Doom Metal

Polyptych – Defying the Metastasis Review

Polyptych – Defying the Metastasis Review

“The forefathers of death metal were truly spoiled when it came time to come up with a kick-ass band name. The genre’s progenitors ran wild with synonyms for various acts of violence and bits of viscera (not to mention those nerds who pulled inspiration from Warhammer 40k), but when the thesaurus has fallen to tatters, where does a budding young death metal band pull its inspiration from?” How about Proust?

Khemmis – Hunted Review

Khemmis – Hunted Review

Khemmis sat atop my list of very pleasant surprises for 2015, with their unheralded Absolution debut being one of the best doom platters of the year and one of the top metal albums overall. I assumed 2016 would see these youngsters flushed with newfound success, touring extensively and carefully prepping to battle the dreaded sophomore slump sometime in 2017. Instead they chose to come right back at us with Hunted, and I wondered if they might be rushing things.” The hunt for quality doom is on.

Age of Woe – An Ill Wind Blowing Review

Age of Woe – An Ill Wind Blowing Review

“It was bound to happen. As I’m sitting here, writing a review of the appropriately titled An Ill Wind Blowing, the second album by Swedish sludgemeisters Age of Woe, I gaze out the rear door and see picturesque blue skies, mild temperate winds, and a garden teeming with life and vibrancy, complete with a Godzilla statue wolfing down some unfortunate garden gnomes. This is all important to note because, just a full day ago, Hurricane Matthew beat the ever-loving shit out everyone in its path through the Bahamas and parts of Florida, including my sleepy neighborhood.” From the storm comes…doom.

Cardinal Wyrm – Cast Away Souls Review

Cardinal Wyrm – Cast Away Souls Review

“It should be fairly apparent by now that I loves me some doom. As of late, I’ve been on an almost exclusively doom-rich diet: death-doom, blackened doom, even “esoteric doom.” I’m beginning to think it might be high time to cut down; after all, a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips. But, as always, I’m suckered in by that one last bite… This particular tender morsel comes to me in the form of Americans Cardinal Wyrm and their third release Cast Away Souls, and as it happens, it’s deceptively filling.” Commence the doom shaming.

Agatus – The Eternalist Review

Agatus – The Eternalist Review

“In today’s fast-paced world where instant gratification is king, once a winning formula has been established, it’s tempting for many bands to play it safe, shy away from experimentation, and resort to simply churning out variations on the same record every few years (*cough* Amon Amarth *cough*). I always have a lot of respect therefore for musicians who are willing to take a risk, mix things up a bit and diversify their style – creating their own record as opposed to simply writing what is expected of them. Agatus are one such band.” A double review brought to you by administrative tomfoolery.

Riti Occulti – Tetragrammaton Review

Riti Occulti – Tetragrammaton Review

Riti Occulti are a strange band. They play doom, they hail from Italy, they prefer a bass guitar to a six-stringed axe, and their vocal department consists of a goth-like, beauty-and-the-beast duo. To be more specific, the band uses only bass guitar and the two female vocalists alternate between black-metal rasps and operatic clean vox. Topping it off, the band coats everything in a thick layer of synthesizers and moody effects (many times performed using a dreaded keytar). But, it isn’t as bad as it seems.” Unleash the Keytar.

Ortega – Sacred States Review

Ortega – Sacred States Review

“In the context of reviewing an album, it’s surely one of the most cardinal of fundamentals to avoid the dreaded track-by-track format. The approach is dull, seems amateurish, and is usually indicative of a barrage of verbose superlatives, almost entirely allergic to the mighty Oxford comma. So what, oh what, is a Ferrous to do when faced with an album consisting of only 5 songs of spiraling, sludge-inspired doom?” Save Ferrous!

Northern Crown – The Others Review

Northern Crown – The Others Review

“When I saw the promo descriptor for Northern Crown’s debut, The Others listing it as “epic doom,” I took a flyer and grabbed it. You never know when you’ll stumble across the next While Heaven Wept or Atlantean Kodex, and I’d want to plunder all the glorious metal cred such a discovery would impart, while lording it over staff members in the AMG break room. So is this the doom juggernaut you’ve been waiting for? I can’t formulate the beginnings of a sensible answer to that question.” Steel be flummoxed.