No one wants to do anything on a Monday. No one. People who tell you they’re super ambitious on a Monday are liars. Period. They’re lying to you to seem all motivated and all that garbage when, in reality, they’re dying inside just like you are.

That in mind, we won’t try to force you to tackle an entire full-length release today. But we will take you on a trip through a gnarly new 7” split effort offered by Broken Limbs that pits Leather Chalice and Human Bodies like two angry vipers trying to get at one another and do as much damage as possible. This four-track effort is heavy, nasty, and should make you get in touch with all the disgust lining the bottom of your entrails that makes you want to lie down and give up. And look, the thing is not even 10 minutes long, so it’s not like you can’t find time during your busy, annoying day to bathe in filth and get some perspective for your life. So quit being a baby and just listen to this.

Human Bodies

We’ll start off with Human Bodies portion of this display. This band hailing from Boston only has been together for a couple of years now, but they’ve already brought a lot to the table as far as recorded material goes. Human Bodies already have three demo recordings, a full-length, and a compilation out there, and the two tracks we get here continues their black, infernal intensity that’s slowly making its way across the world. The band currently consists of guitarist/vocalist Terzakis, guitarist/vocalist Gabe, bassist Jason, and drummer Dan, and they’re just at the beginning of their reign of terror, one that could result in them being one of the deadliest bands in underground metal.

Human Bodies’ section (recorded during the sessions for their full-length “No Life”) kicks off with “Only the Sigh,” as noise torment rips across everything and the track tears open with intensity. There is a chaotic haze that is nicely washed out, maniacal vocals, and thunderous power that walks a border between punk and black metal. A fiery bit of soloing emerges and leaves streaks of blood, and it spills right into “Malice Prepense.” “Carve the arms of the ones who cause mistrust,” is howled, as the pace blisters, the shrieks are harsh and callous, and the band hits a nice thrash pocket that will leave you devastated. The riffs are mighty here, their personality is gruff, and they allow their noise assault to fade out into the night. It’s but two songs and just a few minutes, but Human Bodies have struck a chord and should keep piling up kills from here.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/humanbodies

Leather Chalice (photo by returntothepit.com)

Leather Chalice also are here to challenge you, grate you, rub your face in whatever it is you call metal, and do it all with an attitude that borders on reckless. The New Hampshire-based one-man black metal project, helmed by Jann, has been around just a year longer than Human Bodies and have a mess of recordings out there. There are two demos, an EP, their full-length “Sweet Perfume of Coffin Air,” and a slew of split releases with bands such as Caught and Sumpt. This music is frightfully noisy and smothering, with a bunch of influences of metal’s past woven into the wasp swarm of noise. Their tracks here are part of a “Coming Home” duo and they are perverse, disturbing, and violent songs that could shake the uninhibited, or just the unadventurous, to their core.

We kick off with “Good Intentions” that has wild shrieks, thick riffs, and a damaged sense of NWOBHM power looming behind the thick smoke. The guitar tones are weird and otherworldly, making you feel like you’re the one whose head should be questioned, and the words that swirl in a rage should make you feel anything but comfortable. “Last Gifts of Worship” follows, a tale of torture, sex, and blood, a disturbing combination that make some shiver at its filthy recollections. Yet this music is meant to be ugly, and it is every step of the way, from the crazed growls, to the grinding tempo that feels like being hit and ground to bits by a car, to the punk thrash riffs that rise up and, as quickly as they arrived, fade out. Leather Chalice leave very little to the imagination, and considering the road they’re on, they could become one of the most feared, reviled black metal bands out there. Check this split if you know what’s good for you.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/LeatherChalice

To buy the album, go here: http://www.brokenlimbsrecordings.net/#!store/azhdm/collections/new-releases/1

For more on the label, go here: http://www.brokenlimbsrecordings.net/

I have a pretty decent obsession with Jonestown and the events that took place, especially the mass fatalities that occurred at the end of the Jim Jones-led cult’s existence in November 1978. I relish any documentary about the events, and I even have CNN’s recent look at the cult on my DVR. I’ve already watched it several times.

There’s something about the apparent salvation the People’s Temple members thought they were achieving and what actually went down. A raving, drug-addled lunatic had lured them away from friend and family to ultimately meet their fate. And when Congressman Leo Ryan and an NBC news crew touched down in November of that fateful year (ultimately they would be gunned down on an air strip by cult members), many disillusioned members thought they finally found real hope. Very few were right. It’s these themes of death, suicide, regret, and fearing a vengeful god that fuels the songs on Dalla Nebbia’s new album “Felix Culpa.” The record isn’t about Jonestown mind you, but there is a song on there that very much digs into that situation that really stood out for me as the center piece. Around that are tracks that, while not a concept piece, still touch on the darkness and despair living inside of us and the extinguishing of our earthly flames.

Dalla Nebbia formed in South Carolina, one of the more unlikely beds for progressive black metal. Over the past five years, they’ve crafted their sound, releasing a demo and EP before the arrival of their debut full-length “The Cusp of the Void” in 2013. The band—guitarist/vocalist/programmer Yixja (also of Mesmur), vocalist Zduhac, bassist Tiphareth, and drummer Alkurion (Funeral Age, Mesmur) bring a rustic, rushing sense to their music. It’s heavy and adventurous, sometimes coming closer to death than black, but they also balance that with musical delicacy, cosmic sparks, and smooth clean singing that often reminds of American folk music.

