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

Smoulder – The Sword Woman (2018) / 84%

Engrossing magical doom

With the recent releases of Palmistry, Loviatar and Sons of Geezora, Canadian doom continues to grow and impress. It’s now the time for Smoulder to join the war against bad riffs. I had the chance to hear some of their early demos when Sarah and Shawn crashed at Metantoine’s headquarters for the final edition of Wings of Metal last year and I was pretty dazzled by what they showed me. Almost a year after that, their first foray into doom is out and it doesn’t disappoint.

Smoulder exactly has the things I like in doom. It has solid, heavy riffs, soaring clean, semi-operatic vocals and a gritty fantasy approach. Influenced by the balls to the wall sound of The Gates of Slumber, the intelligent epic side of Solitude Aeternus and the uncompromising ideals of Reverend Bizarre. The Canadian core of Sarah and Shawn joined by three other members including some Americans (two members of Illinois’ Olórin) displays a deep understanding of what traditional or epic doom metal stands for and what it should be. Shawn Vincent already showed his above than average metalness with his solo heavy project Ezra Brooks (covered by yours truly) and currently handles the bass with the impressive Toronto unit Manacle. Sarah works as a metal journalist and she’s in the music industry but this was the first time her vocals were recorded and she does a great job, she sounds like a young Valkyrie who will only get better as time goes by. The mix of her vocals and the groovy, impatient riffs reminds me of Mourn's sole album released more than twenty years ago and that's not a small deed since I consider that self-titled album to be the best female fronted doom album of all time.

The twin guitars add a complexity often found in bands like Atlantean Kodex, Pagan Altar or Solstice and the loud bass fills any void that could have been there. Check out the interesting bass break in "Voyage of the Maiden Chaser"! Overall, the musicianship is tremendous but it's never overly flashy. Nevertheless, I would have liked a longer, slower track but that’s just me. I feel those long ass songs truly show what a doom band is capable of! Maybe they’ll unleash one on their debut full-length.

Even though it was released on 4/20, there’s nothing related to weed culture here. It’s seriously engrossing sword and sorcery doom of the highest caliber. Get this demo as soon as possible.



Smoulder on Bandcamp

Metal Bounty Hunter: Volume 11 /// 2017 DOOM SPECIAL

"Doom metal is dead", that's what Reverend Bizarre told us back in 2007 but more than ten years after the final album of the Finns, the genre is still alive and kicking. Thank god! Here's a bunch of demos or extended plays released this year. Canada, Germany, the US and even Israel are represented in this special volume. 
Enjoy!

Palmistry – Demo (2017) / 80%

Magickal Doom from Poutineland


Full disclosure: I work with half of Palmistry as a gig promoter/booker in Montréal and I also know his wife who's the second half. My relationship with them has nothing to do with my appreciation of their music. Doom metal is dead, anyway.

This new project from Montréal unleashed their first demo back in July and it's an insanely great first effort. Composed of a young couple, Palmistry plays super catchy trad doom with a penchant for epic moments and melodic leads. Obviously influenced by Candlemass, their music goes beyond worship and has this special touch.

The two songs are short (for doom, eh) affairs and considering it's a demo, it's really well produced. The guitar is crisp and just plain fun. The riffs are well composed, dynamic and has this quasi arabic vibe. It feels like crusader doom! The solos on "Capharnaüm" are subtle, soft and aren't unecessarily flashy. The vocals of the feminine side of the duo are solid. They sound like an occult incantation and they're pretty ballsy.

All in all, the Palmistry demo shows a lot of potential and talent and I'm stoked to be able to follow their development. It's great when the music made by friends is actually good and you don't have to force yourself to dig it!

Palmistry on Bandcamp

Fvneral Fvkk ‎– The Lecherous Liturgies (2017) / 91%

Essential doom, epic as fvkkkkkk!

With members from known to almost known German bands such as Ophis, here comes Fvneral Fvkk and despite their silly name, they probably released the best doom demo/EP of 2017. Their style is midway through epic doom and traditional doom and they're already at the top of their game. I mean, we're talking of veteran musicians and not simply newcomers. The situation is similar to Dautha, the new Swedish band formed by members of Griftegård, Scar Symmetry or Wardenclyffe. Those guys know what sound they're looking for and they have the experience and skills to create it.

Fvneral Fvkk comes from the tradition of tongue in cheek doom bands but even if their lyrics are blasphemous and somewhat fun, the riffs and compositions are serious. They do evolve in the modern doom sound as well, the Warning/Pallbearer sound is present but the Germans bring an added urgency and evilness to the formula. The production is crisp, the guitars heavy as fuck and the vocals sombre and dark. The songs are packed to the brim with desecrated doom and there's no wasted moments to be found here.

It's an essential release for any doom fans and I don't know how they'll be able to top it.

