Also, riff-wise and structure-wise, I get some early Mastodon and Baroness, but with a thicker, earthier, sludgier, and doomier (so…..Chicagoan?) backbone; case in point: “Spectral Cataclysm”, which starts the album proper after a short instrumental “Void of Guilt”. After its black/crust-basting opening few bars, it settles into a Mastodon-ish lurch and stagger. The vocals, though, are pure sludge/doom with a gritty, earthy bellow from guitarist Peter Norman (the trio is rounded out by drummer Edward Hamel and CJ Johnson on bass).

There are a few damn fine moments scattered around the 6-song, 45-minute affair. Whether it’s the aforementioned blackened blasts in “Spectral Cataclysm”, the hefty opening riffs of “Bodies Dragged to Sunlight”, the crusty sway towards the end of “Slow Death Chant”, or the stank-face-inducing bass run and heaving, subsequent riff late in the album’s sprawling, 13-minute centerpiece, “An Ocean of Broken Hope. It’s all rendered with a solid production and master that I’m sure has way more impact in a live environment, as this is pretty clean on record and the low end isn’t quite as devastating as some of their peers.

The album ends with more Mastodon-imbuing riffs of the title track, and while I feel the band is more effective when slowing it down a bit and leaning a little more into the sludge/doom, it’s still an enjoyable stammering, staggering track, and does end with a nice sludgy sway, finishing the album on a high note.

9 songs in 45 minutes, “Alt/Space” gets things started with an atmospheric buildup, with voices in the background, and the intro works well until “Cryptic Site” starts. Beginning with a crushing groove, Mike’s spoken-word-type raspy vocals are accompanied well by his bludgeoning distorted bass. The excellent main guitar riff and bass hitting at the 2.30 mark will bring you back to Pure era Godflesh with the heavy, hoppy, thumping sounds. The thumping continues, and that catchy riff is most excellent.

“Swamp Flesh” is exactly how I am feeling today. It’s over 90 degrees, and I need to get into the pool. Vocals are piped in higher, excellent, doomy, growly, and menacing vocals. This song actually is pit-worthy with the pounding groove and catchy pinch harmonics. Vocals are enunciated terrifically, and lyrics are understandable. If you’re gonna spend time writing lyrics, you might as well make them audible so we all can test your genius level. Like a lumbering sloth, this song has heaviness all over it. When the main part hits and repeats, such as the 3.44 mark, you cannot help but headbang in unison to the beat. Crafty bastids!

“The Cell Inside” starts softly, and if you ain’t holding up your lighter like it’s 1985, then get the hell outta here. The music hits at the minute mark and is more of a somber, melancholic tone. Depressive, emotive, and you can feel the pain when words/phrases like ‘Worthless, Voices Crying, Never Forgive ‘ are spewed out by Mike. It adds more weight with the lyrics enunciated so well. There are some slow guitar harmonies around the 4.10 mark that have me feeling Iron Maiden. A short time later, the isolated bludgeoning bass guitar rumbles by itself until the music comes back and hits ever so heavily. This is one of the best moments Red Vinter has ever created.

The title track opens with that dirty ass, distorted bass guitar. Drums enter into the picture next. Guitars slowly build up, and the music morphs into a lumbering, crawling speed that is pure Winter worship. Toss in more of that Godflesh Pure sound, more during the depressive moments. The song is not drawn out to 10 frickin’ minutes and is around the five-minute mark, perfect length. Catchy vocal patterns to coincide with the guitar melodies, and the song picks up to a monstrous groove that hits at the 3.13 part. This plodding groove has a bludgeoning beat that calls for beatdowns. Luckily, this part again repeats towards the end. Terrific way to end the album, as well.

If Ghost in the Fog were a drink, it would go down smoooove, like a stick of butter. But due to it being so heavy, depressive, and abrasive, at times, it would be a sonofabitch coming outta you. Tear your insides right out! Ghost in the Fog is the best release from Red Vinter. Catchy, memorable, heavy, and well played. The band is coming into its own and is playing some live shows to boot. Maybe they can try to book MDF for next year. Get this album now!

There comes a time in every critic’s life when they’re torn on an album whereby on the one hand you have a good, compelling album with cool moments, but then there’s the feeling that it’s boring as watching flies fuck, and so you (as the critic) must be diplomatic.

A few listens later…

Well, it all starts with “Divinity”, a nice instrumental track that erupts into “A Red Dawn”, and it’s got a pretty good chug to it, kicking off with a sick roar that brings the brutality out. It’s not overly brutal as in say… It’s not Dying Fetus or anything like that. More like a Green Carnation meets Opeth meets later on Amorphis. That doesn’t make sense. Too fucking bad, this is sort of a choose-your-own-adventure album.

“Servant to the Sun” has this slow-burning sense of urgency, the melody kind of echoing Tales From The Thousand Lakes; while the following “Prophecy” brings in some gravitas in the form of another chill instrumental track.

“Visions of a Crimson Moon” comes lurching forward and brings another roar to open the album. This one has more of a staccato riffing that makes it sound a bit progressive. This could have been a thrashing track, but that would be like putting a Polka song on a Mayhem album. I can picture a lot of crab walking going on around the midsection point where they get extra heavy.

The title track is like watching paint dry, however. It drags you along while being as dull as can be. This is that torn feeling I talked about earlier. I don’t like this song, but it doesn’t tarnish the album any more than “Meant to Be” did on the latest Testament album.

“Omen” has a cool intro riff but falls into mediocrity pretty damn quick. “Field of Reeds” is yet another instrumental that meanders like a drunk on the way home. It’s a pretty tune, but it’s a whatever track at the end of the day.

There’s probably a reason why I don’t usually review albums like this because, ultimately, it’s been done before and by better bands. Not saying that Black Sea of Trees is slouching on their instruments because they’re certainly not, but I think I wanted more than what I got with Cult of the Sun.

“Eclipse” and “The Dark Distance” round out the album, and I can’t really say it’s with a bang. I wanted to like Cult of the Sun, but alas, I don’t.

Having said that, if you do happen to like this sort of thing and you love the new sound of Opeth, then maybe this is for you. So, follow your heart and pick this up… if you want.

Would it be their Master of Puppets or Reign in Blood? Or would it crumble under the pressure of following up such a great second album? Or would the band succumb to the pressure of the genre and change up style a la Paradise Lost’s, Shades of God, or My Dying Bride‘s The Angel and the Dark River? Especially with both bands being a clear influence on Fires in the Distance’s melodically tinged take on doom/death metal.

Come on down, Master of Puppets and Reign in Blood.

Now, to be clear, I’m not putting Circadian Promise in the same categories as those legendary, genre-defining, classic albums, but fuck me, this album is good; album of the year good, and in a few years, I think we will be talking about it as a hallmark album in the death/doom genre.

As with the last album, Randy Slaugh has been brought in to help the already talented composer, guitarist/songwriter Yegor Savonin, with some of the orchestral compositions, which, as before, are simply magnificent (although I don’t think the 4-piece string orchestra was brought back?). And also, as with the last album, it is front-loaded, and the back half of the album struggles a bit to catch up, but it does this time. But for crying out loud- how do you even top the opening two tracks here?

