Chaos Invocation - Wherever We Roam...

Chaos Invocation is a black metal band from Germany, who formed in 2004. Their latest release, “Wherever We Roam…” is their fifth full-length album; they have also released one demo, a split and a compilation.

This album straight up destroys in the best way possible.  It’s against the grain of everything and there isn’t one moment where the band decides to compromise on anything.  It’s focused on it’s blackened atmosphere with a razor sharp degree that should come as no surprise but still highly impressive. 

With all that being said, it has an unique feel to it and it’s approach separates itself from its influences and other bands in the genres. It’s a smart album that presents its chaos in an intelligible way and with much purpose.  The compositions are extreme  but engaging and exciting all the way through.  The energy across the eight song, 45 minute runtime is both maddening and infectious. 

The opening, and title, song begins with clean notes and a surprisingly emotional guitar solo before it builds up to a proper black metal rager.  But it is the little details like that, that make the songs stand out and put the band a cut above the rest.  The song itself has an atmosphere that is gripping, perpetually hurting towards oblivion.  

On some songs, such as “Golden Gates and Terren Light,” there exists a delicate balance between extremity and melody.  The song’s opening riffs exemplify that while offering a catchy intro that makes the song gripping from the beginning.  Around the 1:22 mark, another melodic passage, with spoken word gliding over it, is yet another moment where the band steps outside the cold sphere of which they live before jumping back inside.  The final half is amazing, what with the drums complimenting the riffs to drive the song towards its epic conclusion.  

“No Throne Withstands,” takes this idea of the band living in two worlds simultaneously and just runs with it.  The first part is raw, blackened power but the lead guitar peppers the song with just enough intricate detail to change its whole dynamic.   The leads appear again near the end, making the song all the more engrossing and insane.

A weaved tapestry of clean notes begins, “This World Wants Us Dead,” and it unfurls itself for over a minute then grows into a melodic passage, where the bass in particular is a highlight.  This intro builds upon itself wonderfully for over two minutes.  Then the hell gates open and all the rich darkness comes pouring in like an inferno.  After the four minute mark, a murky atmosphere permeates the structure, offering a simple but effective solo that effectively winds the song back up to its blistering speed with some clean vocals, which hit as hard as the extreme style. 

The final song, “Engravings of the Quivering Pedestal,” is one of the straightforward songs on the album but it still finds elements to put on display, such as the fucking awesome bass.  The groove in the mid-section keeps the tempo rolling while opening the song enough for a somber guitar solo to display its emotional burdens. 

Chaos Invocation’s “Wherever We Roam,” is a confident display of blackened elements that aren’t afraid to go where needed, to allow the dark moments to shine a different shade of black.  

Diablation- Irrévérence

Diablation is a black metal band from France, who formed in 2020. Their latest release “Irrévérence,” is their third full-length album.

This album is pure carnage, made of violence and the destitute fallout that results from it. There is an apocalyptic atmosphere hanging over each song. The dark, bleak energy is hectic making album maddening and teetering on the edge of another world ending scenario. 

It's just raw enough too. I can hear every instrument without having to strain my ears to do so but it's contained in a hellish mix.  

The keyboards are fantastic—I suppose I could call this symphonic but that wouldn't really describe the style. Instead of being bombastic and taking over the instruments, which is too often a problem with symphonic anything, the keys share their load equally with the other instruments. 

How many symphonic albums out there truly balance the keys with the guitars? This is both a keyboard based album and a riff based one—both instruments are satisfying.

Of course on the instrumental opener, “144000,” the keys are the only focus but even then they progress very naturally.

But that's really the key to the album’s enjoyment. It's a harrowing ride but nothing sounds forced–it isn't abrasive for the sake of it but the underground approach of the album needs it, craves it and uses it to a deadly degree.  

“Eternel,” opens the album with a classic black metal tone in the guitars. The drums are furious and they always keep the songs oppressive. Of course, the vocala are abrasive so after pairing all that with the keys, the result is a song that sounds like the soundtrack for end times.

“Par La Haine,” dials back on the tempo, revealing the band can look at a more grandiose picture when needed. The snare accenting the melodic guitars and keyboard is perfect…strike of lighting as a wanining moon rides through the sky.

