November is Doom - Swallow the Sun :"Shining"

 

This month, we are also covering bands that used to be doom bands and have now evolved past the genre's bounds. These guys are following in the footsteps of Katatonia in this regard, so much so that the first song reminds me of Katatonia. Being from Finland there is ample gloom cast over the grandiose production. I really liked "Moonflowers" It earned a 9.5, so the bar is held high for them, let's see if they can measure up again this time.  The second song contrasts a deliberate crunch and harsh vocals with atmospheric touches as they allow breathing room in the spacious arrangements.  There is some great guitar work on this song, and they find an effective dynamic balance of heavy tones. 

This album requires multiple listens to fully sink in. "Melancholy" benefits from an urgent vocal melody in the verse. The chorus is more complex than arena metal tends to be. Their progressive leanings are still a thing that helps set them apart from their peers or just another band paying homage to the Peaceville era. "Under the Moon and Sun" is a moodier power ballad. It is well-written but does not pack the same punch. Things get heavier on "Kold" as they stomp into song, before the call and response with the sun vocals.

"November Dust" is almost a Type O Negative tribute, I guess it's not a coincidence that the title is a play on "October Rust". They do a better job than the dude from Spirit Adrift's Neon  Nightmare project, which might as well be a covers album, they at least maintain their identity.  "Velvet Chains" is more of a fragile ballad that almost gets consumed by its ambiance. A  new pop folk vibe, haunts it slightly.  'Tonight Pain Believes" is catchier but it just kind of falls out of the other song, I thought the previous song just took a hookier turn.

"Charcol Sky" is the first song in a minute that has embraced the more metallic side, even growled vocals return.  The title track that closes the album soars off into the sunset with its melodic lushness but also has an undercurrent of double bass to keep it moving. I will give this album a 9, it works well enough, and these guys are seasoned pros so it is going to sound great no matter what,  for my tastes, I prefer the darker tone of their previous work is better when it comes to songwriting, but there are no slouches on this one either. This is the album they wanted to make and most fans will be happy with it. 

pst550

November is Doom- The Top 10 Doom Albums of 2021

We are still seeing who can take the slow burn of the world ending 2021 offers little hope, so we need music to match this feeling. II celebrate death, that is why I listen to doom. I mean the name of the genre says it all. If you are not down with despair then get the fuck out of here. Ok now that that is out of the way, much like in years past sort through the genre lists before making the overall top ten of the year list. The fact these artists made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. You can bitch and complain about your favorite band not being on the list.  I listen to five new albums a day so yes, I heard your favorite album and was not impressed. No I do not care what you think about it. I do hope you can find your next favorite on this list and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out audio on these guys. Anyways here are the top 10 Doom albums of 2021

10- Altareth- "Blood" 

I suppose this is almost more like an honorable mention, as they at times struggle to separate themselves from sounding to much like Pallbearer, as the end of the day however they are more depressed than Pallbearer who seems hopeful in comparison and manage to convey that in their music which is a beautiful thing to me as I want my doom depressing as fuck.

Abysmal Hymns: November is Doom- Altareth- "Blood"

9- Kuan - "Ice Fleet"

There is a band from Estonia, which means they are going to have both Finnish and Russian influence to their sound. This might factor into the dark woodsy sound that might even bring Agalloch to mind at time. To call this band atmospheric doom is a bit of an exaggeration at this point in time. They have a very expansive sound. They are mournful and sonically intense so; it might be fitting to say they at least color their songs with a similar shade of melancholy as doom does.

Abysmal Hymns: November is Doom- Kuan : "Ice Fleet"

8-Clouds - "Despartire"

 I have always liked hearing this Romanian band, but never really invested much time into their albums, this album showed me the error of my ways.  The create a beautiful mix of atmosphere and melody off set by the low growled vocals which are really the only heavy or dark element of the otherwise soaring sound that retains many of the emotional elements of doom and the dynamics shift in levels of how woefully expansive they paint these songs with those sounds. 