Make sure to get the digital version with the 3 tracks since the bonus song is also excellent.

Fvuneral Fvkk on Bandcamp

Bridegeist – Waste of Kings (2017) / 75%

Fresh and tight sword & sorcery doom

The Wichita, Kansas quartet doesn't waste any time in establishing their identity. Their sound is huge, rough and immensely heavy. The dual guitars makes 'em quite fun and punishing and the harmonies are present underneath the heaviness. Just like Khemmis, they do like to mix sludgey influences to their heavy/doom and it's apparent in the use of semi harsh vocals used by Steven Turner.

Their metal is groovy, full of catchy manly riffs and while it's mostly extroverted metal, it's easy to enjoy. I mean, complex and "smart" metal is often shit and annoying. You get what you ask for here, solid steel for twenty minutes.

Residing in the same city as epic metal forefathers Manilla Road could had been an ordeal but Bridegeist delivers their own take on sword and sorcery by cranking the amps to the max and by being more aggressive than a pack of hungry hounds.

https://bridegeist.bandcamp.com/releases

Lavaborne – Demo 2017 / 65%

Peculiar Midwest garage doom

With the technology we have today, demos are a bit of a dying art. It's totally possible to have a semi professional suburbian recording done in your mom's basement nowadays. Unfortunately, that's not the case for this demo. Ok, Lavaborne's production isn't that bad but I've heard better for doom demos. Chris Latta's (also in Spirit Division) vocals are decent but they're way too loud in the mix and it's hard to focus on anything else. His deep voice almost goes into spoken word territory at times and it adds a certain weird charm to the band. The drum machine is annoying as it often is in metal.

The songs are pretty good though, it's heavy/doom but it's peculiar and doesn't really sound like what we could expect of the genre. It has a wide array of influences ranging from grunge, hard rock to thrash. While I can't really say that I'll go back to the demo, I can say that it's interesting

P.S.: I have conflicting feelings about the artwork. It looks like a skateboard ad made in collaboration with a local nu-metal band. Sorry Chris!

https://lavaborne.bandcamp.com/releases

Still Dead – Demo no. 1 (2017) / 67%

Still Dead are the first Israeli doom band I've came across that aren't Orphaned Land (who played doom for like twenty minutes anyway) and they're not bad at all! The raw production highlights the thick bass lines and the cavernous clean vocals well and for a debut release, it's quite professional.

The songs are moderately lengthy and offer a lot of repetitive riffs and atmosphere. It's a gloomy affair with Still Dead as you could expect from their moniker.

The thing is that the songwriting is mostly derivative and boring. They're not really fresh, exciting or super heavy to compensate for the lack of groundbreaking ideas (a direction many doom bands pick) but it's worth checking out if you want to hear true doom coming from an unusual location!

https://stilldead.bandcamp.com/album/demo-no-1

Dwoom – Pale Mare Demo MMXVII (2017) / 85%

Swedish Rules Divine - Part 2

I always preferred the Finnish doom scene but the mighty Sweden always delivers the good. I’m not exactly crazy about their current crop of traditional doom (see Below or Anguish) but their stoner scene is pretty healthy with bands like Monolord (constant touring helps!) or Vokonis. Dwoom from Northern Sweden not only has the best name around but they got a renewed epic doom sound and their debut demo is a slab of insanely great pure hot iron.

The main feat of Dwoom is that they play doom metal with HM2 pedals. I’m not a gear expert or musician but I can easily recognize this sound and it did wonders for this band. It’s basically like Hooded Menace but without the horror inspired death metal of the Finnish band. The quartet injects an almost illegal dose of steroids to the epic doom sound of Candlemass and it’s a shame the demo is only seventeen minutes, give me more!!!

Gustav Lund has nothing to envy to both Johan Längquist or Messiah. The dude can sing! He has this operatic approach common to epic doom but he’s sometimes a bit rougher. There’s some rare harsh vocals too but it’s mostly a clean affair.

The subtle organ notes too and this gives a tenebrous feel to the crushing doom played by Dwoom. Their atmosphere is spot-on too, it’s groovy, entrancing and will make your neck move. The three songs are tight, mid-paced numbers with strong guitars and catchy vocal lines. Simply put, Dwoom are above-average and this demo is highly promising.

Bwancamp

The Temple – Forevermourn (2016) / 84%

Hellenic Metal Help Fund part IV : Doom 4 ever

Ah, doom metal, admittedly easy to play and compose if you want your band to be plain and dry but that’s not what these Greek dudes did, oh no. The quartet from Thessaloniki has been alive for a while but this is only their debut album. It took a long time for the band leader, Alex (bass, vocals, compositions), to find an appropriate lineup since like doom metal, life is not always an happy affair and sometimes many things can stop you from achieving your vision. I’m glad that in the end, nothing could stop Alex and his love for traditional doom. Let’s enter the temple in his company.

