Trollcave - Adoration of the Abyssal Trespasser

Trollcave is a funeral death/doom metal band from Spain, who formed in 2019. Their latest release, “Adoration of the Abyssal Trespasser,” is their second EP; they have also released a full-length and a split.

The two songs on this album, that equal to over 30 minutes of music, is among the most terrifying doom metal I have heard this year. Considering doom is my favorite genre and I’ve heard a billion different doom albums, that is saying a lot. This is the type of music that if you let a non-metal fan listen, they either won’t get it or they will break down and pray to jeebus over what they just heard.

For people like me? It doesn’t get much better than this for funeral doom in 2024. I love this type of music and these two songs have everything in them that makes me feel that way. 

Being a funeral doom band, the songs on this EP are long, slow, and as deep as the unfathomable abyss of some alien world. What I really like about the album is that it’s just as brutal as it is cavernous. Much of that is due to its pacing—obviously, it’s slow but it doesn’t drone on and on without purpose.  

The production goes a long way in making the album as bleak and unforgiving as it is—it’s raw and dense but open enough to swallow the listener whole. How else could it contain all these sounds?  

I also really love that it isn’t a complicated album—it’s subtle and simple in its approach because it knows exactly what is needed at the exact time. Why throw it all together when every instrument, every element, can speak for itself when it is time to do so?

The first song, “Intro/Grotesque Abyssal Trespasser,” begins with deep, ominous, ambient tones. Within thirty seconds, the mood is set and I’m wondering exactly what horror is around the next corner or pocket of darkness. The synth work is fantastic—I wish more funeral/extreme doom bands used them. They definitely help set the atmosphere and they work hand in hand with the guitar/bass tones. Speaking of which, those tones are perfect. Around the four minute mark, the intro gives way to the slow crush of these riffs. The death growls are also well conceived with the right amount of echo. 

Around the halfway mark, the song turns clean but it’s the type of stripped down approach that is just as dark as the distortion–it’s on a different path but still dripping with the same dangers. The build up is excellent—fast double bass kicks up the trepidation while the guitars and bass do their magic in the background. Around the 9:25 mark, it all comes together and the song manages to inject monstrous grooves into the mix. 

The second song is “Abominator’s Diseased Carrion,” and it begins in a more immediate way. The drums compliment the song, keeping the flow on the death metal side and allowing the doomier parts to increase the atmosphere.

Around the halfway make, after the songs barrels through by being propelled by the drums, a slow, dense Gothic style riff hits. The cymbal works accents as just the right spots. The synths blanket this passge with cold tones—all of it combined is rather claustrophobic.

The temple opens back up afterwards, providing steady riffs until the songs pulls back on the tempo for the ending. 

But getting down to the nitty gritty: this album is disgusting, abrasive, and the definition of what being underground truly means. This is an esoteric experience so it won’t appeal to everyone—if you don’t already like this style, this EP won’t change your mind. But if you get it, if you love this type of music, then this album is going to full enthrall and envelop you. There is respect and a certain amount of charm in that—playing something with such purity is something to be commended.  

All in all, Trollcave’s “Adoration of the Abyssal Trespasser,” is one of the best EPs I’ve heard this year, doom or otherwise and a wonderful late year surprise for the doom genre.  

The Holy Flesh - Advocate, Martyr and Redeemer

The Holy Flesh is an atmospheric black metal band from the UK, who formed in 2019.  Their latest album, “Advocate, Martyr and Redeemer,” is their third full-length album; they have also released an EP.  It’s actually a one man project, from the musician known as Entity. 

Over the years, this project has become one of the most interesting in the blackened scene.  The prior albums were an example of how a band can be extreme without actually being extreme.  Their music is very dark, raw, and occult but with “Advocate, Martyr and Redeemer,” the mysterious Entity has upped his game and released The Holy Flesh’s best album yet.  