Opener “Of Radiance and Levitation” is about as good as it gets for delicate hues blended with a stern mid-paced trundle and some chord progression to simply die for. The little post-verse arpeggio at 2:18, which repeats a few times, is just knee-wilting. The song also introduces new guitarist/vocalist Brendan Hayter (Obsidian Tongue, Thrawsunblat) and his clean croons, which appear a few times on the album and are spectacular. His growls and rasps are not quite as commanding or low as his predecessor’s, but the music here is the star of the show as the band leans into their tangible Insomnium, Opeth, Rapture, Swallow the Sun, Katatonia, and such.

And speaking of Insomnium, the second track, “To You, Author of My Fade”, is by far my favorite song of the year so far. It’s the most urgent track the band has penned, with an utterly stunning opening riff that has a fiercely melodic canter that would make Insomnium or even bands like In Flames, At The Gates, Dark Tranquillity, Wolfheart, or Countless Skies blush. Another svelte Hayter chorus adds a level of deep introspection.

The third song, “Lightless Days of a Songless Bird”, has a tough 2 acts to follow, but holds up with a more airy, elegant pulse and lope, with a main riff culled straight from Paradise Lost‘s more gothic rock phase. We then get “By This Time Tomorrow”, which features Johan Reinholdz of Dark Tranquility on a guest solo; it’s the album’s first more pure doom track, with a wondrous, swaying main riff and sonorous melody that you would hear on a My Dying Bride song, and when it transitions from the little spoken word/sample to the epic lead solo- it’s truly breathtaking.

The more lumbering, choppy “Once the Silence Takes Your Place”, while still a solid track, is probably the only song that has no moment or riff that made my knees weak, and the little programming part about 5 minutes in is a bit out of place (but the riff that follows it is damn good). But it’s a solid, despondent, Rapture-ish number that again highlights Hayter’s clean vocals perfectly.

The album ends (albeit too suddenly for my liking) with “Agonal Dreaming”, a brilliant, gorgeously somber track, where the delicate piano interplays with a riff similar to the opening song, just a perfect, perfect blend of sternness and melancholic beauty. Just listen to that riff at 3:31, and then the subsequent orchestral bridge/solo, and staggeringly emotive blast beat. My god. Just fucking perfect.

Circadian Promise is a perfect album in every way, and is indeed their Master of Puppets or Reign in Blood. It’s going to be a sure-fire AOTY contender for me, and for many folks I imagine. One can only hope they follow it up with an … And Justice For All or South of Heaven.

Eight songs in 42 minutes. “Gorge of the Dead” was the first single released for the album and opens the album, too. Bludgeoning riffage and Desecresy have their own guitar sound. Of course, it is rooted in Finnish lore with traces of Bolt Thrower, which is something many Finnish bands incorporate. The interesting guitar harmonies are what set Desecresy apart from other countrymen. Around the 2.28 marker, the song picks up the pace. 90’s era speed, some isolated bass guitar is thrown in as well. The song slows and is pounding heaviness at its finest. Tommi’s rough growls are all over this, too.

“By the Slowing Vortex of Time” has an ambient, yet short intro. Start and stop speeds, and Tommi having his growls all over this one. If you are unfamiliar with his vocal style, think Chris Barnes during Butchered at Birth, as well as Will, from Mortician. Deep bellows! Some slower moments ignite the depressive and dense fog that is Desecresy. Luminated around a shroud of atmosphere and creepiness, this song is most excellent. The guitar tone is also fleshed out a bit better on this recording. Some organic and powerful double bass erupts around us, too. Yet another winner of a song.

“Rotting Ghouls” opens with a really nice growl, and the song mellows a bit with the guitar harmonies and drums. The bass guitar comes in every so often, with monstrous distortion, too. It’s heavy, maybe the heaviest distortion Tommi has used in a while. It also does not sound like a wall of mud, thankfully. There are some excellent guitar riffing moments and pounding and slow depressive, heaving heaviness. He uses multiple guitar tracks as well, which creates a full sound. Hearing the harmonies over some of the riffing is pure signature Desecresy. Faster moments develop, but this song is mainly rooted in dark, creeping, crawling terror.

“Vanishing Existence”, at close to seven minutes, closes out the album. Synth-laden intro is piped in quite loudly, so be prepared. This melts right into the slow pounding and heavy music of just drums and bass guitar. The guitars and vocals eventually are incorporated. Double pounding speed and excellent isolated guitar riffing create quite the cavernous tone on this song, along with the deep vocals. Excellent harmonies and some brief guitar soloing as well. More excellent growls and pounding beats! The song ends as it began with the synths.

The Secret of Death is a top album from Desecresy. Memorable, heavy, depressive, and great organic recording. Captures the heaviness quite well. One thing you may not realize is throughout all the band’s albums Tommi has drawn all the album covers. He is precise with his usage of color. Each album boasts a theme and a main color. This one is a deep blue. It would not be a Desecresy album without skulls so he drew a few of them in for ya. The Secret of Death is one killer death metal album!

Well, slap me in the face and say stop all that cryin’, because Terror Corpse contains former Malignant Altar members. That’s right, folks. Hailing from Houston, Texas, Terror Corpse came to fruition earlier this year, and Ash Eclipses Flesh, honestly sounds like the follow-up to that Malignant Altar album. Everyone sings in this band, a group effort. Christian is on bass, Dobber is on drums and Mat plays guitar. 10 songs in 36 minutes, with an absolutely phenomenal album cover to boot.

“Pyre of Ash and Bone” starts things off with terrifically heavy distorted bass guitar then right into the galloping madness, then BOOM, into the blasting. The 1.30 slow, doomy section is atmospheric and just evil-sounding. Really going for that Incantation vibe. I am feeling that big time. Some black metal-ish harmonies erupt over the blast, then into the double pounding madness with absolutely filthy vocals. They are fantastic.

As the song closes out, “Gate Zero” erupts instantly with a monstrous blast beat. This will catch you off guard and bodyslam you through the various levels of magma. Just as abrupt as that blast explodes, so does the slow, doomy crawl after it. Heavy, organic, and executed perfectly with that isolated, distorted bass right after. I am thrilled when this style of death metal pays attention to the bass guitar and, rather than have it follow the guitar sound, the bass guitar has its own flair, in this case, fuzzy distortion. There is so much fuzz on the isolated bass guitar moments, it calls to mind vintage Carcass. Think Symphonies of Sickness, for reference points. This song owns!!

“Nuclear Winter” is not a cover from Sodom, but rather a very short song at 1.15. Galloping out of the gates, the song goes right into the doom death, then squealing guitars take us on a blast. The song returns to galloping headbanging madness before ending. I appreciate this brief song as the band crams a lot into it, as well as showing us they can streamline songs to fit in an extra song in a live setting, perhaps?

“The Hollow That Devours” is the longest song at 4.48 and has excellent opening double bass drums all over this sucker. The song settles into a slow, hoppy number, with guitar riffage, right out of the vintage Autopsy playbook. We are treated to a nice drum roll, which transitions into a faster-paced gallop. More throaty vocals and galloping madness, and I like how the guitar soloing helps end this song.

