Sadhak - Sadhak (demo 2013)

Sadhak is purely fucking amazing. I listen to vast amounts of music every month, trying to catch up with the doom metal scene throughout the world and its derivatives and rarely ever stumble on something so incredibly good. The band name probably does not ring any bell for you - this is to be expected since there is hardly any information for the band anywhere. Therefore, here come I to enlighten you on the matter.

One does not need to spend long hours listening to this demo tape to come to the realisation that it is created by members of High Priest of Saturn. In fact, you can't find information about Sadhak's band members - not even in the booklet of their cassette; however, listening to the music it is more than obvious who created it. Maybe my opinion about this band is a little (or not so little) subjective, because I'm already a huge fan of High Priest and Resonaut. Oh wait, huge fan is not the proper description. I'll shoot straight - the High Priest and Resonaut releases were the best pieces of music to come out in the recent year. So, if you dig the already mentioned - there's no fucking way you are not buying Sadhak's demo tape. It is essential.

For anyone else who is unfamiliar - Sadhak's demo presents this very Lovecraftian, void-bound, out of the world music. I know that there are a lot of bands who put Cthulhu references in their songs and band names, but hardly someone ever reaches the goal of sounding like their hometown is the one of the ancient gods. Very slow-paced, the guitar riff is building slowly towards perfection and always accompanied by a distant drum - the perfect music to listen to white the rain is pouring and you're watching into blank space. "On the arrival of Man" creates this atmosphere from beyond everything material. When I first heard the music and the name of the song, it instantly created that association in my mind of something outwordly and devoid of matter. Not to mention the guitar at the end of the song. Are you fucking kidding me? I don't know how old this Andreas Hagen is or which planet he comes from, but he creates the best solos ever. Alright, I'm a naturally high person, but hey, there's no way you remain untouched by that solo.

The second track quite resembles the first one. The lyrics make it clear that I was right with my associations the first time:

"The Form does not differ from the Void
The Void does not differ from Form
There is no realm of consciousness
Form is Void and Void is Form" 

I'm not trying to be an expert but as long as I know the origin of "Sadhaka" comes from Sanskrit and means "one has to reach the goal" or something like that, to put it into simple words. When I think about it, the idea that there's nothing after death makes me rather calm. Like, the simple idea that I should go to heaven, have contact with other people and simply use my brain again is very, very disturbing. Let's not get carried away. I just wanted to say that the conceptual idea behind Sadhak is as awesome as their music. If you like long, melancholic doom with a definite character, you need to check these guys. Heavy in a different way.

http://sadhak.bandcamp.com/

Acolytes of Moros - Illusions of Progress (2013)

I hope you're not really expecting me to tell you what kind of genre of metal this is. With Swedish Acolytes of Moros you have stepped into the extremes of traditional doom. "Illusions of Progress" sounds like a lost demo version of not so unexperienced Reverend Bizarre. And for such a young band this is quite an immense achievement.

I guess a lot of people would find this album kind of boring, because really - it does not discover the dark side of the moon. It's more or less something you have heard in one form or another. However, if you're an oldschool lover you'd probably be really pleased to hear the release. Even these days when doom metal has reached its biggest popularity you don't meet stuff like Acolytes of Moros around the corner. The music here is really pushed to the extremes of slowness and nihilism. 

"Illusions of progress" consists of 4 tracks, one being a very short intro, so let's say three full-blooded tracks. As every proper doom metal recording should - you receive a banging awesomeness with song length no less than ten minutes. Yes right, ten minutes long is the shortest track. So if you're some confused person waiting for a happy fast metal song, pack your suitcase quicker and leave the hall. The production of this baby here is top notch for a small budget. Actually, I would prefer that kind of stuff over overproduced modern crap anyday. So really, even if it's a little low production "Illusions of progress" is completely listenable and in no way sounds like a garage recorded doom (even if it is).

I will proceed with the singing, because the vocals are my favourite part in this EP. You can easily imagine the singer chanting from a high mountain. Damn, he sounds like leading a funeral procession. Finnish and Swedish singers know their doom. As honest as I always am, no one does these types of chants better than Scandinavian people, there must be some spell behind it. Take Horse Latitudes as an example, damn fine stuff. The singing goes from this high as fuck type of epic way of pronunciating the words to angrier gutteral almost black metalish type of singing. Don't really think of black metal shrieking or something, it's just an association. 

