“If there was ever a band that has truly come full-circle with their music, Paradise Lost would be it. From atonal death/doom metal to Gothic metal to the full plunge into Depeche Mode-esque electronica before returning in sequential order, the British doom band proved to capably transform with each release, and yet still sound unmistakably like Paradise Lost.” Head of snakes, feet of lead.
“Passage is likely not a name familiar to many outside of their native Montreal, Canada. Their self-titled debut was released in 2005 and they failed to follow it up in any way until now. Talk about a momentum killer, eh? Dubious marketing choices aside, the band traffics in melancholy doom death and they take many pages from the dog-eared tomes of Paradise Lost, Saturnus and My Dying Bride as they seek to crush your spirit under weighty riffs and heart-wrenching melodies.” Hello, darkness my olde friend.
“Once upon a time, England’s doom/death saints Paradise Lost were poised to become their country’s (and even their continent’s) answer to the mighty Metallica. Going from the atonal death/doom of their humble beginnings to their more streamlined sound, the West Yorkshire quintet were on the cusp of breaking big after the impact of 1993’s Icon and 1995’s powerful Yer Metal is Olde-inductee, Draconian Times. Seeing their star on the rise, Paradise Lost did what any self-respecting metal band would do: they got haircuts, abandoned the doom metal they were most known for and loved, and jumped on the Depeche Mode wagon.” Walking on glumshine.
“Of all the metal sub-genres to come to prominence in the last decade or so, perhaps the most frustrating is the so-called “caverncore” style. We’ve heard it time and again: murky guitars, gurgly vocals, and an unabashed love for Incantation in both sound and artwork. While it’s proven a successful sonic palette for bands like Cruciamentum and Dead Congregation (not to mention the recent Cemetery Urn album), many of these groups simply mire themselves in a riff-less murk that makes even Alestorm seem appealing.” When the crevice calls.
“Some dips in the vastness of the AMG promo bin are like an invigorating plunge into a mountain lake. Others are like jumping in a rancid dumpster behind a greasy chicken joint during an August heatwave. Germany’s Mirrored in Secrecy managed to give me the weirdest surprise I’ve had in a while with their sophomore album Solitution, approximating the sensation of cannon-balling into a vat of Jello, Vaseline and hobo wine. It’s messy and disorienting, but not entirely unpleasant once you get use to the slippery viscosity.” Mix and bash.
“Team-ups are all the rage nowadays, ditching the confines of comic book crossovers for screens both small and large. Vallenfyre struck while the crossover iron was hot. Since 2010, they’ve smashed members of My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost, and At the Gates into a throwback Swedeath outfit as gloomy as it is doomy.” Super groups to fear.
“It seems Emmanuelle Tito, the man behind the Alchimia project, has a feel for classicism. The fusion of painted, classical artwork with overt utilization of Italian and Latin on Musa, his first release under this alias, depict a desire for a particular grandiosity which travels beyond the blue collar roots of metal.” He must be one of them fancy boys.
“I’ve reached a conclusion in recent times that the enjoyment gleaned from music at any particular time very much depends on my mood. I pick myself up by joining The Night Flight Orchestra; relax by basking in Mitch Murder’s warm glow; wallow in self-loathing by screaming with Deadspace. While such a sentiment may seem obvious I also mean in a wider sense. My life was ebbing low at the turn of the year and I was finding new releases sincerely disappointing.” Mood is the medium, Coldfells is the message.
“My friends ask me what happened, but my ability to verbally communicate has been reduced to moaning and a weeping noise that sounds something like a baby panda crying for milk. I wonder how I’m going to make it through the final day of this floating festival. I wonder when the aching will subside. I wonder where my life went so wrong. How did I end up here, on the 7th annual 70000 Tons of Metal cruise, weak with exhaustion and feeling like my body has been bludgeoned with a sledgehammer? My mind drifts back…” Tales from a 70000 ton heavy thing.
“One of death metal’s weirdest phenomenon was the so-called ‘death ‘n’ roll’ movement. First popularized by albums like Entombed’s Wolverine Blues and Carcass’s Swansong, death ‘n’ roll is kind of like your weird older cousin at the family reunion. On one hand, you have to love him because he’s family — but at the same time, nobody really talks about him or seems to be totally comfortable in his presence. Point is, death ‘n’ roll is one of those genres that most people seem to tolerate rather than actually enjoy, and maybe that’s why bands like Lubricant are so often overlooked.” Death rock in a tight place.
