Solitude Productions/2010 Compilation Review

  This  is  a  review  of  compilation  released  in 2010  by  Solitude  Productions  a  label  that  specializes  in  doom metal  and  we  will  review  the  songs  one  by  one.

  Opening  up  the  compilation  is  Who Dies  In  Siberian  Slush  with  "Leave  Me"  a  very  slow  funeral  doom  song  with  atmospheric  keyboards,  depressive  guitar  riffs  and  deep  doom/death  metal  growls  along  with  a  melodic  sounding  guitar  lead.

  Next  up  is  Revelations  Of  Rain  with  "Our  Cathedral"   another  sloe  funeral  doom  song  with  heavy  growls  and  funeral  like  ambient  keyboards  along with  a  very  melodic  sounding guitar  lead  along  with  a  brief  use  of  a  spoken  word  part,  in  addition  there  are  some  high  pitched  screams  that  have  a  heavy  black  metal  feeling to them  as  well  as  some  clean singing.

  Next  up  is  Funeral  with  "The  Poison"  a  more  melodic  sounding  funeral  doom  metal  song  that  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  influences  from  traditional  doom and  gothic  metal.

  Next  up  is  Ea  with  "Aullu  Eina"  a  more  slow  and  melodic  sounding  occult  funeral doom  metal  song  with  melodic  leads,  ambient  keyboards  and deep  doom/death  metal  growls.

  Next  up  is  Shattered  Hope  with  "Enlighten The  Darkness"  a  more  atmospheric  and  symphonic  sounding  funeral  doom  metal  with  some  brutal  sounding  deep  growls  as  well  as  some  melodic  guitar  leads.

  Next  up  is  Heavy  Load  with  "Fear  The  Beard"  a  more  traditional  stoner  doom  metal  song  that  has  a  very  influenced  70's  hard  rock/heavy  metal  sound  to  it  with  a  more  modern  day  approach  where  they  combine  clean  singing  stoner  doom  metal  vocals  with  deep  death  metal  growls.

  Next  up  is  Ophis  with  "suffering Is  A  Virtue"  a  very  heavy  and  slow  sounding  dark funeral/doom  metal  song  that  has  some  brutal death/doom  metal growls  to  it  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  riffing  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  harsh  clean singing  towards  the  end  of the  song.

  Next  up  is  The Sullen  Route with  "Gates"  a  more  traditional,  melodic  and  atmospheric  sounding  doom/death  metal  song.

  Next  up  is  Stoned  Jesus  with  "Occult"  a  more  traditional  stoner  style  doom  metal  song  with  satanic  lyrics  and  a  70's  hard  rock/heavy  metal  vibe  to  it.

  Next  up  is  Angel  Sleep  with  "Angel  2"  a  saw  that  brings  the  compilation back  into  funeral  doom  mood  with  some  heavy  sounding  deep  doom/death  metal  growls  and  slow  melodic  guitar  riffs  along  with  some  high  pitched  screams that  bring  a  black  metal  feeling  to  the  music  as well  as  some  clean singing  that  brings  back  the  early  90's  UK  doom  metal  sound,  in  addition  there  is  a  brief  use  of  classical  guitars.

  Next  up  is  Hellight  with  "The  Light  That  Brought  Darkness"  another  slow  and  atmospheric  sounding  funeral  doom  metal  song  with  ambient  keyboards  and  deep  doom/death  metal  growls  along  with  some  black  metal  sounding  screams  in addition  there  are  some  melodic  clean  singing  being  utilized  in the  middle  of  the  song.

  Next  up  is  Septic  Mind  with  "Beginning"  a  very  slow  ambient/funeral  doom  metal  song  with  dark  riffing  and  some  evil  and  guttural  sounding  growls  and  some  high  pitched  screams.

  Next  up  is  The  Howling  Void  with  "Shadows  Over  The  Cosmos"  a  very  atmospgeric  and  melodic sounding  doom/death  metal  song  with  a  great  touch  of  ambient/funeral  doom  being  added  to  the  song.

  Closing  the  compilation  is  St  Erik  with  an  unreleased  version  of  "Closer"  a  more  traditional  sounding  80's  style  doom  metal  song  with  a  great  and  dark  atmosphere  behind  the  song.

  In  conclusion  this  is  a  great  compilation  that  has  a  little  bit  of  everything  for  all  fans  of  doom  metal,  and  if  you  are  into  this  genre,  you  should  add  this  compilation  to  your  collection.  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

BadMoonManMusic/2010 Compilation Review

   This  is  a  review  of  a  compilation  put  out  by  BadMoonMan Music  in  2010  which  specializes in doom metal  and  we  will  review  the  songs  one  by  one.

  Letargy  Dream  brings  us  "Saturn"  a  slow  doom  metal  song  in  the  vein  of  early  Cathedral,  with  a  good  amount  of  influences  from  80's  style  traditional  dream,  with  a  mixture  of  screaming  vocals  and  clean  singing,  along  with  some  acoustic  guitar  work  in  the  middle  of  the  song.

