Katatonia

Helfir – The Journey Review

By Twelve on November 3, 2020 in Reviews, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, 8 comments

“It’s all about the journey, so the saying goes. For me, the journey from album discovery to album listening to album review is often the highlight of my week, regardless of the ultimate destination (read: rating). For Luca Mazzotta, the one man behind the one-man Helfir project, The Journey is his third release, and one that takes its title very seriously. Taking the helm on every instrument, real and programmed, Mazzotta’s ambitions and inspirations, including such names as Katatonia and Porcupine Tree, are unleashed over fifty minutes of honest, dark, and remarkably flexible music.” Safe travels.

Record(s) o’ the Month – September 2020

By Angry Metal Guy on October 26, 2020 in 2020, Blog Posts, Record o' the Month, 183 comments

As winter depression season arrives this far north, I just want you all to know that everything is terrible, your taste is horrific, and the writers of this blog are pursuing lives of futility. That is all.

Crippled Black Phoenix – Ellengæst Review

By Huck N Roll on October 12, 2020 in 2020, Reviews, Progressive Rock, 37 comments

“I’ll open this review with the sentence I used to close my last Crippled Black Phoenix review: Crippled Black Phoenix are a band I want to like more, but the material continues to fall short of their potential. And with that thought the band’s latest album, Ellengæst, was bestowed upon me, giving me several weeks to think about how I’d be going in with high expectations and coming out feeling like I’d only eaten half a meal. A quick scan of the promo material did raise an eyebrow: the size of the band has been cut in half (CBP have always been immersed in drama), and there are a number of interesting guest vocalists as a result.” Crippled but dangerous.

Ambassador – Care Vale Review

By GardensTale on September 22, 2020 in Reviews, Hard Rock, Post-Metal, 47 comments

“Interesting, the grey area between rock and metal. It takes a lot of different shapes, from the classic hard rock proto-metal to the commercialized tough guy semi-nu-metal that still wanted to have radio play.[1. Joke’s on them, the hardest thing on commercial radio these days is fucking Imagine Dragons.] It’s an area that, in one of its many incarnations, has been elemental to most of us in our journey into the depths of our favorite depravity, as a bridge between the socially acceptable and commercially viable on the one end, and metal on the other. Ambassador, a four-piece from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, have a different approach to this uncertain spectrum from those I’ve mentioned.” Sad diplomacy.

Poema Arcanvs – Stardust Solitude Review

By Steel Druhm on September 11, 2020 in Reviews, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 22 comments

“For reasons unknown, Chile is a hot bed for doom metal. When I saw Poema Arcanvs hailed from Chile, played a brand of gothic doom death, and was signed to top-notch label Transcending Obscurity, I had to seize the day and the promo. Sadly, Father Time got the better of me and I missed getting a review done before Poema’s 6th album, Stardust Solitude hit the streets, and for that I feel eternal shame. Better late than never though, right?” Stardust and shame.

Katatonia – City Burials Review

By Angry Metal Guy on April 24, 2020 in Reviews, Post-Metal, 158 comments

“Katatonia’s brand of depressive post-metal has not changed so much in the years since they released The Fall of Hearts. At its heart, the band’s sound is built around slow, lilting tunes in a minor key, with a clear and unaffected voice hovering above the fray.” So, has Angry Metal Guy’s Law of Diminishing Recordings™ finally caught up with these Swedes?

Soliloquium – Things We Leave Behind Review

By Steel Druhm on March 18, 2020 in 2020, Doom Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Rain Without End records, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Doom Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 38 comments

“Soliloquium’s sophomore album Contemplations was one of those releases I stumbled over in the promo sump and was really surprised by. This Swedish doomy melodeath act hit all the right melancholic sadboi buttons, reminding strongly of early Katatonia and Rapture without ever sounding derivative. It ended up making my Top Ten(ish) for the year and I return to it regularly. I wasn’t aware we were getting a new album this month and we didn’t get the promo until a few days before it released, thus the tardy review.” Gourmet leftovers.

Deathwhite – Grave Image Review

By Steel Druhm on January 27, 2020 in 2020, American Metal, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, Post-metal, Post-Rock, Reviews, Season of Mist, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, Post-Metal, 42 comments

“Deathwhite have been playing it annoyingly coy for nearly 6 years now, releasing increasingly sophisticated music while steadfastly keeping their identities concealed. Grave Image is their sophomore full-length, and therefore a critical moment in their career of mystery. Their For a Black Tomorrow debut merged elements of goth, doom, and post metal with alternative rock, creating something unusual and highly compelling, and in the process nearly created a whole new type of mope rock. Back when I was absorbing Black Tomorrow and drafting the review, I was struck by the nagging feeling the band was only just getting started on its musical odyssey and things would only get weirder. Grave Image fulfills that expectation.” A grave you can live with.

Hanging Garden – Into That Good Night Review

By Master of Muppets on November 12, 2019 in 2019, Doom Metal, Finnish Metal, Gothic Metal, Lifeforce Records, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Doom Metal, 26 comments

“Evermore difficult to believe has been my luck in the ongoing war against the promo bin. Despite multiple attempts to lower my less than angry rating average, including seeking out non-atmoblack/Muppetcore albums or else surrendering my fate to Steel like a damn N00b, I somehow just keep wading out from the promo sump smelling like roses. This brings us nicely to my main point, being that I can’t believe that Dr. Fisting turned down the opportunity to drop everything and craft an unpaid review for Into That Good Night, the sixth album by Finland’s Hanging Garden.” Shaking fists at gardens in the sky.

Novembers Doom – Nephilim Grove Review

By Steel Druhm on October 29, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Prophecy Productions, Reviews, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 32 comments

“Novembers Doom has admirably avoided becoming a static recording act over its quarter of a century knocking around the metal scene. They started life as morose doom death but mutated into various permutations of doom and/or death over time. I don’t even think of them as a true doom death act these days, and lately they’ve been drifting toward the mellower side of Opeth and the glum mope rock territories trod by modern Katatonia. On their 10th album Nephilim Grove, they continue to carefully straddle several genres, doing their best to consolidate their influences.” Ennui for you and me.