Katatonia

Deathwhite – Ethereal EP Review

By Steel Druhm on June 24, 2014 in 2014, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, Reviews, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, 15 comments

“Every now and then you get a promo from an unheralded band with zero press and no buzz whatsoever and it kicks your ass all over the damn monkey farm. Deathwhite’s debut Ethereal is one of these unexpected ass kickers, and it’s a truly impressive dose of gloomy, post-modern gothic rock. It’s works by straddling the line between the seemingly defunct and sorely missed melo-doom of Rapture and depressive post-rockers like Ghost Brigade and Aoria, with traces of Tool and Katatonia added for sumptuous emphasis. Now THAT’S a spicy meatball!” Do you love surprises? How about a good old fashioned mystery?

Décembre Noir – A Discouraged Believer Review

By Madam X on May 16, 2014 in 2014, Death Metal, Doom Metal, FDA Rekotz, German Metal, Reviews, Uncategorized, 3 comments

“The driving force behind any band is their desire to create, to share the inner workings of their collective minds and to leave behind a part of themselves when they cease to exist. Some artists within only a few years manage to fill pages and pages on Encyclopaedia Metallum with thick, extensive and mightily impressive discographies. Décembre Noir wandered a different path and although being around for a fair few years, they’re only now releasing A Discouraged Believer, launching the bands death-doom approach and setting you on a journey that feels oddly spiritual in its lament.” Not the most prolific act out there, but better late than never, eh?

Vanhelga – Längtan Review

By Grymm on April 17, 2014 in 2014, Art of Propaganda, Black Metal, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Black Metal, 7 comments

“My childhood was a blur, but I had a rather distinct memory of someone from the First Grade. Remember when you were a kid, if you did something exemplary, your teacher would reward you with a sticker to show for your efforts? There was a kid in my class named Jason (last name escapes me) who won a “You’re the Cat’s MEOW!!!” sticker, complete with purring kitty and stars bedazzling the pre-Comic Sans font in gold letters. After slapping the sticker on his wrist, Jason was dismayed that due to adolescent sweating and kid grubbiness, it wouldn’t stick. Luckily, he had the grand idea that stapling the sticker to the underside of his wrist would be a nice way to permanently show off his rewards. Gleefully, Jason ran around the room, giggling incessantly and displaying the proud reward of his efforts as color drained from his face and blood jizzed from his arm, both at an alarming rate.” Grown up Jason would like this band.

Shores of Null – Quiescence Review

By Grymm on March 16, 2014 in 2014, Candlelight, Doom Metal, Italian Metal, Reviews, Doom Metal, 6 comments

“Swimming among an overcrowded sea of retro-thrashers, tech-death wankers, and sweepy-haired shoegazers playing post-whatever-the-fuck-the-flavor-is-this-week, there’s a band from Italy that’s looking to Finland and Seattle for the inspiration behind their début, Quiescence. Shores of Null may be a brand-spankin’-new band, but they are looking to capture your attention in pretty interesting ways. And they succeed to a degree.” Grymm just might have stumbled on something interesting here.

The Isolation Process – The Isolation Process Review

By Steel Druhm on January 10, 2014 in 2014, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, Post-Rock, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Version Studio Records, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, 10 comments

“Are you one of those people who wish Paradise Lost never strayed from the sound of Draconian Times? If so, The Isolation Process has a belated Christmas/Festivus gift with your name on it. The eponymous debut from this Swedish three-piece made up of members of Lingua and Come Sleep (neither of which I ever heard of) features a style strikingly similar to that classic album, while adding select elements of Tool, Sinamore and To Die For. As gothic-tinged doom metal goes, that makes for quite the heady stew in which to dunk your biscuits of despair and oyster crackers of unresolved childhood issues.” Do you like Paradise Lost? If so, hug this album to your breast and sing it a sweet love song.

