Death Doom

Angmodnes – The Weight of Eternity Review

By Cherd on October 8, 2022 in Reviews, Death Doom, Doom Metal, Funeral Doom, 35 comments

“As one of the primary reviewers of doom metal ’round these parts, I find it challenging to continue finding different ways to say “this music is unhappy.” I can only use adjectives like mournful, miserable, wretched or despondent so many times before I’m tired of typing them and you’re tired of reading them. Before me is the prospect of reviewing not just doom, but death doom, and not just death doom, but funeral doom in the form of The Weight of Eternity by Dutch act Angmodnes, and friends, I just don’t have it in me to google more synonyms for “sad.” For this post I propose a change. In the pursuit of more robust ways to say “unhappy,” I’ll employ metaphor.” Weighing the feelz.

Amaurot – … To Tread the Ancient Waters Review

By Carcharodon on October 7, 2022 in Reviews, Death Doom, Doom Metal, 23 comments

“Amaurot is a four-piece gothic death doom band hailing from Sweden and fronted, and co-founded, by German vocalist Lisa Rieger (also of Hydra). And this review of their full-length debut, … To Tread the Ancient Waters, is woefully late. I make no apologies for that but know that there are Reasons. Valid Reasons. Rieger founded the band in 2019 with guitarist Peter Svensson (ex-Goatess, among others), who also handles keyboards.” Late to the grave.

The Sombre – Monuments of Grief Review

By Carcharodon on August 23, 2022 in Reviews, Death Doom, 6 comments

“Look, let’s cut to the chase here, Monuments of Grief is, unsurprisingly, bleak as all fuck. With an album title like that, released under the nom de guerre The Sombre and as the followup to Shapeless Misery, there is no levity, no joy and no whimsy to be found here. Monuments of Grief is just that, a towering obelisk of doom that drags the listener down into a hopeless pit of despair, from whence one can look up at the light but with absolutely no hope of reaching it.” Sweet grief.

Reeking Aura – Blood and Bonemeal Review

By Maddog on August 2, 2022 in Reviews, Death Doom, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 23 comments

As a hippie vegan with a houseplant obsession, I know all too much about blood and bone meal. If you’ve ever bought organic fertilizer, it likely contained these horrifying but nutrient-rich byproducts of slaughterhouses. While much less objectionable, Reeking Aura’s debut Blood and Bonemeal is no less vile than its namesake. Boasting band members from Grey Skies Fallen, Artificial Brain, and Buckshot Facelift, Blood and Bonemeal harks back to the halcyon days of Autopsy and Asphyx, dishing out grimy death metal riffs across the tempo spectrum.” What’s that smell?

Seep – Hymns to the Gore Review

By Ferox on July 9, 2022 in Reviews, Death Doom, 27 comments

“Let there be leakage. With Hymns to the Gore, Seep oozes up into your yard with eight tracks of death-doom that are the aural equivalent of a septic tank malfunction. This is music that sticks to the bottom of your shoe and leaves a brownish-yellow stain on the living room carpet. Vomitus, a gentleman from rural Maine, is the band’s sole member. It’s not surprising that he works alone–would you volunteer to spend time with the mind behind “ENCASED IN SHIT” and “JIGSAW FACEFUCK”?” Cess is more.

Kardashev – Liminal Rite Review

By Carcharodon on June 8, 2022 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Doom, Death Metal, Post-Metal, 175 comments

“In the year that was 2020—you know, that year—I stumbled across an EP by an unsigned band from Arizona. That EP was The Baring of Shadows by Kardashev, an absolutely devastating record about harrowing heartache and managing mourning. Combining elements of black and post-metal with progressive death, Kardashev’s self-styled deathgaze casually sauntered to #5 on my 2020 List despite only comprising four tracks, one of which (“Snow-Sleep”) also took my Song o’ the Year spot. It seems I wasn’t the only one Kardashev impressed. It was announced in January 2021 that the quartet had signed to Metal Blade. To say I was pumped for the sophomore full-length would be something of an understatement.” Fanboy summer.

Freja – Tides Review

By Twelve on April 25, 2022 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Doom, 9 comments

“I’m a simple creature, really. If you make your album even vaguely Nordic-themed, I’ll pay attention. The mythologies that have spawned countless legends, a whole lot of music, and many other artistic expressions are so enduringly popular for a reason, and their themes have similarly lent themselves to some really good metal. Freja is among the newest bands to find influence in this striking topic, a Dutch duo of one C. and W., who describe their style as one of “towering, thundering” atmospheric black metal.” The tides are a raider.

The Final Sleep – Vessels of Grief Review

By Twelve on February 4, 2022 in Reviews, Death Doom, 18 comments

“The fusion of death metal and doom metal is something I’ve never fully embraced as a purveyor of the heavy and hard-hitting. I mean, I should have, a long time ago—death metal is usually more extreme than I’m in the mood for and doom metal is great, if occasionally too un-speedy, so the blending should work. Sometimes it does—Rise to the Sky has certainly made a fan of me—but it just isn’t something I often seek out. When I first sampled The Final Sleep, a five-piece band from the United States of whom four are guitarists (yes, one of them is a bassist), I was drawn to the almost-progressive style of the vaguely doom-ish death metal on their sophomore release Vessels of Grief.” To sleep, perchance to scream.

Druid Lord – Relics of the Dead Review

By Carcharodon on January 20, 2022 in Reviews, Death Doom, 16 comments

“Some 12 years after coalescing around ex members of Acheron, Orlando, Florida’s Druid Lord is back with just their third full-length. A hefty eight years passed between debut, Hymns for the Wicked, and its 2018 follow-up, Grotesque Offerings, on which the death-doom quartet “came up short,” according to our own Grymm.” Speaking ill of the dead.

Clouds – Despărțire Review

By Thus Spoke on December 8, 2021 in Reviews, Death Doom, Funeral Doom, 65 comments

“You could hardly find a more autumnally appropriate band than Clouds. Their name not only describes the most prevalent meteorological phenomenon of the season, their past catalog, and a band roster filled with members from legendary Funeral, Saturnus, and Shape of Despair has established them as a master of atmospheric doom.” Sure, it’s winter. And yes, this record dropped in October. Did you miss it?