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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Dragged Into Sunlight - Hatred For Mankind (2009)

Incredibly sinister, malice-filled, hatred-drenched, Blackened Death/Doom from this relatively new Liverpool 5-piece; "Hatred for Mankind" is a monolithic slab of misanthropy from a band destined to make waves in the underground in the months and years to come.

Seriously, this is mandatory stuff.

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Arkham Witch - Demo 2009

This is the first demo by Simon Strange of The Lamp of Thoth, from his solo band called Arkham Witch. In the first track he introduces 3 different members, one on drums, the oter on guitar and the last doing the vocals, but make no mistake, it's just a joke, they are all the same person. There are some things common with his current band but this is a much more Traditional Heavy Metal concept. There is still some Doom but this band is more along the lines of early 80's British Metal and 70's Hard rock all combined with a theme from Lovecraft stories.

Out of all the tracks on here, there is really only one that isn't as good as the others. "Hyades" that has a change in guitar sound that kind of sounds like something you would find at a toy shop. Its a plodding slow track which doesn't seem to serve any function apart from trying to sound heavy which its not for the most part. The rest of the demo though is brilliant, the opener gets the fun started with a tale based on "Dreams in the Witch House" story. "Let England Prevail" is up next and is a metal thumper, its a mid-paced classic sounding metal tune that has a infectious groove about it. Third Track is "Suicide 75" which has a similar sound to proto-metal bands of the mid 70's like Sir Lord Baltimore to name just one. Extremely catchy and while its the heaviest track on here, it is still the best to my ears. "Legions Of The Deep" is the other standout track here, this is a classic metal track in the vein of Priest, Maiden and Manilla Road. Every time you play this track you will hear a different old band in the sound. This is a great demo apart from the last song which is a misstep, it doesn't help when the song seems to go on forever but i am sure some people out there will love it. Yet, I feel this is better than anything Lamp Of Thoth has ever done.


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Atavist - 31:38

The band's first release, a demo. The release that got the band a record deal. One track, any guesses on how long it is ?

It was later featured on the band's debut self titled LP. One of the cool things about Atavist is that they're not afraid to do some different stuff. Whether that means occaisonally rocking out with a faster, more stoner rock-y riff, or dropping in some melodic, atmospheric touches in the songs, Atavist should keep most people interested. Witness the propulsive riff early on, and just when you're getting your sludge on, these krazy dudes drop in a post-metal build up that catches you off guard. Or, the delicate melodic guitars that take up the first few minutes of the second song. To me, it seems that Atavist dislike super long sludge songs, so that's why they break them up with a ton of other stuff, whether it be melodic if sludgy riffs, or some relatively fast paced riffs. It's like this track consists of many different track that merge into each other effortlessly, instead of the same riff or set of riffs being deployed over and over again.

Of course, that's not to say that Atavist can't deploy the super distorted, 2 BPM sludge, so down tuned that the guitars need a change of strings after every track and the listener (and people around them) a new set of eardrums . That's what most of the album is about, basically. And damn, does it pack a punch- super distorted guitars, some of the most low tuned bass you've ever heard, all wrapped up in a super thick production with some great growled vocals over the top.

These guys are pretty much like the Esoteric of sludge, with so many things going on, so much variation and experimentation, yet things fall into place and move along in a smooth flow.

Let The Beatings Begin

Atavist - Atavist

The band's first full length.

When you say "3 songs.. 66 minutes" you will get a lot of different reactions. The general reaction is fear and/or disgust, as images of endless prog wank or incredibly slow funeral doom come to mind. Of course, there's plenty of people out there who dig there prog wank, and likewise there's quite a few of us doomsters who appreciate a little bit of slo-mo metal once in a while. Not that this is really funeral doom, as such. Atavist traffic in sludge- but not sludge as you know it. This album could be seen as the logical progression of bands like Eyehategod and maybe even Khanate. The songs are long and real slow, but there's twists in this tale.

One of the cool things about Atavist is that they're not afraid to do some different stuff. Whether that means occaisonally rocking out with a faster, more stoner rock-y riff, or dropping in some melodic, atmospheric touches in the songs, Atavist should keep most people interested. The first song is a great example of this. Witness the propulsive riff early on, and just when you're getting your sludge on, these krazy dudes drop in a post-metal build up that catches you off guard. Or, the delicate melodic guitars that take up the first few minutes of the second song. To me, it seems that Atavist dislike super long sludge songs, so that's why they break them up with a ton of other stuff, whether it be melodic if sludgy riffs, or some relatively fast paced riffs.

Of course, that's not to say that Atavist can't deploy the super distorted, 2 BPM sludge. That's what most of the album is about, basically. And damn, does it pack a punch- super distorted guitars, some of the most low tuned bass you've ever heard, all wrapped up in a super thick production with some great growled vocals over the top. TO me, it sounds a lot like Electric Wizard playing at half, or quarter speed. It's done pretty damn well, and I think most sludge fans should love this.

Basically, this is a really solid album, with a lot of sludge but plenty of variety to keep you all interested.

Get it here..

