The Temple - must doom always be such a boring, low-skill genre?

The Temple

Of Solitude Triumphant

November 26th, 2022

I Hate Records

It is understandable that audiences may have reached doom fatigue, given the high number of doom-based entities that spring up in such a non-stop fashion. Stoner, sludge, psychedelic, epic doom, drone, death doom, retro, black doom, atmospheric doom, bass-and-drum doom, funeral, and many others are categories of the slow-poke sounds. Some people have observed that doom is accessible. It's simple and minimalistic and that's not difficult on the ears for fans; and the unskilled musicians can play doom, too. Other people, like some thrash maniacs, often dislike the entire premise of doom music. To them, doom, just like its depressed ancestor the blues, is a puritan zealot spying on people based on the suspicion that somewhere, anywhere, someone may be having fun with music.

It is not until a person hears a quality doom band like The Temple that one is reminded of how good this type of music can be. Yes, it is slow pretty much throughout all the songs. Not super slow, that's a different thing, that's funeral-related subgenres. This is slow in the way that Candlemass or Solitude Aeturnus are slow: slow, generally somber music but the band is not trying to be the slowest one ever. Again, that's a different thing, that's the funeral subgenre. Now, granted, this Greek band The Temple is somber and it is not fun or party metal, that's for sure.

However, The Temple is an example of how good doom can be. First, there is a ton of melody all over the songs. Thus, it is not just super slow echoing chugging in a minimalistic manner. The effort to create melody is fundamental here. If a person gives the album a chance, it is the melody that will stand out at first and it may be the only reason necessary. Second, the singing is melodic. While it is true that the singing is not rah-rah fun rocking heavy metal like you find in the classic bands like Judas Priest, Van Halen, 1980s Iron Maiden or Scorpions, the singing here sounds very good to ears, but there is a caveat: the voice does, in fact, sound depressed and depressing. It is crooning, melodic singing and it will not make the listener want to party, but it will make the listener contemplate this particular doom mood and dare I say it, if the listener sticks around and does not run away in fear of experiencing sorrowful music, this will end up being enjoyable, even fun, if I can use that word, if the listener allows the music to do what is made to do.

If the reader has gotten this far, then let's end saying that this album by The Temple is an exceptional doom work. While I would never recommend any sludge or funeral doom to an unsuspecting soul without giving a warning, The Temple is a somberly happy middle ground: It is not super slow, and it is so melodic that patient audiences might just find themselves feeling a great deal of melancholic joy, if that makes sense.

Of Solitude Triumphant by The Temple

https://www.facebook.com/the.temple.doom.metal

Ardent Nova - Arizona desert man dreams of the cold, frozen mountains of Scandinavia

Ardent Nova

Ardent Nova

Wise Blood Records

17 March 2023

This is the self-titled debut album from Mike Pardi (Empty Throne, Innerfury, ex-Psionic, ex-Possessed, ex-Ritual, ex-Xasthur, ex-Casket of Dreams) on guitars, bass, vocals, keyboards, songwriting, and lyrics. Ardent Nova is traditional heavy metal from a guitarist more used to playing extreme metal. It is to be assumed that he does not have the capability to sing melodically as necessary for the genre, which is why he growls instead. Expect growling heavy metal with Viking-themed lyrics and all the usual glorification of pagan times (you know, the times of human sacrifice, lawless murder, theft and slavery). It’s Arizona-man metal with tons of Maiden influences and lots of Viking themes. Fans that like traditional heavy metal but that do not enjoy opera singing and imagine Iron Maiden with growled vocals now have a project from Arizona to add to that section of their collection where they have their Amon Amarth albums.

