Death Doom

Thra – Forged In Chaotic Spew Review

Thra – Forged In Chaotic Spew Review

“Phoenix, Arizona’s Thra start with that syrupy death metal reduction and ask themselves, “How can we make this even uglier and stupider?” The answer: with sludge, of course. Yes, the one metal form even less concerned with hygiene, boasting the highest aural density and the lowest dynamic range.” Where the sludge live.

Rise to the Sky – Two Years of Grief Review

Rise to the Sky – Two Years of Grief Review

“The last time Sergio Catalán released a full-length album—only four months ago, because of course—I opened my review with a rhetorical question: Sergio González Catalán—can anyone stop this man? Does anyone want to? Now, in June of 2023, the answer is clear: only Sergio can stop Sergio, and today, in a sense, he has chosen to act. Two Years of Grief, the sixth full-length release from his solo project Rise to the Sky marks an end to a “series” he began two years ago on the passing of his father, Sergio González Bombardiere.” Productive pain.

Sporae Autem Yuggoth – …However It Still Moves

Sporae Autem Yuggoth – …However It Still Moves

“The somewhat ominously titled…However, It Still Moves is the debut of Chilean death-doomsters Sporae Autem Yuggoth. Without being able to parse the Latin, but being informed by the promo material that theirs is a “Lovecraftian moniker,” all this adds up to quite a foreboding piece. This portent proves pretty accurate upon pressing play. What unfolds is an hour of spooky, synth-accented, gritty death metal that’s essentially funeral doom with a grimy low-fi production.” No sudden movements.

Bloodgutter – Death Mountain Review

Bloodgutter – Death Mountain Review

“Last month, Steel Druhm graced us with the absolutely filthy and chunky Rotpit. Since that day, Let There Be Rot hasn’t yet left my almost daily rotation. Grimy, thick riffage met with gonzo groove to form this mountainous, ugly thing that stomps my skull flat, and I love every second of it. Without a doubt, I was sure I wouldn’t see the likes of it again for some time. And yet, fate allowed me no rest, as it unceremoniously plopped an equally massive Bloodgutter upon my already overburdened back.” Blood for the Blood God!

Rigor Sardonicous – Praeparet Bellum Review

Rigor Sardonicous – Praeparet Bellum Review

“What have the Romans ever done for us? Apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a fresh water system, and public health? According to Rigor Sardonicous, a language to use as an idiosyncratic gimmick. Their name, and the majority of their song and album titles are in Latin, Praeparet Bellum—roughly, Prepare for War—being no exception. It marks their return after an eleven-year hiatus but seems to more or less pick up from where Ego Diligio Vos left off. Low-fi, grimy death-doom so low it’s barely within the range of human hearing, and so gritty and slow it feels like drowning in a vast quantity of sand.” Rigor mortis.

Konvent – Call Down the Sun [Things You Might Have Missed 2022]

Konvent – Call Down the Sun [Things You Might Have Missed 2022]

“Two years on and Konvent is back, and this time, they’ve nailed it. Call Down the Sun is slightly slower in pace than Puritan Masochism, edging just a teensy, tiny bit further toward the funeral doom end of the death doom spectrum. If the record doesn’t slow quite so much as to actually reach funeral doom pace, it is certainly funereal in tone and mood.” Sundown, mood down.

Tishina – Uvod [Things You Might Have Missed 2022]

Tishina – Uvod [Things You Might Have Missed 2022]

“For the second year running, I find myself giving the TYMHM treatment to an album with Cyrillic in the title and which is right on the EP/album dividing line. As is my wont at this point, I am giving the record the benefit of the doubt because between I don’t frankly care whether it’s an album or not, it is deserving of your attention. Тишина / Tishina, meaning ‘silence’ in Serbian, is a project masterminded by Branislav Panić of the blackened death metal band, Bane. Serbia strikes back!