Yea that was...not good.

Still okay. A bit of variety never hurts. Getting a slight Grand Magus/Sinister Realm vibe from that track and it will probably make more sense in the context of the album.

And another Sorcerer preview ! I like this one a lot more than Gates of Hell.

Great atmosphere, kickass vocals !

Sumerian Script

So now that it has leaked, what do you think of the album as a whole, Riffs? Containing your orgasms? My gut reaction tells me not to be too impressed but I'll give it some time to sink in. It's Sorcerer, after all. And I must familiarize myself with the songs before the release party in May. Still sounds very Swedish though, and very 90s. A debut album in 1995 would probably have sounded a lot like In the Shadow of the Inverted Cross.

Can anyone recommend me some bands in the vein of Electric Wizard? I'm actually not big on stoner/doom in general but Electric Wizard has a very unique dark/miserable/fuck this world type atmosphere that I love. The song "We Live" is a great example of what I'd love to find more of. I've already heard a lot of bands on their "similar artists" page but none have really stood out to me like Electric Wizard. Bands like Buzzoven/Weedeater/Bong-anything don't do anything for me. Acid Bath is the band that probably comes closest in terms of that feeling although their style is a little different and I am already very familiar with them.

I've listened to it a bunch of times now. I know we had several songs in advance but it still took me time to process the differences between the classic stuff and Shadow of the Inverted Cross.

The album is really great but it has a lot less of that primal energy the debut had, musically but also vocally. It's still a beautiful album, though but on the verge of sounding a little too polished and safe.

I may appear to be let down but that's because I consider their debut to be the only doom album that rivals Epicus Doomicus Metallicus.

It's definitely going to be on my top 20 this year because it's my favorite album so far of what is shaping up to be an excellent year.

Just wow. I definitely can't agree with that statement but I totally appreciate your wonderfully unusual underground pick for an Epicus contender.
Now please tell me what your favorite non-epic doom album is. Because I can't remember a time when you went head over heels for a doom release that's not epic in some way. The mind is slipping...

Ha ! I didn't think it was noticeable online, to tell you the truth. You're either very observant or I'm a little more obvious than I thought

I'm mostly into dark, dramatic and epic music. Thus, epic doom is a pretty great fit for me.

I'm less into groovier, bluesier metal.

My favorite band is Black Sabbath, though. But I consider it foundational, at the crossroads of substyles of doom.

The really traditionnal stuff I like. You know, Pentagram, Cathedral, Saint-Vitus, Trouble, etc. the basics. But even in those case, I tend to like the more dramatic songs.

I do think stoner/doom/sludge stuff can be very, very interesting. I love Subrosa for instance. But it doesn't really move me or instill emotions.

To answer your question directly, I think Pagan Altar would be my favorite band not considered epic doom metal. But they're pretty dramatic and I guess some people might say they're epic.

I tend to do the same with my heavy metal: favor the darker, dramatic and/or epic stuff

You like SubRosa, Riffs? I don't think you were at their Montréal gig some months ago, mate! I totally love More Constant than the Gods.

I have yet to hear the new Sorcerer but from what I heard from Doomsday, it's pretty generic and uninspired so I'm not rushing towards it. Not a lot of originality or distinction in the epic doom genre these days, it seems to be the "oh let's play doom metal even though we hardly know the scene except Candlemass" way for some musicians.

I recently discovered Shooting Guns and I've been in love with their sound, huge psychedelic instrumental doom/stoner metal/rock from Saskatoon. Their split with Zaum released recently is also top notch.

Yeah, been a fan of SubRosa since the first album. I would have attended that show but there was no way I could be there on that day. Just bad timing.

From what I know of your tastes, I think you may indeed find the new Sorcerer too generic. They are really sticking to a very classic form of epic doom metal but that being said, they're a classic band from the period so that's what I want from such a band.

The other thing is that as far as I'm concerned, there haven't been that many attempts at nailing that sound, and even less have been successful. Candlemass and Solitude Aeturnus haven't done something as good as Shadow of the Inverted Cross in 20 years (the "white album" from 2005 is the only album that could arguably be an exception).



