Cult of Salem - Unhallowed Rites (2018)

Epic death/doom - it is a rare amalgamation to behold, forged in ancient crucibles under the watch of hooded mages with fiery eyes and dark intent. It sinks to deep, melancholic lows hidden beyond the shadows in the human heart in order to draw upon powers of a bygone age and roar with a scathing, primal rage. It is this scarce commodity that Cult of Salem brings to us with their debut album "Unhallowed Rites". Hailing from Germany the band blends traditional doom, epic doom, death/doom, and a few near-gothic symphonic arrangements with themes of evil and Lovecraftian horror to create awe-inspiring songs of darkness. It's as though Cult of Salem found the rift between Candlemass and Paradise Lost, erected a gilded palace there, and then summoned an orchestra of spirits to haunt the place. Chanting choirs and melodic guitar leads bleed through the band's grim yet thundering determination creating a loud storm of stark and beautiful misery. Low, warbling, nigh-operatic vocals descend into biting death growls in the unholy din. Placid moments will either erupt into a sharp, bleak barrage of anguish or ascend to inspiring heights with mighty riffs and synth. I keep listening to this over and over and losing track of time as I get lost in the otherworldly vortex of dark and exquisite sounds. This is truly consuming - Cult of Salem is a cult worthy of your devotion! -Brandon

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Wizard Hand - S/T (2018)

From the unceasing work ethic and ever-busy fingers that brought you Crushing Yellow Sun is a brand new stoner-doom project that's going to have you crawling through a dungeon in chains - Wizard Hand. This stuff takes a heavier and less psychedelic approach than Crushing Yellow Sun, trading in the long, trippy guitar solos for a low and groaning stoner sleaze. Dark and murky songs slog their way through the gloom led by the sound of dirty, crunchy riffs and grumbled vocals pontificating on themes of zombies, wizards, and weed. It treads at a relatively slow pace and with blunt steps which gives things a weary kind of feel but you still get a sense of its dormant strength - like a tired warrior dragging a giant mace on the ground behind them. "Dying Wizard's Sleep" and "Instrumental #2" ditch the vocals instead opting to let the music stir up the darkness and explore the shadows that they've created. On top of all that, there may or may not be a hidden track at the end featuring a doom-ified version of a KISS classic - but you'll have to pick it up the album to know for sure! Whole thing comes across dark, natural, and a little nasty - just the way I like it! -Brandon

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High on Fire - Electric Messiah (2018)

I remember when I first read about read about High on Fire. It was some article about heavy metal bands to be on the lookout for and I remember it specifically name dropped High on Fire and Mastodon because I checked out both bands and was immediately hooked. 16 years later in the same year Sleep dropped a new album on 4/20, we also get “Electric Messiah” High on Fire’s 8th album. Only Matt Pike could release two albums in the same year, and have them both be contenders for Best Album of The Year. I’m actually really glad I liked “Electric Messiah”, because I was pretty disappointed with “Luminiferous”. I’m not sure if this is already popular opinion, but for the most part, a lot of the songs weren’t very memorable with maybe a few exceptions here and there. This one is a definite ripper, and continues to solidify Matt Pike as a true Riff Lord. This album is jam packed with one excellent riff after the other. Also production wise, “Electric Messiah” is one of High on Fire’s heaviest albums yet. This is the band’s third outing with Kurt Ballou at GodCity Studios, and out of those albums this one is my favorite. I think I may have listened to this 5-6 times in the past day. Anyway, I don't really need to convince you of anything. If you're reading this, you probably already knew High on Fire rules. Cheers! -Samir

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Altars - S/T 7" (2018)

Oh this is fucking good. This shit is less than 8 minutes long but it seriously crushes throughout its entirety. Altars combines repulsive Death/Grind with filthy sounding Sludge, to create a monstrous sound that reeks of putrid riffs. I understand it's a 7" but I wish this had like 3 times the amount of music, but it's that fucking good. Seriously dudes, write some more fucking tunes! This is some really good shit! I was sold on this as soon as I heard the opening riff from "Unholy Retribution". It's a gruesome slow groove that's just nasty from the get go, and then everything explodes when the blasts and double kick come in, bludgeoning your ears with aural carnage. There's so much feedback coming from the guitar while it's playing that it literally sounds like a table saw at times, and I think it really adds to the disgusting aura this band is trying to put out there. That fucking bass sound is perfection on this 7". It's so fucking deep and guttural, and it cuts right through the mix to destroy your soul. I couldn't imagine spending that much more time writing about this since it was only 7 minutes long, but it's totally worth a listen, if not like ten. I couldn't tell you how many times I have listened to it. Maybe a dozen, and I still keep bobbing my head to it. Cheers! -Samir



Also I might as well sneak this one in here as well. Ramuh features members of Maruta and Full of Hell and they totally fucking rip. The riffage on this one is top notch for sure. You should totally check this out. It's even shorter than the Altars 7"!

