High Priestess - High Priestess

Record Label: Ripple Music



High Priestess are a recently new Los Angeles trio who play heavy psychedelic music. The band was formed in 2016 through an advertisement that the band's bass player and vocalist, Mariana Fiel placed on Craigslist when she was seeking like-minded musicians. The band now consists of Katie Gilchrest on guitar and vocals, Mariana Fiel on bass/vocals, and Megan Mullins on drums. The three musicians released a five song demo in 2017 and got a record deal with Ripple Music due to their musical style and the strength of their work so their first album has now come into fruition.

The first song "Firefly" informs their listening masses as to what High Priestess is all about. The band immediately lay on a hypnotic psychedelic groove which the the trio then incorporate with the slow crushing plod of doom metal. The soaring yet melodic vocals add further to the ethereal quality of the song. The ten minutes of the song takes psychedelic influences from the past and the metal element and the prominence of the instruments gives the song a modern feel. "Despise You" opens with a much more laid back approach and the singing starts much earlier in the piece. This second composition also takes a metallic twist with loud drums and frightening growls that seem much more sinister than most death metal bands as they aren't a constant feature and take you by surprise. Elements of the song are reminiscent of Soundgarden but High Priestess definitely have their own unique thing going.

The intro to "Banshee" wails doom metal but the dreamy vocals come in and the loud drums disappear for a while only to return again. The band utilize the loud-quiet-loud approach to great effect. "Take the Blame" is a fuzzed out heavy jamming rock tune. Some of the tune is in the video below.



The vocals on "Mother Forgive Me" are quiet with some even whispered and this aids the hypnotic psychedelic quality to remain a constant feature.

Starting an album with the longest song didn't seem a wise choice but High Priestess still command your attention immediately and they aren't about quick punches although this self-titled does have a couple of short burners and the variations in tune length are a wise move. This album is recommended for anyone interested in modern psychedelia.

3.5/5

Release Date: 18 May 2018


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Destroyer of Light - Hopeless

Record Label: Heavy Friends Records


After releasing their second album in 2017 which we reviewed here. Texan doom merchants Destroyer of Light have returned to the fold and have released a "Hopeless" two song EP. In this day and age, it's becoming more and more questionable as to what exactly constitutes an album, a single or an EP. The lines are undeniably blurred when you consider "Dopesmoker" by Sleep and " Mirror Reaper" by Bell Witch.

On "Hopeless" slow crushing riffs accompanied with clean vocals are the order of the day. This time the vocals of Steve Colca don't remind me quite as much of Ozzy and are more often reminiscent of former Candlemass vocalist Messiah Marcolin. These songs remind me mostly of Candlemass although Destroyer of Light often head towards a more fuzzed out sound. Check out half of this release in the video below and judge for yourselves.




3.5/5

Release Date: 11 May 2018



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Bang - The Best of Bang

Label: Ripple Music

Bang were a cult band back in the early seventies. Power trio Bang released their debut album in 1971. Since the band were considered the American Black Sabbath by some, it could be argued by many whether they fit under proto-metal umbrella or not.

The Black Sabbath influence is so strong on tracks like "Lions...Christians" and "The QUeen" that you wonder how many bats the singer has bitten the head off. There's undeniably heavy UK influence on this group in both senses of the word, "Questions" sounds like a missing link between Stray and Led Zeppelin due to the vocals doing the high-pitched part that Robert Plant became renowned for during his Led Zep days.

There's a delightful simpleness to the rock of "Mother". The song is catchy and there are echoes back to the fab four but while Bang were looking to the past, they were also looking forward. "Keep on" is from a similar mould and you can check this tune out on soundcloud. (Yay, I finally got my head around Soundcloud. Oh, no. I didn't. That site still sucks for embedding music on blogger). Many listeners will hear the roots of both what is now known as classic rock and also doom metal on tracks such as "Feel The Hunt". If "Windfair" was stacked up through more amps and turned up to 11, it'd sound rather similar to an English band named after torture device. There's some great soloing on "Don't Need Nobody". "Feels Nice" has a huge Zeppelin influence and if you've never liked Zep, this track will also beg the question, why does he sing like that?

This Anthology will nestle down in the vinyl format in the record collections of stoner and psychedelic rock/proto-metal fans and meat and potatoes hard rock fans. If you've enjoyed any rock albums that were released in the early seventies or if you'd like to, then "The Best of Bang" is a good arrival point.

4/5

Release date: 20 April 2018

Mordor - Darkness...

