So as we approach the end of August, I think it's safe to say that the first 8 months of 2020 have been great for doom (if nothing else). And not just your bog-standard doom metal either, the subgenre has seen a variety of great releases. Just check out new records by Lesser Glow, Elephant … Continue reading Hymn – Breach Us Review
The other night my wife and I were discussing Trolls World Tour, as distinguished adults do, and the song "Crazy Train" came up. She was shocked to learn that it was considered a metal song, I mean after all it was sung by the Rock Trolls, and the song sounds like Enya when compared to … Continue reading Primitive Man – Immersion Review
A few weeks ago Ancient Hand posed this question on Instagram: "Have any of you had THAT album hit you this year? Y'know that album you hear and know it's going to be a favorite right away?" Up until now, my answer to that would be "no." Don't get me wrong, 2020 has been a … Continue reading Lesser Glow – Nullity Review
Several years ago I had the pleasure of seeing Crowbar open for Carcass. While I was a much bigger Carcass fan at the time, I was floored by both bands' performances. They're on different ends of the subgenre spectrum, but in the moment the booking made sense. However, the thought didn't occur to me until … Continue reading Beggar – Compelled To Repeat Review
Hyborian are cursed in the sense that every review of them mentions Mastodon and Baroness. But it's hard not to - Hyborian takes cues from those bands' riff-driven Leviathan and Blue Record periods respectively, but with vocal heights that neither band could reach at the time. Their 2017 debut album Volume I was top notch. … Continue reading Hyborian – Volume II Review
Huntsmen are a band that describes themselves as "Americana metal". Or at least they were - their latest album Mandala of Fear sounds much more post-metal, with sludge, doom, and prog blended in as well. Don't get me wrong, there's still a good amount of their folk and country influences present too. Maybe think Americana … Continue reading Huntsmen – Mandala of Fear Review
Yatra is special to me in that their debut album Death Ritual was the first new album I listened to in 2019. While their latest album doesn't hold the same honor for 2020, I'm still impressed at how quickly the Maryland stoner doom trio were able to churn out another release. Yatra's second album Blood … Continue reading Yatra – Blood of the Night Review
Metal isn't known for collaborations. Perhaps the most common example of collaborations is supergroups, but those fall flat more often than not. Features are becoming more common these days, but still aren't as prevalent as in other genres like hip hop. But what we have here is neither of these. Although very different sonically, this … Continue reading Curse These Metal Hands (Pijn & Conjurer collab) Review
Torche are back again with their first album in a little over 4 years! The band has pioneered this unique blend of sludge/doom metal and major keys, harmony, and hooks. And while there have been several great releases so far this year in a similar happy-meets-metal vein, my anticipation for this Torche release could not … Continue reading Torche – Admission Review
Ahead of their upcoming album Admission (out Friday July 12th via Relapse Records), I have decided to rank all of Torche's previous albums/EPs. Let us know what your favorite Torche album is, and look out for our review of Admission. 6. In Return (2007) Featuring artwork by Baroness' John Dyer Baizley, this EP contains some … Continue reading Torche Release Rankings
