Into Darkness - Into Darkness [Demo]

Death/doom is a genre that has not been cultivated as frequently as its notorious counterpart, old school death metal, and this is not because it is not preferred among bands, but because few are able to fabricate it in it's ways of being gory, obsessed and stretched upon dark imagery. There has been a few acts in latter times, such as Undergang or Anhedonist who have worked these mysterious and ghastly nuances of death/doom as if contemplating a multi-threaded web, but the majority of the genre, as far as I can see, focuses on the inclinations of death/doom that developed after the primal beginnings of its aesthetics, mainly having a bloodline on par with such Gothic death/doom bands like later Paradise Lost or As I Lay dying; and even that vein of bands are now tainting their efficiency with modern influences, and thus a handful of long-lasting heroes are now left to carry this archaic art. Fortunately, after bastardizing thrash metal with a horrid and substantial wave of retro-thrash acts, Italy kicks in, with a brand new face in the cemetery - Into Darkness, probably one of the brightest hopes of the revival of old school death/doom.

This one-year-old trio does not rupture into an assertive display o completely fresh material, instead, as I said, it's a concise offering to the olden masters themselves. Mainly the band fluctuates between Derketa and Mythic, boiling in bleak broth of early Asphyx, and I was also surprised to hear no trace of Incantation here, because, after so many gimmicks the legend has become the trademark sound of countless albums, yet here, there's no infatuation with those indulgent inclinations, which is, in a way, a breath of fresh air. Into Darkness like cosmic and esoteric horror, galactic evil, and stuff like that which can pull you further in to the primeval coordination of the daunting gears that get the formula of the album going. Into Darkness can be ferocious at times, abruptly breaking into carnal and ruinous assaults, but the band likes to channel between heftier and sludgier riffs, keeping the pace volatile and fresh.

The demo has another upside besides its astronomic adoration. The tone is crisp but slightly cavern-riddled, which is perfect in bestowing that crisp and slightly haunting sense upon the listener, and the vocals, fierce and uproarious in their own voracious manner, are perfect for ripping flesh out of deaf ears, settling somewhere between Van Drunnen and John Walker of Cancer, and inimical overtone possessing the gutturals. With it's atmosphere, it's canal efficiency and every other dark aspect it possesses, Into Darkness have truly won my respect. It's a long way from here to composing a full-length, but already they're mustering a fairly convincing audience, and have signed with the great Unholy Domain Records for further trudging damage, perfecting their rather shortly anticipated kill streak. Well, almost. The band will still need to strive to obtain dominance over the gory seat of death/doom, but I have hope, that one day, the combo shall be complete.

Highlights:
Into Darkness
Shadows

Rating: 82%

Asphyx - Deathhammer

Asphyx being pretty much my favorite band out of The Netherlands (closely followed by Pestilence), I was very, and I do mean very excited for a new album from the Dutch crushers. Asphyx are probably amongst the few groups who principally kept true to their traditional veins, and although some of their material fail to reach the same peak as their archaic masterpieces ''The Rack'' or ''The Last One On Earth'', they still somehow managed to keep the bloodline pure, and in 2012, they closely follow the steps of their lauded sophomore and gouge out another demolishing, percussive death/doom bombast. Quite literally, Asphyx's music is one of the heftiest around, in any genre, even though the heaviness usually comes from the overt plainness and the heavyweight thumps of the drums, reinforcing the delivery. On ''Deathhammer'', Asphyx scarcely expands its boundaries, often plodding on heavily around the same path that was already manufactured by their primal footings, but if you're a die-hard fan, or even appeased with heavy and bludgeoning thrashy death metal, than this is one hammer you should get yourself slammed with, now.

The first thing I realized is that the songs are structured and organized rather oddly; the Dutch maniacs don't rivet a whole bunch of three to four minute songs to proclaim the gathering an album, they have songs with architecture deviating substantially from each other, each song being either very brief of long, and the elements jammed into each of these tracks render the listener perplexed to these angular, structural staccatos. This is, of course, only the album's architectural format, but it's swerving penchant serves as a crucial element to send harrowing waves of stress and pain towards the listener. What I'm talking abut is simply a tendency concerning the band's upright and queer changes in pace and song lengths, and albeit that may sound like the least important implement affecting the album, believe me, it's one thing that has a heavy effect on the album. With the first two track ''Into The Timewaste'' and the almost ludicrously short title track, you think you got away, finding yourself in a frivolous assault of angered and speedy brutality, and not Asphyx's doomier tendencies, but as the momentum swipes into the crestfallen plods of ''Minefield'', you slowly feel a dismal miasma washing over you - an unhinged slab of moist doom dabbling your skin in monotonous gore and somber depravity.

Yes, ''Minefield'' is that moody a track, and as the album wallows and blushes into another jagged twist whilst switching from ''Of The Days When Blades Turned Blunt'' to the second contemptuous and crushing mid-paced doom composition, ''Der Landser'', you'll definitely be feeling weirder than usual. So basically, this staccato of a prose makes up the anatomical basics of Asphyx's formula on this album, and whether people are content with or not, I must admit that I found it to be efficient, though not entirely original. Perhaps the album still isn't exceedingly complex and I did feel the lack of entropy, but Asphyx plays a damn well game in both styles, both the speedier and bulky incursions and the drudgy trudges; and therefore I cannot seem to dislike any kind of trait the album possesses, except its lack of originality, and even most of the negative vibes of that deterrent are marred with the sublime joy you can attain through pure old school fervor. And so the album continues to crush, until it reaches the cataphracts of an appendix, ''As The Magma Mammoth Kisses'', finalizing the brutal simplicity of doom and death. I was honestly quite trepidatious when I was first listening to the album, apprehended that it would be too plain and boring, but it was not, as I explain above, and thus, this is one death/doom record I can easily recommend. Melancholic heft.

Highlights:
Der Landser
Of The Days When The Blades Turned Blunt
Minefield
Reign Of The Brute

Rating: 86%

Mortalicum - The Endtime Prophecy

Now, I'm exceedingly content with the bands Sweden is mustering today. There's a wide range of death metal barbarians whom precede to pen songs with the aesthetics of their primal countrymen and forefathers, a score of traditional heavy metal acts, who, actually don't even sound like throwbacks even though rehash the monumental, mournful tendencies of Mercyful Fate and Maiden, dozens of metal variants who all excel in their own territory, and finally, great number of heavy/doom bands, who, I think was born of the lower, more  down tuned and despairing branch of the already common heavy metal treeline, leading to a prodigious array of bands that amalgamate the semi-drowning tendencies of the Mercyful Fate worship with hunky, monolithic guitars, and drowsy, trudging dynamics. Mortalicum  are one these so called congealments, fusing heavy and doom together, and adding kicky rock n' roll spice to get things pumping.

Mortalicum are chiefly a hard-rocking heavy metal aspect, but their style is always reminiscent of some less ponderous doom, especially when the bands decides to travel by the light of mid-paced riffs. The hard rock element is really quite an interesting element to throw in because, there always seems to be grooving slam and unavoidable catchiness in the music, and with these bluesy overtones gulping up more than half of the album's brazen inclinations, much of the music is invigorated with a bright, gleaming flame, and thus, deep, suffocating doom sequences scarcely stomp. One other thing that boasts the eloquent propensity and efficiency of the record is the hefty tone. Well, it's not exactly as corpulent or dabbling as a funeral doom tone, but the band has worked out a sublime, bulky heft with semi-bluesy undertones and a strong 70's Black Sabbath vibe underpinning its monotony, so the tone works both as an indulgent implement and a somewhat ponderous narrator.