Ardent Nova by Ardent Nova

https://www.facebook.com/people/Ardent-Nova/100087978697755

Downfall of Gaia - post-metal from Germany

Downfall of Gaia

Silhouettes of Disgust

Metal Blade Records

17 March 2023

Downfall of Gaia (Germany; 2008-present; EP in 2009, albums in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2019) has a cohesive sensibility once you hear a few of their songs, but at first the listener may feel confused by the threads that make the fabric of this sound. The vocals sound like black metal, the rhythm section launches into blasting speeds some of the time but can almost disappear for the mellow segments. The guitar sometimes sounds like black metal, but just often goes soft and almost-silent. One way to think of this is a post-metal band keeping the post part limited, so it is not full-blown post-metal. It is more like 40% post, 60% extreme metal in general. The melodies are opaque and they sound to a certain sad because that's what post-metal is, a fundamentally sad-mood music. Just like the cover of the album, this is meant to be gray music. The contrast takes place in the form of blasting rhythms and black metal-style vocals. FYI: The band likes to reference their crust/punk influences, like in their style of drumming, but the band plays smooth, polished metal, and they do not sound like raw, crust punk metal.

Silhouettes of Disgust by Downfall of Gaia

https://www.facebook.com/DownfallofGaia

Contrarian - confronting the fraud in metal music

Contrarian

Sage of Shekhinah

Willowtip Records

17 March 2023

Think of Contrarian (2014-present; New York, U.S.; EP in 2014; album in 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020) as a band playing their music but also making a statement with it about the genre in which they operate. In broader terms, they are not happy with the fraud that is computer software metal music, and more specifically, the sound of this album makes it clear in no uncertain terms that prog extreme and tech-death are a fraud (an issue that is not exclusive to that genre; no doubt you have seen the reports and testimonies of witnesses who have seen famous bands doing lip synching and playbacks and all sorts of deceptions, lies and cheats). For instance, all that a listener has to do is hear a tech-death album (or any rock/metal album, for that matter) to sense the plastic-toy sound of it all. Is a human even playing any of that stuff? Is it just computer software music, a type of ugly techno music, except that in electronica (and pop, hip hop, dance, etc.) audiences know that it is computer software products? In metal, you see comments online, such as “great drumming” or “a great drummer” or “a great vocalist.” C’mon, now, friends, there isn’t an actual human drummer or singer doing those things! It’s computer programs, apps, software and the like! You are being bamboozled.

Why should you listen to the music of Contrarian? First, by yourself by listening to the music you will notice an effort to give to you music that sounds more real, more like the musicians can realize these performances on the stage. It is progressive, technical extreme metal, but it is made in such a way that you can hear that Contrarian does care about deception and lies and they would like not to sound like fraudsters. Second, it is quality progressive death that emphasizes songwriting, not just capable musicianship. Third, the vocals are meant to match the quality of the music, and there is a certain standard in the growling.

There are a couple of unknowns. I am not able to tell you if these are fake drums of the sampled kind, which is the standard practice in metal and rock, unfortunately. I do not know if what we hear is the actual work that a human drummer did in a room. Second, I do not have the lyrics. Thus, I unable to tell you if the lyrics are intelligent, clichéd or pedestrian. Third, how much of these vocals were done by real people?

The band hopes that their general sound is less of a fraud. For example, they like to let you hear the bass lines throughout the songs. It is a balance between prog musicianship and headbanging extreme metal, resulting in a work that is brutal and beautiful at the same time, assuming that the audiences like growling vocals.

Sage of Shekhinah by Contrarian

https://www.facebook.com/contrarianmetal

Jesse Berlin - guitar virtuoso in Washington State, USA

Jesse Berlin is the maestro of guitars in the traditional heavy metal defenders Greyhawk (Seattle) and neoclassical melodic power metal instrumental project Archmage (Seattle/New York). In addition, Jesse cultivates the craft of guitar under his name. Below is the instrumetal neoclassical shred recording called Kingdom in the Sky. These guitar melodies do all the singing that is necessary. As a student of Johann Sebastian Bach and Baroque music, Jesse can't help but bring to his guitar playing a sense of melody that translated to modern guitar works well in heavy metal.