Things You May Have Missed 2013: Patrons of the Rotting Gate – The Rose Coil

By Grymm on December 15, 2013 in 2013, Black Metal, Irish Metal, Things You Might Have Missed 2013, 1 comment

“My summer vacations weren’t very… productive. Here’s a quick laundry list of my early Grymmness: blowing on Nintendo cartridges to get that damn pink screen to stop flashing, trying (and failing) to learn how to skateboard, playing guitar in a proto-metalcore band that would make early Converge shake their heads in embarrassment, swimming in a ice-cold pool in New Hampshire, etc. Needless to say, my summers were for lounging and goofing off. So when I ask how was your summer and you say, “Oh, it was okay, I just spent the entire summer writing, recording, screaming, playing, programming drums, producing, mastering, and even doing the artwork for the debut album of my one-band progressive black metal band. Nothing major!”, you are either: a) gleefully full of shit, or b) multi-talented Irish lad Andrew “Manshrew” Millar, sole proprietor of Patrons of the Rotting Gate, and mastermind behind their impressive self-released debut, The Rose Coil.” Grymm sets his review phaser on fanboyish glee and blasts way about something you might have missed.

Ihsahn – Das Seelenbrechen Review

By Angry Metal Guy on November 1, 2013 in 2013, Avante Garde, Candlelight, Norwegian Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Progressive Metal, 10 comments

“Ihsahn records used to get a breathless introduction about how incredible the former Emperor frontman’s solo career was. While this might still be true for some breathless fans, it is not the case for me. While I am still a huge fan of The Adversary and angL, both Eremita and its predecessor After left me cold.” Das seelenbrechen is Ihsahn’s newest crack at a solo record. Will it leave this Angry Metal Guy as cold as the man’s last two records?

Lodz – Something In Us Died Review

By Grymm on October 15, 2013 in 2013, French Metal, Reviews, Season of Mist, Post-Metal, 2 comments

“Post-metal is a rough genre to navigate. It’s very difficult to make a name for yourself when you’re constantly compared to Neurosis, Isis, or Cult of Luna. The very second when a quiet song starts building steam and crushes the opposition, you are branded a copycat. Hence, France’s Lodz have an uphill battle on their debut album, Something In Us Died. However, if you must stand out in a severely overcrowded field of imitators, do so by being honest and compassionate about your craft, and Something In Us Died has both honesty and passion in spades.” New-ish scribe Grymm returns to educate you on the dos and don’ts of post-metal. Read this review of Lodz and we will award you a post-grad degree in post-metal (for a nominal fee TBD).

End of Green – The Painstream Review

By Steel Druhm on August 20, 2013 in 2013, 3.5, German Metal, Gothic Metal, Napalm Records, Reviews, 8 comments

“End of Green have a shit-kickingly bad band name. I’ve always hated it, but it hasn’t stopped me from following these guys since their 2002 Songs for a Dying World release. They started life as a gothic, doomy metal act that stole most of their inspiration from Type O Negative, but over the course of their career they’ve drifted toward a more direct gloom-rock style not very far from Entwine, Lacrimas Profundere, late period Sentenced and Katatonia. Their early albums were terribly inconsistent and suffered from some bigtime filler demons, yet their talent was always apparent on a few standout tracks.” We haven’t reviewed a gothy, doom-rock album in a while since we’re usually so obsessed with death metal. To balance the ledgers, here’s a review of something gothy and doom-rocky.

Church of Void – Dead Rising Review

By Steel Druhm on August 19, 2013 in 2.5, 2013, Doom Metal, Finnish Metal, Reviews, Svart Records, Doom Metal, 0 comments

“Church of Void is a young upstart Finnish doom band, but they like to bill themselves as the spearhead of the “new wave of traditional heavy doom metal.” While that might be putting the cart before the dead horse quite a bit for an obscure band, I admire their hyperbole and moxie. Featuring former members of Battlelore and Horna, they play a slightly amorphous style of doom that skips between 70s Sabbath worshipping acts like Orchid and Hour of 13, modern doom like Katatonia and even stoner rock like Monster Magnet.” Can a young band lead the way in a style so old and gnarly? Steel Druhm is also old and gnarly so we asked him.