“Evolution is hard to avoid. Humans evolved over the eons, and each individual evolves as they grow older and experiences the outside world (except for Steel and Doc Grier). Bands inevitably evolve as well as members grow in ability and outside influences creep into their sound. It seems evolution eventually finds every band to some degree (except Sodom). That brings us to the fourth album by Germany’s Chapel of Disease.” Going through changes.
“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.
Our promo sump feels piled these days, a good thing! And, it may be my attention to these distinctions that has grown over the year that I’ve now been with AMG, or it might just be the world we live in, but the independent release sub-pool seems to be growing drop by drop every day too. This fledgling, self-guided troupe, who funneled from afar to Australia, hasn’t even yet landed on the Encyclopedia Metallum (though they qualify), but they’ve graciously given us 2.4 gigabytes of WAV files to review for their debut outing The Spiritual Beast.” Forest packages available.
“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.
“After taking some 20 years off, Dutch gothic doom-death act Celestial Season roared back in 2020 with a startingly ambitious comeback album called The Secret Teachings, then followed up in April of this year with Mysterium I. Now just a scant 7 months later they’re back with the second part of a planned trilogy, dropping Mysterium II in time for Christmas stocking stuffing.” Eggnog and seasonal mysteries.
“Anyone who follows Oceans of Slumber on social media is aware of the stylistic evolution the band has been undertaking. The band, notably leaders Cammie Gilbert and Dobber Beverly, have been hammering on the fact that this new album will not be another progressive doom metal outing. Starlight and Ash is the band’s fifth album; fourth with Gilbert at the helm, and second in a row with the current lineup. The fact that they have all stuck around through the turmoil of the last couple of years and have also all bought into the stylistic shift is a positive thing.” Different tides.
“Deathwhite clearly enjoy the role of enigmatic mega-mystery band. For ten long years, they’ve toiled to release dark, gothy-tinged doom music with cascading negative thoughts and feelings, and all without revealing who is actually in the band. Their sound has gone through some evolution over the decade but here on album number three, Grey Everlasting, they’ve firmly locked themselves into the same soundscape as Katatonia and Warning, dropping much of the alt-metal elements in favor of bleak, unhappy odes to bummertude.” Grey is the new grey.
“U.K.-based “modern” doom act Famyne evaded my metal detector with their eponymous 2018 debut. I might have missed their sophomore outing too, had I not been desperate for some doom when skulking through the fetid promo sump on a dark and dreary night. Thus, I approached II: The Ground Below without context or expectation, and what I heard befuddled me for a good while.” Uncommon grounds.
“Second acts for bands are always interesting. Sometimes the years away from the tussle and grind of the record release schedule does a band good, allowing passion and creativity to flow anew as it did back in their early days. Sometimes that same passage of time provides maturity and a seasoned confidence that informs the new material. In the case of Dutch goth-doom act, Celestial Season, we saw a bit of both of these progressions on 2020s The Secret Teachings. Coming off a 20-year hiatus, the compositions felt surprisingly creative, confident, and adventurous. They retained enough of the original sound from their heyday but were unafraid to wander into new soundscapes. Two years later we get the follow-up, Mysterium I.” Mystery season is upon us.
