ALBUM REVIEW: Black Rainbows – Superskull


 

Stoner rock is often thought of in the same dim light as Doom, but this Italian band has dropped an album that serves as an example of how the two genres differ. While stoner rock and doom both share DNA with Black Sabbath, these guys ride on their riffs with a boogie that share a similar cactus patch as Clutch. They do pay homage to Sabbath, mainly in the singer’s piercing declarations that sound like Ozzy by way of nineties grunge. Their fuzz-laden riffs focus on grooving, rather than carrying the stark undercurrent of aggression that powered Sabbath’s darker guitar sound.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Clutch – Sunrise On Slaughter Beach


Clutch, the irrepressible quartet from Maryland, America have just graced our ears with a new record Sunrise On Slaughter Beach (Weathermarker) – their thirteenth record, coming four years after Book Of Bad Decisions. It is unmistakably a Clutch album, full of hearty riffs and deft turns of phrase, but it is a shorter and more varied one than its predecessor.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Temptation’s Wings – Marauders of the Killing Moon


If Black Label Society was influenced by Classic Metal and Doom instead of Southern Rock, they would probably sound a lot like Temptation’s Wings. The Asheville, North Carolina-based group features delightfully Ozzy-esque vocals with extra Zakk Wylde gruffness, guitars rooted in beefy bottom-heavy tones with playing that consists of steady gallops and melodic leads, and rhythms with a certain Southern Metal swing. All presented with a barbarian attitude that lends itself well to tales of drinking and mythological conquest.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Wolftooth – Blood And Iron


 

It would be a stretch to call Wolftooth’s third full-length a Doom Metal album, but Blood And Iron (Napalm Records) is a rather methodical listen by their standards. The songs run noticeably longer than their first two efforts, especially when compared to the compact anthems on Valhalla, with the seven-minute runtimes on the opening ‘Ahab’ and the title track being their lengthiest to date. The pacing also seems slightly more lumbering as the faster sequences have a sort of hesitation behind them and the hooks are decidedly more subtle.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Khemmis – Deceiver – Nuclear Blast


Hailing from Denver, Khemmis is a blossoming band that has been turning heads since they began to jam in 2012. They cultivated their own little corner in the extensive genre of Doom Metal by creating a strong, unique voice among the other hopeful hordes and wannabes. The success from their second full-length, Hunted (20 Buck Spin) released in 2016, gave them a spotlight and they have been thriving in its beam ever since. Now these fellas are trimmed down to three members, have signed a new record deal, and are getting ready to release their fourth full-length album, Deceiver (Nuclear Blast). The raw, artistic depths that this group can reach with their heaviness is tunneling even deeper on this new record. By intensifying their emotional provocation and sound, Khemmis has struck gold. Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Monolord – Your Time To Shine


Five albums into a career as one of the top bands in the modern Stoner Doom scene, Monolord offers their mellow, tripped-out effort to date with Your Time To Shine (Relapse Records). While there’s still plenty of dank fuzziness to go around, it feels almost like a backdrop at times as the cleaner guitar textures are given near equal priority and the vocals are at their most prominent. Fortunately, it feels like more of a culmination of a gradual trajectory rather than a radical shift in direction; after all, these elements started gaining traction on 2019’s No Comfort and it’s easy to imagine guitarist/vocalist Thomas V. Jager’s 2020 solo album rubbing off on the process.

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Check Out a New Excerpt from Matt Pike’s (High on Fire, SLEEP) Book “Head on A Pike”


Events Center, Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV 8/16/19

Spanning the entire career of a metal icon, Head On A Pike:The Illustrated Lyrics of Matt Pike, but the iconic Stoner doom legend Matt Pike of bands such as High on Fire and Sleep is releasing on November 9th, 2021, via Rare Bird Books. Beginning with the 1998 album ‘The Art Of Self Defense’, and through to 2018’s ‘Electric Messiah’, each chapter of Head on A Pike features Matt’s distinctive lyrics flanked by one-of-a-kind artistic interpretations — specifically inspired by each album — straight from the minds and hearts of an incredible cast of illustrators, tattooers, print makers and painters that Pike has trusted since the beginning to depict his unique musical vision. Head On A Pike: The Illustrated Lyrics of Matt Pike is scheduled for worldwide release in hardcover and e-book, and the trade edition will retail for $20. Signed hardcovers and signed limited edition bundles are available at the link below.

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Check Out an Excerpt from Matt Pike’s (High on Fire, SLEEP) Book “Head on A Pike”


Events Center, Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV 8/16/19

Spanning the entire career of a metal icon, Head On A Pike: The Illustrated Lyrics of Matt Pike, but the iconic Stoner doom legend Matt Pike of bands such as High on Fire and Sleep is releasing from n November 9th, 2021, via Rare Bird Books. Beginning with the 1998 album ‘The Art Of Self Defense’, and through to 2018’s ‘Electric Messiah’, each chapter of Head on A Pike features Matt’s distinctive lyrics flanked by one-of-a-kind artistic interpretations — specifically inspired by each album — straight from the minds and hearts of an incredible cast of illustrators, tattooers, print makers and painters that Pike has trusted since the beginning to depict his unique musical vision. ‘Head On A Pike: The Illustrated Lyrics of Matt Pike’ is scheduled for worldwide release in hardcover and e-book, and the trade edition will retail for $20. Signed hardcovers and signed limited edition bundles are available at the link below. Check out an excerpt right now, over at Decibel Magazine’s website.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Kal-El – Dark Majesty



It’s fair to say that Kal-El’s fifth full-length is easily their most elaborate outing yet. The Norwegian quartet’s previous efforts have presented their brand of Stoner Metal with an increasingly spacy edge that seemed to peak with 2019’s Witches Of Mars. However, Dark Majesty (Majestic Mountain Records) sees the last signs of restraint fade into the ether; its eight tracks reach sprawling eight to ten-minute lengths that culminate to an hour-long experience, far eclipsing the runtime of albums past.

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DOOM METAL ROUNDUP: Mourn The Light, Bottomless, Lucifer’s Fall, and Purification


Mourn the Light Suffer, Then We’re Gone

Mourn The Light offers Traditional Doom Metal with a few twists on their first full-length album. It doesn’t quite hit the full operatic scope of Epic Doom or reach the speeds of Classic Metal, but influences from both at work throughout Suffer, Then We’re Gone (Argonauta Records). The riffs and song structures are in line with the busy nature of Psalm 9-era Trouble while the vocals offer a husky but theatrical bellow, drawing further comparisons to groups like Altar Of Oblivion and Argus.Continue reading