Pagan Records



Here's another comeback album. Poland's doom metal peddlers, Mordor have definitely taken a long time between drinks. It has been 21 years since there previous album. The band blot the landscape by painingt a bleak atmosphere with heavy riffs and deep throaty vocals.

The band walk the tightrope between atmospheric post-rock or post-metal on many on their tunes. There's a black metal influence on "L.U.C.I.F.E.R." with a similar guitar tone and incredibly fast drumming that veers away from plodding doom metal but Mordor still keep their musical template. There's a slow build to "Melancholy", which incorporates black metal with a more atmospheric sound which are married with deep gruff caveman style vocals that would seen many a sludge band green with envy. The band convey a Gothic feel that in the album closer, "Dark Room", which has a sparse and dark sound.



Fans of death-doom will eat this album up and non-purist black metal fans will be intrigued by the manner in which Mordor has incorporated one of their favourite metal sub-genres. There aren't any quick hooks on "Darkness.." so those looking for a quick metal fix won't find much to their liking here as Mordor favor long songs with no tunes briefer than six minutes.

3/5

Release date: April 20 2018


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Witchcryer - Cry Witch

Label: Ripple Music

On paper Witch Cry sound awesome; a Texan doom metal band with both the classic heavy rock influences of the likes of Black Sabbath, Uriah Heap and Deep Purple and combine it with the slightly more modern doom influences of Trouble and Saint Vitus. The band have female vocals that are reminiscent of Janis Joplin. The band have their chops together and sound really tight.

So what's the problem? It's hard to shake off the feeling this is nothing but a nostalgia trip. The songs here just don't catch this listener's attention. Overworked and overused Sabbath riffs need catchy hooks. The catchiest song on "Cry Witch" is "Witchfinder General" although the album closer "Lapis Philosophorum" is an attention grabber where the band ditch the heaviness (unless you consider Jethro Tull heavy) and vocalist Suzy Bravo is gives her strongest performance. I'd bet these songs work well live but this album just leaves this listener flat.

2.5/5

Release Date: 19 January 2018

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Hysteria - The Moth

Record label: This Charming Man


First things first, I'm old enough to remember when Def Leppard released Hysteria. Some of my heavy metal buddies went nuts over it. A year or so later I was mainly listening to The Smiths and thrash metal. Oddly this sludgy doomy German metal band who go under the handle of The Moth are signed to a record label called "This Charming Man". I don't know anything about their roster and wouldn't be surprised if they've signed bands from many different genres but there's no mistaking The Moth for anything other than a metal band.


There's a very loose metallic muddy sound to the album's title track which recalls early Celtic Frost vocally and instrumentally. There's a similar murky rawness in both the vocals and the playing. "Brachial" opens with an opening that sucks you into the pits of hell then it's clear that the band clearly don't like the likes of you and mess with you with a nearly poppy melody sung over a metallic drone. There's a hypnotic quality to the chanting in "Slow Your Pace" and the drums are hit with a precise loudness. The doom is turned up on eleven on "This Life". If My Dying Bride went for a raw sludge sound, they'd sound a lot like The Moth do on this track. There's a more than slight gothic tinge to the vocals. On "Blackness", the vocals take a turn in another direction and the vocalist sounds like a caveman chewing on a boulder. The instruments are loud and there is a punkish experimental element to this track although The Moth have their feet firmly set in the metal zone. The male/female vocals take a cue from anarchopunk bands.



"Loose" is what happens when someone gives a bulldozer a guitar and says play pop music. It's a stubbornly metallic tune. "Shattered" is reminiscent of High on Fire but The Moth are much looser in delivery. "Fail" has a lot of early Soundgarden running through it especially vocally although there is definitely a similar guitar sound. I also hear some noise rock like Killdozer attempting to break its way out of the shadowy metal into the light of day. Drone, sludge doom and noise rock fans will all derive enjoyment from The Moth's latest release but they are likely to confuse a lot of metal fans with their refusal to have a cookie cutter sound. It's certainly not easy listening.

3/5

Release Date: 10 November 2017


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Firebreather - Firebreather

Label: Suicide Records



If I were to sum up the self-titled release from Swedish trio Firebreather in three words, it would be "High on Fire". There is some serious Matt Pike worship going on. Blatant worship is not necessarily a bad thing. Count the number of albums you own by Black Sabbath, early Metallica and Iron Maiden soundalikes and consider the number of times you reach for them rather than reaching for the original innovators of sound.

