The Hyle – EP (2016) / 87%

Corn doom

Denmark's The Hyle released a pretty good demo 2 years ago and now they're back with a brand new extended play composed of 2 extended tracks for a bit less than 20 minutes of doom metal. It certainly feels longer since I've been pressing the repeat button all day…

Playing a style of traditional doom betting highly on atmospheric moments and downtuned heaviness, the band is right at the border of doom/stoner without entering it. They do dig Electric Wizard a lot and their riffs are pretty distorted but they're way deeper and entrancing than your usual stoner band, they even include some psychedelic moments. It's slow, repetive (but not overly so) and full of subtle textures. Like near the end on the first track, there's those little touches during the calm break before the heavy end.

It's crushing but totally laid back and features a pretty original take on doom reminding me of the Canadian duo Zaum (they're freaking awesome) as they're also including some middle-eastern influences (mostly apparent on track 2 “Samaa”). The use of the sitar midway through the song made this song truly special. The electric guitars are superb and the production is top notch, the leads at the end of the same track are well done, there's many guitar tracks at once and it creates a rich sound environment. The vocals while rare are quite good, not buried under the whole thing at all, they're clean and quite soothing, really.

The two tunes are taking their time to develop, The Hyle doesn't mind two minutes introductions and I don't either when the riffs are that good. These guys are ready to unleash something more substantial, they have found their sound and it's pretty freaking legit. It's loud but classy and smart doom and I'm convinced.

Bandcamp

Magic Circle, Cauchemar & Starlight Ritual @Katacombes in Montréal, January 22nd 2016

For my first gig of 2016, I couldn't ask for a better opportunity to go out in the harsh coldness of Québec's winter. We were served the cream of Montréal's up and coming trad metal scene and the best doom the American east coast has produced in ages.

*All shitty pictures by yours truly*

Poster by Annick Giroux

Starlight Ritual is a newcomer to Québec's metal scene and this was I believe their third gig ever (I saw their first one as part of the Grimposium festival when they opened for California's Cardinal Wyrm) and they were once again impressive. The quarter composed of inexperienced but super impressive guys except for J-F Bertrand widely known for being a member of black metallers Forteresse are bringing metal back to its roots. Fronted by Damian, heavily inspired by Dio is a force to be reckoned with on stage and managed to impress the jam-packed crowd (gigs on Fridays are always awesome) and also the dudes of Magic Circle. Their songs are mostly long numbers with rich and loud guitars, thick bass lines and a bunch of influences ranging from Rainbow to epic doom metal and it's marvelous. Their debut EP was all kind of cool (check my review : HERE) and they're currently working on a new one, the track they played they played from it was superb and I'm excited to hear their new stuff. It's quite a travesty that they're still an independant/unsigned band, they're the real deal, a real metal band for real fans of the genre. They made the stage their bitch and make you feel like you're seeing a band in a really small stadium since their music is so ballsy and timeless.


Starlight Ritual on Facebook

Cauchemar is perhaps my favorite local band, the occult doom quartet is so entertaining and I was surprised that even if I saw them so many times (including their first gig ever when they opened for Vulcain), I've never actually wrote a live review for one of their gigs Well, here it is! It was their first gig with their new drummer Xavier Berthiaume (who's usually playing black metal) and he rocked the drumset like a bald madman. Cauchemar are very freaking tight live, the Gibson of Francois Patry is heavy and never misses a note, this dude's rhythm skills are impressive and Andrés Arango's bass playing is simply technically great. Annick Giroux is always super charismatic on stage and her presence overshadows her lack of range compared to the two other singers showcased tonight. I always liked the spooky fun feel Cauchemar, their French lyrics are intelligent and well written, it's cool to have your favorite style of metal sung in your mother tongue.

