Doomed/Anna/Solitude Productions/2016 CD Review

  Doomed  are  a  band  from  Germany  that h as  been  featured  before  in this  zine  and  plays  an  atmospheric  form  of  doom/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Anna"  which  was  released  by  Solitude  Productions.

 Atmospheric  synths  start  off  the  album  and  clean  singing  samples  can  also  be  heard  in  the  background  briefly  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  and  the  solos  and leads a re  also  done  in a   very  melodic  direction  and  the  vocals  are  deep  death  metal  growls  and  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  at  times.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  clean  guitars  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  songs  and  there is  also  a  brief  use  of  black  metal  screams  and  a  few  of  the  tracks  are  long  and  epic  in  length  and  as  the  album  progresses  female  vocals  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  most  of  the  music  sticks  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction.

  Doomed  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  atmospheric  style  of   doom/death  metal  of  their  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  based  upon  the  corruption  of  political  and  religious  fanaticism.

  in  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Doomed  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  atmospheric   doom/death  metal, you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Anna"  "Withering  Leaves"  and  "The  Frozen  Wish". 8  out  of  10.

Shroud Eater/Dead Hand/Southern Druid/2016 7 Inch Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  ep  between  Florida's  Shroud  Eater  and  Georgia's  Dead  Hand  which will  be released  in  November  by Southern  Druid  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Dead  Hand  a  band  that  plays  sludge  metal.

  Their  side  of the split  starts  out  with  a  drone  that  evolves  int  a  heavier  sound  along  with  some  growling  vocals  and  sludge  style  screams and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  post  metal  style  melodies  and  their  song  is  6  minutes  in  length  while  also  having  a  lot  of  the  doom  metal  heaviness  and  clean  guitars  can  also  be  heard  briefly  along  with  some  spoken  words  in  the  background  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  track  also  incorporates  a  small  amount  of  synths,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Dead  Hand  are  a  very  great  sounding  sludge  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre, you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.

  Next  up  is  Shroud  Eater  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  sludge  and  doom metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  powerful  sounding  bass  guitar  which  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  doom  metal  vibe  while  the  melodic  vocals  are  done  in  more  of  a  stoner  rock  style  and  the  slow  riffs  bring  in  the  heaviness  of  sludge  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  along  with  a  brief  use  of  guitar  leads,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Shroud  Eater  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.

  In  conclusion  I  fell  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  sludge  and  doom  metal.  8  out  of  10. 

Uncoffined/Ceremonies Of Morbidity/Memento Mori/2016 CD Review

  Uncoffined  are  a  band  from the  United  Kingdom  that  plays  a  mixture  of  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Ceremonies  Of  Morbidity" which  was  released  by  Memento  Mori.

  A  classic  horror  movie  sample  starts  off  the  album  and  after  a  minute  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  doom  metal  direction  along  with  some  morbid  sounding  melodies  and  death  metal  growls  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  style  and  high  pitched  screams  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  A  great portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  music  also  brings  in  a  lot  of  traditional  doom  and  90's  death/doom  metal  influences  and  horror  movie  samples  also  make  a  return  on  some  of  the  other  songs  and  all  of  the  tracks  stick  to  a  very  slow  and  heavy  musical  direction  while  also  always  retaining  a  very  dark  atmosphere.

  Uncoffined  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  doom  and  death  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  a  horror  movie  atmosphere to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  horror,  death  and  occultism themes.

  In  my opinion  Uncoffined  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  doom  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE "Plague  Of  The  Uncoffined"  and  "Awakened  From  their  Dormant  Slumber".  8  out  of  10.

Esperoza/Aum Corrupted/WormHoleDeath/2016 Full Length Review

  Esperoza  are  a  band  from  Moldova  that  plays a  very  extreme  form  of  symphonic  metal  and  this  is  a review  of  their  2016  album  "Aum  Corrupted"  which  will  be  released  in  November  by  WornHoleDeath.

  Female  vocals  start  off  the  album  and  give t he  recording  a  gothic  and  operatic  feeling  and  once  the  death  metal  growls  kick  in  the  music  starts  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  and  melodic  direction  while  also  introducing  guitar  solos  and  leads  into  songs  and  they  also  mix  the  symphonic  and  heavier  sides  together.