The band does the “Into the Crypts of Rays” (Celtic Frost cover) pretty well. The ultra-low gutturals make the lyrics indecipherable, except for the chorus. They pay homage to one of the greatest extreme metal songs ever recorded, in a respectful manner, by keeping the pace the same as the original.

So this new Malign…I mean Terror Corpse debut album, Ash Eclipses Flesh, is fantastic and has been in constant rotation for me. Memorable, organic, heavy, evil, and dark. Truly capturing the essence of the origins of what death metal is supposed to be about. This is one of the best albums from Dark Descent Records in the last several years, and I am looking forward to hearing future recordings from Terror Corpse!

Egregious Defilement is their brand spanking first EP, and let me tell you what: IT’S FUCKING GREAT! I probably didn’t need the all caps, but goddammit, this album sticks to your eardrums like an angry barnacle and refuses to let go. Humble, constant reader, you need this album in your life.

First track is deadly, and Decrepit Altar rip into “The Festering Depths” like a starving animal. This ungodly 8:21-minute beast crawls on all fours. This song is a slow and precise beating, bone-breaking riffs, and earthshaking bass rhythms come together to slowly drown you in the mire. There are 3 China cymbal tings and then boom! They hit full speed midway through before they slow it down for the remainder of the song.

Decrepit Altar might as well be playing severed limbs instead of instruments because Egregious Defilement harkens back to those early Incantation albums; Onwards to Golgatha and Mortal Throne of Nazarene quickly come to mind. The oppressive feeling of foreboding menace is palpable as they go into “Beckoning of the Moss Ridden Tombs”. It’s a short track with a 5:06-minute runtime. It is not just a splash of grease on bare skin, the song lets that fucking grease sizzle and burn until the flesh falls from the bone.

“Fields of Flayed Skin” pours on the filth even more. I don’t know where this album was recorded, but it resonates into the gore-soaked walls of oblivion. The way Egregious Defilement hits those Death/ Doom bullet points is amazing, and I can picture a live setting bathed in green light with twenty-eight fog machines suffocating the gathered masses.

This is one of those albums that commanded me to write about it toot-sweet, and so that’s what I have done. Decrepit Altar is for the fans of Incantation, Winter, Sedimentu,m and Tribunal. Pick this one up with fireproof gloves, folks. It is burning hot and will melt your fingers.

Heteropsy is the side project of Japan’s Frostvore, who released one of the better Swedish/HM2 death metal homages in 2020s, Drowned In Blood. They have released 4 EPs and a split since 2020, but Embalming is their debut album. and is my first exposure to them.

But whereas Frostvore is firmly rooted in the classic Dismember/ Emtombed sound of yore, Heteropsy, while still having a fucking disgusting HM2 buzz, is much more of a lumbering, crawling doom death act, as if classic Hooded Menace or country mates Coffins had much more of a Swedish death metal backbone.

And while there are a few Swe-death gallops and blasts here and there (i.e., parts of  “Pandemonium Alter”, “The Sodomizer”), the focus is on huge, filthy lopes and huge filthy vocals. Just listen to the opening lopes of “Pandemonium Alter” and “Asphyxia”, or the somber strains of doom that start “Memento Mori” and “Methodone”.

10 minute closer “Old Friends”, is an absolute monster of a track with a little of everything in the doom/death realm to satisfy fans of the genre as well as a more sickly form of Swedish death metal.

But 7 years after Phobiate and apparently riddled with a 3 years of recording/production issues, the UK duo is back with their third album, Ónkos (tumor or lump?), and they have leaned even further into the murkier, doomier side of their sound that has been present on prior efforts but fully dialed in here as the 43 minute album is only 2, 20+ minute songs, “Mount Morphine” and “The Ever Aftermath”.

There is still a massive HM2 buzz in the guitar tone, but it mostly sounds like a 45rpm single being played at 33rpm. At times, it’s truly devastating, especially when the band delivers the slower, doomier riffs, which are littered in both tracks as well as standard Swe-death canters, short-lived blasts, and even some subtle keyboards and discordant black-ish metal moments.

But it’s the slower, lumbering moments within the two tracks that get my attention. I mean, the last third of “Mount Morphine” (minus the atmospheric final few moments) is simply crushing, and the middle of “The Ever Aftermath” is the same. That all said, everything else is just ‘there’, the canters, blasts, and atmospherics don’t really stick with me or make the 2 songs particularly impactful or memorable. And there are several minutes of wasted music that’s just ‘atmosphere’, which are fine if they work to make the entire song better, not just to end the song with a couple of minutes of mood.

Ultimately, I came away a bit let down by Ónkos, bored at times, even, especially considering the 7-year wait, and all we got were 2 songs and maybe about 30 minutes of real music. But it does have some moments buried away in there. That said, I’m giving the debut from Japan’s Heteropsy, a lot more attention, and it’s a very similar style and sound.

Such is my dilemma with Hooded Menace and their 7^th full-length Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration. While it’s not a bad album by any stretch of the imagination, it doesn’t sound like Hooded Menace.

I went back to Fulfill the Curse and Never Cross the Dead (from 2008 and 2010 respectively). There was a grimier feeling to their music, the guitars sizzle like bacon on a griddle and the production just has more punch on the low end. I’m no producer but… It’s something I noticed.

Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration starts off with the suitably haunting “Twilight Passages” and quickly shifts gears to the Death Thrash of “Pale Masquerade,” and it’s a good song, raging when it feels like it and heavy, chugging bits when they’re called for. But it feels by the numbers in a way; but let me finish.

“Portrait Without a Face” and “Daughters of Lingering Pain” have a distinct 80s vibe, especially in the chorus bits where I picked up some Mercyful Fate and Iron Maiden harmonies that perked my ears up very quickly. I feel the need to reiterate that this is not a bad album! It’s… different. But it’s not horrible in an “I’m never listening to that shit again” sense if you get my meaning.

“Lugubrious Dance” is next, and again, this is a brutal track, and it solidifies the fact that Hooded Menace brings the riffs in dripping, bloody baskets. There’s more 80s vibes in this track as well, and they do a great job of switching tempos from deathly gloom to upbeat speed. It’s got a bit of a Candlemass feeling to it, but just the surface of Candlemass.

Hooded Menace is great with cover songs “Sorrows of the Moon” (Celtic Frost) from Ossuarium Silhouettes Unhallowed is particularly notable, and like their contemporaries in VHS who famously covered Bryan Adam’s “Everything I Do (I do it for You)” and Limahl’s “Neverending Story” both from their album Quest for the Mighty Riff. Not to be outdone Hooded Menace pulls out a cover of one of my favorite Duran Duran songs, “Save a Prayer.” It’s a great cover, straight up my favorite track on this release. Don’t you judge me either.

Final track “Into Haunted Oblivion” is a quick thrasher, and it actually sounds like the guitar tone from their early albums, this buzz saw roar that’s satisfying as fuck. This is a crushing track and my second favorite track on Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration.

At the end of the day, this is a good Hooded Menace album. There was some controversy amongst the rest of the staff about it, and I decided that I was going to be fair with it. I’m already a fan, this album isn’t going to change it. So I recommend this for the fans. If you’re looking to “get into” Hooded Menace, go back and listen to Fulfill the Curse and work your way forward, but start with Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration, you’ll see what I mean. Pick this up now!

