Winter

Goden – Beyond Darkness Review

By Dear Hollow on May 5, 2020 in Reviews, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Sludge Metal, 11 comments

“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.

Cultic – High Command Review

By Mark Z. on April 4, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Eleventh Key Records, Reviews, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 77 comments

“Celtic Frost‘s music was simple yet influential. But there’s a problem with simple yet influential music: it’s easy to play, and thus you’re going to have a lot of bad bands try to play it. Still, for the longest time I couldn’t really think of a particularly awful group that sounded like early Celtic Frost. Well, you know what they say: if you spend long enough poking around, you never know what you’ll dig up. Here, amidst the remains of half-baked riffs and ideas long ago discarded by young groups who knew they could do better, I’ve uncovered a true stinker of an album, a record that I question how it ever came into being: High Command, the debut full-length by Pennsylvania’s Cultic.” Celtic Lost.

Shrine of the Serpent – Entropic Disillusion Review

By Grymm on May 1, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Memento Mori, Reviews, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 47 comments

“I don’t know what it is with the water in Portland, Oregon lately that’s causing this recent influx of heady, destructive doom/death metal. With Bell Witch dropping an almost-90-minute megaton bomb in Mirror Reaper last year, Portland is starting to become the city where all things slow and guttural go to blossom into incredible, epic-length cascades of the downtrodden. Throwing their hats into that collective summoning circle is upstarts Shrine of the Serpent.” Dirges over Portlandia.

Antichrist – Pax Moriendi Review

By Mark Z. on March 15, 2018 in 2018, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Iron Bonehead Productions, Reviews, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 49 comments

“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.

Fen – Winter Review

By Madam X on March 13, 2017 in 2017, Ambient Metal, Black Metal, Code666 Records, Doom Metal, English Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Post-metal, Reviews, Ambient Metal, Black Metal, Doom Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Post-Metal, 34 comments

“Judging by the hype I’m picking up over this, Fen‘s newest release, that’s probably as much as I need to tell you about the London-based band. Punxsutawney Phil caught a glimpse of his shadow and foresaw more winter on its way, looks like he wasn’t wrong after all!” Winter is long.

Oceans of Slumber – Winter Review

By Angry Metal Guy on March 7, 2016 in 2016, American Metal, Century Media, Death Metal, Hard Rock, Melodic Death Metal, Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock, 84 comments

Oceans of Slumber is walking a very unique path. A combination of melodic death, doom and black metal influenced by the Century Black roster from about 1998, Winter blends that with a sadboy metal and alternative rock base. The album is beautiful, mysterious, and oddly chaotic. It’s also really good.

Apostate – Time of Terror Review

By Jean-Luc Ricard on March 3, 2015 in 2015, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Reviews, Ukrainian Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 21 comments

“Apostate are one of the Ukraine’s oldest doom bands, but have only released one full-length prior to Time of Terror. Forming in 1993, they suffered a series of splits before eventually reforming this millennium to release 2010’s Trapped in a Sleep.” Old band, new lineup, no producer?

Heavydeath – Eternal Sleepwalker Review

By Mark Z. on March 2, 2015 in 2015, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Reviews, Svart Records, Swedish Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 11 comments

“Today’s metal underground is more complex than ever. The Internet has opened up every time period and obscure scene for both exploration and exploitation, resulting in genres and subgenres spliced apart, hybridized, fused with non-metal elements, and shat out in an accelerating vortex of name-your-price Bandcamp zip files and ostensibly enthusiastic blog posts that seem to proclaim every half-assed side project as the best thing since Black Sabbath.” Why, we’d never!

Obituary – Inked In Blood Review

By Madam X on October 26, 2014 in 2014, American Metal, Death Metal, Relapse, Reviews, Death Metal, 25 comments

“Way back when Obituary were big, they delivered the kind of ripping death metal that rivaled Florida peers Malevolent Creation, Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel and Deicide. To say that they once peeled the skin from your face is no understatement… think back to the pungent stench of Slowly We Rot and Cause of Death. It was them along with Winter that first incorporated the Celtic Frost dirge element into death metal, and when combined with John Tardy’s lunatic vocals left you wondering whether music could get any heavier.” The old boys are back to kill once again, but are the tools still sharp enough?

Incantation – Dirges of Elysium Review

By Steel Druhm on June 21, 2014 in 2014, American Metal, Death Metal, Listenable Records, Reviews, Death Metal, 14 comments

“Wow, another accessible Incantation album. As you remove your jaw from your keyboard, let me make clear, the use of the word “accessible” in the same sentence as Incantation does not denote any sell out or radical style shift. Instead, these long running murk merchants continued what they started on 2012s Vanquish in Vengeance and eased back on the dismal sludge.” Folks, this is where the slime live.