Bass guitar is quite audible and this gets and instant plus. Real long guitar solos are not present, the guys have sticked to more straightforward stuff which is one reason I can't seem to fully dig this release. The last track is really atmospheric and does sound to me like a low tuned bassy atmospheric black metal. As lucky as I am to have read some of the lyrics, I got to say I am impressed with them as well. As cold as the music is, the ideas that stand behind the lyrics are so as well. As the name of the EP suggests itself, don't hope to find any rays of sunlight here. But since lyrics are kind of something you should interpret for yourself, let's leave that here.

To sum up my overall impressions, "Illusions of Progress" is a very successful effort, though still lacking some elements. It's more or less an introvert kind of album, sad but not really angry. It doesn't get you for the balls and throw you to the other corner of the room. I think there is a lot of potential to be developed here and will surely check what goes on with these folks. Doom on.

Bloody Hammers - Spiritual Relics (2013)

I was a little dead these recent months.. partly because of university work, partly other shit but here we go again.

Bloody Hammers is one of the bands that has the ability to make a few really really good songs, but then their overall work kind of sucks at some point. This variation in quality can be very tricky for the listener. You say to yourself "wow, this stuff is really good, how come I don't know these guys" but then you hear the whole album and disappointment knocks on the door. And I can honestly say that it's pretty difficult for me to rate their second album "Spiritual Relics".

The sophomore release of the quartet from North Carolina is hard to define. It doesn't really fall between the boundaries of classic traditional doom. There is a lot of leaning towards gothic rock, specifically in "Science fiction", "Shiver" and "The Transit begins". There are a lot of elements that remind me of famous gothic bands, maybe mostly because of the vocals. Illogically, after a few strong doom riffed songs and powerful choruses follows a mellow cheesy gothic song. No idea why, I can only guess that the musicians wanted to produce a varied album. It surely works for a lot of people, but my "cheesiness" tolerance is not that big. There are some good moments when the bass enters in to introduce some variety to the songs. Also the keyboard part is quite awesome, but you can hear it too rarely.

Here comes again the duality of this album. The vocals are really cool in some of the songs, but then again the ones that suck the most do so exactly because of the vocals. Maybe one of the reasons I'm really hooked to some of the songs - "The Well of Nazareth" is one such example, is because the singer so reminds me of Dax Riggs's singing in Acid Bath. In the faster and in the slower songs likewise. "Night of the long knives" is mediocre. It would have been a fine song if it wasn't for the stupid chorus which makes it sound like some modern idiocy.

Something really good about this album it that it has this darker, almost "horror movie"-like feeling to it. Doom or not, gothic or not, it has this weird dark feel to most of the tracks. Unfortunately, the mellowness of the bigger part of the tracks will repel the hardcore doomsters as it did repel me. I am writing this review because this band deserves to be checked out. Even if you're gonna skip some songs, there are a bunch that are good. If you haven't listened something that would remind you to the Southern stale, sick feeling of Acid Bath, there is a grain of music on this record that could remind you of it.

Cathedral - Forest of Equilibrium (1991)

THE ONLY PLEASURE IS PAIN

The record which stands in front of your eyes is situated somewhere in time where it puts a border between heavy music  from the old days and heavy music from recent times, so to say.  “Forest of Equilibrium” is colossal. In the hall of my favourite doom records, somewhere in  the Garden of Unearthy doom, it sits on its own throne of triumph and monumental epicness. It is the best thing Cathedral ever put out. There are so many great albums from the masters of the genre, which have to be explored and cherished, but after all only “one will rule them all”.

Just to start with, no one sounded as heavy as Cathedral back in the day. I still haven’t found a band before ’91 to encompass the deep pain exposed in “Forest of Equilibrium” and the lead heavy guitar sound. Now when I think about it several Swedish death metal demos pop up into my  head, but they are neither so accomplished, neither equal in musical completeness and perfection, so off the list for now. Even now in 2013, so many years after its release, personally I don’t think that Cathedral’s debut is matched.  While in the 80s it was more about who would have more extremely fast guitar solos, bands like Cathedral helped switch positions, at least for the few extremists who were interested in doing so. Sure, there are the tons of funeral doom bands and Southern sludgerers  today, but the ones who opened the gate were Cathedral. There are amazing masterpieces of slowness versus doom that followed ever since – for example in the face of Thergothon’s “Stream from the Heavens” or Disembowelment’s “ Transcendence into the Peripheral”, but Lee Dorrian and company were the first ones to step into the unknown.