Abysmal Hymns: November is Doom - Clouds :"Despărțire"

7-Swallow the Sun - "Moonflowers"

The 8th album by the Finnish orchestrators of doom. Their last album placed number 4 on 2019's Best Doom Albums list so the bar was raised rather high. Catchy melodies prove you can ease hooks into your melancholy. These guys have always effectively worked harsher vocals into their songs and do it in a less predictable way here as well.

Abysmal Hymns: November is Doom -Swallow the Sun - "Moonflowers"

6-Indigo Raven - "Looking For Transcendence" 

This album surprised the hell out of me. They pound into the chords more like sludge at times as there is not a great deal of Sabbath worship. But the mood is more atmosphere and doomy. Female vocals doing their own thing and not trying to be Coven haunt the songs. Are there some Diamanda Galas moments mixed in this the more gothy stylings of her voice. Yes, but that is a rarer bird to find in the wild so I will take it.

Abysmal Hymns: November is Doom - Indigo Raven- "Looking For Transcendence"

5-Grief Collector - "En Delirium" 

All you have to tell me is Robert Lowe is singing and I am there. If you are not educated in metal enough to know that he sings for Solitude Aeturnus and Candlemass, then your ability to call yourself a metal head is thus revoked. Riff wise this band really does not have to do much but give this man plenty of room to sing. This is more aggressive than his past work. The chug of the riffs has more attack to them and make for a powerful listen.

Abysmal Hymns: Grief Collector : "En Delirium

 4-Worm- "Foreverglade" 

There are a few ways to do death doom. Neither is wrong. Some rely on Incantation more and others rely on Paradise Lost, then there is just slow death metal. If these guys have to pick a team, they would be Incantation, but they employ a wider range of atmosphere and come across sounding way more legit in their mood. Much like funk, metal is something you can no fake, I need to feel the darkness. Even when the pick up the pace; their chug I am never left thinking ok this is just slow death metal, this is so dark it is beautiful.

Abysmal Hymns: November is Doom - Worm : "Foreverglade"

3-King Woman - "Celestial Blues " 

the follow up to "Created in the Image of Suffering" find the band not a bluesy in terms of the guitar riffs, but it does have a heavier emotional weight. The riffs themselves feel depressing at times, which I of course love since darkness and sonic heaviness are what I seek out in music. For an opener the title track is more introspective in its ambiance, though there are punchy doom ridden dynamics.

Abysmal Hymns: King Woman : "Celestial Blues"

2- Monolord - "Your Time to Shine" 

 

This Swedish band is back and heavier than they have been in some time on their 5th album and it recalls the more classic Sabbath influenced groove. The chords as allowed to ramble out from the smoky mountains. While the guitar tones are dialed in and they are making the most of a sound, they have taken even more time to polish these often dirge like rumbling riffs into pieces the vocals can find their way upon.

Abysmal Hymns: November is Doom- Monolord - "Your Time to Shine"

1-Witnesses - 'the Collapse"

They bravely follow up to "Doom II " which was such a perfect album, In my head this bar they set for themselves, they did not make the same album twice. Instead, they approached this more another angle. Perhaps, not as desolate and dark in the way it occupies sonic space as their previous album. But after a couple days of playtime, it is clear the guitar melodies are as equally haunting. I think in doing so for this album they have allowed the vocals to convey a similar emoting with more subtle flow as the take on a rawer edge. Heavier and more metallic it works in its own way.  

Abysmal Hymns: November is Doom- Witnesses : "the Collapse"

November is Doom -Swallow the Sun - "Moonflowers"

The 8th album by the Finnish orchestrators of doom. When it comes to orchestras they went overboard this time and made a double album with one of those discs being classical versions of the songs from the first disc, but  wanting to enable such over indulgence this review is just the first disc of  metal songs.  Their last album placed number 4 on 2019's Best Doom Albums list so the bar is raised rather high. The first song has a catchy melody that proves you can ease hooks into your melancholy. These guys have always effectively worked harsher vocals into their songs and do it in a less predictable way here as well. The second song "Enemy" is pleasing but kind of drifts .Sung vocals are more dominate this time around , but they really care about their sounds and arrange their songs in a way that gives every thing plenty of space. On " Woven in Sorrow" the heavy is not delivered until the end. The melodies wash over you with a languid malaise.  

