Asphodelus - Scultping From Time

You know what's wrong with Asphodelus' new album, 'Sculpting From Time?' Absolutely nothing. I was a fan of their full length debut 'Stygian Dreams' but this improves upon the formula in every way. The way the band manages to combine classic doom sorrow with stark melodies that are also catchy and vibrant is mind bending. 

 They use a lot of clean instrumentation among their doom metal and it adds a certain sophisticated ambience to their funeral tone of finality. The album opens with 'Waterside' and their penchant for catchy melodic guitar licks is in full bloom. The bass absolutely slaps as well and the drums provide an always interesting foundation. Over halfway into the song, a quiet part gently adds another layer of depth but builds up dark enough to keep the sorrow flowing.

 Another stand put is 'Life Painted Vermilion' and its more riff based approwch. The band is at their best when their riffs and melodies/harmonies entertwine in such a way their sound becomes huge and life like. 

 The band is very adept at working within a wall of sound, dense and full like the instrumentation each member brings. 

 'World of Hollow' is one of my favorite songs on the album—--it is dynamic, multi-layered and has such a smooth flow that make the minutes tick by. The deep clean vocals are really effective here and make the heavier parts even better because of the contrasting styles. 

 The tile track closes the album with a bang as one of the more aggressive songs on the album. The vocals and bass are particularly adventurous. 

 After waiting (not so) patiently for the new Aspholdelus album ‘Sculpting From Time’, I have been rewarded with an album that ups the band to the next level and will surely solidify their presence for years to come in the doom metal scene. The frighteningly depraved and desperate vocals work amazingly well with the music that combines stark depressed nightmares with Gothic textured melancholy. The songs flow extremely well, like a masterful poem reading right off the page. Their literature is music and it thrives in darkness—-being enveloped by the void never sounded so good.

Auralayer - Thousand Petals

    Auralayer's 'Thousand Petals' is a massive success and one hell of a stoner doom metal album! Add in hard rock, pop (more on that later). 

    You like riffs? Think you have heard all of them? Sure, guy. Put on this album and prepare to be taken away to a world where the only thing that exists is riffs, riffs, and more riffs. You get a riff! She gets a riff! He gets a riff! EVERYONE GETS A RIIIIIIFF! Absolutely fantastic album for anyone who loves the guitar and doom laden stoner rock/metal. But it isn’t just about the guitars. The bass slaps, the drums are incredibly solid and clever, and those smokey, stoner vocals are just perfect. Oh did I mention the guitar solos? Total wizardry. Their bandcamp descriptions says the music is 'expedited into pop size pieces of explosive rock energy.' 

    So yeah, you're not getting top 40 radio bubblegum pop but what they mean is this mean ass doom album is presented in a shorter format and the songs are all catchy with a flow that is smooth enough to let all the hooks grab you along the way.

    The production, and the general presentation of the album, is unique.  While most stoner dooms tend to wander into the land of psychedelia, this album doesn't really do that.  Sure, it's stoner.  I can definitely picture a group of smoker sitting around jamming out to this.  But the vibe is more..dreamy and stream of consciousness.  From beginning to end, it rides along with supreme confidence and the one goal of rocking your face off. 

    Much of the songs are much heavier and rumbling than a lot of stoner doom too. Like I said, it is dreamy...but not laid back.  This stuff is HEAVY.  The opening track, 'The Lake,' is hammering from the get go and a massive wall of sound.  The riffs chug along and those grooves cut deep.  

    'All My Time,' features the vocals riding along with the riffs, adding another layer to a short song that packs more punch than some entire albums.  The bass pops between the guitar solo and I challenge you not to bang your head while this jam plays out, especially the rather intense segment after said solo. 

    'Shelf Black,' is the song that represents what this album is all about.  All the elements of the song move along at a seemingly effortless pace, content on the grooves that emanate in waves. It is most heavy yet laid back yet intense yet loose enough to sound, well, fun even. 

    'Dance To Thrash,' is actually pretty close to thrashy rhythms at many points.  Who said doom can't get a bit rowdy?  The drums and bass are very impressive on this album, a rhythm section that hits as hard as anything this month. 

    'Monstrum,' can mean several things....a divine omen for misfortune, a monstrosity in size/character, and even something that evokes fear or wonder.  This song?  ALL of these things.  This is, simply put, a HUGE song. Listening to this with headphones just fills up my entire world, everything a sonic punching bag...and it even has some rough style vocals!  A fitting conclusion to the album.

    All in all, Auralayer's 'Thousand Petals.' is a stoner doom album made for both people who love the style and those who don't.  Regardless of your feelings, this will capture your attention. 

Mizmor - Prosaic

Portland, Oregon based musician, A.L.N. has been releasing music under the moniker Mizmor for some time now.  The solo project's last full length album was 2019's masterpiece "Cairn,' which is one of the best doom albums I've ever heard.  With that being said, A.L.N. has remained busy since then, releasing two collaboration albums, one with Andre Black and another with Thou plus an EP titled "Wit's End.'  I don't know who Andrew Black and haven't even had a chance to give that album a listen but the release with Thou was one of my favorite albums of last year.   So where was Mizmor going to go?  A more funeral doom direction that presented itself on 'Wit's End' or a perfect melding of blackened doom as found on the Thou collaboration album 'Myopia?'

    Why not both?  Mizmor's fourth full length album, 'Prosaic,' combines all these elements and sounds into something new.   While not as angry or cavernous as 'Cairn,’ this latest doomed epic still brings more than enough doom and gloom. It is also mixed with the searing edges of black metal so even while it suffocates you, it rips you to pieces. The atmosphere is palpable but there seems to be an intense focus on the music, a zeroing in on what makes the project so special in the first place. Blackened doomy sorrow with a powerful purpose. 

    The production, and the song writing itself, definitely feels more 'open' this time around but that just means there is more room to fit everything that makes this project so great.  The opening moments of 'Only An Expanse' exemplify what I am speaking of.  The riffs are thick, low, and drenched in melancholic woe but their tone, and the speed of the drums, are definitely on the black metal side of the fence.  With that being said, the sound is a perfect misanthropic marriage of the two styles.  In essence, this song, and album as a whole, just sounds so damn cohesive and natural---the flow is perfect.

    Moments, such as the movement starting at the 5:00 mark, are harrowing.  A.L.N.'s tortured vocals combined with the slow guitars...sends shivers down my spine.  

    Other songs, such as 'No Place To Arrive,' combine quite moments with the surrounding destitution.  At the 5:55 mark, the song fades out to clean instrumental tones before sliding back into the blackened doom.  The whole journey works, each vastly different section of the song complimenting the other one while making me realize that although the styles are different, the themes are still the same.

    'Anything But,' is the shortest song on the album but also the most extreme and against the grain.  It's slow, plodding music swirls with the insanely barbaric vocals to create a song that is just a straight up ghastly beast.  For a doom fan like me, this song is absolutely perfect and I find it to be one of the best songs from Mizmor.  Oh and that piano outro caps the song off very nicely.

    'Acceptance,' is capped on the ends by monolithic doom that is so stark that my very surroundings began to grow dark during this review.  The middle portion of the song is as furious as any troo and kvlt black metal I've heard this year too.  

    Ultimately, 'Prosaic,' is another epic, longform torture device that's nicely into Mizmor's discography and I don't see any reason why this album won't receive the well deserved praise all of A.L.N's other works have collected. A.L.N. said he wanted to make a less perfect, more natural sounding album.  He has definitely succeeded in presenting a more human angle to deeper themes.