Doom Metal

Primitive Man – Home Is Where the Hatred Is Review

Primitive Man – Home Is Where the Hatred Is Review

“Loud, heavy, dense, raging, lacking any sort of subtlety or nuance – rarely has a band been so aptly named as Primitive Man. Self-releasing their debut to critical acclaim both here and across the metalogosphere, they followed it up with a series of splits before being snapped up by Relapse for their latest outburst of hatred. Their approach has remained pretty consistent across these releases: crank everything up until it feeds back, then hammer out the most repulsive blackened sludge they can conjure.” Better call your local Department of Sludge Control.

Mourning Mist – Mourning Mist Review

Mourning Mist – Mourning Mist Review

“This was a bear of an album to review. Let me elaborate a bit for clarification… it’s not just because Italy’s Mourning Mist are a new band with precious little background besides having bassist/vocalist Kvasir (also of Profezia and Abhor) in their ranks, as well as a violinist. Hell, violins in metal ain’t nothing new, right?” Not at all, but when will someone incorporate some balalaika?

Dwell – Vermin and Ashes Review

Dwell – Vermin and Ashes Review

“Doom/death is a genre that’s really gotten under my skin over the past few years. And it seems to have left some kind of egg or parasitic hanger on, since I hunger for it more and more. That however, comes with a big caveat: it must be utterly doused in mood and atmosphere or be so insanely heavy it causes sinkholes.” Can a band made up of members from another doom/death band meet this stringent criteria?

Cóndor – Duin Review

Cóndor – Duin Review

“If there’s anything that can be gleamed about the giant web that is the world of heavy metal, it’s that you can always draw influence from outside of the genre’s comfort zone to provide a fresh flavor to the oftentimes stagnant scene. Whether it’s pulling from other sounds beyond metal, bringing in a new philosophical or religious slant, or simply injecting your culture into your sound, it’s pretty much guaranteed that, good or bad, you will be remembered.” Is Condor ready to be remembered?

Lord Dying – Poisoned Altars Review

Lord Dying – Poisoned Altars Review

“The month of January is always a difficult one for us writers here at Angry Metal Guy. As evidenced by the staggering amount of Things You Might Have Missed articles that are still coming in, the sheer sparsity of new music is leaving us parched with thirst for thrilling material, and even more so when said thrilling material is at an absolute premium.” Can some heavy sludge shake off Grymm’s early year doldrums? And why are we already have doldrums?

In the Company of Serpents – Merging in Light Review

In the Company of Serpents – Merging in Light Review

“Stoner metal is not known as a particularly inventive genre. Though improvements to equipment and recording techniques have allowed bands to push the boundaries of heaviness, the basic musical template has remained pretty static since its conception. That said, there is little sweeter in the metal world than a stoner doom band totally crushing a hammering riff, however many times you’ve heard it done before.” Looks like we’ll be hearing it again…and again.

Slug Lord – Transmutation Review

Slug Lord – Transmutation Review

““Five overlength songs of Sludge-Doom-Metal.” This is the opening statement made of Slug Lord’s sophomore release, Transmutation, on their one sheet. As far as inspirational and enthusing promotional materials go, this resides somewhere next to “chlamydia – perhaps the most average of all sexually-transmitted infections” and “Volvo – the best example of Swedish culture.”” Prepare the salt baths!

Desolate Shrine – The Heart of the Netherworld Review

Desolate Shrine – The Heart of the Netherworld Review

“Great, for my first review of 2015 I have a cold. My head is a slime factory, and some genius cephalic operations manager has decided that the best place to store the snot-stock awaiting delivery to my nostrils is behind my eardrums. I’m fortunate that the band I’m reviewing is Desolate Shrine, then, as their ultra-dense death metal is one of the few things powerful enough to penetrate through the aural mucus wall.” Tastes like death, but it’s snot.