They played a strong set composed of many old tracks from their debut EP “La Vierge Noire” like the bloody “Magie rouge” or “Les ailes de la mort” or the sombre “Le voile d'Isis” but also some tracks from their excellent debut full length (review of Tenebrario: HERE) like “Le fantôme” or “L'appel”. The main appeal of their gig for me was the new songs from their upcoming yet untitled full length due for later this year. Songs like “La vallée des rois” or “Sepolta Viva” were great numbers and I'm excited for their new album. Their doom metal is fast paced and keeps things short and precise like Pentagram often do, their riffs are solid and their short leads awesome. It's just groovy, well played traditional metal and it's a joy to see live, I've seen them more than six times and I'm looking forward to their future performances. They're about to leave for a short Mexican tour/trip with Metalian (local heavy metal heroes, they share their bassist with 'em) and Voltax (who played Wings of Metal III this summer), Cauchemar would go well with tacos and cold Dos Equis!

Cauchemar on Facebook

Magic Circle is no less than the best doom metal in America right now. Their debut self titled album was a masterpiece and my discovery of 2013. When they were announced as part of the first Wings of Metal festival already 3 years ago (also at the Katacombes), I was astonished and ecstatic. Their set didn't disappoint and they were even better tonight.

I'm quite grateful that the band actually that the band who doesn't play a lot of gigs picked Montréal, I know Brendan Radigan (vocals) really like the city so this might have something with this. I'm selflessly happy since they're one of my favorite bands right now. Strong from the release of their second album, the excellent Journey Blind released on 20 Buck Spin, Magic Circle absolutely crushed with a tight and superb set encompassing their two full lengths. We were served 5 of the 7 tracks from the new one, they opened with “The Damned Man”, played “Ghosts of the Southern Front”, the title track (my pick for “best moment of the night”) and they finished the set with the speedy “Lightning Cage”. The 3 tracks from the debut were also most welcomed, “Scream Evil”, “Magic Circle” and my personal favorite “Rapture” were all very good. While all playing in many different bands (including death metal like Innumerable Forms or hardcore like Mind Eraser, the musicians are truly compelling and really know their shit concerning traditional heavy/doom metal. They're not trendhoppers!

The quintet from Massachusetts is one of those “complete” bands who does everything right. From the twin guitars of Corry and Ducas trading thundering riffs and juicy leads to the punk fueled drumming of Q (James Bond fan?), it's pure bliss from start to finish. Heavily inspired by the heydays of NWOBHM (huge Witchfinder General and Pagan Altar influences) but also the pure energy of traditional doom of the faster and crunchier kind, Magic Circle is exactly the kind of band I want in my life. Watching Radigan on stage is simply amazing, this dude rips and he's one of the best clean singer around. There's no reasons to waste your time and money to see Black Sabbath when you can see these guys for the price of a beer at one of those big arenas while Ozzy destroys his legacy on stage. If only Radigan and the boys could play some Stone Dagger live, I'd probably die... I've heard that they're working on a full length for this heavy metal project and I can't wait to hear this.

Even if their set was a bit on the short side (I don't mind since this allowed me to see all of it and take the metro to go back home), their set was excellent, the musicianship was top notch and the crowd was really into 'em. Great evening.Magic Circle's official website

Hexenjäger – Black Titan (2016) / 79%

The Baguette Doom Series pt. XV : Chasseur de sorcières

After a decent demo released last year, the French quartet from Saint-Nazaire unleashed their debut full length this week and it's a definite improvement on their previous release. 

The album, divided in two parts, is massive and flows very well. The first three songs are all around six minutes and they're quite groovy numbers. As for the the fourth title track, it's almost twenty minutes and it's more exploratory and slower. It takes like six minutes for the heaviness to start as it has a bass heavy introduction not too dissimilar from Reverend Bizarre's epic track “Anywhere Out of this World”.

Merging traditional doom with stoner metal/rock and some subtle hints of sludge (in the instrumentation), Hexenjäger knows how to combine the crushing bass thematics of stoner with a melodic edge full of bluesy guitar aerobics and dynamic solos. Obvious fans of Cathedral and Kyuss, the sole guitar has this crunchy yet round feel and they deliver many powerful riffs helped by the solid production. The vocals of Charly are also on the forefront and they're totally enjoyable. The Frenchman has a lot of range and evolves mostly in a stoner metal vocal style but still not as rough as Ben Ward (Orange Goblin) and he definitely likes Lee Dorrian (Cathedral) but he's not as weird and out there.