Their previous album, “Herald and Adversary” showed signs of adding a bit more detail to their decidedly stripped down approach of their debut, “Emissary and Vessel.”  It was a little more dense, a little more heavy, and progressed just enough to progress the sound from the first album without being too far removed.

The Holy Flesh’s mindset is one that truly embraces building on what came before.  “Advocate, Martyr, and Redeemer,” takes the sound from the prior release and builds on it just as that album built up from its own predecessor .  It’s a masterclass display of songwriting composition and bringing one’s ideas to fruition. 

Although definitely not as violent or aggressive as *insert random black metal band here*, this 6 song, 50 minute long album is heavier and more intense than anything they have done before.  Taking this path doesn’t distract from their raw, occult feel—actually, it makes it even better.  Now there is a slight urgency to the music that makes it all the more dangerous and gripping.  

But darkness and grime aren’t the only elements brought forth this time around; there is more melody and atmosphere than ever before.  It works extremely well and, honestly, makes the songs more haunting than ever. 

The production and mix have an upgrade too.  Though not pristine by any definition, the foggy overcast of their previous album has been lifted to allow every detail standout.  The bass in particular makes a case for why I think this is their best sounding album yet but in a way that does nothing to distract from their sound and purpose. 

The opening song, “Advocate I” presents this new path with a faster past tempo but still includes the dirty, raw mysticism that makes the music so appealing in the first place.  As the song moves forward, it adds layers with melodic riffs.  The song isn’t complicated by any means but it has many dynamics and dimensions to it.  I would say that’s a great way to describe the album as a whole too.  Clean tones and bass intertwined after the halfway mark, building a tapestry to a tapestry of riffs and a catchy rhythm.   This song, and all the others, always has a purpose leading it its destination. 

“Martyr II” tries its hand at groove—and succeeds.  As the groove winds down, layers of guitars offer the perfect setting for the low growled vocals to enter—subtle but venomous.  Parts of the song are surprisingly energetic, especially in relation to how the drums and melodic passage play off each other.    The later half of the song gets a kick up in tempo when the drums double down on this more aggressive route, grabbing hold of the music and pushing it forward.  

The final song, “Redeemer II,” is one of the longest songs on the album at nearly 10 minutes.  This one is perhaps my favorite on the album because I feel it captures not only everything Entity is doing on the album but also The Holy Flesh as a whole.  When listening to this song, I can feel on an emotional level everything the band has done and what it has been leading up to.  

With “Advocate, Martyr, and Redeemer,” Entity has found a way to once again progress The Holy Flesh’s sound to the next level while hanging on the roots and elements that made it so captivating to begin with.  

The Mosaic Window - Hemasanctum

The Mosaic Window is a one man black metal band from California, who formed in 2021. The project's latest release, “Hemasanctum,” is its second full-length album; an EP has also been released. 

Although I didn’t review it, I did enjoy last year's “Plight of Acceptance.”  “Hemasanctum” is a step up in every way and solidifies Andrew as a force to be reckoned with in black metal.  Although there was nothing wrong with the programmed drums from the previous album, having a live drummer this time around makes all the difference in the world.  Gabe Seeber (Vale of Pnath, The Kennedy Veil) adds a robust and hefty weight to the album, even when its at its most melodic moments. 

Of course, it doesn’t hurt with all the death metal elements the album has to offer as well.  Combining melodic black metal captures the speed and energy the genre is known for while pulling on the heartstrings (more on that later) but death metal adds an extra layer of sonic pervasiveness that cannot be denied.    

Andrew formed the idea of The Mosaic Window after the passing of his father and grandmother during the pandemic.  As an outlet of such grief, the project was already built upon very emotional foundations.  With “Hemasanctum,” he further explores dark topics that we so often avoid—mental health, self-awareness, religion.  These subjects, according to his bandcamp page, are the meat of the album with the first song being about birth and the last one being about death. 

The result is an album that is highly emotional with an atmosphere born of melancholy and tragic situations.  As I mentioned, this album tugs on the heart because, well, it comes from the heart.  Black and death metal are so often seen as being extreme for the sake of it but that extremity can be used for cathartic purposes as well.

