The Wounded Kings - The Shadow Over Atlantis

This is easily one of the most grim Doom Metal releases I've ever had the morbid pleasure of experiencing. Hailing from Dartmoor, The Wounded Kings arrive from the black fog with tales of horror, suicide and occult headspace. Comparisons to Electric Wizard would not be too far off...nor to Witchcraft or early Cathedral. This is some dreary, oppressive stuff here.

Atmospherically, it is like like a witches' sabbat, occultist and ritualistic. You don't know what's coming around the corner, and you don't think you really want to...but you proceed anyway. In your explorations, you'll find sinister melodies and frightfully heavy guitars. The reverb-soaked vocals serve more to haunt the music, and subsequently the listener, like a weary, tortured soul as they swirl in and out of the riffs.

Overall, this is a highly recommended release. With better production, better songwriting and a heavier release, I find this better than the debut. If you like your Doom splattered with Lovecraft-esque spirit, night terrors and mind-bending ambience, you can't go wrong with The Wounded Kings. This one will leave a mark.

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The Wounded Kings - Embrace Of The Narrow House

This is a 100 per cent Euro-metal record with the emphasis being on covering the entire history of English doom from lack Sabbath to Cathedral. The Wounded Kings are an excellent stoner doom band from the UK. Their style is comprised of equal parts oldschool Sabbath and freaked out 60s psych. To this tasty brew of influences, they add epic sludge, eerie clean vocals heavy on the echo effects, and more demons, witches and bad vibes than you can shake a broom at. The band oozes with primordial doom and sinister, 70s occult horror vibes. It has the clanging gothic overtones of Paradise Lost as well as the heavy, heavy monster riffs of Electric Wizard and indulges in some leisurely soloing that would go down well with the readers of Classic Rock. A grimly impressive debut.

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Black Manta - Black Manta

This one here is a HEAVY fucker of a demo: "Demo 2001" CD-R by Black Manta from the Maryland abyss (Pentagram, Unorthodox/Asylum and tons of others should be known from that area!). Totally crushing Heavy Rock / Doom that is so thick and heavy (thanx to the production: recorded in the famous Hit&Run studios), I seldom heard similar power!!

The band call themselves BOMB ROCK. Not surprised.

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Black Manta - Fuck Them All But Six

Fucking heavy Maryland doom band influenced by Sabbath and Washington D.C.-area doom legends such as Pentagram and Internal Void. Released a series of self-financed demos, follow by the 2004 album “Fuck them all but six” on psycheDOOMelic records. The track “Days of Yore” was featured in the “Doom Capital.

This is basically a very enjoyable stoner doom EP, and is infact laced with gruff vocals, amazingly catchy riffs and a very very very very downtuned guitar coupled with amps turned to max volume. You'll love it.

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The Misanthrope Project - Your World Is Sickening

TMP harness an off putting and unfriendly vibe over the course of these five epics of fucked up doom and gloom. Part Mugwart/Beaten back to Pure southern scum, part Grief/early Buzzov*en slug trail terror and part Yobian, psychedelic glory, the quintet rounded out by Justin (guitar), Ahmasi (bass) and Joey (drums) are one of the most unique entities going in the American sludge/doom underworld right now. The instruments are laden with effects and cosmic ambience, but the riffs, low-end and general groove clamp down on a number of scathing, world decimating moments that will keep your head nodding and your whiskey bottle empty, as this is music perfectly accompanied by a big, plentiful fifth of Wild Turkey.

Beasley is as pissed off as ever; whispering and screaming like a demon beneath a blanket of blown out distortion and suffocation. Drummer Joey is a particularly key component to the mix, locking down the band’s sound with a requisite doomified crunch, but also getting wild and fill crazy in the vein of John Stanier’s tightest Helmet performances.

TMP wraps a threatening aura around your head from the very first note. Beasley’s haggard scream thunders in the distance, before the volume kicks in full bore with twin guitars blazing through plundering riffs and psychedelic leads alike, as the effects swirl around your ears from a seemingly inexplicable number of amps and directions. This is a cyclone of endless noise and drugged out vocal shouts, with a grasp on overdriven Beaten Back to Pure metal as played by Kirk Fisher with Mike Scheidt coordinating the affair and offering musical mysticism. There’s a moment of sampling, with cleaner dissonant guitars that frighteningly feels as if the song’s going to come out of your speakers and beat the living fuck out of you, as you sit there knowing damn well the band is holding back for one last outburst at the end, to create a proper emotional catharsis.