Jesse Berlin - Kingdom in the Sky (EP)

https://www.facebook.com/jesse.berlin

Blackstaff - doom, gloom, misery in Washington State

I have never heard of this monolithic sloth sludge doom entity from Washington State, U.S., but Metal Archives shows two EPs in 2022 as the only recordings so far. Imagine gremlin vocals, minimalistic echoing simplistic heaviness going round and round, and then circling back again on the same riff before making another turn, to get back on the circle of the same note, and just riding it out until you have stopped wondering if there is a new riff coming. Believe it, there is not. It's only heaviness circling like tired, exhausted dying vulture around while an angry gremlin chants about the warlocks running free, they're running free, yeah, between Tacoma and Bellingham on 1-5. Actually, I am not sure about the last part about the freeway, but the rest is pretty accurate. Oh, you know what, don't listen to me, I don't know anything. Warning: If you do not know sludge or doom in general, this is not a gateway band. I am pretty sure that even fans in this part of the country have not heard this name before. In fact, I checked with my neighbors in La Push and La Conner and none of them have heard of this band, and they know that I know that they know about doom and if they do not know, then you best not bring your horse to drink from these waters because that horse is going to die from the bitterness of these rivers of misery that we have out here.

The Dark Stick EP by Blackstaff

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088873124330

Vale of Amonition - Immortalizing the Lugubrious, or Those of Evolving Despair

Vale of Amonition

Immortalizing the Lugubrious, or Those of Evolving Despair

January 10th, 2023

The development of Vale of Amonition (Uganda/Kenya) showed their early recordings from around 2010-2013 as the sound of a band finding its way to a type of atmospheric doom that by 2017 was a lot more solid. This new album is the culmination of all those earlier experiences and they are now giving the audience results of the potential shown before. The band nowadays is at that point where they can arrive pretty close to the sounds that they hear in their head. This album is contemporary doom with both somber, melodic vocals and with growling, and there is more of a death doom sound, but they have not gone into the all-out death doom. Death doom tends to be super heavy and sometimes more on the monolithic side, whereas this album keeps more a sense of melody and the somber, melodic singing keeps the music substantially away from the all-growl, no-singing work ethic that particular subgenre. Another area of improvement is the production. If fans had previously heard the band's earlier works and did not like the rawer approach, maybe this new and more polished sound is more to their tastes. Things are getting more interesting in the Vale camp.

Immortalizing the Lugubrious, or Those Of Evolving Despair by Vale Of Amonition

https://www.facebook.com/valeofamonitionwebcult/

Dreams of Gray - Life In Gray (lyric video)

Chigago-based melodic death metal project Dreams of Gray published a new lyric video for the song "Life in Gray" from the self-titled debut EP (2023). If you like this song, below is the full EP from Bandcamp or check it out at your favorite streaming service.

BIO: DREAMS OF GRAY is Luis Rivera (Vocals/Guitars). The band was formed almost by accident, as Rivera was piecing together ideas while unable to actively perform and record music. When Rivera was ready to record in 2022, he enlisted the help of friends and guest musicians to play drums and bass and help bring his vision to life.

Rivera is also the vocalist/guitarist for Chicago area band Abolisher. Abolisher has been inactive over the last decade but is planning a new album soon. The band was active in the Chicago area, recording and gigging from 1995-2007 and received many positive reviews including in Metal Maniacs and Brave Words and Bloody Knuckles. Abolisher is where Rivera initially honed his skills as a vocalist and guitarist. Years later in DREAMS OF GRAY, he continues to grow as a musician and songwriter.

DREAMS OF GRAY seeks to express Rivera’s musical ideas at this particular point in time. The music draws from many influences. Each song has a unique flavor but also a signature sound. They are equal parts heavy and memorable, with countless complex ideas woven in between. The lyrical content is deeply personal, dealing with contemporary issues as well as grief, loss, and acceptance. The World After EP is just the beginning with many more songs ready to be recorded.

Dreams of Gray - Life In Gray

The World After by Dreams of Gray

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090219272895

Skinflint - Sasabonsam (official music video)

The heavy metal machine Skinflint (Botswana) keeps rolling forward. Their 2023 album Hate Spell is their nine release (7 albums and 2 EPs, according to Metal Archives). Fresh off their U.S. tour with Soulfly, the band is proving to be willing to go wherever they can to play their heavy metal. If you listen closely to their music, you will notice that the band strives to make music that they can play live. The vocals are a bit on the rougher side, giving their sound a tougher edge than expected. Active since 2006, they have been a hardworking band dedicated to their craft, and the new album is evidence of a veteran band creating for itself a proud discography and history. If you are new to the band, the video below is a good representation of their current sound in 2023. Overall, their goal is to making headbanging heavy metal and this video gives a good idea of what the vocals and music, and the songwriting in general, is all about.

