Metal Bounty Hunter Volume 12

 

The Metal Bounty Hunter series is back with four short-ish reviews, all about doom and heavy this time.

Zodiac - Stone Command (2015) / 85%

Digitally Challenged: Part 6 The Zodiac Killer?

This short lived doom band from Brisbane impressed me a lot with their final recording, a three track extended play released on tape by the excellent Heavy Chains Records. Three of the members are now playing in Knifer, some sort of Motorheadish heavy/speed metal about booze, but Zodiac was all about traditional doom metal.

The first two tracks are around five or six minutes, both faster affairs while Legacy is close to ten and encompasses their sound well. The nasal vocals by Ben Peters can obviously recall the legends of Sabbath and Pagan Altar and he does a great job at reciting the classic occult but fun lyrics reminding me of Cathedral or Witchfinder General. Their production is pretty tight and professional, the two guitars are heavy and super punchy, delivering riffs that would please any doomsters and top notch solos as well (check “The Devil’s Cavalry”). All in all, it’s honest, hard working, blue collar doom that’s super well written and on the edge of being memorable. A shame they died, really.

Eldritch Rites - Hell And Doom And Days Long Gone (2020) / 82%

Pub doom

The trio from Melbourne plays raw heavy/doom with an unhinged passion possibly fueled by liquor. Also evolving as Open Door of Doom but with a designated English singer, Eldritch Rites are pretty fun stuff unfortunately plagued by a lackluster production. It’s sort of like it was recorded live in the pub on the weekend to make sure the dudes had an easy access to booze served by the devil. I can’t really blame them to be fair.

Regardless of my first impressions about the production, this is a band with strong musicianship and songwriting, it’s more layered than I was expecting to be. It’s downtrodden trad doom made by men in their thirties or forties and it’s fairly effective at its goal. Songs like “If These Walls Could Speak” are miserable, it’s heavy, slow and makes you feel like you just got divorced and she’ll obviously get the kids and even the dog. 10 minutes closer “They Came to Raise the Dead” has this epic but still raw feel and ends with “Lunar”, a joyful but mournful acoustic guitar recalling English progressive folk.

There’s a certain English mood throughout the album and it’s also encompassed in how sad it is. Dudes, there’s koalas in Australia, why are so fucking sad? Go check how slow they move or something. The guitar playing of Shayne Joseph (also in prog rock/heavy metallers Trebuchet) is quite excellent, it’s pretty brutal, crunchy for the genre (see “Witch Woman”) and has this heavy rock quality to it. His vocals possess this sort of accented exaggeration and they wouldn’t be out of place in a Monty Python sketch about witches or some shit.

Recommended if you like your doom cooked slow and possibly still blood red.

Assembly at Dusk - Assembly at Dusk (2013) / 88%

Digitally Challenged: Part 7 We leave at dawn.

“Got the tape, I'll write a review during my Christmas break. Thanks a lot!” - yours truly in 2013

Well, better late than never, you know. Sorry dudes! I’ve been meaning to tackle this tape for years now as it’s very good metal deserving of more scrutiny. Unfortunately, Connecticut’s Assembly At Dusk broke up shortly after I failed to write a review for this compilation regrouping the two demos they did in 2013. Their take on heavy metal was fairly fresh at the time and I feel it’s something that could be somewhat trendy today with bands like Spirit Adrift. The super melodic but tight vocals of Jeffrey Schaefer (hopefully related to the redneck terrorist we all know) are the most powerful aspect of the band but the compositions are top notch too.

Their sound as its core is epic heavy metal but there’s a lot of doom (think The Gates of Slumber) and even some blackened elements in how the riffs are composed. “Money, Gods and Greed” or “Before This City is Aflame” pretty much sounds like black/heavy metal with clean vox, almost a mix of Enslaved and Manilla Road. Even if it was record in the basement of their guitarist, I think the production is excellent, especially for demos, I’d prefer the vox to be a bit more on forefront but I barely have any complaints about the crunchy riffs and the black & tremolo infused leads. Their songs are intricate and most are around the six minute mark, they’re filled with details and there’s no filler here.

They’re another sublime band who died too quickly, this is still on their Bandcamp so no excuses not to check ‘em out.

--------------------------------------------

Trebuchet – Trebuchet (2020) / 70%

Not quite breaking down the walls yet

Formed by Dave Gilbert (who’s also in four other bands I’ve never heard of) and Shayne Joseph (Eldritch Rites, Dire Fate…), Trebuchet plays an interesting form of doom metal with strong ties to the past. It could be described as some sort of proto doom with a lot of psychedelic, hard rock and progressive rock influences. While on paper, this sounds like a dream to me, I wasn’t super crazy about them. I’d rather go back to Quicksand Dream or Realmbuilder.

The self titled full length starts with two ten minutes tracks and they’re both too long for nothing. I usually like long songs but those two bored me real quickly. The three other songs are shorter, all around seven minutes. “Girl from the Fen” right in the middle of the album is a soporific ballad but the two other more metal tracks don’t really go anywhere either for me. As much as I like Geddy, Ozzy or Terry, Dave Gilbert’s vocals aren’t for me and I don’t like the fuzzy effects on ‘em, probably there to hide the fact they’re not good at all. With that said, I quite like the guitar tone and would have liked to life the riffs and songs more. There’s some good moments here and there but they’re a bit too few for my liking. I might applaud how well they mix the different genres though, that's not really the problem I have with them. Just found the album mostly boring, you know. To conclude, I’m sad I didn’t enjoy this. Semi epic doom/prog about the Middle ages with a name like Trebuchet? Maybe my expectations were too high.

Conviction - Conviction (2021) / 87%

The Baguette Doom Series pt. XXI: Guilty as charged

Conviction are a new band from Normandie but they're nowhere near beginners. Created in 2013 by Olivier Verron, the founder of Temple of Baal who also played for well known names likes Antaeus and Bran Barr, that new project easily distinguished itself by being completely different from what he's been playing. The one hour album explores a plethora of doom genres with ease and passion. Let's dismember it and investigate the remains.

The core of Conviction is traditional doom. Clean vocals, hard hitting riffs, hard working honest melodies and a strong rhythm section. That's not enough for the quartet though, there's a ton of old Cathedral and Paradise Lost influences here despite the old rivalries between France and England and it adds a ton of layers to their sound. 

