“Inver is another unknown and unsigned yet unusual gothic metal band. Inver has no releases, no demos, and barely an online presence to speak of. I can’t even confirm the country of origin with certainty, though British or Irish seem the most likely petri dishes.” Unidentified sadbois.
![Krigsgrav – Fires in the Fall [Things You Might Have Missed Missed 2023]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Krigsgrav-Fires-in-the-Fall-01.jpg.webp)
“Sometimes, first time’s a charm. Sometimes, third time. And sometimes, perseverance is rewarded and it’s the seventh. Such is the case with Dallas, Texas-based band, Krigsgrav. Operating quietly in the shadows since 2004, Krigsgrav have been producing atmospheric black metal that has, over time, become more deathly, more potent, more melodic. Now, with Fires in the Fall, they add a sprinkle of doom, and suddenly, everything clicks into place.” Fires of inspiration.
“1993 marked a brave time in the realm of heavy metal. It wasn’t unheard of to see a band do a massive about-face musically, in fact, it was oftentimes celebrated not only for the bravery of the act but also because said act blazed new trails for other bands to follow. When many death metal acts like Morbid Angel and Cannibal Corpse were pushing the envelopes in terms of speed, a select group of bands like Cathedral, Paradise Lost, and Halifax, West Yorkshire sextet My Dying Bride were going the opposite route by slowing things down to a crawl.” Olde swans and dead brides.
“Back in 2020, before things would go pear-shaped in literally everyone’s lives, I reviewed Reflections, the debut album from Godthrym, the new band featuring former My Dying Bridesmen Hamish Glencross (guitars/vocals) and Shaun Taylor-Steels (drums). I was enamored by how heavy, dirge-y, and Paradise Lost-y the entire album was. However, once the pandemic went into full swing, Reflections only gained in momentum and solace as everything around us quickly turned to shit on a planetary scale, bringing with it a sense of comfort and catharsis and landing itself on my Top Ten of a year we all would love to forget (but can’t). Now, in a happier(?) time and with a fuller line-up, Godthrymm are back with their highly-anticipated follow-up, Distortions.” Doom for End Times.
“Tumulation’s offering is quite simple: they play down-tuned, sludgy death doom. There’s nothing overly complex or flashy about it. On the contrary, it’s filthy. Like, really nasty, murky filth.” Filth for the masses.
“How can you go wrong with a band named Coffin Mulch? While I’ve used these introductory paragraphs time and time again to restate my love for OSDM, it doesn’t hurt that this band’s morbid moniker really tickles my fancy. While “Coffin” isn’t a particularly inventive inclusion, “mulch” adds an entirely new, evocative flavor to this putrescent pile. Is the mulch intended, perhaps, to entice the seeping coffin below to sprout zombified greenery? Or, better yet, is the mulch itself made from that nitrogen-rich churn composed of damp soil and viscous coffin offal? The band themselves don’t offer an explanation, and that’s just fine.” Savage gardening.
“Grief is both intensely personal, and a commonality between us all. This admixture of the private and the relatable can make music through which it is channeled incredibly powerful. In a genre like doom, already associated with the melancholy and the morose, these emotions fit naturally and reinforce both the sense of sadness and the potency of the music itself. The recent output of Swallow the Sun initially springs to mind. Death of Giants is another such act.” Giant feelz.
“Hanging Garden is that “other” Finnish melodic doom-death act that often gets overshadowed by the likes of Amorphis, Insomnium, and Omnium Gatherum. They’ve been around since 2004 and cranking out gothy melo-doom since 2007, and though they’ve been somewhat inconsistent over their career, the last few albums have been quite good with great moments scattered about. I was especially impressed by 2021s Skeleton Lake, which delivered exactly the kind of weepy, sadboi doom death I appreciate.” Hanging in the garden of sadz.
“There seems to be a wellspring of gothic doom in the promo hopper in early 2023, and I’m okay with that. Coming off a heated love affair with Tribunal, I eagerly scooped up the debut by U.K. doomsters, Elderseer and hoped for a similar love connection. Their full-length debut adopts a style in the vein of My Dying Bride, Celestial Season, and early Paradise Lost, with long, winding songs telling tales of great misery and woe. And at a mammoth 68-minute runtime, Drown in the Shallowness delivers more than your fair share of sadcakes and grief biscuits.” Seer me MMXXIII.
Grymm has tidings of musical wisdom in his Top Ten(ish) of 2022. Partake of it.
