Category: Doom Metal

Album Review: OMINESS – OMINESS

Artist: OMINESS

Album: OMINESS

Genre: Doom Metal/Sludge Metal/Gothic Metal

Label: Transylvanian Recordings

Rating: 8/10

Every once in awhile an album comes along that reminds me of why I should be paying more attention to what’s going on in the underground Metal scene. The most recent album that has done this for me is the debut self-titled album from Gothic Doom Metal band “OMINESS.” Hailing from Ohlone & Pomo land, also known as Oakland and Santa Rosa, CA. OMINESS’ music is dark, foreboding, and the soundtrack to impeding doom with immaculately produced sludgy instrumentation combined with Gothic fervor. Fans of Sludge and Doom Metal will find solace in this album with its slow lethargic tempos and heavily distorted guitars while lead singer Destiny Espinoza’s vocals cut like a knife, transitioning from clean to guttural growling. However, even with the gloomy nature of this album, those who are marginalized will reach catharsis when listening to this album with its themes of feminist rage and queer liberation, and it’s all topped with bruja spirituality and aesthetic. If this all sounds like something you’d fancy, then turn off all the lights, light some candles and enjoy this Hellish ride. 

Written By: Steven Sandoval

https://ominess666.bandcamp.com/album/ominess

Album Review: The Ruins of Beverast – Tempelschlaf

Artist: The Ruins of Beverast

Album: Tempelschlaf

Genre: Black Metal/Doom Metal/Gothic Metal/Death Doom

Label: Ván Records

Rating: 7/10

I’m just gonna start this review by admitting that I am a part time metalhead. I love me some Metal but I am picky. If the Metal starts off with kickass demonic I need an exorcism ass guttural growls and then transitions into the cleanest and prettiest vocals you’ve ever heard I’ve lost interest. If the Metal relies too heavily on shredding it just sounds like the Power Rangers theme song to me and I can’t help but think it’s morphin’ time, and some stuff (I’m not gonna name any subgenres) just gets a little monotonous after awhile. Um, if I haven’t pissed you off by now and you’re still reading this… well, if you’re a metalhead you’re probably not reading this anyway…. actually let’s be honest, no one is reading this… wait where was I? Oh yeah, allow me to introduce you to the kind of Metal that hits every note and strikes every fancy for me, THE RUINS OF FUCKING BEVERAST! “Fucking” isn’t actually in their name but you get the point. Lead by sole songwriter Alexander von Meilanwald, “The Ruins of Beverast” is a hard to categorize project with a myriad of genres such as Black Metal, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, Death Doom, and Atmospheric Black Metal to their name, and yet none of these genres are a definitive category for the band’s sound. Whether it be the the Gothic-tinged Doom combined with shamanism of their album Exuvia, or the reverb soaked atmospheric and at times psychedelic dark and sinister journey of an album like The Thule Grimoires, it’s clear Alexander von Meilanwald has no intention to pigeonhole himself and every intention to experiment. His new album Tempelschlaf is no exception. Continuing with the epic and grandiose nature of the aforementioned albums, Tempelschlaf is a more refined album dialing back the atmospherics in favor of more precise instrumentation less focused on odd time signatures and more focused on direct heavy riffs and continuous blast beats, which I feel this was done to focus on the live aspect of these songs by stripping back the studio wizardry. This direction unfortunately makes this album the band’s least ambitious release, but it’s still a solid installment in their discography with plenty to enjoy. There’s even some shredding, and thank God it doesn’t sound like the Power Rangers theme. 

https://theruinsofbeverast.bandcamp.com/album/tempelschlaf

Written By: Steven Sandoval

Converge, Chelsea Wolfe, and Stephen Brodsky Announce New Collaborative Album “Bloodmoon: I”


More often than not, the outcome of certain collaborations don’t quite work as well as the idea on paper, but there have been numerous instances where certain collaborations just flat-out make complete sense while all parties involved feel rejuvenated as they bounce ideas off each other and gain a new sense of inspiration. Judging from the new collaborative single by Converge, Chelsea Wolfe, Stephen Brodsky, and Ben Chisholm, it’s looking like this is going to be one of those collabs that works. All aforementioned musicians got together to create a collaborative album titled Bloodmoon: I, which will drop on November 19th via “Epitaph Records,” and the lead single “Blood Moon” is a brooding seven minute plus epic that gives us a taste of the journey we’re about to embark on with this album. You can watch the music video for ”Blood Moon” below:

Portrayal of Guilt and Chat Pile Release Split 7″

Austin, Texas-based band “Portrayal of Guilt” released an absolute monster of an album earlier this year titled We Are Always Alone, which featured their usual infectious blend of genres primarily affiliated with the Metal or Hardcore scene, Genres that don’t usually intertwine, but the band dispelled all elitism with the record, informing us that there are parallels between these genres that shouldn’t go unnoticed, and that we can all co-exist while we watch the world burn. Oklahoma-based band “Chat Pile” released two unsettling but enticing EPs back in 2019 that flourished on the uneasy state of the human condition. Incredibly manic, dark, and devoid of joy, which if you’re like me, brings you intense feelings of satisfaction, and….. joy. Funny how that works. “Chat Pile” are hard at work on their debut full-length album, which won’t be released till next year, but today the band along with “Portrayal of Guilt” have gifted us new music. A split 7″ released via “Portrayal of Guilt’s” own record label “Portrayal of Guilt Records.” The aforementioned parallels between genres such as Hardcore, Punk, Black Metal, Screamo, and with “Chat Pile” in the mix, Doom, Sludge, and Noise Rock are on full display on this release. You can listen to, as well as purchase the split 7″ below:

https://portrayalofguilt.bandcamp.com/

Black Sabbath’s Self-titled Debut Album Turns 50

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On this day in 1970 “Black Sabbath” released their self-titled debut album. This it it folks, this is the album that pioneered the sound of “Heavy Metal,” and it’s widely acknowledged as the first true blue “Metal” album. It’s easy to see why. Everything about this album paved the way for a lot of common tropes of the genre. The opening track “Black Sabbath” is “Doom Metal” through and through, the lyrical themes of Lucifer and the occult that are commonly affiliated with some of the more dark sub-genres of “Metal” are here, and just look at the cover art, that’s “Black Metal” and “Gothic” imagery if I ever did see it, but what really single-handedly invented the genre is without a doubt Tony Iommi’s guitar style. When Iommi was 17 years old he sliced the tips off two of his fingers while working at a sheet metal factory. Refusing to give up playing guitar, Iommi made prosthetic tips out of melted plastic bottles and detuned his guitar because the looser strings were easier to play, and with much distortion Iommi created the pivotal “Metal” guitar sound that you hear in every “Metal” song today. Albums that are the first of it’s kind are rare, and here is the album that everyone in the genre of “Heavy Metal” music owes a lot to. Happy Anniversary.

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Album Review: OvO – Miasma

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Artist: OvO

Album: Miasma

Genre: Extreme Metal/Doom Metal

Label: Artoffact Records

Rating: 8/10

 Hailing from Italy, “OvO” aren’t exactly a new band. They’re veterans at this point. They’ve been making music since the early 2000’s, but the band still sound fresh with every release. When hearing their music it’s easy for one to assume that they’re hearing a four-piece band, but the shocking reality is that they’re a duo. As a matter of fact, their drummer Bruno Dorella only uses a floor tom, a snare, and a ride cymbal. This might sound crazy to you complexity obsessed “Metal” aficionados, but even though this band’s setup is minimal, their sound is far from minimal. It’s an intense assault of Hellish and demonic sounding music that never falls into a “Metal” parody, because instead of trying to sound sinister and brooding, the band genuinely sound like they’re exorcising demons and only they can utilize the sound they have created for themselves. Their new album Miasma is no exception. On this album the band do what they have been doing successfully for years, but this time around they sound even more ambitious, adding more reverbed out atmospherics that further build their cold and dark world, and they continue to incorporate electronics similar to what they were doing on their previous album Creatura. Lead singer Stefania Pedretti uses her gruesome vocals as an instrument, a sound that is a pivotal element to the band’s music, and her guitar and bass playing is noisy yet subtle enough to take you on a dark unsettling meditative journey. A journey that will not be for everyone, but it’s a journey nonetheless. The band have found a new way to reinvent themselves while staying true to their unique sound.

Written By: Steven Sandoval

 

OvO Share New Single “Queer Fight”

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OvO will release their new album Miasma on February 7th via “Artoffact Records,” and today the band released a new single off the upcoming album titled “Queer Fight.” Like their previous work, this song is Hellish, extreme, and quite frightening with their signature minimal Metal? Punk? Industrial? Hell, it’s OvO, they can’t be categorized, and in this day and age that isn’t something that can be said for a lot of modern artists. About the song the band have stated that “Queer Fight is our personal ode to positive rage. It is the metaphor of everyday life: people fighting rules which don’t give space for diversity, a challenge against the inflexibility of the society. It wants to be a motto for a united fight for everybody’s freedom.” You can listen to “Queer Fight” below:

Album Review: Ossuarium – Living Tomb

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Artist: Ossuarium

Album: Living Tomb

Genre: Death Metal/Doom Metal/Black Metal

Rating: 8/10

Upon hearing Portland’s own “Ossuarium’s” new album Living Tomb, one can make the assumption that there were preceding albums before it given the attention to detail and technical skill Living Tomb has, but this is impressively the band’s debut album. This album gives off a vibe that the band have been doing this for years and that there has to be a lo-fi debut album littered with kinks in their discography, but that is definitely not the case here. Living Tomb couldn’t be a more polished, unique, and frightfully focused debut album. It is a heavy odyssey that uses “Death Metal” with it’s low growls, wicked guitar riffs, and fast as Hell drumming as a backdrop for immense experimentation in atmosphere, gloom, and of course doom. These tracks often start off with a fist to the face heaviness that will make you head bang to the point where you may need to see a chiropractor afterwards, but they often stray into a territory that incorporates elements of “Doom Metal” with dark drop-tuned guitar melodies, and even “Post-Rock” with reverbed out chorus effects, and atmospheres that are beautifully dark and even dreamy, well… more nightmarish than dreamy, because this is as dark as it gets, it’s an unrelenting odyssey, and I do mean odyssey because this whole album is a journey down the rabbit hole of chaos. There’s even an intro at the beginning of the record that kind of echoes the frightening pre-opening scene in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey where the screen is pitch black but backed by disturbingly eerie music. If the band is already this good on their debut album, there’s no telling what they’re capable of doing in the future.

Written By: Steven Sandoval

Date: 02/04/19