The vocals on Firebreather's debut very much imitate the deep throaty yowl of High on Fire's Matt Pike. Due to the High on Fire influence Firebreather have a heavy sludgy sound, which they marry with doom metal. The final song on this album has the same apocalyptical feeling that New Zealand's Beastwars were aiming at and often hitting.





In my book, four songs don't count as an album even if they are Metallica-type length. This is an EP and not an album, despite the fact that it says otherwise in various places.

3/5



Release Date: 13 October 2017



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Profetus - Coronation of the Sun

Record Label: Weird Truth





Although originally released in 2009, Japanese record label, Weird Truth Productions have re-released and remastered the debut album Finnish doom metal band, Profetus. Besides the four track which appeared on the original debut, the remastered version also features the two tracks from the band's demo and a live track. Just below is the track "Winter Solstice"from the band's demo




Profetus play funeral doom. With the exception of the track, "Saturnine Night", which has a running time of 3 minutes and 41 seconds, the songs are mostly lengthy slow plodding doom dirges which last for well over ten minutes. All the tracks convey a depressingly bleak and sorrowful atmosphere that would be envy of many goth bands. The slow doom notes and riffs are sparse. The drumbeats are at an incredibly slow tempo. The vocals are not often used but they are usually a gruff hoarse whisper. The shortest track "Saturnine Night" features a spoken part which lends this track a very dark and menacing underbelly.





The lengths of most of the tracks are the main weakness on this album and also there's a feeling of deja vu in each track following the opening track due to the similarity in sound. However those weaknesses are common in the style of music Profetus play and often considered strengths. As somebody who usually hates bonus tracks on re-releases, I actually feel that the record label, Weird Truth, made a good move in sandwiching the original four album tracks between the two demo tracks. However, I still find the inclusion of a live version of a track that is on the album a questionable move as the track is close to twenty minutes long and while it's well recorded, it's difficult to hear the audience so why not just include another studio track?

3/5

Release Date: 27 September 2017



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Mindkult - Lucifer's Dreams

Record Label:Transcending Obscurity


One Man band Mindkult hails from the USA and crosses doom metal with shoe gaze, which has lead to great results. There's a pop sensibility to the doom of "Nightmares", think the John Lennon sings for Black Sabbath sound of Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats meeting My Bloody Valentine. Check the tune out for yourself below.





Whilst the Sabbath riffs come out strong in the over nine minute track, "Behold the Wraith", the song veers into shoegaze territory. "Howling Witch"opens with with a horror movie sample then it's equal parts Jesus and Mary Chain and Uncle Acid and The Deadbeats. Mindkult mastermind, Fowst creates an otherworldly feeling in the album's title track combining the more psychedelic side of Pink Floyd with doom and stoner rock.

The bottom line is that much of "Lucifer's Dream"sounds like Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats gone shoegaze but not veering far from the template that makes Uncle Acid so listenable. Mindkult have discovered a winning formula.



3.5/5


Release Date: 20 September 2017


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Necromancers -Servants Of The Salem Girl

France's Necromancers appeared out of thin air and are blowing away a number of reviewers with their debut album, "Servant's of the Salem Girl". The band are signed to Ripple Music, who are knowledgeable people in the type of music that Necromancers play. So exactly what type of music do these young French guys play? Their sound is hard rock/heavy metal with a heavy touch of the 70's era. For those looking for band comparisons, the track, Lucifer's Kin had me thinking of Uncle Acid and The Deadbeats and Trouble so think psychedelic Black Sabbath.

Although some will insist it's pure Black Sabbath, "Black Marble House"is reminiscent of the softer side of early Stray and Wishbone Ash due to guitar sound and the harmonies. Check the video out.

Necromancers contains lyrics about voices from the past and takes in NWOBM plus a smidgen of early Danzig style blues/hard rock. There's a doomy side to Grand Orbitor but Necromancers combine the slow paced with chest-beating traditional metal and this elevates the doom and a very strong tune smacks the listener right in the face.

Servants of the Salem Girl is a great debut album and it's very easy to understand why Ripple Music signed them as they fit the sound the label has and the band are clearly high grade songwriters and musicians. If there is a complaint to be found, it's that due to the variety of styles in the six song on the album, it's not clear that Necromancers have stamped their own identifiable identity with their sound. I suspect that it will become easier to identify this band among the herd of soundalike bands in the hard rock/metal/stoner rock genre. Hear this album soon!