  Next  up  is Taphble  Cne3bl  Amber  Tears  "Infinity  Grey  Days"  a  more  atmospheric  sounding  gothic/doom/death  metal  song  with  a  great  amount  of  depressing  melodies  as  well  as  a  mixture  od  spoken  word  parts  and  deep  death/doom metal  growls.

  Next  up  is  As  Light  Dies  with  "Le  Nebuleux  Sentier"  a  gothic  doom  metal  song  with  atmospheric  keyboards,  depressive  violins  as  well  as  some  clean  singing  behind  the  heavy  guitars  with  a  great  amount  of  acoustic  guitars being  thrown  in .

  Next  up  is  Cebran-Khal  with  "The  Lunar  Tragedy - Act 2. Mourior,  Mourior, Suis-Je Plus Mort"  another  melodic  gothic  doom/death  metal  song  that  combines  a  mixture  of  clean singing  and  deep  growls  as  well  as  a  mixture  of  soft  and  heavy  riffs  and  you  can  hear  some  black  metal  influences  in  the  song.

  Next  up  is  Sideris  Noctem  with  "Binary"  a  very  melodic  and  atmospheric  sounding  doom  metal  song  with  some  depressing  melodies  and  heavy  guitars  along  with  a  mixture  of  clean  singing  male  and  female  vocals  along  with  some  heavier  growls  in the  middle  of  the  song.

  Next  up  is  Helevorn with  "From  Our Glorious  Days"  another  slow  atmospheric  doom/death  metal  song  with  depressive  keyboards,  melodic  guitar  riffs,  and  a  mixture  of  deep growls  and  clean  singing.

  Next  up  is  On  The  Edge  Of  The  Netherrealm  with  "Day  And  Night"  a  very  slow  and  atmospheric  funeral/doom  metal  song  with  a  good  mixtures  of  keyboards,  slow  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  deep  growls,  along  with  some  whispers.

  Next  up  is  Kamlath  with  "Dawn  Of  Credence"  a  very  slow  and  melodic  sounding  doom  metal  song  that  utilizes  a  great  amount of  clean singing.

  Next  up  is  Raventale  with  "Gone"  a  very  slow  funeral  doom  metal  song  with  some  depressive  melodic  riffing  and  deep  growls that  have  somewhat  of  a  black  metal  influence  to  it.

  Next  up  is  Wedding  In  Hades  with  "Safety"  a  song  that  combines  melodic  black  metal  with  atmospheric  doom/death  metal  with  some  clean  singing  gothic  vocals  being  included  in  the  song.

  Next  up  is  S.C.A.L.P  with  a  demo  version  of  "Missed  Shot"  a  more  melodic  and  slow  sounding  doom  metal song  that  has  the  classic  90's  atmospheric  doom/death  sound  to  it  along  with  a  mixture  of  deep  growls  and  clean  singing.

  Next  up  is  Floodstain  with  "Slave  To  The  Self  Feeding  Machine"  a  song  that  combines  stoner  doom  with  groove  metal.

  Closing  the  compilation  is  Re123+  with  "Gold,  Laden,  Mirra"  a  mre  slow  and  soft  instrumental  song.

  In  conclusion  this  is  a  great  compilation  that  has  a  little  bit  of  everything  for  fans  of  all  styles  of  doom  metal,  and  I  would  recommended  this  to  all  fans  of  doom  metal.  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Cleanse Your Demons/2010 Demo Review

  Cleanse  Your  Demons  are  a  band  from  Toronto,  Ontario,  Canada  that  plays  a  form  of doom  metal  that  also  mixes  in influences  from thrash  and  death  metal  and this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2010  demo.

  Drums  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  playing  with  not  much  in the  way  of  fast  playing or blast  beats, while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing that  is  coming  out of the  guitars.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  doom  metal  riffs  that  utilize  some  death  metal  influences  in the  heavier  riffing  as  well  as  some  thrash  influences,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  sounding  doom metal  guitar  leads  and  solos.

  Vocals  are  mostly  deep  death/thrash  metal  growls,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes  with  some  satanic  lyrics  on  the  last  song,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  dark,  powerful  and  heavy  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Cleanse  Your  Demons  are  a  very  great  sounding  doom/death/thrash  metal  hybrid  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  style,  you  should  check out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Rotting  Season".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Waldchengarten/Black Rabbit/2209 Album Review

  Waldchengarten  are  a  band  from  Denmark  that plays  a  very  drone  form  of  doom  focusing  more  on  the  drone  parts  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2009  album  "Black  Rabbit"  which  was  released  by  Drowning  Productions.

  Drums  and  bass  guitar  are  absent  from  this  recording,  while  the  noise  effects  bring  a  very  dark  avant  garde  noise/drone  edge  to the  music  which  is  a  half  an  hour  song.

  Guitars  are  all  noise/drone  effects  which  does  not  utilize  alot  in  the  riffing  except  for  certain  parts  of  the  music  relying  more  on  the  distortion  of  the  amps  bringing  doom  metal/sludge  influence  to  the  music  and  there  are  no  guitar  solos  or  leads  present  on  this  recording.