Just in case you were wondering what it would be like to stick your head in a wood chipper, check out “Impulse” with its deep, chunky opening riff. Once the track gets going, the main riff is frantic. Until the doom part of this doom/death album comes back. The numerous solos sound plucked from the devil’s guitar when he showed Robert Johnson how to play the blues.

If a wood chipper isn’t your style, maybe “Dissonant Drift” with its traditional, yet brown sound-inducing riff is. It’s one of the longest tracks on the album, so it plods appropriately. That’s still under 5 minutes, though. Around two minutes, an almost skronky, yet technical riff takes over, with furious double bass accompaniment. The atmosphere is assuredly dark and ominous.

At this point, perhaps you’re into a faster pace, like getting hit by a car. Well, that’s too bad, as “Overwhelming Subjugation,” with its less than three minutes of runtime, is another slow, ass dragging attack. Until it isn’t, that is. Another finely-tuned, quick, aggressive riff takes over with around a minute left, until a brief solo at the end.

Just when you think there’s light at the end of the tunnel, perhaps the two most plodding and dark tracks end the album. Of course, the first one is the title track, “Pain Effulgence.” I mostly enjoy the riff at around the two-and-a-half-minute mark. It’s sort of like getting a handjob from Gail the Snail. Sure, she’s mashing it, but are you 100% sure you don’t like it?

The last offering, “Austerity and Attrition,” which is around 7 minutes, basically has the same approach as the rest of the album, which is like a cinder block falling directly onto your big toe. The deep, spelunking vocals do a fine job of narrating the inevitable collapse until there’s near silence around the halfway point. The solo takes the form of a brief reprieve from the bludgeoning, until the pace is finally picked up with about two minutes left.

When this is all over, you look outside, are blinded by the presence of the sun, and yet somehow you long for the gloomy, pitch-black pit in which you used to reside. While Innumerable Forms are only distant relatives of bands such as Insomnium, the sense of despair similarities are difficult to ignore. What I’m saying is that if you like the sunshine of these summer days, that’s fine, but fall is around the corner. If you’re looking for an album to get you prepared for it, you can’t do much better.

“Ooze Maelstrom” starts this seven-song 37 37-minute onslaught with a blast beat. I was not expecting the opening to be so fast. The song slows to a crawl around the 45-second mark, and the guitars are pretty damn heavy. The song picks up the pace with a nice gallop, which you will no doubt headbang to. Brennen Westermeyer, as always, is the man behind Thorn, and his powerful roars are excellent. The highlight is the 2.30 slow down with the stop and start riffing and off-kilter drum beats. This section shines!

“Entombed in Chrysalis” is just what the doctor of doom/death metal ordered. This is the longest song at over eight minutes; the tune immediately gets into filth. This is pure filth, at its finest. Slow, lumbering, heavy, and the sledgehammer of doom crushes you into tiny bits. The bass guitar is magnificent, as it has a killer distorted heaviness. The double pounding section picks up the pace for a bit, until more of that start and stop riffing and drum pattern erupts, as it did with the album opener. These sections are terrific, and there are some hellaciously monstrous growls on this sucker. The dreamlike moments of ethereal doom, with the melodies, are hypnotic. The song really ends at the 4.30 time stamp because the rest of the song is some atmospheric noises, which honestly go on for wayyyy too long, imo.

“Gloaming Corporeal Form” is like three minutes of atmospherics, which for me, once again, is filler. It’s used as more of an intro to the ending song, which is the title track. Ryan Fairfield, from Hallowed Butchery and Toxic Cross, lends his vox to this song. This track is pure doom/death filth. This song actually has a striking resemblance to dISEMBOWELMENT. The strong guitar riffs, with those ethereal harmonies, is evident of that. This song is going nowhere fast, as it lumbers and takes notice of the riffing at the 1.50 section. This is excruciatingly heavy, and we also get nods to funeral doom with this track. This slow pacing will call to mind the gods of yore, Winter, with the plodding and hypnotic pacing, all wrapped up in a bow of heaviness. There is a depressive dense fog hanging over this song, folks. Great way to end the album.

Nebulous Womb of Eternity is a really good doom/death album. The production is improved upon, and I appreciate this album’s artwork. Some of the long atmospheric interlude parts, to me, are a time waster, and I wish they were much shorter. Overall, Thorn delivers another heavy album.

Ashen appeared on my radar when Ritual of Ash, their first full-length, was released in early 2023. It was self-released, they’re from Australia, and it took a long time to receive the CD in the mail. They made it worth my while as they all signed it and sent a CD copy of their previous EP as well. I’m grateful and surprised they are now signed with Redefining Darkness out of my home state.

My favorite track, “Void Within,” instantly makes me think of Dismember because of the intro. The vocals certainly give me that same vibe. There’s doom injected throughout with a great hook and a killer riff. It’s just a well-constructed, heavy, and impactful death metal song. There’s not much more that needs to be said.

The compelling title track, “Leave the Flesh Behind” precedes “Void Within,” and has a more frenetic pace. The riffs are no less meaty, though. Its swarming, main verse riff will have no problem getting the ones who are still fortunate enough to have hair, windmilling it. There’s still some doom present in the chorus. Except for those moments, it’s full speed ahead.

Earlier in the album is “Ancestral Gate,” which gives you one of the rare glimpses of an ambient soundscape, but the riff that immediately follows seems to say; “Enough with that shit.” The devastating riff leads into easily the best hook on the album. With less than a minute, a stank face riff takes over, then another hook right before it’s over.

To close it out is “Blood Offering,” and it’s almost “djenty.” Don’t freak out, though, as I said “almost.” It’s still heavy to the point of being nearly chaotic. In the last minute, there is another doomy riff with some spoken word over it before the album ends with some brief electronic/industrial sounds.

As I mentioned at the beginning of the review, this is a great death metal album that offers something for everyone. It took a while to resonate with me, even though I knew it was good immediately. I’m really excited for these dudes to hook up with Redefining Darkness, which will hopefully bring some of the praise they deserve. A US tour is probably out of the question, and honestly, why would they even want to come here, so I couldn’t blame them. However, if they’re anywhere near me, I guarantee I will be there. As for the album, it should be in your playlist or in your hands very soon.

Earlier this year, they released their first official release – the three-song EP Into the Deep and now, Red Vinter is armed to release their debut full-length – Lumbering Menace. They redo three songs from the demo: “K.I.A.”, “Insurgent”, and “Blood in the Frost”. While I hit on some of those on my demo review, I will not go into those songs on this album review. Pretty much, they remain the same. Joining Mike are Dylan Jones/ James LeBrasseur on guitars and James Achilles on drums.

This seven-song 40-minute album begins with the title track at 6+ minutes, gets things started with some slow, dirgy type of doom. It has a nice Winter vibe going on, as well as a Celtic Frost type of riff, reminding me of “Procreation of the Wicked”. Mike’s reverberating bass guitar is there, lending that bottom heaviness throughout. Mike’s vocals are more realized on this, as opposed to the demo, where he was doing more talking. Kind a sorta. Now he is more throaty, and some extended moments develop into growls. The main guitar riff is pretty damn heavy, so much so it’s heavier than your Grandmother on Thanksgiving. The grinding guitar riff around the four-minute mark is excellent and has a Skin Chamber vibe. There is melody going on, and towards the end, some spoken word type of vocals. Very catchy and very heavy opening song.