Their main strength is the variety of their offering. We're served mid paced and faster numbers such as "Curse of the Witch" and also lengthier, mournful tracks such as "Outworn" and while it's different, it stays cohesive. That's due to Frédéric Patte-Brasseur's immense production. The work of Funeralium (covered by the Magickal Realm in the past) and Ataraxie's guitarist feels like a ton of oppressive bricks. I wouldn't say it's produced like a funeral doom album but it certainly influenced the process, it's dark and borders the prod we can find on doom/death albums while remaining a fit for their more melodic approach. They're not afraid to unleash excellent solos either and it feels like it's branching into American trad doom at times with that sort of guitar acrobatics (think Iron Man), it also reminds me of the bluesy doom Alice in Chains is known for too. It's never against the songs, it compliments their songwriting very well. 

Verron's vocals are strong while not being a highlight, they suit the atmosphere. There's a few harsh vocals moments that are appropriate and well placed throughout. "Through the Window" reminded me of the clean vocals from later Enslaved, that kind of drone chant was pretty enjoyable. He's not a powerhouse like we often encounter in doom and he's placed appropriately low in the mix to make up for that, they know their strengths.

Conviction, a band of French dudes in their 40s definitely know what they're doing. It's great doom with a sound they gathered from what they liked in the 1990s combined with the regressive modern sensibilities of bands like The Gates of Slumber. Bereft, masterful and evocative, Conviction will convince you. Yes, sorry, I went there.

Bandcamp

Falsehood - Falsehood (2017) / 82%

Nah dudes, I agree

Falsehood from Edmonton features two members from death/black veterans Begrime Exemious but explores a different style of extreme metal. Crust is basically punks playing metal (or trying to) but the lines between punk and metal is getting quite blurry. It’s possible that metalheads can play punk as well! Anyhow the quartet mixes several influences into one potent patty of aggressive and uncompromising music.

Their approach relies heavily on heavy riffs and the repetitiveness of said hard hittin’ guitars. It’s cold, dangerous and it doesn’t mess around with the puck at all. They would have broken that fucking QAnon Shaman in pieces if they had the chance. It’s thundering politically inclined metallic punk taking no fucking prisoners. A mixing pot of death metal, sludgey doom, crust and hardcore punk, Falsehood is able to digest those influences and shit us something worthwhile and captivating. The dual guitars attack of Franky and Derek are fantastic and doesn’t show off at all, they’re there for the power of the riffs and they serve the songs. The guitar tone is disgusting (in the best way possible) and while there’s distortion, it’s never sloppy and badly written. Those dudes are solid musicians and the combination of the two guitarists with a very effective rhythm section created an aural devastation. A good example of how everything is so expertly combined is the eight minutes closer “Deceiver”, one of their slower but still super urgent compositions. The drums and bass are also very very good and it's something I focused on more and more after a few spins of the album. The backend of the album is rich and the tight and focused production definitely helps.

Protect the rich, serve the state

Mindless pigs fill us with hate

The vocals of Franky are pissed off deep growls, it's harsh and full of venom. What I like is that it's not a constant barrage of vocals, it's present like any other instruments and it plays its role within the band's music. Tracks like "Descent Into Madness" features vox only midway through the four-ish minutes track but when they start, damn. That track almost has a grindcore feel to it as it ends. They're good at showcasing their riffs and they let them breathe a while too. There's a few cleaner moments ("Waste" or "Militant Swine") and they bring forward some sort of depressive post metal stylistic exploration to the fold. It's interesting and doesn't feel out of place.

The only modern thing about them is their intent to combine old school styles together but ultimately, this combination creates something that could have been released ten, twenty or even thirty years ago. Like their left leaning themes, It’s pretty timeless for punk music. Throw Asphyx, Bolt Thrower and Amebix in a garbage bin and let the raccoons do their job, you’ll end up with something close to Falsehood.

Bandcamp

English Breakfast: An overview of Bretwaldas of Heathen Doom

 

Here's an overview of Bretwaldas of Heathen Doom's full length discography. This English duo deserves more attention, I've discovered them due to their 2020 extended play Kingdom of Killers to realise that their previous releases were also very interesting!

Droner (2003)

English Breakfast Chapter 1: The Eggs

The debut album of the duo built the foundations of what’s to come. They embody what I like in my metal as newly thirty year old man and I’ll explain why. It’s primitive and made in a vacuum by true connoisseurs of the underground who really don’t care about trends and fashion in the metal world.

Droner could be described as a mix of of doom, first wave black metal, heavy metal and while the crust elements aren’t as present as on other albums, it’s there. Think of Amebix combined with Cathedral and Venom. That’s a pretty fucking good English breakfast, lads. Their riffs are loud, primal but precise in their sloppiness. It’s like being stabbed by a pointy rusty dagger and left to bleed in a cold forest while the wolves gather around you. The vocals are rough and while somewhat in the background, they’re not an afterthought and they can be varied too. “Droner in the Fog” has clean vocals giving a quasi post punk feel mixed with epic metal when combined with the tasty guitars. It’s not epic like Virgin Steele talking about Greek or Roman mythology, it’s instead done in a pure English manner, it’s just men dying in the woods while their wives are cooking a stew they’ll never be able to eat.

Those dudes are good musicians too, the drumming on “Whispers of God” is creative and tight and the clean guitars almost bring a progressive folk tinge to their metal. There’s a few stoner elements too, especially in the bass playing and in a few particular songs such as “Hillfort Ghoul”, that’s possibly due to the omnipotence of Electric Wizard and Cathedral in England but regardless, it fits. Their hometown of Birmingham is also the birthplace of doom metal so being from Black Sabbath’s home turf must have some sort of mystical influence.

Throughout the short album, Acwealde and Wartooth were really capable to explore different tempos from fast, mid-paced to even slow. That’s a strong debut with all the elements of their identity already in place even if it’s the only one to feature some stoner metal parts.

Battle Staffs in the Mushroom Woods (2006)

English Breakfast Chapter 2: The Sausages

Battle Staffs in the Mushroom Woods (best album title of all time?) is the second album of our duo of merry gentlemen carousing through England under the name Bretwaldas of Heathen Doom and it’s a doozy. Compared to their debut (that I really liked), it’s more focused and clearer in its intents. There’s a beefier Celtic feel here and while it’s not exactly folk metal and it’s relatively subtle in its approach, it’s there. It’s irrevocably English in its nature, mixing the rawest and undisciplined side of NWOBHM with proto extreme metal to great effect. Think Motorhead slapping Skyclad because they’re nerds but still integrating a few hints of their sound.