I really like when this style of music doesn't mess around and keeps things relatively brief and contained, four tracks, a bit less than forty minutes is all you need sometimes. The riffs are efficicient, everything is at it rightful place and it's simply a very enjoyable first full length from these guys.

Bandcamp

Black Acid - Flores Para Los Muertos (1994) / 86%

90s Viennese gem

The sole album by these fellows from Vienna really really impressed the hell out of me and I'm grateful to my fellow moderator friend Azmodes for the discovery. Heavy metal was basically relegated to the abyss during the mid 90s (the grand era of extreme and nu-metal) but this is really hard to pinpoint or place into a rigid genre so I'll try to describe them correctly.

The first impressive aspect of Black Acid is the voice of Claudia Jusits. Her approach is varied but always charismatic, from lovely AOR inspired vox (“Burning With A Hard Flame”) and a wide variety of other types including some harsher moments (“Law of Residence”, “Snake Bite Lady”). She's highly theatrical without being unnecessarily operatic (a common and regrettable thing in nowadays female fronted metal). Nevertheless, I do prefer when she's using her clean vocals without any frills though, some of the experimentation was somewhat unnecessary and almost grating.

This totally fits the excellent versatile record, calling them “heavy metal” is certainly a stretch since there's so many stuff thrown in there. From progressive metal (these guitar leads are atmospherically complex and super interesting) to a sort of primal thrashy metal (using the aforementioned harsh vocals) to a sort of avant garde tinged epic metal. It almost sounds like Accept trying to be Seventh Son of a Seventh Son era Maiden with hints of Fates Warning, Faith No More and early 90s groove, thrash & death metal. The contemporary American band Christian Mistress definitely evolves (relatively) in the same niche as their sound is pretty unorthodox and their influences not automatically discernable

It would be a missed opportunity not to mention the classic female fronted Belgian band Acid in this review as they share some similar aesthetics but the Austrian is a darker and weirder version. It's there in the musicianship too from the strangely epic “The Dragonslayer” and its acoustic guitar breaks to some of the strange combinations of genres mentioned earlier. If you're feeling adventurous and want some sort of strange milk in your heavy metal coffee, Black Acid is a good bet. It hasn't aged that wonderfully but it's still quite rewarding in its own way.

Xothogua – you wont reach shore (2013) / 75%

Canadian doom tape triptych part 3 : Montréal, QC

Xothogua were a pretty secretive Montréal band who broke up last year. I had the chance to see them two or three times including a very cool evening with Ensorcelor and Show of Bedlam (they shared the bassist at the time) where I got a tape of this recording. Their sound is quite original and I was sad to hear that the band ended before exploring it in more details.

The half hour release is divided between two fifteen minutes movements, both encompassing their multifaceted style mixing stoner metal, sludge, doom metal, crust, hardcore and post rock (???). It's highly atmospheric and features a wide variety of vocal styles. The ones of Devo, a woman, are full of spite and venom when she screams and she's also using clean vox (especially on “Washer at the Ford”) but there's also some male vocals here and there to emphasise certain moments. The calm, atmospheric parts are well done and quite introspective, it's a good representation of how their live performances were. It's loud, massive and doesn't mess around. It has the right amount of heavier parts intertwined with calm but still oppressing bits.

The production isn't quite good but it's nuanced and airy enough to fit their songs and give them a live feeling. It would had been cool to hear something done with a bit more cash thrown into it but it didn't seem like their thing anyway. Their sole full length is amateurish but that's not always a bad thing, it's interesting and has this crossover appeal between metal and hardcore. It's free (or pay what you can) on Bandcamp so support a dead band!

Xothogua on Bandcamp

The artwork is also pretty glorious!