  Some of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  elements  of  prog  metal  at  times  and  when  screams  are  utilized  they  add  in  a  touch  of  black  metal  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  blast  beats  when the  music  speeds  up  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  spoken  word  samples  can  also  be  heard  on  one  of  the  songs  and  a  couple  of  tracks  also  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars  and  flutes  as  well  as  adding  in  influences  from  ethnic  music.

  Esperoza  plays  a  style  of  symphonic  goth  metal  that  also  mixes  in  the  heaviness  of  black,  doom  and  death  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  depressive  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Esperoza  are  a  very  great  sounding  are  a  very  great  sounding  extreme  symphonic  metal  band  with  touches  of  black,  doom,  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "A  Broken  Passage"  "Tomb  Of  Deeds"  "Desolate  Grief"  and  "And  Here  Comes  The  Immaculacy".  8  out  of  10. 

Black Tomb/Self Titled/Graven Earth Records/2016 Cassette Review

  Black  Tomb  are  a  band  from  New  England  that  plays  a  mixture  of  stoner,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review of  their  self  titled  2016  cassette  which  will  be  released  on  Halloween  by  Graven  Earth  Records.

  A  very  distorted  bass  guitar  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  plays  in  a  doom  metal  vibe  along  with  the  guitar  riffing  following  the  same  tradition  and  the  vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  sludge  style  screams  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  melodic  stoner  metal  vibe  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  At  times  the  riffs  can  get  very  melodic  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  samples  as  well  as  some  elements  of  drone  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  album  also  always  sticks  to  a  very  heavy  sound.

  Black  Tomb  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  slowest  and  heaviest  forms  of  stoner,  sludge  and doom  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and d epressive  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Black  Tomb  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  sludge,  stoner  and  doom metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Under  the  Pine"  "Mortuary  Rites"  and  "Church  on  the  Hill".  8  out  of  10. 

Sithter/Chaotic Fiend/Bonten Records/2016 CD Review

  Sithter  are  a  band  from  Japan  that  plays  a  mixture  of  drone,  sludge,  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016 album  "Chaotic  Fiend"  which  will  be  released  in  December  by  Bonten  Records.

  Distorted  drones  start  off  the  album  and  also  mix  in  with  the  heavier  riffs  and  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  the  music  also  brings  in  the  heaviness  of  sludge  and  after  awhile  clean  singing  vocals  can  be  heard  while  they  are  mostly  mixed  down  low  in  the  mix  and  they  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  grim  screams.

  A  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  a  great  amount  of  doom  metal  elements  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  have  a  very  distorted  stoner  rock  vibe  to  them  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  vocals  get  semi  melodic  at  times  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  and  as  the  album  progresses  more  death  metal  and  crust  influences  can  be  heard  and  a  later  track  also  adds  avant  garde  style  keyboards  onto  the  recording.

  Sithter  plays  a  musical  style  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  sludge  and  doom  metal  while  the  influences  of  drone,  crust  and  death  metal  gives  the  music  a  little  bit  more  originality,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Sithter  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  drone,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Chaotic  Fiend"  "Masque  Of  The  Red  Death"  and  "Jerusalem  Massacre".  8  out  of  10. 

Abysmal Grief/Reveal Nothing/Terror From Hell/2016 Compilation Album Review

  Abysmal  Grief  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  an  occult  mixture  of  goth  and  doom  metal  along  with  a  touch  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Reveal  Nothing"  which  will  be  released  in  November  by  Terror  From  Hell  Records.

  Gothic  horror  style  keyboards  start  off  the  album  and after  awhile  the  music  starts  mixing  in  with  a  more  heavier  style  while  black  metal  screams  can  be  heard  at  times  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sound  very  powerful  and  the  songs  also  mix  in  a  great  amount  of  clean  singing  goth  style  vocals.

  Acoustic  guitars  along  with  spoken  word  parts can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  slower  riffing  is  very  much  in  a doom  metal  direction  and  there  is  a  brief  use  of  death  metal  growls  and  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  they  have  a  vampyric  and  ritualistic  atmosphere  to  them  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads a re  utilized  they  are d one  in  a  very  dark  and  melodic  style  and  the  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody and  the  songs also  stick  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced musical  direction  and  as  the  album  progresses  elements  of  psychedelic  rock  can  be  heard  and  some  of  the  tracks a re  long  and  epic  in  length.