“Lungblood” begins as a slow burn. The isolated guitar riff, then an opening bass slide, pounding drums, and this moment has me thinking Godflesh. Mike’s bass sound is very influenced by the band. The song gets into a rhythm moment not unlike the album Pure, from Godflesh, one of their best releases. You will notice the bouncy yet very heavy moments which call to mind the song “Spite”. Mike’s vocals sound a bit cavernous, and this song is a real fun song to listen to. Crank it up to hear that old school Godflesh-inspired rhythm pounding heaviness.

“Escape Velocity” ends the album with epic drums to open, as if this were an army marching towards a town to wipe it out. Excellent marching drums as all the music and vocals come in. Then the song gets back into the opening drum moments before the music once again comes in again. Pretty darn creative. The guitar riff is super doomy, and that lumbering heaviness prior to the three minute marker is vicious, then soft again, then back into that ruthless riff.

Lumbering Menace is an excellently crafted doomy and heavy album. Red Vinter should have a tagline for this album: If you do not get this album, someone will visit your house, busting down your door, flushing your Cheeto-filled face in the crap encrusted toilet, then promptly ensuring you pick up your cell phone and order the album. Real fun, heavy plodding doomy album.

I think anyone in the industry can attest that nowadays it is rare to have band members staying intact throughout consecutive releases. Line-up shifts happen as frequently as I change my underwear, and trust me, I change my underwear a lot – mainly to protect the public. Leave it to Graceless to have their line-up intact since their inception in 2016. This has created continuity in their sound, and I would imagine live they would be pretty tight.

10 songs in 46 minutes “God Shines in Absence” starts the album, and while it’s a pretty good tune, it has their doomy signature parts and galloping moments. for me, they should have started the album with song #2 – “Sanctified Slaughter”. Check out that isolated riff at the 50-second part. if that is not one of the best death metal riffs of 2025, then prove me wrong. It’s a creepy, crushing moment with Autopsy filth, and then the mid-paced Bolt Thrower section comes in, and this is tank tread heaviness. The double pounding, speedy death thrashing going on later during the song really makes this one of the finest songs Graceless has crafted.

“Night of the Slain” is a fun, hopping song with a memorable guitar riff, and Remco Kreft’s vocals have that old-school Gorefest tinge to it, which is excellent. Jasper Aptroot’s bass guitar is pretty prominent in the mix, and Marc Verhaar’s drums sound absolutely organic and not processed. The guitar melodies and harmonies of Kreft and Björn Brusse shine on this song, as does the melodic guitar solo early on. Those melodic elements hit home about halfway through the song. This part over the double bass and the harmonies, with the soloing, is actually pretty damn killer. After these moments, the Bolt Thrower mid-paced grinding heaviness returns, equipped, now, with a guitar solo. There is quite a lot of jam session style happenings on this song, without vocals, allowing the music to breathe. A delightful tune, indeed.

“Resurrection of the Graveless” ends the song with isolated bass guitar and drums before the guitars slide in as well as the vox. This galloping tune, well, the band saved the best for last. You cannot stop yourself from headbanging to this tune, which has a bit of Motörhead flair to it as well, so yeah, a little bit punky. The riffs are spectacular on this. These galloping, deadly parts are too catchy – honestly, this may be my new favorite Graceless song. Heavy, catchy, and most of all memorable. This is how you close out an album.

Graceless continues to spill out fun and killer albums, and Icons of Ruin is no exception. Their albums are consistent, riff driven, and at the end of the day, having an organic production will help any band in creating a warmer sound. I appreciate the lengths the band goes to to create memorable death metal that is not plastic-sounding.

Such is the case with New York’s Weeping Sores and their blistering 2^nd album, The Convalescence Agonies. It’s about singer Doug Moore (Pyrrhon, Scarcity, Seputus) and his ongoing battle with a shoulder injury, and I’m here to say that this is a brutal album, a journey into one man’s painful recovery. Something I can totally sympathize with as I have my own fucked up appendages and a rolled-up shit stick for a spine; physical therapy can be torture sometimes… lemme tell you a story. I don’t need to though, because Doug does it way better than I ever could.

This is a nasty piece of work; at one point, they go from the depths of Doom to blistering Death Metal fury in the first song “Arctic Summer”, the tempo ratcheting up at the 5:25 mark and riding that fiery horse until the tracks end. There are only five songs on The Convalescence Agonies, but within its 43:29-minute existence, it manages to shove your face into places you never dreamed of.

This record swims in the murky waters of Sedimentum and Incantation and the other purveyors of cavernous Death Metal. “Empty Vessel Hymn” is what grinding tendons and bone-on-bone sounds like. It has this crazy infectious main riff over this skank as fuck beat, it’s almost like Primus went total Death Metal for one song.

“Sprawl in the City of Sorrow” has a heavy Neurosis/ Today is the Day feeling that implodes into itself, the track sucks you into its grasp and shakes you until blood shoots from your ears, it is a crushingly heavy 9:08 minute dive into oceans of pain.

The production is stellar, as is the cover art by Caroline Harrison. The mark of a great album is its cover art , and this is one of the best I’ve seen this year.

Next to last is the neck-snapping “Pleading for the Scythe” it heaves with menace, a knuckle dragging spectacle with so many chugs an squeals it’s fucking ridiculous. Near the end, there’s scattered blasting before kicking into a solid arena-style shredder.

The title track, which is also the last one, is where everything coalesces, one minute it’s breaking limbs and the next it’s slow burning and staggering brutality. It’s unrelenting and doomy as fuck. At the 7:30 minute mark it slows down and there’s that beautiful cello making the track into a gentle giant briefly before it goes almost DSBM, I mean the track is 14:24 minutes long so there’s plenty of time to throw some blast beats at you and a sick ass solo. The ending is stirring, and it melds perfectly into the beginning track with ease.

The Convalescence Agonies is an emotional gut punch at times and a spine-ripping machine at others. It’s one that you need in your collection on full rotation so that you can sufficiently digest what went into the making of this godly release. Highly recommended for you, fans of Disembowlment, Mordred, and Disharmonic Orchestra. Get it!

The Periapt of Absence is the second album following the accolades laden first album Where the Shadows Adorn. When an album speaks to me I’ll listen to it on repeat all day, which is exactly what I did and my fucking God this album drips emotion, it’s like a trip into the mind of a person dealing with incredible loss. I found myself being drawn into the suffering and ruminating on my own losses.

It all starts with “Gallows” and it’s here that my ears picked up some My Dying Bride impressions, this song rocks hard; Don Curtis is a beast behind the kit and a human metronome; and on “Shatter the Visage” it’s the work of Chris Morrison – guitar, and Ben Sandman – guitar that conjure up the most killer riffing, with a solo that worms into your mind and shreds it to bits.

“A Scarlet Threnody” goes hard on the Doom, it’s an earth moving track with some gorgeous guitar work and the coolest lyric “at the throat of the world I kneel” and then it fucking swings with this killer hard rocking beat. The thing I love most about The Periapt of Absence is how they bring different styles together while maintaining a solid footing in the Death Metal realm.