Released the same year as Darkthrone’s The Cult is Alive, Bretwaldas are definitely contemporaries of the blackened punkier side of the much more famous duo but they’re so much more than that. They just happen to share a liking to old school crust punk. It reminds me of Toronto’s Demontage in the way they're primal, lo-fi metal with a lot of heart, inventiveness and authenticity. While the production values here are better, we’re still far from the saccharine and overproduced sound of big labels and I’m totally fine with that. It suits their meat pie sound very well.

They're like if The Meads of Asphodel were actually too busy drinking in pubs to go to partake in weird Medieval reenactment. They dream of the past while drunk at the bar before using the ale soaked broom as a bastard sword. They might get lost in the nearby forest afterwards or at least, that’s what I imagine drunk Englishmen do for fun. They eat fish and chips, drink beer, talk about olde kings and smoke cigarettes.

Those dudes aren’t parodies and they’re smarter than you may immediately think. Songs like “Paths of River, Root and Stone” conjures intricate but blue collar guitar leads while closer “Blood of Gods and Men” could easily be something from Bathory’s epic Viking metal albums. This track and the eight minute “Beneath the Eaves” are basically blackened epic doom and it’s fantastic.

The varied influences they were able to gather makes this album an intense and rewarding affair for experimented metal fans. They’re more interesting and rich that you’d think and they make Midnight sound like an amateurish one trick pony with only one or two ideas.

Seven Bloody Remparts (2010)

English Breakfast Chapter 3: The Beans

Seven Bloodied Remparts, the third (and last one for now) full length from Bretwaldas is perhaps the widest foray they made into black metal and it’s a bold attack. The diversity found in their discography is one of the most interesting aspects of the band. Even though, to the unfamiliar ear, they could be concluded to be similar albums, their stylistic progression twists and turns quite often but remains rooted in some sort of black metal.

This effort could be described as some sort of epic black/crust, the doom elements aren’t as prominent here as they used to be. They always had a focus on history, archaeology and mythology and that’s what we find here again. Wartooth (bass, vocals) is an archaeologist but he’s able to easily contextualize and simplify topics to make them appropriate for metal music. It’s somewhat influenced by pagan metal here and there but it’s transformed into English ugliness. They’re never as cheesy as fellow English bands Forefather or Wodensthrone as well, they never played folk/pagan metal outright but they definitely used some Viking bits in the guitar riffs. Based on the No Clean Singing interview they did this year, the fact that pagan metal was often associated to national socialism and other far right movements wasn’t something they were keen with, for good reasons. 

The atmosphere here is pretty epic and contains some worthy anthems. Songs like “Rise” or “Smite” have some singalong lyrics, something they never really did before. It’s fairly appropriate for the music showcased here. “Smite” reminds me of Ireland’s Primordial with its slightly Celtic guitar melodies and its violent but historical hymn mood. The vocals are gruff, rough and there’s no clean singing here, like the English countryside when it rains, it’s muddy and dirty and that’s often how I like my metal. Even if Bretwaldas are a DIY affair, they’re not amateurs, they know what they do and what to do to achieve their particular sound. One of my favourite aspects of the band is the quality and melodic feel of Acwealde’s guitar parts (see “Grey Wolf” for one of the best examples), it brings another level to their Celtic Frost plus Amebix dual identity.

Listen/support the band on Bandcamp

The Baguette Doom Series XIX and XX - Le Strasbourg Spécial with Monoatomic God - Astronaut Witch Bootcamp (2020) & Dionysiaque - Dionysiaque (2018)

 

Monoatomic God - Astronaut Witch Bootcamp (2020) / 75%

The Baguette Doom Series pt. XIX: Strasbourg I

The oddly named quartet impressed the hell out of me when I was working on the undying Band Queue of the Metal Archives and I knew I had to tackle their debut release for my Baguette Doom series. The band guided by the powerful vocals of Laetitia Convertini (great Astérix name!) was able to bring three condensed, strong but atmospheric nuggets of groovy doom/stoner on Astronaut Witch Bootcamp.

While probably inspired by the spacey themes and name of Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard (or maybe a stoner metal name generator, who knows?), the French band doesn’t mess around with long psychedelic movements and approaches things differently. There’s still some cosmic touches here and there such as the synths on “Effroyable Sphère” or “Funeral Orbiter” but the songs are mid-paced and dynamic with riff driven tempos. In spirit, I was reminded of High Priest of Saturn but without the Om/Sleep worshiping. I’m surely mistaking here but the mix of ethereal female vocals with a psychedelic doom vibe reminded me of the Norwegian band. Monoatomic God incorporates strong 70s vibes in their blend too (Deep Purple, Rush?) with modern stoner sensibilities and it works pretty damn well. Sure, proto-metal plus stoner isn’t new (Spiritual Beggars, The Sword) but I felt their formula was fresh and somewhat exciting, especially for a debut extended play. Don’t expect something like Windhand or even Blackwater Holylight either, it’s not that sort of trance inducing doom/stoner with dreamy, fey vocals. We’re in groovy tight doom territories, the energy, the type of riffing and the vocal delivery reminds me of Castle as well and that’s certainly a good thing.

All in all, Monoatomic God delivers the goods on their debut EP, it’s hard rockin’ doom/stoner with strong melodies, catchy and well delivered vocals and a legit familiar but enjoyable spacey atmosphere. I’m stoked to hear more from them.

Monoatomic God on Bandcamp

Dionysiaque – Dionysiaque (2018) / 85%

The Baguette Doom Series pt. XIX: Strasbourg II

Probably named after the philosophical ideas (from Nietzsche) rather than a reference to Dionysos, the god of wine, Dionysiaque are one hell of a band and they're much too sad to be about parties and celebrations. Their first release comes off as a strong foray into traditional doom territories with overt dark atmospheres. Like some other French bands like Barabbas, they’re able to create a fairly unique take on a genre that’s too often at ease with worshiping the greats.

While their riffs are very good and the two guitars do bring an extra oomph to their compositions, their moods are perhaps the best thing about them. They have this occult, crypt feel akin to the best style of black metal. Some riffs (check out “Doctor Kerjentsev”) can almost bring us back to the proto extreme metal days (see Mortuary Drape, Celtic Frost) in their execution. The first two tracks (about four minutes each) are mid paced goodness while the third brings us something more solemn and slower but still full of fucking heavy riffs. The vocals of Nathaniel Colas are extremely good and fits the intent of the band like a glove. He alternates between some madmen cavernous clean chanting and some more putrid harsher tones. He sounds like he’s underground while the rest of the band is vanquishing the undead in the graveyard. I'm not asking for much more in life.