There is more of a chugged drive to the riff of "Keep Your Heart Safe From Me" . They tread in more metallic sounds , that more common in more European death doom, owing more to bands like Paradise and Moonspell's  late 90s metal days. Thing ring out with even more contemplative melodies on "All Hallows Grieve". Which should have come out last month. There is some great tasteful guitar playing on this duet that introduces female vocals. This does point them in a more flowery symphonic metal direction but it still works. The moodiness of the melodies is tightly woven with 'the Void" which does not find the band getting too grandiose and simply works of just being a well written song. 'The Fight of Your Life" has great lyrics, the way it builds into a heavier climax works more off of a tried and true formula for them.  

They throw into themselves into a more black metal  heaviness with "This House Has No Home". This is the only time on this album they go all the way to blast mode to contrast the more morose crooning. it  Overall this song and the rest of the album I would put this up there with the previous album in fact I am going to edge it out a little and give this one an 9.5, as sometimes the just focused on less progressive tendencies and just wrote good songs which might be more straightforward of an affair but less is more... even in metal a genre known for excess. 

The Top 10 Doom Albums of 2019

It's that time of year again, to sort through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres and compile all the number ones into the top 10 albums of the year. Later in the month  I will make the top 10 lists for the decade. To be blunt 2019 is  the decade's weakest year for music.  Especially when it comes to new artists, however doom is one of the few genres that proved an exception to this as only 4 of the 10 bands are veterans. as 7 of the 10 bands are veterans  to our lists here. You had to search much harder to find ten albums that rose above, yet that is what I did.As in past  years  I am giving a brief explanation as to why these albums stand over the peers in lower positions on the list. The very fact these bands made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is making  you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. Sure you can  bitch and complain about your favorite band not being on the list, I listen to five new albums a day so yes I heard your favorite album and was not impressed. No,  I do not care what you think about it . I do hope you can find your next favorite on this list and included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out audio on these guys. Anyways here are the top 10 Doom albums of 2019 .

10-Isole-"Dystopia" 

 With the deluge of death doom this year it is good to just hear straight forward doom. Though not as straight forward as most doom bands due to the fact Most of this band also plays in the Pagan Black Metal band Ereb Altor. This cross over can still be felt in the influences brought to the table as they are not just doom musicians . Being from Sweden there are many other elements from the influence of their country men despite being a doom band. You get the guitar harmony parts from melo-death, the aggression of Dissection and in many places it feels like Katatonia jamming with Candlemass,

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/08/isole-dystopia.html



 



9-the River-"Vessels Into White Tides"

 I would much rather question what the fuck I am listening to than endure a band trying to be Electric Wizard. I  really appreciate this band's sound. Sure much like King Woman the flirt with the line of what doom can be. There is a melancholy to what they do that solidifies them as doom in my mind. The vocals are a timidly sung  by a woman whose voice falls some where between a higher alto and lower soprano. Her approach is very smooth. I can hear shoe gaze influence in what they do as well as slow core bands like Low.It is not playing it safe and hiding behind distortion while abandoning the conventions of Metal that placed this album ahead of Isole.



 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/11/november-doom-river-vessels-into-white.html

8-Obed Marsh- "Dunwhich" 


 If you want to hear death doom done really fucking right so that it's more doom and not just slow death metal, then check out this mean mother fucker. Their previous album "Innsmouth" had some gnarly spewed vocals , that this one has out does in the first two songs alone. Some of this might be thanks to the attention to detail in the production this time around. The guitars have a more angular dissonance to them which also helps paint this unnerving picture. The dark ugliness of this album beasts out the more subdued album by the River.