“Apparition” is one of my favorite tracks, it just goes for the throat with fury, a brilliant shift from raging power to some utterly mesmerizing keys and it’s a Doom back to back with the title track bringing a big Candlemass feeling, right around the 3:33 mark; it’s another great moment that Mother of Graves throws at you.

The arrangement of the songs is used to maximum effect, the production is stellar, bringing more weight to the album, from the press release: The crushing production work of The Periapt Of Absence, provided by the band’s Ben Sandman with dynamic mastering by the legend Dan Swanö, amplifies the monumental rhythm section anchored by drummer Don Curtis and bassist Corey Clark, while illuminating the intricate guitar harmonies skillfully woven by guitarists Ben Sandman and Chris Morrison.

DAN FUCKING SWANÖ! The guy is a legend in so many ways and his hands are all over The Periapt Of Absence.

“As the Earth Fell Silent” brings more of a solid Death Metal monster with some crushing double bass near the end. “Upon Burdened Hands” is a huge, My Dying Bride circa Turn Loose the Swans and even Paradise Lost around Gothic era. “Like Darkness to a Dying Flame” is the massive closing track and when I say massive, I mean the shelf clouds leading up to a brutal storm filled with tornadoes and death guaranteed.

The bottom line, down to the bone marrow: The Periapt of Absence is raw emotion laid bare, a blood eagle of sorrow. Mother of Graves have created an album so incredibly good that it deserves your attention, constant reader. This is a record you need in your collection.

On their second album, Beating the Drums of Ancestral Force, these gentlemen have knocked it out of the park with one of the most important, and thoroughly enjoyable death metal albums of the year. It’s so damned heavy. Anyone reading should like that.

Take for example the second track, “Tlayohuali.” At this point, as the song title seems to implore, the album is branded as Indigenous Death Metal. You’ll understand why later, but god damn if this song isn’t a cavernous monster. It traverses a similar path to 200 Stab Wounds, Sanguisugabogg and of course, Xibalba (Tzompantli was founded by Xibalba’s Brian Ortiz). The difference is that these tracks could be seen as more introspective. Around halfway, the melodies go into death-doom territory, briefly reminding me of Paradise Lost, but that doesn’t last long before more pummeling. At the end, though, they bring in the impending doom, and mourning feel of The Peaceville Three again.

One could mistake the next track, “Tlaloc Icuic” as an interlude. That’s mostly because it is. This is where many of the Indigenous elements come out. There’s chanting and drumming, which really build atmosphere. It’s as heavy as can be imagined for an interlude. However, it’s 4 minutes, so let’s just call it an instrumental track.

I’m going to mention the two longest cuts near the end. The first one being “Tetzaviztli.” Help a brother out on the spellings. Anyway, at over 8 minutes, almost the entire first minute has ominous drumming, which does sound Indigenous in nature. That’s before the guitars breakthrough. Pit-scraping, and cavernous vocals are the dominant style, which is true throughout the album. Excellent flute bursts are by no means dominant, but you’ll be able to easily identify them.

The last track, at over 9 minutes, “Icnocuicatl,” is basically funeral doom. I don’t listen to much of that sub-genre but enjoy the elements that Worm frequently uses. The relatively slow-paced drums and ringing notes give me Foreverglade vibes. It thrills me and hopefully by extension, you as well dearest reader.

I’ve been going through some shit lately, which is why this review is late. I deeply apologize to the band and label if they read this, but I just had to cover it. This kind of death metal, especially with the unique instrumentation, is right up my alley. I haven’t heard a lot of death metal with Indigenous influences and if it’s this excellent, I would welcome more. This album has been an integral part of some of my long, lonely drives to take care of family business, but well beyond that, I listen to it in the gym, at work, wherever. I will be glad when this is published, and I hope everyone gets the joy out of it I have.

Molded by Broken Hands is their sixth album and debut for Profound Lore Records – truly a great fit for this band.  Mainman Rick Habeeb, vocals/guitars alongside several of the other members are either also in Reeking Aura and Buckshot Facelift, both bands from the New York/New Jersey area and all playing different types of underground metal.

This review is for the 7-song digital promo, which is 47 minutes. The CD edition contains an extra song titled “Severing the Soul”.  Again, with doom/death metal music you will normally have lesser songs, but they’re also lengthier, and “A Twisted Place in Time” opens the album and is the longest song at eight minutes.  With the band’s black, white, and grey cover and theme, it has a similarity to UK’s excellent Godthrymm, and in some areas, Grey Skies Fallen has a similar style in terms of the melancholic approach to their style of this sort of depressing metal.

The opener has a nice atmospheric buildup with strings and synths and once the minute mark hits I am hit with a very My Dying Bride vibe as well.  Bombastic with keys and heaviness and Rick’s raspy vocals.  This band, suffice to say, does not sound like an American doom/death band.  Nope-this sounds like this was recorded alongside the dreary overcast, rainy landscape of a small town in the UK, maybe Harpenden in England, which I have been to before, an adorable town, but I was there back in the early 90’s.  The heaviness of this song is apparent as are the progressive melodies and this is quite an expansive, yet immersive and emotive song to open with.  Excellent choice.

The title track almost begins the same way as the album opener did, but the guitar melodies coming through early on, really add that extra layer of depth, and the heaviness scorching through will remind you of the above-mentioned bands and throw in Paradise Lost for that matter, maybe around their first two albums, which in my opinion, is the best work the band ever wrote.  The clean vocal arrangements entering into the picture brings a more commercial, yet poignant sound to them.  The song vacillates with the heaviness and the atmospheric softer moments.  Excellent guitar melodies at the 4.50 marker and soloing going on.  The plodding drums are excellent and the clean vocals come in almost with a folk-like influence, or that’s at least what these ears are hearing. I enjoy how those tones fade out and the deathly vocals enter into the picture quite seamlessly and certainly, the varying tones are different yet both enjoyable on this album.

“Save Us” is a perfectly titled song for depressing metal, the smashing drums hit early on and the distorted guitars with a jumpiness, is not quite the depressing tone I was expecting, until the undercurrent of those guitar melodies enter into the picture, alongside the raspy deep vocals.  Some of those atmospheric moments alongside the heaviness also call to mind classic Anathema.  The clean vocals are also in this song and the varying effects these add, in terms of emotion, to the overall sound, is great.

Molded by Broken Hands best their last album Cold Dead Lands.  There are more interesting layers in this album and Grey Skies Fallen knows doom/death metal quite well, are capable musicians and at this point in their career to see them continuously add different elements and atmosphere is exciting to hear.  You never want to become stale or complacent in your sound and it is evident Grey Skies Fallen are ones to want to further and enhance this genre of metal.  Today as I write this review, it is very rainy and dreary outside.  It should be brighter outside, this morning, but it is gloomy and dark.  This album encapsulates the depressing nature of the outside landscape to a T.  This is a damn fine album!