The riffs aside, there are obviously other things on this album that makes it as good as it is; the vocals being the most momentous. Henrik Högl's vocals are immense, even more megalithic than the guitar stream going under it, and he travels proficiently in high and low notes both, and especially in ''Ballad Of  Sorrowful Man'' he exceeds and raises the point of poignancy to a new, escalated level, aplomb and secure with talent and experience. ''The Endtime Prophecy'' has its flaws of course, one being the subtle repetitiveness of the riffs. Yes, even though they have a brisk and catchy efficiency, if you behold their anatomy they really have few traits worth praising, and even fewer that stand out. This, comes from the singular focus on the heft of the tone and the delivery of the highlighted vocals, and therefore the album becomes devoid of variation and proper punishment (though I doubt that was their purpose) through its potent, visceral guitar barrages. Ultimately, though, Mortalicum did a very solid job here, and fans of heavy metal, traditional doom or bluesy metal in general should give this a try for sure.

Highlights:
When Hell Freezes Over
Dark Night
Ballad Of A Sorrowful Man

Rating: 81%

Devil Ancestry - At the Seat Of Evil Ecstasy [Demo]

It’s nice to see so many bands embracing the sluggish characteristics of old school death metal, but let’s be honest; too many bands trying to re-activate the genre’s apathetic, droning and ponderous elements by simply rehashing the instrumental aspects of Asphyx, Rottrevore, Autopsy and the like, which is admittedly nothing more than simply a monotonous version of the brutal emphasis of crunches and chugs of death metal; a poorly innovated brand to excel in. And as although I’m not scoffing at these death/doom trends, there is simply no room for the evil, bleak aura to consume and desolation to utterly aggravate the listener’s emotions, so frankly the focus of the true evil, monotonous atmosphere captured by the mighty ‘’d’’ and Winter is something we death/doom fans are devoid of. Australian act Devil Ancestry fabricate four compositions of lugubrious queerness ranging at only eight minutes in order to capture that sound which is redolent an utterly alien din of bizarre ghastliness, reeking of befouled and molested cadavers.

The main reason this act seemed so appealing to me is that their compositions are not pungent or fleshy, and such a perfect, brief demo that emphasises on nothing but the drudging ooze of the rotten, dismal sludge that it belches is certainly not something you often hear in today’s scene. In fact even the scene in the 90’s did not support such dissonant and grotesque calamities, and the closest thing I can relate this is the black/doom outfit, Mordor, a short lived group, yet incredibly disturbing and evil, calling fourth a monstrous aura upon the field. Devil Ancestry does not take on all the traits of Mordor, because some of its attributes incline towards Demilich, as the Finnish legends also had a penchant for delivering swerving pageantry, completely alien, and yet our Australian newborn does not entirely resemble Demilich either, taking on simpler chugs and queer chord progressions, dispersed and underpinned by the hefty bumps of the base.

‘’The Rib Of Adam Created Shit’’ is the demo’s starter. Once it commences the listener is indulged in a lethargic orgy of bowel transitions and all sorts of awkward quivers, and yet although it’s an alien experience from start to beginning, it’s obvious that the band does not try to pen compositions that are arduous or convoluted. The diverse spectrum of the music is actually maintained with interesting tactics. The band does not travel underneath cavernous and subterranean monoliths the whole time, but rises to the surface every now and then during its concise lifespan, and simply utters out almost indecipherable low growls whilst keeping the field dissonant and deceptive by continuously harassing the listener with discordant beats and volatile guitar thrills, simply enchanting as they rot. The final track ‘’Curious Potion’’ goes on for two and a half minutes, serving some spikier death/doom chords, all occasionally backed up by synthesizers. The guitar tone is not spiking, nor is it crunchy, but it does not fail to crush the listener while swaggering ponderously. In all its dismal, brooding and bowel-shaking sense, ‘’At The Seat Of Evil Ecstasy’’ is an intriguing listen, albeit the band doesn’t reinvent the wheel here. The demo was shamefully short, and it leaves waiting for the release of and Ep or full-length. A recommended experience for those who enjoy the dissonance of blackened death/doom.

Highlights:

The Rib Of Adam Created Shit

Keeper

Rating: 82,5%

Altar Of Oblivion - Grand Gesture Of Defiance

Brooding over the latest Ep of the Danish doom bringers, ‘’Salvation’’, I never actually saw this, an album coming. Me and Altar Of Oblivion don’t really go back long, but I was quite well acquainted with their Ep which was out earlier this year, and as I was entirely pleased by the results, I rushed to obtain their latest material. I was baffled when I saw the lengthy bulk of thirty four minutes four minutes filled with completely fresh material, proving that the band is much more productive than they seem. Personal emotions aside, Altar Of Oblivion present a true magnum opus with ‘’Grand Gesture Of Defiance’’.  While the album doesn’t deviate even marginally from its predecessor, it culminates the band’s soulful, mournful aura of epic doom metal, and delivers it in a nearly flawless manner, not exceedingly sophisticated but not entirely dull or repetitive either.

Although there are many doom masters who inflict hefty exercises of crushing ponds and stomps upon the listener in a melancholic edge, there aren’t quite many bands which excel at the same extent as Altar Of Oblivion. ‘’Grand Gesture Of Defiance’’ is definitely a mournful monolith of epic pulchritude, and the majority of the record does indeed flow in a ponderous way (although still very fluent whilst doing so), but part of the melancholy comes from the subtle passages that adorn and augment its epic touch, and never is it drudgy or drowning. Lots of people compare Altar Of Oblivion to King Diamond, which is a very relevant comparison in any way. The band espouses such a melodious embellishment and disperses it throughout the album, and a heavy/doom sound is also more considerable compared to the dry doom metal tag, as the band channels into swifter, catchy excursions more often than many doom metal obelisks, leaving a sweet, forlorn and almost lamenting traditional heavy metal taste in your mouth.

Eventually, the sombre attitude of the album pervades, and another surprising aspect leaves it mark. Despite being relatively more intricate in compositions and structure than most traditional heavy metal bands, Altar Of Oblivion’s music is memorable, and you’ll find yourself murmuring the melody driven chorus more often than you’d think. The guitar tone was a disappointment at first, I must admit. While expected something just as bulky and rich as the tone on the ‘’Salvation’’ Ep, I got something that’s only half as muscular, or dense, and although the guitar flickers with lower notes just as often as it foes with higher, shriller notes, certain moments where the only thing that ruled the music was a groovy beat and choppy chug felt empty. I eventually got used to it, though, but I still think Altar Of Oblivion could have done better in the tone department, especially when it came to releasing some tasty chops.

All in all, though, ‘’Grand Gesture Of Defiance’’ proves to be a marginally better performance the fantastic Ep released before it. A beautiful churning of soulful vocals, culminating choruses and memorable patters linked together soothingly is what it is. The Danish will probably expose their poignant climax, but even they can’t reach higher heights, this stands as a beautiful monolith of sombre and epic doom metal – one that’s a guaranteed win for fans of traditional heavy, doom, and all sorts of epic metal for that matter. It’s rather a grand gesture of megalithic beauty, really, but it could also be defiant, we can never know. 

