“England’s long-running doom act My Silent Wake started slinging old-timey doom tunes since forming in 2005. My Silent Wake boasts an impressively lengthy track record, culminating in their twelfth opus of sadboi gloom, Lost in Memories, Lost in Grief, complete with a side of death and Gothic romanticism.” Wake and mourn.
“Little explanation is required for why I chose Beneath the Blazing Abyss for review. From artwork and title alone I was promised a fiery, hellish heavy metal experience, while Baron’s one sheet informed me this would be of the doom/death variety. I even initially thought that the art depicted an interpretation of the Bridge of Khazad-dûm. However, closer inspection reveals a decapitated head offered to demonic spirits; altogether too X-rated for the famously conservative Christian Tolkien. While these Finns have released a smattering of EPs and demos previously, this album offers their debut full-length. What type of evil resides within?” Nobility and brutality.
“Tomorrow’s Rain is an interesting beast. The Israeli six-piece treads between doom and gothic metal, and made a splash with their debut Hollow in part because of the sheer number of guest musicians who participated in the album. Now, four years later, the band returns with their sophomore full-length, Ovdan (“Loss”), an album with a deeply personal backstory. This was recorded after vocalist and founding member Yishai Swartz suffered a heart attack severe enough to warrant open heart surgery.” Rain and recovery.
“I’ve been listening to My Dying Bride’s entire discography, including this new one, nonstop for a good two weeks straight. It’s begun to affect my daily life. A couple nights ago, after putting the Cherdlet to bed, my wife asked me what I’d like to do with the rest of our evening and without thinking I said, “Drink deep of your neck chalice.” While she was still quietly processing this, I complimented her on the whiteness of her breasts. She decided she wanted to watch “one of her shows” instead and bid me good night.” Gothic suave is tricky.
My Dying Bride gets their very own ranking even as the AMG staff withers under deadline pressures.
“I love ‘for fans of’ or ‘related artists’ shorthands. In lieu of the endless genre discussions, it’s a great shortcut to match potential fans with new music. It has its shortcomings, of course; for one, you need to actually know the bands to get a feeling for whether it might be up your alley. Furthermore, bands can abuse it by referencing a bunch of popular bands, even when their style is only tangentially related. Case in point: the promo sheet for Drungi’s self-released debut Hamfarir Hugans included such a baffling spread in their FFO, I was immediately skeptical. Sólstafir, Skálmöld, Black Sabbath, Gojira and Manowar. What on Earth could possibly sound like all of those at the same time?” Sounds like…madness.
“Sludge is a genre naturally able to bridge and wholly fill the gap between a rage that stretches towards hardcore, and a more pensive and somber emotionality more at home in doom, or post-metal. Therefore, when faced with Subterraen’s label of “Atmospheric Post-Sludge,” I knew this shapeshifting propensity would be amplified, particularly in the latter direction.” Thunder from down under.
“For some, stoner doom is that comfort item, that thing that gets all the love just for being what it is. I imagine this is partly why the style largely hasn’t needed to evolve very much throughout its existence. In some ways, that’s a great thing, as it makes reaching for new bands in the scene a reliable bet. On the other hand, very little feels fresh, memorable or novel. For better or for worse, Greek stoner doom quartet Acid Mammoth’s fourth record Supersonic Megafauna Collision squarely falls into that safe, never-changing category.” With tusk and trunk.
“If I had a dollar for every time I blindly picked some doom-tinged death metal from the Promo Wheel of Suffering and walked away with almost straight Incantation worship, I’d have…(math sounds)…OK, I’d only have enough for a donut and coffee from the Speedway up the street, but that’s a lot when you rarely review death metal. With the arrival of The Illusion of Time by New York’s Funeral Leech, I now have enough to play a scratch-off ticket while I drink my coffee.” Muck leeches and Incantation preaches.
“Back in 2022, a tongue-in-cheek project by members of Reverend Bizarre and Electric Wizard was introduced to the world. Going by the name Friends of Hell (a not-so-subtle call out to Witchfinder General’s sophomore opus), they played classic 80s doom in the vein of Pentagram, Saint Vitus, and of course, Witchfinder General. It was a loving homage to a specific era and sound and the somewhat goofy, overblown delivery was balanced out by slick riffs and the one-of-a-kind vocals of Albert Witchfinder (Reverend Bizarre). It was entertaining but it wasn’t a must-hear kind of article. 2024 sees Friends of Hell back with a greatly overhauled lineup and without the talents of Albert Witchfinder.” Friends and Hell wishers.