  Vocals  and  song  writing  are  all  absent  from  this  recording  with  the  music  being  all  instrumental,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  dark,  heavy  and  primitive  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Waldchengarten  are  a  very  great  sounding  drone/improv/instrumental/doom  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  style,  you  should c heck  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  BUY.    

Nernes/Skagen/Montreal/Drowning Productions/2010 Album Review

  Nernes/Skagen  are  a  band  from  Norway  that  plays  monolithic  drone/doom  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  live  2010  album  "Montreal"  which  was  released  by  Drowning  Productions.

  Drums  and  bass  guitar  are  all  absent  from  the  recording,  while  the  noise  effects  bring  a  very  dark  and  distorted  sound  to  the  music.

  Rhythm  guitars  are  all  slow  drone/doom  metal  riffs  that  do not  offer  much  in  the  way  of  diversity  with  a  great  amount  of  heavy  distortion  being  backed  up  behind  the  riffing  with  the  song  being  a  long  30  minute  improv  piece    and  there  are  no  guitar  solos  or  leads  present  on  this  recording.

  Vocals  and  song  writing  are  all  absent from  the  recording  with  the  music  being  all  instrumental  and improv,  as  for  the  production the  album  it  is  all recorded  live  and  has  a  very  dark,  heavy  and  primitive  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Nernes/Skagen  are  a  very  great  sounding  monolithic/improv/drone/doom  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  style,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  BUY. 

SOL/Black Cloud Of Becoming/Drowning Productions/Golem Tapes/2011 Album Review

  SOL  are a  band  from  Denmark that  plays  atmospheric  drone/doom/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2011  album  "Black  Cloud  Of  Becoming"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  Drowning  Productions  and  Golem  Tapes.

  Synths  are  all  atmospheric  and  drone/dark  ambient  soundscapes  with  the  songs  being  very  long  with  some influences  from  experiemental  kraut  rock,  while  the  drums  are  all  slow  playing  with  no  fast  drumming  or  blast  beats  being  present  on   this  recording,  as  for  the  bass  playing it  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  is  coming out  of  the  guitars.

  Rhythm  guitars  are  all  sludge/doom  metal  riffing  that  is  heavily  influenced  by  the  heaviness  of  death  metal  with  a  good  amount  of  heavy  distortion  behind  the  riffing  and  there  all  no  guitar  solos  or  leads  present  on  this  recording.

  Vocals  are  all  high  pitched  sludge  style  screams,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  depressive  themes, as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  dark,  primitive  and  heavy  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Sol  are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric  drone/doom/sludge/death  metal  hybrid  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  style,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Yielding  To  The  Sound  Of  Clouds".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Diseim Interview

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?
We are a bunch of guys from Riga with a passion for metal. The band exists since 2007, but we only came around to releasing our first album now. The album is called "Holy Wrath", I guess it could tell more about us than I could in a couple of short sentences.

2. How would you describe your musical sound?
We don't try to achieve a certain sound, we just put together whatever we like and then see if we all like the result. We've been described as a mixture of sludge, doom and old school death off course, sounds about right. It's nice to catch the listeners off guard with a thrashy track like Pyromania after a doomy track like Sinner. But the way we see it there's more death metal than anything else in our sound.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Many of our lyrics touch the topic of religion in one way or another, trying to show the lies, foolishness and ugliness of these barbaric institutions. In others we try to explore the human nature and flaws.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?
Our guitarist made it up. It's a secret, there is no real meaning behind the word. It doesn't exist in any language known to us. But it sounds nice.

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?
It's hard to pick out one, every shown is a different experience. We get out there and give it our best, the rest depends on the audience. But we hope they enjoy it as much as we do.

6. Do you have any touring plans for the new release?
There will definitely be some concerts in our home and in the neighboring countries, we'd gladly play all around the globe, but we'll have to wait and see how everything turns out.

7. On a worldwide level how has your music been received by fans of underground metal?
We haven't heard any negative comments yet.

8. Are there any other projects besides this band or is this a full time line-up?
Yes, some of the members have other projects that don't fall into the same musical category as Diseim. For example our bass guitarist plays reggae and the drummer has and art-rock project. But Diseim is the main project for all of us.

9. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?
We'll keep doing what we like and see what becomes of it, I guess.

10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
All of us have different musical preferences. There are different bands and styles that influenced each of us individually. And there's probably no single band or style that influences all of us.

I'm listening to Exodus and Napalm Death at the moment, but my all time favorites are Akercocke and Behemoth. -Sergejs

11. What role does Occultism play in the music?
No role at all, actually. Or rather we use it as an example, a metaphor to describe the idea that lies beneath, what really is important.

12. How would you describe the metal scene in your home country of Latvia?
It's quite diverse. It doesn't get as much fresh blood as it used to, though. With the rising popularity of new “metal” genres most youngsters chose them in favor of the good old death/doom/black/etc. metal. Despite that there still is a number of great bands definitely worth listening to.

13. Outside of music what are some of your interests?
In my case it's IT and scribbling with the pencil. -Sergejs

14. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
We'd like to thank you for the interview and the readers for getting this far.