I don’t usually like cover songs but Dionysiaque picked an interesting one from an obscure 70s English band called Tractor. The hard rockin’ vibes fits their style well and it’s a cool ending for the demo, it's full of catchiness while having a quasi goth rock vibe, very nice. I’m pretty sure their debut full length will propel them to the doom metal Mount Olympus. Essential demo.

Dionysiaques on Bandcamp

Purification – Perfect Doctrine (2020) / 92%

You can’t fuck with Forces of doom

Purification, that mysterious Oregon entity is back with their second full length in 2 years and I predict tons of carnage between them and The Wizar’d for doom metal album of the year. The Tasmanian’s nasal odes to Pagan Altar on one side of the battlefield ready to unleash an army of emus against the Portland Witchfinder Generals lookalikes could be a sight to behold. Those comparisons between the two bands aren’t just for show, they’re both apt at taking sounds of the past and processing it into a palatable yet contemporary formula. They’re also both incredible.

While deeply rooted in this sort mournful historical romanticism, their funereal approach can of course be linked to today’s morose happenings. "God is dead. America is fallen. Give up hope and move into the mountains." is something they wrote on their Bandcamp page and it’s telling. It’s easy to link past historical events to the current “plague” hitting the world. Through their sometimes edgy but precious lyrics, they’re observing reality within the confines of doom and they do it well. One of the most effective lines is in fact the opening lyrics of the album:

The whole world is a warzone and your life is getting grim...

It’s a wonderful, ominous start to the lineup and has those tight guitar leads reminding me of Uncle Acid’s Blood Acid album, ultimately one of the most influential doom records of the decade. There’s a definitive improvement in terms of both production values and overall musical proficiency compared to their debut Destruction of the Wicked, a good but uneven record. Purification's progression has been interesting, they have a career that could be similarly compared to Hellhammer and Celtic Frost. Two of their three members were in Thrown, a much rawer (and somewhat sillier) version of what we have here, they even had speed, thrash and heavy metal influences. Perfect Doctrine still has an acceptable amount of filth in its sound, just enough to make it shine through the detritus that is life. I guess they’ll have to split up and come back a few decades later at some point as well.

Their guitars are bright with just the right amount of haziness and power, their leads are not complex but damn they’re savoury and melodic. There’s a lot of short moments where they let slow psychedelia take over and I thought the guitars did a monumental job there. I don’t think it’s “tight” musicianship and I really don’t care whatsoever, it’s emotional and their aim has been thoroughly accomplished. The bass is as loud as I was expecting from ‘em, it just fills the whole damn church with vibrations while the drumming coming from the crypt is heard by the whole village. The vocals are sometimes too buried underneath a few coffins for my taste but it adds a cavernous feel to their doom metal and it’s not unwelcome. They could be a bit more powerful but that’s a mild complaint and I was just looking for weaker spots at this point.

The band is transparent about their influences (fine with me) and they namedrop Saint Vitus (of course) and you can certainly notice their influence. It’s thundering, undisciplined doom that’s never been opposed to collaborating with hardcore and punk. Their tight but rich songwriting is something also found on albums like Mournful Cries or Born Too Late. Vitus were never really messing around with longer tracks. They also namedrop Reverend Bizarre (I don’t need much else than them in life) and that’s certainly two of their biggest mentors. Purification are obviously fans of the tongue in cheek/Finnish humour aspect of the dissolved trio. They delve into the same (anti)religious themes and have similar references and aesthetics and yes, if you like the Reverend, you’ll probably end up liking those Americans. It needed to be said. It has been said. The groovy bass, the charismatic semi operatic vocals, the loose guitars... All the elements were there to convince me to send them $6.66 for that record. With that said, they’ll hopefully find a label to release it physically, it needs to be done or help me Satan.

You can’t fuck with Forces of doom
We have come to Destroy the empty tomb
Fuck your silent god
And fuck your wicked faith
We are Witness to the end
Of your failed master race

The band succeeds at giving us this apocalyptic despair with tracks like “On The Wings Of Pestilence, Darkness Takes Flight” or the hag bog/medieval atmosphere of “Lunar Hymn 999” ending the record, there’s nuggets of hidden potent atmospheric potential. Reminiscent in spirit to the seminal oeuvres of both Cathedral (for their flippant approach) and Paradise Lost (for their hard hittin’ Goth side), Purification aren’t a one trick pony. A track like “Sabbatharian Blood Feud” reminds me of both The Carnival Bizarre and the Icon/Draconian Times era by mixing wonderful stoner but not quite stoner riffs with evocative warlock-esque vocals.

They’re deceptive wizards shrouded in aura of DIY mystery but their doom chops are without question. Their doctrine has been executed to perfection. Purification are here to remind us that the world was always a fucking fetid void, thanks guys.

Bandcamp

Valkyrie - Fear (2020) / 87%

Time Flies but What Remains?

The Adams brothers are back with a new Valkyrie album five years after the excellent Shadows and it’s perfect for those sunny weekends where you do nothing except drink beer and chill on the patio. Just like today, actually. This summer is blurry, time flies, it feels like March was last week but metal and beer is always there to keep me grounded and entertained. Good news since their songwriting is both laid back and engaging, crafting entrancing nuggets of good feelings.

With Valkyrie, you get the twin lead guitar harmonies of Peter and Jake Adams, those guys are emotional masters. They’re able to convey so much with their instruments, it’s almost unreal. Peter is of course known for his time in Baroness (he played on Blue Record and Purple, two of my favourites) and Valkyrie certainly navigates similar areas in their sometimes perilous travels. You’re getting the same sort of fluid, idiosyncratic leads that he was known for during his years with the famous Virginian band. That style of particular guitar player makes Fear such an airy album, it also ends on such a note with the ghastly instrumental conclusion “Exasperator”.The rhythm section is also fantastic, the bass is thick and never overshadowed too much by the riffs and the drums is inventive and melodic in an odd but technical way. The vocals are also immensely powerful for me(the highlight would be “Fear and Sacrifice”), for a dude who’s more of a guitarist, it’s well done. While sporadic, they’re clean, soulful and gives another heavy rock layer to the album. Those guys don’t need a powerhouse singer, they’re not arena rock, they’re in fact the opposite. It’s heartfelt, concise while elaborate metallic rock done by dudes in full control of their instruments and direction.