“Momento Mori” begins the record as a murky, foggy intro cut complete with flutes, glock, and a woodsy ambiance that flows into “Until the Rain Subsides,” the first giant on a record full of them. The riffs ignite as the melody flows, and creaky growls send us over the verses. At the chorus, the singing kicks up, creating a chorus section that is memorable and sticky enough to embed itself inside your head. The song has its multiple progressions, as most of the tracks do, and it comes out of the mist to surge to the finish line. “Abandoned Unto Sky” is speedy and crushing at the start, with the drums devastated, the guitars swelling, and the vocals weaving horrors such as finding abandoned body parts scattered about. The track is rupturing and dark, with more strong singing and melodic growls that get inside your blood. “Lament of Aokigahara” references Japan’s Suicide Forest, and the pall cast over the song from the subject matter alone is enough to weigh you down. “Prepare thyself for finality,” is howled, leaving a chill in the air, and amid melodies bubbling and majestic passages that surge is that sense of devastation and dread. As the song reaches a huge crescendo, the line, “The perfect place to die,” lets the gravity hover as the song bleeds away. “The Banner of Defiance” gets off to a raucous start, with blasts leading in but then subsiding. Folky singing emerges, as the tempo calms a bit, but we’re never far from the next burst. Later, any hint of savagery melts into cold guitars and blurry keys, giving off a dream effect. Thick strings from guest Sareeta cut through the murk as layers of darkness pile up and bring a suffocating exit.

“Not Within the Stone” has some razor-sharp leads followed by glimmering melodies, melodic growls, and a wave of singing bursting out of the din. In fact, there’s even some harmonizing, making things seem a little breezy in the forest, and that leads into tumultuous, emotional guitars, lurching growling, and a sense of deep sorrow permeating all. The title cut lets loose growls early, with sounds blurring, the drums being thrashed, and later some woodsy vocal melodies slipping in to add texture. There is thick, rich atmosphere, almost like a late spring day, and the back end sizzles and leads into “Das Gelachter Gottes,” a quick instrumental built on strange percussion, spacey sounds, and overall weirdness, an ideal segue into the ugliest chapter on the record, “Paradise in Flames.” Strings emerge, as does the scratchy recording of Jim Jones and he’s about to convince his followers to drink his poisonous concoction and fade into death. The pace plods along, with psychedelic echoes ringing out, and the keys creating a lush bed. But the volume and intensity rise all the while, as the volatility of the situation becomes clear. One final cold wave of music, accompanied by Jones’ madman ranting, and the track suddenly is engulfed in flames. A damn-near euphoric melody sweeps in, as the growls emerge, noting, “The poison is sweet,” while the sheer terror of one of the most infamous events in history fades out with its perpetrator uttering along with it. Closer “The Silent Transition” is a quiet, mournful ending, as if it’s soundtracking the passage of one’s essence from one plane to the next, and while beauty and peace finally emerge, it’s impossible to shake what you’ve just heard.

These are heavy thoughts and heavy themes on “Felix Culpa,” and Dalla Nebbia deliver these sentiments with the proper amount of respect to the subject matters and unleashing of their spirits. This is a record that sounded thunderous on first listen, but as I worked my way through the album again and again, more of the overall atmospheres and philosophies became apparent. It’s both an immediate record and a grower, and it’s one that I’ll keep sojourning through as my own existence shapes and shifts its meanings, traveling through both dark and light.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/dallanebbiamusic

To buy the album, go here: http://razedsoul.ipower.com/rzd/095.htm

Or here: https://dallanebbia.bandcamp.com/

For more on the label, go here: http://razedsoul.com/

Not all music is meant to be embraced from the first moment the music reveals itself. There are records that must be earned, bands that keep you at arm’s length, and sometimes it takes a stretch of patience and understanding for someone’s art to really sink in and make its point. Often times, those are the albums that end up sticking with me the longest.

That happened recently on a drive home from work as all I wanted to do was get home and bury myself inside. With my mind icing over, I needed something to jar me, and I turned to “Au de La,” the second record from Montreal trio Big | Brave that I had visited with a few times before that. I found the five-track offering interesting and different, but it hadn’t really sunk its teeth into me yet. But on that commute homeward, something happened and everything made sense. The thick drone carried me, the jarring crashing of their dual guitars and one devastated drum kit felt like lightning bolts going through me, and the swirling, stabbing vocals stood out and proclaimed what I was hearing as something that would not be equaled by anyone else that year. By that I mean there’s not another band that possibly could replicate what Big | Brave achieve on this record.

There is a tenacity and intensity to Big | Brave’s music, yet they can pull back and hypnotize you with quiet passages where it seems serenity will win. But it never does. Changes burst like lava, and the band seems to take a loose, improvised path through much of what’s going on here. Robin Wattie’s voice grabs you and forces you to listen, chanting mercilessly, wailing at the top of her lungs, and often feeling like she is going off the hinges as she expresses every dark fiber inside of her. Mathieu Bernard Ball’s agitated guitars and Louis-Alexandre Beauregard’s sometimes exploratory, often primal drumming adds to the power of this trio and make them a band from which you can’t turn your eyes and ears. As the music builds, so will the intensity in your soul, and first visits to this record could fill you with nervous energy as your try to anticipate each of their curves.