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/01/obed-marsh-dunwich.html

7-Sigils "You Built the Altar You Lit the Leaves"


 This band from New York has the detached surrealistic pulse that is shared by bands like Jesu.The guitars carry a lumbering to them , but are also the prime architects of the album's atmosphere. These guys would almost have more in common with sludge if it was not for the vocals carrying such a sense of loss to them.What puts them above Obded Marsh is the mood they create with atmosphere to have more sonic colors.


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/05/sigils-you-built-altar-you-lit-leaves.html

6-Year of the Cobra - "Ash and Dust" 

 There are few things that are surprising about this duo. The first being that they are a duo. This is fuzzed out bass not guitar.; The second is pop sensibilities of her vocals . Drone and groove are their stock and trade, with the loud soft dynamic a set part of the formula. The beat out Sigils for this spot due to the hooky vocals.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/11/november-doom-year-of-cobra-ash-and-dust.html

5-Kook- "II" 

 Their is some buzz about their fuzz.The album does sound great as It's warm and organic. I am less concerned with what pedals they play with and more interested in the songs, which are pretty fucking kicking as well. The are not the slowest or darkest doom. There is more Cream and MC5 influence than Sabbath. I like the singers croons , which also helped sell me on this band. The reason they came out on top over Year of the Cobra and it was a tough call, but since they are not a bass and drums duo they have more sonic depth.


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/11/november-doom-kook-ii.html

4- Swallow the Sun- "When a Shadow is Forced into the Light"


 These guys sound more Swedish than Finnish, though some of the goth touches are more implied than really committed to. If you are a fan of the band who doesn't mind the more melodic direction the band is heading in then you will find this album will sit well with you. If you haven't really given them much of a chance then this is a good place to start. More breathing room than the more oppressive strains of doom on this list. They are highly fine tuned and show no signs of wanting to be Black Sabbath. What they are doing here is so much bigger than what Kook is going for it is almost not fair to compare them, but what gives these guys the edge of land this spot.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/01/swallow-sun-when-shadow-is-forced-into.html

3-Esoteric- "A Pyrrhic Existence"

 I love Esoteric. "Paragon of Dissonance" is one of my favorite albums. But I will only listen to a 30 minute song once no matter how good it is. The first song is almost longer than Slayer's entire "Reign in Blood" album. Granted speed metal vs doom are two very different things. Aside from that it's ambitious and still executed perfectly in terms of the sounds and moods they attain. Once you are in it this album is clearly some next level shit that goes beyond just being funeral doom. You can not really fairly compare this against most of the albums on this list. Swallow the Sun however is almost as ambitious as Esoteric, these guys are just much heavier and muscle their way to the number 3 spot.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/11/november-doom-esoteric-pyrrhic-existence.html

2-Brume -"Rabbits"

 This album was not what I expected going into it. After a few listens it proves early on this is an album I can just let play as it flows with smooth dynamics that do not tire. The drumming is almost as impressive as the soaring vocals. More hypnotic than crushing, the gray melancholy is often more than enough to solidify their place as doom, though their sound tends to be fragile in it's moodiness. It is this level of songwriting that makes me listen to this more than the bigger symphony of despair Esoteric created.


https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/11/november-doom-brume-rabbits.html

1-Cold in Berlin -"Rituals of Surrender"


I had to go back and listen to their 2012 album "And Yet" to see if I was totally off base as remembering them as more of a post punk bank .Now they are a doom band band like a darker version of Devils Blood with more post punk influence. Their singer's pleading wail works against the crushing fuzzed out groove you can not help but head bang to. This one was really close . Brume was originally in the number one spot until , further listens made it clear this album would shoulder aside the more fragile emotions of the "Rabbits album. Here emotion crushes you even at it's most introspective.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/10/gothtober-cold-in-berlin-rituals-of.html

Swallow the Sun : "When a Shadow is Forced Into the Light"