They’ve always been a band that’s been blurring the thin lines between classic, hard rock and heavy/doom and while it’s still the case on that 2020 record, it’s a different beast than it was on records such as Man of Two Visions from 2008 or their self titled debut from 2006. Their essence is retained but Fear is a more subdued version, it’s calmer and less tempestuous. Nevertheless, their urgency and relatively fast tempos are still intact.

Valkyrie’s past (and sometimes actual) approach could be described similarly to Slough Feg in a way as they also include their fair share of proto metal (read Thin Lizzy) alongside NWOBHM (dual lead guitars for the win) but of course, they love Sabbath and American doom (read The Obsessed) and stoner metal (past comparisons to The Sword were appropriate, not so much now) quite a bit too. Fear brings a newfound progressive tinge and it’s very pleasing. Firmly evolving in the proto rock/metal niche, I do feel they served their material with a modern sauce. A compact sauce that’s never too salty or sugary. For me, modernity means the ability to really work on the production to make it sound tight and dreamy at the same time. It’s taking (possibly) dated sounds to make them sound contemporary and robust.

On their second album for Relapse Records, the veterans were able to evolve and offer us something different while still retaining their roots. It’s high quality atmospheric heavy rock that’s still inclined to give doom metal a chance.

Lüger– Cosmic Horrör (2020) / 85%

Leather in Space

The dangerous Montréal quartet is back with a four track extended play and it’s pure fire. I liked their 2018 opus (the Realm reviewed it) quite a bit but Cosmic Horrör (the umlauts are important, of course) sees the band improve and push their sound to the next echelon. They’re a pretty unique beast in the Montréal metal scene with their apocalyptic blend of influences and I’m stoked to see them on stage again whenever it will be possible.

“Space Coma” opens the record with blistering drums and features insane guitar solos with a melodic psych rock edge. It’s an effortless mix with their bass heavy approach to Motorized and Pentagrammed heavy metal. Jim Laflamme’s semi-harsh, tough vocals are emphasized by being judiciously but sporadically used (they only appear midway through “Call of the Snaggletooth”) and they feed the riffs perfectly.

The opener of side B appropriately named “Psychotropia” could have been twenty minutes as far as I’m concerned. It starts with an extended spacey intro that wouldn’t be out of place on a Ufomammut album before descending in their usual airy but demented riff heavy affair. It’s like driving a Martian bulldozer that’s been fueled with acid.

There’s a lot of stuff in Lüger’s cosmic Harley Davidson’s leather pouches but it’s so adequately condensed in one potent formula that’s both original in its dated but timeless recipe. Incorporating more than just heavy metal, doom metal or hard rock, the boys also feed their machine with adequate doses of punk, thrash, space rock or even hints of black smoke here and there. It’s raw but it sounds like a wall of brick that’s been built by master builders who look like deviant bad boys based on what your boomer aunt thinks. Even if there's a sense of familiarity to their music, it's exciting and enticing enough to be a fucking good record.

They’re the type of bands that are able to develop an image that becomes deeply tied to their sound. Leather, shades, tattoos, wearing vests while being shirtless etc. All bands have an image, the ones who say that they don’t have are the same ones who will gladly tell everyone that “they’re one a political band”. The important is to craft a solid and interesting look that will instantly embody the music you play. Well, Lüger plays rocky, punky sexy metal exploring the vastness and deserted confines of space and they look the part. The old school video game look of the artwork also does a great job at describing their sound. Undead evil knight? Space Castle? Yes, you betcha.


Bandcamp

Basic Instinct – Late Bloom (2020) / 75%

From Coast to Coast: West


A duo of reviews featuring recent bands featuring women from the two coasts of Canada.

If you’re frustrated that Chelsea Wolfe still hasn’t released a “damn this is definitely metal through and through” album, this Canadian duo from British Colombia could satisfy your urges. On the twenty-three minutes extended play, the duo composed of Joy (drums) and Carly (guitars, vocals) explores heaviness through psychedelia and alternates between soft and heavy introspection.

The core of the duo’s music is some sort of heavy sludge/doom/stoner with dynamic drums and fairly catchy yet simple guitar riffs. The drumming of Joy has this martial quality in the droney sludge of opener “Feast”, she’s really good and precise and makes the duo sound fuller. That same track also has some blackened elements in both the tremolos and the guitars. We’re in Cascadian territory after all, the specter of Wolves in the Throne Room is always close by. The presence of Carly’s harsh vocals alongside her clean ethereal ones are giving that soft versus heavy dichotomy and it could recall SubRosa (rest in peace) and their penchant for emotional mood swings through songs. 

With that said, the clean chanting on the second track is the highlight of the EP for me, it gives some sort of quasi medieval feel to the modern ugliness of sludge. The singer is really damn good and she brings forth a lot of different auras through the diverse range of her vocals. From stoner intonations (“Prey”) to psych sludge or crust (the short execution of “Payne’s Grey”). The compositions are also diverse, ranging from hypnotic but short and sweet sludge bursting into more extreme territories. I think they could let the songs breathe more though, some of the most expansive tracks could benefit from being longer, maybe a tad slower too. “Water”, the closer could had been twice the length in my opinion...but yes, I always like river-esque numbers.

The six songs release demonstrates that the young project is made up of two women able to accomplish the sound they wanted, it’s dynamic, it has the DIY approach I like so much in metal and has fairly strong songwriting. Based on the limited information I’ve gathered about them, half of the project moved away from their initial area so I hope this doesn’t mean the end for Basic Instinct as they’re pretty damn interesting.

Bandcamp

HÄG – HÄG (2020) / 80%

From Coast to Coast: East

A duo of reviews featuring recent bands featuring women from the two coasts of Canada. 

Fifteen years after Witchcraft’s debut album or twelve after Jex Thoth’s self titled opus, the fad for occult doom/rock is mostly back to its vegetative state but there’s a few bands still going strong like Castle or Demon Head. Now introducing Häg, they’re no mere copycats but they arrived a bit too late to make it big in that particular scene. 

Well regardless of the ordeal that time offers us all, doom metal is getting more and more diverse now and many groups found their niche and some mass appeal. Let’s see if those Canadians can distinguish themselves!

