The fusion of black metal and doom is a finicky one. With a vast repertoire in both reported palettes, the sounds and combinations are as diverse and unique. Spain’s Dantalion specializes in a blend of the Gothic doom enchantments of My Dying Bride or Saturnus and the lightless whimpers of Silencer or Lifelover. Their ninth full-length Fatum is as melancholic and hopeless as its themes suggest: the inevitability of fate.” Doom looping.
“When we discuss this majesty in metal, common threads lead to Fleshgod Apocalypse and Septicflesh and their ominous orchestras, the strength of battle in the rhythms of Bathory and Amon Amarth, while colossal vastness grants Ahab its weight or Ataraxie its bleakness. Germany’s The Circle utilizes all of the above in its dense and expansive blend of melodic death, doom, and black metal, capped off by symphonic soundscapes and a Gothic vocal style.” Might, majesty, and muscle.
“Grief is both intensely personal, and a commonality between us all. This admixture of the private and the relatable can make music through which it is channeled incredibly powerful. In a genre like doom, already associated with the melancholy and the morose, these emotions fit naturally and reinforce both the sense of sadness and the potency of the music itself. The recent output of Swallow the Sun initially springs to mind. Death of Giants is another such act.” Giant feelz.
“Carma is a quartet from Coimbra, Portugal, also home to Ossadas’ muse: the Conchada Cemetery. This burial site is not only of morbid intrigue but also packed with architectural interest, serving Coimbra’s wealthiest families as far back as 1860. In true funeral doom fashion, Ossadas is as majestic as it is morbid, melody coursing through each movement as the black metal sharpens the mammoth doom riffs.” Home of the grave.
“The follow-up to 2019’s Drifting Towards Inevitable Death, this is the second full-length from God Disease. The band’s early work, beginning with 2014 EP, Abyss Cathedral, was very much death metal oriented. But, over the band’s three subsequent EPs and Drifting …, the trio increasingly embraced doom in its sound.” Faith infection.
A rare double review arrives with Steel Druhm and Doom_et_Al offering disparate takes on Pale Existence by Greek melodic doom-death outfit Ocean of Grief. Will it be clear sailing or storming seas (ov deep sadness)?
“How I came to pen this review is kind of a funny story. Upon entering our promo pit and undergoing de-lousing, this record was tagged as death doom. Whether that was an honest mistake or something more nefarious is an ongoing discussion. The advance material does tout a guest spot by Jaani Peuhu, briefly a member of death doom luminaries Swallow the Sun (more on that later), but Steel has also openly admitted he sometimes lays promo traps for unsuspecting writers to unwittingly claim metalcore. Spectrums, the debut full-length by Saudi one-man band Dusk, has nary a hint of death doom. I’ll give you one guess what it is.” Traps in the glooming.
“After submerging myself in copious death metal throughout January and early February, Steel‘s well-seasoned body needed a soak in the soothing tides of funerary doom-death. And so I happened upon the sophomore release by Portugal’s Oak. The side project of Gaerea lead guitarist/vocalist, Guilherme Henriques and featuring various current and former Gaerea members, it attempts a style far afield from what that black metal outfit is known for. This is classic funeral doom death across the boards, though it has a fair amount of blackened elements bubbling up as well. The gimmick here is that Disintegrate is but one 45-minute track.” Counting the rings of tragedy.
“MMXX is a very short name for a band, but it still says a lot about its story. During periods of isolation and lockdown in the titular year, Andrea Chiodetti (ex-The Foreshadowing), Jesse Haff (Daylight Dies), and Egan O’Rourke (Daylight Dies) formed something of a doom metal supergroup, based in the United States and Italy, and began writing music inspired by the events happening around them. From there, the project has grown ambitiously—now signed with Candlelight Records, the band brought on guest musician after guest musician to form something of a dark Avantasia-like project.” Sacred cargo or suspicious package?
“Look, let’s cut to the chase here, Monuments of Grief is, unsurprisingly, bleak as all fuck. With an album title like that, released under the nom de guerre The Sombre and as the followup to Shapeless Misery, there is no levity, no joy and no whimsy to be found here. Monuments of Grief is just that, a towering obelisk of doom that drags the listener down into a hopeless pit of despair, from whence one can look up at the light but with absolutely no hope of reaching it.” Sweet grief.
