“Californian doomers Beastmaker take a familiar approach worshiping at the altar of classic Sabbath and Pentagram, grinding these well worn influences through a hazy stoner rock filter, complete with loose garage-y vibe. Already the band has a couple of releases under their belts despite their relatively short existence, but do these drugged-out heathens have what it takes to compete with the big guns?” Not to be confused with the Beastmaster, nor the Beastmilker.
“Having been wrongly labeled as a Christian band, Lo-Ruhamah nevertheless garnered quite a few interested ears with their interesting take on progressive doom metal mixed with esoteric spiritualism. But then, they went inactive for almost a decade. Now, with the members spending time between the States and Estonia, they return with their long-awaited follow-up, Anointing.” Back from the dead, but not like Jesus!
“What kind of ‘god hunter’ is Godhunter? One out in search of truth, peace, and reasoning? Or are they on a hunt for revenge; fed up with the silence that returns their prayers or the global devastations no mortal man seems capable of preventing? Godhunter are many things and I wouldn’t be surprised if they were both.” God is game.
“Sabbath Assembly have been gifting us with music firmly entrenched in eerie discomfort since 2009. In the early years, their releases centered upon the teachings of the Process Church of the Final Judgement, which made them disturbing to the point of near-inaccessibility. In what was a positive career move, the band decided not to regale us with further hippy cult weirdness on 2015’s self-titled release, instead focusing on pure occult songs, resulting in an excellent album that catapulted the band (in our eyes at least) to the top of the occult rock food chain.” Self-cleaning coven.
“When Boston’s Summoner came into being back in 2009, they were originally known as Riff Cannon. Made up of members of black metal bands Plagues and Deafheaven, Summoner is clearly a vehicle for these fellas to shed their black metal overcoats and give some love to the Baroness/Kylesa/Torche side of the bill.” Black does sludge.
“Though I appreciate black metal and listen to my fair share of the genre, generally I’m more of a death metal guy, so I’m particularly selective when it comes to choosing artists to engage my black metal fix. When perusing the promo portal, for some reason the band name, album title and unsigned status of American/Armenian trio Highland was enough to pique my interest and curiosity. Plying their trade with a minimum of fuss, Highland channel Scandinavian second wave influences, spiked with shades of the livewire thrashing energy of Absu, riff-driven groove of Vreid, and seething wallop of Mantar, delivering an aggressive and dynamic album.” It’s over Anakin….
“I consider last year’s 40 Watt Sun album a particularly effective example at creating space and even emptiness with its sparse arrangements and use of repetition, reflecting the social distance in the lyrics. Since every good example is most effective when juxta- I mean, when placed opposite a bad example, Cursus has volunteered to demonstrate.” Doom death, where is thy sting?
“I’m a big fan of MindMaze’s Back From the Edge. Similar to Pyramaze’s excellent Disciples of the Sun, it’s a true grower of a progressive power metal album that I’ve really warmed to over the years. It strikes an admirable balance between prog and power styles, carrying plenty of memorable hooks bolstered by proper prog songwriting in its longest tracks.” Power-prog and problems.
“Almost a decade ago, when I had only gotten my head stuck in the alluring crevice that is metal for a few short years, I stumbled upon a little-known atmospheric doom metal band called Black Math Horseman. I hardly listened to any doom, nor bands with female vocalists at the time (I wouldn’t develop a taste for it until years later) so the album, titled Wyllt, never really stuck, but the concept intrigued me nonetheless. Now, many trials and tribulations later, I find myself back in the loving arms of Sera Timms’ haunting cry with a different band by the name of Ides of Gemini.” Ides wide open.
“Every now and then a release comes along that deserves attention but for various reasons, a full blown review isn’t in the cards. Since two April releases fit that bill, we’re doing this rare and unusual music alert for the more discerning metal mavens (i.e. people with the good taste to share our tastes).” Things you haven’t missed …yet!
