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This Week in Metal (01.27.23)

1/27/2023

We've almost made it through January, doomsters, and that's fantastic for a couple of reasons. First off, there's no real upside to January, right? It's cold, it's dark, the godforsaken NFL is still hanging around. More importantly, though, the end of January means the metal release calendar is finally heating up after a couple of down months. This week we have three new records that I'm recommending. First up we have The Fires of Heaven, the debut full-length from Boston's blackened speed metallers Malleus. This is January metal right here - unrelenting, frigid and punishing. Check out the mid-paced thrash stomp on the title track...chef's kiss. "Into the Flesh" is so catchy that it's almost a singalong and then they drop the tempo for the penultimate track, setting up the eerie nine and half minute closer that delves back into the maelstrom, wrapping things up beautifully. Fans of Bewitcher and Midnight and that old 80's speed vibe can't miss this one.

Next up we slow things way down and head out to sea with Sorrowful Land. Beautiful, brutal and haunting, the latest release from the Ukranian one-man project, Faded Anchors of the Past, is absolutely stunning. From the very first note I got Solitude Productions vibes and guess what? This band used to be on the venerable Russian doom label that somehow churned out masterpiece after masterpiece in this very vein. (Note: This release is on Black Lion Records.) I'm a sucker for crushing doom with epic, emotional solos so I was hooked right away. The vocals shift from death growls to serene cleans (featuring a handful of guest vocalists) and it works on all fronts. This clocks in at just over an hour so be prepared for a deep dive (look...keeping the nautical theme going), but there's enough variety and shifts here that it never really drags or bogs down under its infinite weight. In fact, the layers just keep revealing themselves. Stick with this one; it's that brilliant.

Last but certainly not least, we head over to Greece for the second album from the doom trio Seer of the Void, entitled Mantra Monolith. This more of your meat and potatoes Doom Metal right here, which isn't a bad thing. You could probably generate an AI review for this one - fuzzed out Sabbathian tones, pounding drums, hamfisted riffs, etc. Again, none of that is bad. This is a really good record, almost like a more streamlined Electric Wizard. If you're into Doom, you're going to enjoy this one, simple as that.

That's it for this week. There wasn't any huge news to cover and I don't think I needed to catch up on any releases I may have missed. We'll see you back here in February and let's hope that goddamn groundhog gives us some warm news next week.

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This Week of Doom in Metal (01.20.23)

1/20/2023

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We're moving right along; another week down in 2023. We didn't have that one big release that everyone's talking about this week a la Obituary, but it wasn't a bad week for January. I haven't had a chance to listen to the new albums from Katatonia or Faithxtractor yet, but I'll rectify that today and I don't plan on being disappointed. I did really enjoy The Lord Knows, the latest release from Swedish heavy stoner rockers Tidal Wave. It's the kind of meat and potatoes riff rock that we've come to expect from Ripple Music and while it doesn't hit quite as hard in the middle of a cold, gray winter, I'll be bookmarking this one for warmer days ahead when I'm cruising down the highway with the windows down in my Trans-Am, I mean minivan. I also dug the Cosmic Reaper side of the split Doom Sessions Volume VII on Heavy Psych Sounds.

So what did we miss last week? I think I'm covered there. I had a couple more releases trickle onto my radar, but nothing that made me take notice. There were a few big tour announcements this week. Mastodon is heading out with Gojira. That's a pretty huge tour right there and it's coming to Cincinnati, which is notable due to the fact that metal bands forgot the city existed for like 20 years. I can't say I'll be checking that one out. I could never get into Mastodon despite repeated tries. What am I missing? I did see them live once. Did they open for Slayer or am I imagining that? I think that's the one where I went last minute after work and caught a Slayer/Mastodon/Bodom show in business casual. The Black Dahlia Murder is going out with Terror and Frozen Soul. And then there's Elder hitting the road with Ruby the Hatchet. That one's not coming to Cincy, but I do need to see Ruby again, and not just because I already outgrew my t-shirt from the last time. So good stuff there. Catch them all if you can.

