“It’s clear from my time with Depravation’s discog that these chaps don’t settle for anything they did before. Each new album adds another layer to the pie, each song more intricate than the one before. But the best part of their music is the spontaneity and energy. On this new release, they hold nothing back and dive in headfirst. But this ain’t an ocean of water. It’s a vat of lava.” Depravity and lust.
“Italian they may be, but Ontborg play melodic death metal of the sadboi persuasion starring the classic Swedish tones of an HM-2 pedal. This old-school Amorphis meets Omnium Gatherum by way of Carnation and Helslave combination threw me for a big loop when I first spun it. Few and far between are my encounters with slow and somber melodeath with such a gritty, serrated sound, and yet Ontborg make it work seamlessly.” Resistence is brutal.
“Portland, Oregon’s Tithe has been plying its trade since 2017. Starting out as a two-piece, with Matt Eiseman on guitars and vox, and Kevin Swartz behind the kit, the band released a self-titled EP that year. In 2018, bassist Alex Huddleston joined the fold and Tithe began work on their full-length debut, Penance. Despite dropping at the height of the pandemic, that record generated a little buzz around the band, with its fusion of death, black, grind and even hints of doom packed into its modest run time. Three years on and the trio is back with sophomore effort, Inverse Rapture.” Rise and Tithe.
“The Abbey of Thelema was a commune in Sicily run by Aleister Crowley. Home to the wild hedonism and magick of his cult, the Abbey met its unceremonious end in 1923, when Crowley’s shenanigans convinced Mussolini to boot him out of Italy. Finnish psychedelic doom outfit The Abbey aims to carry on the Abbey’s legacy. ,b>The Abbey’s debut Word of Sin draws inspiration from occult organizations and their mystical practices.” Nuns DO have fun.
“Heads Will Roll sounds like an idea sparked after a rekindling of enjoyment for In Flamesߵ infamous Reroute to Remain. Now that’s a hoarse of a different color. Defend whatever album you want, but In Flames at their most alternative and least melodeath is not the act you’d expect to see aped in 2023—even In Flames agrees. Yet, here we are, Oceanhoarse in full Björiff meets Breaking Benjamin territory, partying like an 80s arena rock hero got stuck in Sounds of a Playground Fading.” Old flames.
“Say what you will about atmospheric black metal, its popularity is not undue. It was the gentle stream in which I was baptized before giving myself to the rapids, the whispers in the breeze that signaled the storm, and the view of the frigid mountain crest before the cruel ascent. I ventured into unclaimed mysterious wilderness with the likes of Wolves in the Throne Room, Imperium Dekadenz, and October Falls, leading me the cliffs for the view before greeting my plummeting death to the forest floor, laid to rest in the dark soil littered with pine needles. Enisum speaks like the wind in the trees.” Pinecones and pain.
“The gruesome twosome behind Dead Soul Alliance first crossed my path back in 2021 with their Behind the Scenes debut. I found it a competent if somewhat generic dose of lo-fi, old school death, entertaining but ultimately non-essential. 2023 sees the Canadian duo return with Spiraling to Lunacy, which finds them upping the aggression factor while managing to refine and focus some of their caveman cesspool scrapings.” Lunatic fringe.
“Over their wanderings through the desert, an ethereal soundscape of psychedelic rock ebbs and flows like the undulating dunes of sand. In a style that sways between chilled-out stoner and prog rock, Pelegrin paint a hazy desert vibe with a broad brush.” Desert planes.
“How I came to pen this review is kind of a funny story. Upon entering our promo pit and undergoing de-lousing, this record was tagged as death doom. Whether that was an honest mistake or something more nefarious is an ongoing discussion. The advance material does tout a guest spot by Jaani Peuhu, briefly a member of death doom luminaries Swallow the Sun (more on that later), but Steel has also openly admitted he sometimes lays promo traps for unsuspecting writers to unwittingly claim metalcore. Spectrums, the debut full-length by Saudi one-man band Dusk, has nary a hint of death doom. I’ll give you one guess what it is.” Traps in the glooming.
“For the uninitiated, Tulus has been around since ’91, 1996 debut full-length Pure Black Energy considered a cult classic of early black metal. Although taking a six-year break between 2000 and 2006, the trio has amassed six full-lengths and a compilation over the project’s career.” Olde and still Khold.