The seven songs of Forevermourn are mournful affairs but they’re far from being timid slow numbers full of despair. Tracks like “Remnants” are relatively mid-paced busy songs full of twin guitar melodies recalling the heydays of epic doom but The Temple is infusing this style with the depressive, emotional style of Warning or the current German doom of Cross Vault (that I personally thought to be underwhelming). Alex and company are also adding slight black metal touches to the fold in certain guitar moments and it’s well done. What differentiates the Greeks from some of their peers is the actual quality of their instrumentation, it’s heavy, never whiny and soul crushing.

Alex’s vocals are clean highs that fits his music very well. There’s loads of melancholy in the somewhat buried singing and while he’s not on the same level as Messiah Marcolin or Markus Becker (Atleantean Kodex), he gets the job done. I’d say that like the songs, he’s a bit samey and some diversity would had been better but there’s still not a lot of weaknesses in the songwriting. I’m not asking ‘em to add strings or whatever, this would be silly as they don’t try to be My Dying Bride, but some tempo variations could be cool. Nevertheless, the identity they developed on this debut album is clear, it’s dreamy but sad traditional doom metal.

Thick basslines, memorable melodies, sweet guitar leads, I don’t want to leave the temple, I’d mourn there forever.

The Temple on Facebook

Elfspell – The River Giant Rises (2016) / 85%

Take up your axe, take up your sword!

John Gallo is perhaps the most talented and underrated doom musician in the United States these days. After the classic Orodruin album Epicurean Mass and his more recent experimentations with Blizaro and John Gallow, he's back with a full new band to deliver something different and quite interesting.

The River Giant Rises is the second demo of this band from Rochester and shows a more primitive, visceral and downright epic take on doom metal and heavy metal compared to 2014's Paul Chain influenced Violet Dreams, an overtly complex and cerebral piece of doom. Elfspell is still rich and technically but explores proto extreme metal and epic metal in a completely distinctive take. I always like the lo-fi approach in traditional metal such as the charmant dorkiness of New York's Realmbuilder or the heavy/black metal of Toronto's Demontage and this band has the same philosophy.

Within the three extended numbers (all around seven minutes), we're able to find raw epic doom mixed with a lot of other stuff (this black metal break in the title track is lovely) and illustrated by a geeky and fun drawing of a big ass dragon and a logo similar to what old school death metal or symphonic black metal are known to used!

The production is raw for this kind of music but it fits the persona of Elfspell. This is real Dungeon & Dragons metal unlike overblown shit like Rhapsody of Fire. The dual guitars play these intricate riffs but the whole thing in rooted in a sort of twisted world where the biggest bands in the world are Mortuary Drape, Candlemass, Pagan Altar and Manilla Road. The vocals of Ron Blackwell (Crucifist, Nokturnal Hellstorm) are manly, deep cleans and they're really fun. There's also an amusing folk metal influence, especially on “Jar'Al's Lament”. The closing track of this demo has this medieval feel not too different from what Skyclad were doing.

I'm excited to hear what this band can do in the future, I'm sure their debut full length will blow me away. Those twenty minutes made me a fan.

Elfspell on Bandcamp

Funeral Circle / Gatekeeper split (2015) / 82%

Canadian epic doom united

Two of the best Canadian epic metal bands got together to release this split release and it's a true showcase of the most belligerent style out there. It's a seven inches release with one track from each artist and it's pretty damn good, it's a great way to get into both bands and serves as a succulent appetizer.

Side A

Funeral Circle's "Hades Triumphant" marks the debut studio performance of Jean-Pierre Abboud but also the departure of their lead guitarist and composer Matthew Barzegar so it's sort of an end to a chapter. I saw this lineup at their first Montréal gig last year at the second edition of Wings of Metal and they totally rocked my world. Their debut album is certainly one of the best Canadian metal albums so it's a bad sad to see this lineup end but it's a successful closure. The seven minutes song starts with an instrumental introduction before we're served the excellent, versatile and classy vocals of JP who's definitely a good fit to their epic doom sound. I was pretty devastated after the split of Borrowed Time (they released one of my favourite albums of the decade) but I was happy that JP decided to join the Circle, he brings a lot of lyricism and intelligence to the fold. Their doom is varied and has a lot of tempo changes, intricate riffs, emotional soloing and this track is no exception. Like its title, the composition is really triumphant and it's proven through the epic vocal patterns and the war like percussion. I can't wait to see what will the new lineup of Funeral Circle will do.

These memories of yesterday bring warmth, and keep bitter winds at bay...