In the bands’ own words, it all started like the project of a few enthusiasts into Saint Vitus/Pentagram/Black Sabbath who were not even from the same town. I can imagine how unpopular doom must have been back then, it was probably a miracle to meet someone with your tastes. As Lee didn’t see himself continuing his career in Napalm Death, it seems quite logical to try to create something of your own that would also suit your musical preferences better if you have the chance to. With the help of young Gary Jennings and Adam Lehan, previously from UK thrashers Acid Reign, Mark Griffiths and Mike Smail (later in Penance) “Forest of Equilibrium” happens to be a one time masterpiece of unearthy doom.

I think that what is best about this album is the atmosphere it creates. Beginning with the glorious artwork of Dave Pitchett, it encompasses a lot from the world of feelings. It's a fact that speaks well for itself that the band has used the dark part of the whole Pitchett painting to represent their music. If you pay close attention to the original whole picture you can see that it's divided in two - a good and a bad side, one where everything is serene and problems far. The dancing women are contrasted by the much darker half where the horizon is engulfed by the evil and ugly. Like always in real art, the emotions and current situation of the psyche of the creator reflects proportionally the final result so you can judge for yourself how the guys must have felt for some aspects of their life.

"Picture of beauty and innocence" is the most beautiful intro in the world. It's like the sweetest, pristine notes have joined together to form a song. Not later enough, the opener riff enters in to shadow over the comfort of the few seconds. Lee's voice comes in the likes of an ancient caveman awaken from a deep slumber. There are so many riffs and groove in "Commiserating the celebration", so many changes and moods all of which seems like an impossible mission to put into just one single song. It's easily one of my favourite tracks on this album and one of my favourites of all time. It sure as hell is not a song you play to your friends at a party. Well, not that any of the music I listen to is good for a party. You have to sit somewhere by yourself and focus on the music or otherwise it won't really catch you.

When I once argued with a friend about the length of a book we reached the conclusion that the book was not too long - it was just not for everyone since it is very slow-paced and detailed. So is our jewellery here. The best about the world of doom is contained in track two, the extraterrestrial "Ebony tears". This second song is about a love that should not be. All of the music is slow and wretched like a love story that should have come to an end. You can see on its video two people slowly touching hands and then Lee entering the scene to cut their love. So epic, I have watched this until forever. Also the rusty down-ridden guitar at around 5:10 is just the best in the world. I can't provide more detail with music, you gotta check for yourself.

Most music on here is rather slow paced, but there is one upbeat track that probably stands out in this sense, it's "Soul Sacrifice", which gets unusually fast for a Cathedral song in this album. Mark Griffiths lyrics are an absolute slayer here, it's again something like love versus misunderstanding done in the best way possible:

"I'll pour scorn from the lowest place, 
Colour fades from your face, 
Annihilation-acceptance, 
Paradox of self existence"

No cheating here, there are no "highlight" tracks nor do I have favourite tracks on this album. Everything is complete genius. But then again there are riffs like in the beginning of "A funeral request" that make me lay on the ground and put a box on my head and repeat it over and over again in my headphones. What did you do to me impossible band, changed all my music perceptions until foreverhell? If you really fall inlove with music like this, all your perceptions change. You will kind of learn to love the dark. If you didn't already. "A funeral request" also opened the road for other doom bands to use funeral concepts - introducing beauty to the grave. Not that British weren't the best poets already, but the lyrics of the song beat most stuff I've read anyhow.

"Serpents marked with azure rings 
cathedrals where rich shadows fall, 
things strange curious solemn saviour. 
You promised me laughter in autumn days, 
now I can't awake from this lucid haze. " 

The catchiest riff on "The forest.." belongs to "Equilibrium" and I was about to say "and the best solo" when I reminded myself that I am talking about THIS album and every solo is the best. Seriously, if there is ever a doom metal fan in the universe who has not listened to "Equilibrium", go go go. The flute is probably the most mesmerising instrument along with the guitar and "Reaching happiness, touching pain" proves that. Lee's voice is extraordinarily melancholic here, even for Cathedralesque standards. On overall, this opus of deepest sorrows and best music ideas put together ends just like it began, wrapped up in grey.

Maybe I should leave this with a quote from a favourite poem: "A God I did not have, so you I worshipped".

Cough/Windhand - Reflection of the Negative (2013)

'Reflection of the Negative' is the most colossal split I have heard recently. I think the most appropriate adjective to describe it is 'colossal' indeed. It's heavier than Coffins covering Eyehategod, the ultimate hammer smashing your face. Imagine how huge this is if Coffins haven fallen behind.

