Category: Doom

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LUST WITCH – We All Die Alone – REVIEW

 

Lust Witch’s deput, We All Die Alone, is four  tracks of murky and sludgy doom crawling out from the depths of Indianapolis. Interestingly enough, the 4 song titles are taken from the words in the album title with “We,” being the first track and so on. With that thought process in mind, this album is meant to be enjoyed as a complete listen.  Each track melds into the next. Don’t put this one on shuffle.

“We,” starts off softly with an eerie tone coupled with some creepy chants in the background. Lust Witch slowly build up the temp and intensity into the second track, “All.” The tones are a little harsher and the sense of dread still hangs thick in the air. With “Die,” the longest track on the recording, Lust Witch continues with more vocal work and more thick and chunky riffs. Throughout the first 3 tracks you can really sense that Lust Witch is building to something.

“Alone,” closes things out starting with some thick and nasty bass grooves and trench deep guitar tones. As the song title would suggest, “Alone,” has an unshakable depressing feeling of isolation and loneliness and despair. Everything your blackened little heart wants from a Doom EP.

 

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THE HUMAN RACE IS FILTH – Echo Chambers – REVIEW

 

You gotta love that band name. Straight to the point and utterly complete statement. The Human Race is Filth or THIRF for short,  was formed back in 2017 by a bunch of veterans of the Maryland and Pennsylvania extreme music scenes. With a shit load of experience between the band members, THRIF deliver exactly what you would expect on this short EP.

THRIF does a great job playing blistering old school Grind. The closing track, “Shit States USA,” is just a little over 30 seconds and length but starts out with a cool groove before going into full blown blast mode. It’s one of those tracks that remind of the early days of Napalm Death where you would want repeat the shortest tracks over and over.  The group does take time to slow things down a bit in parts. “Mindless Thoughts,” starts with a groovy crawling bass that is followed by a creeping guitar before the blast beats hit What sets THRIF apart is their ability to blend in some Sludge and Doom elements that perfectly fill out a song. It dosent feel at all out of place and still delivers a meaty hook to the jaw.

At less than 10 minutes in length, you can spin Echo Chambers a few time before clocking in to work.

 

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VELICASTE/TUSK – Split – REVIEW

This split is so jam packed full of thick and murky sludge material that it is highly recommended that you put on a good pair of rain boots and a chest wader before diving into this release. Veilcastle and Tusk each contributed 3 tracks of full of doom, dark atmosphere and despair.

Veilcastle opens the split with “Dust and Bone,” a dark and warm track with some clean deep and massive vocals. “Mirrors,” has a strong groovy and stoner metal vibe with deep grooves that plod along. Their final contribution to this split is a cover of The Misfit’s “Return of the Fly”, which is an interesting choice. They manage to take the original punk classic, cover it in a thick sludge and turn it into a much more haunting take than the original.

Tusk take over on the second half of the split with a more sinister take on the genre. The vocals have a much more sinister feel that deliver an all together darker sound. Their first track “Disquiet,” benefits from the use of keyboards and synths for a truly darkened and uneasily feeling. “Entering the Flesh,” offers some clean vocals into the mix for a slightly less heavy track but still manages to pack plenty of atmosphere. A cover of Cannibal Corpse’s “Festering in the Crypt,” closes things out. Tusk’s vocal delivery is sinister here and their murky approach to the song does justice to the original.

 

 

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MAGNATOR – Crushed – REVIEW

We continue the Sludgecore assault this month with the impressive debut album from “Four piece Amplifier Sadists” out of Manchester, New Hampshire, Magnator.  With a heavy nod to the large soundscape sounds of Neurosis and a heap load of groove and a few twists and turns into elements of Black Metal, Magnator have a lot going on with their sound. Thankfully, it’s never a unharmonious change instead everything is pumped out fluidly.

Throughout the album, Magnator has a ton of heavy, crushing riffs and murky bass lines that create the perfect atmospheric listening experience between calm and chaos. The intro bass to “Loving You Was Killing Me,” pulls you in instantly.  John Funk’s drum work keep a steady and powerful groove while the vocals range from soft to harsh for the perfect dramatic feeling.

Magnator’s mellow stoner sound shines on the title track, “Crushed.” The almost eerie and dreamlike sound comes across calm and aggressive at the same time. The vocals have an interesting layered effect that works well here. The riffs here are perfectly balanced. Bonus points for the perfect balance of synth added to this track; it hits just right.

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CULTIC – Of Fire and Sorcery – REVIEW

Upon gazing at the album cover, one may think they are in for an onslaught of over the top and epic Power Metal. The recording opens does open with a powerful sounding orchestral  intro that feels like march to slaying an army of dragons. This is followed by some of the murkiest, sludge and Doom filled riffs to assault your senses. Cultic pack a ton of atmosphere here without forsaking any of the heaviness.