Side B

While there's obvious similarities between the two bands, Gatekeeper mainly plays heavy metal but this song has clear epic doom influences. Gatekeeper, formerly based in Calgary but Jeff Black, their leader/guitarist/composer recently moved to Vancouver so this is also the last release of this particular lineup. The song named "Bell of Tarantia" (a city in the Conan world) is a tight heavy song and it starts with some bells (duh?) and a river flowing before giving us super epic dual lead guitars melodies and the soaring clean vocals of Shorre McColman (I think his contribution will be dearly missed). I think their songwriting is better here than on their 2013 debut extended play and while I haven't really digested their other 2015 split release (this time with Texas' Eternal Champion), it seemed to be on the faster side than this track. Gatekeeper is a great mix of sword & sorcery classic heavy metal with a slight and enjoyable epic doom sound and I really enjoyed their side. It's not exactly the most original thing around but it's done with care and skill.Hopefully, Black will be able to form a new lineup that's as strong as this one.

Heroes pyre at the castle spire / While a solemn belfry tolls

This split is the definite proof that Canadian metal (sup Darkthrone?) is in good shape and deserves more attention. While it has a runtime of fourteen minutes, I'm left on my appetite and I wanted more tasty epic nourishment, I guess I'll go spin some Cromlech, another excellent Canadian epic doom band while waiting for more material from these two groups. Bonus point for the cool Karmazid cover art, this guy rules.

Facebook Circle
Gatebooker

Forsaken Peddlers - Songs of Fate and Freedom (2014) / 68%

The Baguette Doom Series pt. XII : Normandoom

Formed when the defunct Fatum Elisum was still existing, Forsaken Peddlers (they share or shared three members) from Upper Normandy served as a traditional doom metal counterpart to the more extreme inclination of their older brother. This is their debut album released last year and it's quite decent for a first effort.

The four songs full length is a pretty solid epic doom release inspired by Candlemass, Solstice and even modern bands like Atlantean Kodex. The songs are almost all near twelve minutes and it's a bit samey after a while. I think I would had liked the band more if this was an extended play with only two songs. Alexandre's vocals are pretty powerful and he has a lot of range but he's pushing it too much sometimes and I think he's a bit grating. I'm a bit disappointed that the lyrics aren't in French too, I think their aesthetic and style were appropriate for the language. It's certainly a missed opportunity as the singer also has a thick accent, it's not awful or anything but this would had been easily avoided if it was in their native tongue (like Barabbas is doing).

Despite the cover art inspired by medieval religious art, I think the music lacks this certain epic flair prevalent in Solstice. Not that it's a bad thing but I was expecting this sort of personality. Their epic doom is without frills and surprises (except perhaps the middle section of their namesake track), nevertheless they're decent songwriters and there's good riffs to be found here. The opener “The Brave” remains my favorite song, the soloing is good and it's groovy. I think with the lengths of their songs, they could had been more atmospheric and diverse, it's a bit formulaic and redundant. The album feels like it's more than a hour even though it's not even fifty minutes. Writing slow paced compelling traditional doom metal is difficult and these guys aren't the best at it, I think their songs could benefit from a diet since it's still well written but simply dragged down because of their unnecessary length. Still, this is probably me being a grumpy doom fan since I usually like trad doom with long songs...

The production is pretty solid, the guitars are heavy enough and the vocals are judiciously placed in the mix. Despite some of my reservations, Forsaken Peddlers delivers a pretty good debut album and it's a good addition to the burgeoning French doom scene. Fans of epic doom will surely dig these songs of fate and freedom.

Forsaken Peddlers on Facebook
Forsaken Peddlers on Bandcamp

Cave of Swimmers - Reflection (2015) / 98%

Superb artwork, quite evocative

The water is great, the doom is greater

Cave of Swimmers were on my check out list for a while when I received the promo for Reflection, what a better way to discover a band than with their newest album? I was more than surprised with the quality of this band, they're perhaps my discovery of the year (or maybe the decade???) so far, it's so good, it's almost hard to comprehend.

The band is actually a duo composed of Venezuelan childhood friends who both moved to Miami, Florida in the mid 2000s and oh boy, they're so talented that I became emotionally unstable when I first heard the album. I only get these sort of reactions once or twice a year nowadays. It's hard to discover something that will trouble your tripes that much when you're deeply involved in metal, especially doom, a genre I've been exploring thoroughly for a while now. These guys touched me with their music like Opeth did when I was a mere teenager who was still buying the latest System of a Down albums.

