Doom_et_Al

Sinners Bleed – Absolution Review

By Doom_et_Al on May 29, 2019 in 2019, Death Metal, German Metal, Reviews, Technical Death Metal, War Anthem Records, Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, 29 comments

“Everyone loves a good comeback. Overcoming the odds to return triumphant is a theme that has resonated through the ages. Sinners Bleed know all about comebacks. Their first album From Womb to Tomb was released to a reasonable critical reception… 16 years ago. This gap almost rivals the legendary 17 years between Sabbath’s Forbidden and 13. Personal issues, changes to the line-up, and various setbacks along the way made it seem like a follow-up would never see the light of day. Which would have been sad because these Germans showed with their debut that they had some serious chops. But despite the travails and setbacks, here we are with Absolution.” Blood and time.

Valborg – Zentrum Review

By Doom_et_Al on May 23, 2019 in Death Metal, Doom Metal, German Metal, Prophecy Productions, Reviews, Death Doom, Doom Metal, 32 comments

“Tension. It’s a difficult thing to create. Take one of the most tension-filled scenes in movie history: the chest-burster sequence in Alien. Know why it works so well? Sure, the effects, acting and directing are all superb, but it’s the pacing. Specifically, the dining hall scene that precedes it. To create real tension, you need two things: periods of calm to allow the audience to breathe, and a sense of hope; that maybe, just maybe, things will be all right. Once the crew of the Nostromo pull the face-hugger from William Hurt’s face, you sense he’s done-for. But the fact that he looks healthy and is pictured having a meal with his pals allows you to breathe and lower your guard. You begin to experience a glimmer of hope that maybe he’ll be fine. So when the alien bursts through his chest a short while later, it is absolutely horrifying. But the dining scene is what makes it. Valborg is a German death-doom band that also deals in tension.” The birth and death of tension.

Murdryck – Födelsen Review

By Doom_et_Al on May 11, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, Leviaphonic Records, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Black Metal, 23 comments

“’The first draft of almost everything you produce is shit. And the second draft is usually also shit. But you never wind up with anything worthwhile without producing those early drafts.’ A wise supervisor once told me these words, and she was right. Whether a terrified n00b trying to avoid the perils of the AMG Skull Pit, or attempting a complicated academic research paper, the early stages of anything worthwhile are often about finding your identity and your voice. That process can be messy and unglamorous, but it’s how anything great gets made.” Revise, Mutherf_ _ _ _ _!

Vargrav – Reign in Supreme Darkness Review

By Doom_et_Al on April 26, 2019 in Reviews, Black Metal, Symphonic Metal, 78 comments

“Remember anything substantial about Gus van Sant’s shot-for-shot remake of the Hitchcock’s classic, Pyscho? Me neither. If you’re going to copy or reboot something, you need to bring something new to the table. In 20 years’ time, people will still be watching Predator, Point Break, and Total Recall. No one will be wasting time with the pointless and forgettable reboots. Before I get banished to yet another extra latrine shift by my slave-driving editor, while he mumbles something about this ‘Not being Angry Movie Guy,’ allow me to explain.” Reboots, man.

Violet Cold – kOsmik Review

By Doom_et_Al on April 10, 2019 in 2019, Avantgarde Music, Azerbaijan Metal, Black Metal, Post-metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Post-Metal, 70 comments

“It has been described as the world’s most succinct word: “Mamihlapinatapai.” From the near-extinct Yaghan language, it means, “A look shared by two people, each wishing that the other would initiate something that they both desire, but which neither wants to begin.” It also happens to be the name of one of the songs on Violet Cold’s new album, kOsmik. If you look at the philosophy of Violet Cold, the one-man post-black metal project of the prodigiously talented, and prolific Emin Guliyev from Azerbaijan, this word seems to sum it up perfectly.”

Ellende – Lebensnehmer Review

By Doom_et_Al on April 9, 2019 in 2019, AOP Records, Austrian Metal, Black Metal, Reviews, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, 48 comments

“I love it when cover art tells you all you need to know about an album’s themes. Look at that skeleton — he’s clearly in the middle of a battle. So this will be a furious riposte to the notion of the glory of war, right? A blast of anger like Marduk or 1914, perhaps? But peer closer: he’s settled mournfully next to a fallen comrade, arm placed tenderly on his chest, a look of weariness and loss etched on his skeletal visage. Head up, he stares forlornly at the horrors that lie ahead. The theme of Ellende’s Lebensnehmer (“Life-Taker”), then, is less the fury and horror of war, and more the melancholy, pain, and loss that accompanies it.” Survivor’s remorse.

Ultar – Pantheon MMXIX Review

By Doom_et_Al on April 8, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, Post-metal, Reviews, Shoegaze, Temple of Torturous Records, Shoegaze, 40 comments

“What’s in a name? How important is that moniker to a band’s identity? And what do we make of it when a band makes a radical change to its own name? These thoughts crossed my mind listening to the new album from Siberian metallers, Ultar. Previously, the members went by the very death-metal-sounding Deafknife. Then, for reasons unclear, they changed their name to Ultar, after the fictional town ‘Ulthar’ in. H.P. Lovecraft’s ‘Dreamcycle’ stories. The town of Ulthar in the books is famous for its most significant law: that ‘no man may kill a cat.'” How about beating a dead horse?

Drawn into Descent – The Endless Endeavour Review

By Doom_et_Al on March 25, 2019 in 2019, Avantgarde Music, Belgian Metal, Black Metal, Post-metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Post-Metal, 124 comments

“With their debut, they rather awkwardly tried to shoe-horn the patient, meandering post-metal aesthetic with the fury and immediacy of black metal, to mixed results. Now they’re back with a new concoction: think of a base consisting of the atmosphere of Agalloch, topped with some post-metal Pelican, drizzled with the tortured vocals of Grift or Sivyj Yar, sprinkled with a dash of Deafheaven. The question is, have they created something palatable? Do we have a winner (like chocolate and salt) or an inedible monstrosity (like pineapple and pizza)?” Buffet of melancholy.

Imperia – Flames of Eternity Review

By Doom_et_Al on February 23, 2019 in 2019, Massacre Records, Norwegian Metal, Power Metal, Reviews, Power Metal, 95 comments

“Any magician will tell you that the key to most tricks is misdirection: draw the audience’s eyes away from where they should be looking by any means possible. While their attention is averted, the sleight-of-hand takes place. What separates the greats from, say, Magician Bob at your niece’s third birthday party, is the seamlessness with which this technique is performed. Or to put it bluntly, if you notice that you’re being distracted, they’re doing it wrong.” Oh, this bodes well…

Rifftera – Across the Acheron Review

By Doom_et_Al on February 10, 2019 in 2019, Death Metal, Finnish Metal, Inverse Records, Melodic Death Metal, Reviews, Melodic Death Metal, Thrash Metal, 37 comments

“From a metal perspective, 2019 has been decidedly underwhelming so far. When the promo bin threw me a melo-death album by a band whose name sounds like an adolescent parody of iconic metal giants, I had little hope that things would improve. This sophomore effort by Finnish band Rifftera follows 2015’s Pitch Black; a self-produced smorgasbord of melodic death metal, thrash, power and prog, smashed together with the grace of a junkyard compactor, and then played with the dial at 11. It was fun, but it was a mess.” Have these Finnish melodeath-thrashers gotten their shit together?