Solstice hail from the depths of Yorkshire and have been challenging and berating the mainstream since 1991. At the helm of this mighty ship is the formidable Rich Walker who has steered the band through multiple line up changes and labels but has never bowed down to ideals of the …
Read More »Altar of Betelgeuze – Darkness Sustains the Silence
Finland has a history of producing a lot of top notch death and doom bands such as Hooded Menace, Reverend Bizarre, Unholy and Skepticism to name but a few. This is Altar of Betelgeuze’s debut album with only one prior EP release in 2012. The band has mixed the styles …
Read More »Kevin Starrs – Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats – 12/12/2013
A brief interview with Kevin Starrs (aka Uncle Acid) vocalist and guitar player from Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats ahead of their show at Belfast’s Odyssey Arena supporting Black Sabbath. Upcoming Tour Dates: 13/12/13 – Dublin, Ireland – Academy 2 14/12/13 – Sheffield, UK …
Read More »Tombstoned – Tombstoned (Svart Records)
Finnish doom psych rock beat combo offer a treat
Read More »Mudfest,Venlo, Netherlands 01-02/11/2013
On the 1st and 2nd of November Mudfest gives us the third edition of this festival. The first edition took place in the Azijnfabriek in Roermond (the south of the Netherlands), the second editon and the third edition which we are going to talk about right now take place in …
Read More »Deafheaven at 013, Tilburg, Netherlands – 23/10/13
Since the release of their first album “Roads to Judah” in 2013, Deafheaven has been on my radar. This is a band that is black metal in essence but they broaden the genre by adding shoegaze, post-rock and a shitload of ambient. These genres definitely aren’t the easiest ones …
Read More »Astralnaut – In the Gaze of the Gods
Astralnaut are from the dark wet plains of Northern Ireland and trade in big riffs.Formed in late 2011 the band have been gigging the length and breadth of the Island dishing out their brand of Stoner rock which is influenced by the likes of Down, AIC, Solace and even a …
Read More »Procession – To Reap Heavens Apart (High Roller Records)
This is the second full length from this Chilean band now based in Europe. Procession offer up Doom in the tradition of bands like Solstice and Candlemass – epic , melodic and with plenty of weight. The band knows when to apply the pressure and when to hold back and …
Read More »Cathedral – The Last Spire
When Cathedral announced that they were releasing one final album there was much bittersweet rejoicing. The coven was happy there would be another tome of incantations, yet disappointed that the end of one of the most important legacies in heavy metal history was nigh. With the current resurgence in the …
Read More »Cough / Windhand – Reflections of the Negative (Relapse)
Once you see the band Cough in the title you know that this is going to be nothing less than devastatingly heavy. Cough was formed in 2005 with the sole purpose of being the heaviest band from their area. To date they have released two full lengths, split with the …
Read More »Sink – Holy Testament (Svart Records)
Sink hail from Finland and have been torturing humans with their mix of black metal and drone for ten years. The band lurks somewhere in the dark reaches of your mind that is only presented when that blackened room is opened. This is an album that defies categorization. It is …
Read More »VICTOR GRIFFIN’S IN-GRAVED- In-Graved.
Faultless display of riff driven Rock, essential listening. Do you remember that feeling you got as a kid, waking up on Christmas Day, running down the stairs, kicking the cat out of the way to get at the presents under the tree and then actually getting the present you …
Read More »HIC IACET – Prophecy of Doom (Hell Headbangers Records)
This Spanish band formed 2010 and this is their first official release. This manky low-fi black/death/doom on first listen is fuzzy and unintelligible. After a few listens the riffs start to appear from the sonic mist and the low growls. This band is coming from the old school and have …
Read More »Orchid – Heretic EP Review
San Francisco’s Doom masters Orchid released their latest EP “Heretic” back in September via Nuclear Blast, as a follow up to the successful album “Capricorn” that came out in 2011. Orchid’s next full length is set to be released next year. “Heretic” starts with a spoken chant before seething into …
Read More »ASHES YOU LEAVE – The Cure For Happiness
Croatia’s best exporters of Doom return with an album to fuel your blackened souls. Formed in 1995, Ashes You Leave have certainly come up the hard way, living in war torn Croatia certainly must have fuelled the bands vision and musical direction, putting them firmly in the Doom genre. ‘The …
Read More »Voivod and Doom, The Village, Dublin, Ireland 6th October 2012
Presented by Dublin Metal Events, this was Voivod’s first time in Ireland. The venue has a low stage and gave the opportunity to get up close and personal with this seminal band. Doom hit the stage to the intro tape of “Reality Asylum” by Crass. Doom have been about on …
Read More »Seremonia – Seremonia (Album)
Time for something a little different. Seremonia are a Finnish group who simply can’t be labelled, as their debut self titled release shows. These guys boast all kinds of exotic influences from Anglo-American proto-metal to Latin psychedelic rock which, as anyone can expect, makes for a…well, certainly interesting record. The …
Read More »Vore – ‘Gravehammer’
This fourth album from the Arkansas trio – originally self-released last year and now re-issued on AFM Records – is a damn fine slice of doom-laden death metal, which grabs you instantly and beats you into submission, track after track, with its atmospheric, melodic brutality. Veering more towards the doom …
Read More »War Iron + Comply Or Die + Astralnaut – Katy Daly’s, Belfast, Saturday 9 June
For nigh on three decades, Katy Daly’s has stood as a bastion of Belfast’s rock scene, the favoured watering hole of metallers young and not so young, the preferred stop off for a pre-gig imbibance or a meeting place just to chill out, knock back a few beers and JD …
Read More »Blood Ceremony – Blood Ceremony (re-issue)
Re-issues are an unusual beast – usually there is an overt reason for a band ploughing their back catalogue, such as an anniversary or whatever: occasionally, they come out of the blue (or the black, in this case), without seeming to have any particular explanation for their presence… as appears …
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