Tag: doom
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Sadhak – Sadhak
Well, he’s got the first part of the band name right, anyways. Not your typical one-man Norwegian metal band, Sadhak actually plays longing, despondent doom à la Warning or 40 Watt Sun. And no, his last name’s not Walker… This debut EP consists of two songs averaging nine minutes in length. “On the Arrival of…
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Psychotic Gardening – Hymnosis
The new self-released album from Winnipeg’s Psychotic Gardening puts a great many albums released on larger metal labels to shame. The musicianship is top-notch, production values are high, and that is a very memorable name for a band indeed. ‘Origin of the Infection’ gallops along in old-school fashion, yet those guitar flourishes give the song…
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North – Metanoia EP
North is a Tuscon trio that is pretty tight with Godhunter—about the only other Arizona sludge band I know—which is reason enough for me to give this a listen. Yet these guys are grizzled veterans, as the length of their beards would attest, with three albums already under their belts. While Metanoia is more of…
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Bloody Hammers – Under Satan’s Sun
The creative spirit must run pretty deep in Bloody Hammers mastermind Anders Manga. The latest release from this North Carolina-based outfit is Under Satan’s Sun and it just happens to be their third release in three years. Releasing material at such a clip doesn’t necessarily leave much time for a change of style. As such…
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EyeHateGod – EyeHateGod
Not gonna lie, this was my most-anticipated album of the year. And it’s certainly been a long time coming—the last time we heard from EyeHateGod was the odds-and-ends comp Preaching the End-Time Message waaaaaay back in ’05. They did put out a live DVD a couple years back (fun fact: I missed being in it by a day!), but in…
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Vestal Claret – The Cult of Vestal Claret
Man, it feels like I haven’t heard from Phil Swanson in a while. Unofficially recognized as The Voice of Underground Occult Power Doom, the dude was in, like, 27 bands at one time… or so it seemed. This particular outfit, Vestal Claret, was recently resurrected; they had previously disbanded so Swanson could focus on other bands,…
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The Body/Thou – Released from Love
This is not a split. Rather this EP is a collaborative effort between the voluminous Portland duo The Body and the caustic NOLA sludgesters Thou, with all members of both bands playing on each track. Y’know, kinda like that thing Lion’s Daughter did a little while back…minus the neo-folk leanings, I presume. Side A opens with the…
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Stoneburner – Life Drawing
Stoneburner is yet another act amongst the multitude of sludge bands oozing outta Portland, so expect the inevitable comparisons to YOB and Witch Mountain. Oh, and Neurosis, who signed these guys to their label, Neurot. Did I mention that this album’s 66.5 minutes long? It’s giving off a Neurosian vibe already… It’s not long before…
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Conan – Blood Eagle
I hope that when you hear the word “Conan” you don’t think first of the comedian. Arnold Schwarzenegger or the Robert E. Howard novels are acceptable answers. But this writer’s first thought goes to the English (mega)power trio Conan. Blood Eagle picks up where Monnos left off – which is somewhere ancient where everything is…
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Black Tar Prophet – Deafen
Now, when a band names an album Deafen, you can probably expect it to be loud. But this Nashville instro duo, Black Tar Prophet, is a bass-drums outfit, so you don’t get the screeching, feedbacking guitars that lead to tinnitus here. Trust me on that one… Opening track “Dethroned” reminds me of The Body, as the bass is…