Doomed For Metal Reviews

Ænigmatum is a death metal band from Portland, Oregon who formed in 2017.  Their latest album, “ Infinitude’s Passage ,” is their third full-length; they have also released two demos. I reviewed their previous album, “ Deconsecrate ,” for Metal Temple five years ago and haven’t been wondering what happened to the band.  Then suddenly, they drop this harrowing slab of death metal called “Infinitude’s Passage” without warning. This album is non-linear—if you are looking for something that is verse-chorus-verse then “ Infinitude’s Passage ,” may not be the album for you.  It’s bold, adventurous, and has many sharp turns around its corners among a world that’s stuffed with all kinds of things within its seamlessly endless corridors.   Despite their tech/prog path, “ Infinitude’s Passage ,” is an album that is also focused.  Despite how wild their music can get, the band doesn’t forget that, at the core, they are a death metal.  As such, this album has a r...

Fane is a doom/sludge band from Louisiana who hit the scene in 2024 with their EP Gallant Shroud ."  Now they have returned with their debut full-length, " Armageddon Scars ."  This album is a total banger. I love how balanced it is. “ Armageddon Scars ,” balances doom and sludge perfectly. It's low and slow without being plodding and languishing around trapped in its own sound—this darkness is always moving forward. The riffs are thick as hell, a sonic density that is unbreakable.  That's how doom should be. Period. But the tone is nasty and abrasive just like sludge to me. It's melodic in the right places and takes this path with a subtle approach—a slow loving glacier that edges its way through with singular purpose. The vocals are fantastic too. They sit somewhere between death growls and a Crowbar style rough shout. If that doesn't appeal to you then I guess you don't like good things. Nerd. The pacing is on target too.  With just five songs an...

Thorns of Ruins is a Norwegian extreme metal band, who hit the scene in either 2019 or 2024 with their demo that was titled “ Demosongs 2019” that, at least according to Metallum, didn’t release until 2024.  Confusion aside, in 2026, they have now released their second full-length album, “ Stellar Reverence .”  Actually, I should talk about ‘them’ in the singular because it’s a one-man band from musician Thomas Aamodt ( Ildfar , Sincera , and Wither ).  Oh, Ildar have a solid album out too this year, please check it out as well! This album is my first experience with the band and what I’m hearing is something that is a breath of fresh air.  I haven’t heard anyone who sounds like this band.  Of course, their combination of black, death, and doom is a formula that countless bands have tried but Thorns of Ruin have their own way of doing things.  This is a raw (ish) album that is one of the more abrasive ones I’ve heard this month.  The vocals in partic...

Ninth Realm is a thrash metal band from Baltimore, Maryland who formed in 2018.  Their latest release, “ Damnation’s Veil ,” is their second full-length album; they have also released three EPs, two demos and two splits. I like thrash but I don’t keep up with it as much as I would like mostly because 99% of what I hear is straight up garbage.  But every now and then a band/album comes around that makes me realize I'm stupid.  Enter Ninth Realm ’s “ Damnation’s Veil .”  Simply put, this album smokes from start to finish.   It doesn’t sound like some old school revival band made up of over the hill alcoholics whose last days of glory were raw dogging their prom date in 1982.  Ninth Realm takes a different path, one that isn’t stuck in the past with the ability to walk across those confines but actually more modern and extreme.   I like that “ Damnation’s Veil ,” doesn’t have any fancy bells and whistles.  It’s an album that embraces its ...

Illwind is a doom metal band from Peru, who formed in 2022; “ The Unfolding at the End of Light ,” is their full-length debut album. Although the members of Illwind are in other such acts like Argul , Arcada , and Death Invoker , the band itself has stunned me with the dropping of this full-length.  No demos, no EPs; they just hit the scene, dropped this sledgehammer of an album down and said, “Here.  Deal with this.”  I love traditional doom as much as the next doomer, but rarely have I heard it so abrasive and dark.  The vocals may be clean, but the music is hellish and matches the cover.  Speaking of those vocals:  absolutely stunning.  Loud and emotional but with a deeper tone to them rather than a total falsetto.  If anything, they are more operatic and theatrical but without the corny texture.  The bass is fantastic—a punishing low end that is dynamic enough to bring the pain when needed but also doesn’t have any issues going a more me...

Tårfödd is a one-man black metal band from Sweden, the mastermind behind it being Simon Lindgren (also of Grimveil , who just released a great album too that I reviewed).  This latest album, “ Mörker täcker livets ljus ,” is the project/band’s sixth full-length album, in addition to several EPs and a compilation.   Although Tårfödd’s music certainly embraces many traditional aspects of black metal, their sound contains many variations of the genre.  Post, DSBM, atmospheric, and even some prog all finds their way into the sound.  “ Mörker täcker livets ljus ,” embraces these different dynamics and approaches while still retaining a sound that is firmly archaic and dark. But this darkness has an incredible depth to it and each song offers a world to get lost in.  Its abrasiveness doesn’t change the fact the album is very moving and grandiose in a way that only Tårfödd can do.  There really isn’t a band that sounds like them and this album further ceme...

Fog Wall is a death metal band from Reno, Nevada who have hit the scene with this rock-solid debut full-length album, “ Gloomweaver .”  The band is composed of Zax Brady (vocals) and Alex Malmquist (vocals, bass), also from the band SandVVitch .  Guest/session musicians are Shagrat " Quincy " Gorbag (guitars) Logan Griggs (drums) and Loretta Hewitt (Synthesizer). Lyrically, this album centers around fantasy worlds from Tolkien and From Software’s video game lineup.  Nerd death metal?  Hell yeah!   But this isn’t mere goofball video game music—this is a deadly serious album with impressive musicianship and brutal (but clever) songwriting.  Production wise, it sounds modern without being too glossy and shiny.  I like the mix a lot especially because the bass can be heard easily–which is good because this is a very bass centered album.  Bass is probably what I would say is the most important element in any rock/metal-based genre and it’s straight up...