“On the By and By and Thereon” opens with guitars wailing repetitively, with feedback squalling, Wattie’s singing stuttered, and the machine creating a loop of fury. The power subsides a bit, slithering in the undertow, before the vocals return as a yelp, the cymbals are bashed, and the sounds lead to a finish that slowly subsides. “Look at How the World Has Made a Change” goes 11:52, and it squeezes every ounce out of that time with the first few minutes feeling spacey and floating, as the ambiance builds, and a hint of danger is on the horizon. The noise quivers and aches, while sounds pulsate beneath, the drums are struck, and what sounds like horns start to blare. The singing picks up its fire, as the band comes alive, blasting away, thrashing your senses, and timing their blasts with precision that makes the song feel even heavier than it is. “do.no.harm.do.no.wrong.Do.No.Harm.Do.Know.Wrong” has feedback howling, the smudging feeling prehistorically massive, and even some bluesy heat ripping out of the guitar work. Things get a little faster here, with Wattie’s vocals scraping and scathing, twisting into shrieks and shouts, and the final moments blazing shockingly.

“And as the Waters Go” is the unquestioned main event and the perfect portrait of how well this band builds strength and anticipation. The guitars start to stab as Wattie’s vocals cut through and rise above the murk. Her singing sprawls, lathered with rage sometimes, seeking release in other moments, and all the while, the bed of sound is gathering at her feet. This is where the band feels the least structured in the best way, and it’s like they built layer upon layer of heavy fog and smashing violence, doing whatever their commanding desires compelled them to do and creating a raging inferno all the while. The final moments let the haze set in, as the band slowly crashes on their instruments, never letting you know when they’ll relent and making you hope they never do. Closer “(re)Collection Pt II” is the longest cut at 13:18, and it allows humidity to collect. Slow drum strikes begin to push, as the singing joins in and the pace plods along. There are powerful strikes, of course, but also sounds that whir and a mix of voices lashing out. All elements mash together and create thick cloud coverage, with percussion rambling, calm sliding in, and guitars making your hair wilt. The track works well as a comedown, a cooling spot, where the bruises you suffered earlier are dressed, and you’re allowed to disappear into night along with the band’s music.

Big | Brave’s cacophonous noise and cathartic shedding of energy feels amazing to hear play out on record, and I can only imagine what this feels like in a live setting. “Au de La” is a really boisterous record by a pretty special band that’s finally getting a bigger stage to show their stuff. Expect a journey unlike any one you’ve ever taken before, and if at first the music doesn’t swell you, give it time to get into your blood and change your frame of mind.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.bigbrave.ca/

To buy the album, go here: http://www.southernlord.com/store

For more on the label, go here: http://www.southernlord.com/

If you’re a regular reader (and if you are, thanks!), you’ve probably noticed we’re gorging ourselves on doom the past few weeks. This is the best time of the year for the stuff, as the air gets colder, the summer dies, and spookiness is injected into everything. It’s just a perfect setting for doom metal, and that streak continues again today.

If there’s one major shot point most people probably made about UK doom beasts Witchsorrow, it’s that their sound draws pretty close to Electric Wizard worship. It’s not an inaccurate assessment, but that hardly disqualifies Witchsorrow from getting the proper adulation they deserve. Truth is, while they do pound and haunt in much the same manner as the aforementioned legends, this band stands on its own. Never has that been more apparent than on their fantastic new record “No Light, Only Fire.” In fact, the band clearly tries to step out of that lofty shadow and really crafts a record that shows a lot more of what Witchsorrow are capable of doing. In fact, if the band keeps going down this path, the Electric Wizard rumblings will go away, and more people will start to recognize how damn formidable this group is.

Witchsorrow flip the script a bit on “No Light, Only Fire,” and not just for them but for doom in general. There are some shorter cuts here, a few bursts of speed, and a more aggressive pace that the band hasn’t shown quite like this in the past. It’s a nice new side of the band, though don’t worry, the storming epics are here as well. But the album is better balanced and, as noted, we get to see more of the group’s true personality. The band remains intact from the lineup that created their mammoth second record “God Curse Us,” as Necroskull is on guitars and vocals, Emily Witch is on bass, and Wilbrahammer is on drums. This is a damn fine effort, and at eight tracks, 63 minutes, it is proportioned just right.

The band gets to work on “There Is No Light, There Is Only Fire,” which starts throwing punches right away. The band shows its newfound savagery on this song, as they go for the jugular with their playing, and even Necroskull spits out his words at a faster clip. The chorus is melodic and catchy, as he cries, “Chained to these demons forevermore,” and the band ends the thing with fire. “The Martyr” runs 9:01, and it slows the pace. “Beware the man with the truth in his hand,” Necroskull warns, as the band starts sludging along. The venom just grows from there, with, “I spit at your feet!” howled, as a mass of powerful soloing arrives and takes over. There is plenty of Sabbath influences here as well, from Necroskull’s howl of, “Oh yeah!” to the mystical bludgeoning. Great track. “Made of the Void” is the one cut where the Electric Wizard feel storms back, and I say that positively. The track is murky, echoey, and full of danger as the band accelerates their body count and revels in pure ugliness. “Negative Utopia” tells you all you really need to know with its title, as the band drives the hammer of doom hard and repeatedly. The soloing bathes in psychedelic fury, and as they are “watching the planet die,” they do their damnest to help rivers of lava flow and boil you as slowly and heavily as possible.