Opener “Japan is Sacred” creates that atmosphere right out of the box and it isn’t until track two “Thunder. Fire. Blood” that the band actually plays music and holy shit it’s HEAVY. Mudshow play Ultra-Violent Sludge Metal and yeah, it’s pretty sludgy as shown on the next actual track “Purpose & Mercy” with it’s vicious, tortured vocals ‘put me out of my misery!’ is the blood-curdling chorus. The track is proceeded by two short instrumentals “A Symphony of Hells” and the haunting as fuck “Against the Sky Itself.”

“Destiny Awaits” has this flow to it, like watching a landslide, or maybe an avalanche; some more creepy as fuck recitation is added at the end. Anyway, “Onita Theater” is two minutes of menace with some discordant chanting going on in the background. This might have something to do with the wrestling theme of the album that I’m still not quite understanding.

“Burning Idol” is hands down my favorite song on Destiny. It reminds me of Rollins Bands “Liar”. The press release mentions Three 6 Mafia and I guess this song is where that comes from. It also has that little China cymbal ting-ting before the ‘rapping’ part comes out. The album closes with the somber “Last November”, a track as gloomy as a cloudy day. Discordant guitars doing clean picking over the drenched-in battery acid vocal delivery. It’s a super slow-crawler of a song.

So, I’m torn with this album. I tried to understand the concept of the poem integration which is a killer idea but then there’s the wrestling theme of this great rivalry that I don’t really care about one bit. It’s a goddamn ridiculously heavy album, as each song gets progressively more intense as the album plows forward and that’s no joke. This motherfucker had my head moving numerous times, especially “Purpose & Mercy” which is my second favorite track. However it’s not something that I really would go to often, it’s more of a mood setter I guess. Maybe like background music for a massacre when you have nothing to lose, but in wrestling garb… anyway.

This is for you fans of: Eyehategod, Neurosis, and I would even dare to add Sleep. If you’re into that then Mudshow is definitely right up your tree. Nevertheless, a solid debut that will shake your eardrums.

When Mike approached me to review his demo recently, I was honored he would consider me for the review.  Mike takes the vocal and bass reigns on this.  Rounding out the band is James Achilles on drums and Ly Arboleda on guitar.  Ly is new and James did the guitars and programmed drums on this demo.  Self-releasing a demo is a smart decision and what we have here are five songs with a lengthy 32 minute run time.

The best way to describe the music would be a post sludge/doom metal band.  These young ears of mine pick up influences ranging from Kyuss, Godflesh, Skin Chamber to Norway’s most excellent Kryptograf.  Before I start with the review, and I told Mike I would be honest, I’ll get my proclivity out of the way real fast.  Unless you’re Maiden, Sabbath, Priest, Metallica etc…I really dislike instrumentals.  Red Vinter’s “Armor Up” is an instrumental close to six minutes.  I’ll leave it at it would have been best suited to have had the inclusion of vocals.  ‘Nuff said.

“K.I.A.” opens with some nice isolated bass guitar rumbling and then the slow drums hit with the stoner doom guitar riff.  Simple, yet effectively heavy.  Mike’s vocals are interesting and I view them as experimental in nature.  They’re more of a spoken word type of style.  Not harsh, at times seemingly whispered, but a little aggressive at points and gruff.  When we get the middle part of the song going on, it has a bit of NY’s own, now defunct Winter, who transitioned to the name Göden, with respect to the slow riff, not doom/death metal, like Winter did, just in style.

“In Cygnus” has some jumpy riffing reminding me of early Godflesh, when they would go from their industrial metal moments to their doom, so seamlessly.  This is a catchy and fun riff and the song gets moving a bit to the point where head banging is necessary.

Skipping to the last track is “Blood in the Frost” and it’s close to eight minutes. Starting with some bass guitar, kind of like how the track’s opener started, this tune, begins with a lumbering sloth like speed.  This song is not in a hurry, let’s put it that way.  Slow…. and Mike let’s loose on a nice growl/scream and the speed will call to mind Winter’s slow and dirgy moments.  This song has some filth to it and when I listen to doom/sludge/heavy stoner metal, I want those riffs to be grim and grimey.  Mike begins with more of that spoken word vocal style and he sounds like he’s singing in a concrete cell, with the reverb, echoed vocals.  Maybe he did do the vocals in a cell?  Maybe I need to ask him just what the hell is going on with him, ha,ha.  The song has some nice guitar melodies and towards the end we have some atmospheric guitar soloing happening.

We Built Our Own Death Machine has a nice production, it’s warm in that it’s organic and not processed.  The artwork is excellent for this type of music and go ahead and pick any battle in history with the harsh weather and landscape and soldiers lumbering, falling and fighting – the artwork coincides nicely with the music.  Red Vinter, have something going for them and laying a nice skeletal foundation of what could be on the horizon.  Good demo folks, check ‘em out.

So, what makes it special? Well, friend, I am so glad you asked. It’s passion, emotion, and heft. I don’t know that I’ve heard a better opener this year than “Dead End: May.” I know the 9-minute plus runtime may dissuade many from listening, but if you’re at all into this genre, this is only a problem if not well-crafted. There are many movements that bear mentioning (had a nice one this morning, too), including a significant build into the meat of the track, which takes around 3 minutes. That’s where the first chorus hits. A couple of minutes later is an extended spoken word section, making that growl after it hit hard. Somehow, they save the best, heaviest section for last when the chorus is repeated for a while after the music stops. This could have been the perfect opener or closer.

The next I’ll mention is “Your Sunset/My Sunrise” because it’s the title track, but it’s also excellent. At another hefty 8-minute clip, you’re probably thinking it sounds like a death doom track. You’re right, but once again songcraft comes into play. Décembre Noir obviously graduated from the school of Insomnium background melodies. There are also multiple spoken word parts in this one. As it should, the repetition of “Your sunset, my sunrise” ties it all together.

The last track I’ll mention is the closer, “Trivial Heart.” It’s over 8 minutes, which should be entirely expected by the time anyone gets here, considering overall it’s 6 tracks and around 45 minutes. There’s always the issue when it comes to this style of wearing out its welcome. That is not an issue here. Does it have the same approach as most of the other tracks? Sure. Appropriately depressing and frosty lyrics? Also, yes. The last minute or so of piano bringing it to a close isn’t out of the ordinary either. However…

It all works. As I mentioned previously, it’s all about songs, and there’s not one on the album I would even consider skipping. Shortly before finishing this review, I placed it onto my “Albums of the Year” playlist and already know I won’t regret it. It’s easily (and I do mean easily) the best death doom album I’ve heard this year. Sure, there’s time for more. Something may come out of nowhere and blow me away, but I find it hard to believe unless Novembers Doom releases a surprise album, that it’s moving from the list. I know I gave their previous one a solid review as well, but this one is many times better. If you’re into death/doom and perhaps have even heard the band before, get this immediately. I’m backing off on purchasing physical albums unless I see the band live because I spend too much money on merch. However, this one is on the way.

The joke’s on him because I don’t like my family, so I want to be clear I’m only writing more because I want. How could I not want to write about these horror movie-driven stalwarts? So it begins with “Heart of Darkness,” which includes a nice rumble until the middle of the track where it gets quiet, then goes into an almost blackened blast section. Immediately following that is an excellent solo, then back to the near-death doom verse. If you thought this track was finished, I think I can hear a faint mellotron in the background before it all goes blasting to the finish.