Highlights:

Where Darkness Is Light

Sentenced In Absentia

The Graveyard Of Broken Dreams

Rating: 88,5%

Hooded Menace - Effigies Of Evil

The excitement that contained me was almost overwhelming, for when I heard that the Finnish death/doom duo Hooded Menace were releasing yet a third obelisk of melancholic doom metal upon the universe I gaped in amazement for several minutes, heart pumping. Hooded Menace actually released their second monolith in 2010, only two years ago, but they’ve proven to be much fruitful for a band that maximizes the importance of technicality and melody in dense, ominous doom. Not only does the duo spew forth yet another cluster of songs, but they also fill up the missing bits and pieces in between years by doing numerous splits with famous acts, Asphyx and Horse Latitudes being some that immediately come to mind. For fans that enjoyed the sublimes darkness of richly embroidered textures of ‘’Never Cross The Dead’’, ‘’Effigies Of Evil’’ is an even more graceful colossus, with notable changes in the sound.

There are many weapons in Hooded Menace’s prolific artillery that draw the line between them and the other plague of old school death/doom bands, the most important one being their dexterousness and fearlessness of fabricating imaginative death/doom suppressing the boundaries of the classic basis that has already been played with countless times, and binding them with cumulative and beckoning melodious splendour, instrumental grace and a perfectly ominous overtone that’s reminiscent of both evil and melancholy. ‘’Never Cross The Dead’’ was a entrancing affair as it restored the decrepit sequences of melody that were almost nonexistent on the debut album, but ‘’Effigies Of Evil’’ simply thrives the band’s spectral performance even more, now bringing an epic sense into the music.

The subtle melodies are now quite tangible as their serve as a crucial fulcrum in the Finns’ third effort, backed up by crushing visceral smacks and chomps, thick and fulsome in tone. The band now fuses an even more complex array of melodies, an entwining stream of impeccable melodies diving and spreading coarsely, and yet the melodies are constructed with two individual pieces, slithering against each other. They’re two separate fragments, joining into one vein as they gradually descend along the misanthropic path the album leaves us to plod on. The riffs are so groovy and swaggering that the band occasionally lets the melodies spur with a massive momentum, and ‘’In The Dead We Dwell’’ (which also by personal favourite) is such a song, allowing the melodies to distinguish themselves in numerous and capricious emotions, effortlessly switching into one ponderous sludge groove into another.

Hooded Menace’s artillery becomes fully prepared for assault with the arrival of the vocals, implacable and churning into the swampy mixture with ease. The vocal delivery on ‘’Effigies Of Evil’’ is probably the most death-like trait that the album possesses. They’re deep growls, damp, cavernous and remote from any sort of liveliness even though the riffs may take on a more vigorous hue at times. The occasional use of reverb and other guitar tones and effects enforce the gradually building momentum of mournful evil, like in ‘’Crumbling Insanity’’ a semi-conscious output of drowning swamp-like voids sucking at the listener’s ear, and it comes with a main spectral melody that, oddly resembles the Godfather melody. ‘’Effigies Of Evil’’ is Hooded Menace’s masterpiece, in my humble opinion. It’s a dark venture into a saturating aura of evil, and it procrastinates nothing. There are two ways you may listen to it; either by contemplating its deep, congregating atmosphere as a whole, envying its corrupted splendour, or by feeling the briskness of each individual piece individually, letting the album swallow you slowly with meagre bites.

Highlights:

Effigies Of Evil

In The Dead We Dwell

Curses Scribed In Gore

Crumbling Insanity

Rating: 89%

Father Befouled - Revulsions Of Seraphic Grace

In spite of the scores of Incantation gimmicks that never seem to cease, worshiping sometimes pays off, and Father Befouled returns with a third barrage of blasphemous hymns to justify that statement. The Chicago four-piece haven’t really been around for a substantial amount of time, but they proved to a very productive group, consecutively releasing ripe releases, keeping their music fresh and their reputation strong for five years, and it pleases me more to see that their third full-length will probably be welcomed by the entire metal underground as their most mature release, and their most lasting, deliberately sustaining efficiency and brooding evil for the entire duration of the one monolith of a record. I wouldn’t really say the band expands their musical sight far too much, but they rather explore deeper, more hellish territory to mine for the required materials to forge their masterpiece, ‘’Revulsions Of Seraphic Grace’’, a brutal orgy of abysmal old school death metal, offering nothing but impious loathe.

Just as you may have understood, this record moves a step further in every department from the previous release, with more focus on the cathartic visions that it fabricates, rather than singular husky strength. Obviously, Father Befouled’s style resembles Incantation for nearly the whole of the album, and on this record that keep even truer to the darkened, doom-laden aesthetics of ‘’Onward To Golgotha’’, slowly suffocating the listener with monstrously dense aural spheres, deep sweltering and solitary, as it encompassed within a fathomless void, yet, incredibly, Father Befouled render their music somewhat accessible, ultimately sticking to some of the more muscular attributes. This way, the album is a more devastating exhalation of inhuming tremolos and corpulent chugs, and the listener is both swallowed and engulfed by the album’s mighty force. ‘’Revulsions Of Seraphic Grace’’ has erased agitating hindrances from the start, so that the path may be cleared for the upcoming wave of tremulously fibrous tremolo picking, all crashing into one another at certain points in order to render the atmosphere even thicker and more cantankerous.

The progressions are just as you might expect them to be as well; fluctuating in between monolithic death/dooms stomps, mid paced grooves, and absolutely mind boggling tremolo passages, and what’s more is that the band slathers razor sharp breakdowns to suddenly rise from the doom-ish spectre and morph into a tantalizing crush or blast, leaving the listener devastated and choking from its thick fog of profanity. The revulsions complete the blasphemous formula that father befouled were willing to formulate, and their convenience is guaranteed with robust links that bind the songs together, allowing them to travel fluently, so that the smothering torment is not interrupted. ‘’Revulsions Of Seraphic Grace’’ is cavernous and tremulous journey into the blasphemous depths of the unknown, displaying both musical complexity and inundating atmosphere on the way. It’s most enveloping, but I know that Father Befouled has more potential than this, and I have hope that they leave us with a record even more potent and wringing than even this. Father Befouled has once again befouled us. Hail death.

Highlights:

Triumvirate Of Liturgical Dese

Devourment Of Piety

Desacrament

Rating: 88%

Grave Upheaval/Manticore - Grave Upheaval/Manticore

Manticore, Antediluvian, Proclamation, Grave Upheaval, Mitochondrion, Impetuous Ritual, Adversarial, Pseudogod; these bands have become some of my favourite black/death acts, not only because they present material in the most quality form present, but also because they bring a sort of evil, blasphemous niche and attach it to their music, forming an impeccable wall of sheer, profane victory. The crazed masterminds behind Portal and Impetuous Ritual are once again working on their side project Grave Upheaval, and US war metal savages Manticore join forces, and as if there weren’t enough splits worth praising, they fabricate a four song split, devoid of human sense, ill natured and completely hostile against light, and all things positive. It’s such a fathomless pit that sucks you in with no regret at all, slowly consuming your pitiful cadaver and renders you naked towards the upcoming assault of converging chaos, scathing in an orgy of impious bile and vitriol.