What are they playing though? That's why I'm here, right? Well, it's hard to explain but I'll try... At their core, they're a very epic doom band with soaring clean vocals and it's not everyday you hear a better singer than Messiah Marcolin but Guillermo Perez is unbelievable and chilling. His deep, rich vocals are so powerful than they probably woke up Hugo Chavez from the dead. He's operatic as hell, he's very lyrical and delivers the lyrics in a hypnotic way. Musically though, they're nowhere near what most epic doom metal bands are doing these days (see generic bands like Below or even the latest Sorcerer who are on aping at the altar of their Swedish masters). These guys are truly doing something else here, they include a fair load of progressive metal/rock, especially in the glorious, melodic and intricate guitar solos but also with the river-like song structures. It's hard to describe their progressive side, it has the classiness of Queen's heaviest material and the epic might of Rainbow's Rising and even some Rush (the first song starts with some keyboards similar to Rush's 2112) To emulate these bands and to honor their heritage, you need quite the singer and Cave of Swimmers is lucky to have such a talent.

They don't stop there though, they'd be mad not to continue their superb blend of styles! The duo also includes some Latin influences, like the percussion break in the first song “The Prince of the Power of the Air” that made me change my pants when I first heard it. It made me think of the experimental Latino side of The Mars Volta mixed with the operatic power of Dantesco's Puerto Rican epic doom. This link to their homeland doesn't feel forced or gimmicky, it's an integral part of their sound and it's influencing the other sides of their identity. There's also some stoner rock/metal and some alternative rock bits (more prevalent in their self titled debut album though). A stew of all good things can only be great if the sauce is thick and able to form a connected whole, they manage to be cohesive throughout the four songs.

The album is sort of composed of two sides. The first one includes two long numbers (both around ten minutes) and the second has two shorter compositions containing the self titled instrumental track that's ending “Reflection”. The release also includes a shorter edit of the first track, it's the featured song on their Bandcamp page. The album, excluding that edited song, is less than thirty five minutes and you've left wanting more since it's so damn great. I think the band has the potential to become even more epic and grandiose and that's only a tease (but a magnificent one) of things to come. At least they're not offering a bloated eighty minutes album like some bands are doing.

Lyrically, the band is very focused and doesn't use a lot of words, they prefer to repeat the tremendous lines and create a mesmerizing feel and it's so freaking catchy. Sometimes less is more but that's only the case for their lyrics since they go all in everywhere else.

Proving they're not scared of experimenting with anything, Cave of Swimmers managed to craft a compelling and very smart diverse album with a bombastic atmosphere and some of the best and most interesting musicianship the metal world has to offer.

There's almost nothing here I don't like but the short length has left me hungry for more just like you want to eat a BLT and there's no more bacon in the house, it's that tragic. But sometimes, a tease can be better and more rewarding that the actual act. Cave of Swimmers made me want to jump into their clear and interior pond, that's for sure. So remove your coats, put a smile on your face, a swimsuit on your body and dive into their excellent music.

Cave of Swimmers' Bandcamp
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Funeral Circle - Funeral Circle (2013) | 89%

Tony's notes: The awesome cover art was made by Martin Hanford (no, no, not the one who did “Where's Wally?”), he's known for his covers for Bal-Sagoth, Slough Feg, Orange Goblin...

I'm willingly stepping into their circle ---> O

Finally, doom metal has made its place in Canada. 2013 marked the release of three important albums for the scene, Cauchemar's excellent debut “Tenebrario, Cromlech's “Ave Mortis” and Funeral Circle's self titled. This triptych of excellent releases marked a new uprising for the genre in my native land. Blood Ceremony also released their third full length but it's their usual “vintage occult flute” stuff, hence nothing quite extraordinary but they're still an important part of the scene.

Their “Sinister Sacrilege” EP released in 2010 was very impressive and was well received by the doom community. Followed in 2011 by split (one original song and a Witchfinder General cover) with the mighty Lord Vicar but this full length is their first release since then. I believe the band had a lot of lineup issues and it's the still the case. The singer on this album has left the band and has been replaced, it's basically the project of Pilgrim (Matthew Barzegar) now, I'm excited that he's moving to Montréal as I'm sure there's some gigs planned up, well I do hope so!

Compared to the fast heavy/doom approach of the frenchies of Cauchemar, Funeral Circle is pretty damn slow and takes its time to build up songs. They play a style that borrows from both the epic doom scene and the traditional doom one. It might be said that these two camps are quite incestuous these days and it would be right. Indeed, bands like Atlantean Kodex or While Heaven Wept successfully mixed a shitload of influences together and while these Canadians do it more subtly, the mix of genres is still done perfectly.

Even if the provenance of these doom agents is diverse, from Germany to the United Kingdom and now Canada, they're all evolving under the same banner, the banner of excellent glorious and soulful metal. As brothers in arms, they're exploring the writings of Howard, Lovecraft, Moorcock, Tolkien but also the dark and romantic ancient history of our own twisted world. While Funeral Circle's lyrical and thematic side is pretty well developed and interesting, they're not yet as great as the full fledged clerical side of Atlantean Kodex who wrote the most interesting lyrics of the decade on “The White Goddess”. Always a pleasure to lyrics that are connected to your interests nonetheless!

