Solothus: Realm Of Ash And Blood (20 Buck Spin) [Paul Hutchings]
Slow, crashing riffs carrying the weight of the world introduce you to Father Of Sickness, the opening track on Realm Of Ash And Blood, the third record from Finnish death doom titans Solothus. Moving with a steady but unstoppable force, there is much to explore as the track expands. With roots deep in the doom and death metal scene, the demonic guttural groans of founder member vocalist Kari Kankaanpaa vary between death and black metal. As can be heard on The Watcher, the second track which increases pace halfway through and where echoes of Bathory can be heard. Searing guitar work emanates throughout, with Veli-Matti Karjalainen and now departed Sami Iivonen adding their haunting sonic elements. It’s been seven years since sophomore record Summoned From The Void appeared, and the Finns are keen to restamp their mark.
The monolithic The Gallow’s Promise groans under the weight of gargantuan riffing, a nine-minute sprawling effort of bone crushing heaviness. In comparison, the delicate two minute The Last Breath, despite the darkness of the title, allows a pause, the gentle guitar work providing sanctuary from the falling masonry which erupts on the following Below Black Waters, another mammoth pulverising beast. Chasm Of Shattered Bones may not only be one of my favourite song titles of the year but also one of my favourite tracks, the sheer intense explosive style, the Sabbath-esque riffs and lead break and the slight increase in pace combine into an absolute massive track which provides the gateway to the suffocating Rain Of Ash, a spine splitting ten minute giant, with a monstrous feel, huge riffing and an enormity that one rarely discovers.
Slow, crashing riffs carrying the weight of the world introduce you to Father Of Sickness, the opening track on Realm Of Ash And Blood, the third record from Finnish death doom titans Solothus. Moving with a steady but unstoppable force, there is much to explore as the track expands. With roots deep in the doom and death metal scene, the demonic guttural groans of founder member vocalist Kari Kankaanpaa vary between death and black metal. As can be heard on The Watcher, the second track which increases pace halfway through and where echoes of Bathory can be heard. Searing guitar work emanates throughout, with Veli-Matti Karjalainen and now departed Sami Iivonen adding their haunting sonic elements. It’s been seven years since sophomore record Summoned From The Void appeared, and the Finns are keen to restamp their mark.
The monolithic The Gallow’s Promise groans under the weight of gargantuan riffing, a nine-minute sprawling effort of bone crushing heaviness. In comparison, the delicate two minute The Last Breath, despite the darkness of the title, allows a pause, the gentle guitar work providing sanctuary from the falling masonry which erupts on the following Below Black Waters, another mammoth pulverising beast. Chasm Of Shattered Bones may not only be one of my favourite song titles of the year but also one of my favourite tracks, the sheer intense explosive style, the Sabbath-esque riffs and lead break and the slight increase in pace combine into an absolute massive track which provides the gateway to the suffocating Rain Of Ash, a spine splitting ten minute giant, with a monstrous feel, huge riffing and an enormity that one rarely discovers.
An album that promises much from the opening minutes, and which more than fulfils every expectation by its conclusion. If you like your doom beyond heavy, then I strongly recommend seeking out this stunning piece of work. 9/10
The Sonic Dawn: Enter The Mirage (Heavy Psych Sounds) [Paul Scoble]
The Sonic Dawn: Enter The Mirage (Heavy Psych Sounds) [Paul Scoble]
The Sonic Dawn are a three piece based in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Danes have produced 3 albums before Enter The Mirage, the last being 2019’s Eclipse. The band play a style of music usually associated with much hotter weather than Denmark; The Sonic Dawn play a style of psychedelic rock that is so Southern California it has So-Cal stamped on every note. The sound is fairly simple, clean electric guitar, bass, drums and vocals, with the occasional addition of Hammond organ or sitar guitar. There is a pop sensibility to a lot of the tracks, Hits Of Acid, has this poppy feel to it, in some places this sounds a little like Beck. Another clear influence on The Sonic Dawn are The Doors. Loose Ends has a closing section that features a Sitar Guitar and gives the section a similarity to the song The End.
There are elements of other late sixties music featured on the album as well. Children Of The Night and Sun Drifter sound quite country rock, reminding me of The Eagles or maybe a little bit like Gram Parsons. Sun Drifter in particular is a beautiful piece of soft psych rock mixed with some lovely finger picked country rock. Both the tracks I mentioned have a beautiful blissed out quality that after a couple of listens really gets into your head. Although I’ve emphasised the softer, poppier elements of this album, there is some slightly harder rock on here as well. Soul Sacrifice is a taut, uptempo rocker with lashing of Hammond Organ, that is driving and enjoyable. The band can do funky as well. Join The Dead is a minimalist piece of funk rock, again with bags of Hammond Organ, and a huge swagger.