Despite the subject matter, this album is catchy—I mean, absolutely gripping.  Every song has a wow moment and is stuffed full of hooks that will grab and never let go.  I love this because it doesn’t shy away from the bad things in life—rather it uses music to embrace them because, well, these things can’t be avoided so why try?

“Incantation to Summon the Unstable,” opens the album with the sounds of a child crying, the birth if you will.  The music that follows is an aggressive, fast paced tempo with blackened screams and death growls riding on of these seismic waves.  This song is an explosion and the best way to introduce the listener to the album.  Near the end, a catchy groove and solo pushes the song to even greater heights, as the intensity ramps up.  The song boils itself back to a slower tempo briefly before rising to the top once more.  The ebb and flow is smooth as hell even though it’s extreme as hell—and this fits the album as a whole too. 

Andy LaRocque (King Diamond) provides some lead guitar for the second song, “The Pounding of Hooves,” and it lends the song a classic feel to it in places.  The cadence of the vocals, especially the parts that are layered, are yet another example of how the album so easily sticks in the head.  I love the subtle melodies between the verses too, just the right amount to make the track that much more memorable.  The later half of the song is my favorite part—the dense, hypnotic riffs and the pulsing of the drums just sent me into a headbanging zone of which there is no escape–and no desire to do so.

Andy makes another appearance on “Turibulum” and it’s one of the best songs on the album too.  The opening solo is tragically beautiful but also composed so well that I had to rewind the song to hear it over and over again.   But just as infectious are the riffs that arrive after–expertly balanced between melody and destructive qualities.  A thrashy feel makes an appearance just before the solo at the halfway mark—outstanding moment!  

Another personal favorite is “Night Disease.” I just love how it begins with boundless energy peppered with sorrow but then slows down to a doomish rhythm.  The slower approach lets the atmosphere sink into the very fibers of the emotions it emits. The rest of the song switches back and forth between the tempos–it’s a harrowing experience with a natural flow.

“Hymn to Silence the Light,” is both a beauteous and despondent song.  It ends the album perfectly, the death here to compliment the birth of life to bring the album back full circle to the beginning.  That’s real life because one cannot exist without the other and the song embraces that hard truth.  The middle part goes from urgent to bulldozer, all the while peppering the liminal spaces with atmosphere.  

The Mosaic Window’s “Hemasanctum,” is the next logical step for the project and shows the power of using metal to help convey thoughts and emotions that some feel are better left unsaid.  But facing of these uncomfortable subjects and realizations makes for a highly engaging and thoughtful album that has a maturity that isn't common in the genre.  

Alkymist - UnnDerr

Alkymist is a progressive doom/sludge metal band from Denmark, who formed in 2016. Their latest release, “UnnDerr,” is their third full-length album; they have also released an EP.

This is my first time hearing the band’s music but this album is immensely impressive.  The guitar tone is PERFECT.  The riffs, of which there are many, have the density of doom and the caustic edge of sludge. Guitarist Stefan Key and bassist Kaspar Luke are string wizards, casting fiery rhythms out like the dirtiest, filthiest arsenal in the world—truly bludgeoning work.  Apparently, they have a new drummer named Per Silkjaer; they better keep him because the dude is a goddamn animal.  It’s all spearheaded by the volatile vocals of Peter Bjørneg who fights and claws his way through the songs with abrasive vocals that are a cross between “I shoved sandpaper down my throat” and “wounded rabid animal that is super pissed off.”

But it isn’t only all about the guitar and bass tones.  The atmosphere is just as crushing, as if the law of gravity were removed and it’s impossible to get up under the now suffocating weight of existence. However, it doesn’t stop there—this album has too many dynamics and dimensions for it to end so simple. A psychedelic/stoner vibe also exists among the flowing magma of the band’s core sound and I even hear some Gothic influences.  