In the style of Reverend Bizarre's debut or WHW's “Sorrow of the Angels”, they play on atmospheres and while it's not as emotionally draining as the early works of Tom Phillips (who got happy after “Of Empires Forlorn” apparently), it's still pretty heavy on the grandiose. It doesn't feel epic accidentally as they have this knack for slow, heavy dirges like “The Charnel God” which is superbly decorated with keys and profound leads. There's more guitar leads here than in your usual doom bands and you can almost feel the early Opeth influence here and there as I know for a fact the composer of the band is a fan. It's especially obvious in that nine minutes tracks. There's this mournful and classical sonority reminding me of an album like “Morningrise”, certainly a good thing in my book.

It doesn't try to be emotional like 40 Watt Sun or epic like DoomSword, they just play an instinctive style that accurately fits some of these descriptions. Admittedly, it's not as heavy or crushing like The Gates of Slumber (R.I.P. Brothers), it's exploring a softer, ethereal sound and it's a well done trek. There is this sweet interlude track “Tempus Edax Rerum” that explores acoustic and mythological realms. The production also compliments the songwriting, it's airy and minimalistic and gives the rightful place to the riffs to grow, like the grass grows in these desolate Roman ruins all over Europe.

Their EP had somewhat the same style their full length has but with a lacklustre production, It wasn't as lush and precise. There's a true progression both in the songwriting and the musicianship. There's no songs like “Sinister Sacrilege”, this was a fast, four minutes song with a Pentagramish attitude. It would had been cool to get one or two hard hitting tracks but it wouldn't had been helpful to the cohesion of the album. There's no need for forced diversity when the sound of the album doesn't ask for it. The doom I like the most isn't a collection of songs but rather a complete experience

A facet of their sound that is putting up there with the best bands of the genre is definitely their vocals, I hope Adrian Miles sounds as good as Jeremy Hannigan. He has a clear sense of melody and his delivery is very enjoyable such as in “Amaranthine (Wandering Dreamer)” with its catchy chorus. The vocals are often calm and soothing, reminding me of Solstice but deeper and obviously not with that sexy British accent even if we're still in the Commonwealth. It's mixing the deep, poetic vocals of Albert Witchfinder with a softer side and this is completely winner.

Alongside the Bostonians of Magic Circle, we were able to step into two mystical and occult worlds this year, both albums are the first offerings of these promising North American doom priests, keep your eyes and your hearts wide open.

By the shadow of the Ross Bay cemetery, it's not blasphemous to assert the greatness of the funeral circle. Let's pray to the gods of old that this album is not an once in a lifetime deal. I'm not afraid, the band is in good hands with Pilgrim who's the main composer and their new label Shadow Kingdom. Mandatory.

Funeral Facebook

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Cromlech - Ave Mortis (2013) | 85%

"What is best in life?" "DOOM METAL!"

Do you like Solstice? Yes, fine, you're checking the right band. You should probably order this CD already, no need to read my review. Well, it would be nice if you would anyway. Still here? Cool, then. “Ave Mortis” is Cromlech's debut album and it's a massive testament to their epicness with its seventy minutes length. The band from the Ontarian metropolis has chosen an apt year to release their first album as the first Solstice release in more than a decade graced us of its presence. Just beneath Atlantean Kodex's sophomore, this is one of the best albums the epic doom genre offered us in this sanctified year.

The epic doom unit includes three members of Into Oblivion, a death/black band widely unknown for their long ass tracks that are going nowhere. I thought it was pretty peculiar for a band of this genre to have twenty minutes songs. While Cromlech definitely has some monotonous parts, it's more or less an accepted feature of their genre and a problem that many doom bands are encountering. “Ave Mortis” only has eight songs but six of them are more than eight minutes long.  Some editing would had been nice, maybe to keep the album under or near an hour. One human being can only take a certain amount of badassery in one day and I felt a bit overwhelmed after this battle. The armour, yet comfortable can be burdening. Nonetheless, there's some extended lead guitars parts that are quite enjoyable such as in the nine minutes instrumental “Amongst the Tombs”. This band has big balls, it's not easy to pull off an instrumental song like that but they pulled it off with a lot of verve.

The band has a natural guitar tone made enjoyable by the earthy and raw production. It's certainly not the best sound they could get but it does the job, crunchier guitars would had been nice though. The dual lead guitars of David Baron and Roman Lechman (the co-composers of the band) are tasty as fuck, the leads are rightfully placed and aren't overplayed. Their riffs are not so heavy and they're very melodic but there's still a thundering approach to their musical identity such as in “Honor” with its fast paced heavy metal riffs. 

