Taking inspiration from the land of which they hail and bringing the dark forestial allure into their doom laced with sludge, classic rock, and psych, British Columbia trio Hail the Void have returned with their second full length release Memento Mori. Following their 2020 self-titled self-released debut, the band is now under Ripple Music after being hand picked by current Ozzy Osbourne bassist Rob “Blasko” Nicholson. Pushing their boundaries and expanding on their already established sound, these eight tracks are full of atmospheric passages, hazy doom riffs, wailing vocals, crashing drums, and killer guitar solos. The consistent flow of each makes for a mellow and expertly crafted album.
Born A Ghost’s new EP Stairway to an Empty Room is a heavy album. Given that this review is being read on a heavy/extreme music website, that seems obvious. Why write a review for an album of easy listening? The songs on Stairway to an Empty Room will sound familiar to fans of bands like Neurosis or Inter Arma. While not too musically different than their influences, Born A Ghost perform this kind of music very well.
Bringing vast, passionate, doom-filled angst, Dutch doom/sludge trio Gavran has emerged with their sophomore album Indistinct Beacon. Fairly new to the metal scene, the band’s debut LP was released in 2020 and their momentum has not ceased. Continuing to develop a listenership, this release is sure to bring many new fans as these five immersive tracks are expertly crafted and executed. With a vocal variety including raspy screams, haunting clean singing, as well as spoken word, the poetic nature of Gavran’s lyrics are beautifully displayed. Doom riffs, palpitating drums with a bassline to match, and screams pack a punch while quieter moments contain echoing vocals and pensive melodies. Each track expands and contracts with the weight of the music and the journey of Indistinct Beacon is something to experience and enjoy.
Angela puts in her first pick for Album of the Month, and joins Ian, Vincent, and Hera while Buke captains the episode. This time the group dissects the roiling turmoil that is As I Cast Ruin Upon the Lens That Reveals My Every Flaw, the second full length from Cavernlight. After that it’s the usual discourse around what else everyone has been listening to since last getting (virtually) together to chat.
Dig in and enjoy this, the 140th episode of The Nine Circles Audio Thing.
Industrial music is pliable and can be bent to the will of whatever artist wields its power. Ministry made it a rock ‘n’ roll hot rod, Godflesh made it a religion, Fear Factory made it a metal mainstay, and so on and so forth. To me, the real success of industrial music is if it has the ability to paint a horrid, twisted landscape in the mind’s eye and offer an unsettling feeling to go with it. Over the course of the past decade and a cavalcade of releases, Lament Cityscape has sharpened their sound in such a way that it does exactly that on new album A Darker Discharge. Imagine being on the sidelines for world destruction then venturing out to witness twisted steel, crumbling facades, a populous decimated, and having the insurmountable feeling of what life will look like while knowing any sort of remaining life cycle will be short and probably impossible. Captivating is an understatement and the fact that mainman Mike McClatchey approaches this thing with body horror in mind makes it all the more terrifying. This is one of the best culminations of noise, sludge, and industrial metal to blaze through our ears in quite some time but also one of the most anchored to modern day atrocities as can be. We recently posed our set of Profile questions to Mike and below we present his responses. While you’re here, hit the links contained within to secure your own copy.
Nine Circles 