Not a lot of epic doom albums, period

Epic doom is a small, unpopular niche within a niche. How many epic doom metal albums (not demos) came out in, say, 2012 ? 2013 ? or 2014 ? And of that chosen year, how many are unoriginal Candlemass clones ?

Comparatively, I think we get more insipid retro-thrash or retro-speed or stoner albums in a month.

At least Altar of Oblivion is coming back with a 7" in May. A new full-length album is sure to follow soon! I hope. Epic doom mastery in my opinion.

I'm not familiar with Sorceror's past work, but "The Gates of Hell" is a very solid trad metal track, with cool, rocking riffs and fucking awesome vocals at that...I guess I'll have to check out their old stuff to see why it's so much better apparently.

edit: OK this Sorcerer compilation is really good. Sweet riffs and vocals that remind me of JD Kimball crossed with Dio. I still thought that new song sounded amazing though, looking forward to hearing more.

Sorcerer has a very gifted vocalist but damn, the music is dull and generic as hell. It was hard to finish the album

It was generic in that it sounded like Candlemass and what not, and yeah it was a bit overly long with so many tracks on the compilation, but all of it sounded fucking good to me anyway.

Oh, I meant the new full length, not the compilation! It's been a while since I heard that, I should check it out again. http://www.metal-archives.com/albums/So ... oss/487517

The new Ice Dragon is pretty legit, one of their heaviest album so far! http://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Ic ... row/500367

Oh damn, this is good news. I was just listening to them a bunch the other day and wondering what the hell happened and when they were going to release some new material. Excellent

Steer me to the direction of bands that sound identical or very close to Wounded Kings' first two albums.

Hum, not sure about TWK but maybe Black Magician?

Speaking of British stuff, there's a new band called With the Dead!
https://www.facebook.com/withthedead

Lee Dorrian is back 2 other veterans from the scene (Ramesses, EW...) and this will surely be doom (à la Abysmal Grief?)!

Pretty close musicwise, but I didn't dig those Dorrianesque vocals. I loved the eerie vibrato of the TWD singer on the first two albums.

Good Drone Doom bands like Bloody Panda or Sunn O))), with long songs and some violent screams/growls along the song, anyone knows?

Anyone who misses Swallow the Sun's sound from their first two records, this here Exgenesis band on Naturmacht Prods is the droids you're looking for. Crushing and desolate. One of the band members was in Slumber, for example.

http://naturmachtproductions.bandcamp.com/album/aphotic-veil-rwe008

Just in case you guys didn't know, Confessor's debut Condemned has been reissued late last month. Here's the listing for the album on discogs, which says Century Media put it out on both CD and LP. I first found out of the reissue by browsing the webshop Deep Discount. It says it was issued on Earache. It may be talking about the original in that instance, but it gives the release date of the reissue, and usually when they list a reissue, they list the label for that particular reissue, not the necessarily the original. So who knows. I even saw the CD at my local music store yesterday.

Adding to this, I just found that Birch is back on vocals! So I'll just wait for the new TWK album

At least when they play doom.

Hey all; could anyone recommend me some doom or sludge metal which experiments with thrash, crossover, HC or crust punk elements? I've recently gotten into Cerebral Fix and Sacrilege - both British proto-crust bands which veered heavily in the direction of traditional doom, in different ways. I love Fix particularly - they seem to have kept a thrashy vocal style and sharp-edged guitar, but laid in some heavy doomy riffage with it; whereas Sacrilege's Turn Back Trilobite is essentially a traditional doom album (clean vocals, massively downtuned guitars), with the thrash and punk elements hinted at in a couple of instrumental passages.

I've also checked out Corrosion of Conformity's most recent album. I like. Just a bit inconsistent - some songs are more swampy and doomy, others are more clearly HC / crossover-influenced.

Are there any other bands / albums I should be looking at?

I was blessed with a gloomy, rainy morning to check out Abysmal Grief for the first time. Feretri. The production is a bit more modern than I was hoping for. The guitar rumbles and growls but doesn't have much character and the riffs were almost difficult to make out at first. I think this style of doom works so much better with an ancient, decaying production like Paul Chain or Black Hole had in the early days. The vocals are stellar though. They actually remind me of the crooning from Big Boss. The funeral keys are excellent as well. I'll be more prepared going in for the second listen. We'll see.