Skinflint - Sasabonsam (Official Music Video)

https://www.facebook.com/SKINFLINTMETAL

Telomyras - heavy metal gave Telomyras to you

On February 18th, 2023 the traditional heavy metal band Telomyras (Seattle, Washington State, U.S.) released the debut EP after two demos done in 2021. This band has kind of snuck up on me because, given that I live under a rock in the middle of the forest, I had not noticed their 2021 demos. In fact, I am not sure when I first heard the name and next thing you know, they are releasing music and travelling up and down on the horrible I-5 highway playing shows in the Seattle and Tacoma areas and even making their way down to Portland, from what I have seen online. Actually, on YouTube there is video of the band in action in Everett. Anyway, better late than never. Their EP is on Bandcamp and it is also on Amazon Music and I imagine on Tik Tok and MySpace and all the other services that young whippersnappers like y'all like to use for the interwebs.

Telomyras = heavy metal.

Telomyras (Full EP) by Telomyras

Telomyras at Tony V's Garage (03/18/22)

https://www.facebook.com/Telomyras

DIE ENTWEIHUNG - "Yesterday" (video)

A few days ago there was a new video from Die Entweihung (Israel) for the song "Yesterday" from the 2022 album Strict Regime Country. The concept for the album is explained on Bandcamp: "...This album is dedicated to the people of Belarus who suffered or still suffer (and probably will suffer) from the regime of the self-proclaimed president who has been leading the country to hell since 1994. The lyrical concept is mainly based on the events that happened in Belarus in 2020 after another false elections."

Below is the video from YouTube. Then, below the video, you will find a previous article from this publication about Die Entweihung, in case that you have not seen it yet.

DIE ENTWEIHUNG "Yesterday" Official video

Die Entweihung is the solo project of Belarus native Denis Tereschenko who now resides in Israel. According to Metal Archives, the project began in 2007. The newest album is called Strict Regime Country, a commentary on the political situation in Belarus. Tereschenko is a hard-working musician devoted to the craft of do-it-yourself, mostly in the realm of melodic black/thrash/death in broad terms without necessarily staying squarely within the limits of a subgenre. Given the numerous albums and the experience gained, Tereschenko shows a certain confidence and skill in the way that the music allows room for melodies to roam free and for other smaller elements to make their presence felt, be it a bit of a prog vibe in some places or having some guests to add some other voices and a couple of guitar solos. For the sake of convenience, if I had to make a general statement on the overal sound, I would say that it is melodic, somewhat prog, midtempo black metal-influenced music.

It is the 11th album. That's not counting demos and EPs, of which there is a handful. As you can imagine, I am not familiar with all those previous recordings, of course. However, I have been listening to this latest album and that's the one I have been describing, which shows that it is not a beginner's recording but rather someone that has been at it for years.

Strict Regime Country by Die Entweihung

https://www.facebook.com/entweihung

Black 7 - For this moment (official video)

Several days ago the melodic instrumental project Black 7 (Germany) published a new video. Some months ago I mentioned there was new music from Black 7. Here is another song that shows the style of music that you can expect.

Black 7 - For this moment (official video)

The instrumental melodic project Black 7 (Germany) is ready to follow up 2021's 14-track album Look Inside with 2nd Chapter. The new song is called "Driven" and it is a song that is good for listening to music, and especially good, melodic guitar playing, without having any distractions like vocals and other things that take away from the listener's concentration away from guitar. In short, fans of guitar melodies and instrumental guitar albums should consider looking into what Black 7 has to offer. It's the type of music that allows you pretty much to do anything, from working out at the gym, doing homework, studying for exams, meditation or prayer, yoga, washing dishing, jogging, walking the dog, driving, riding the bus or practicing your dyn-o-mite lethal nunchuck skills for the upcoming tournament in Snohomish County.