Around the 1:40 mark, the drums and bass ramp up the energy, rolling the music from abstract to brutal and direct honesty. 

Around the 3:45 mark, the bass kicks off a passage where the band's blackened rage meets head first with its symphonic textures like lighting striking brackish waters.

The final song, “Le Dernier Roi,” ends the album on a cold note but it's an icy path wrought with violence. The keys blanket the song with darkly sweeping effigies of the night. Meanwhile the drums boil the song into a furious froth. 

Diablation's “Irrévérence,” is a fantastic black metal album that doesn't have any issues leaning on symphonic elements as it uses them to further their grim agenda. 

Vessel - The Somnifer

Vessel is a doom/stoner metal band from Australia, who formed in 2011. Their latest release, “The Somnifer” is their fourth full-length album. 

This is my first experience with Vessel—and I have definitely been missing out.   Although rooted firmly in doom, the album is quite dynamic. It's subtle at first–this is an album that is very encompassing and as it absorbs you, you'll want to pass out the other side and go back in again to hit up details you might have missed.

In that respect, it has a lot of psychedelic elements it uses to build layers of psychosis. Of course, it's usually world building with a slower tempo so even as it creates, it crushes with raw power.

Like any good doom/stoner album, “The Somnifer,” has a big blues influence and a ton of groove and fuzz.  But it needs all these influences to present its concept of the relationship of trauma and sleep.  The songs are written to capture the different mental stages a person can pass through. 

It's certainly an unique concept yet the subject matter feels right at home for the genre. Personally, I think it works very well with the presentation. The vocals are sparse, used only when needed. They too have a variety and never really sound the same or use the same patterns when appearing. 

I also noticed something very interesting—it seems the interludes of the album follow each other just as much as they fit in with the album as a whole.  Maybe it's all in my head but it makes sense to me. 

Perhaps on the road to recovery or dealing with the trauma, these smaller pieces represent set backs or major blocks to mental and emotional freedom? Regardless, it's a testament to the album’s depth that it's lyrics and music can be dissected and explored like that to begin with.

The album begins with the title track. It's bass is deep and rolls through the clean guitar.   The drums do a fantastic jump in budding the song up but the guitar slowly creeps in, pulling mounds of fuzz along with it.

“Rapid Eye Movement,” opens with deep clean tones that grow into powerful stoner fuzz before throwing on blues guitar riffs. The vocals have a sort of spoken word feel to them and it all sounds great. Musically, it alternates Between doom and psychedelic tendencies. 

“Recurring Nightmare,” is one of best songs on the album—the guitars and bass are gargantuan. There is an odd but infectious pent of energy in this song….it feels like it's going to explode and is barely hanging out.  The final half of the song is minimalistic, focusing on the bass and drums to put down pressure as the guitar echoes through the smattering of leads.

“Image Rehearsal Reaction,” is a ten minute stoner epic. I don't do drugs but if I did, I can understand how this journey might send me from the desert to the moon and all the way back again. Even sober, it's an interesting song that uses bass centric tones and sound bytes to deliver its message.

The final song is the smoke and smooth “Body and Soul.” I like the tone of the guitars in the opening, a solid bedrock for the bass to stand upon which is interesting because it's usually the other way around.  The later half of the song is trippy, the solo meditative yet mind bending.

Vessel “The Somnifer,” is a very interesting doom album that explores several styles while blending them all together in with a high level of depth and impact.

Smoke/Doomsday Profit - Split album

I've been asked several times over the years why I review, despite not getting paid for it. While I certainly wouldn't complain if I was getting a payday from writing,  there are some things that go beyond pay. Discovering bands I've never heard before is one of them. Case in point is the new split album from doom metal bands Smoke and Doomsday Profit.

Prior to receiving this promo, I was unfamiliar with both bands. Well, consider me a fan because this split album flat out rocks. The best splits combine bands that are within the same style to complement each other while being different enough that it doesn't seem derivative. 