Their songwriting is pretty varied, we have a short, fast track like “Lend Me Your Steel” and many songs have faster, almost borrowing the speed metal tempos at times. One thing's for sure though, it's always tremendously epic. The bulk of the album is the two middle tracks with their identical lengths of 11:25 minutes, they're a good resume of the band's identity. The epic doom identity is intertwined with an healthy mix of enjoyable Manowar and traditional power/heavy metal influences. The musicians definitely know the direction they follow, it's energetic despite the lengthy bits because it always had the sense to be groovy as hell. The bass is lively and noticeable especially in the final epic track “Shadow and Flame” with its bass lead opening. 

Perhaps the main force of Cromlech is their vocals. It's Kevin Loghnane's debut metal endeavour and surely not his last. The dude has pipes! He's very similar to the legendary Hansi Kürsch and if you're not excited at the though of the singer of Blind Guardian fronting an epic doom band, well, what the fuck are you doing here? Loghnane weren't on the demo or the split the band did before their full length and even though I haven't heard these releases, I can only assert that he's an excellent addition. His clean voice is powerful and emotional, I actually wish his presence would had been more important since he's bringing an ethereal and poetic side to the band. Actually, he's not on the songs 2, 4 and 5 because he was a late addition to the band, it's instead Lechman who's doing the lead vocals. His voice is harsher but still pretty cool. There's also a lot of backing and supporting vocals adding another level of narrative but to be fair, most of the time, they're not really necessary, they're tough guys shouts such as the “Hail! Hail! Hail!” in “Honor”. Just give a bigger place to Loghnane and you'll have a much solid beast, no need to rely on these harsher vocals to be heavier.

The themes and lyrics, obviously more epic than a ten foot beard, are quite fun to read. We have songs about Tolkien, Howard and Rome history and of course, while nothing new and ground breaking (who the hell cares), it's well done and more than delightful.

“Ave Mortis” is a strong effort from these Canucks and although the sound is slightly too raw, it's very professional as proven by the artwork created by the famous Kris Verwimp (Absu, Sear Bliss, Suidakra...). Cromlech is a band to check out and alongside Funeral Circle, they're the future and the admiral emergence of Canadian epic doom metal. Get this.

Thanks to David Baron for the review opportunity.

Cromlech on the book of faces

Atlantean Kodex - The White Goddess (2013) | 90%

Galadriel, the fairest of them all

“A solemn pilgrimage through nightclad wintry woods”

 
Three years after their acclaimed debut album “The Golden Bough”, epic German metallers are back with another strong slab of mythological iron. Even though it was the album I was expecting, it's nonetheless another strong effort. I do think they deserve the throne of epic metal and their new full length is only confirming this. Procession and Evangelist should all kiss the hand of the white goddess because it's a excellent album.

Composed of four epic ten minutes tracks, three interludes and a shorter eight minutes track, the album is a nice trip into philosophical or religious territories with “Heresiarch (Thousandfaced Moon)” and “Sol Invictus (With Faith and Fire)”. Their lyrical theme is absolutely excellent, I'm pretty sure the guys are historians or theologians since there's a true clerical research found here. Named after the famous book of Robert Graves, both this book and this album is a continuation of “The Golden Bough”. Taking the magical and poetic influences of these books, the band managed to create a rich lyricism for their music. It's much more subtle than many other lyrics and you can see that there's a real effort but into them. To be honest, many metal bands just seem to disregard their lyrics as an afterthought. It's perhaps not as much as important as the music for this style of music but I consider that if you want to be a complete band, it's essential to have a solid lyrical representation. It's not Sarcofago so bad lyrics are not an excuse

“At the standing stones the scythe will set him free. Bound to the oak, the Kingpriest‘s life for our creed”

Musically, I feel the band explored a doomier realm this time. There's no four minutes catchy track like “Disciples of the Iron Crown” to be found here. The catchier track is probably “Twelve Stars and an Azure Gown” with its awesome melodic repeated lead and the Churchill Zurich speech in 1946 and it's about the fate of Europe and the intestinal rivalries between the countries that destroyed the continent. It also has this awesome lead inspired by heavy/power metal and showcases the out of this world clean vocals of Markus Becker. His voice, not tough or rough, is perhaps the most enjoyable aspect of Atlantean Kodex, he's like this prince with a golden voice protected by the other four members of his kodex. The production on his vocal is less airy and tighter than on the previous album and that's an appreciable improvement.

“If Europe were once united in the sharing of its common inheritance, there would be no limit to the happiness, to the prosperity and the glory which its three or four million people would enjoy”¹
 

I think the songwriting is more mature and rich as well while not intrinsically different from their early releases. I was listening to “The Pnakotic Demos” yesterday and except for the mediocre production, the basis of their sound is still there especially in the epic first track “From Shores Forsaken”. The sound only grew to an higher echelon here, the songs are as long but they're more focused and better overall. The guitars are heavy and the vocals destroys all the opposition in the epic metal world. Even if they already has this huge Solstice influence early on (hurry the fuck up Richard, it's been 15 years since “New Dark Age), it's a bit more present here or at least the epic doom atmosphere ate a large part of the traditional heavy/power sound. There's still the cool USPM inspired parts here and there, I guess you can still hear the mark of Cauldron Born especially in the high clean vocals.