My first exposure to this band was seeing them play with Katatonia on the "Great Cold Distance" tour and since I was there to see Katatonia , I really just caught passing glimpses of them . They sounded different from what I am hearing on this album.There is a really massive sound to the title track that opens the album. The synths keep it from sounding too much like Katatonia, though there is that mood to it. The harsher vocals have more of a black metal rasp to them than the lower death metal tone I recall. "the Crimson Crown" finds them heading in more of a progressive direction as it floats with a more Moody Blues like feel. The higher vocal passages and the extended guitar solo only supports this. "Firelights " continues with a more moody and melodic direction. The production being so spacious keeps it from really sounding that dark. Its up to the lower vocal and when the synth shifts to more of a organ sound for them to get darker.

There is a more brooding tension to "Upon the Water". The harsher vocals return on what might be the bridge as where the chorus falls is not as obvious. The shadows that haunt this song are more prominent and wins me over with the over all sound.The guitar to "Stone Wings' is interesting . The song it self does not pull me in like some of the others. They do hook you right from the beginning of "Clouds On Your Side" which might be one of the albums better songs. It goes from a soft loud dynamic, and does get dramatically heavier when the low death metal vocals are re-introduced. The drumming seems pretty innovative and is a big reason this song works. There is not as much holding "Here on the Black Earth " together until the chorus. I like the way the vocals are produced , not only on this song , but the bulk of the album . Though some of the lower vocal parts could have gotten more low and feel a little dry.

The album closes with "Never Left". The lower vocals here work better. The lyrics to this song stand out more for some reason. It reminds me a little of the more melodic moments from My Dying Bride. This album is pretty solid. I'll give it a 9. They sound more Swedish than Finnish, though some of the goth touches that are more implied than really committed to, lean in in more of a Helsinki direction. If you are a fan of the band who doesn't find the more melodic direction the band is heading in then you will find this album will sit well with you. If you haven't really given them much of a chance like I am guilty of then this is a good enough place to start.

Kuolemanlaakso : " M. Laakso – Vol. 1: The Gothic Tapes"

They really love their goth in Finland , so the fact that Laakso's solo album of sorts  delves into the dark side should not come as much of a surprise. The wheel is not being reinvented when it comes to how goth window dressing is being applied to metal tinged hard rock songs. The vocals sit a little oddly in the mix on the verses of opening song, but when the guitars crank up a little for the chorus is balances out.  There is still some snarl in mix like the chorus of "Roll the Dice With The Devil". They typically share their lead singer with Swallow the Sun, and this is not too far from the neighborhood with  the guitar singing. You can hear similarities to other 90s goth metallers like Paradise Lost. "Where the River Runs Red" finds them trying to head into a more Sisters of Mercy direction with a more straight ahead rock n roll guitar riff. Laakso's baritone croon invokes his best Andrew Eldritch impersonation.  He is not as comfortable reaching for some of the lower Iggy Pop like notes on "the World's Intolerable Pain" that has more of a power ballad feel. Helena Haaparanta of Crimfall lends her alto to the song.

"She Guides Me In My Dreams" is a mid temp number that serves as almost a duet with Helena, which works better than some of Laakso's solo vocal pieces. The two singers voices balance one another out with the exotic middle eastern scales adding one of the more dynamic textures on this album. This reminds me a little of Therion. They get darker and heavier on the more emotionally charged "No Absolution". The more death metal stomp this song lurches into is very effective. The female vocals dominate the strummed ballad "Deeper Into the Unknown" , while an odd choice for this album, on its own two feet it's a good song. The ambitious nine and a half epic "My Last Words" just doesn't connect to me and feels like melodrama with little pay off, though I can appreciate the very tasteful almost jazz like playing on this track.


Overall this album improves with only a few moments that fall short of the greatness in this projects potential. I'll give it an 8. It is not something I can really see myself listening to on a regular basis , however, in the late 90s when I was into the bands that wanted to hop on the Type O Negative bandwagon, I would have really dug this and if that sounds like your bag then you will too.

