doom

Album Review: The White Swan — “Nocturnal Transmission”

Angela BlockLeave a comment

I tend to jump on the opportunity to write about any metal band that includes a female member.  I love seeing women represented in the metal scene and I love supporting these badass goddesses.  The White Swan has not only one but two amazing, talented female musicians—bassist Kira Longeuay and multi-instrumentalist Mercedes Lander.  Completing this trio of musical mastery is guitarist Shane Jeffers.  The band recorded their latest EP, Nocturnal Transmission, in December 2019 and have been fine tuning it to production perfection until it’s release this past week.  This ethereal, at times dark EP is a dreamy experience with themes of love and all the dizzily romantic and complicated feelings that come along with relationships. 

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Album Review: Jupiterian — “Protosapien”

IanLeave a comment
Jupiterian - Protosapien

The big cool scientific news this week is that physicists have finally been able to use gravitational waves to detect the presence of a gigantic black hole way out in the ether.  As something of an aficionado of science myself, I do think this is extremely awesome, but I’m also pretty sure there’s a simpler explanation for the disturbance of spacetime felt.  Someone was probably just listening to Protosapien, the new offering from Brazil’s Jupiterian.  Heavy doesn’t even begin to cover how profoundly this one bangs, in a way that few other doom bands have been able to achieve.

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Second Circle: Of Wolves and IRN

ChrisLeave a comment

Second Circle

In Dante’s Inferno, the second circle begins the proper punishment of Hell, a place where “no thing gleams.” It is reserved for those overcome with Lust, where carnal appetites hold sway over reason. In Nine Circles, it’s where we do shorter reviews of new (ish) albums that share a common theme.

It’s been a while since we put one of these out, huh?  I always like to use Second Circles to check out artists I’ve never heard of before, or explore genres or styles that are relatively unfamiliar to me.  In this case I took a look at the promo list and picked two bands I had no exposure to that carried in their promo the label of sludge, since I’ve been so gung-ho over the latest from -(16)-.

Do these bands help scratch that sludge itch?  This edition of Second Circle aims to find out with new releases from Of Wolves and IRN… Continue reading →

Album Review: Stygian Crown — “Stygian Crown”

ChrisLeave a comment

stygian crown - stygian crown

Traditional metal continues to forge a path that is refreshing to these old ears.  Toss “extremity” out the window and ride hard and steady on a riff, nail that groove with the eye of a sharpshooter and carry that melody to the end of whatever metaphor I lost a few words back.  Point being, this debut self-titled full length from Stygian Crown is good.  Damn good. Continue reading →

Album Review: Vile Creature — “Glory, Glory! Apathy Took Helm!”

Chris1 Comment

vile creature - glory, glory!

Were you afraid that by signing to a larger record label Vile Creature was going to soften its edges? That the music would fall into more generic genre trappings?  I would venture a single glance at the cover to Glory, Glory! Apathy Took Helm! would quash any and all of those concerns.  After two full lengths and an EP of crushing sludge doom that I could appreciate from a distance, here is the album that refuses to be held at arm’s length, that forces your eyes open to gaze upon its exquisite, grotesque beauty. Continue reading →