That Feretri album is cool...the problem is the first song is by far the best one. But they have a solid sound, a great singer and a lot of sweet, spooky atmospheres...it's a recipe I can dig. I've heard their last album before that one was better. And yeah the vocalist does remind me of Big Boss as well.

That's interesting the first track was my least favorite by far! I almost turned it off because it just felt like it was going nowhere. About 7:20 of buildup and then it finally lets loose into this awesome rollicking rocking section. I really liked Sinister Gleams or whatever it was called. I'm going to spend some more time with it, for sure.

Totally lost interest in Abysmal Grief after the debut album. I felt they had said everything they had to say as a band. But I still get a fuzzy nostalgic feeling whenever I play my Exsequia Occulta single. So I'd recommend the self-titled + everything before it over Feretri and whatever else they released after 2007.

Well, there's certainly Dream Death. These guys draw from the early Celtic Frost/Hellhammer school of doom/thrash hybrid.



Jim Jones and the Kool Ade Kids. Not as much as whacky as their name but pretty solid crossover/doom which is criminally overlooked.



Glycine Max. Released just a single album before breaking up like the aforementioned JJatKAK.

"Sinister Gleams" is my favourite off Feretri as well followed by "The Gaze of the Owl" and the final track "Her Scythe". But my absolute favourite Abysmal Grief track would be "Borgo Pass" from Hearse 7". It's flat-out hypnotic.

By the way, I know majority of the M-A isn't quite fond of the Arkansas quartet known as Ballpearer but rest of the community who seems to enjoy the band's approach despite their popularity like me can dig their first video I guess, trippy, psychodelic and all. I don't know why they opted for the hooded figure from the artwork of Monolord's upcoming album Vaenir but overall the video is pretty cool.

Thanks, doomster999!

I'm currently checking out that Jim Jones and the Kool-Ade Kids album, and from the video you posted it sounds like I'll have to do some searching for Glycine Max. Both sound pretty much right up my alley!

Dat bass.

Finally got my favorite release of 2014, John Gallow's Violet Dreams. If you ask me, he does Paul Chain better than Paul Chain ever did Paul Chain. Also a lot of Iommi-isms in the leads (circa first BS album!).

http://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/violet-dreams

New tune from the long awaited Goatsnake comeback. Sounds legit.

Looking for Themed or Concept Driven Atmospheric Sludge Metal/Post-Metal

Examples:
Alaskan - The Weak and the Wounded (based on session 9)
-------------
As We Draw - Mirages (Concept of Time?)
Hourvari - EP 2011
Forge of Clouds - Ordinary Death


Any Atmospheric Sludge Metal/Post-Metal albums that tell a story, or ones that you're supposed to listen to from start to finish?

Maybe check out the album Minoans by Giant Squid. Metantoine's got a nice review up on the main site. That was what immediately came to mind. Not sure how exact the genre will fit, but it's a concept album about, well, the Minoans. Their other works are also themed/concept sort of deals and worth looking into.

I'll also mention the band Fall of Efrafa, though I've never actually listened to them myself, so just going off of what I've read or been told by friends. Might be straying a bit too far from both your request and this thread as far as genre goes, though.

This last feature should lead you to one-track albums (no cuts, total concept ).

In that style, the three bands I'm thinking of are Lesbian and their ep Forestelevison, the various eps of Inter Arma and Highgate's debut (avoid the rest of their discography).

The new Sorcerer is pretty solid. Certainly not as bland as some here were saying, but it's only problem is just not being as good as the compilation in terms of riffs - that album was chock full of killer, USPM-meets-Candlemass riffing. This one has a little more emphasis on leads, crawling tempos and of course the vocals. I hope whatever they do next brings back the non stop, chugging, awesome riffs, but this is still good. "Lake of Lost Souls," "Exorcise the Demon" and "Gates of Hell" have to be my favorites.