I have not heard the new album, but the previous album is available below.

Black 7 - Driven (official video)

Look Inside by Black 7

https://www.facebook.com/Blacksevengermany/

out today: Dreamlore (El Salvador) unveils new album Strength Beyond Death

Today the extreme metal band Dreamlore (El Salvador) revealed their new album Strength Beyond Death. They began two decades ago and their new music shows their death/thrash or brutal-melodic death metal sound. The vocals are harsh growled and the production is death metal with plenty of thrashy guitar work. I did not realize that today was the day for the album and I just found out about it. Right now I have heard the entire album only one time. It's upfront headbanging that both death and thrash fans can enjoy. I do not hear things like keyboards and there is no melodic singing. Here and there, like in the guitar solos, there is some melody to contrast with the intensity. It sounds like this is a good return for the band. It's been ten years since the last album. It's probably not exactly a picnic to keep an extreme metal band going in El Salvador, but here they are again ready for any audience that wants to bang their head.

Strength Beyond Death by Dreamlore

https://www.facebook.com/dreamloreband

In The Woods (Norway) - Diversum

In The Woods...

Diversum

Soulseller Records

25 November 2022

I do not like this band In The Woods.

It seems like every time I try to give their music a chance I find them fiddling around doing whatever they can to avoid playing music that could be fun, rocking or headbanging. They will do whatever they can to not rock. They cannot write a regular song if their lives depended on it. They are incapable of doing it. So.frustrating.gosh.

Active since 1991, the Norwegian band has a conflicted relation to Norwegian extreme metal, having heaviness in their music always with a burning desire to play prog, spacey rock or something like that.

I was not expecting anything from this 2022 album. That’s why I’m surprised that I have enjoyed it. This most recent work finds them focusing on more compact songwriting, the new singer has good melodic vocals while still having growling, and the prog or experiments have finally, finally!, gotten under control, like perhaps for one album somebody decided to dial it down. Even a normal, average, non-musician metal fan like myself can understand these songs. For me, the new singer has a voice that sounds good to the ear, with a good, melodic tone, and the band has at last, it would seem, decided to use more melody and not go out of their way to avoid melody by launching into long, atmospheric passages. Whatever it is, whatever the reason, I’ll take it.

I would not trust this band as far as I can throw them. I fully expect them to revert back to their regular progginess on their next album because I am sure somebody in the band is Norwegian miserable that more metal fans might be enjoying their music. In The Woods is usually metal for people that do not listen to metal music. Be that as it may, this particular album right here has good singing, compact songs (ranging from four to seven minutes), and some actual metal/rock guitar riffs and melodies. In terms of the growling, I can take it or leave it. When the singing is this good, the growling does not add much. They would sound even better with just the melodic singing. I wish they had more solos or guitar melodies, too. They are still too stingy with them. Regardless, despite the fact that this album is still a melodic prog album, but a more balanced album, they have such good songs that I still enjoy the album even though I have heard it dozens of times.

What do you know! There is something new under the sun. In The Woods is capable of making a balanced metal album that has songs, actual songs that stay on point. I’m going to keep and enjoy this album. Oh, I am not going to get my hopes up for the next album. If anything, I expect them to open the next album with two 17-minute songs, both of which will have a full five minutes of mellow almost-silent keyboards, and I am going to be shouting, fist-in-the-air once again, “I.do.not.like.In.The.Woods!!!”