The progressive side of the band handles all of this very well—I mean, that’s what makes it progressive in the first place.  This isn’t Dream Theater or Tool—the prog elements manifest themselves as the very dynamics and varieties of sound that keep the album so powerful.

“The Scent,” is a prime example of what the album is all about.  During the first minute, it includes so many elements that it feels familiar yet a feeling of being unsure of what direction the song will go.  Regardless, the band knows when to anchor down with a hook—the chorus is magnificent.  But like I said..it isn’t all about the riffs; just listen to the guitar solo and tell me Key isn’t just as good with that angle. 

The album handles longer compositions with ease too.  The title track is a ten minute romper that melds doom and prog without being either too meandering or flashy.  Every minute is used to its advantage—it isn’t long for the sake of it.  The first minute or so is the buildup, consisting of clean, atmospheric tones that echoes the psychedelic influences I talked about earlier.  The keys provide some ambient spaces, the band existing in both the physical and ethereal realms as the song explores liminal spaces. Afterwards, the song speeds up a little to get out ahead of itself.  The rhythm remains steady, zeroed in on providing an encompassing experience, which it does.  The band handles both the light and heavy moments of their sound with wisdom, knowing exactly when each style needs to be presented.  

On the opposite end of the spectrum, songs like “My Sick Part,” and “Fire In My Eyes,” are shorter numbers, allowing the band to really zero in on the more aggressive parts of their style.  The former is catchy as hell and the more straightforward approach is appreciated as it allows for a break between the longer songs.   The latter takes a similar path but is a bit more atmospheric, especially with the mid section and its subtle clean tones and build up.

There is a lot to like in this album; fans of doom or sludge are going to dive in head first, come up for air, and go right back down.  But there are enough details and depths within the 44 minute runtime for fans unfamiliar with the style to find it growing on them as they discover it’s myriad propositions for coming along for the ride. 

Shattered Hope - Memoir

Shattered Hope is a death/doom metal band from Greece, who formed in 2022.  Their latest release, "Memoir," is their overall sixth release and their first EP.  They have previously released two demos and three full-length albums.

Shattered Hope’s brand of death doom is a perfect storm of cavernous funeral doom, atmospheric depression, and Gothic tones.  All these elements blend together quite well, making for dynamic music that is immediately engaging despite the slower tempos they so obviously use.  

“Memoir,” continues this trend and further solidifies their sound.  I look at this little EP as a statement: the band loves and understands the doom genre, their craft, and they aren’t going anywhere.  With just three songs, one of which is a cover, the band says a lot in a smaller amount of time than they normally have.  In under 27 minutes, the band has created a full encompassing doom metal album with huge scope and breadth. 

I really like the production too.  I wouldn’t call it raw but it’s abrasive enough to keep the music heavy, even at its most depressing and melancholic moments.  So many forget that any kind of doom can be extreme–this album’s sound is a constant reminder of how it’s just as crushing as anything under the obsidian moonlight. 

“In My Waning Days,” begins with those aforementioned Gothic tones, courtesy of Eygenia Theocharatou,  before delivering a slab of riffs as cold as a morgue slab.  The keys and riffs compliment each other very well, each of them offering two sides of the same coin.  George’s (Tenebrae Semitarius) drums are powerful, keeping the flow at a decent rate.  Thanasis’ (Witchcrawl) bass is a giant void, but instead of pulling everything into itself for destruction, it keeps the instruments in orbit as a strong foundation for the composition to revolve around. 

Guitarists Thanos and Sakis(Decemberance, Tenebrae Semitarius) know just when to hang back a bit and give the atmosphere room to world build, especially in the song’s middle section which is made of clean tones and liminal spaces.  Of course, they also know when to pour on the emotions, as evident by the blanket of grief and emotional solo that follows.

“A Crevice of Painful Light,” takes a more intense approach, especially with the vocals.  Nick (Fohn, Ocean of Grief), vocals are corrosive with a special sort of depth to delivery the right amount of energy to the songs.  At times he sounds blackened, desperate growls and screams echoing through an exhausting night of unrest. 

