Doomed For Metal Reviews

Trails of Anguish were a black metal band from Canada , who formed in 2000.  After the disbandment of Through Sombre Sorrowfield , musicians Dishcord and Scythrawl formed the new project through a desire to create aggressive yet melodic and cathartic black metal. “ Scathed Gaping Misery ,” is actually a compilation of the only two EPS ever released by the band, 2001’s “ Relentless Abhorrence ,” and 2003’s “ Scarred Memento .”   According to their Metallum page, the band is still active.  I am not sure on that but I hope they are because this release represents a band with an insane appetite for creating black metal that fully melds aggression and melody together.   The duo definitely managed to complete their vision—the songs are visceral but are laced with just the right amount of melody.  Most of the album is played at a high tempo, which certainly increases the aggressive factor.   The album begins with “ Beyond Charismatic Sickness ,” a...

Grindeye is an instrumental post-metal band from the valley of Trier, Germany.  They formed in 2015 and I believe " Bloom " is their second release. I love the sound of this album---it was recorded completely in analogue and that difference can definitely be heard.  According to their bandcamp page, the band wanted it to sound as "live" as possible.  As far as my humble opinion is concerned, they pulled it off and then some.  The production and mix has such a warm sound to it; the instruments envelope me in the way that few albums this year have. The songwriting is truly impressive. It is expansive and imaginative while not having any bloat to it. Everything is exactly where it should be, a process that results in smooth flowing music despite how formless it truly is. I can't help but feel the music and the song titles go hand in hand.....maybe it's my imagination running wild but my explanations of why I think this way will also help explain why the songs a...

Altar Of Gore is a death metal band from New Jersey who burst onto the scene with their 2017 demo, “ New Jersey Metal Attack Vol. 2 .”  “ Litanies of the Unceasing Agonies ,” is their second full-length album; they have also released two more splits, two demos, and a compilation. “ Litanies of the Unceasing Agonies ,” is one of the nastiest and sickest albums I’ve heard all year.  Simply put, this is sick music for sick people and I’m right here for it.  The band’s moniker and cover art will tell you exactly what you get: 100% death metal.  The album is devoid of interludes, keys, ambient passages, clean vocals….this is nothing but dirty, nasty, litanies of rotten, moldy death. The production is raw as a fresh corpse–it has a very live feel to it as if these decayed notes are being played right next to you.  With that being said, it isn’t the type of DIY production that makes it hard to listen or struggle to focus on any element of the instruments.  Actual...

Baron is a death metal band from Finland who formed in 2015. After a couple EPs and a demo, the band is ready to unleash their full-length debut album " Beneath The Blazing Abyss ."  Baron 's brand of death metal also consists of a lot of doom metal and even some hardcore elements. It's got a lot of variety, something that isn't often found in music this dark and heavy.  And heavy it is.  The band manages to create songs that are huge walls of sound yet they sound distinctive enough from each other that it doesn't become background noise.  The variety that I mentioned before certainly helps with this.  The seven songs contained within the album's 44 minute rune time don't stick to just one tempo or style.  There will be a doom passage that is followed by fast as fuck death metal, that in of itself may be preceded by a hardcore style passage of unbridled rage and energy.  The production and mix is mostly on point.  It's loud, but not overly, and ...

Cognitive are a death metal band from New Jersey who formed in 2011.  Their latest album, " Abhorrence ,” is their fifth full-length release.  They also released an EP in 212. Cognitive certainly has an interesting sound.  Although rooted in death metal, they have modern deathcore elements as well, although much more well rounded and focused than most other bands that do the style.  They are also technical but it's still very much riff based as opposed to the “widdly wham” type of tech death.   “ Abhorrence ,” is an album that lives within its dynamics and handles variety very well.  Melody, technicality, breakdowns, chug-a-thons, groove and straight up brutality all find a place within the album’s ten songs.  The energy is infectious and the pacing is perfect; there isn’t a second of filler.  Every song fits into the album’s overall style but each one sets itself apart from the others in that there is little monotony to be found. ...

Strychnos is a black/death metal band from Denmark who formed in 1998.  Their latest album, “ Armageddon Patronage ,” is their second full-length album.  They have also released two demos, an EP and a compilation.  I haven’t heard their first album (yet) but I’m definitely a fan now because “ Armageddon Patronage ,” is a beast of an album.  It’s dark, grim, pulverizing and has such an incredibly hellish atmosphere.  In that respect it somewhat reminds me of Immolation ’s “ Harnessing Ruin ,” in that the atmosphere is just as important as any other element of the song but it exists as such an integral part that it still envelops the songs as a cohesive force.  It’s a methodical album to many degrees, incorporating elements that some bands this extreme might not be able to pull off quite as well.  Similar to the new Heresiarch album “ Edifice ,” the songs incorporate some doom elements that turn the songs into even more uncompromising journeys.  ...

Darkness Everywhere is a melodic death metal band from Oakland, California who formed in 2020.  “ To Conquer Eternal Damnation ,” is their debut full-length album but they released an EP in 2022.  The band’s sound incorporates thrash metal as well.  They balance speed and aggression with tight control over melodic textures.  Speaking of tight, this album is just 27 minutes long across ten songs.  There is no fat, nor filler, and every available second is used to push the album forward.  It’s focused, very well written, and does what it needs to do then leaves.  However, coming back to the album is very easy not only because of it’s shorter runtime but simply because the songs are that good.  Overall, “ To Conquer Eternal Damnation ,” takes a classic approach to melodic death but that isn’t the only path the album treads. Their sound is wrapped but in a modern display of fervent metal that harkens back to a time when melody didn’t mean the music c...

