Thorr's Hammer - Dommedagsnatt

Another 'Southern Lord' treasure -- Those dudes from SUNN O))) team up with a norwegian exchange student to make some crushing doom jams. Heavy Monolithic Lumbering Sludgy stuff with a kind of subtle Black Sabbath vibe to it, backed with some deep-n-low growls mixed with chanting. 'Troll' is the fucking shit.

I just wish their name didn't sound like a slay-the-dragon-siege-the-castle type band. Like Hammerfall or something. I fucking hate that band.

Thorr's Hammer - Dommedagsnatt

--fred

Ramesses - Misanthropic Alchemy

Ramesses is Blackened-Doom-Sludge from Dorset, England. The band holds two ex-members from 'Electric Wizard', another Dorset-based Doom Metal band. They left the band in 2003 a few years after recording 'Dopethrone', leaving Jus Osborn as the only founding member still in the band.

Ramesses - Misanthropic Alchemy

Twin Threats To Your Sanity 2x7"

Double Split album released back in 2001 featuring a live performance of 'Diary of a Battered Child' by Dystopia, a cover of 'Procreation of the Wicked' by NOOTHGRUSH, a live version of 'Gestation' by Bongzilla, and 'Nieve' by Japanese sludge-doomers Corrupted.

Twin Threats to Your Sanity 2x7"

--fred

Dark Castle - Spirited Migration

Sludge-Doom two-piece from Florida with female fronted vocals ala Grey. Heavy shit; atmospheric in the vein of RWAKE:

Dark Castle - Spirited Migration

NOOTHGRUSH - Erode the Person (Original and Thrones Re-release)

NOOTHGRUSH has only released songs on a little more than a handful of splits and maybe a 7" here and there, so 'Erode the Person', meant to be a compilation, is good representation of their body of work. A bit of a problem arose though, for me at least, when I went to re-download this after my last hard drive died; 'Erode the Person' was released twice--two different albums with separate cover art and track listings. So, to counter-act that, I'm uploading both the original version of 'Erode' along with the "Thrones Release", which was put out 3 years ago. Of the two, I prefer the original for it's tracklisting, as it has 'Gage' and 'Sysyphus Narrow Way', however the "Thrones Release" has it's own edge in sound quality, as well as a few songs exclusive onto itself. Can't go wrong here:

Original 'Erode the Person'
Thrones Release: Part 1 Part 2

--fred

Salome - Self-Titled

This is Salome (Sal-Om-May not Sal-Low-Me or Salami) from Northern Virginia. I had the pleasure of seeing these three at the Nowarehouse along with Oak and two other bands that I've completely forgotten about. There was some black or death metal band that seemed to be making a big deal about themselves because they were about to go to tour in Europe but who cares whatever.

Salome is heavy. Really heavy. A kind of crushing misanthropy that could have only come from a real shithole like Northern Virginia. The vocals are something akin to NOOTHGRUSH, something you wouldn't really expect from meeting their vocalist in person (she's apparently also the new vocalist for Agoraphobic Nosebleed). The guitar work is patient and sloth-like, occasionally breaking into Stoner Rock trips before bringing back the heavy. Most of the album keeps a crawling sort of pace with some bludgeoning riffs here and there (most of Black Tides).

Check it out:

Salome - Self-Titled
Buy (It's either this or you go to a show and buy it.)



--fred

Bedemon - Invocation to Doom

Bedemon is a concept band constructed by ex-Pentagram guitarist Randy Palmer back in the early 1970s. The band's namesake is twisted together from the combination of 'Behemoth' and 'Demon' (and the aid of a hard-of-hearing Bobby Liebling), reflecting the sinister attitude and heavy-riffing dished out in the group's early recordings. The project disintegrated with Palmer's induction into Pentagram, with a couple Bedemon songs, one of which being 'Starlady'--later released on 'First Daze Here', even making it into the folds of Pentagram's discos. There were plans to re-record the 70s material and release a full LP, but in an unfortunate turn of events, Randy Palmer died in a car accident in 2002, right as his plans for new recording sessions were starting to come together. Included is a full release of demos from their 1970s sessions--keep in mind these are in pretty Low Fidelity, but it's still a solid listen.

For fans of PENTAGRAM, Witchcraft, and Black Sabbbath:

Bedemon - Invocation to Doom


--fred

Behold! The Monolith

'Behold! The Monolith' hails from Los Angeles, California. With clear influences from Motorhead, High on Fire, Mastodon, and the Melvins, 'Monolith' leads you from track to track on a slow doom tromp, intermittently breaking into an impulsive, gritty, sprinting display of power. Bass lurks through the first track, under layers of fluid guitar work, before the two convene to lay the sludgehammer, setting the mood for the rest of the EP. The vocals reflect influences from metal behemoths like NOOTHGRUSH and Grief, with a hearty helping of Lemmy.

Easily one of my favorite releases of this year:

Behold! The Monolith - EP

--fred