YOB

Cough – Still They Pray Review

By Grymm on May 27, 2016 in 2016, American Metal, Doom Metal, Relapse, Reviews, Doom Metal, 15 comments

“There comes a time in life when you need to walk away from something for a little while to appreciate what you have. Whether it’s painting, turning wood, or writing music reviews, you eventually reach a point when you have to step away from what gives you life in order to recharge and attack it with renewed focus and energy. Playing in a band is no different. Virginia’s Cough took a much-needed five year break after touring for their last album, 2010’s Ritual Abuse, and are back with their first for Relapse, the ominously titled Still They Pray, and if anything, the time off did them a world of good.” Breaks are good.

Vhöl – Deeper Than Sky Review

By Dr. Fisting on October 21, 2015 in 2015, American Metal, Heavy Metal, Profound Lore Records, Progressive Metal, Rating, Reviews, 31 comments

“Bay area supergroup Vhöl seemed to come out of nowhere with their self-titled 2013 debut. Led by Hammers of Misfortune/Ludicra guitarist John Cobbett, Vhöl contains members from both bands but proved to be a different beast entirely, combining disparate elements and metal subgenres into something truly original. Two years later, the follow-up Deeper Than Sky arrives, and given the band’s pedigree and the quality of the debut, my expectations are high.” The Doctor has a man crush.

Monolord – Vænir Review

By Roquentin on April 28, 2015 in 2015, Doom Metal, Reviews, RidingEasy Records, Stoner Rock, Swedish Metal, Doom Metal, Stoner Metal, Stoner Rock, 7 comments

“The first long length from Gothenburg doomsters Monolord, last year’s Empress Rising, enjoyed a surprising level of success and acclaim, the likes of which is usually the result of a combination of solid, but not great music and circumstances which fall under the banner of “hype.” Releasing a second album just a year later and following such a highly esteemed record made more likely the possibility of the enthusiasm bubble bursting. Vænir (named after Sweden’s largest lake) could have easily turned out a dud.” Hype, drama, doom – it’s all here, folks.

Snailking – Storm Review

By Jean-Luc Ricard on September 16, 2014 in 2014, ConSouling Sounds, Doom Metal, Reviews, Sludge, Stoner Rock, Swedish Metal, Doom Metal, 11 comments

“Wikipedia has an interesting list of artists that have taken their monikers from other bands’ song titles. I used to think this signaled a lack of creativity (Funeral for a Friend, Gamma Ray, Godsmack), but when you see that the likes of Overkill, Radiohead and The Sisters of Mercy also took this approach, you realize it’s not a reliable indicator. What to expect, then, from a sludge/doom band that names itself after an Ufomammut record? Snailking is certainly a good choice – you can probably guess the band’s genre even without knowing the name’s etymology – but do they manage to channel their nominal inspiration’s flair for creating heavy, psychedelic masterpieces that don’t require you to be stoned off your tits to enjoy?” Haha…he said “tits.”

YOB – Clearing the Path to Ascend Review

By Roquentin on August 30, 2014 in 2014, American Metal, Doom Metal, Neurot Records, Reviews, Sludge, Doom Metal, Sludge, 11 comments

“Eugene, Oregon’s YOB have come a long way since their beginnings way back into the nineties. They started their career on a high note by churning out a pretty unique beast of an album, Elaborations of Carbon, whose mad, gigantic sound would become the band’s trademark. By 2005, albums like The Unreal Never Lived ensured them the status of one of the frontrunners of the sludge/doom scene and following that record, the band went on a two-year hiatus which looked like a permanent disbandment at the time. When they came back from the dead, fuelled by the perseverance of mastermind Mike Scheidt, it was clear that YOB underwent some kind of transformation, which was reflected on the following two albums. Taking that into account, the expectations and fears for their first new material in three years were running high through a mist of uncertainties and worries about the direction the band would take.” YOB is love, but is YOB still YOB? YOB!

Kongh – Sole Creation Review

By Alex Franquelli on February 5, 2013 in 2013, 3.5, Agonia Records, Doom Metal, Reviews, Sludge, Swedish Metal, Doom Metal, Sludge Metal, 2 comments

Quite an epic album. The fuzz is there in all its imperfect majesty, while the pace is as slow as ever, bringing back the doom where it belongs: in the realm of repetitions, through think layers of narcotic sounds. Overall, the final result is a solid evolution from the psychedelic throes of Shadows of the Shapeless, but whoever (well, everyone) says that Kongh sound like Yob is right. And yet they’re wrong at the same time [Oh God! Which is it!? — AMG], since the sound these three lost souls from Nässjö and Småland (that’s southern Sweden, for the most curious nerds amongst yourselves) seem to enjoy touching on the likes of Alice in Chains (“Skymning”), Mastodon (“Sole Creation”) and Brooklyn’s own Tombs.

Pilgrim – Misery Wizard Review

By Steel Druhm on February 1, 2012 in 2012, 3.0, American Metal, Doom Metal, Metal Blade, Reviews, Doom Metal, 5 comments

Is lumbering, elephantine doom your thing? Well, it had better be if you plan on spending quality time with Rhode Island doom-sayers, Pilgrim. That’s because their Misery Wizard debut serves up six ginomous slices of crawling, droning, monolithic doom with all the subtlety of a steel cage wrestling match. Do you think Saint Vitus and Reverend Bizarre are slow? Pilgrim is slower. Think Cathedral has some huge sounding riffs? Pilgrim has bigger ones. In a doom pissing contest, these chaps are mellow yellow. To help explain their sound, I’ve compiled a short list of things that move faster than Pilgrim. These include: octogenarians with bad knees, glaciers, evolution and innovation in black metal. Yep, Pilgrim is mighty slow. For a power trio, they make a lot of racket and stay true to the old school style of Sabbath-infused dirgery. They aren’t innovative or particularly dynamic and at times, they can get rather tiresome and tedious, even for a doom fanboy like Steel Druhm. Because of that last factoid, Misery Wizard is an album intended only for tried-and-true doom-hounds who don’t suffer from the slightest trace of ADD [I’ll be over here, looking at moss. – AMG]. If your mind tends to wander, or drone makes you snooze, skip this release, or patience you’ll lose (HA! I waxed poetic).

Zebulon Pike – Space is the Corpse of Time Review

By Natalie Zed on January 17, 2012 in 2012, 4.5, American Metal, Reviews, Unsigned Bands, 3 comments

One of the simplest facts about Zebulon Pike is that they are a band based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After that, things become much more complicated, as they engage in a genre of music that can only be described as auditory mad science. Formed in 2002, every single one of their albums has been a brain-demolishing piece of experimentation: And Blood Was Passion in 2004, The Deafening Twilight in 2006, and Instransience in 2008. With each release, they have become more dense, more intelligent, more volatile. Space Is the Corpse of Time continues this progression, spiralling out in a universe of it’s own making.