Check out our preview of the new music releases coming out this week!
Tag Archives: doom metal
ALBUM REVIEW: Grief Symposium – …In The Absence of Light
What was the first bit of heavy music you ever heard in your life? Did you level up, gaining mana from the ear-peeling riffs and shouts? Lovers of extreme metal surely have had experiences like this in their lives, where their entire world is tossed upside-down a new band, or a clutch of new demos from an emerging scene. This is how my ears felt hearing Grief Symposium, with a new take on the Death / Doom sub-genre with their debut, …In The Absence of Light (Church Road Records). Although mysterious and secretive, they did not set out to reinvent extreme music, but rather invent themselves, and a sound that should echo for a long time.
INTERVIEW: Mattias Nööjd of Firebreather on Coming to America, Doom Metal, and More
Ghost Cult caught up with Mattias Nööjd of Firebreather! The band was new to America and on the eve of their massive tour with Monolord! They tour Europe later on with High on Fire and others. Their album Dwell In The Fog was newly released at the time of this interview and you can buy it from Riding Easy Records, at the link below. Continue reading
Grim Reefer Fest 2023 Books Bongzilla, Ilsa, Borracho, Haze Mage, Wizard Rifle, and More!
Baltimore’s annual Grim Reefer Fest has announced its full lineup for the upcoming event. Baltimore, MD on Saturday, April 29th, 2023. Heading up the bill are Bongzilla, with Ilsa, Borracho, Haze Mage, Wizard Rifle, False Gods, Sun Voyager, Faith in Jane, Holy Fingers, and Blightbeast! Tickets are $35 in adv and $50 at the door and can be purchased directly at the link below.
Poster by GhostBat
INTERVIEW: Sarah Pendelton of The Otolith on The End of SubRosa, and a “Folium Limina” Album Breakdown
Ghost Cult caught up with Sarah Pendelton of The Otolith! Comprised of former members of SubRosa: Kim Cordray, Levi Hanna, Andy Patterson, and Pendleton; with the addition of Matt Brotherton on bass, the band carved out a masterful debut. The sound of the group advances the beloved Subrosa style on their debut “Folium Limina,” out now via Blues Funeral Recordings. Sarah talked candidly about the end of SubRosa, the birth of the new band, their debut performances, songwriting, a track-by-track analysis of the album, and much more!
ALBUM REVIEW: Katatonia – Sky Void Of Stars – Napalm Records
It is an often overlooked but undeniable fact that up to the present day, Katatonia is on a phenomenal creative run; arguably one of the best in Metal music, in general. Since 2006’s The Great Cold Distance (and arguably even before this), Katatonia have been consistently put out near classics up to 2016’s excellent The Fall Of Hearts, with even 2020’s hiatus ending City Burials (all Peaceville) standing shoulder to shoulder with such works. Firmly returned from a brief absence, 2023 sees the band’s second album since this return, on a new label home for the first time in their career.
CONCERT REVIEW: Royal Thunder – Spotlights – Boozewa Live at Saint Vitus Bar
1-5-23, St Vitus, Brooklyn, NY
This was a hell of a show from start to finish and the best way I could have started the 2023 year if you want to quantize it that way. Boozewa (ˈbooze-ˌwä), features members of Backwoods Payback, hailing from West Chester, PA started the night off. Good lord, riffmas stayed late this year and treated Brooklyn with a healthy heaping of head-banging, fun time signatures, thick bass, and caveman drums.
ALBUM REVIEW: Re-Buried – Repulsive Nature
It hasn’t taken long for the bright and shiny optimism of the new year to be well and truly soiled by what is sure to be one of the filthiest and repugnant releases of 2023. Hailing from the land of grunge, Seattle, Re-Buried were formed in 2018 and feature bassist Clayton Wolff and drummer Alex Bytnar from sludge/doom act Un. With guitarists Ed Bingaman and Paul Richards providing the stomach churning riffs, the line-up is completed by frontman Chris Pinto, although the vocals on this recording are actually performed by his predecessor Mat Chandler.
ALBUM REVIEW: AHAB – The Coral Tombs
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.