“To the Gallows” is another shorter one that crushes pretty hard. The track is charged up, Witch’s bass gallops with a fury, and the singing is a little gruffer than other areas of the record. The soloing smears again, the band slows the doors off the thing, and the howls of, “To the death!” hit like a lightning bolt. “Disaster Reality” spills over 11:25, and it trickles coldly and wickedly at the start. The power finally opens up, as the band hits a muddy, dangerous pace, lurching and slithering while the vocals find hints of melody. The menace woven into this one is apparent, as is the detached emotion of the vocals, sounding like they’re coming from a dying soul who realizes there is no hope in the future. Necroskull notes a force that “holds you down as you die in vain,” as the power flickers and finally fades. “Four Candles” is a quick acoustic-driven instrumental that spills into the finale “De Mysteriis Doom Sabbathas,” a track that first appeared on their limited edition 2013 EP of the same name. If you’ve heard it, you know what to expect. If you haven’t, get ready for a 14:23 drubbing filled with smoke-filled tones, total Iommi worship in the devastating riffs, psychedelic electricity, and a closing shot that proves this band’s power and fearsome dominance.

It’s great to hear Witchsorrow really coming into their own and carving out a notch for themselves in doom’s gigantic fence. They really show a new kind of fire on “No Light, Only Fire” and keep building onto the carnage they’ve amassed the past decade. If this record is a true indication of the band, Witchsorrow are really just getting started, and their future should be full of bloodshed and skullduggery. I welcome that for sure.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/witchsorrowdoom

To buy the album, go here: https://www.manicmusiconline.com/

For more on the label, go here: http://candlelightrecordsusa.com/site/

I’m commonly in a bad mood. Maybe bad isn’t the right way to put it. I’m often in something that borders on complete frustration and total malaise over having to deal with other human beings. What’s a guy to do in that situation? Mope? Complain? Be an annoyance to everyone in which he comes into contact? In short, yes. To all of those.

But I do try not to be a complete pain in the ass all the time, so if I feel my mood needs a bit of a shift, music can be a help. This exact thing happened lately as I was dealing with a work project that got fouled up a bit, and the thing needed turned around pretty damn quickly. I went to my arsenal that is my Haulix account and turned on something that was on my review schedule coming up, and wouldn’t you know it, mood totally turned around. So if I ever get an e-mail giving me a thumbs up for a job well done, I’ll be sure to remind them to thank Twin Lords and their riotous debut record “Devastating Planetary Shift.” Holy shit if that seven-track, 41-minute slab of infectious noise didn’t point me in the right direction, and while it isn’t totally metal through and through, I think a great deal of you reading this space regularly are going to find a lot to like here.

As perhaps hinted in their name, there are two fellows making all the damage here. Dan Alex Rivera is your bassist/vocalist, while Andrew Hernandez handles drums, and together they make enough racket for a whole bunch of people and certainly more instruments. Their riffs are strong, the playing is delirious and spirited, and the gruff vocals remind of Lemmy at his most agitated. In fact, while comparisons are hard to come by with this band, I’d day anyone into bands such as Lightning Bolt, the earlier years of DFA 1979, and, yeah, Motorhead are going to be pretty amped by this display.

The record gets kicked off hard with “Rise,” as weird noises bubble, fuzzy riffs start to spiral, and gurgled cries erupt, making the song both catchy and annoyed at the same time. The band settles into proggy grooves here and there (as they do often on the record), and the final moments are fiery and blurry. “The Guilt of One Man” tears open, with crunch causing bruising and the riffs again served family style, in that there’s enough to make everyone fattened up. The melodies get loopy and strange, the vocals feel unhinged, and we end up in a bath of sludge. “Til Times End” begins in a weird fog, as a bizarre dialog plays, but then we’re off to the races, with the bass buzzing, the growls expanding to shrieks, and plenty of body punches thrown before the whole thing bleeds out. “Arithmaphobia” is a fun instrumental cut, with echoey voices calling out, noise spitting sparks, a muddy path being dug, and the cymbals just being crushed.

“Stoned Cutter” has the bass thumping you, the growls sounding pushy and mean, and the melodies causing a hypnotic effect. There are stretches that are crushingly slow, as you’re whipped by penetrating pounding, and the back end rages to life, with fiery, daring playing, and the bass scorching you, like it’s literally about the set fire to something massive. “The Fear” is a quick one, but it makes its presence known in short order, as the band blasts into a speedy tempo, the shrieks are packed with panic, and Rivera vows, “An eye for an eye for an eye!” Closer “Why Am I” is the longest cut at 6:43, and it takes some time to build itself up. Waves crash down, long echoes set the stage, and the riffs finally arrive, moving at a calculated pace. The vocals go for the kill, sounding raspy and stressed, especially when Rivera notes, “As I wait for nothing to arrive.” The intensity keeps boiling until the final moments, when the sounds bleed out and misery finally comes to an end.

This is a promising new band that already has a stranglehold on how to control noise in their favor. “Devastating Planetary Shift” is a smoking record, and Twin Lords seem content to bash away and make everyone either enthralled with rage or completely uncomfortable. I identified with it right away as it got me going and fueled my productivity. I’m not sure that was Twin Lords’ goal or anything, but damn it if they’re not to credit for one hell of a booming work week.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/TwinLords

To buy the album, go here: https://handshakeinc.bandcamp.com/

Or here: https://twinlords.bandcamp.com/album/devastating-planetary-shift

For more on the label, go here: http://handshakeinc.com/

There are records that you need to hear to fully understand. Anyone can tell you how something sounds. Hell, we do that every day at this site, hoping to give you a glimpse into the music we are hearing. But hearing is believing and understanding, and the band we’re going to talk about today you must absorb in full.