Pantheist - Seeking Infinity (2018)

Pantheist have distilled the things that make you feel cold and alone and used it as a foundation for their harrowing, soul-eroding sound! It's been seven years since their last album but the band has finally returned with their latest funeral doom opus - Seeking Infinity. "Devastation" might be the best single word to describe what you're going to hear over the course of this hour long album as you practically feel yourself dissolving in the face of eternity. But Seeking Infinity is not an album that will just destroy you outright, immediately crushing you under the weight of its massive, drawn-out, melancholic riffs - atmosphere is the name of the game here. Beginning with organs, ambient sounds, and piano it starts evoking beautiful, desolate scenery like abandoned, decrepit cathedrals and wastelands bathed in ghostly light. Savage, sorrowful, slow metal bleeds up from underneath and enhances the feeling early on, but as the album progresses, the distinct elements become more intense. Layers with synth arrangements, gentle reverberating guitars, and chanting make the atmosphere transcendent and ethereal while the doom metal gets darker, harsher, and more crushing with low deathly growls that could abandon you in the abyss. Despair seems to echo through every note and ripple across your skin leaving goose bumps. It's an incredible mix that feels natural yet unsettling all at once, tapping into something almost metaphysical. This one's deep and highly recommended - fall into the sound as soon as you can! -Brandon

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Rito Verdugo - Cosmos (2018)

A name like "Cosmos" has me thinking of trippy, spaced-out, psych stuff, but with Rito Verdugo's Cosmos you're only going to get a glimpse of that as you speed through the stars strapped to the back of a rumbling rocket! Taking off from Lima, Peru with no signs of slowing down these dudes are on a collision course with anything and everything! Fueled by explosive rock 'n' roll rhythms and guitar leads that go off like fireworks Rito Verdugo is a band that's out of control, taking fast-paced stoner rock and burning it with some heavy psych and just a touch of doom for flavor. These songs romp and charge like a rhino with enough vigor to crack its own horn! From the first wild notes on "Sombras" you can tell that this is a band possessed by their own untamed spirits and damn if it isn't contagious! Subsequent tracks tease with slower intros before breaking out into a driven, chaotic, and rocking good time that'll have stars spinning around your head! There are a few moments on here where you think they might be out of breath, like the warbling groove on "Prisionero" or the spacey sounds that turn into a mid-paced stomp on "Navegante", but it only takes a little bit of time before the band is buzzing with energy again and rips through the night sky like a bat out of hell! There's no hi-fi bullshit here, just down and dirty rock 'n' roll, so play it loud! -Brandon

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Husmanskost - Ambi-Valence (2018)

Husmanskost are certainly no stranger to this blog. I have reviewed their last release at the beginning of this, which I have enjoyed thoroughly, and here we are again with another release from them. In the previous blog post I made a comment about wanting to stray away from focusing on Stoner, Sludge, and Doom, and while I feel like I had my moments this year, not much has really changed from the usual fare I tend to review. With all that being said, here's a pretty sweet Grindcore release I recommend checking out.
It's kind of interesting to see how much of a difference can occur between two releases that are put out so close to each other like this. My personal expectation is that I would be hearing more the same, which in the case of Husmanskost is not a bad thing. Their previous release "Ründpült" was a fucking ripper of an album, so the bar was set kind of high for "Ambi-Valence". While I would also like to point that "Ambi-Valence" is a ripper in its own right, the band's growth in songwriting and musical ability should also be pointed out for sure. I personally have no idea how much time had passed between the actual writing of the two albums, but there is a notable difference between the two with "Ambi-Valence" delivering a heavy onslaught of brutality and carnage unlike anything they have done before.
Husmanskost still maintain their stance as being primarily Grindcore, however their Crossover and Thrash influences come out more on this album. There are some pretty sick grooves on this one especially when the band puts the breaks on it, and slows down to a mid tempo assault. I even detected a hint of Technical Death Metal throughout as well with the drums and guitar showcasing their chops. Speaking of drumming, holy shit! I don't know what happened, between this album and the last, but the drumming on this album is far superior. Either it's a different drummer or it's the way they were recorded on the last one, however it really doesn't matter to me, because the blasts and double kicks on this are so fucking insane! So yeah I dug this, and think if Grindcore is your thing, you'll probably dig this as well. Cheers! -Samir

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