Windhand and Cough are among the most interesting newly emerged doom bands on my checklist. Maybe not exactly new, but still not old enough for the spectrum of music I am into, for me to call them anything else. If you listened to Cough's previous work then to some extent you know what to expect. Having in mind how extreme Cough sometimes are - it is hard to believe that they have gone a step further in the abyss. The modern source of enlightenment, the Internet, explained to me that an 'athame' is a ritual dagger. As it is associated with Wiccan cults and witchcraft in general you can guess why the band used it for the name of their split opener song. This whole track sounds like a slow suicide. These drums know how to pound. It's fucking hard to explain, like saying which spot of grey is greyer than the other. It is drums pounding, but it's colourful. It's different. It's not like most doom/sludge bands out there who do the same in their long songs. Parker Chandler's vocals are so prolonged and tortured, the guy have gone beyond himself. And the song being seventeen minutes long journey is also one step ahead. No lying, I really didn't notice it was longer than seven minutes. Maybe that's normal for me, maybe the track is just too damn good. You got the outwordly solo as it is expected for a band like Cough (take Killing Fields, A Year in Suffering - masterpieces of slow riffing and a lay me on the floor - 'I am dead' type of soloing). I waited too long before checking this split as I knew about its existence even before it was officially released - a mistake you are advised not to make. 

Second and third track are by Windhand. Well, most of the time while I was listening to these I thought "it's just not fair". These guys are so much damn better than other new doom stuff and THE HELL, their self-titled debut was my favourite doom of the year already. This split makes me want to cut off from the world and blow my speakers into outer space. It is so terrific. Dorthia Cottrell moves slowly through the haze of slow riffage so perfectly as if I am not in ecstasy already. Sure, if this is not your type of music you'd probably think that the reviewer is high as a kite, but if it is your type - you would just get my point. If you loved Windhand's first album there is nothing on here that you wouldn't. And it's not the same songs repeated with a slight change of riffing. Yes, it's the same formula, but it WORKS. It's fucking fine doom with atmosphere. If some bands represent gigantic galaxies crushing into one another and other evoke wolfs howling at the moon, this one here is a dark house in a distant forest. I beg the reader to forgive me if I sound stoned, but that's how my favourite music reflects my writing. 

Ritual Temple - Revelation of Evil (2010)

I heard some Ritual Temple on youtube some time ago and their music instantly grabbed something in me, I knew I had to order their demo tape as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the guys only have one demo released and it seems they have split-up shortly after recording it. Which is a horrible shame.

Maybe there's something wrong about me and my sound quality preferences, but I find myself listening to more demos and generally the very early band recordings these days. Maybe it's my bad experience - it seems that some of the band demos I really dig evolve into crappy first lengths. An example is Age of Taurus, which released a smoking tape and then something went wrong with their debut. Of course, this is only my opinion and no one is forced to agree. In this case maybe it's better to release a demo only and disappear.

With Ritual Temple there are no delusions - check how they look and and see their demo cover, the guys are not joking. The doom present on "Revelation of evil" is indeed a revelation of pure and majestic doom metal, which smells like an early 90s garage studio, not like a 2010 modern crap.

I can't think of one specific characteristic trait, which makes a doom band tolerable for my ears, but one thing I know - the line between sounding like an idiot and like true doom, is very thin. The band from French Brittany is a presentor of the latter. "Revelation of Evil" dwells somewhere between Hellhammer and Saint Vitus. The vocal lines follow quite the same path, and thankfully never sound too gothic and gay. You see, I don't ask so much from the vocal work. There are a lot of memorable songs on the demo and while my personal favourite is the upbeat "Slave of Satan", there is not one dumb song. The speed of the tape is settled and goes from mid-paced to wild guitar solos at the end of which song. Maybe that's what I digged most about this tape, the fucking down-tuned guitar lets loose at every fucking song. Both the intro and outro are ritualistic and very well-chosen for this tape.

On overall, this release is a keeper, definitely.  Go get yourself a tape and maybe we can make the guys reform.

Realmbuilder - Fortifications of the Pale Architect (2011)

Realmbuilder is a rather strange band whose music style I won't try to define, but as far as I am concerned, the epic metal tag fits them the best.

What do I mean by 'strange'? While most epic metal bands I can think of have either very high-pitched vocals, very often reaching falsettos, trying to sound as dramatic as it gets with a "don't worry sweet princess in high tower, I am coming to kill this dragon" kind of attitude, these guys sound way more majestic and real-balled. Probably most people's first association with epic metal is also Manilla Road and while I don't find many similarities, Realmbuilder is just like the formerly mentioned - one such band that bears the flag of the genre without pissing on it.