A few months back, scribe friend of mine Chris Dahlberg (check out his rad site Cosmos Gaming) asked me if I heard this album “Unanswered Hymns” by doom crushers Chrch, and to that point, I hadn’t. So I got onto the Internet machine, discovered their Bandcamp site, and have been listening to their three-track debut with alarming regularity after legally downloading the thing. From the first listen, I was completely captivated by what I heard. There’s a lot of doom and atmospheric metal out there, and I like a whole ton of it, but not many bands put these elements together quite like Chrch. As noted in the opening, I’m going to try to give you a capsule view of this record, but you really should tackle it yourself. You won’t be sorry you did, and the music on here will catapult you into other worlds.

Chrch (they recently deleted the “u” from their name) only have been a band for about two years now, and already they have a full-bodied, enthralling style that, while doom at heart, should appeal to metal listeners of many styles. The Sacramento-based band formed in 2013 and have been crafting their honest, haunting sound ever since. The group consisting of otherworldly singer Eva, guitarists Chris and Shann, bassist Ben, and drummer Matt actually released “Unanswered Hymns” several months back, hence why it’s been there for the purchase on their Bandcamp (via digital or cassette), but the music now is being issued on vinyl by Battleground Records. While I haven’t heard it yet in that format, I would think the vinyl experience would be the optimal one for this record. This practically demands you stretch out, devote your mind, and take this amazing trip along with them.

This nearly 45-minute record begins with 19:16 opus “Dawning,” a track that swaggers open with a gritty riff and some dreamy singing that sets a mesmerizing ambiance. It might feel like you’re floating on air before the song hits sludgy terrain, with the vocals turning into ugly, gut-wrenching howls and the band leveling you before a huge gust of air sweeps back into the scene. The track slows down some, letting you have time to get your bearings, and then the sounds stretch and get even more spacious. Psychedelic colors begin to flood, while Eva’s singing echoes like it’s coming from the center of a dream. The guitars start to fire up again, as the volume builds, and with a few minutes remaining, everything bursts again. The band chugs heavily, the fury builds, and the singing transforms into vicious screams that smear you with terrifying visions. Amazing track.

“Stargazer” has a cold, frosty start before the sparks fly and Eva’s shrieks crush you. The track is slow-driving and full of anguish, as the music hits an emotional high, and the singing rises and stings your senses. As the track goes along, the elements get heavier and heavier, with doom fires raging, wild cries dashing into the night, and a punishing finish taking you from sky high to a face-first crash into gravel. Closer “Offering” wastes no time getting started, and it’s the most vicious cut on the album. Eva’s singing is powerful and emotional, as she cuts through sounds in some points and lets her words hover in others. The pace begins to smother you, with the band reaching into the depth of horror, the tempo hulking along, and a scary, hellish display taking shape. For as breathtaking and picturesque as Chrch’s music can be, this is where they show their bloody side, letting sounds sizzle, their playing penetrate your soul, and the final few minutes pulsating, simmering, and eventually bleeding out.

Those are a lot of words above, and I’m not sure they properly get the point across about this record. Chrch are one of the brighter stars in doom’s dark sky, and their “Unanswered Hymns” is an excellent debut record that makes their future pretty damn exciting. This is pulverizing, thought-provoking, intelligent, and well executed, and if you get your hands on the record, carve out time in your busy schedule to fully ingest their music into your bloodstream.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/chrchdoomca

To buy the album (vinyl), go here: http://battlegroundrecords.bigcartel.com/

Or here (digital): https://churchdoom.bandcamp.com/releases

Or here (cassette): http://transylvaniantapes.bandcamp.com/album/church-unanswered-hymns

For more on the label, go here: https://battlegroundrecords.bandcamp.com/

Anticipation can be a giant, miserable asshole just waiting to put the dampers on something you’ve really been looking forward to hearing. Yet, it comes with the territory when a band builds a reputation and a fanbase, and despite it ramping up people’s hopes to sometimes unattainable levels, it still means you’re doing something right.

Ever since I learned Windhand would unleash their third album this year, I’ve marked off the days (not literally … I’m not a psycho) until that music would be in my possession and their latest work would be rummaging through my head. Look, sites like mine aren’t always going to be on the top of every publicist’s priority list, but I try to take some chances sometimes. As soon as I got the first press release announced the band’s “Grief’s Infernal Flower” I inquired about a promo, and wouldn’t you know it, about 15 minutes later I was listening to it. That gave me ample time to pore over this thing, a record that either would crush me with disappointment or satisfy my high hopes, and luckily, the latter is what wound up happening. The nine track on this new opus are slow driving, murky, and smoldering, and it arrives at a perfect time when the weather starts getting chillier. I always delve more into doom during this time of the year, and this record could be the album of the autumn.