The entire album plods along with an unending dreary filling and heavy dreary filling. The heavy atmosphere at points feels like a sonic dreamlike journey. Adding heavier then dark matter guitar tones ,eerie bass and thunderous drums on top of this leads just amplifies their sound.  Brian Magar’s guttural vocal work is impressive, oozing with heaviness and even haunting especially when he adds in some morbid whispers into the song.

Cultic do a damn fine job of creating an early Doom/Sludge sound while adding some modern touches. The electronics used are in forefront, yet never feel forced blending in perfectly with their murky sound. If you are new to listening to Doom/Sludge this is the album for you as the music is easily accessible and still heavy and murky as fuck. If Doom is your jam, check this album out now!

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SNOGG – Dan, ko jer vrag salo – REVIEW

Snogg’s offering to March’s subscribers is an epic 20 minute single track. The song, titled “Dan, ko je vrag vzel šalo,” translates to, “The Day the Devil Took the Joke.” Throughout the song listeners will be treated to several tempo and vocal changes. There are elements of experimental Black Metal, noise and general strangeness on this track. Despite the different styles included in this piece, it connects and flows well into each style without any jarring changes.

If you are looking for something to different and far from the norm, “Dan, ko je vrag vzel šalo,” is unquestionably worthy of your attention. With so many musical changes and styles coming at you, this track just begs for multiple listens. So pour yourself a cup of your favorite Trve Kvlt coffee, kick off your shoes and take a journey with Snogg.

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NO COFFIN – All Life Must End – REVIEW

No Coffin waste no time getting their point across in this short but brutal 4 song EP.  “.45” starts out the EP like a shot from a …well… It’s fast and ferocious but also slows the tempo a bit and adds some nice Doom elements as well “Fire is the Cleanser” is a killer thrash fest that instantly grabs you by the throat and doesn’t loosen its grip with a pummeling chorus, fast and dirty guitars and destructive drumming. “All Life Must End,” is a fitting selection for the title track with some great dual vocal work and throbbing guitars that smack you straight in the forehead. The last track gives you a moment to pick yourself off the floor. No Coffin slows things down to a crawl with a slow, sludgy cover of Portishead’s “Over.”

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CULTIC – High Command – Review

 

 

The production on Cultic’s, “High Command,” is as thick and murky as the material itself. The album starts out with “The Conqueror,” that plods along with raw riffs that perfectly blend in with the old school production on this album. This song sets the tone for the rest of your listen, so if you are looking for some sort of studio polished banger, you may want to skip this one. However, if you dig your doom raw and with all of the production values of an old school cassette recording from a friend’s basement, this one’s for you. The rawness of this recording, however works perfectly for the Doom and Sludge sound that Cultic are going for here. The primitive and early Celtic Frost vibe work both for and against what Cultic are trying to achieve here, as the album can tend to become a tad bit repetitive causing some of the songs to blend together. There still is plenty to enjoy here and is not a bad start for their first album.

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AUTOKRATOR – Persecution – REVIEW

Autokrator are  back and ready to rattle your eardrums with some intense dark, murky and plodding Doom Metal to get the new year started off on the right path. The vocals are low and inhuman matching perfectly with they muddled guitar tones present on this release. Tracks like “DCLXVI, ” and “The Great Persecution”pick up the pace and send the sound into more of Black/Death combo with punishing blast beats and haunting solos giving the album some more variety. “Caesar Nerva Traianus,” was the real stand out song for me. Starting out with an epically powerful march with some really cool battleground sound effects thrown in for good measure that sounds like it belongs on the score of a big budget movie. The droning guitar tones and eerie chanting vocals make a haunting and eerie listen. The album in full hits like a bulldozer thanks to how smooth the tracks blend into each other.  “Persecution,” is raw and punishing with enough mix of style to remain fresh and accessible to all fans of Extreme Metal.

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SIX OF SWORDS – Regime Decay – REVIEW

 

 

Ontario’s Six of Swords bring some heavy, groovy and brutal punishment with their latest beast, “Regime Decay – Polar Vortex.,” which is a pairing of their first two EPs. While playing old school Death Metal has become popular in the extreme metal scene in recent years, Six of Swords manages to retain the old school vibe while still managing to include plenty of modern Death Metal elements. Think Morbid Angel meets Gatecreeper and you’ll get a good idea of what Six of Swords is trying (and succeeding) to accomplish.

What makes this a great listen is the amount of variety with each track. With that being said, there is not anything fancy or over the top to be found here. No blast beats, no break downs and no overly complicated or technical guitar riffs. No. This is just some down and dirty Death Metal. Sometimes, simpler is better. Some songs are full of complete brutality, while others chug along with some fantastic grooves. This is where Six of Swords excels. When they slow things down, they lay down some incredibly heavy stuff with great riffs and sick vocals. Vocalist Josh Gordon kills it on this release.  If you dig on Doom Metal, you are gonna love some of this serious sick and sludgy material. If you aren’t a fan of Doo, there is still plenty of Thrashy and speed to keep you raging here and sending you straight into the pit.