I was pleasantly surprised by the debut album from this Newfoundland quintet, it’s super interesting and showcases a wide range of influences in its approach. The fact that all those musicians are in no other (MA approved) bands is also a bit surprising as they sound like an experienced bunch. Their self titled album is compact and presents itself nicely, it’s professional, it sounds great and doesn’t sound overly retro in a painful and unnecessary way. Their mid-paced riff centric doom metal isn’t traditional and borrows elements usually uncommon to the genre. The opening track “Summon The Earth To Lay Claim Back The Soil” has a part reminiscent of Yes or Rush with its noodly bass and syncopated guitar bits. The guitars of Hefferman and Wicks are rich and varied with an arsenal of riffs and solos from diverse origins. There’s hints of modern progressive rock Opeth (“At the End of the Ambush”) or the atmospheric rock of Anathema (“Slow Ghosts”) and those influences are for the most part well incorporated into their sound. They have some few deathrock tendencies too such as “Your Skin” akin to The Devil’s Blood. There’s definite heavy doom moments though like the crunching conclusion of “Funeral” and there’s a few stoner, more Uncle Acid parts too. The band says that they have “blackened” elements but yeah, nah. Occult though? Sure! They’re able to develop potent grim but catchy atmospheres throughout the record.

The vocals of Clair Hipditch are superb, she sounds like a cultist at an exquisite murder/feast who’s also into jazz, blues and classic rock. She gave me the same feels Uta Plotkin used to when she was the front woman of Witch Mountain. She’s just a powerhouse that fits in a metal band while not being intrinsically metal herself. Solid musicianship, blistering vocals and a comprehensive approach to all things doom is what makes this one of the best debuts of the year.

Bandcamp

Mörkt Moln - The Culling of a Great Flame (2019) / 83%

BURN IN HELL!

Mörkt Moln (dark clouds) from Gothenburg certainly don’t play melodic death metal and I’m relatively happy they don’t. The Swedish trio delves into proto black metal and inserts dynamic hardcore, goth and punk elements to their first wave black metal sound instead.

Inspired by both Amebix and Darkthrone (who were also influenced by Amebix in their own right), the eight songs record is a definite love letter to a time where metal and punk lines were blurred and where black metal was yet in its formative infancy. While I feel the lines are being quite blurry again nowadays with powerviolence, death metal and crust being thrown in a mixer together this is another type of affair.

Interlude: I’m a big snacks guy so this review was written while eating some carrot cake Oreos. While they were able to recreate the taste of a carrot cake, the white icing is a bit too sugary. It’s a welcome distraction from the normal black and white ones just like this band is a welcome change from your run of the mill Satanic black metal. The special Easter Oreo was a bit better though.

Back to our normal programming, their music is dark (see their name) and it’s composed of pretty mid-paced bangers with some longer tracks like opener “Air Burial”, the Conan themed “Cimmerian Heat” or the Mesopotamian historical eight minutes closer “Shar Kishati”. Their production is kept fairly natural and that’s certainly perfect for their sound. If you’re a fan of Darkthrone’s later efforts, it’s a similar approach. If you’re not, it’s time go hike in the Scandinavian forests and never come back! Mixing groovy, riff heavy black/punk with some doom metal (the end of that Conan song crushes) to great success, it reminds me of the hateful but tongue in cheek of The Cult is Alive but slowed down a notch. The vocals are raw, gravely and in a spot between harsh and clean, it fits their proto extreme metal vibe well. There’s also obvious black(er) moments such as “Corruptors of Youth” with its evil classic black metal church bell intro and heavy metal goodness such as the Lord of the Rings’ inspired “Dol Guldur”. It’s not technical music either, it’s even fairly loose and almost volontarily sloppy and that’s how I love it, to be honest.

All in all, Mörkt Moln are apt at mixing old school black metal with a DIY aesthetic and approach. They’re a less and more band but with a lot of ideas and big balls.

Bandcamp

Kybalion - Poisoned Ash (2020)

Primal Australian Pummeling 

The first release by Kybalion, a one man band created by the only man I know in Western Australia is a strong slab of pummeling metal with a diverse but fully integrated source of influences. Knowing what Caspian Yurisich, a father of two from Bunbury, likes, I wasn’t really surprised to see what he did here but I wasn’t expecting it to be that heavy. Caspian is known for his love for drone but he’s a peculiar dude into a lot of things.

Poisoned Ash is a four songs EP mixing the slow hard hitting riffs of doom/death with the hypnotic feel of drone/doom and it’s impressive in its minimalism. It’s stripped down heavy doom to its roots, a big machine made to crush you but also make you feel things deep inside. The drums are programmed and I never really had a problem with that unlike some purists, they sound good and add a cold, almost mechanical feel to the project. It’s a dichotomy when compared to the warm bass and the expressive riffs. Yurisich doesn’t really use lead guitars and there’s, frankly, no need to have any solos whatsoever here. The last track, the nine minutes epic “Absinthe Tide” uses melodica to conclude the album to great effects instead, it’s peculiar and original. That song also includes some melancholic or atmospheric doom elements that wouldn’t be out of place on a My Dying Bride album. “Background Man” also has a really noise/drone conclusion and it fits the manically repetitive riff well. It alternates between fast paced and crushingly slow but it’s always cohesive and well written.

Yurisich’s vocals aren’t really good but he was smart enough to throw them to the background, they sound like they’re in a really hot cave down in the deserted, savage lands of western Australia where the only thing close to being alive you can find is a snoring koala high on eucalyptus leaves (I know that’s not true but please don’t ruin my jokes for me.) His vocals are far away harsh chanting, not too dissimilar from the heaviest stoner/doom bands around in terms of intonation. Not super competent but they’re not something detrimental to my enjoyment of the album, quite the opposite. They add to the primeval or primal atmosphere of the project.

All in all, Kybalion is a breath of fresh air as far as doom/death is concerned. I can’t really think of a band that sounds like them to be honest and that’s a good thing for 2020. Take Jesu and maybe Earth, throw some primitive caveman riffs that are dumbed down purposely and you almost get their sound. Recommended for adventurous doomed explorers.