As stated, both bands come with the whole of their most vital forces behind them, which makes the fourteen minutes a most excruciating experience. Like the latter Antediluvian/Adversarial split, despite playing a similar style of death metal, Manticore and Grave Upheaval don’t quite fit the same bill, but the slight nuances only make the split more colourful, and there’s a fairly wide spectrum of sounds that anyone should be sucked in with first sight. I honestly had no doubts about Grave Upheaval, after all, the Australian death/doom project complemented the genre hugely with their sequential 2010 demo, an asphyxiating travesty of a ritual, noxious and utterly blasphemous, but Manticore were a band that I wasn’t familiarized with very well, but in as the epilogue came near, it became obvious that both bands have something to say, and they say it well. Manticore presents approximately six minutes of bestial black/death, unlike their split-mates who offer eight minutes of hefty, dark prowess, and Mantciore’s psalms conduct a much more vivacious brand of blight and dynamic electricity, eccentric, eclectic, nonetheless still very moving and rambunctious, thus, the band espouses sounds which are more barbaric than drowning, merging together the boundless speed and aggression of Blasphemy, Weregoat, and even Watain with raw tones that many a black metal fan should be familiar with, ultimately driving the riffs towards a more metallic and blunt edge, rawer and faster.

Grave Upheaval’s traits allude the deep presence of Impetuous Ritual with every stomp, every drowsy, fatal crunch, and the inundating aura calls forth even Portal-esque elements to the table at times, making their eight minutes an experience no less tormenting than a rack. Of course, I’m sure that Winter, Disembowelment, Autopsy and Mordor had some sort of effect on their ponderous movements, their accursed swagger, and the doom influence makes all the difference for Grave Upheaval. It’s pitch black during the whole of the Grave Upheaval side, with not a single ray of light shedding enlightenment across the textures, and one guider that that effect each accent enormously, is the drums, yet another majestic wonder of the record. The aforementioned death/doom veterans had a fantastic set of cadaverous beats and punctuations, and I can safely say that the monotonous sprinkle of the toms and the ominous thump of the snare used here are nearly THAT good, and I still recall the melodramatic thumps of the ending sequence, made even mightier with the heavily distorted tone and bulbous bass line:

Da, du, da, dum; DUM DUM DUM DUM. Oh so heavenly heavy.

This split doesn’t surpass the recent ‘’Initiated In Impiety As Mysteries’’, but proves to be very worthy match and a strong contender for the top releases of 2012, too. And like its peer of a split, it divides the profane ritual into two marginally different attributes, the fast and the slow, if we need to categorize it simply. It’s choleric, strict, most blasphemous, tantalizing with subdued elements scattered all around it, and it simply swallows all that is spurious in its eye. It’s artistically crafted, embroidered with dark decorations, and in the end, it suffocates you as quickly as a heinous disease. This split may not be the most cathartic expression of black/death I’ve heard, but it emulates many of its rivals, but it’s so short that it’ll run out of material before it can even cauterize a third of many of its opponents. Otherwise, unless you’re retarded enough to neglect its impious power, get this, and you will be appeased, I guarantee you. It's all about the atmosphere. 

Highlights:

Untitled

Untitled (Second one)

Insemination Of The Sycophant 

Unleashing Unholy Temptations

Rating: 89,5%

Vein - Crux Calvaria

Not dissimilar to the desolate King Diamond worshipping done is Sweden, Danish epic doom project Vein bring grievance and heft to the year with their debut EP, ‘’Crux Calvaria’’ a mournful  combination of melodic heavy metal, traditional doom, and a dash of epic power metal, a most compelling formula that fans of melancholic music should grasp quite quickly. The Danish trio consists of veterans, with some members being from newly blossoming power houses In Solitude and Procession.  With a heavy traditional heavy and doom metal scent lingering by in every riff, and musical complexity vaguely appearing amongst the massive monoliths of chunky riffs, ‘’Crux Calvaria’’ is a most promising release, although it lacks length.

With members of Procession and In Solitude, you can hear the beautiful density of the doom spectre take a mournful, and melody stirred edge, and for the most part of the songs, Vein will tend to keep music at a more dynamic pace, keeping the spikes sharp and the melodies crisp and tangibly soothing. When the music takes such a relaxing, though still heavy edge, many usually forgets the tiny bits and pieces that make up the strata of the EP, and if you listen carefully, you can hear subtle melodies slithering amongst the crushing chords – proof that the band has a lot of prowess. Riffs vary, as they take on different shapes throughout, so the guitar work is genuinely well done and robust, but Crux Calvaria also disserves an applause for the excellent drum adjustments. The beats keep the doom laden stomps constant, and the constant cymbal abusing sheds spectral rays of light upon the atmosphere, enhancing it.

The vocalist also sang in Procession, and there’s no surprise there because their soulful, despair laden approach makes the EP a whole lot richer, and just like the riffs, they sound like a mixture of classic Euro power metal vocalists and King Diamond, with a tinge of Candlesmass (or any other traditional/epic doom metal vocal style). ‘’Crux Calvaria’’ is exceedingly pleasing for such a young band, and I do hope that a debut full-length is not distant. The EP had no flaws for me, except for the fact that it was rather concise, but that’s not a problem to sob for.

Highlights:

Crux Calvaria

Out In Twilight

Rating: 85,5%

Metal Minis #2 - Doombringer - Wormridden

Doombringer – Sevenfold Pestilence [Ep]

Polish death metal vandals Doombringer are new to me. They’ve had a couple of demos before exhaling this, their two track debut EP; an engrossing splatter of well balanced and chugging death metal with a nice, witty black metal overtone engulfing it. Unlike some other black/death bands I’ve encountered in previous years (Antediluvian, Impetuous Ritual, Muknal, Portal, etc), they don’t really bore and drill into your brain deep enough to leave a permanent mark, meaning they exclude ethereal, cathartic expressions of black metal, and formulate a rather simpler, more direct style of crunchy death metal, with a sprinkling of black metal to add a bit of a spice to the aura, as I stated. Nonetheless, the music is still not something to be interfered, for its wroth and wrath is deadly and cunning once released. The sound is really not arduous or complex, but I still can’t relate it to a singular sound. Few segments remind me of classic Incantation tremolos that even fall into early Morbid Angel territory at times, while some sections are doused with a pungent, chaotic black/death stench, like a reminiscent of Blasphemy or Gospel Of The Horns, but again, not relation is fully accurate. All I can really say is that sound is buttery and dark, old school and cryptic, and many death and war metal fans will fall for this. No doubt.

Wormridden – Infesting The Graves [Demo]

I came across with some very efficient death/doom acts this year like Undergang, Witchrist (even though it’s not purely death/doom) or Macabra, and even a few other like Funebrarum which left their mark in the previous years, and although Japan’s Wormridden display only eleven minutes of their work on their debut demo, the music I heard was sufficient enough to convince me. You can call it a crusty Autopsy, a second Rottrevore or and even filthier version of Incantation; you can call it many things, but the one thing that you can be certain of is that Wormridden produce an ultra heavy slab of festering, cauterizing death/doom, still reeking of filth and abominable 90’s death metal. The sheer level of putrefaction on this two track demo is enough carve you anew nose hole, and the whole of the riffs are so dipped and drenched in murky grittiness and fermenting grossness, that you’d probably be overwhelmed by its heft only. The demo has wide arsenal of crushing, monolithic riffs, and you’ve got the tempo variation set as well. First you’re dealing with gigantic doom metal stomps, while all of a sudden, a rambunctious outburst of buzzy tremolos split your torso wide open, and then the riffs make final, excruciating descent into a mid paced riff, slithering and spreading vile stench all around. This demo is top notch, even though it only lasts for near ten minutes, but I’ll guarantee fans of Winter, Disembowelment, Salem, Asphyx, Autopsy, Rottrevore and Purtenance a totally crushing and enjoyable listen.