4/5


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Poseidon - Prologue

After only existing a year London UK band, Poseidon release their debut album "Prologue". When a band opens with an album with a song that spans past the thirteen minute mark, it better keep the listener's attention. Poseiden manage this feat by changing styles without a blunder in "The Beginning The End The Colony"with the tunes opening Neurosis heavy drone later integrating a layer fuzzed out stoner rock on top without halting the drone, then there's a post-metal/hardcore part with guttural vocals that keep a listener which twist Poseidon will take next.
There's a real surprise in the second track as the band take a much quieter approach with an acoustic guitar and keyboards on "Mother Mary of Scorn" which brings The Church to mind due to the vocals. There's a menacing torment of a metallic hell about to break out in the latter parts of the track.

Anyone who has ever been curious as to what fuzzed out post-metal sounds like should hear the intro to "Chainbreaker"which breaks the shackles and chains with interludes of short metallic riffing. The track builds into an absolutely ripping finale. The album concludes with a lengthy track "Omega", which starts with samples from a mad preacher then a Pink Floyd style intro builds and there are a few thrash metal style riffs and drumbeats spiced up with more than a teaspoon full of sludge.

"Prologue"is an interesting start to an ongoing narrative entitled "The Medusa Chronicles"which Poseidon promises to carry through to future records and detail the collapse of civilization and its reconstruction all wrapped in a post apocalyptic sci-fi opera. I'm anxious to hear much more from this UK band.

Release date: 21 July 2017


3.5/5


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Pos

Destroyer of Light - Chamber of Horrors

Texas band Destroyer of Light are unmistakably doom metal merchants. On their second album, they start out with a instrumental entitled "Whispers Into the Threshold". "Chamber of Horrors" largely follows the doom metal blueprint although the songs short length informs the listener know that Destroyer of Light are not your run of the mill dime a dozen Black Sabbath wannabe doom metallers. The follow up track "Into the Smoke" confirms this although the riffing and drumming is slow and certainly does bring Sabbath to mind, the throaty vocals at the start of the song add an element of sludge style heaviness but further through the track they switch to the more traditional style of doom vocals without missing a beat (pun intended since the tempo is slow). A horror movie sample opens "The Virgin" which is followed with vocals sung in a near whisper over a musically quiet part which doesn't last for long as there is some short yelling before the vocals transform into Ozzy style. A shouted part over doom and sludgy is an interesting turn within the song to further convey the feeling of sheer terror, which was set up by the track's opening sample. Destroyer of Light look towards 70's psychedelia in the instrumental track "Twilight Procession". The vocal delivery on "Buried Alive" contains a desperation reminiscent of Life of Agony's on their "River Runs Red" and grunted spoken vocals kick in around the mid-part of the song and there's no escaping from the uneasiness of a nightmare.

The electronic press kit states that Destroyer of Light are influenced by Eyehategod, Electric Wizard, Mercyful Fate and Autopsy. Still, like every other doom band Sabbath worship is of the highest priority. Just check out the tracks "Lux Crusher", " and "Prisoner of Eternity", which are pure Black Sabbath. However, Destroyer of Light make it much more interesting and really hit the mark when they integrate their non-doom influences especially on "The Virgin" and "Buried Alive" however they don't utilize these influences enough on "Chambers of Horrors" to truly separate themselves from the pack of doomsters.

3/5


Release date: 14 July 2017


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Zaraza - Spasms of Rebirth

Dear Reader

I trust this day finds you well. I have a treasure for you but first you, dear reader, need to answer four questions before you will be eligible to receive this gift.

Do you like doom metal? Do you like wallowing in the pits of sludge? Does the mention of industrial music cause your mouth to froth? Would a combination of the three be of interest to you? If you answered no to any of these questions then stop reading this review right NOW and go and read the emails in your spam folder.

If you answered, yes to all four questions then Canadian and Ecuadorian duo, Zaraza's latest album "Spasm of Rebirth" will be of interest. The duo play a hybrid of sludge, doom and industrial. If band references are important to you then. dear reader, you should think of Godflesh colliding in the underworld with Eyehategod with samples the conjure up a sense of dread.



Now, dear reader, if you're still reading this and we're both still alive as I doubt either of us have much time left in this world then I implore you to get a copy of Zaraza's "Spasms of Rebirth" rather than give me your bank details.



Your sincerely



A near dead blogger



PS Check out this youtube video for their track "Church of Gravity.





PPS: Check out a number of tracks from the album on Zaraza's bandcamp page. "Maskwearer" is a highly recommended track. Oh, yeah. By the way, the physical format of this album will be available from 17 July 2017 until whenever it's not.