That's exactly what this split delivers.  Both bands are planted firmly in the stoner/doom/metal/rock pantheon but their delivery of the genre is different. Each groups are relatively young to the scene, each of them having a full-length and this split under their belt.  I think it’s a clever idea for the next release of each to be one they tackle together. Both bands get three songs each, and runtime that isn’t too far off from each other, so the split does fairly divide them so they each get ample time to display their craft.

Smoke is definitely the most hazy of the two.  The atmosphere across their songs are smoky, a little mysterious and blues influenced.   As evident with the opening song, “Appalachian Black Magic,”  the songs unfurl in a natural way, subtly building up energy as the notes play through the fog.  Around the 2:20 mark, the riffs kick in and blast away like a modern take on classic doom–heavy, thick, bluesy, and just groovy enough. 

“Scavenger,” is a much more immediate song, the guitar kicking off the distortion right away.  The main riff is trippy and the bass/drums offers that all important heavy low end to keep it grounded.   The vocals trade haze for an energetic cadence, spat through a filter.  The whole thing works very well, the vintage feel to the song is palpable.  A surprising little twist with killer screams graces the mid section before the song goes into kill mode with a slow, crushing groove that is monstrous and inescapable.  

The song title “Hellish Rebuke,” suggests the band might offer a total banger for their last song…and they do! I love the trippy groove and the sharp, crisp drums that push the song into some of the best riffs on the split.  Another scream pierces the veil, just before a passage that has some minimalist, psyche elements to it.  It builds up again with the guitars and bass bringing a wide and deep riff under it.  

I really like what Smoke offers for their half of the split and will definitely be checking out that full-length and keeping my ears open for them.  Their music is heavy when needed but their brand of stoner doom is also somewhat ethereal and mysterious—they just  have a very cool sound and a great thing going.

Doomsday Profit offers elements of the stoner genre but their path to it is a lot more direct and intense.  Oftentimes the vocals are pretty abrasive, a throaty hell that scrapes and cuts on its way out.  Their music is punchy and massive, with hints of sludge mixed about.  With that being said, they can be subtle and less abrasive when needed.  Much like Smoke, their music isn’t only one dimensional and offers much to explore.

Their opening song, “No Salvation,” spends a few seconds with low, clean tones before sweltering riffs, hard drumming, and those loud, powerful vocals bring the band out in full force.  The lead guitar laces the song with its own psyche elements, a mind fuck against the heavier instruments.  This song is slow, lumbering, and sounds like the collapse of society.  There isn’t anything to do other than face the fear and let it happen.

“I Am Your God,” opens with a killer groove and chanting clean vocals.  The heavy screams work great with the  destitute nature of the guitar as the song switches back to the clean vocals.   The guitar is unique, displaying light at the end of the tunnel…that belongs to a speed freight train coming right at your face.  

Their final song, “Void Ritual” is my favorite of the three—it begins and ends crushing.  Around the 3 minute mark, the song takes a surprisingly atmospheric turn.  This part is deep and expansive, everything just being absorbed into it as it moves on through like some kind of force of nature.  The segue back into the heavy riffs is masterfully done and brings the song back full circle–a devastating circle that’s on fire.

Doomsday Profit will have to be explored more on my end as well and I can’t wait to see what they do in the future.  Both of these bands have delivered an excellent split album that offers as much content as a lot of full-lengths.  Any fan of doom and the sounds under its vast umbrella would do well to check this out.  

Iotunn - Kinship

Iotunn is a progressive metal band from Denmark, who formed in 2015.  Their latest release, “Kinship” is their second full-length album; they have also released an EP and a split.

Though their name has come across to be a few times, I’ve never actually heard their music until I received the promo for this album…and I’m so glad I did get it because “Kinship” is a mesmerizing album with so many good ideas in it, I could write a full review for each song.  

I used to be a big fan of progressive metal, and I still am I suppose, but I’ve been pulled away from the genre over the years because so many of the bands really aren’t that intense, heavy, or adventurous. Thankfully, Iotunn’s “Kinship” is all these things plus they have a firm grasp on prog.  Truly, they meld prog and metal into one, refusing to sacrifice one style over the other.

Their vocal approach enthralls me too and before the promo, I never realized Jón Aldará is their vocalist; he also fronts Barren Earth and Hamferð as well.  With Iotunn, his cleans reach for the stars—this dude has powerful lungs and world class technique.  Thankfully, he doesn’t ignore his extreme voice either as he provides that element across “Kinship” as well.  

