Argentum - Mega Post!

Argentum are a black/death/doom metal band from Mexico. Any avid metal fan who searches his metal vigorously on metal archives must be familiar with "drowned" guy on that site. While, I do agree that I dont go by metal archives reviews, but there are certain users that happen to rate music judiciously and give appropriate scores to the albums on that site. So, dont be surprsed if you see "The 3rd and the Mortal" getting a high average ratings on that site and Asphyx's "The Rack" lagging behind with 75 percent of average scores. Enough of metal-archives talk, lets get down to the real deal. The "Drowned" fella seems to be engrossed in old school death metal and death/doom. Half of the obscurities of the early 90s and late 80s have been added by him. So it was pretty genuine for me to check some of his reviews out. It happened that there was only one album rated with a 100 per cent. What did you expect? diSEMBOWELMENT or Convulse or Winter? Nah, It was Argentum's debut "Ad Interitum Funebrarum". Frankly speaking, that was the only motive behind getting that album because the RYM ratings are rather disappointing for that album. I gave the albums a few listens, and forgot about it and it baffled me why this album was rated so high by that guy? Yesterday, I went to jog and decided to give this album a spin on my ipod. Canalophones do come in handy if you want to fully appreciate the beauty of a rather underproduced album. Bull's eye! It was a chilly and a foggy winter morning and the album worked like a wonder. I couldnt believe that this was the same band I had decided to snub a couple of months earlier.

This album has everything I love to hear in a doom metal record. Sinister use of growls and high pitched howlings, extremely downtuned riffs constantly buzzing in the background, and a thick bass supporting the scary instrumentation. Some of you guys know my love for bands like Faustcoven and Dark Prophecies, But this is beyond everything. The keyboards create a dark atmosphere and are masterfully used here. The second album is equally good with better production but little weaker in songwriting and is way too short and leaves you gasping for more. The two demos are raw and contain faster sections more in the vein of Bathory and early Celtic Frost.

Ad Interitum Funebrarum @ 320 Kbps
Mediafire Guys

Stigma Mortuorum @ Mediafire
The two demos

Mater Misericordiae 1993

Exothaernium 1994

Seamount - Light II Truth

During their first album this four-piece played heavy/traditional doom in the vein of Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus, and Grand Magus. From the second album and onwards the music has been dominated by stoner and blues rock, yet, they never quite lost touch with their doom metal roots.

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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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Children Of Doom - Ride Over The Green Valley

(Tape limited to 250 copies)

Children Of Doom sound a little inexperienced on this demo but that also means that have room to grow, that points to a really exciting future in the world of Doom because this is a great demo. It has a couple of flaws, the sound is not great as i had to really crank up the stereo to get a good fix on the music. The first thing you will noticed is the guitar work which has a St.Vitus meets The Obsessed vibe about it and then its the vocals. Is this dude Glenn Danzig or what, that is not a complaint by the way but he is the first singer you will think of when you hear this dude. The band has a distinctly 80's feel to them and the songs are extremely well played, the lyrics are also really good. Songs about alcohol and chicks has always worked for me but there is more to them than just that. Musically they play for the most part "text book doom" with no real surprises but they have a obvious love for Traditional Doom Metal and that comes out in the songs. Sometimes you can just tell when a band is genuine about what they do and Children Of Doom are one of those bands.Pay special attention to "Hell's On Wheels" and "Hangover" which are both fine tracks of Doom. Worth keeping a eye on this band when a full length album finally surfaces. ~ Doom Mantia

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Fehler - Adharma

"Adharma" is the debut five-song EP from Dutch trio Fehler (released by Black Death Records), and I have to say, these guys are delivering one of the most literal and unique combination of hardcore/punk and sludgy metal I've ever heard. Dark, discordant textures and winding bass-lines with a mid paced doom/sludge type of vibe are contrasted by frantic, chunky power chords and subtly rocked out riffing delivered in hammering, fast-paced bursts of hardcore/punk energy – while fronted by ultra gruff snarls that work well over any and all approaches alluded to by the instrumentation. On top of that you'll find bits and pieces of searing feedback, a well-integrated sample or two, the occasional spout of ringing post-hardcore dissonance, and even a few more chaotic riffs that almost have a weird black metal feel!? Seriously, there's a lot going on, but what's great is that the band pulls it off perfectly. The songs don't feel disjointed in any way, and the entire 17-minute listen is a shockingly cohesive experience given the breadth of influences they're drawing from.

Awesome.