There are vocalists who scream, sing, and grunt. And then there’s Daniel Droste.
The Ahab frontman and mainstay has, since 2004, imbued into doom metal a unique, untouchable style of singing which surpasses anything else heard to date. It’s matter-of-fact, informative and in a class of its own.
The Chernobyl disaster rocked the then-Soviet Union in 1986. Ronald Reagan was the president. Gas was just over a dollar a gallon (Editor’s note, gas was $2.14 per gallon nationwide in 1984). Times were much different so many decades ago, which makes it all the more remarkable that epic doom metal pioneers Candlemass – who formed in 1984 – continue to wield the torch of the scene, guiding the masses and collecting newcomers along the way.
Aptera is here with their debut full-length album,You Can’t Bury What Still Burns (Ripple Music). Taking their name from the battle site between sirens and muses (that’s metal as fuck!), Aptera is an all-female foursome who performs some heavy seventies-inspired doom / sludge. Continue reading
It must be quite the task conjuring images and emotions tinged with despair and hopelessness for nearly thirty years. Mournful Congregation – where nearly all Funeral Doom Metal discussions must start – unleashed the first part of their opus The Exuviae Of Gods – Part 1 (20 Buck Spin). It represents the Aussies’ sixteenth effort, further emphasizing the band’s frenetic output.Continue reading
It’s time to enter a very dark place. Poland’s mysterious and enigmatic doom-jazz-post rock-funk project -S- return with their first full-length release since their 2013 untitled debut. Led by composer, bassist, vocalist Patyr, with Grzegorz supplying drums, Dom, w którym mieszkał Wąż (A House Where Dwelled A Snake) (I, Voidhanger) is like nothing else you’re likely to hear, and that includes the group’s debut. The album is four tracks and forty-one minutes of oppressive, threatening, slithering, funky doom. If that sounds like a wild trip, it is.
And don’t forget those clarinets!Continue reading
Late 2020, the somber Seattle slayers of Sun Crow released their debut album, Quest For Oblivion. Though Ghost Cult missed the initial release, we’re happily taking advantage of the album’s re-release on Ripple Music. It’s no surprise the record topped doom charts, as it’s a perfect showcase of doom and gloom mastery.
While the core sound behind Book Of Wyrms has always been a balance between Doom Metal and Space Rock, their third album sees the band committing much more to the latter. Occult New Age (Desert Records) retains the methodical tempos and some of the beefy riffs of 2019’s Remythologizer but ultimately devotes its atmospheric ends to lighter textures and looser structures. The heavier sequences have more in common than Kyuss than Cathedral and their underlying Hawkwind influence had previously never been highlighted to this extent.
Splits are a pretty great tool for cross-promotion with the power to introduce different bands to each other’s audiences, but they can also foster a competitive spirit. While such intentions are normally limited to fans debating which band is better, Ripple Music intentionally fans the flames with the second chapter in their Turned To Stone series. This particular split sees two rising stars Howling Giant and Sergeant Thunderhoof putting their Stoner Prog Metal skills to the test on Turn To Stone Chapter 2, as they depict a battle of wits between two legendary Japanese swordsmen. It’s certainly one of the more intriguing ideas for a split I’ve seen in a good while, reminding me of a similar treatment that Thorr-Axe and Archarus gave The Hobbit in 2017.
As a proud Lancastrian all my life, it pains me to acknowledge the occasional superiority of bitter neighbours Yorkshire. One such area of supremacy is within the realm of Doom Metal: Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride have wielded the White Rose over some of the genre’s most memorable, emotional moments of the last thirty years and the latter’s erstwhile guitarist Hamish Glencross is determined to carry on that sound with his latest outfit Godthrymm. Debut album Reflections (Profound Lore Records) oozes the drama, power, and tragedy of his former band.Continue reading