Doombringer: 8/10

Wormridden: 8.50/10

Royal Arch Blaspheme - II

In many a way, black/death war goats Royal Arch Blaspheme can be defined as a slower, sludgier version of Gospel of The Horns, Destroyer 666 or any other savage purveyor of bestial black/thrash, or a corrupted, blackened side of Autopsy, displaying massive doom metal influences whilst blaspheming with utterly disgusting black/death. With the band consisting of John Gelso of Profanatica and N. Imperial from nay other barbaric blasphemers, the second offering of Royal Arch Blaspheme is a viscous spray of pure disgust and spastic incursion of black-laden delirium, cunning with the sheer lack of speed of some of its moments, summing up for an ultimately spiteful cluster of eerie primitivism. Not only was I baffled by their cunning usage of decrepit old school death metal riffs, but I was also quite content that they found themselves a suitable label which no doubt support their cause.

Pretty much like the comparison above, Royal Arch Blaspheme lean towards the more death oriented side of black/death, and they never exclude certain doom elements from their music, resulting in a primal record, with absolutely ill-tempered gloom n' doom splattered sparse. The riffs are loaded with repulsive disgust and hate, but there also a negative side of this tenebrous combination of black and death, which is the monotony, and the lack of creativity, even though I must admit that blackened death/doom is done very right on this record. The aural stalls are sometimes drowning and even agitating, but usually the eerie embrace of the atmosphere makes up for it, especially when songs like ''Resurrection Of Depravity'' kick in, cutting into the semi drowsy slithers of the previous riffs and offering a crusty slab of old school black metal, wholly overwhelming the listener with a primal, cavernous aura. ''II'', gathers disdainful putrefaction and ear sickening blasphemy and adds a hint of ponderous melancholy on top, mixes the new formed formula, and divides it into ten well built psalms, and that, is pretty much the whole of its basis.

Even though its barbaric spurts continue to drench ears for the entire continuation of the record, I fear Royal Arch haven't inserted a sufficient amount spunk and accent into their archaic riffs, and with no major impulse to give out, the record wasn't able to give out the exact measure of corpulent scorn that it intended to give, and that's probably the biggest gap in ''II's'' all around structure. I've certainly enjoyed its ample riffs with their strident, semi harmonic cuts and twists, and what's more is that they've formed an ultimate combination of death and black, relatively different from all the other bands out there, producing totally vicious and rapid material. Royal Arch Blaspheme had their formula set from their debut album, though, and this record is a minor step back in terms of energy unfortunately as it focused more on the melancholic and numbing overtones of black metal, but fear not, I still have hope that they'll build their next record around all the things they missed in the last two, and then, we can hopefully have peace. ''II'' is incredibly robust, but a wall always needs soldiers and towers guarding it in order to maintain efficiency.

Highlights:
Resurrection Of Depravity
Psalm 39
When The Cruel Nails Pierced Thy Tender Hand And Feet


Rating: 83,5%

Witchrist - The Grand Tormentor

I am, truly, a sucker for the bizarre and contempt-driven aesthetics of old school blackened death metal, such vociferously tainted music, inundating and as oppressive and devastating as a gigantic warhammer, relentlessly hammering the back of a traumatized victim, who seeks escape from the massive aura of deadly oppression. Such music has been offered to me not once, but numerous times, by acts like Pseudogod, Portal, Muknal, Mitochondrion or Antediluvian, and gives me great pleasure to add yet another bestial shroud of sulfuric blasphemy and absolutely crushing piece of black/death to this list, a beast hailing all the way from New Zealand. Not only was I completely battered and shoved away with the crippling force of ''The Grand Tormentor'', but I found its usage of subtle, captivating riffs and engulfing heft to be exceedingly efficient. Although Witchrist are at their second blasphemous offering, and I'll admit that I hadn't been familiarized with their presence until I got to know their sophomore album, which is an event that occurred totally by luck, but nonetheless, these blasphemers have firmly settled somewhere between the bestiality of Pseudogod and the cunning disturbance of Portal, or Mitochondrion, so war metal geeks have nothing to be tedious about while picking this up.

As stated, Wittchrist sound like a heftier, and more tiring version of Pseudogod or Teitanblood even as their brand of war metal has a sublime queerness and ponderousness to it, expanding its boundaries of accessiblity for relative death/doom fans. The overtone that it attains is extremely ominous and almost inhuman at times, the bulky elephantine structure that forms it sends oppressive tides of blackened death like a barrage of drowsy, yet smashing tides crashing at a puny little house, and the balance of three crucial materials that form it are preserved with great care, keeping the webs in between the ponderous chompers and furious flurries constant and robust. Yes, its structure is decidedly complex and very compelling, and that's only the beginning of its swallowing interactions. The first track (after the intro), is a song that I thought would bare a more atmospheric touch, but ''Into The Arms Of Yama'' actually sets the mood right for the next gritting cluster of songs, crushing with a walloping nine minute feast of ridiculously ponderous blackened death/doom, before breaking into an outburst of virulent hostility. ''The Grand Tormentor'' does not favor speed, that is a certainty, but that does not mean it always travels with the pace of turtle, and when it decides to spurt out its monolithic reservoir of riffs and accelerates, it shows no remorse.

The tone and production are crucial to the overall sound of the record, one can only enjoy such distorted and murky production quality, and besides, the can hear everything that's going on in there, no matter how chaotic it is, so you have to excuse for disliking the production. I found many of the album's traits similar to Pseudogod's ''Deathwomb Catachesis'', and that is a pretty accurate comparison in my humble opinion, but the vocals here are not exactly as boisterous or voluminously cavernous as the vocal work on ''Deathwomb'' as they often hide among the dense array of riffs, seldom being provoked and seldom bursting out vigorously. As much as I love the doom laden sequences of this album I can't really go wrong with the fast moments either, because the wroth of ''The Grand Tormentor'' is undeniable, and the record gets as barbaric as any primitive death metal album out there, especially noticeable in tracks like ''Exile'', ''Tandava'' or ''Wasteland Of Thakata'', which end their judgement in a way that's short, effective, though not so sweet. With barbaric groups relentlessly releasing new material, not being saturated will not be on your menu when these savages come banging at your door, and you had better give this doom inserted slab of filthy, blasphemous war metal a listen, because Witchrist will be leading the pack--you can be sure of that.

Highlights:
Funeral Lotus
Into The Arms Of Yama
Meditation For Sacrifice
Exile


Rating: 90%

Altar Of Oblivion - Salvation

Doom metal is not something I often encounter, but when there's some good doom around, you can bet I'll be up for chunks of it. The last doom record that I found absolutely pummeling and earth shaking was Anguish's ''Through The Archdemon's Head'', a tantalizing brutalizer of a stomping monolith of an album, and it was dark, intense, intricate and massive, bestirred masterfully, and although these Danish doomers make their doom quite hefty and powerful, it still tends to differ with the huge traditional heavy metal influence lingering about. I'm mentioning Anguish because I found them incredibly effective but these two releases aren't necessarily parallel to each other. Anguish is dark and cryptic while Altar is much more epic and melancholic for that sense, and Altar manages to perfect the ponderous chugs while keeping the speed at a moving mid paced level, but Anguish inserts tons of cuts into their music, sounding sludgy rather than moving.