Bandcamp

Caskets Open – Concrete Realms of Pain (2020) / 78%

Balls to the Wall

The Finnish trio are really starting to become an entity of their own with their fourth album. While But You Rule, their 2010 debut album lacked most of the punk elements of their later efforts, their followups explored those areas in more details. Concrete Realms of Pain, their debut on Poland’s Nine Records (known for releasing quality doom such as Acolytes of Moros, Mansion or Lucifer’s Fall) shows the band moving forward in both experience and songwriting chops.

The main element that I always found displeasing in their albums is the inability to truly make a cohesive album while still incorporating the plethora of elements they want to include. I do believe this fourth full length is more successful at achieving that particular balance of sounds but it's still bothering me.

Ah yes, to give some context as to what the band plays... Imagine a long table where Glenn Danzig meets up with Albert Witchfinder who’s obviously tired of talking about trad doom and the newly revived corpse of Peter Steele who’s hiding a copy of his Playgirl issue to remember the good old times. At the other side of the table, Chandler argues with both Wino and Reagers about what Vitus era was the best. There’s also a bunch of punks in the parking lot drinking beer and not caring about the meeting.

Compared to their debut or To Serve the Collapse, the traditional doom elements are downplayed here. The opener “Four Shrines” almost cleanses the whole album from slow doom once its six minutes duration is done but there’s some other slower moments such as the first half of “White Animal”. It’s a good and bad way to start the album as it doesn’t exactly shows us the way the whole album will treat us. While still first and foremost a doom band, the whole thing is faster and streamlined for the most part. It also has the best production of their career, it’s as muscular as the bloke on the artwork.

This is how you do a tough guy album to be honest. Riffs solid as bricks, a booming unhinged bass and fast, thundering drums. No useless posturing, breakdowns or unnecessary elements, just balls of steel on the wall of the dungeon/gym. Speaking of manly, the vocals of Ketola are gruff and with the right amount of venomous might to bridge the chasm between doom and punk, mixing Danzig and trad Finn doom. Caskets Open aren’t a subtle band at all, voluntarily on the nose is their main objective and it works fine.

Overall, this is an enjoyable slab of beefy doom/punk but once again, the lack of cohesiveness and the tendency to want to do too much blurs the results. Sometimes, it’s better to focus on making one thing extremely well. I tried a mac and cheese pizza the other day and while I love both on their own, it wasn’t a resounding success mixed together.

Bandcamp

Caronte – Wolves of Thelema (2019) / 88%

Sleazy & Occult Cultists

I discovered the Italian quintet with this album and I’m glad I did. I think I brushed them off as another insipid doom/stoner band at first and I couldn’t be more wrong. Caronte approaches doom from many interesting avenues and always goes for the jugular with their passionate darkened take.

Mixing the larger than life Elvis memorial presence of Glenn Danzig with the English romanticism of Nick Holmes from Paradise Lost, their lead singer Dorian Bones (“Big sunglasses, cool band” - Fenriz) drives the band to another echelon. His gruff clean vocals intertwined momentarily with some harsher moments are reminiscent of Alan Averill (Primordial) at times too. It’s epic and uncompromising. He sounds like a high priest leading a procession and you know it will end up bloody as hell. They’re the doom equivalent of Luciferian unorthodox black metal, it’s good to know that you can always count on the Italians to be the most blasphemous. It must be the influence of the Vatican.

Taking cues from the now death occult rock movement and in particular from The Devil’s Blood (perhaps the best band from that whole wave, to be fair), the Italians focus on the esoteric and the dark magicks to great results. Spiritually closed to Black Oath, the best modern Italian traditional doom band, Caronte aren’t static in their doom explorations. From blackened doom to aggressive post-punky rock (it has some Beastmilk vibes), they’re happy to provide a plethora of different paints to their doomed palette. It’s mostly black though, let’s be honest. Like the golden chimera (part Lion, part dragon, part goat etc), it’s a multifaceted entity taking the strongest features of every creatures. I do think they’re a bit unfocused at times though but I do admire their willingness to navigate a lot of diverse seas.

The duel guitars provide an interesting atmosphere and considering they’re a live band too, it’s necessary to deliver the complexity of their mood swings. They’re musically intense and their eight songs are packed to the brim. They’re a band that got tighter and tighter in the songwriting department throughout the years. 2014’s Church of Shamanic Goetia had ten minutes songs and was one hour long. It seems they’re over that formula with Wolves of Thelema. They got less into stoner metal too while retaining their shamanic preaching and strong riffs.

If you like your metal dark, esoteric and with a blasphemous sleazy attitude, Caronte are your dudes.

Check 'em out on Ván Records' Bandcamp. If someone buys me the die hard wooden box version, I'd be very happy. Thanks!

Québec Dank Kush Special with Lochness and Marécages

There’s some sort of doom/stoner movement going on in Québec right now with a small scene resurging from the dank abyss to create weed fueled riffs. The doom/stoner vibe from the province was mostly due to Max Tremblay from The Death Wheelers, Strange Broue and Marécages. Tremblay also runs Brouemaster Visual Decay and provides art for many bands, even international ones like Haunt or Idle Hands. He, of course, did the art for both Lochness and Marécages. I like his art, always colourful but also always pretty grim and dark, it’s full of contrasts!

Lochness – Black Smokers (2019)

First Puff - 83%

Lochness, now, eh! The Montréal trio plays slow, thundering doom/stoner with a definite aquatic feel. Composed of Alban Bachand and Mathias two tattoo artists from the Ligne Verte shop (awesome spot!) and Tony Ross from  Aiauasca (also into tattoos!), the power trio really surprised me with the quality of this release. Compared to most doom/stoner, it’s not overlong and it has a distinctive and interesting identity other than the commonly used “blaze it 420” one. Lochness are all about the pressuriezed heaviness of the deep sea and how foreign and alien that mysterious part of the world is. The album starts with a long seven minutes instrumental track that really shows the colours of what the band is all about. They’re not heavily focused on vocals usually (Ross handles both the drums and the vox) and they also dig the use of samples. When there’s vocals, they’re unhinged and they feel like they’re underwater (check out “Alien Deep”), it’s oddly fitting.

The guitars of Fortier are loud and strong and like American traditional tattooing, it’s bold and there to stay as Black Sabbath foretold. Their songwriting is quite loose and natural, their songs are long but busy with riffs. It’s never boring or overly slow and “atmospheric”. They do like repetitiveness though but they’re good enough to achieve a form of riff hypnosis.

All in all, Lochness delivers a compact thirty-five minutes opus full of huge tones. I’m usually bored by most stoner/doom but they had enough originality to distinguish themselves from the pack. I’ll go swim in the Lochness, I hope I’ll see you there.