The atmosphere of this song is very downtrodden but that chorus…wow!!!! It changes the song a bit, a surprising moment of clarity that rings powerful and true, even as much as the extreme vocals.  It’s surprisingly catchy and I found it stuck in my head for some time.  

But after that moment, the song gets ultra dense, slow, and pours on the death doom as thick as tears at a funeral.  It’s the perfect anthesis to the chorus yet everything in the song fits together.

The final song is a cover of a Diafana Krina song called “Ble Himonas,” which is apparently one of their influences.  To be honest, I have no idea who she is so I don’t have a frame of reference of how this cover sounds compared to the original.  But what I do know is this song fits right at home with the other two songs.  It’s the most atmospheric of the three and I like the interplay between the bass and keys–it sounds pretty unique to me.   

Shattered Hope’s “Memoir” EP is a great starting point for anyone getting into not only the band itself but also the deathly, more extreme side of doom metal.  

Abhorration - Demonolatry

Abhorration is a death metal band from Norway, who formed in 2020.  Although they released a demo in 2021, “Demonolatry” is their full-length debut album.

This album is absolutely bat shit insane.  Seriously, “Demonolatry” is raw and goes for the kill 10% of the time.  After jamming the hell out of this album, I felt physically exhausted and a little beaten down.  That’s a compliment and it’s also something I feel a lot of modern death metal is lacking, even the best of it.  

Death metal was originally a genre that actually frightened people and went against everything with good taste and mainstream leanings. “Demonolatry” captures that feeling, the aura of disgusting,  uncompromising violence.  The production and mix is fantastic.  The press release mentioned it was analog and every beat, every note could be heard and felt.  That pretty much nails exactly what I’m hearing–it’s raw, powerful, and boosts the already visceral nature of the band. It definitely has a “live” feel to the way it sounds and, with a decent pair of headphones on, it is very intimidating.  

The influences are obvious so I won’t waste time speaking of them but that’s fine because the band has their own sound.  Of course, it does have its old-school leanings, but that’s more in the feel and atmosphere not necessarily the music itself. 

The album opens with “Chamber of Agilarept” which is so goddamn hectic that I felt like it was going to somehow beat itself with its speed and burst out of my headphones, into my ears, and explode my brain.  Despite the carnage, the song isn’t messy—this song captures chaos, beats it and starves it, then lets it loose.  

As the song proves around the halfway mark, the band is more than just nonstop speed.  When the tempo drops and the songs breathe, the band offers riffs and pummeling moments that are far more catchy than they have any right to be. 

“Spawn of an Abhorrent Entity,” begins mid paced and it is here where the band lets their blood-drenched guitar/bass tones truly shine.  This sounds pure evil and I’m all aboard on this hell train.  The drums are perfect, complimenting the extremity in the most profane ways but while making sense in context of the song’s structure.   The bass casts a dense, brutal dim light on the atmosphere, particularly well during the guitar solos.  The leads themselves are crazy but there is a loose structure that keeps them grounded just enough where they don’t take away from the other parts of the song.  

Around the 2:15 mark, the band goes rabid and hammers through a blistering section that almost turned my head all the way around on my body.  If you’re crazy all the time then you’re not crazy–but if you have these moments that remain unseen until the last second, if you keep people guessing on what is about to happen, then you are crazy.  That’s Abhorrent in a nutshell.

The title track ends the song as a total banger.  I love the rumbling drums in the beginning—they build intensity quickly and it seems as if the song is some kind of physical structure that is about to topple over.  

Around the 1:45 mark, the song slows down and it’s one of those moments where everything comes together.  It’s hypnotic but claustrophobic…like being caught in a spider’s web with the only certainly being your failing will eventually call death down to devour.  My favorite part of the song, and maybe even the album itself, is the final half where it hits a stride throwing out a devastating groove just before turning into a battering ram with a soul-melting solo.