The flow of the album and the track list placement is also of note.  The album consists of 8 songs across a runtime of over an hour; that might seem long to some but it’s prog so what do you expect?  That hour also passes by very fast.  The two longest songs bookend the album, which is a wonderful idea as it keeps listener fatigue down while also providing a gripping introduction and epic ending. 

Overall, their style is bombastic but it’s not chaotic and too “in your face.”  As with any good progressive band, the details unfold in a natural way and multiple listens are needed to fully grasp everything.  With that being said, there isn’t anything here pretentious or too flashy—you don’t have to be a prog snob or a mathematical genius to enjoy this. 

Melodic death is a big part of their concoction but it has elements of just about every style you can think of.  There isn’t one genre that takes over the other–a true melting pot.

The album opens with “Kinship Elegiac,” a nearly 14 minute banger.  By the end of this song, you’ll be a fan of the band and will not want to turn the album off.  If you do, you’ll just not cool.  Sorry, not sorry.

The opening is clean tones and gentle vocals but the energy is undeniable and it can be felt building up as the second tick by.  At the 2:06 mark, the band arrives in full with a blanket of thick riffs and melancholy.  This part of the song represents yet another reason why I’m so impressed with the albums…..they have a ton of darker elements to their music.  How many prog bands really dive into melancholic and sorrowful tones?   They need to take notes because this song nails those elements without being too depressing.

The song soon settles into a groove with Jón singing his ass off.  His vocals reach for the skies, grab the very atmosphere and pull it down.  The band rips through that atmosphere with vicious drums and guitars that run through styles while maintaining cohesiveness to the song.  

The halfway point finds the band taking a melodic blackened path, complete with somewhat spacey textures (reminiscent of Arcturus) and extreme vocals.  The bass really slaps here too, going above and beyond with its own textures. The guitar solo near the end is off the charts, a sterling combination of emotion and technical prowess.  

“Twilight”  is a towering song with just a few seconds.  The opening is wide, giving birth to fast paced melodies and rhythm to take a run.  The spoken word vocals add a theatrical feel to the music.  The music finds a catchy beat and rides out just long enough for the rage to grasp hold but not so tight that it doesn’t let the song grow.  The vocals switch from growls to cleans so effortlessly and the instrumental parts compliment it with ease.  The middle part drops the tempo slightly, setting up the song for a rousing guitar solo and a killer melodic death passage. 

“The Coming End, “ is such a fantastic song, one of my favorites on the album.  Its scope is huge—a massive all of sound with such incredible detail.  As I listen, I can enjoy the song as it washes over me, enveloping me within its many tendrils.  I can also pick out each performance and enjoy the song differently each time.  The drums and bass give the song a special sort of energy.  The guitar solo is another personal favorite moment for me–such drive and passion!  The ending riffs are catchy and lead the band into ending the song on an intense note just before it trails off with spacey textures.

“Earth To Sky,” is another hugely impressive song that I can’t get another one.  The extreme vocals are vicious but the music that lifts them up is just as potent.  This one is a burner, churning like a river wild.  The clean vocal parts are catchy with equally catchy music swirling together, leading back into the death metal parts.  The melodic passage around the middle part of the song is majestic and transitions back to the heavier parts very well.

The final song, “The Anguished Ethereal,” ends the album in the only possible way. This just had to be the final song, there exists the atmosphere of finality and facing the inevitable end.  The music is melody and dark tones, maybe I could even call this progressive Gothic.  Both vocal styles are fully represented here and provide their all.  The music is both sweltering and claustrophobic in places but never too far buried that it can’t change moods when needed.  

Iotunn’s “Kinship” is one of those albums that is so well written that it can pull non-proggers into its fold—and keep them there; with its many textures and layered nuances, there is a lot to dive into and a thousand million reasons to keep going back under. 

For The Storms - Losing What's Left of Us

It took me longer than I care to admit to write this review because FOR THE STORMS' second full-length album, "Losing What's Left of Us" is so damn good, I couldn't tear myself away from it long enough to type something out.   It isn't just good--it full pulls you into it's grey world, almost making you part of the music.