With five songs (in which one of them is a two minute somber interlude) ranging at thirty minutes, the ''Salvation'' Ep is more of an album than an Ep. I suppose they didn't bother searching for a more original album cover though I'm quite content with the huge cross amid the dark grey sky, seething bitter despair and sorrow as it stands there. As stated, Altar Of Oblivion explores the epic portion of doom metal, roots deeply  planted in the heart of the likes of Candlemass, Saint Vitus, etc. I just loved the combination of traditional heavy metal and epic doom metal, but I'm bot certain if it was the boxy, oppressing production quality that rendered the music so gravitating, or Altar's stellar execution, but either way, I can't seem to find anything in this to scoff at as subdued, mournful doom metal has always been something that I adored. Like most bands to enhance their music with that whole ''epic'' touch, the atmosphere becomes boundlessly cloudy and epic during the chorus sections, adorned with sparse and rich melodies coming from under. ''Salvation'' also has a crucial implement to support the music; a thick guitar tone much like the production quality, only even more crushing.

The great thing is, the moods and tempos are linked together so there's no sudden change of speed like other  [metal genre]-doom hybrids. This allows the album to move cautiously and sequentially, and the pace of the music is always kept low, channeling between mid paced chugs or completely drowning doom metal riffs. Well, at least for the majority songs. The title track gets a little bit more spunk at the back and keeps things fresher and faster than before even though it's still bound to the classic formula of the Ep with iron shackes and chains. The main idea here is obvious; Altar Of Oblivion implant tons of traditional heavy metal aesthetics into their enjoyable brand of epic doom metal, and while at basis their music is simply crafted and plainly garnished, it shows that both punishing crushers and melodies of sorrowful pulchritude can coexist at the same time. This doom, is true beauty and true traditional doom, a hefty slab of epic metal you won't forget so easily. It's impact is still palpable on me.

Highlights:
The Believers In The Mist
The Narrow Gates Of Emptiness


Rating: 86,5%

Follow the doom n' gloom masters from Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Altar-of-Oblivion/139296410507

Wishdoom - Helepolis

Epic war has always been a favored theme in metal, though with recent bands focusing on blasphemy or gore and death, it has been undoubtedly thrown to the background, and although I see little or no bands pushing it towards its once mighty glory, Greece's Wishdoom appear to actually enjoy this epic, most glorious brand of traditional heavy metal more than others, and they've even turned their musical direction towards the lyrical themes. Wishdoom are entitled as heavy/doom, and I can't really agree on that when subtle, heavy riffs are played in a viscous, energetic manner, but it's blatant that their formula is much more than just a combination of doom and heavy metal. It's quite normal if you feel as if you're being towered by the almighty siege tower Helepolis as the music flows, and you feel as if you're encircled by Greek soldiers, spears and arrows flying everywhere while catapults fling rocks and rams batter against the wooden gates of Rhodes.

That being said, I fear most of Wishdoom's concept and adoration for fantasy and ancient warcraft in another product to keep listeners engaged and baffled, but as the album progresses this distraction loses its efficiency and listener is left face to face with the not-so-intricate riffing. The riffs are not necessarily boring, but besides w few tracks that truly stand out, they can't seem to catch a good amount of attention for the entire momentum of the album, but thankfully, they do tend to bear sublime heft and a crystal clear cloak containing them, and with the additional boast of the thumping drum beats, the simple textures emblazon themselves with a somewhat rich, compact sound. There are myriads of riffs, each similar to the one before, but I can't seem to dislike their robust execution. Glimmering melodies crawl surreptitiously while chunky mid paced stomps smash in the background, and Wishdoom keen on embracing the triumphant and epic edge of metal, pushing it towards the limits, thus, they've proved that with the substantial usage of atmospheric choris and synthesizers. All of these riffs don an armor of glory and glorious victory, shining, gleaming on the golden shields of the warriors.

The vocalist has a strong voice perhaps not exceedingly high-pitched but strong and forceful all the same, and he does play huge role whilst churning elements of doom and epic heavy metal together. The drums have acquired a plentiful amount of space in the mix as their presence is always felt, and their battering effect is persistent just like the momentous riffs; and with the war drums place, the siege is guaranteed to be a victory. Even though their features are poorly distinguished the tracks often vary among themselves; the title track is favorite of mine, its gloriously crafted structure adorned with additional elements with a chorus that reeks of victory, while ''Zeus The Thunderer'' is is a much more moving affair, giving out a classy combo of melodic riffs and jumpy solos, and ''Up The Hammers'' is the ultimate sound track of an army pushing against the walls of a besieged city. ''Helepolis'' is an original release even though it's not wholly innovative, and it's enjoyable, and the whole album is the sound track to victory. Next time you're besieging a city, be sure to take a copy of ''Helepolis'' to boast the morale of your men.

Highlights:
Crystal World
Helepolis
Up The Hammers


Rating: 84,5%

Sepulcral - Anthropophagy Of Doom

It's nice to see some different worship done every once in a while when it comes to playing old school death metal, because the current scene is a swelling tumor of Autopsy/Incantation worshipers or groove laden, hardcore tinged Entombed/Dismember doppelgangers and bands with nuances will be certainly be appreciated if not adored as long as they keep true to their ancient styling. Razorback Recordings is a cool label who continuously signs death/doom bands, and they have all my support on that. Italy's Sepulcral is a fine addition to their growing list of old school death/doom bands, and the real thing that pulled me towards their album ''Anthropophagy Of Doom'' is the influences that they took rather then their overall sound. This album is not necessarily a departure from the classic death metal sound trends that are prominent today, but it's not a direct copy either.

''Anthropophagy Of Doom'' has a burden packed with only a small amount of various styles, but these influences are sufficient to build up and album with a strong base structure. The doom laden death metal reminds me of Derketa, Mythic, Goatlord, early Death rather than Incantation or Autopsy, thus, the influences are dotted with rotting parchments of thrash to bring the raw sound to the front row. Due to production issues, the band didn't actually manage to sound extremely filthy or raw, plus I feel the thrash influence lingers upon the heavy doom riffs a little too long, but nonetheless that old school death/doom sound is brought alive once again, even though some of its most crucial elements are not bestowed upon the music properly. The main thing that separates bands like Derketa or Mythic from other like Rottrevore, Cianide or Autopsy, is that the tempos are always moving and no matter the loss in speed the music stays constant and fluent, while all the other filthy death/doomers have a clear line between fast, and slow, scarcely having a middle ground. The riffs on this album are razor sharp and crunchy all the same, but the riffs may tend to sound a little too mechanic at times which may cost the band a few points.

For example, ''Sepulcral'' starts off with a stomping, doomy thrash chomp, but as the band fails to deliver any contrast to go along with that riff, the riffs soon loses its efficiency and fades away. You never feel like rambling around the album and exploring its unexplored, mainly because you can't find anything new. That's a large flaw that definitely detracts some points, and that flaw will need some healing. On the other hand, you can definitely enjoy the simplicity of the crushing, spacious riffs as they're totally open to headbanging . Songs like ''Infanticide'' are very straightforward, thrashy tracks that work along with doomy death metal formula easily, and even some of the more technically oriented tremolo bursts and groovy chord progressions capture the interest of a listener even though I doubt someone will be utterly immersed by these riffs. I did enjoy a healthy measure of this album's monotonous chomps and robust, thrash oriented chord attacks, yet I believe that band could have done better with this release. A very solid album, and it still keeps its distance from mediocrity, and I hope the next release will be an improvement.