Let's see...what else? Metallica released another underwhelming single from their forthcoming album. I just don't understand how you guys do the 21st century James Hetfield voice. It's nails on the chalkboard for me. If it was just some rando Joe Schmo Rock n' Roll Band and didn't say "Metallica" on the front of that record, that shit would be openly mocked, right? Didn't even make it past the first verse. I give one-man black metal projects more time. Just turrible.

I want to start a new feature here where I highlight an older album that revisit each week. This week we're listening to Sheavy - The Electric Sleep. Released in 1998 on Rise Above Records, this is the only Sheavy record I own and I think the only one I ever listened to. I probably hadn't listened to this in nearly 20 years before I popped it on this week and I instantly remebered nearly every riff and lyric. Either I listened to this way more than I remembered or it's just that catchy. Either way, it's kind of strange that I never pursued them further. That probably has a lot to do with the availability of stoner and doom in the pre-streaming age. I have no idea where I even picked this one up; maybe mail order or something. Anyway, it's fantastic Sabbath worship from back when that wasn't so ubiquitous. I always loved the dreamy ballad "Savannah" and it's still a banger. Do you have a favorite Sheavy album or track? Every caught them live?

Okay, looking ahead to next week we have some promising stuff coming out from Malleus, the blackened death unit out of Boston. I also like what I've heard so far out of Seer of the Void and Sorrowful Land so we'll probably talking about those in more detail next week. Until then, have a great weekend and remember to keep doomin'.

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The Blog of Doom is BACK!

1/13/2023

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Wow. It has been a while, huh? Almost 5 years, I guess. So what happened to your favorite blog? Let's just say I got kind of busy. I really don't have an excuse for 2018, but in 2019 I spent most of the year on the road for work before Cult of Sorrow released our record Invocation of the Lucifer (look at that - a shameless plug three years after release!) on Black Doomba Records in September and did a little regional touring. Hot off the heels of that release, we ended up opening for Doom Metal legends The Obsessed right before COVID hit and shut everything down, so that was awesome. Also right before COVID, my wife and I welcomed our first child and then I took a transfer to a role that had me working 60-70 hour weeks for the remainder of the year, so doom blogging wasn't really in the cards. Having spent the past 8 years driving 8 hours back and forth to Canada or flying all over the country, I had plenty of time to check out and absorb new releases, but the move to a demanding desk job for the next two years cut that time almost completely out. Then at the tail end of 2021 we had triplets, so that effectively put an end to all of my free time for the next 20 years. So that brings us to today. Why now? I don't really know. It's not a New Years resolution or anything. I'm just feeling recharged and excited about Heavy Metal again. I'm holed up in a basement office most of the day with ample time to listen to music and I have 15 minutes a week to publish something for the first time in 5 years. Cool? Cool.

So enough about me, let's get into the music. January is typically a slower month for releases and 2023 is no exception. Where I used to track up to 200 new releases per month, I'm looking at 25 this month. Easing back in at opportune time, right? Nothing really caught my ear last week, but this week we have the return of the legendary Obituary, as the Florida stalwarts release their 11th album and first in 6 years. To say that Dying of Everything is already a contender for many 2023 year-end lists isn't hyperbole, but it'll be interesting to see how such an early release impacts that end. I'm not incredibly familiar with Obituary's back catalog so I can't say exactly where this one ranks, but I can say that it's the only thing I've listened to for a week and it just gets better every time. The razor-sharp riffs fluctuate from 16th note blitzkrieg to mid-paced stomp with groove to spare. I really like the vocals coming through with clarity and force at the same time. Then you have the dive bomb solos and plenty of high hat and it's pretty much everything I need in a Death Metal album. So there it is, your Album of the Week. I'm sure those guys will be thrilled.

So where do we go from here? I can't say for sure. I'd like to get back to weekly recommendations. I'd also like to add a feature for upcoming records to keep an eye on. (In that vein, if you like Stoner Metal, keep an eye on Tidal Wave - The Lord Knows coming out next week on Ripple.) I do kind of like this freeform stream of consciousness format, too, so maybe I'll keep that going. The only thing I know for sure is that I'm back and I want to keep doing this as long as I have time. Thanks for reading and we'll talk soon!

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This Week in Metal (01.27.23)

This Week of Doom in Metal (01.20.23)

The Blog of Doom is BACK!

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