Lush bass lines provide the perfect foundation for Vince and Justin to weave their shimmering, doom influenced chord progressions around. Less than a minute slowly wanders by in this glorious, almost Hawkwind meets Yob passage.



You want a sick scream you go to Charlie. You want a sick riff/groove and production job, you go to Vince. You get them both here, and with three other giants backing them up…well the sky is the limit. The groove in this part of the song is one that can be effortlessly lumped into the legendary realm, with Joey’s pounding emphasis on fills and complexity adding even more life to the unholy din.

Fans of that whole psyched out doom/sludge movement such as Yob, Soulpreacher, Sleep and Warhorse will eat this tune up for their three daily squares from here to eternity. Sludge fans…you need this, so pick up their releases and see if you can wrangle this record off of one of the band members. Shit this good, cannot be doomed to obscurity! ~ Slightly edited Hellride review

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Dopethrone - Demonsmoke

The Throne was established in March 2008 as a completely D.I.Y. project created in the very core of Hochelaga. After only 3 weeks of legendary drunkenness and sacred bong worship, Dopethrone already composed 4 songs and was talking about an album concept... A year later, the new album: "DEMONSMOKE" was materialized. In the spirit of "Do-It-Yourself", The Logo and concept was created by Vincent (guitar - vocals), the recording by Thomas (drummer) and the CD was produced by Vyk (bassist)...

The band with a name like that, in unsurprisingly a blend of stoner and demonic sludge along with a tinge of traditional doom. With a look to back to old school sludge with the hatred and filth dripping out of the bands' amplifiers along with a certain influence of modern sludge (no, not bands like Cult Of Luna and The Ocean), this band will be loved by fans of bands such as Bongzilla and Weedeater.


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Eggnogg - III

EGGNOGG is a hard rock/sludge band from the upstate New York area. Having gone through several names/stages of music already, Eggnogg has matured into a heavy-hitting sludge-rock group of epic proportions. This year, they recorded the first album: simply titled "The Three". The album was officially released on October 31, 2009. With the heavy drumming, back-breaking riffs recognizable deep, growling vocals, Eggnogg has created a heaviness no band from the stoner scene has truly achieved since Electric Wizard's "Dopethrone."

As already mentioned the band's primary influence is Electric Wizard, but the other influences lie as a cross between 70's hard rock, Kyuss, Alice In Chains, Black Sabbath and Pink Floyd.

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Eternal Elysium - Within The Triad

Finally, finally, finally it's here !

For those who don't know, this band (kill yourself), this is a Japanese (surprise, surprise) trio that plays a mixed of spaced out, psychedelic stoner doom metal.

With this release, their 5th full length, and the first after an agonizing 4 years, they are back at doing what they do best. Right from the very beginning, you are sucked into their vacuum as the sound on this album is very very heavy but also so trippy in a Hawkwind - ish kind of way. This band have a uncanny ability to mix up sounds and influences from Sabbath,King Crimson,Black Widow,Hendrix to modern day exponents of everything from straight out Metal to Doom to Stoner to even grunge and make it work.

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Abdullah - Cut The Artery

Taken from the band's MySpace -

"Lost album and ep available for free download. This material was written in a transitional phase of the band between the years of 2005-2007. it is pretty much a complete departure from the stoner/alternative/doom metal we were theretofore known for. the quality of some of the tracks is dubious as a few were emailed back and forth between band members and different continents. the line-up at this point was:

Jeff Shirilla: drums, vocals, some guitars, synth
Alan Seibert: lead guitars
Aaron Dallison: guitars
Ed Stephens: bass

Josh Adkins and John Stepp played drums and guitars respectively on "dead babies" and Queenie contributed vocals and lyrics to "lost."

This material was just taking up space on a hard drive doing no one any good so i decided to share it. enjoy/hate/ignore!"

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Green & Wood - Green & Wood

Green And Wood, a band that came out of nowhere for me but are actually from LA have their self titled album out on Cyclopean Records.This power trio plays a heavy blend of Sabbath, Sleep, Blue Cheer and Pentagram influenced Doom with traces of hard rock and stoner doom too. The plus side though is they are so good at doing it that its also a very enjoyable romp through everything from early 70's Heavy Prog, Blues Rock to modern day Stoner doom. The band is capable of writing great songs with cool arrangements and if they continue to find their own niche in songwriting. If you love Stoner Doom with a 70's edge and you are a fan of Witchcraft you will eat this one up.