If you’re looking for standouts, you don’t have to look far. I could mention all five of them, but I like to be more brief with EP reviews, so I’ll mention “The God Forsaken.” It has a slow build, which does include some deep growls, but doesn’t kick in until what I would call a “fast” Insomnium section. It then gets quiet like most of their tracks. This is when a spoken word section starts, sounding like Behemoth. If you were surprised by that, check out the male choral vocals immediately following. That lead with around a minute left is soulful as fuck.

I’m gonna forgive the song title on the next one, “Self-Immolation in Fire” because… How else, and move on to the closer “Possession,” which begins with, wait, is that a xylophone? Anyway, the main guitar part takes on the same melody. The track sounds unique and hits its stride when they mesh together. It’s an excellent closer that does indeed make me want more Heads for the Dead.

Damn it, I’ve done enough talking about Heads for the Dead on here that they should put me in their next thank you list and send me a gift bag. Of course, I already have all their albums on CD, own a Serpent’s Curse hoodie, as well as a Great Conjuration baseball shirt, so I’m repping proudly. Anyway, I enjoy this band as you may have noticed. There’s never a dip in quality, and they’re one of the most unique and exciting death metal revival bands we have. Cherish them.

One thing that is odd here is that are Roman Numerals after each song.  One would expect if an album had this as a highlight that the Roman Numerals would be in order, but they are not, and I am unsure why that is the case.  This album also boasts guests Jeff Beccera (Possessed), Henry Veggian (ex-Revenant), and Dan Vadim Von (Morbid Angel), which is all super cool.

“Offerings (The Swarm) IV” starts with the isolated guitar and then right into the fast part –  John McEntee – Guitars, Vocals, Kyle Severn – Drums, Chuck Sherwood – Bass and Luke Shively – Guitars all once again back to murder all our souls.  There are some squealing guitar sounds, after the fast part, some slow downs and then around the 1.55 mark is pure classic death metal gallops, circa 1991.  John’s vocals seem to be bellowing a little deeper on this new album, or so it seems, to these ears.  Regardless, this is a nice fast-paced opener with many tempo shifts.

“Homunculus (Spirit Made Flesh) IX” is a slow-burning track, kinda like an old school 70’s horror movie.  We get opening pinch harmonics and a brooding sense of dread, as the slow moments get into more of some of their signature doom-death style and the guitar tone is heavy, yet catchy.  The vocals moments at the 1.38 part is very cool, as the song traverses into the drone-like guitar sound, again, that is prevalent in this song, it’s almost hypnotic, and John gurgling and screeching along the way, as if he is in pain.  But let’s do a brief rewind, because my readers and friends know me to be a walking encyclopedia of metal, this 1.38 moment…I am like…hmmm, I have heard that moment on something before and I ask you good reader to do a side-by-side comparison with a song off German death metallers Atrocity’s, 1990 and best album, Hallucinations.  The song is “Defeated Intellect”.  FFWD to the opening, 25 second moment with the down-shifted guitar riff and vocal pattern, along with the doomy moment.  At some point with the thousands of releases over the years one is bound to come across similar moments between bands – just thought I’d point that out to you all, ‘cause I am a metal nerd.

“Altar (Unify in Carnage) V” is another highlighted track, with the doomy and heavy opening landscape carving out nice demonic sounds erupting from the pits of hell.  John’s vocals sound especially putrid and filthy on this song.  I think this would be a killer song for the band to play live on their opening tours.  This is one of the doomiest songs they have ever crafted.  Slow, dirgy, filthy, and crafting a stark and gloomy picture.  “Circle (Eye of Ascension) VII” is the longest song, but still a bit under 6 minutes and closes the album in doomy fashion.  Some very good double bass drums and the rhythm section is on fire, because it’s super tight, and the chorus comes through nicely with some of the guests, as I previously mentioned.

Sect of Vile Divinities, in my opinion, is a better album than Unholy Deification, because it was catchier and a bit more memorable.  “Unborn Ambrosia”, “Entrails of the Hag Queen”, “Scribes of the Stygian” were just too damn catchy and memorable and some of the best songs Incantation has ever written.  This album cover has a hellish monstrosity on the front, but it is difficult to make out a face and where the creature stops and ends.  Maybe that is the point of the artwork, perhaps?

Unholy Deification is a solid Incantation album, with all the heaviness, doom, and evilness we all know and love about the band.  There are some killer songs and moments on this album, however, at times some other songs, just kinda whiz by me, without any lasting effect.  This album may not hit you right away, like some of their previous releases, but does grow on you, after repeated listens.

Their newest offering was recommended to me by someone who holds a special place in my dark and lonely heart and the album cover of Pale Existence with the overruling color being blue, for a plethora of personal reasons related to this individual, I had to take a step back before I could review it, because of the emptiness and sadness I still feel relating to this situation.  So how the hell is that for an opening for a doom-death metal review, folks? A little personal mumbo jumbo coming from yours truly.  So yes, Ocean of Grief, so impressed me with their emotive leanings I went back and scored their prior releases and was thoroughly impressed to no end.

Pale Existence is 7 songs in 47 minutes and the longest track on the album, at over eight minutes, “Poetry for the Dead”, starts us on this depressive journey.  The eerie opening keyboards sets the stage for the rest of this album and then the music lumbers forth, then gets back into an atmospheric lull before the vocals come growling forward at the 2.23 mark.  The melodies are breathtaking and super emotive and the undercurrent of doom death heaviness is ever-present.  The vocals are perfectly growled and the double bass drums kicking in a minute later add that little extra.  More atmospheric and softer moments rear their head with some classic metal guitar soloing that for some reason reminds me of some of the sounds on some early Fates Warning albums.  The heaviness at the 5.50 mark is excellent and more guitar solos and the song trails off.  What an epic opening song.

“Imprisoned Between Worlds” is such an excellent title for a song, coming from a band that plays this particular genre of metal.  The song is atmospheric, hopeless and very depressing.  Trust me you will be whipping out the first My Dying Bride ep and debut album, same with early Anathema too, after you listen to Ocean of Grief.  The song gets into mellower moments while building up to the epic 3-minute mark which definitely screams for you to wallow in your misery and filth.  The heaving and deliberate heaviness returns and Charalabos Oikonomopoulos’ growling vocals are unnerving, as they come in and out of this song.  He is good at what he does, the tone does get a bit one-dimensional as there are no other tones he uses, however, they do go well with the music.  “Cryptic Constellations” has more of that double bass action and some of the isolated moments at the four-minute mark, with the atmospheric buildup and ending heavy again, make this an excellent listening experience.

Ocean of Grief’s Pale Existence is an excellent doom death metal album with many other areas of interest surrounding their sound as the melodies, heaviness and song writing all encapsulate the feelings of loss, depression, hopelessness and sadness.

In some respect, I find solace in this type of music and definitely over the last several months I have gone back to this album multiple times, all the while wishing some of those personal moments, I mentioned in my opening, were resolved and that individual was still with me…But alas good reader, if some of my emotive rants, help you to understand this type of music or want to investigate Ocean of Grief, then go for it.  I have not had a band conjure up such internal emotions in quite some time and this is an excellent album.