No doubt Windhand drink deeply from the chalice of Sabbath (you can hear it in the riffs and drubbing pace), and the presence of vocalist Dorthia Cottrell takes this band to a new level. Her smoky delivery and bloody honest tales sound like the perfect companion for a dark night by many candle lights, cobwebs blocking the corner of the window, and you visiting the ghosts in your head. She is one of the modern era’s most captivating, recognizable vocalists, and her singing can entrance and splatter in the same line. Along with her are mighty duel guitarists Asechiah Bogdan and Garrett Morris, bassist Parker Chandler, and drummer Ryan Wolfe, and they’ve created a new record that should elevate them even higher among doom’s elite and hopefully put them in front of larger audiences.

The record’s opening track “Two Urns” starts with crackling fire and riffs opening up. Once the track really gets moving, Cottrell’s singing drives the way, ripping into a soulful chorus where she pleads, “Go on and do something good for me now.” The lead guitars charge up and bring oppressive heat, while the track rounds back to the chorus, and the song slowly trudges to an end. “Forest Clouds” has sounds sizzling and guitars digging into the dirt, with Cottrell ominously weaving, “I made your bed, I pulled the covers down, I tucked you in, I put you in the ground.” There soloing really catches fire and rages forward, the smoke builds, and the track rivets right to its end. “Crypt Key” has a misleading start, as acoustics are strummed, but then the song bursts open, with a really strong chorus that’ll stick in your head, and sticky riffs that bring you along for every wave of the ride. “Tanngrisnir” is another that easily sticks with you, with fuzzed-out riffs creating cloud cover, a catchy, noisy tempo, and a simple refrain Cottrell hammers home with her delivery. The song gets into muddy territory later, with the soloing ripping out and torching you all over again.

“Sparrow” is a bruised, beaten, death-love song, an acoustic-driven cut that lets Cottrell have the spotlight, as she calls, “I love a man whose love is violent,” and it unravels from there emotionally. Her voice is naked and vulnerable, as she admits, “Our love is running out of breath.” “Hyperion” tears out of that with guitars chewing the ground and a major Sabbath-style assault. The vocal melodies are infectious, and the guitar work fills your lungs with dust. “Hesperus” is the longest track on the album at 14:27, and it has a slow, bluesy edge, with Cottrell’s words naming the album’s title. The track mauls in a calculated manner, making the most of its run time, and Cottrell sings through the fog, later warning, “I am the love that only devours.” The track takes a trippy turn, with the final few minutes filled with spirited, channeled playing. “Kingfish” runs 14:19, and it’s the one area that feels a little flat at first. The riffs seem a little like ones we’ve visited before, though the vocals inject life into the first half. But at about the halfway point, things change, and song fully develops. It erupts into a psychedelic haze, shifting into strange echoes, spacey weirdness, and the feeling like you’re floating off into the clouds, with the band supplying you with a bizarre flying machine to get there. Nice comeback. Closer “Aition” is a dark lullaby, once again featuring Cottrell and an acoustic guitar, as she puts the final, creaky sentiments on this record, tucking you in and burying you underground.

Windhand faced some lofty expectations with “Grief’s Infernal Flower,” and they do a damn good job meeting, and in some cases exceeding, them on these nine songs. The band sounds confident and full of power, and the songs should come off even heftier and burlier live. The leaves will be dead soon, crunched beneath our feet, and the air will grow chilly, meaning it will be a perfect time to have Windhand in your ears.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/WindhandVA

To buy the album, go here: http://www.relapse.com/store.html

For more on the label, go here: http://www.relapse.com

Photo from Troest.nu

Being in the throes of personal darkness can feel like a million pounds are sitting on your chest. Seeing a bright light off in the distance is practically impossible, and nothing but anguish feels real. There is no way to escape the darkness and no hope of ever climbing into positivity again.

Taking on “Aeons in Tectonic Interment” can feel much like that, and Tyranny have created a body of work that feels like total mental torture. The Finnish funeral doom band is as heavy as they come, a challenging, torturous duo that haven’t been terribly prolific but have made their efforts count. We last heard from them a decade ago with their debut record “Tides of Awakening,” and since then, they disappeared into the darkness, save for their live appearances. In that time, the funeral doom segment of the wormy underground has expanded significantly, yet Tyranny remain a class act among all of these bands, which you can witness on these five wrenching songs and 51 minutes of hell.

Tyranny is a musical union of former members of Wormphlegm in Matti Mäkelä (also of Corpsessed, Profetus) on guitars, vocals, and samples, and Lauri Lindqvist, who handles vocals, bass, and keyboards. These guys have a stranglehold on the most vicious, unforgiving sounds there are. Their music will make any mood teetering on the border of madness to go fully over the edge, and anyone with a dark, hopeless frame of mind likely will find a kindred spirit that feels the same type of morbidity. The band’s music sludges along at a snail’s pace, dragging a trail of blood and entrails behind them and bringing you face first into the filth. At the same time, there is a deranged quality to their work, a feeling like the creators are trying to get in touch with the worst elements inside of them.

“Sunless Deluge” opens the proceedings, a 10:42 mauler that begins with creaking noises and the feeling that ancient spirits have entered the room. The growls roll out sounding full of pain, with the guitars burning, the pace slithering, and the background feeling gothically splashed. Some of the atmosphere here feels nautical, like your bowels are being sloshed back and forth, and toward the end, the intensity builds, sounds pulsate, and the path comes to an abrupt end. “A Voice Given Unto Ruin” rumbles for 12:29, the longest cut on the record and one that opens right into a doomy sprawl. The dynamics burst a little more here, with weird, spacey chants swirling and bizarre ambiance clouding your vision. The drums are tapped ploddingly, calming the pace, but then the track tears open, with massive gurgling growls firing up and the band playing as aggressively as they do anywhere on this record, ending the track in a thick cloud of smoke.

