Thou

Lord Mantis – Universal Death Church Review

Lord Mantis – Universal Death Church Review

You would think after ten years of existence and an ever increasing stable of writers seeking out the new and the good, that there wouldn’t be any notable metal bands left who haven’t been reviewed on AMG. I suppose it’s a testament to the sheer volume of the metalverse that this isn’t true. I was shocked when I realized that Akerblogger‘s review of Thou’s 2018 release Magus was our first time covering one of the most prolific American metal bands of the last 15 years. Equally great was my disbelief when I found that no writer before me had squatter’s rights to Universal Death Church, the first full-length in five years by Chicago’s blackened sludge veterans Lord Mantis.” Always room for one more.

Void King – Barren Dominion Review

Void King – Barren Dominion Review

Void King is a four-piece stoner doom metal band from Indianapolis and Barren Dominion is their sophomore effort. Paying homage to doom greats like Sleep, Electric Wizard, and Goatsnake, while channeling amp- and pedal-abusing monoliths, these fucking stoners are set to drown listeners in THC-saturated waves of distortion. Do they succeed? Or will they end up only being the bulls-“high” of endless stoner doom puns?” Fuzz bombs.

Full of Hell – Weeping Choir Review

Full of Hell – Weeping Choir Review

Trumpeting Ecstasy’s untempered viciousness and surprising experimentation was a breath of putrid air amongst the usual Cherd-bait of 2017. Had I been employed by this hallowed site at the time, I would have seriously considered slapping a 4.5 on it and endured the cries of ‘Overrating bastard!’ hurled at me from my superiors. So when I saw follow-up Weeping Choir pop into our promo bin, I jumped on it faster than Game of Thrones’ quality tanked once it outstripped the books.” Hallowed grind.

Dirge – Ah Puch Review

Dirge – Ah Puch Review

“So the good news is that today we’ll be taking a field trip, we’ll be heading into the jungle so dress accordingly; the betterer news is that this is a time travel episode! Drawing lyrical inspiration from history and mythology alike, India’s Dirge are taking us to Central America, circa Hernán Cortés’ storied rape of romp through the Yucatán Peninsula. This box-approved bidness is a rather violent affair in and of itself, so hurry up and get your seatbelts fastened. Or don’t, yo. Your safety is none of my concern, I’m just here to tell you about a wicked good doom album.” Exploratory doom.

Thou – Magus Review

Thou – Magus Review

Thou” are a band constantly mutating. Obscurity and convolution are key forces of their cryptic, esoteric approach to sludge and doom. Three vastly different sounding EPs have already been released this year, a trilogy that acts as a prelude to Magus, their fifth full-length that unifies and reconciles the disparate nature of EPs The House Primordial, Incosolable and Rhea Sylvia. 2014’s Heathen hit me hard – the band’s combination of monstrous sludge noise, ethereal melodies, solemn interludes, cryptic poetic lyrics, and painful snarling vocals mesmerized me, at first at least. Spells can be broken.

Lurk – Fringe Review

Lurk – Fringe Review

“Hailing from this hallowed homeland of haunted hopelessness and hunting for a home in your heart are Lurk, a four-piece sludge-doom act who really know how to pick an album cover. Fringe is the band’s third full-length and, as you can probably guess, there will be no happiness here, but that’s not always a bad thing, is it?” No joy, no love in Finland.

Hexer – Cosmic Doom Ritual Review

Hexer – Cosmic Doom Ritual Review

“The titillating album title Cosmic Doom Ritual jumped out at me for being both a bluntly simple title and one that I expected would lead me into the atmospheric realm of my dreams. Each word stood out and beckoned me. Cosmic: I love all things space — Darkspace, Mare Cognitum, and Midnight Odyssey; Doom: I love all things, well, doom; Ritual: I love anything reminiscent of the primal sound of early Neurosis and Isis. These three things combined made me froth at the mouth like a dog with rabies.” Into the void with rabid dogs.