Atavist / Nadja - 12012291920 / 1414101

First collaborative record with Nadja.

How much is there one can write about a monotonous piece of ambient drone? As I was in search of Atavist's full-length albums, I came across this collaboration with Nadja, a Canadian band who I have come to love and cherish over recent months. So, I decided i'd give it a whirl and see what it was like.


This isn't the most mind-blowing piece of work. Its not heavy, its not fast paced and nor is it one spectacular solo after another. Its beauty is subtle. A collage of repetitive riffs, placed one after another swells and is about ready to burst into a fast paced explosion of massive proportions. Perhaps a disappointment to most, this never truly gets going. Its slow and very rarely changes. When it does, its subtle but entrancing. Subtlety is imperative as both Nadja and Atavist struggle to get this piece heard over the hundreds of ambient drone bands out there.


Although subtlety reigns supreme, one comes to find it increasingly important to the outcome. Beautiful melodies and sweeping riffs crash together like waves onto a wall. No vocals are present, so it may take the listener some time to both appreciate this full-length and also to gain the patience to get through this in one sitting, which is needed due to both lack of vocals and the intimidating song lengths of the two tracks. I believe song length is a major turn-off to many. Most people have no time for songs that increase over the six minute mark as it can become quite draining. This collaboration is certainly that.

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Atavist - II: Ruined

Ruined..

Atavist - Alchemic Resurrection

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Atavist / Nadja - II: Points at Infinity

Second Collaborative Record with Nadja.

Atavist & Nadja's last collab was decent enough if not the most mindblowing thing ever; consisting mostly of some extremely relaxed (some may say comatose) ambient jams. Quite the patience tester but also pretty cool and with some relatively surprising results. This one's a fair bit different from that one, really. Higher highs, lower lows.

First track's probably where it's at. It'™s a real slow, haunting tune with some very down tuned guitar and those man-choir vocals that everyone seems to be loving these days. It's a patience tester but very, very cool; imagine a kveldssanger tune slowed down by 800% or so and you wouldn't be too far away. A pretty simplistic tune that will likely bore the pants off the average punter but I enjoy it a fair bit, it's just a real nice mellow tune that moves along at a beautifully glacial pace.

Second track's not nearly as good but most people will find at least the first few or so minutes interesting enough. This one's all about getting raped by massive riffs and it's impressively heavy; all tar black sludge riffs and screamed vocals. Well, that's what the first third is about. I can't for the life of me figure out why they go back to the drone, though; it's a real anticlimactic move and the lack of building or movement within said drone is a real bummer. Long, sustained tones and studio trickery can be cool, but not right after you're all excited about a huge riff-fest.

A pretty poor move, really. Still, the first track is terrific and while the second track could perhaps be better divided into two songs it's still pretty cool. Nadja fans will want this, newcomers to the band would be better off with something else.

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Atavist / Satori / Nadja - Infernal Procession... And Then Everything Dies

CD Limited to 1000 copies in a 6-panel out sized sleeve.

Perhaps being the best know of the trio of bands, Nadja leads off first with "Time is our Disease", a long track that has most of the characteristics I associate with Nadja: huge molten slabs of layered and distorted guitar dirge trundling through the space in my head and grinding down any grey matter not previously flattened by other Nadja tracks. The music can be repetitive at times yet it progresses inexorably towards some kind of climax which may or may not eventuate. Early on the singing verges on the whispery and wistful but after the halfway point the vocals acquire a more sinister, even monstrous edge. The music reacts accordingly, becoming thunderous and taking on a kind of doomed magnificence as if a flame is burning brightly and defiantly in the face of an insidious and horrible death. Not a great deal is new to me apart from the treated guitar melody that appears at the end.

Atavist's "Certitude" perhaps suffers from coming second to Nadja's thunder: Nadja can sound quite massive and this has the effect of making Atavist sounding a bit thin and tinny. But what these UK musicians lack in the thickness of the sound, they compensate by investing a lot of passion and conviction in what they do, and they prove to be no less grand and ambitious than Nadja. When Atavist let rip around the 6th minute, they are full of righteous anger and aggression with slashing guitar riffs, sharp and exacting percussion, bared fangs and unsheathed claws. This music certainly commands your attention and holds you rapt all the way in spite of the tinny nature of the production; I think this says a great deal about the care the musicians put into playing and improvising together, and into structuring the track as well. Prior planning with room for improvising make for a long piece of often exhilarating music, especially towards the end when the guitars begin to howl and you feel caught up in an all-embracing howling storm.

Satori present the dark ambient piece "Abyss", an appropriately bleak, murky soundscape with strange unseen creatures chirping indecipherable bug-noise messages. Ghostly tones fade or slide in and out of the blustery soundscape and dust storms get stirred up quite a lot. Not much actually happens during this track - the musicians tend to let the weather buffet you and no more.

Abyss

The River - Oneiric Dirges in Mono

The band's first demo...

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The River - Different Ways To Be Haunted

The band's second demo.

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The River - Drawing Down The Sun

Ultra heavy traditional doom with female vocals..

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