Lochness on Bandcamp

Marécages - Marais Juana - Une Ode Cannabique (2019)

Second Puff - 4x20=80%

Speaking of Marécages (swamps), their debut EP is literally a brick made of frozen weed. Max Tremblay (The Death Wheelers, Strange Broue) is joined by Seb Dallaire and Christian Labrecque (AKA Crock 0))) haha) both known from grind bands like Fistfuck and Mesrine and together, they had a lot of fun on this release. The artwork is striking and amusing, it’s just a really big frog that would eat if you were small enough. Frogs and toads eat everything, they’re like me at an all you can eat sushi restaurant.

Their song titles are full of portmanteaus like “Cannabysse” and their lyrics are all in French (always happy to see that), it’s massively fun. The opening song “Marais Juana” is also exactly 4:20, hopefully on purpose. Their metal is aggressive, not too dissimilar to the Hochelaga approach of Dopethrone in a way. It’s dirty sludge/stoner/doom with a really thicc groovy bass, riffs made of rusty steel and bludgeoning drumming played by a madman who hasn’t slept in weeks. Their vocals are, of course, harsh as hell and sounds like a resin infested worm in the best way possible. The use of samples about weed and horror movies is also on point, I personally liked the one about krokodil a lot!

The EP is tight and goes hard. It sounds like a big toad rumbling in a swamp looking for some tasty worms and flies. It doesn’t sound like they’re on weed... Well maybe marijuana laced with cocaine, acid and PCP...

Marécages on Bandcamp

Fer de Lance – Colossus (2020) / 85%

Adamantine Axes & Potent Incantations

Formed by strong members of the traditional metal scene, Fer de Lance will knock you from your seat with their epic blend of influences. The trio is composed of Collin Wolf from Smoulder and Olórin, MP of speedsters Moros Nyx and Patrick Gloeckle (Moros Nyx, Satan’s Hallow, High Spirits...), a strong group of adventurers indeed. That debut extended play showcased a band ready to fight for the most lucrative and dangerous contracts available at the local tavern!

The acoustic guitar introduction of “City in the Sea” follows by an instant epic vocal moment proves that this band doesn’t mess around. We get four sings all between four and six minutes. No time to waste here, it’s compact and mighty. An approach I’d say is similar to Italy’s classic Doomsword (where are they by the way!? Their last album is from 2011) with their ballsy and uncompromising attitude towards epic heavy/doom metal. Fer de Lance investigates many eras of epic metal such as the northern shores of Quorthon’s Sweden, the shiny rainbow of Ronnie James Dio without forgetting to explore the deeper cuts like Scald, Solstice, Old Season or Mael Mórdha.

MP is a very strong vocalist with an impressive range and he’s showing his chops here with influences ranging from Dio, Dickinson or Russell Allen. He wrote songs to showcase his abilities and did it very well. There’s impressive choirs throughout the album too and it gives a sense of epic airiness that’s both pleasing and necessary to push the band to the next level. If you don’t lift your fist and sing along, you might listening to the wrong style of music for you.

The highlight for me, besides the vocals, is definitely the interplay between the acoustic (MP) and electric guitars (MP and Wolf). I think I haven’t enjoyed that combination that much since Primordial’s existence. The title track is a good example of such interactions. It adds this Celtic folk touch to their sound and it’s just gorgeous and interesting without ever becoming sugary or the sole focus of their musicality. It’s masterfully produced and recorded too, those guys know what they’re doing and got a veteran in Collin Jordan to master the EP. It just sounds massive.

Fer de Lance is perhaps the strongest epic doom debut EP since... I don’t know? Maybe Capilla Ardiente’s Solve et Coagula or Atlantean Kodex’s stuff before The Golden Bough. Now give me a full length please! Another great signature from Cruz Del Sur, that's for damn sure.

Buy on Bandcamp

Death the Leveller – I (2017) / 82%

Balanced and potent formula

I was intrigued to see that Cruz Del Sur were gonna release the debut album of Death the Leveller in March 2020 so I went back to check their 2017 EP to get myself ready. Doom metal? Check. Best traditional metal label in the world? Check. Buddies of the best metal band in the world (Primordial)? Check. I was excited to hear this. Formed by the instrumental core of Mael Mórdha, a band I’ve heard a decade ago but forgot about, Death the Leveller dismissed the folk elements of their former band and decided to explore the bleakness that doom can convey.

I was pretty much sold the moment I saw the artwork combined with the epic track lengths of that “extended play”. I mean, it’s almost forty minutes of music divided within four songs... Plenty of meat on the bone. The quartet has this compelling dark aesthetic that’s really appealing to me as far as doom metal goes. I knew what to expect with that skeleton holding a balance and I wasn’t disappointed. I guess they could be compared to Dread Sovereign, Alan Averill’s doom metal side project but I’ve found them more interesting. “All Hell’s Martyrs” was a disappointment for me and I think I haven’t heard their followup yet. The thought of a doom metal Primordial was intriguing and Death the Leveller kind of filled that need.

The vocals of Denis Dowling have the same passion and intensity as Averill’s but they’re also cleaner and more rooted in pure heavy metal. Robust singing all around here. Really memorable, in fact. The ending of the last track “How to Track Pernicious Spells” made me shiver. The instrumentation is pretty pristine and the production sis top notch, they’re veteran musicians after all, that’s obvious enough. They're super good at building crescendos, creating tensions and just using their extended song structures efficiently.

The songs are all pretty much nine to ten minutes but they’re filled to the brim with riffs and they’re not what I’d call slow either. “Gone Forever” has insanely good riffing till the end of its duration. I’d say that Death the Leveller plays some sort of melancholic, atmospheric doom metal which isn’t too far away from what traditional doom can be at times. Bands like Warning, Mirror of Deception or The River navigates the sad waters of depressive doom but there's many more mysterious islands to discover. Death the Leveller definitely has a boat with several oarsmen since they’re constantly active, constantly bludgeoning and constantly interesting throughout the forty minutes duration. I’m turning thirty in like two months and long albums can be a drag to listen to nowadays so I’m hoping their album isn’t seventy minutes! Just like Primordial, you come out emotionally drained after spinning them.

It’s intense without being abrasive, dark without being shallow and trite, epic and complex without being syrupy. I’m quite stoked for what’s to come.

Bandcamp