The wait for a new Candlemass album can often be slower than their riffs so it’s always a pleasant surprise when an interim release appears on the horizon. Four-track EP Black Star (Napalm Records) might only contain two original songs from the Godfathers of Swedish Doom but, as usual, it’s a tale of quality over quantity. Continue reading
Never Quite Dead (Dying Victims Productions,) Pagan Altar‘s newest album, also perfectly describes the band’s journey since its inception in 1978. Reading the press kit, this NWOBHM/Power Doom quartet formed, recorded, and broke up before they earned much attention.Continue reading
In the world of “caveman battle doom” metal, there may not be much competition, but Conan is the clear champion of this primitive sludge/doom metal genre. The Liverpool threesome has dropped their sixth full-length in the form of Violence Dimension (Heavy Psych Sounds). Clocking in at just under an hour with eight excruciatingly heavy tracks with all of the unga bunga you could ask for is just right.Continue reading
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When I was much, much, much younger, I went to a talent show at a girlfriend’s high school. Most of the acts were musical, so they set up a stage in the gym rather than using the auditorium. About four or five of those bands were hardcore punk fronted by the same kid, and every song exploded in a sub-two-minute speed-punk rage blast.Continue reading
Los Angeles Sludge Doom band Vape Warlök will release their new album ...And His Skull Shall Make My Bong, via the Pillars of Creation label, appropriately on 4/20! Spiritual disciples of bands we all bow down to at Ghost Cult, such as Electric Wizard, Sons of Otis, Bongzilla, and Sleep, we are thrilled to bring you the full album stream ahead of its release on the day of the blessed leaf!Continue reading
Messa’s fourth album, The Spin (Metal Blade Records), finds the band embracing their inner prog rock guitar gods, and channeling that energy in a few different directions. The first few songs might fake you out as they sound as if the band is heading in a more post-punk direction. The guitars gallop with more tension at a fairly brisk pace. This is certainly a shift from their earlier material that found them as more of a doom band. The vocals are very strong and well-defined from a songwriting perspective, which is the most important element of their sound. The band has always carried a smoky blues-based undercurrent, which is still present, though at times they wander off into more atmospheric shadows, as heard on ” At the Races”. Their guitarist begins to shine on this one, and his heroics do not let up from here. Continue reading
In this episode, keefy welcomes back our old friend Karl Agell (ex-COC, COC Blind, Lie Heavy, Leadfoot) to discuss the new doom metal supergroup Legions of Doom with members of Trouble, The Skull, Saint Vitus, and more! Legions of Doom released an EP and a debut album – “The Skull 3!” Karl catches us up on the last few years of life, his many projects, how this band formed, and pays tribute to late vocalist Eric Wagner (The Skull, Trouble), and more.Continue reading
This review is going to break from the normal narrative we normally use here at Ghost Cult, where we steer away from how we feel personally about an album and try to stick to objective facts since Hangman’s Chair is one of my favorite bands. If you think that this will be a gushing love letter only fueled by my fandom, let’s correct that notion. My favorite bands are held to a much higher standard. My expectations here are exalted since I am emotionally invested in them. Continue reading
London’s WREN have been releasing music for over a decade and Black Rain Falls (Church Road Records) is their third full-length record. The band describe it as “a crystallisation of the conceptual voice-giving to natural collapse, humanity’s decline and the shadowed spectre that has imbued WREN since the beginning.” Continue reading
Oakland, California atmospheric and progressive Doom Metal conjurers Snakemother team up with Bay Area powerhouse Ripple Music for the vinyl and CD reissue of their acclaimed self-titled debut album this April 25th, 2025! Pre-orders are live at the links below. Continue reading