Strange Broue – Strange Broue (2015) / 84%

Canadian doom tape triptych part 2 : Québec City, QC

This self titled compilation (released on my birthday last year!) contains most of what the one man band released in about two years since the creation of the project in 2014 and it's pretty impressive. The tape (with its sides titled “yes” and “no”) features ten songs and a bit less than an hour of music. It's also genre that's been lacking in the Québec metal scene for a while: thunderous doom/stoner. Sure, we have Dopethrone but they're more sludge than anything else so it feels good to have something like this.

Even if it's different tracks coming from distinct extended plays and singles, the production is pretty even and quite apt. It's a good mix of self produced lo-fi garage and total professionalism, the bass is thick and its loud presence is justifiable and enjoyable, the guitars are also really damn solid. This kind of production really shows how good modern technology is as this was recorded in a home studio and sounds really damn good. The sound is thick but still nuanced enough to appreciate the music. Nonetheless, the quality of the riffs are the main appeal of doom for me and it's truly there. The heavy guitars are making the Saint-Lawrence river agitated and it's waking up the corpses laying in the earth beneath the Plains of Abraham. The riffs are precise but still possess this jam-like ability and this skill is combined to fun bluesy soloing akin to trad underrated doomsters Blood Farmers and Ogre.

Even if the project is still relatively young, the direction and identity of the band is clear enough and he knows where he's going. There's even a lot of variety, ranging from acoustic tracks recalling the mellow identity of Black Sabbath (the wonderful “The Captor” and “The Beast”), some spacey psychedelic moments, a good mix of faster pummeling moments and some slower introspection.

I also really liked the sporadic use of samples (from the famous Rob Ford line “Yes, I have smoked crack cocaine” to lines fro Dawn of the Dead, it adds something cool to the fold and works well with the fun & spooky aura the band is showing. Despite the amusing kool aid references, the music remains serious and thoroughly well written. The only negative thing I thought of are the vocals, I'm not a big fan of the Jus Oborn school and akin to Electric Wizard, the voice in Strange Broue is buried underneath layers of doom. I personally prefer different approaches but this fits the music like a glove so it's not a big deal. Doom works well within these DIY confines, the vision is clear and everything (from the artwork to the production and the music) is made by one super talented individual. If you're into doom/stoner and haven't heard this yet, it's time to check it out.

Strange Broue on Bandcamp

Sea Witch - The Blackened Sea (2015) / 76%

Canadian doom tape triptych part 1 : Dartmouth, NS

I haven't heard the first two demos of this Nova Scotian duo but from I understand, they were sludgier or more rooted in black metal than this debut full length. Totally instrumental, this six songs tape (or digital) record bears its name extremely well, you'll drown in their deep shadowy currents (as shown by the classic Doré painting chosen to illustrate their music) and wake up as a corpse on a cold dark beach.

It's a pretty lo-fi affair but there's the maximum quantity of emotions that a two piece can produce, it's moving, deep and really feels like an oceanic voyage on the Atlantic ocean. There's a lot of atmospheric tremolo guitar moments mixed with a vivid sludgey funeral doom sound recalling the early days of Germany's slow titan, Ahab. There's also some stoner moments demonstrated by a huge guitar tone like in “Tempest”. Their songs, like falling inside the Mariana trench, are quite long (especially side A with two fourteen minutes tracks) and the album doesn't feel like it's too long even if it does get a bit redundant. It also gets old after three or four spins, I was very impressed when I first heard it though but it's just not totally memorable yet. There's something that it's still lacking, perhaps it's the lack of vocals, perhaps it's something else that I have yet to identify. I really liked everything but I know they could deliver something even more epic.

Nevertheless, this is a strong debut album with a well developed and established “nautical doom” approach (as the band mentioned on their Facebook page) and it's highly recommended for fans of introspective doom with many twists and waves. I need to check out their latest split with American black metallers Ecferus now to see how they're progressing but I need some towels and a bowl of hot soup before.

Sea Witch on Bandcamp