Highlights:
Infanticide
Drastic Visions
Cemeteries Reaper


Rating: 77%


Check the doomy monsters on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sepulcral/144983252271020

Inverloch - Dusk|Subside

During the early 90's, hordes of Australian black and death metal bands spread chaos and fear all across Australia. Even now, their presence is feared, but on one side there was a band called dISEMBOWELMENT, who really changed the way funeral doom was heading. Many filthy Fins and New Yorkers were working with similar tricks, but the mighty ''d'' was the first band to create such depressing doom metal, heavy, gloomy and brooding, additional strong death metal overtones. Almost twenty years after the release of the drowning release that changed doom metal, ex two members of dISEMBOWELMENT reform along with a fresh crew of three, and together, they urge to re-create the monstrosity that was created before them. Inverloch play in the exact vein of ''d'', and thus they enable the restoration of disemboweling funeral death/doom once more. Welcome.

Obviously, all the tracks are gloomy and sludgy beyond belief, and too keep the listener sucked in, brooding melodies vaguely appear and disappear, while the meat grinding heavy rhythms infinitely flow and crush anything in their path. The music is atmospheric and very, very desolate, just as it's meant to be. Since this is an Ep, Inverloch offer no more than three songs, and although they have great length, they are just not long enough to build up for a brain-drilling experience. The first song ''Within Frozen Beauty'' is a crushing dirge of unpolished, suffocating death metal, its fantastic array of drum beats and its tremendous arsenal of riffs is a devastating bonus for the Ep from the start. The following track, ''The Menin Road'' slows things down even more, and generally focuses on atmospheric sequences guided by sinister melodies, all played an a turtle's pace. I'd say the main weakness of this track is that it doesn't have sufficient material and adequate density to keep the listener interested throughout, and there too many spacious sections where the only sound you'll hear is a faint glow, slowly dwindling and dying.

Yes, this funeral doom and you need to keep the speed at a turtle's pace for the most part, but unless you gave something to fill those spacious gaps, then the listener would be bored, rather than immersed. ''Shadows Of The Flame'' is also a fine track, sounding like a combination of the previous tracks. The starting sequences are the perfect funeral death/doom riffs with that classic brooding melody swaggering on top, the middle section is just a flurry of crushing down tuned death metal tremolo madness, just like the first track, and the concluding segments end a bit like like the previous track, faintly, with little emotion and even less energy. I love how Inverloch easily slip into doomy riffs from crunchy chops, and the breakdowns are also quite excellent. Although their glow may not be very strong at the moment, Inverloch can surely grip on to that ancient sound that dISEMBOWELMENT, and pull themselves further above. For fans of fatiguing funeral doom metal with sharp death metal influences, this a very nice find indeed.

Highlights:
Within Frozen Beauty
Shadows Of The Flame


Rating: 84,5%


Inverloch on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/InverlochOfficial

Hellige - Demo

There are just so many demos popping out that I just can't keep up with their speed, and even though most of these demos are mostly pretty mediocre, and stand as just terribly standard, there are a few finds that you'll discover that will cheer you up and give you strength to continue your conquest. Hellige's so called ''DEMO'' is to be taken seriously and with great precaution, for the monstrosities that this demo possesses can be eternally numbing. Among tens and thousands of mediocre thrash and death metal demos I finally come across this mega demo, an oppressive monolith of haunting decrepitude, a cavernous monolith that represents all things abhorrent and all things depressive, sending tremulous waves of shattering evil and oppression through its spiral vortex of subterranean power. No, this is not a death metal demo. Nor is it a thrash metal demo, or black metal demo. What Hellige created on their misery laden effort is something that you just do not come across easily, and the execution is stunning, shunning all others who have tried yet failed miserably at this task.

Hellige combine black and doom metal, the most extreme genres of extreme metal in my opinion, and it holds such strength and such insanity within itself that it's an absolutely troubling task for me to explain with words, let alone explain it by writing. This is transcendental black/doom. Hellige have perfectly bestirred the darkest, most abysmal aspects of both genres and they have eagerly pursued the music until it reached its uttermost peak in evil, oppression and heft. This demo's burden consists of two essences for the main part; the atmospheric, haunting feel of black metal, a looming lament of despair, obviously borrowed by acts like Darkthrone, or Burzum and even recent groups like Vattnet Viskar or Obolus, and the crushing, most depressing force of doom metal soaked in a deep, dense liquid that intensifies everything that is possesses. I've heard a very similar drowning aspect on Helvetron's latest album, and the mighty obelisk ''Netherwards'', produced by the death/doom act Anhedonist, but even if we consider these mutants were both excellent in every way possible, the eternal, fathomless crater opened by Hellige manage to surpass these records.

And just like the records I mentioned previously, Hellige drown the listener within a chaotic hole, while sludgy black metal chords slowly inundate, then grind and gnaw. The expression on your face after you experience this album is priceless, and I doubt face expressions will be the only thing that will change after you hear the demo. Demo. What an unnecessary way to call this an album, while it obviously is, consisting of  forty minutes of sheer brain crushing black metal devastation, with a fine yet murky production quality engulfing it. The guitar tone is as twisted and cavernous as it can get, incredibly hefty and blunted, and the vocals are similar to what you would hear on a typical black metal record, eerie rasps that echo and then slowly become one with the hollow monolith. Thus with that eerie, raw touch they have, their importance in the demo's efficiency is no doubt crucial.

Just cause I dubbed this as black/doom doesn't mean that its exactly the mixture of traditional doom and black metal. The doom influence is a drowning mixture that you scarcely hear on traditional doom albums, and perhaps a bit like the hefty impacts on Paul Bearer's most recent album, and the black metal sound is swarming array of splintering arrows, callous and diverse. I also mean to brag about the excellent usage of clean guitars swaggering drowsily upon the distorted black metal chord sequences as their execution is perfect an they're used in pretty much all the riffs, drowning slowly into the dense mixture, much like the vocals. ''The Rotten Waste'' has to be my personal favorite among the other three tracks that encircle it. It's beginning is not dissimilar to the other tracks, but the vocals have interesting guttural death metal twist to them that garnishes the riffs, and towards the ending sequences thousands of power laden riffs start ignite around the inundating riffs and slowly take over the song--until a blood chilling acoustic interlude enters the cavernous aura, only to be ceased by the atmospheric assault of the black metal tremolo pickings and planting an entirely different mood into the music within mere seconds. The last two tracks lean more towards the doomier side of things, disposing of the rare increase in speed that was present in the first two tracks.

I'll follow any band which follows pieces that Hellige carves out, and I'l follow them to the death. This tops everything that has been released so far and crushes so much more, opening new gateways to metal and also showing that small things can achieve huge things. Although I loved this four track masterpiece, I must admit that I won't be listening to frequently. This a drowning vortex that can suck me whole before it's even concluded, and even if I had the strength to bear the its crushing calamity for a few spins, I'll suffer terribly afterwards. Therefore, I offer this to people who have built up their stamina for such cavernous releases, inhuman releases almost as they swallow what is in front of them whole with no hesitation and this will be ranked as both the most tormenting and the most sorrowful release of the year. This mournful manifestation of heft and darkness is not to be missed, for the ones who can bear it, of course.

