Locrian made three New England stops on their current tour making The Alchemy in Providence, RI the first up on the list with support from the Cleveland-based composer High Aura’d and A Monolithic Dome featuring members of Elizabeth Colour Wheel of Boston. I went into the show kind of blind since I had only been asked to review it maybe 48 hours previous and had no previous knowledge of either of the supporting bands.Continue reading
Even after nearly half a dozen playthroughs, it’s still a challenge identifying a common thread in which to weave together the five tracks of Branches (Self-Released), the latest output from Through Mists’ mastermind James Aniston.Continue reading
Funeral Doom is one of the more difficult subgenres of heavy music to get into. Hell, I am not even sure if I can say I am a fan of the subgenre, moreso some bands or even some albums by said bands.
On Labyrinthe, (Self-Released) prolific, anonymous, French genre-defying duo Non Serviam lean into their Goth-Noise tendencies with a lo-fi collection of ghostly, ghastly gloom and dread.
Originating as a solo project ten years (or more) ago, it was once they became a duo (and released debut full-length Le Cœur Bat) in 2021 that Non Serviam really got going. Continue reading
The Majestic in Midtown Detroit was buzzing and bustling with multiple excited crowds last Friday evening. The entertainment complex has two venues and each one was hosting world class acts. The swanky second-floor spot, affectionately known as the Magic Stick, welcomed metallers, High on Fire’s headlining tour to its stage. This prized powerhouse trio hit the road to promote their newest full-length record, Cometh the Storm (MNRK Heavy, review here). It was a homecoming show for frontman Matt Pike making the loud, rowdy evening extra special.Continue reading
Six albums into their career, SUMAC stretch the limits of what Metal can be with The Healer (Thrill Jockey Records) — a four-song, 76-minute double album of fluid, evolving, at times seemingly freeform Jazz Metal that requires some patience, but impresses with its expressiveness and creativity. Continue reading
Nothing beats a sunny day, a cold beer, and some sludge and doom blasting over the speakers as I melt in the heat. Just in time for summer, Fórn is reissuing The Departure of Consciousness (Persistent Vision Records) for its ten-year anniversary. The Boston-based funeral doom/sludge outfit made their name in the Boston scene by bringing some of the heaviest, most beefy riffs. Now they grace us with a reissue of their debut full-length where those riffs are as tasty as ever.Continue reading
As the summer in the Northern Hemisphere approaches, I always find a nice doom or sludge album really sets the mood for a day of yard work, or just sitting on the deck with a cold beer. The new album from Thou, Umbilical (Sacred Bones Records), may not fit that exact moment, but it certainly would fit in for after the sun sets and the flames rise in the firepits and the tips of our joints. Continue reading
It is well-known to not judge a book by its cover.
However, Canadian sludge titans, Dopethrone, dropped one of the coolest album titles yet, Broke Sabbath (Totem Cat Records). Super descriptive for anyone who has not given these Stoner, Doom-infused sludge gents a shot yet. Seven tracks spanning just shy of forty minutes is the perfect length to see what the group is all about as they drag you through the muddy waters out to a clearing to end you.Continue reading
How many times have you heard a band described as genuinely “unsettling” to listen to? In all honesty, this scribe in question has probably described a few in writing as such. Well, more than likely those acts cannot come even close to the nauseating realism, punishing content and sonic barrage of New York’s Couch Slut over the last few years.