3.5/5

Grave Siesta "Piss and Vinegar"

Grave Siesta are a Finnish doom metal band that have released their second album "Piss and Vinegar". The first thing that occurred to me when I saw the album name was English punk band GBH released an album with the same name in the not too distant past but that's where the connection with British punk stops as Grave Siesta are definitely a metal band.

The most striking feature are the vocal gymnastics of Taito Halonen and they hit you on the first dirty sludgy track, "Tyrant Pleasures". He goes from raspy grunts to clean singing to breathless growls. It'd be easy to compare him to Mike Patton but Halonen's vocals have a dirtier feel at times and sometimes remind me of a Chuck Mosley with wider range. "Coffinborne" moves from slow sludger doom into a faster pass and whips the listener thoughout regardless of the speed. Put your dirty mind at rest, "Seamen Swallow'd" is actually a rollicking track about sailors being swallowed. "Warwhore" is menacing with its catchy chorus and doom metal underbelly dragging through the slimiest sludge. "Pile of Tongues" has a death metal edge but heads in a rock 'n' roll direction and the vocals even take a short turn towards the very melodic edge of the Messiah of Candlemass. "Knight of a Bent Lance" sounds messy at times due to the drums shifting tempo but the band keep it together and if it wasn't originally intended, it's a fabulous disaster.

"Whispers of the Worm" lets you know that Grave Siesta keep their Black Sabbath and Candlemass albums close to the heart but when the vocals take a turn, you realize just how much these guys also treasure death metal.

While there are some clean vocals on this record, "Piss and Vinegar" is a dirty album and Grave Siesta offer up far more than retrodden Black Sabbath riffs. This band are treading some interesting ground that the more adventurous music fan will appreciate.

4/5





Listen to the album on Grave Siesta's bandcamp page





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Necropoli "I"

After the speed of Reign of Fury and Drones for Queens, here's a real change of pace as Italian band, Necropoli are deathly slow and describe their music as funeral doom.

While the band play long doom metal songs there's definitely a death metal influence in their musical stew. David Unsaved vocals are slow death style grunts which are placed atop the haunting sounds of guitar, bass, synth and programmed drums. It's a real credit to the band that it's not really noticeable that the drums here are programmed. There's a Godflesh style industrial feel running through the mix too. Check out, "Curriculum Vitae" the shortest track on the album below.



While the length of the songs may be off-putting to many, Necropoli have produced an interesting and innovative debut.

3.5/5



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Relentless "Souls of Charon"

Chicago's Relentless provide a serious change of pace from the grindcore albums that were reviewed recently.   Instead of blast-beats and guitar riffs that challenge the speed of light Relentless choose to crush with slow riffs that often contain a serious whiff of Black Sabbbath.

The slow yet crunching riffing in "Trapped Underground" make it crystal clear that this is doom metal.  At first, I heard a lot of Siouxie Sioux in Carlee Jackson's vocals.  After a few more listens there's a haunting from a lot earlier in the seventies and the late sixties in the form of Janis Joplin yet there's still a punkish spirit trying its best to push the elder ghosts of rock past out of the way.  From the opening riff of "Forever Damned", there's no denying the Black Sabbath influence.  The drumming is standard slow tempo and makes way for the much stronger guitar sound which  carries the Iommi patent. .

In many ways, it's unfair to pigeonhole Relentless as doom metal as there are other elements to their music  "Better Off Dead" has a Jefferson Airplane feel with its poppy hooks and guitar sounds that bring Wishbone Ash to mind.  This is a tune to wear light incense and put on flares when you listen to it.  There's a fuzzed out  stoner rock vibe in "Final Wishes".

That Relentless doom metal label is unfortunate as it brings inevitable comparisons to heavyweights such as Black Sabbath, Trouble and Candlemass and the vocal approach here is more attuned to the rock world than metal.  A plus  though is that Carlee sounds like a woman as in the heavier realm as it is becoming more common to rival men in the brutality stakes by sounding exactly like men and that just begs the question: what's the point of having a female vocalist? Unfortunately though the vocals on "Souls of Charon" often don't gel and the band wind up sounding two different newly formed high school bands.

Fans of Fuzz Manta and Valkyrie will find something to like here.  The Fuzz Manta fans will find the vocals appealing and some of the more seventies styled guitar work on "Souls of Charon" is reminiscent of that on Valkyrie's "Man of Two Visions" masterpiece. Sadly despite a number of good parts Relentless don't measure up to either of those bands on "Souls of Charon".