“Preparation of a Vessel” is the shortest track at 7:36, with a massive opening that gets your blood flowing. The track feels downright monstrous, with morose melodies spilling in like waves, elegant guitars cascading, and the growls pummeling your insides. The music feels like a black drape being dragged over everything, with the back end crushing and finally subsiding. “The Stygian Enclave” goes 9:40 and drives ever so slowly, with synth strains blazing down and the gruesome growls taking you into murky, torturous territory. The music strangely glimmers at times, a beacon in the darkest tunnel in the world, and then the keys turn cold. From there, the bass recoils, the guitars churn, and the frosty ambiance takes you out. Closer “Bells of Black Basilica” starts with a storm of noise, static crackling, and a weird scraping that leads into ferocious destruction. The melodies once again turn mournful, while the growls hammer home a world of pain, the smothering sound is filled with psychological stress, and the final gasps are made of inescapable trauma, giving some final gashes before you’re deposited onto the opposite end of their hell.

Tyranny’s return is much welcomed, and their massive new record “Aeons in Tectonic Interment” feel like the world caving in around you. It’s slow, brutal, and punishing, a feral dose of funeral doom that reminds the world just how much misery one possibly could pack into a record. Hopefully it won’t be another decade before we get new stuff from Tyranny, but if we have to wait that long, there is enough to examine and digest on “Aeons” to keep all of us plenty busy.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/tyrannyfuneraldoom

To buy the album, go here: http://www.darkdescentrecords.com/store/

For more on the label, go here: http://www.darkdescentrecords.com/

Photo by Juha Karvonen

There are bands that could just show up—be it in a live setting or in a studio—and their followers would be happy with no matter what resulted. Admittedly, I am that way with Iron Maiden, though I think my excitement over their latest album and subsequent plans to tour are based just as much on quality as on my deep devotion to them.

One band like that is Skepticism, the pioneering funeral doom band that made an all-time classic in 1995’s “Stormcrowfleet” (if you’ve never heard that record, stop reading this and return once you have) and is one of the most revered in all of doom. Their appearance at this past spring’s Maryland Deathfest was one of the unquestioned main events and the reason many people (including me) traveled to the event in the first place. The fact that they played in blinding sun in late afternoon made no difference. Seeing them and experiencing them was what mattered the most. And that live experience with the band was a total life achievement unlocked. Ever since their aforementioned legendary debut and through their three records that would follow, the band developed a sterling reputation for good reason. They are the gold standard among funeral doom, and any new record or live performance is something to behold just because it isn’t something that happens every day.

Not long after MDF, word came that a new Skepticism album was on the horizon, and that document soon will be in all of our hands in the form of “Ordeal.” But there’s a bit of a catch, and a good one. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill studio excursion. The band actually recorded the new material in front of a live audience Jan. 24 in Turku, Finland, so you have a combination fresh album and concert record all in one. It certainly is an interesting idea, figuring they had to nail this thing in one take, and the result is raw, exciting, pulsating, and so very Skepticism. Here, you get six brand new tracks, as well as two older tracks tacked on, for an eight-cut, 77-minute experience. Here we find the band—vocalist Matti Tilaeus, guitarists Jani Kekarainen and live member Timo Sitomaniemi, keyboard player Eero Pöyry, and drummer Lasse Pekonen—in fine form, delivering a very interesting new record that should hit all the necessary buttons for any Skepticism devotee.

The record begins with “You,” a track that takes some time to unfurl, but once it does, its majesty is apparent. Tilaeus’ croaking growls are at a desperate state here, as the guitars unfold to pack his wails with dark power, the keys add levels of morbidity, and the clean trickling makes it feel like a cold rain is drenching you. This 9:21 dirge is thick, ominous, and full of sorrow, with the guitars burning brightly as the song comes to its tragic end. That bleeds right into “Momentary,” and it feeds off the black energy with organs swelling, almost sounding like a morose carnival. From there, the atmosphere grows thick, with the growls sounding tortured and raw, the song going in and out of light and dark, and the keys blowing back steam. The final moments build a crescendo that can only end in tears, letting the intensity slowly bleed out, only to be met by the audience’s adulation. Nice touch, by the way, keeping the applause as part of the sound. “The Departure,” a 9:53 bruiser, comes next, and the organs blare right from the start, with the pace lumbering along and Tilaeus’ growls lacerating. The sentiment here is total loss, with the doom punishment thickening, the growls growing deadlier, and blackness being poured on dump trucks at a time, leaving no one above the surface of their dark waves.