This Italian band mixes death/doom, sludge, and a host of other genres together for one of the most potent examples of extreme doom I've heard in the second half of 2024.  The approach to the songs on "Losing What's Left of Us," is very unique and makes for an exciting and imaginative listen. 

The album is divided into three chapters, separated by the interludes “Ghosts” and “May The Emptiness You Carry Bring Some Comfort When You’re Gone.”  I’m very hit or miss with interludes but they are both placed smartly into the track list and actually compliment the songs that come after them.  “Ghosts” is an emotional piano piece with subtle uses of spoken word–it’s quite haunting.  The following song, “Closures,” echoes the details of that song, specifically carrying over the clean piano and spoken word. 

“May the Emptiness…” is also a clean piece with melodic bass and ethereal clean vocals that make it stand out despite its shortness.  Much like “Ghosts,” it’s a haunting composition that works well within the album’s structure.  Its quiet ending makes the stark and ghastly opening of “The Void Below” all the more potent.  

The album isn’t  only separated by interludes—the music offers some changes to each chapter, even while keeping the core sound of their doom firmly planted.   The first two songs on the album, “Dogma” and “Regret” are definitely among the most abrasive and straight forward (ish).  Each of them has a modern sludge style to them.

The second chapter, featuring “Closures,” the title track and “Fragments,” takes a step towards death/doom and a much slower tempo.  However, the songs are melodic at times and even have some blackened elements.  

The final chapter, consisting of “The Void Below,” and “Nepenthe (To Watch Myself Die)” take everything the band is and mixes into epic and sprawling dirges—funeral doom and depressive black metal join the ranks of the subgenres these guys handle with apparent ease. 

The band describes the album as “minimalist” and I can definitely see (hear) that.  Sometimes the album is almost gentle in presentation but still heavy in tone and subject matter.  The band works well in these liminal spaces and even at its most stripped down, the music still speaks volumes.  

But, of course, it can be ultra-abrasive and nearly incompressible in its direct  heaviness.  This isn’t a prog album–nothing here is flashy or avant-garde but an album like this isn’t going for that anyway.  It doesn’t need it.  When it comes to the more dark genres, there is nothing better than playing darkness, facing that darkness, and controlling it.  

The production is basically perfect.  It’s open enough to make the clean elements stand out but it does so without polish or a bright sheen—just because something is clean does not mean it isn’t dark or intense.   The dynamics of the mix make each instrument clear, capturing every little note which makes the heavy parts all the more raw.  

As far as what my favorite chapter is, I can’t say I have one.  Each one offers a different perspective and approach—it’s not about what is the best, but about how each chapter feels.  I won’t go too much into the subject matter for fear of rambling in what is already a long review but a lot of it seems to be about the effects of time, loss, and just general non-existence.  If you want more, hit the bandcamp link and the end of review; the band explains it all on their page.

I may not want to pick a favorite chapter but I’ll talk about my favorite songs from each one.  “Dogma” does a fine job in introducing the album but “Regret” really hits me hard.  There exist a duality in the song, an unique approach of melding light and heavy elements together by not actually mixing them but letting the styles speak for themselves while complimenting each other through their differences.  After the halfway mark, their doom/sludge expands outward and unfurls in a natural way but it’s gripping and seemingly endless.  Nicola’s vocals are stunning—strong, extreme, but emotional as anything I’ve heard this year. 

I’m a firm believer that an album’s title track should be among the best the album has to offer; “Losing What’s Left of Us” confirms that personal necessity for me for the second chapter.  Doom, and anything under its vast umbrella, is my favorite music so I’m all aboard the nearly two minute long intro/buildup.   Everyone in the band has this uncanny ability to always keep the music substantial and weighty, even when they throw in melody.  The halfway mark finds the band reaching, and succeeding, on grasping the height of desperation with a scope that could even be described as cinematic. What I love so much about this song is that it captures the reasons why I love doom so much, why it speaks to me so much.  The first five minutes or so consists of raw, thunderous power. Afterwards, it drops the distortion and offers a clean passage that is tragic and just as raw in its own way.  