IN THE WOODS... - A WONDERFUL CRISIS

https://www.facebook.com/inthewoodsomnio

out today: power metal band Frozen Crown (Italy) fourth album Call of the North

Today is the release day for the album Call of the North by Italian power metal band Frozen Crown. They now have four albums since their start in 2017. Frozen Crown is a band for the fans that cannot get enough of polished power metal. The new album is generally fast and uptempo, with songs that take very little time to be understood because they use lots of instrumental and vocal melodies and is ear-friendly songwriting. There is no confusion on the part of the band. Frozen Crown is a vehicle exclusively made for the expression of everything that is happy power metal and the fourth album provides all of that in abundance. Even though Italian bands have been delivering this type of power metal for years now, internationally they are not getting the type of recognition that Swedish and German bands have received; however, the type of consistent album making by Frozen Crown is the exactly the work that, when supported by touring, will get the band more recognition in the rest of Europe, and then in other places like Japan. The fourth album shows no fatigue on the part of the band. They do not sound tired or bored, but rather enthusiastic, as if they know that Frozen Crown is on the verge of breaking out of Italy and into the rest of Europe. Clearly, they are not waiting a long time to make albums precisely because they are aware that this is their moment. It certainly is. If they do not stumble and if they tour more, their future is bright. This March they will do some shows in Italy, but in April they will tour outside of Italy, especially Germany. April will be an important month for them. With an album like this, they have the goods to get to the power metal fans.

Call Of The North by Frozen Crown

https://www.facebook.com/frozencrownofficial

Munroe's Thunder - "Dead Man's War" - lyric video

Munroe's Thunder features former Metal Church singer Ronny Munroe, who has various bands and projects going on at the same time. According to the YouTube information, this 2022 album entitled The Black Watch is a "tale of darkness, betrayal and bravery during the reign of one of history's most recognized Queens, Mary Queen Of Scots. Mary Queen of Scots, original name Mary Stuart or Mary Stewart, (born December 8, 1542, Linlithgow Palace, West Lothian, Scotland-died February 8, 1587, Fotheringhay Castle, Northamptonshire, England), queen of Scotland (1542-67) and queen consort of France (1559-60). Her unwise marital and political actions provoked rebellion among the Scottish nobles, forcing her to flee to England, where she was eventually beheaded as a Roman Catholic threat to the English throne."

The album is traditional heavy metal that feels like a concept album with some prog/power vibes. For more information, check out the complete information on YouTube. For some reason, I seem to have problems accessing the project's Facebook page right now, but YouTube gives plenty of information for how to find out more about this project.

MUNROE'S THUNDER "DEAD MAN'S WAR" - lyric video

Lawrence Wallace - shred heavy metal guitar sorcery

Lawrence Wallace

Shred Compilation

March 1, 2023

Guitars fear him. Amplifiers warn their children to stay away from him. The name? Lawrence Wallace. That’s Mr. Wallace to you. Mr. Wallace is looking for the few, the loyal, the devoted fanatics of true shred. It seems like every day some famous rock guitarist online is complaining about or dismissing shredding. Why don’t these guitarists just admit that they don’t have the intestinal fortitude, physical endurance, mental capacity, hand dexterity, and the iron will and discipline to play shred guitar? They cannot survive for the duration with highest-level guitar skills.

Welcome to the world of Mr. Wallace. Here’s no peace and no tolerance for av-erage guitar playing. Only shredding will do. If you are ready for serious wrist-breaking, finger-twisting action, well then there is a Philadelphia man that is making music for people like you, for the strong and unwavering guitar fanatical zealot. Mr. Wallace loves shredding so much that he makes his songs instrumental because he does not want people who suffer Lead Singer’s Disease. No distractions, friends. It’s just you and fast and melodic heavy metal guitar music.

Look, you have a lot of problems, friend. Your friends talk behind your back. The toilet in your apartment does not work right. You do not know how to eat good food and your health is suffering. Your love life is nonexistent. The first thing you could do is to begin dressing right and not look like a slob. The second thing you could do is change your posture. Sit up straight. Stand up straight, soldier! The third thing you can do for yourself is dedicate yourself to the art of meditation. I’m not talking about going into a dark cave and living like a bat like Aaron Rodgers. I’m talking about listening to Lawrence Wallace music. It’ll teach you discipline. It will teach you focus and help you get your mind right.

Mr. Wallace does not have the power to change your friends, only you can do that. He is no good at fixing plumbing. He does not have the capacity to find you a person that loves you. He cannot do any of that. But he can shred like nobody’s business. For that we say, “Thank you, Mr. Wallace. I hope that your carpal tunnel and ar-thritis get better soon.”

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063498159472

Event Horizon by Lawrence Wallace