“March Incomplete” is the longest of the new cuts, slithering for 12 minutes on the nose and starting with a sense of hush. There is no hurry here, and why rush an atmosphere anyway? It all pays off as the guitars march slowly and the vocals pierce old wounds, bringing new blood to the surface. Thick cloud cover blows in, with an eerie dialog slipping underneath, and as Tilaeus urges, “Let them die!” the song bursts anew, with scintillating soloing raging, and the band squeezing and churning every bit of this thing. From there, we head toward “The Road,” the shortest of all the cuts at 6:58 and one of the most forceful. The guitars chew their way across the scenery, with organs wailing, the melodies surging, and Tilaeus wondering, “Have I passed the ordeal?” The riffs kick back in, the song hardens, and swirling keys and chocked vocals take us to the finish line. “Closing Music” is the final new track, and it’s given a very fitting title considering what’s contained in this 10:20 cut. The guitars crash down as the drums come to life, and the organs pour a nighttime full of texture. The melodies are thick as fog, setting a scene that feels hopeless and tragic, folding their way almost halfway through the song before Tilaeus howls a single word. The drama is intense and tangible, with the music giving off mysterious bursts and Tilaeus, uncharacteristically, yelling his final lines over top the chaos, finally ending with, “There’s only silence …” which is followed by just that. And then applause. The band adds “Pouring” from “Stormcrowfleet” and “The March and the Stream” from “Lead and Aether” for good measure and to round out this riveting, breathtaking performance.

Credit to Skepticism not only for making six great new songs but also for eschewing conventionality on “Ordeal.” They remain as important and relevant today as ever, and this new collection only hammers that home as forcefully as possible. Yes, just having anything new from Skepticism is a great gift. Having something this good and inspired only makes things that much more enjoyable in the most depressing manner possible.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.skepticism.fi/

To buy the album, go here: http://svartrecords.com/shoppe/

For more on the label, go here: http://svartrecords.com/

As much as I enjoy summer’s descent into fall and the coming winter months, they also fill me with a degree of anxiety. For it also is the coming flu and illness season, and with that will come me over-washing my psoriasis-ridden hands and avoiding places I generally don’t during spring, summer, and early autumn months. I’m a good time over winter. Just ask wife person.

I got to thinking about this for two reasons: First, it’s been the first stretch of days here in my section of the East where temperatures barely are making it to 65 degrees, and the skies are charcoal gray. Second, I’ve been spending a lot of time with “Darkness Evermore,” the second record from Nightfell. See, this new opus, every bit as dark and foreboding as their debut record “The Living Ever Mourn” (funny, but you pair both of their album titles together in a sentence, and they sound like the blackest lyrics of all), focuses on a tale of humanity being ravaged by a plague, and its survivors are forced to seek shelter underground in order to remain alive. Once there, they realize they’re trapped themselves in a sort of underground prison, bringing new levels of hell to their existence. Terrifying, because I’d probably be the first person running for the hatch. Maybe I need to rethink that one.

Nightfell, in case you are unaware, is a pairing of two relentless forces who comes from different ends of the underground spectrum respectively but find common quaking ground here. Todd Burdette is best known from his work in bands such as Tragedy and His Hero Is Gone, and he teams up with Tim Call, who has made his name known in Aldebaran, Sempiturnal Dusk, the Howling Wind, and plenty more, as well as running the awesome Parasitic Records. Here, the two creators meld doom, death, black metal, and cold atmosphere, and each step of “Darkness Evermore” feels like a new, more hopeless chapter in their story, as you can feel the decay and erosion.

The tale begins with “At Last,” which opens with clean guitars, Julia Kent’s dark cello, and the last gasp of light before the song truly opens and the tumult begins. The pace mauls slowly, with Burdette howling over the din and the riffs coming down in dark waves. The song, much like the record, feels like it is building blocks, with the melodies twisting and turning into new beasts, and the story cutting its way through. The final minutes go cold, with guitars trickling, the cello piercing again, and Burdette delivering a morbid dialog. But then the fury re-emerges, coloring the end with fire. “Ritual” is a quick, murky interlude, with strange chants and a chilling ambiance, and then it’s onto “Cleansing,” which starts with a doom-infested charge. There are hints of black metal in the melodies, and the drums beat down on the senses. Burdette’s growls are raw and violent, and the tempo pushes with conviction until it pulls back and lets a foggy atmosphere leak into the room. The serenity doesn’t last long, as cataclysmic melodies swell, the riffs pummel, and the track comes to a mud-caked ending.

“Rebirth” takes its time to establish itself, but once it does, the smothering doesn’t take long to set up and come right after you. The leads guitars churn and burn, the growls sound grim and monstrous, and another coverage of chilled winds blow in you give you a breath before everything boils over again, from the guitars, to the throaty howls, to the drums being decimated. The chaos finally comes to an end in a swampy, tar-thick path, and that rolls into “Eulogy.” This isn’t so much an interlude as it is a shorter plot point along the way, with a deathrock feel to the plodding melodies, the drums echoing, and Kent’s cello giving a haunting feeling. Finale “Collapse” should be clear thematically from its title, and it doesn’t disappoint with tales of bloodshed and panic. The riffs take over right away, as the song dominates every section of your mind, and it also delves into dirtier, grittier passages. Every element is poured on thick, with the guttural growls telling the story’s last act, and the music splattering blood, filth, and glorious terror, with the record closing rather suddenly, like a final death blow has been dealt.

Nightfell are on a pretty impressive roll, with two blistering full-length records in less than two years. “Darkness Evermore” builds on what the band created on “The Living Ever Mourn” and also gives us a terrifying vision of something that truly can come to pass. Pummeling music and a sobering apocalyptic visions make this record demolishingly satisfying and completely anxiety inducing all at the same time.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/nightfellpdx

To buy the album, go here: http://www.20buckspin.com/collections/music

For more on the label, go here: http://www.20buckspin.com