 On  this  compilation  Abysmal  Grief  plays  a  music  style  that  takes  goth/death  rock  and  mixes  it  with  doom  metal  while  also  mixing  in  black  and  death  metal  influences  along  with  a  touch  of  psychedelia  to  create  something  different,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Divination,  Occultism,  Funereal  Mysticism,  and  Horror  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  compilation  from  Abysmal  Grief  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  goth  and  doom  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Cursed  Be  The  Rite"  "Hearse"  "The  Samhain  Feast"  and  "Chains  Of  Death".  8  out  of  10.

Warcrab Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?
A couple of months after the album was recorded we had to part ways with our then vocalist Kane Nelson. It wasn’t an easy decision, and it was not due to any personal reasons, however his work and family commitments meant we were unable to continue with him. He is still considered a great friend of the band and we wish him all the best in the future. Luckily we have had nothing but positive feedback regarding our new front man Martin Grant, who has slipped into the role perfectly. Since then we have played many gigs up and down the country including Incineration Festival and Thrashersaurus. Currently we are working on more new material with Martin taking over the lyric writing duties, which he has taken to like a crab to water.

2.You have a new album coming out this month, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
I would say certainly more progressive, the songs are longer and there is a lot more melody infused in it, however still maintaining the brutal wall of noise and heaviness that we are known for. It’s 100% still Warcrab but more mature and refined. Plus the solos are better haha!!!!

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
War, death, nihilism, apocalyptic vampires that feed off planets, lost friends and sorrow and of course Vikings. No loves songs as of yet.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Warcrab'?
It came from a road trip to Bristol to watch the mighty Crowbar. One band member (I don’t recall who at this point) suggested an anagram for Crowbar could be the word Warcrab. Shortly they were advised the spelling didn’t add up shall we say. But the image of this giant mechanical sea creature lumbering along and destroy everything in it’s path appealed to us, so the name stuck. Also it kind of fits our sound perfectly.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
For me Bloodstock in 2014 was still one of my favourite shows ever, the crowd response was incredible and the staff at Bloodstock are truly amazing. The onstage sound was crystal and the stage crew were amazing. Incineration festival and Thrashersaurus were also incredible shows. Another one I would have to say was The Anvil in Bournemouth when we toured with Diesel King. Great venue, great sound and most importantly a great crowd. With regard to our stage performance, it’s hard to say as I have only seen it from one side haha. Judging by how sweaty we are when we come off and how much our necks hurt I can only say high energy, unusual for a band that classed as a Doom outfit I know. Generally feedback tends to be “man that sound was so heavy!!!”

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
We are hitting the road for a few dates in late October and November with our buddies Warlord, and we are hoping to hit the festival circuit next year, Bloodstock again would be amazing. Hopefully another UK tour too.

7.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of sludge, doom and death metal?
We haven’t played outside the UK as of yet, however we’re sending purchased CD’s to countries all over the world, which is awesome. We have fan bases in Indonesia, Japan, America and all over Europe, even Nepal!!. When I look at our website and Facebook page I continuously see messages from people who dig what we’re doing, from places I didn’t think we would’ve reached yet.


8.Are any of the band members currently involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?
Me, Leigh and Rich are currently involved in a non-serious punk band know as the Population Pods. Pretty much just a bit of fun. Aside from that all focus is on Warcrab.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
At the moment we are just riding the wave and seeing what comes out. We never write with a specific idea in mind, which keeps things sounding fresh and organic. I think if the trend continues the songs may get longer haha.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Personally for me as a lead player I grew up idolising guys like Dave Gilmour, Adrian Smith and Eric Clapton for their sense of melody and emotive approach to their playing. As a band we are influenced by everything from Sludge bands such as Crowbar and Conan through to early Death Metal bands like Bolt Thrower and Malevolent Creation, plus a healthy dash of Black Metal too. Lets just say anything from A to Z, or Anthrax to Zappa.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
I have many haha!!!. Outside of the band I’m training to be a blacksmith and I’m also very much into martial arts. In the next 6 months or so I should hopefully be coming up for my black belt in Ninjutsu. I also like to draw nude pictures of Fiona Bruce from BBC News.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
            Yeah, buy Scars Of Aeons it’s awesome.