“Does innovation matter in metal? I often seem to find myself saying something along the lines of: “[insert band name here] isn’t really doing anything new here but perhaps they’re not really trying to.” Is ‘not doing anything new’ inherently a criticism? There’s no point asking London, UK’s Green Lung, as they’ve been too busy to care, absolutely nailing their brand of Black Sabbath worship.” Ancient airs.
“Autumn brings about a slow but captivating decay of leaves turning colors and dying, falling to the ground in a beautiful, somber reminder that life can change in a matter of years to a matter of seconds. So, with the passing of the seasons, now is a great time to pour a glass of your favorite spirit, sit in front of a fire, and partake in Companion, the sixth full-length by legendary Finnish funeral merchants, Skepticism.” Of doom and ice.
“Steel Druhm recently announced loudly to the writers that someone should review some sludgy doom record that was probably pretty good. I fell over my desk and several trash cans reaching from the promo. Turns out, I was duped. First of all, Sweden’s Heathen Rites are not sludge.” Sludge misjudge.
“I’m not the biggest fan of the so called “super group” or “all star collaboration.” Nine times out of ten these end up pointless vanity projects with little to recommend them beyond the cast of players. Are there exceptions? Sure, that’s why I said NINE out of ten. The Limit definitely qualifies as a super group, featuring members of Pentagram (Bobby Liebling) and 70s punk icons The Stooges (Jimmy Recca) and Testors (Sonny Vincent). In an effort to pay homage to the 70s punk scene the members cut their teeth in, Caveman Logic is a collection of hard charging garage rock tunes with a pronounced punk attitude.” Early men doing primitive rock,
“Dark Buddha Rising is a Finnish band, formed in 2007 and packing six full-lengths and an EP under its belt. For a collective that channels drone, doom, and sludge (you’d be safe to throw some stoner doom in there too), their megalithic songwriting is surprisingly restrained, relying on simple bass riffs, distant vocals, and other instruments to communicate their psychedelic soundscape as it reaches a drone climax.” Buddha don’t play.
“What do you get when two stalwarts of the British stoner and doom scenes come together to make a record they felt was too experimental for their existing projects? Self Hypnosis is the brainchild of Camel of Doom main man Kris Clayton, partnering with Esoteric’s vocalist, guitarist and occasional keyboardist Greg Chandler. The trio is rounded out by drummer Tom Valleley. Combining elements of Clayton and Chandler’s other projects, Self Hypnosis are now ready to drop their avant-garde debut, Contagion of Despair.” Doom trancers.
“Readers of this site, and fans in general, know of Aleah Stanbridge. After doing some work on her own and collaborating with The Mission’s Andy Cousin in That Which Remains, she laid down guest vocals for Swallow the Sun and Amorphis before forming Trees of Eternity with Swallow the Sun guitarist Juha Raivio. Trees of Eternity released Hour of the Nightingale in 2016, months after Aleah tragically passed away from cancer at age 39. Since then, Raivio has been assembling and touching up Aleah’s work, and he’s finally presenting it to us now in the form of a double album.” Music is immortal.
“Montreal’s Blight have been around over a decade, having released a slew of EPs and demos, but never a full-length… until now! Temple of Wounds brings the quartet’s Luciferian onslaught to the masses, and in doing so, it made me feel even grimier than before.” Filthy wounds and dirty medicine.
“We’ve discussed revivals before, and tributes aplenty. Just look at Sweven’s Morbus Chron tribute–kind of a bit of both, and to mixed reactions. The list goes on: Black Sabbath and Heaven and Hell; Immortal and Abbath. Musicians looking to revive an old project under a new name must tread lightly, as we don’t want Morbus Chron 2.0, for example, but something that acknowledges the past while taking a fresh step forward. Today’s topic of discussion, New York’s Winter, a relatively quiet 90’s death metal act that nevertheless influenced the development of the death/doom niche with its murky and sprawling tunes.” Winter is coming back.
“Finnish forest folk band Hexvessel’s music conjures images of druids and deep, misty woods, and I’ve been a fan since Steel covered No Holier Temple. I love this sort of mystical folk-influenced music, a genre my partner describes as “witchy music.” Right after I wrote about All Tree, I saw them play an enchanting show in an incense-steeped church in London. And now, of course, we’re all stuck in quarantine and unable to actually go wander in the woods. You’d think, then, that I should be excited for another album.” Forest fever.