The album is brought to an end by UFO, a soft ballad that is a mix of psych and country rock. The track is soft and lilting, with lots of keyboard. UFO is a very relaxed, smooth way to end the album, which is a great way to bring this very enjoyable album to its conclusion. Enter The Mirage is a cracking piece of sixties psych rock. In many ways it reminds me of the Temples album I reviewed last year. It’s relaxed and emotive, packed full of sunshine (sometimes melancholy sunshine, but sunshine all the same), bluesy psych rock that after a couple of listens will get into your head have you humming the tunes for weeks. It’s a very well written, played and produced, and will give listeners lots of enjoyment. 8/10
Dawn Of Ouroboros: The Art Of Morphology (Rain Without End Records) [Matt Bladen]
Rainfall and ominous chords open up the debut record from Californian blackened metal band Dawn of Ouroboros. A slow build really shows the bands progressive nature before you get the flattening double kicks and tremolo picking for the rest of Revivified Spirits which blitz's past with a more traditional sound, however they never stay in one style for long switching between ambient post-metal, bludgeoning death metal, doomy passages while employing the vocals of Chelsea Murphy to the full on Pinnacle Induced Vertigo shifting between whispered cleans and roaring harsh growls as it slows towards the end leaving Gateway To Tenebrosity as a piano driven instrumental that leads into the acosuit beginning of Lunar Cathexis which has the rhythm section of David Scanlon (bass) and Ron Bertrand (drums) working at full force while it's Tony Thomas' guitar playing and compositions that this album really highlights. A stimulating mix of progressive death metal and post-black metal The Art Of Morphology is an ideal listen for fans of Alcest, Advent Sorrow and Agalloch with songs like Sorrow's Eclipse the first single, showing exactly why I've made these comparisons. 7/10
Imonolith: State Of Being (Self Released) [Rich Oliver]
State Of Being is the debut album from Canadian band Imonolith. Formed by drummer Ryan Van Poederooyen and guitarist Brian “Beav” Waddell following the disbandment of the Devin Townsend Project they are joined by vocalist Jon Howard (Threat Signal), guitarist Kai Huppunen (Methods Of Mayhem) and bassist Scott Whalen (Econoline Crush).
Though formed from the demise of the Devin Townsend Project this band is a completely separate entity with its sound rooted in early 2000’s alternative rock and groove metal. This has a very straightforward mainstream metal sound and as a result ends up being a very generic sounding release. There are half decent riffs scattered about throughout the album and the drumming by RVP is at its usual excellent standard but the vocals by Jon Howard are in that grating metalcore style complete with the whiny sounding cleans. It’s not a complete disaster though as the heavy groove throughout the album can get your head nodding and your foot tapping and sometimes it is used to great effect such as in the pummelling Dig and the brutality of The Reign.
There are elements of other late sixties music featured on the album as well. Children Of The Night and Sun Drifter sound quite country rock, reminding me of The Eagles or maybe a little bit like Gram Parsons. Sun Drifter in particular is a beautiful piece of soft psych rock mixed with some lovely finger picked country rock. Both the tracks I mentioned have a beautiful blissed out quality that after a couple of listens really gets into your head. Although I’ve emphasised the softer, poppier elements of this album, there is some slightly harder rock on here as well. Soul Sacrifice is a taut, uptempo rocker with lashing of Hammond Organ, that is driving and enjoyable. The band can do funky as well. Join The Dead is a minimalist piece of funk rock, again with bags of Hammond Organ, and a huge swagger.
The album is brought to an end by UFO, a soft ballad that is a mix of psych and country rock. The track is soft and lilting, with lots of keyboard. UFO is a very relaxed, smooth way to end the album, which is a great way to bring this very enjoyable album to its conclusion. Enter The Mirage is a cracking piece of sixties psych rock. In many ways it reminds me of the Temples album I reviewed last year. It’s relaxed and emotive, packed full of sunshine (sometimes melancholy sunshine, but sunshine all the same), bluesy psych rock that after a couple of listens will get into your head have you humming the tunes for weeks. It’s a very well written, played and produced, and will give listeners lots of enjoyment. 8/10
Dawn Of Ouroboros: The Art Of Morphology (Rain Without End Records) [Matt Bladen]
Rainfall and ominous chords open up the debut record from Californian blackened metal band Dawn of Ouroboros. A slow build really shows the bands progressive nature before you get the flattening double kicks and tremolo picking for the rest of Revivified Spirits which blitz's past with a more traditional sound, however they never stay in one style for long switching between ambient post-metal, bludgeoning death metal, doomy passages while employing the vocals of Chelsea Murphy to the full on Pinnacle Induced Vertigo shifting between whispered cleans and roaring harsh growls as it slows towards the end leaving Gateway To Tenebrosity as a piano driven instrumental that leads into the acosuit beginning of Lunar Cathexis which has the rhythm section of David Scanlon (bass) and Ron Bertrand (drums) working at full force while it's Tony Thomas' guitar playing and compositions that this album really highlights. A stimulating mix of progressive death metal and post-black metal The Art Of Morphology is an ideal listen for fans of Alcest, Advent Sorrow and Agalloch with songs like Sorrow's Eclipse the first single, showing exactly why I've made these comparisons. 7/10
Imonolith: State Of Being (Self Released) [Rich Oliver]
State Of Being is the debut album from Canadian band Imonolith. Formed by drummer Ryan Van Poederooyen and guitarist Brian “Beav” Waddell following the disbandment of the Devin Townsend Project they are joined by vocalist Jon Howard (Threat Signal), guitarist Kai Huppunen (Methods Of Mayhem) and bassist Scott Whalen (Econoline Crush).
Though formed from the demise of the Devin Townsend Project this band is a completely separate entity with its sound rooted in early 2000’s alternative rock and groove metal. This has a very straightforward mainstream metal sound and as a result ends up being a very generic sounding release. There are half decent riffs scattered about throughout the album and the drumming by RVP is at its usual excellent standard but the vocals by Jon Howard are in that grating metalcore style complete with the whiny sounding cleans. It’s not a complete disaster though as the heavy groove throughout the album can get your head nodding and your foot tapping and sometimes it is used to great effect such as in the pummelling Dig and the brutality of The Reign.
State Of Being is a disappointing release. It sounds like a throwback to the horrible generic rock and metal which infested the scene in the early 2000’s. I wasn’t a fan of this style back then and my opinion of it has not softened with age. I’m glad that Beav and RVP are trying something different and forging their own path after their time with Devin but I found this album to be extremely underwhelming and very disappointing. 4/10