2.5/5

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Stone Magnum "From Time to Eternity"

Apparently the reason time is perceived as going faster as a person gets older is due to chemical changes in the brain.  It seems like yesterday that The Small Takeover received and reviewed Stone Magnum's debutand it truly wasn't that long ago. The work ethic of this band is the inverse of their musical content of slow plodding tempo of doom.  It's just a shame that a lot of blogs would have shuffled their release towards the back of the review queue due to the drooling over that highly anticipated Sabbath album coming out around the same time.

Once again, Stone Magnum aren't exactly treading a new path but thank your choice of deity that they're not yet another Cookie (Monster) Cutter death metal band.  The band are still largely ignoring recent musical trends and taking the road less travelled with their heavy brooding doom.  This time around though the singer's voice brings Messiah period Candlemass to mind more than that messed up reality TV star guy, who once sung for some  band.  This release is heavier than its predecessor and with this being doom, the Sabbath influence is still present but these guys clearly aren't boot-wearing fairies.  It's no all giants trapped in quicksand though as "In Tongues They Whisper" has a segment with a fast head-shaking, almost but not quite neck-snapping tempo.  Lyrically there's no denying these guys are top students of their craft with  downbeat lyrics fitting like a hand in a masked medieval torturer's glove.  

The true test of a sound-alike band is whether you want to listen to their influences after or while you finish listening to them.  Stone Magnum don't cause a rush to grab either Candlemass or Black Sabbath albums because there is a crunchy addictiveness contained within their tunes.  Maybe as a reference to one of their song titles that should really be "Uncontained".    If this is the soundtrack from here to eternity, it's clearly well mapped out and lacking diversity but if it's an option, we'll happily walk on into the next world with it playing.

4/5

The album is available for US$5 from the band's bandcamp site.  Do yourself a favour and check it out at least.

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Stone Magnum - Stone Magnum

Damn!  This is some really solid doom metal from Indiana band, Stone Magnum.  It's clear from the get go of "Fallen Priest" that the band live and breathe their music.  The song itself is some of the best Sabbath worship that you're likely to hear.  If I didn't know better I'd swear this was off a 70's album with Ozzy Osbourne handling vocals.  The writing, the riffs and the vocals are all really that close.

Slow and crushing is the only way to describe "Locksmith of Misery"  with vocals that are somewhere between Ozzy's and Internal Void's. The riffing towards the end of the song speeds things up just a little but with this being doom metal,  Stone Magnum don't stick with the fast riffs for very long.   The lyrics all contain a morbid twist.    Overall the songwriting here is great and the band sound like they have been together much longer than just a few years.  It appears that you can listen to the whole album for yourself on the band's bandcamp site, which is linked below.  All fans of the Sabbath sound and doom metal should do themselves a favour and check these guys out as soon as possible. What are you waiting for?  It's no further than a click away.

4/5

Stone Magnum on facebook

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Asilo - Geografias

 

Asilo are a four piece band from Argentina.  The band describe their music as crust doom. Asilo have opted out of the traditional four on the floor sound by eliminating the guitar and instead utilize two basses.   Their latest single "Geografias" is a taster for an upcoming album.    "Geografias" crawls slowly out from the gutter as sludgy crust with troll vocals then when the song hits about the  halfway point oppressive discordant drone beats the listener into submission and the comes out of a cocoon as doom with haunting spoken vocals.  The lyrics to the song are all in the band's native language.

What really piqued my interest in this release was the cover of "Wardance" because it is one of my favorite Killing Joke songs.  As with all cover versions, there is the fear that the band completely ruin the song or by simply playing it straight add absolutely nothing but Asilo add a dense layer of mouldy crust to the tune.  This would be my pick out of the two tracks however it's not going to end up on their upcoming album.  The band's music reminds me of those old ads that were used to advertise death metal that stated, "Some music was meant to stay underground".   This isn't music for the faint-hearted.   However if you're looking for a combination of crust, doom and sludge, this release is well worth a look but don't just take my word for it, play the single for yourself at their Bandcamp page.

  The fact that they have a picture of Edith Piaf on their band shirt is a little confusing.

3/5


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Awaken

The Blood Divine were what happened in the mid-nineties when Anathema kicked their vocalist out. He ended up teaming up with a couple of former Cradle of Filth members. As you would expect the results are a gothic metal album featuring deep male vocal with very occassional female singing in the background.

Enjoy!