The Top Ten Doom Albums of 2015

This one was the hardest list so far. I need darkness and a sense of loss emoted from my doom. Though their is a far wider range of emotions expressed in these albums drugged bliss, anger and introspective melancholy are a few of the more prominent ones. Some have a dash of death metal to them others shoe-gaze or blues. Funereal doom is my favorite sub-genre and there is a fair showing of that. Some bands you might have expected to see here could be popping up on other lists to some as their sound has changed. It came down to which bands I have listened to more and see myself continuing to go back to when it came to ranking my top ten doom metal albums of the year. If you want to check them out the review links contain streams.

 10- Swallow the Sun : "Songs From the North"

 In today's iPod shuffling and add culture, a double album is ambitious, and even becoming obscure as more artists are reluctant to invest in more than an ep with today's diminishing record sales.Swallow the Sun is taking a step in an even bolder direction by putting out a triple album. The three albums offer a wide range of tastes into the varied sub-genres doom touches upon, even mellowing out into a more prog direction. These albums take commitment to make it through all three, but fans will eat up every ounce of melancholy extravagance. Many of the songs drew me in, even though a triple album with 12 minute songs is a little much and much like "Use Your Illusion" albums could have been condensed into one killer album.

  http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/10/swallow-sun-songs-from-north-i-ii-iii.html

9-With the Dead: s/t

 The rule of thumb seems to be that super-groups sound better on paper ;than what the reality turns out to be. From the first song of With the Dead's self titled album this is not the case. Lee Dorian of Cathedral teams up with some of the guys from Electric Wizard to sludge out some oppressive fuzz dripped in darkness. The effects slathered on Dorian's voice are a good choice to keep this from sounding like Cathedral.These guys are all about the power, but leave a little room for the more subtle melody of the solos to warble over their pound. Very impressive, with high hopes for more. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/11/with-dead-st.html

8-Bell Witch : "Four Phantoms"

 This album really had to battle it out with number seven and while this is more of an overwhelming piece of work, the twenty minute songs made it hard for me to get multiple listens or really desire to commit myself to them, even though I like what is going on here. The growth and new ground broken is undeniable. This is a beautiful album , I wish some of the songwriting could have gotten to the point, the same thing could have been conveyed at times in ten minutes, as the passages that droned on the same theme for so long it would have been better served abbreviated. The doom genre can stand at a tricky spot bordering on stagnation if they allow drone to over compensate for lack of songwriting. While it is not the case for this album, it makes me wonder if the band felt obligated to draw out certain passages so they would not be seen as any less relevant.

  http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/04/bell-witch-awoken-breathing-teeth.html

7- Domovoyd: s/t

 The drugs blur the lines in this album which is often dark and apocalyptic in it's looming power. The guitars are very sonic, but not obligated to always go over board on overdrive. Riding the line at times into stoner rock it's the apocalyptic nature to these spiraling jams that leans them more toward doom. One of the most unique albums on this list that defies being stuck neatly into a box.
  http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/05/domovoyd-st.html

6- Khemmis: "Absolution"

 The appearance of harsh vocals on this one help keep the Pallbearer comparison from being a distraction. They have their own personality that is show when The guitarists pull out some sweeping shredding or in the choices the lead singer makes when it comes to melodies. These guys have chops and with more listens it's easier to hear where they stand on their own two feet.This was crafted with a ton of heart and rocks with the power of classic metal.
  http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/06/khemmis-absolution.html

5-Hooded Menace: "Darkness Drips Forth"

 2015 might not go down as the year that doom broke big, but these e Finnish Doom merchants come on strong.  This very deathly brand of doom finds their riffs weeping in blood . Speaking of weep most bands would bore you to tears to with a twelve minute opener , but these guys keep you in the moment . The tempo picks up from time to time, but doesn't lose the grasp of darkness by going into a stoner rock boogie. The vocals are a low gurgle and the guitars maintain just enough chug to keep you confused as to if this is funereal doom or not.This album is solid, long winded songs generally do not drag and keep your attention. These guys have established themselves along side like likes of Evoken and Pallbearer with this one as they have gone above and beyond by putting a great deal of thought into these songs by not just  satisfied with being heavy.

