Doom Metal

Loviatar – Lightless Review

By Kenstrosity on March 31, 2020 in 2020, Canadian Metal, Doom Metal, Prosthetic Records, Reviews, Doom Metal, 34 comments

“What makes a great doom record? Adequate levels of sadness, helplessness, or loss expressed in a desperate croon? Perhaps doom is defined by plodding tempos and debilitating riffs? Could it simply be a quality of emptiness that pervades every moment of the music, regardless of the superficial qualities inherent to the sound? I honestly couldn’t tell you. All I know is that when a doom metal band brings its A-game, boy howdy does it wreck my shit sideways, backwards and diagonally. Enter Canadian quartet Loviatar, whose sophomore full-length Lightless wrecks my shit sideways, backwards and diagonally.” Stuff is getting wrecked here.

Velnias – Scion of Aether Review

By Doom_et_Al on March 30, 2020 in 2020, American Metal, Doom Metal, Eisenwald Records, Post-metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Doom Metal, Post-Metal, Progressive Metal, 30 comments

“Oppressive Rocky Mountain Dirge.” That is the descriptor Velnias uses to describe its music. Sounding more like the slop at the bottom of a bucket than something you would want to spend your time listening to, it nevertheless proves that occasionally we all need to update our bios. While “dirge” may have been Velnias’s original aesthetic when it released its debut, Sovereign Nocturnal, in 2008, the band’s output has evolved considerably since then to incorporate an array of new and different influences. Now it’s back with its third album, Scion of Aether.” Dirge purge.

Demonic Death Judge – The Trail Review

By Dear Hollow on March 30, 2020 in 2020, Doom Metal, Finnish Metal, Groove Metal, Reviews, Sludge Metal, Stoner Metal, Stoner Rock, Suicide Records, Folk, Groove Metal, Sludge Metal, Stoner Metal, 7 comments

“The fantastically named Demonic Death Judge is a sludge/stoner quartet from Kymenlaakso, Finland, having released two EPs and three full-lengths of plodding and hazy dirges since 2009, The Trail being their fourth. Their first two full-lengths were nearly identical to Louisianan Thou’s gloomy sludge affairs, pitching molasses-thick riffs, blackened rasps, and decidedly bleak themes.” The path unbakened.

Temple of Void – The World That Was Review

By Ferrous Beuller on March 27, 2020 in 2020, American Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Reviews, Shadow Kingdom Records, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 69 comments

“Debut album Of Terror and the Supernatural was a killer compound of death-doom. But Lords of Death also began to incorporate traits that might be more familiar to Alice in Chains or even Pearl Jam. Now, The World That Was prepares to thunder into immediate proximity with the same weight but a clear shift in intent. Fear thee not, ye acolytes and thralls – monumental riffs still fill these halls. But, to quote the band, themselves: “your face is different, but we’ve met before…”” Killdozer or dozing off?

Void of Sleep – Metaphora Review

By Saunders on March 26, 2020 in 2020, Aural Music, Doom Metal, Italian Metal, Progressive Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Reviews, Sludge, Stoner Metal, Doom Metal, Progressive Metal, Psychedelic Rock, Stoner Metal, 13 comments

“Italy’s Void of Sleep caught me by surprise with their excellent 2013 debut Tales Between Reality and Madness. Boasting a suave mix of sludge, stoner, doom and prog influences, Tales was a mighty first statement and addictive, refreshing album that firmly landed Void of Sleep in my sights as an exciting band on the rise. Sophomore album New World Order dropped in 2015 and found the band beefing up the prog and refining their sound. Though a solid album in its own right, it lacked some of the raw energy and penetrating hooks of the debut. Some five years later, Void of Sleep awaken from their slumber with third album, Metaphora, a highly anticipated release from my viewpoint.” Cuddling the void.

Tethra – Empire of the Void Review

By Twelve on March 21, 2020 in 2020, Black Lion Records, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Italian Metal, Reviews, 6 comments

“Space is very metal. I don’t refer to the space between you and the nearest hunting knife, of course, but rather to outer space, which has captured the imagination of metalheads from all walks of the genre’s spectrum. Today brings Tethra’s Empire of the Void into the mix, a monstrous slab of death-doom designed to crush and inspire.” Void rage.

Master Boot Record – Floppy Disk Overdrive Review

By sentynel on March 21, 2020 in 2020, Doom Metal, Electronica Metal, Italian Metal, Metal Blade, Reviews, Doom Metal, Electronic Metal, Synthwave, 34 comments

“Master Boot Record first came to my attention a few years ago as a novelty synth-metal nerd music act that made good coding music. After a hard disk full of releases in their first couple of years, Interrupt Request was released in 2017. At that point, I suddenly realized that MBR had privilege escalated from novelty act to serious music. Nothing had changed about the style or the presentation, but after iterative improvements, the quality of the songwriting demanded that they be taken seriously.” Disc blaster.

Caskets Open – Concrete Realms of Pain Review

By Cherd on March 20, 2020 in 2020, Doom Metal, Finnish Metal, Hardcore, Nine Records, Punk, Reviews, Doom Metal, Hardcore, 21 comments

“Alright, stop me if you’ve heard this one. Strife, Saint Vitus and Glenn Danzig walk into a bar. Danzig orders an absinthe, Saint Vitus order beers and Strife order Shirley Temples. Bartender says, “You boys can stay, but the penguin has got to go.” Ahhh? Wait, did I mention the penguin in the setup? Let me start over. Strife, Saint V…or maybe it was Earth Crisis. Is it funnier if Earth Crisis, has a penguin?” These are the jokes, kids.

The Medea Project – Sisyphus Review

By GardensTale on March 20, 2020 in 2020, British Metal, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Sludge, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, Sludge, 24 comments

“You know, I’d never really considered it before, but it’s funny gothic and doom metal are not more frequently bedfellows. After all, the two genres have a lot in common: morose atmosphere, flair for the dramatic, favored color black (alright, that last one may go for everything more extreme than power metal). And sure, there’s some big names that have wed the styles at some point in their careers, like My Dying Bride or Tiamat. But it never became a household mixture the way death thrash or prog power did. Well, The Medea Project want to make their mark with just such a sound.” Drama club.

Soliloquium – Things We Leave Behind Review

By Steel Druhm on March 18, 2020 in 2020, Doom Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Rain Without End records, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Doom Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 38 comments

“Soliloquium’s sophomore album Contemplations was one of those releases I stumbled over in the promo sump and was really surprised by. This Swedish doomy melodeath act hit all the right melancholic sadboi buttons, reminding strongly of early Katatonia and Rapture without ever sounding derivative. It ended up making my Top Ten(ish) for the year and I return to it regularly. I wasn’t aware we were getting a new album this month and we didn’t get the promo until a few days before it released, thus the tardy review.” Gourmet leftovers.