Highlights:
Degraded To Mortals
Rotten Waste
Obnubilum


Rating: 95%


Free download of the demo: http://helligearg.bandcamp.com/

Abysme-Strange Rites

Will Hellthrasher productions ever cease to deliver great old school goods? Well, for now, the answer is obviously no, because everything Hellthrasher offered this year was pure old school filthiness and Pennsylvania's Abysmes' lastest offering ''Strange Rites'' is no exception. Abysme are relatively new death metallers, and although their style may not be too intricate or mind blowingly original, they do the same mid-paced Swedeath worshiping just as good as the hordes of bands that worshiped before them. I can sense lots of doom influence in the turbulent mixture, so that the listener definitely gets an old school vibe, and the gut ripping chainsaw guitar tone is also set to its max. It's obvious that Abysme aren't savvy artisans when it comes to crafting their material, but by know you should know that it's quite possible to ignite a fire for a metalhead by creating simple, filthy and hateful music.

Abysme have extremely prominent Swedish metal tendencies in their music, and the tempos are quite varied, as stomping mid pace crushers all of a sudden burst into pulverizing tremolo picking mayhem, and then the heavy, intense riffing shifts smoothly into a sludgy death/doom dirge. All the tempo variation is really great since it captures the attention of the listener with every stroke, but the album channels between mid-paced grooves and doom laden mammoth riffs far more often than the flashier, more spacious and fast riffs. That doesn't necessarily make the album a doom album, but it shows that there's definitely a doom-oriented sound that's highly prominent and there's also a good number of Bolt Thrower-esque mid paced grooves, resembling ''The Fourth Crusade'' the most. In addition to the churning of these ponderous sludge oozers, Abysme can conjure up a vile and atrocious sound without completely overwhelming the guitar in a distorted tone and enshrouding the whole of the album with a dark, dense, chaotic atmosphere. Don't get me wrong, Abysme can add some atmosphere into the music, but the riffs are set to a more spacious and comprehensible mood, so you'll scarcely witness any inundating riffs on this album.

''Scribbled In Dust'' is a nice way to start off the album, a swift track with short length with some catchy, even groovy moments, mandatory for any Swedeath fan. The next track ''Beyond The Seventh Door'' has some Incantation tremolo picking sequences, and embraces the doom influence much more than the previous track. There are many, many compelling and hard-hitting riff to be found on the album, but you'll have to patient, as your search will need to get much more extensive as the album descends into an end. If you're not really the kind that likes to wait, then I can't say this album is very suitable for you. The people who like to wait, and flow as one alongside the album will get what they want, and complex or not, the chainsaw driven mid paced momentum of ''Strange Rites'' is a distinctive sound, a great attribute that highlights everything on this subterranean force of filthy OSDM.

Highlights:
Scribbled In Dust
Remarkable Conqueror
Annihilated Memory


Rating: 86,5%


More Abysme on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/abysme

Ringing Bell-Hospital Corners

Unfortuantely, the consistent flow of disgusting death/doomers ceased its effectiveness and perhaps this is because the bands fail to enter the radar of more mainstream audiances. Macabra, Undergand and Funebararum are some of the more prominent names in this disgusting band of glooming brigands, so tell me, what will we make of Ringing Bell? Their acute deliverance of ghastly death/doom falls far beyond perfect, and even short of good, and with such short an EP, I can't really come to a very decisive verdict about the bands overall performance. This is, after all, some decent death/doom, yet for some reason Ringing Bell haven't quite persuaded me to ultimately enjoy their concise effort, even though I have great adoration for the filthy death/doomers of the early 90's.

This EP has all the makings of a common a death/doom record, but there seems to be something missing in all this, mish mash of doomy chord sequences and glooming riffs. The tempo is set perfectly, having a balance between mid-paced stompers and crushing death/doom chompers, but I can't say the same thing about the quality of the riffs which are fit into these tempos. The Ep certainly doesen't boast variation and the riffs don't support one another, and although the music flows viscously, the riffs all follow similar patterns and there is nothing to spice things up, nothing to persuade the listener to hear the same thing again and again. I'm saying, that there's no highlight, no flamboyance or major attraction to pull the listener to it, instead a steady barrage of doom laden death metal riffs, overflowing with filth, corrupted with a fuzzy tone. I have to give the bands some credit for that. The most basic traits of old school death/doom are all here; the fuzzy, murky tone, the undeniable heft and crushing power of the riffs, the vocals, blending in nicely with the stomping heavy riffs in an utterly grotesque way, and there's also a fun amount of Sabbath worshipping riffs as ssen on ''I Am Blessed With The Throt Of French Kings, Encrusted With Golden Bee'', which by the way has a rediculously laughable title.

So, what I'm trying to say here is that this EP is actually quite good, or could be good once it's flourished and decorated with some nice highlights, more intricate riffing and complex song structures-all things that can be done with ease, but concentration. The EP's biggest gap is that it lacks the brooding, sinister and monstrously overwhelming atmosphere of great death/doom records (Anhedonist can be one of the most recent examples), and without good ambiance or atmophere, a death/doom album is almost dead in my eye, yet good thing that many traits of good death/doom has, only spread in a number that is simply not sufficient. I believe that Ringing Bell could move a huge step forward on their next release if they are cunning enough, but for now ''Hospital Corner'' remains as one of the less effective death/doom efforts of the last 5-6 years.

Highlight:
With Positive Actuator To Project And To Retract

Rating: 72%

Demon Lung-Pareidolia EP

2012 did not offer a huge variety of doom metal, and thus you could say that I was excited before I gave this a listen. Admittedly, I haven't listened to any doom this year other then Anguish's magnificent album, which is could easily fit in the best doom metal albums of the year list. Now Anguish showed pure old school tendencies and elements carved deeply into their music while Demon Lung come with a different style. Indeed I was exppecting straight, glooming doom metal but ''Pareidolia'' introduced some aspects leaning on a more crushing, thrashy side, particularly more modern as well. And with the female vocals to top it off, I was in for an interesting experience, though not necessarily one that would sink its hooks into my flesh too deep.

The guitar riffs are vociferous and very loud, at times loud enough to enshadow the drums and the vocals. I must say that I don't quite enjoy this tone to its fullest because with even strokes dividing the riffs as they monotonously swagger, the tone drowns and pullutes the rest of the riffs. I enjoy the more clean, less distorted tone applied to my doom metal and the tone here is quite the opposite, just chunky and murky, something that annoyes me more than you would think. And the riffs aren't that doomy either, simply because they mostly channel in and out between mid-paced chompers. The music is just too crushing to be called doom metal and the atmopshere is rendered almost destroyed. Palm mutes are common aspects on this album, and to be honest, they don't compliment the music any better, chunky mid-paced riffage is better done with faster drumming and in addtion to that the usage of pinch harmonics irritates me everytime it's used. Perhaps I would have approved some of the music if it had some deviation, but even the originality department is futile, and I would have awarded the EP a few points ven if it sounded bad while experimenting. The execution of the vocal delivery is the only thing that deserves good approval. The vocalist attains an Ozzy Osbourne sound and her vocals are strong, despite the fact that they are shadowed by the irritative assault of the riffs. Her voice soars with strict accent and tone and all the delivery is robust.

Well, the EP overall has a number of flaws and the most crucial is attaining the old school doom metal tone, absolutely vital in order to create a good doom album. The album just loses accuracy when focusing too much on the guitar tone, so the rest of the instrumentation drowns easily. Fortunately, the vocal delivery is a fair enough highlight and something which is needs to be the spot-on feature of the album. Aspects are rather drudging and interminable and the riffs need much more spunk than they already have. And yes these gaps are not to be redeemed so efficiently, but overall ''Pareidolia'' is far from the worst.

Highlights:
Death Mask

Rating: 74%