“Think of an album as a multi-course meal; many of them give bite-sized but satisfying nutrient-packed portions that not only leave you satisfied, but definitely give you a craving for more. However, a scant few offer just meager tastes of what’s to come, oftentimes leaving the listener malnourished and starving, begging for just another bite. Finally, some bands give you monstrous servings, packed with calories, nutrients, and sometimes things you don’t want to ingest under any circumstances whatsoever, stuffing you full as you’re screaming, “No, please stop… I can’t eat anymore… I’m gonna explode…” and then they keep feeding you well past the point of explosion.” It’s waffer thin!

Nightmarer – Cacophony of Terror Review

By Eldritch Elitist on March 27, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Death Metal, Reviews, Season of Mist, 112 comments

“A non-metal listening friend of mine recently posited a question that I’ve been pondering over the past week: ‘Are there any metal bands that aren’t heavy?’ For a moment I was puzzled because he wasn’t referring to aesthetics, but rather to the use of the term as a genre qualifier. I briefly explained how ‘heavy’ can be used in either instance and, at that moment, I was struck with the irony that, with metal’s myriad offshoot genres, the two uses rarely coexist. We use the term ‘heavy metal’ to categorize bands like Iron Maiden, but is Maiden really heavier than, say, Incantation? Wouldn’t the descriptor be more apt, then, to classify bands that we currently refer to as death metal? When stacked against a band that fucks around as little as Nightmarer, arbitrary genre tags are proven moot. Call them heavy metal, death metal, doom/death, whatever; these Floridians play heavy goddamn metal.” Heavy, man.

Rise of Avernus – Eigengrau Review

By Eldritch Elitist on January 31, 2018 in 2018, Australian Metal, Code666 Records, Reviews, Symphonic Metal, Symphonic Metal, 30 comments

“Labeled as “Orchestral Doom Death” in AMG’s top-secret promo vault, I figured this Australian act would at the very least make for an interesting listening experience regardless of quality, and with Eigengrau being their second LP, it’s more likely that they’d have their ambitious sound already dialed in. Indeed, Eigengrau is far from boring, and even quite good at times, but Rise of Avernus’ identity crisis makes it a regularly frustrating listen.” Symphony of frustration.

White Ward – Futility Report Review

By Madam X on May 8, 2017 in 2017, Avante Garde, Black Metal, Debemur Morti, Doom Metal, Post-metal, Reviews, Ukrainian Metal, Black Metal, Post-Metal, 49 comments

“As a fan of the website, a small part of me wishes that DeviantArt had a section dedicated to unorthodox musical talent. Somewhere where “deviants” can let their creative juices flow, sonically applying brush elements, performing nebula manipulation or perhaps adding a little lens flare. In my mind, this would be where I’d expect to find White Ward.” Deviant black jazz hands.

Mourning Beloveth – Rust and Bone Review

By Jean-Luc Ricard on January 16, 2016 in 2016, Doom Metal, Irish Metal, Reviews, Van Records, Doom Metal, 24 comments

“Given the early buzz around the band (maybe I just had clued-in metal buddies) and their obvious talent this seems pretty strange, especially as several of their less consistent peers enjoyed much greater industry support. But while their output has been of high quality, it has also lacked personality: their early records were a little too indebted to My Dying Bride, and it was only on 2005’s A Murderous Circus that they developed their sound into something less derivative by incorporating hints of the driving Celtic metal style pioneered by Primordial. So is 2016 going to be the year that Mourning Beloveth finally live up to their early potential and take their place among doom metal royalty?” Can Jean-Luc Ricard make it so?

Ophis – Abhorrence in Opulence Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on September 16, 2014 in 2014, Cyclone Empire, Death Metal, Doom Metal, German Metal, Reviews, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 4 comments

“Five doom/death songs comprising sixty minutes of music is a risky proposition that lives and dies by one thing: riffs. If you’re going to write songs that average out to twelve minutes in length, the riffs contained within had better be interesting, dynamic, and, of course, crushing.” That means some long, potentially ADHD offending tunes. Can Ophis hold the interest of the busy metaller?