The two songs that make up the final act are nearly the same in their high quality but “The Void Below” edges out to be my favorite.  The screams/growls and the slow tempo create, well, a void that sucks me right into it’s impenetrable wall of sound.  I like how the song actually speeds up a notch (doom doesn’t ALWAYS have to be crawling) and turns into an uncommon fury of fire and ash.  I can hear a touch of post elements, especially in the halfway point where the song goes hypnotic.  Everything is grounded again after that with a riff fest that hammers away over and over.  

I don’t think I can say enough good things about For The Storm’s “Losing What’s Left of Us.”  It hits all the right notes, written by a band with a creative fervor they managed to translate exceptionally well into this massive opus.  Any fan of the slower, more despondent genres of metal should not miss this album. 

Mercyless - Those Who Reign Below

Mercyless are a cornerstone death metal band for the scene.  These French demons formed way back in 1987 and released their debut demo in 1988.  Their first two full-length albums, 1992’s “Abject Offerings,” and 1993 “Coloured Funeral” are classic death metal bands.  Things got a little weird after that and they released a string of  subpar albums.  But 2013 saw the band take back their crown with “Unholy Black Splendor.”  It’s been nothing but greatness since and once again they return after four  years with  their eighth full-length album “Those Who Reign Below.” 

The ever stalwart vocalist/guitarist Max Otero leads the lineup through 11 songs and a 43 minute runtime.  At this point, you know the drill:  old school band playing old school sounds.  And there isn’t a goddamn thing wrong with that.  There has been a huge OSDM revival for awhile now–I enjoy the hell out of it.  However, all these new bands playing the whole style, while awesome and please, please give me more, just doesn’t have quite the same charm as a band from the actual original scene still putting out visceral death metal.

The production, the riffs, the rhythm…everything here sounds like it comes from time that once was.  But it doesn’t sound like a cash grab, forced, or tired.  If anything, the band is as energized as they have ever been.  Groove, chugs, and thrashy moments clash together as the band hammers out one song after another. If I have any complaints, it’s the oddly placed last song, “Zechariah 31,” which seems like it would be better served as an intro or interlude.  

That minor quibble aside, there is a lot to like here.  The opening song, “Extreme Unction,” opens with a faster tempo to introduce the album in a direct way before switching to a slow groove…and then speeding back up again.  This whiplash is very effective and makes every moment seem even more effective. 

Mercyless is a band that has always been great at controlling the ebb and flow of a song without compromising anything in the songwriting process.  No matter what type of riffs they throw out or what tempo they choose, it’s always effective and it always makes sense for the song.  In that regard, nothing has changed for “Those Who Reign Below,” and that is definitely a compliment.

“Evil Shall Come Upon You,” embraces the murky production.  The riffs are fast and full of hellish groove but there is a certain sulfuric atmosphere on top of the song that just works.  As a result, the song is, of course, brutal but also urgent and more than a little dangerous.  The solo is absolutely perfect and so are the sinister as hell riffs behind it.   

“Thy Resplendent Inferno,” sort of has a doom-ish vibe to the opening riffs—dense and deep.  The frantic bursts of wildness between those riffs builds the song up for the explosion of speed that happens around the 43 second mark.  The bulk of the song alternates between the two tempos and is never anything less than arresting.  The mid section is surprisingly melodic but it doesn’t last long—and why should it?  The band knows not to get too comfortable and is on to the next attack. 

The later half of the album maintains the momentum.  “Chaos Requiem,” begins as a stalking, lumbering beast from which there isn’t an escape—and the drums compliment it profoundly.  The band zeroes in on their speed and rages with a forward thinking idea of doing nothing but going for the throat.  After the solo, the riffs open up a bit for one of the best moments on the album–the guitars give it their all and it’s a hammering. 

Not counting the short outro, “Sanctus Deus Mortis” is the final song.  This is perhaps my favorite song on the album because it really captures the magic of the original underground death metal scene—this song could have fit on their earlier albums with ease. 

Mercyless’ “Those Who Reign Below,” is a prime example of how a band that was there for the early days of the scene can still be relevant in today’s metal world–and still show the younger generation how it is done.