 

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/10/hooded-menace-darkness-drips-forth.html

4-King Woman-"Wrong"

 Dark and droning,this blues drenched doom forsakes rock n roll to become more hypnotic.In fact it often finds it self having just as much in common with shoe gaze as it does doom, the lines get blurred in the most delicious manner.There is that depressive mourning quality to the music. The guitar sobs with it.The distortion is thick, but in the same way it's thick for a band like Hum. The deliberate delay of the drums doesn't prolong the pregnant pauses , but keeps the songs moving.The thundering drums keep the sunshine out when the pace picks up. It's pretty refreshing to have a doom album where all of the songs are not over ten minutes long.Every thing is very concise and to the point, but uses the time wisely to take you on a journey.

  http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/03/king-woman-wrong.html

3- My Dying Bride : " Feel the Misery"

 Though the band's sound has been evolving ever since their formation in 1990, it is not until the distinct voice of singer Aaron Stainthorpe comes in you would not guess the first song is My Dying Bride until it slows down at the two and half minute mark. At first the violin's initial role is toned down but when it comes in the sound is unmistakably My Dying Bride. When growled vocals roar in they find themselves laid atop a much more up beat metal gallop than what they band ever churned out in their hey day. It does eventually slow down into the more mournful sound that My Dying Bride is known for. In their press release the word epic is used to describe their sound and as cliche as that term might be in metal,  it describes the more regal dynamic this album oozes. The production plays a huge role in this so does the shifting of genre lines as They go from straight forward metal so some almost post- rock with the clean guitar.Overall despite the changes and more in you face metal moments this album excels pretty much every step of the way. If you are a fan of the band you will have little trouble embracing this along with the rest of the catalogue in fact it's a vast improvement over the odds and ends they tossed to us with the "Anti-Dulivian Chronicles".
http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/08/my-dying-bride-feel-misery.html

2-Slow Death : "Ark"

 This might be the most under-rated album of the year.This Mandy Andresen from Murkrat and Crone lights up the first song with her vocals, she is followed up with dueling growls, both gurgled lows, that are the post-humus performance of Gregg Willaimson who died before the album's release. Pallbearer's Brett Campbell contributes guitar to this album. Sure it is common for doom to often feel like a classical composition and the dense drone drags from one song to the next often seamlessly. Mandy vocals work similarly as Campbell's do in Pallbearer soar over the grim rumbling.She is constantly showing different facets to her singing , like some moments on the last Pallbearer this song explores at time that place where shoe gaze and doom meet. The solo on this song is pretty impressive and that sort of thing while I like to hear the band has chops doesn't normally make me sit back and say "Damn, that shit was on fire." This is what I want more of in my life. Without question this is a 10, not a dull moment, the long songs don't seem long because I am engaged in it.
  http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-slow-death-ark.html

1- Shape of Despair :"Monotony Fields"

 this Finnish band has taken the past fifteen years to perfect their very melodic and atmospheric brand of doom . The vocals range from are a low gurgle, to female oohs and aahs stacked like Type O Negative in the background. The stay on a depressing path through out. The oppressive feeling is almost tangible. The band is aware they have been notorious for putting long spans of time between releases, so everything is right where it should be with every nuance dialed in, so it was not time wasted. It might not dig as deep and dark of a grave as other funeral doom bands , but the songs are masterfully varied and dynamic to create an awesome album.
  http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/11/shape-of-despair-monotony-fields.html

Swallow the Sun : "Songs From the North I, II & IIi"

