doom metal

Album Review: Oldblood — “Arms to the Sky”

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A blinding flash of light scans across the sky, arriving with it, an explosion of heat so intense that destruction ensues immediately, leaving only smoke in its wake.  London’s Oldblood released their debut EP, Arms to the Sky which is themed around the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945.  There is most certainly a dark, crushing, heaviness to this album given the subject matter that is reflected both in the lyrics and music.  Arms to the Sky is a skillfully done production that is powerful, moving, gritty, and brings so much intense blackened doomy goodness to one four-track EP.

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Album Review: Empress — “Wait ‘Til Night”

Angela BlockLeave a comment

It seems a lot of metal bands these days enjoy playing with subgenres and creating hybrid sounds.  I love the creativity of these groups and their courage to explore the space and make something unique.  Australia’s Empress is one of those experimental bands and their latest release, Wait ‘Til Night, is an alluring combination of shoegaze, doom, indie, post-metal, and black metal.  This album is dark yet delicate, haunting, and dreamy.  The band’s signature sound is fine tuned in this, their sophomore album.

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Album Review: Pallbearer — “Forgotten Days”

Angela Block2 Comments

Pallbearer - Forgotten Days

In this house we respect Pallbearer.  Pallbearer is one of our favorite bands that we have enjoyed since their debut.  When we saw that the Nine Circles inbox was blessed with the latest from the band, Forgotten Days, we decided to co-author a review instead of fighting each other to the death for who would do the honor.  We decided to sit down and listen to the album and write this review together as a singular cohesive piece.

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Album Review: Devil’s Witches — “Guns, Drugs and Filthy Pictures”

Angela BlockLeave a comment

If you are looking for a truly unique metal-infused musical experience, look no further.  Devil’s Witches‘ discography is something to dive into to escape the “norm” and to even escape reality.  The band has a small but powerful discography, with Guns, Drugs and Filthy Pictures now added to the mix.  The music created by Devil’s Witches is a blend of doom metal, heavy metal, 70’s psychedelic rock, classic rock, with a few other musical elements and genres sprinkled in.  This once solo project, led by a mysterious multi-instrumentalist appropriately called Witchdoctor General, has since welcomed some returning players who all participated in the creation of this two-track EP.

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Album Review: Poema Arcanvs — “Stardust Solitude”

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Poema Arcanvs - Stardust Solitude

When I think of Chilean metal bands, I think of the heavily influenced and highly political thrash bands that cry about government corruption that was heavily exacerbated by Pinochet’s regime, rail about the current Chilean government, and comment on the current state of things. For a country filled with such a bloody history, it would make sense that their music would be energetic and angry, even when raising funds for earthquake relief. However, if you decide to look under the surface, that strife and anger can also translate well into a deep melancholy that permeates well into corta venas territory. Stardust Solitude, the sixth album by Poema Arcanvs (“Arcane Poem”) is an album whose sheer weight will sink you straight into an abyss of funeral dirges and riffs. Continue reading →