“I’ve bet you’ve never heard of Vouna. I certainly haven’t. However, I bet you have heard of Wolves in the Throne Room. If you haven’t, I’m banishing you from this review until you’ve heard Two Hunters. We good?” Game of Throne Rooms.
Skepticism
Antichrist – Pax Moriendi Review
“I’ve often wondered about the importance of a band’s name. Would Death be as big, or produced the same groundbreaking music, if they’d named themselves Erotic Diarrhea Monster? Would Kreator have become the thrash legends they did if they instead called themselves Pee Wee’s Scrotal Shitstorm? The world may never know, but it certainly seems having a more common and accessible name puts pressure on a band to produce better music. Case in point: Antichrist, a Peruvian quartet originally formed in 2004 and later reactivated in 2012.” The Devil is in the details.
Akatharta – Spiritus Immundus Review
“Sometimes, when that flight of masochistic fancy hits, we here at AMG like to play a little game lovingly referred to as Promo Roulette – not unlike Russian Roulette, but with every chamber loaded with disaster and disappointment. The powers that be randomly assign a project, comfortable in the knowledge that the first, last and only rule of said gamble is: the house always wins. On occasion, however, it is possible to steal a non-fatal cranial grazing and happen upon something worthwhile. So when the relative quality of Akatharta’s debut, Spiritus Immundus, rebounded off my ferrous hide and into my lap, I was pleasantly surprised.” You got lucky, Beuller!
Ill Omen – Æ.Thy.Rift Review
“Sometimes the right setting is everything for a metal album. Fortunately for myself, through a pretty atypical series of life events I’ve had the opportunity to enjoy several records in environments that bring out their absolute best. I’ve listened to Ahab while snuggled below decks on a three-masted barque sailing in the North Atlantic, I’ve listened to Wolves in the Throne Room while hiking the lush forests of the Pacific Northwest, I’ve listened to Baroness while cruising through the humid towns of southeastern America, and I’ve listened to The Acacia Strain while cleaning my toilet. But Æ.Thy.Rift, the third album from Australian one-man black metal project Ill Omen, isn’t one of those albums that just benefits from a proper listening environment – it demands one.” So…give it up!
Skepticism – Ordeal Review
“Live albums are a dicey bag. Not every band has the capabilities to produce something classic along the lines of Live After Death or Alive in Athens, and most certainly not from the funeral doom genre. On top of that, to make your first album after a seven-year absence a live album that’s three-quarters new material? That’s some rather gutsy planning right there….” Play live or die.
Tomb of Finland – Below the Green Review
“Okay, admission time: as you can probably guess, I don’t always rely on the Grymm Grab Bag™ to decide who or what I get to review. If it’s a band I love or have a history with, I’ll give a fair looksee and go from there. In some cases, the name alone will grab me and say, “dude, review this, please.” Hence, Finland’s Tomb of Finland. That’s a pretty benign name to most people, right?” Wait for it….
Shape of Despair – Monotony Fields Review
If sitting alone in a darkened room, lighting a few candles, uncorking a good claret, and settling in for an uninterrupted hour of beauteous funeral doom sounds like your idea of a fun night in, you’re probably already a fan of Shape of Despair. Discovering that they were finally releasing a new LP after eleven years of waiting left me pert with anticipation.” Slow and low, that is the tempo.
Domovoyd – Oh, Sensibility Review
“Finland has a dark legacy within the subterranean world of doom metal. Browsing the Encyclopaedia Metallum’s list of Finnish bands reveals the likes of funeral doom pioneers Thergothon and Skepticism, as well as other underground stalwarts of the genre such as Wormphlegm, Shape of Despair and Stabat Mater, to name a few. Indeed, the Finns do not fuck around with their doom – perversion, depression, sadism and Lovecraftian horror is the name of the game. Even the more traditionally oriented Reverend Bizarre was similarly steeped in lyrical and musical despondency alongside their trademark tongue-in-cheek snarkiness. Yet, here we have relative newcomers Domovoyd. Somewhat of an anomaly within the country’s pitch-black doom metal reputation, Domovoyd is a stoner doom group that looks to the likes of Electric Wizard, Sleep and The Sweet Leaf for inspiration.” A new and exciting band and a review of same by a new and exciting writer for AMG. JF Williams is here to discuss doom, stoner rock and all things Sabbath worshipping.
Nachtmystium – Silencing Machine Review
This post has been removed because it promoted Nazi or Nazi-adjacent metal bands or musicians. We apologize.