In today's iPod shuffling and add culture, a double album is ambitious, and even becoming obscure as more artists are reluctant to invest in more than an ep with today's diminishing record sales.Swallow the Sun is taking a step in an even bolder direction by putting out a triple album. It takes a couple minutes for the nine minute opener to take off. They blend clean and harsh vocals. The clean vocals as layered and harmonized. Followed by an even more elaborately composed "Ten Sliver Bullets". In the last minute they find a chug that gives me a little head nod, but this is really elaborate and takes a few listens to be fully consumed. They have the kinda chug that Katatonia used once they crossed over into more of a mainstream metal sound on the intro to "Rooms and Shadows" . They find a doomier yet Enslaved like balance between the vocal exchange. The vocals are almost to precise giving them an almost power metal or prog quality. I am also not sure these guys are funereal doom either. Things are a little too upbeat. The keys work their way around the guitar lines well it never feels like they are stepping on each others toes.

One "Heart Strings Shattered" weave together a pretty lush melody that flows really well, though is not much harder than Katatonia or My Dying Bride. A female voice comes in mid way into the song and is a good effect. When the vocals shift into more of a death metal growl they are much heavier than the music they roar over. "Silhouettes" has more drive to it and the growl is the dominant force. There is some interesting layers of guitar employed , but much like the bulk of this album there is a lot being thrown at you in this symphony of gloom. "Memory of Light" gives a broad swathes of atmosphere and melody to things, with the clean vocals taking center stage. "Lost and Catatonic" has a more sweeping symphonic feel at the onset, dropping down into a more looming stacatto before the smooth chorus. The death metal vocals return making the music a more haunting backdrop than what you would typically hear that paired up with. There is enough melancholy in the chord progression to "From Happiness to Dusk" to be convincing. The vocals are more subdued and Pink Floyd like with some beautiful guitar work coming in behind them.


The Second album opens with the dark piano chords of the intro piece called "Womb of Winter". "Heart of a White Cold Land" is a more subdued ballad that still carries the hints of Pink Floyd that remind me of Tiamat's 'Wild Honey" album with it's chilly glaze of psychedelia. Once the clean guitar tones of "Away" echo in that I resign myself to the fact that this album is going to be more of an Anathema like thing. The clean vocals are much more honest here not taking on the kinda of prog metal pageantry they hinted at on the album before. Sure you can draw comparisons to Opeth's "Damnation" album or Katatonia's acoustic re-imaginings of their own work, but there is a deeper sonic emoting going on. If you were to say this disc is just the band going acoustic it would be overly simplifying things as the first song that really has the more organic sound is "Pray For the Winds to Come". There is a similar acoustic feel to the title track which finds female vocals joining in a call and response. This gives it an almost Gathering like feel. While the instrumental that follows it well played it feels like an extension of the previous song that is just being jammed out in a more languid direction. Things darken for "Autumn Fire". It is more of a power ballad in the direction of someone like Katatonia or A Perfect Circle. Things spiral out into a more proggy place that Porcupine Tree would be proud to find themselves in on "Before the Summer Dies".

Put the bong away by the time you get to the third disc because things get heavier than even the first. Midway into this 13 minute monster they even hit a guttural Morbid Angel like style of death metal. While coming closer to funereal doom "7 Hours Late" drips out of the previous song and really doesn't distinguish itself until the more ambient middle section that it swells out of . There is more melo-death movement to "Empires of Loneliness" that features a grim spoken word narrative. Here things begin to get a little murky. Its another song that clocks in at over ten minutes after having already digested two albums of down trodden proggy metal. A more oppressive doom crunches down on "Abandoned By Light" to actually touch on funereal doom. The vocals take on a higher black metal rasp, which is not surprising as their singer has had a one -man black metal side project going for sometime.

It all comes to a close with " the Clouds Prepare For Battle" which plods along a similar deathly doom path until it drifts off into Gregorian chants at the mid way point.  They don't linger on this for too long before throwing themselves into a more blackened doom. These albums take commitment to make it through all three. If you are a fan then you will eat up every ounce of melancholy extravagance. I'll give it an 8 as some of the songs drew me in .  Perhaps a triple album with 12 minute songs is a little much and much like "Use Your Illusion" could have been condensed into one killer album.