From the fetid depths of Nottingham’s catacombs comes Shrykull, a duo whose severe, wicked noise would shake the foundation of their city. Debut album Shrykull (self-released) is a sub-half-hour blast through blackened hell and pummelling Sludge which commences with the unholy ‘Plagued’: a brutal maelström preceding a morose, often funereal-paced second movement which is wonderfully controlled by William Powell’s spiked riffs and Kez Whelan’s hammer blows. Whelan’s screams cut to the the bone, never better displayed than on the rampant ‘Deafened By The Echo’, Powell’s ireful guitar buzz covering the frantic yet controlled battery.Continue reading
Since arriving in 2013 with their self-titled EP (Midnight Werewolf), Bostonian quintet Fórn have allied themselves to the dark, visceral yet mournful slurry plied by the likes of Bell Witch and Lycus. Sophomore album Rites of Despair (Gilead Media) is their first full-length for four years and is another harrowing journey through the mire.
Finding bands that make up their own genre names is always interesting and sometimes comical. In the case of Conan and their “Caveman Battle Doom”, theirs is a perfect description. The UK Doom trio returns on form with their monstrous new album Existential Void Guardian (Napalm).
In 2011 Boston quartet Morne tore up the Atmospheric Doom template with sophomore album Asylum (Profound Lore): a dark, brooding masterpiece with strong Crust influences, it garnered favourable comparisons with the likes of Neurosis and Agrimonia whilst acknowledging their own identity. Fourth studio album To the Night Unknown (Armageddon/MORNE) is the band’s first recorded output for five years, and it kicks in with fizzing tension. 
Lurching forth from the blackened sewers of Manchester (UK) come Leeched with their debut album You Took The Sun When You Left (Prosthetic). UK metal is in a frankly fantastic place now, whether large or small the sheer amount of genuinely exciting and vital bands is staggering. Leeched are hot the heels of UK luminaries Employed To Serve and Conjurer with their own monolithic take on the crushing doom/hardcore sound.