The guitars of Koch and Trummer are excellent, from blistering leads to acoustic parts such as the short interlude “Bilwis (Sorcery and Witchcraft in Eastern Bavaria)”. They're never doing too much, never too flashy and they just deliver these good riffs one after one. Nonetheless, I almost think they're a bit overshadowed by the vocals, there's so many lyrics that even an eleven minutes song can feel short and busy. This can be both a good and a bad thing in some cases since the album can become overwhelming. Everything is great but it's so epic that it hurts. I wish the interludes would be longer or that they would have included a ballad of some sort on their album. The one hour album feels massive and even though there's still some interesting tempo changes, it can get a bit monotonous at times. I mean, I'm sure the taste of a deep fried hot dog is totally sublime but yeah, I wouldn't eat...OK I probably would but that's because I'm a pig!

“The White Goddess” is still grandiose enough, the epic connoisseurs will enjoy its bombastic approach and its rich songwriting. The album ends on an high note with a three minutes piano conclusion integrated on “White Goddess Unveiled”, a great twelve minutes song. The band has the balls to pull off interesting things but I feel they can and should do more exploration. Why not write long ass instrumental songs à la Melechesh and Lykathea Aflame! I believe they have the necessary vision and potential to do such things. I simply wish they would expand the clean moments found on a song like “Vesper All Hymn” featured on their previous album, it had this almost western or flamenco touch (quite unsure about myself here obviously) that I enjoyed a lot. Furthermore, with the integration of a slower/doomier sound, the catchiness of “The Golden Bough” has evaporated a little. Their 2013 release is more one sided and less varied than their esteemed debut.

The album is a safe sophomore to say the least, I wasn't of course expecting a new age record but the quality is optimal. The production is great and atmospheric, the musicians are top notch, the lyrics are perhaps the best written the genre has seen in a while and it's very epic, perhaps too much. This is still the best epic metal album of 2013, I, without certain restraints, welcome the new reigning kings to their throne.

1 http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?link=/AboutUs/zurich_e.html  Second paragraph

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*Originally written for the Metal Observer*

Valpurgis Night - Psalms of Solemn Virtue | 75%

A decent mix of epic doom, heavy and thrash

This band was a total surprise for me and they're a good example of an underrated act who deserves more attention. I believe their original sound is quite fresh and original and it's done tastefully. The British trio from London has a lot of chops and even though it's their first and only album to date, it's a very good one. What really pleased me is the mix of genres. Valpurgis Night goes through epic doom, heavy metal influenced by their NWOBHM ancestors and everything is rightfully coordinated. It's like putting Pagan Altar, Candlemass and Celtic Frost together with a good dose of Witchfinder General, Sabbat and an healthy dose of the rare good groove metal. It's heavy as fuck, it's cryptic and dark and it sent some shivers down my spine when the epic side of the band showed his true nature.

What really impressed me is Preacher Edwards' vocals, he's not unlike an authentic cleric spouting the holy words. He has an ominous but charming voice evoking many emotions, both mysterious and epic. He reminds me of Johan Lanqvist (the singer on Candlemass' debut) but perhaps with a narrower range. He still has a lot of charisma and emotion in his voice. He's evolving in a clean and high range and he's demonstrating the full range of his abilities throughout the whole record. He can conjure some kind of grungey attitude on the great ballad ''Woken By The Silence''. He's also handling the guitars and he's doing a good job, the tone is interesting and just like the music, it's varied enough to keep the listener interested. The songwriting is catchy and got many hooks and there's some embellishment reminding me of gothic metal à la My Dying Bride. The songs are moody and mostly slow and they're quite groovy. There's no useless solos to create transitions, it's based mostly on the vocal approach and that's definitely the strength of the band. While I appreciate the thrashy side of the band, I really prefer their laid back epic doom side and that's the identity I'd like to see developed more. A good example is the epic sections of the eight minutes final track ''Row to the Rhythm 'The drums are pretty dynamic and there's surprisingly a lot of blastbeats to be found here. They're a very apt companion to the good bass licks.

There's a good working man etiquette to this release, the production is honest although nothing special unlike the sound of the band. Sometimes, it's too much though, the intent of mixing many genres and influences is honorable but the line is hard to establish. I think the groove parts are too numerous and are detrimental to the overall quality of the album. Still, if you feel adventurous and you want to hear a different approach to epic doom. It's worth it for the vocals alone.

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