As you would suppose, everything in the world of this album is imaginary. Your modern world doesn't have a place in it. From the very introduction of the album you get a horse galloping together with a fast melodic guitar and a marching drum. The soldiers are riding behind their commander on a quest. Seriously, I have no idea what the song is about, but this is how it sounds to my ears. Its music exists in its own empire created by the band. The overall sound of the album is rather quirk and not absolutely to my liking. It smells like low budget production, but in a bad way. While sometimes this gives a more romantic old-school sound to a record, the guitar here sounds somehow "cut". I don't pretend to understand a lot from production and all, but it sometimes bugs the whole experience of the fortifications of the pale architect.

Another plus for these guys is that they don't have heart-melting, cheesy ballads. The whole record is more about weaponry, iron sieges, savage man attacking one another rather then pink-coloured love stories. And while the band consists of only two man, it does sound full-blooded. Of course, if you forget the weird sound, which is kinda hard to forget, because it clings to your ears the whole time. I was recently thinking of what to listen to while I read some of the epic Robert Howard tales I found lying around and now I know. This album is great soundtrack to anything that you would need if you want to pretend you live in another world. The great guitar solos are also a huge helper to get soaked in the old-day like atmosphere. Also, while many might dislike the vocals, I do dig them. Not all epic/power metal has to be fronted by someone whimpering. The powerful riffs are strong and convincing. I don't want to evaluate their originality, but they sound brave enough for me to believe the guys.

It's good to hear some good epic metal these days, as most musicians tend to waver towards the clean production and generally appealing power-pop metal bullshit that big companies would sign.

Reverend Bizarre - Thulsa Doom (2006)

Firstly, the sad news. I don't believe that any doom metal band that is about to be formed would ever be good enough to reach the rectory of the Reverend Bizarre. This EP is a perfect example of how the purest doom does sound in its finest moments. Whoever finds "Thulsa Doom" sucky can just get out of my sight. Unless you're Conan the Barbarian, of course. I could buy that.

A lot of doom has been passing by my ears these days and finding bands that are worth the listen gets tougher each day. I needed just one listen of Thulsa Doom to distinguish its quality from the litter. These two songs on it are just miles ahead, not only of most doom that is produced these days, it is just better than most doom metal ever recorded by someone.

It is totally out of question whether to listen to this if you're already into Reverend Bizarre. And even if you're not, I think this EP is a good way to start with the band as both tracks are not longer than ten minutes, very well-packed and absolutely finalised. The only material that is more catchy in my opinion is on "Crush the Insects". Nota bene - maybe my scale of catchiness is not very proper for a general use. If I could remove or change something about this record, I wouldn't touch a single note. It's just damn perfect.

Everything here seems to me like a reference to Robert Howard's most famous work. "The tree of suffering" starts with the agonising cries of a man being nailed to a tree. The cries are accompanied by the pounding drums of Void, which prove to be the actual hammer nailing. One of my favourite Reverend Bizarre riffs crushes in, strangely melodic and perfectly harmonised with the monologue of the tortured subject. The man tells his gruesome tale and unfortunate destiny as the guitar towers higher and higher. It's hard to define the actual guitar rambling as a solo, but it sure as hell is fucking good.

Lee Dorrian once said that for him doom metal is not depressing, just the contrary, uplifting and majestic. I really loved that as I've always felt the same. "The tree of suffering" is one of these especially epic and heroic tales that really strikes a chord with me.

Albert is one of these vocalists that always presents music in a very realistic manner. It just never sounds fake. I can hardly think of any other man that could sing those lines like that, as righteous as it gets:

"I feel like I'm drowning in my own bloody sweat
Well, I used to love sunlight, but now it's peeling my head"

Favourite lyrics are favourite lyrics.

Side B, "The Children of doom" (I should make a survey on how many doom songs actually bear the same name) is the weaker part of the EP, if there is something weak. I'd rather say, less awesome. The songs structure is like the one of many Reverend ones - very slow begging, a lot faster second part. The drumming at the beginning is so slow, it will make most of you change the song. What should be noted is the main riff, which is unusually mythical about the band, or maybe let's say exotic. Maybe because I've seen the setting of the Conan movies many times, but the first association I get is about sitting in a blurred room filled with candles, many people dressed in ceremonial gowns passing around. Even if you don't read the lyrics, you know that this song is a serious ritual of blood. Into light comes once again the ability of the guys to present musically what they want to present verbally.