Abhorration’s “Demonolatry,” is a very extreme but also very exciting death metal album.  For those fans who feel the genre has maybe grown to be too diluted or sometimes offers too much while ignoring the essence of its foundations, this album will bring you back to the good ol days of hell.  Highly recommended.

The Mist From The Mountains - Portal - The Gathering of Storms

The Mist From The Mountains is a black metal band from Finland, who formed in 2020.  Their latest release “Portal - The Gathering of Storms” is their second-full length album.  I actually reviewed their debut album, “Monumental” back in 2022 for Metal Temple.  I didn’t hate it but I thought it was only slightly above average.  I still write for Metal Temple but this time I’m tackling their music on my blog.

I'm happy to write that this album is pretty great—the band has really upped their game.  My biggest complaint about their debut was their ideas weren’t seamless or integrated enough across the songs as a whole.  “Portal” remedies that and is a much more cohesive experience, with the songs containing a natural flow that brings out their depth.

The songs are long, the shortest one being nearly 8 minutes, and the six songs take nearly an  hour to reach the album’s end.  I didn’t find the length as bothersome this time—every song here has a ton of well written moments and their visions are quite expansive.  None of the songs seem as long as their runtime and they offer many reasons to return to them.

Although the band, and album, captures the famous Finnish melancholy that so often permeates the country’s black metal, there are so many other dimensions to sounds and songs of “Portal.”  It’s melodic, folk infused, and even progressive in the sense of how adept the songs are at presenting new musical venues.

Of course, as I said, this is black metal so there is more than enough of that cold, searing, against the grain attitude that makes the genre so captivating. 

The album begins with “And So Flew The Death Crow,”  and the gentle sounds of the ocean’s waves.  It’s surprisingly serene and a fine set up for the acoustic guitars and gentle melodies that follow.  The vocals have improved this time as well—I love these deep, clean Gothic style vocals that wash over just as smoothly as the instruments. 

The song  builds up expertly, not in a rush but still always with a purpose.  As the song casts out its wide net, the melodies grow and are catchy as anything I’ve heard this year.  Around the two and a half minute mark, the blackened side of the band reveals its serpent head.  The blackened grows/shrieks/screams are also much improved and sound like pure venom.  The guitars capture the black metal tone but still play it with epic fortitude in mind. 

The middle part of the song is a bit folksy but just as engaging–the bass in particular stands out to me.  A heavy but slower part, including a catchy guitar lead, helps compliment the clean portions while pushing the song back into the realm of haunting black metal.

“At The Roots of the Vile,” begins in a more immediate way—like a hurricane force of demonic maelstrom, the band fires on all cylinders and doesn’t let up for some time.  But the riffs change frequently enough that nothing has time to set in and get boring—in fact, the beginning of this song is quite harrowing and has me on edge.  After a line of catchy clean vocals, the edge drops off into the abyss with a nice ambient piece of pure nothingness. It’s brief but speaks volumes, especially with the guitar highlighting the sorrow filled dangers.  The rhythm returns with a very catchy riff and a vocal performance that is jaunty and sort of made me want to get up and dance a jig.  Sea shanty metal?  Yes, please.  Then, suddenly, these waters build up to a hurricane's wrath and everything is blown away with the fury of black metal.  

The final song, “Saiva” is perhaps my favorite on the album.  From the very beginning it finds a way to combine sweeping textures with rousing metal—I love the energy on this song.  The clean vocals fit right in with the atmospheric riffs.  The song growls darker and more sinister as the seconds pass, both the aggression and tension ramping up.

Around the 7:20 mark, the electric power fades away to stripped down clean instruments and it’s beautiful in a lot of ways and very moving.  On this album, the band has found a way to make the light elements just as intense as the heavier ones.  

The Mist From The Mountains’ “Portal - The Gathering of Storms,” is a very convincing album that destroys the sophomore slump that many bands fall prey to while improving upon their first album in every way imaginable.