Dååth is a death metal band from Atlanta, Georgia who formed in 2003. Their latest full-length album, “ The Deceivers ,” is the band's fifth and their first in 14 years! I've been a fan of them for a long time now and never thought they would ever release another album again!  For those unfamiliar, the band's extreme sound is dynamic. Elements of progressive, groove, melodic and industrial have graced their albums. “ The Deceivers ” expands upon their symphonic elements.  Thankfully these elements don't take away from their intensity; this is symphonic metal more along the lines of Septicflesh and Fleshgod Apocalypse than Epica and Nightwish . Sole original member guitarist Eyal Levi returns alongside longtime vocalist Sean Zatorsky but the entire band is on another level. The album actually does an impressive job of combining all eras of the band so even while It is being a fresh piece of new music, it acts as both an overview of their career and am excellent entry l...

LanzerRath is a black metal band from Michigan who formed in 2018; they have released four full-length albums to date.  Shroud of Despondency is a black metal band from Michigan/Wisconsin who formed in 1999; they have released seventeen full-length albums among numerous EPs, demos, live albums and splits. These two diabolical bands have come together for a split album consisting of three songs and a 40 minute run time.  That is a decent amount of time for a split but, thankfully, it is well worth the time to invest.    LanzerRath provides one song, the nearly 20  minute epic “ Nebular Collapse:  The Dissolution of Order and Meaning ,” and SoD offer the first two tracks. On the surface, the two bands couldn’t be more different.  Shroud of Despondency  plays a more theatrical and off the beaten path approach for their brand of blackened darkness.  LanzerRath , who I was not familiar with before receiving this review promo, is a much more raw,...

Wingless is a death/doom band from Poland, who released their first album back in 2014.  Their latest album, “ Ascension ,” is their fifth full-length album. This is my first time hearing the band’s music but it immediately grabbed my attention.  Their brand of death metal contains a lot of doom influences but they aren’t afraid to play mid-paced or even speed the tempo up even further.  The atmosphere is dirty, grimy and quite cavernous, which is the three things you want to hear in doomed out death metal.   The rhythm section is very strong—the bass is like a tank, it rumbles along every forward and shakes the ground the entire time.   The drums are more intricate than I thought they would be–it isn’t nonstop blast beats or playing as fast as possible.  There is much care and concern placed upon the drums and the songs are all the better for it. The guitars are varied; everything dense and miserable to groove can be found here, giving the songs...

Sunset Forsaken is a melodic death/doom project from Ukraine, formed in 2018. It is a one-man band, the musician behind it being Andriy Tolo k, the very same musician from the black metal project Haissem .  “ Novembryonal Echoes ,” is the project's third full-length album.  I reviewed the previous album, “ 85 Nerves ,” and found it to be a solid album that represented melodic/death doom well. However, I think with “ Novembryonal Echoes ,” Tolok has found his footing for this style. The production this time around is much more vibrant–the melodies and hormones stick out more.  The riffs and rhythm section have a lot more weight to it.  This album’s sound is exactly how melodic death/doom should sound—heavy but not so much the melodies didn’t grab my ears.  Musically, the five songs have a lot of depth to them and will require multiple listens.  I don’t see that to mean the music is complicated but, rather, there are a lot of details in these songs that I di...

Doubtsower is a one-man-band from Cardiff (Wales, UK) that plays experimental doom.  “ Nothing Reduced To Everything ,” is the project’s third full-length album.  The musician behind this mad but engaging brand of doom is Matt Strangis , who also plays bass for doom legends Pantheist and produces experimental electronic music under the allies “ Kyam .”  “ Nothing Reduced To Everything ,” is easily the most unique and out there doom album I have heard so far this year.  Honestly, when I first received the promo, I wasn’t sure if this was something I would like.  But I didn’t get myself, or the band, enough credit.  Simply put, this album is absolutely fantastic. Yes, it is weird.  It is out there.  It takes the lines of doom and not only does it step outside those boundaries but it completely destroys them.  But it’s also the definition of true underground music, doom or otherwise.  It is raw, uncompromising to the 10th degree and has a...

There is heavy.  And there is Heavy Temple .  Of course, what makes a band heavy is very subjective.  With that being said, it is hard to imagine anyone listening to this band’s second full-length album “Garden of Heathens ,” and not thinking that the sounds they heard were the audio equivalent of molten lead being poured into their ears.   The band is “just” a three piece but they bring more to the table than many bands that have double, or even triple, those numbers.  The MVP of the album is no doubt High Priestess NightHawk , who provides both bass and vocals. That’s a hell of a name to call yourself but she’s a hell of a vocalist and bassist.  Her instrumental prowess alone brings in a dimensional weight to their music that is as heavy as the gravitational pull of the sun. I’ve always been a straight up sucker for female vocals, especially in doom.  Gender doesn’t matter but I’ll be damned if women don’t have an extra power over doom metal....

STONERHEAD ’s brand of stoner doom metal is an absolute blast.  The band's second full-length album, " Running High, ” is an album that has a ton more energy than most bands of this style.  Of course, there are riffs for days as well—just a metric ton of groove is laden across the album like a blanket of hot lead.   A large percentage of my music jamming time takes place in my car. For anyone driving behind me while playing this album, I must have looked possessed because I was non-stop banging to the non-stop riffs from this German band.   What is most impressive about the album is the atmosphere they generate. This band is super confident in their sound and it really can be heard—there is a definite swagger to everything they do and they back it up tenfold. Phil 's and Christian 's riffs flow like magma from a volcano and there is no doubt to their ability to play the strings, their fingers weaving their magic. From rock to stoner to doom, their styl...