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Shroud Eater - Demo 2009

This is a 3 piece band that has released it's first release, a demo this year. With a female handling the vocal duties, this band plays sludge, the down-tuned way mixing the grooves of stoner metal, to the in your face style attitude and vocals of punk rock and elements of early 90's alternative rock.
They sound really original, and unconventional with this 3 track demo lasting a little less than 14 minutes with all tracks lasting near, and around the 4:30 minute range.
They sure have the talent, but not much can be said just by listening to 3 tracks by a band. This not groundbreaking or extra ordinary but it bring a breath of freash air, and is enjoyable. Rumor has it, they plan to release their debut next year, and I definitely suggest you look forward to it.

Mediaphyre

Horrors of the Black Museum - Gold From The Sea

Slow, loud doom metal with clean vocals and a very powerful bass. The band is hard to label, but funeral doom, stoner metal, industrial and perhaps even drone play major parts. The music varies from very calm Reverend Bizarre or Pantheist like music, to an approach closer to Abdullah. (doom-metal.com)

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Gorilla Monsoon - Extermination Hammer

This is a stoner/doom band that infuses sludge and southern elements in their brand of music manufactured in Germany. Their music is the heavy down tuned goodness backed by influences ranging from traditional doom metal to a genre that tilts more towards late 90's rock.

Think of this as a blend of Black Sabbath, Crowbar, Corrosion Of Conformity and Dozer. Now, this hardcore fans of doom may not like this a lot because it seems at times that the band tries to commercialize doom metal for creating a blend of genres in a way that will appease to the masses, ruining the essence of doom metal by giving the audience what they want rather than putting out what they want and gathering fans, but yes it's quality and catchy tunes and vocals cannot be questioned.

"Her name was Jeniffer, she was a 50$ whore, who wanted more." ~ Yeah this isn't actually very poetic, but still makes for an entertaining listen.

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Revelation - For The Sake Of No One

The sixth and latest release by the band.

The creativity of this band is amazing. These are the same guys that belong to the band Against Nature, another doom band that is known for its prolific catalogue, due to the fact that releasing 2 - albums a year isn't that much of a surprise when it's coming from them. And to top it all off, the band never seems to get monotonous and they do not do the same thing again and again. Whatever you get by the band, there is something new as no 2 records sound same.

So it's not a surprise that this year's release by Revelation is a lot different from last year's gem of an album, "Release.". This album, named For The Sake Of No One is a very laid back doom metal record,with long instrumental sections, that has some stoner influences taken from the likes of Blood Farmers. The progressive elements remain but minimal in quantity. It's neither the band's best, nor is it one of the top records of this year. What it is, is a good and entertaining release by an excellent band, that is capable of doing better. Looking forward to more from them.

For The Sake Of No One

Zebulon Pike - II: The Deafening Twilight

Atypical tempo and time signature changes propel climbing, angular harmonies to collide with bludgeoning, stoned-out Sabbathian riffing to create mindscapes that push you to ascend the spiral of the great Pyramid to the grand, firmamental cosmos, channel the fiery passion within your blood to unlock the celestial mysteries of the Black Stallion, and journey to behold the fabled Wizard's Fountain before you are swept away with the ashes of Xerxes by the breath of Titan, and become one with the Deafening Twilight.

Seriously.
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Sea Of Thousand - The Church Of Total Collapse

Everything is bigger in Texas they say. The talent sure is. This sludge \ doom band that is now inactive released this and one demo before calling it quits.

After a laughable first track with ridiculous vocals, the band tightens the screw throughout the entire alum. Mainly inspired by old school sludge, the band attempts to recreate the same filthy sludge and manages to. Their fusion of old school with new school interested me, with some moments like on the track, "Marching On Its Stomach" containing elements that are a definite thowback to modern post rock found in Cult Of Luna's brand of music.Tons of variations, some times too many are the way for this band. One thing however is confirmed by this band's penchant of experimentation is that the listener never gets bored. The vocals are varied from growls to screams to spoken words and so are the song structured with tracks teethering from 90 seconds long to almost the six minute mark.

This band had tons of talent, but were too young to control and channel it in the right path, something they probably would have achieved if they had decided to stay togethor because amidst all that experimentation they would sooner or later find 'their thing'.


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