Doomed For Metal Reviews

Structure is a death/doom metal band from the Netherlands, formed in 2021by former Officium Triste guitarist Bram Bijlhout .  Their latest album, “ Heritage ,” is the project’s full-length debut; an EP was also released in 2022.   I reviewed that EP when I worked for Metal Temple—I’m very excited to be able to review this debut on my own website.  Simply put, “ Heritage ,” is everything the self-titled EP was plus more.  Bram handles all the guitars, bass and keys.  Officium Triste vocalist Pim Blankenstein provides vocals and Dirk Bruinenberg ( Elegy ) handles the drums. At its heart, “ Heritage ” is death/doom: crushing, slow riffs, and deeply monstrous vocals.  But that isn’t all that is offered.    Across its7 song, 50 minute runtime, Gothic and melodic textures dance among the graves, recalling the heyday of the genre.   The usage of keys adds a lot of the dimensions well; they are subtle but always perfectly placed in just th...

Decrepisy is a death metal band from Portland, Oregon who formed in 2019.  Their latest album, “ Deific Mourning ,” is their second full-length album.   Honestly, I had not heard their music before getting this promo but I’m very familiar with the other bands the members belong to.  Among the four musicians, we find seasoned vets from bands like Negative Prayer , Funebrarum , Coffin Rot , and Vastum , among many others. Death metal is extreme, sure, but it is so rarely scary.  This album?  Quite scary, unnerving and creepy as fuck.  It has all the tropes of a death metal album but it also has a big doom influence to its sound as well.  From my understanding, this is more doom oriented than their debut.  Well, it certainly helps give the album a damp, dismal sound to go along with the “a monster is behind you and about to eat your soul” atmosphere it constantly generates.   Imagine if some ghastly creature was chasing you; you’ve tr...

Karg is a post-black metal band from Austria, who formed in 2006.  Their latest release, “ Marodeur ,” is their 9th full-length album; they have also released two splits, a demo, and four EPs. “ Marodeur ,” is my first experience with their music but it has blown me away—I’m a fan for sure now and will dive into their back catalog as soon as I get a chance.  I’ll have to stop listening to this album first, which may be impossible.  The foundation of the band is rooted in black metal but the post influences are obvious; their press release mentions post-punk, shoegaze, and even grunge.  Honestly, I didn’t hear any grunge in it (thankfully) but everything is pretty accurate.  This dynamic mix of sounds never comes off as disjointed or uneven—-this album has incredible flow from one song to the next.  Even within each song, the journey is adventurous but never arduous.  In fact, I found myself enjoying this album so much that I took many repeated journeys...

Aeonian Sorrow is a doom metal band from both Finnish and Greek origins who formed in 2015. Their latest release, “ From The Shadows ” is their second EP; they have also released two full-lengths. I've been a fan since the beginning although this is the first time I have reviewed them. For those unfamiliar, the band mixes a lot of doom styles into their sound, including death, funeral, Melodic, Gothic and even some black metal elements.  With a runtime of over 30 minutes, “ From The Shadows ” offers a substantial amount of music with a lot of depth.  This isn’t an EP of short songs, live cuts, or bonus tracks.  This is made up of full songs that are as good as anything else the band has done. Although certainly consisting of stellar musicians that each deserve praise, the crown jewel of the band is Gogo Melone , whose keys and ever impressive vocals push the band to constant heights.  Alongside the other vocalist, Joel Notkonen , the band presents their ideas with th...

Scour is an extreme metal band from the United States that formed in 2015.  Their latest release, “ Gold ,” is their full-length debut; they have also released three EPs.   Unless you have been under a grave or catatonic,  Scour is a super group of sorts that most notably features the legendary Philip H. Anselmo on vocals.  He can be quite the controversial figure but I’m not here to discuss any of that.  I want to talk about how kick ass Scour’s debut full-length is.   Phil’s vocals have aged amazingly well, actually seem to get better with age.  If I was unfamiliar with him, I probably wouldn’t even guess this is him on vocals—he’s absolutely brutal and uncompromising across the album.  The band itself is made up of well known musicians as well:  bassist John Jarvis ( Agoraphobic Nosebleed , All Will Fall ), Derek Engemann ( Cast The Stone , Stormruler ), Adam Jarvis ( Pig Destroyer , Lock Up . Misery Index ), and Mark Kleppel ( ...

Malacath Is a black metal band from New Hampshire who formed in 2011. Their latest release, “ Eternal Roar of the Thunder and Rain ,” is their fifth full-length album; they have also released a demo, compilation, two splits and three EPs. Malacath has always been under the atmospheric side of black metal and this latest release isn't any different. It's also melancholic and frigid—it works well for the album because it keeps the raw roots and aggressive nature of the genre intact even through the long songs and their twists and turns. Some may be turned off by the long songs but not me.  Their length allows for each song to bring a lot of different styles into it.  Atmospheric music needs these longer lengths and Malacath handles them well—each song is engaging and I was never waiting for the seconds to tick by.  The album begins with the title track—-a literal storm begins with ominous, deep tones casting shadows among the rain and thunder.  It’s cinematic in scope ...