According to to the band "The Gospel Of Rot is a sonic rebellion against the forces that seek to silence and subjugate" with rot recently becoming the fashionable term for just existing in a state of total obliviousness, shovelling mindless content down our throats as often as possible to forget about what's really going on.
De Profundis are doing what all good death should do and slap you round the face telling you to wake up and smell the napalm. For 20 years the band have been towards the forefront of British death metal and after a line up refresh, Stefano Bassi joining on vocals and Simon McAuliffe on bass, join the experienced ranks of guitarists Shoi Sen, Paul Nazarkardeh and drummer Tom Atherton, both gelling well with the three veterans while also adding their own style to the record.
They unleash four new tracks of bludgeoning death metal that never strays too far from their roots but often unfolds into other styles, I Corruption, sets off the course ahead, we're once again dragged into the soundscapes of De Profundis, thrash and death in glorious technical agony, the inspiration of Morbid Angel and Death, very strong here. On III Indoctrination, the blast beats are rampant, while there's a heavy bass groove on IV Subtraction, a searing Sepultura cover, as the vocals mix snarls and growls brilliantly across all four cuts.
These hotshot guitar solos continue on II Deception which brings black metal rasps and razor sharp riffs too, again bringing a more progressive edge to the De Profundis experience. The technical skill of the band in every bite is totally sublime, highlighted brilliantly by the mix/master of Matt Jones at Capsaarx Studios, giving it a modern savagery, where brutality and virtuosity meet.
De Profundis want you to wake up, stop being forced fed crap and do something, start by playing this new EP, as it's another masterclass in technical death. 9/10
Novembers Doom - Major Arcana (Prophecy Productions)
Still led by vocalist Paul Khur since 1992, Chicago's premier death doom band return with their twelfth studio album Major Arcana. His mournful vocal has been carrying the emotion and power of Novembers Doom since their formation but over the years. Much like their UK contemporaries in Paradise Lost or My Dying Bride, their style has gone through a few different variations but the band seem to have settled on their current 'dark metal' for a long time now.
The blasting death metal, interspersed between atmospheric meanderings, melodic moments that bring in prog, folk and classic rock as well. The title track is exactly the kind of song that you would want from Novembers Doom, it's got all their trademarks, from vocals that share between baritone cleans and snarling gutturals, a propulsive riff, some dual guitar solos and a mysticism that comes from the lyrical influence.
Major Arcana is a concept record based around tarot and divination and they use all the spiritualism behind that to wring emotion out of the acoustic-laced Mercy or create an atmosphere on The Dance, where they showcase their gothic overtones with a strong vein of Type O Negative. So if you've never heard the band before, Novembers Doom have the death/doom ferocity of Paradise Lost on The Fool, the goth moodiness of Tiamat on Chatter and the classic prog meets modern heaviness of Katatonia on XXII.
Major Arcana encapsulates everything you will want from Novembers Doom. 8/10
After Earth - Dark Night Of The Soul (Self-Released)
Some records work on headphones, others through speakers, Dark Night Of The Soul is a for speakers album, it hits a totally new dynamic when I played it through my stereo than when I listened on my headphones, the bass is rich and deep, the guitars bite down harder and the melodic moments and tremolo leads are a bit more impressive. That’s not to say that it sucks when on headphones, an album that does melodeath, the way the Swedes have mastered it, this well will impress no matter how you choose to ingest it.
Formed in 2017, any live momentum they had gained was destroyed by the pandemic so they focussed on writing, members came and went but they finally released their debut offering The Rarity Of Reason in 2023. From there it’s been non-stop for the Swedes, refining their Gothenburg meets black metal assault on stages across Europe before heading back into the studio for album number two. Dark Night Of The Soul, which is the name of album number two sees the band swelling their skills for the most ambitious set of songs yet.
As we’re welcomed into the record by Shivelight, which has the epic folk touches of a Howard Shore and shifts into the swaying, swashbuckling riff of us The Lucent Sun where the band showcase their melodeath credentials, with an influence of Amon Amarth very strong here and on Dark Night Of The Soul, which is the first shredfest from the twin axe players.
There's a definite groove to their style of music (King From Within) but they speed up and take it back to the early days of that Gothenburg scene with Skinwalker, snarling and thrashing before the melodies creep in at the end, its At The Gates (R.I.P Tomas Lindberg), Dark Tranquillity and In Flames rolled up together, while with Throe it's full battery into 90's groove metal that explodes back into melodeath ferocity on Serfitude.
I'm always a fan of guttural vocals that have a clarity to them meaning you can hear every word something that a lot of extreme metal bands don't prioritise, here though they're just as important as the death metal battery and virtuoso widdling. With the string/piano motif from the beginning reoccurring on the seven minute penultimate track, it feels like After Earth have crafted this record to be a cohesive musical experience in sublime melodeath. 9/10
Echoes Of Gloom - The Mind’s Eternal Storm (ATMF)
Yet more atmospheric extreme metal now as Australian black metal band Echoes Of Gloom deliver their debut album The Mind's Eternal Storm in a maelstrom of clashing swords, galloping horses and pitched battles.
As the Intro subsides into Immortality Manifest, the full bore attack of Echoes Of Gloom is immediate and savage, tremolo picking, snarling vocals and blast beats come at you like a thousand arrows but there's an undercurrent of synths beneath everything. Alongside an ear for classic metal two in the middle when things shift towards a steady rhythm in the middle section. It's got plenty of atmosphere to it, with a cinematic edge, coming from the synths and choral moments.
Things stay more traditional with the ferocious Immortality Manifest which is blistering black metal that leads into the post black and more atmospheric styles of The Wandering Moon where the moments of post black creep in to swell the progressive nature of this record. What impresses me is that Echoes Of Gloom is a band made up of just one man, Dan Elkin plays everything on this record, previously of Stellar Remains, he shifts from Sci-Fi to Fantasy here but manages to captivate with the epic two part Throes Of Bereavement.
With black metal, prog, post metal, folk all crammed in to these eight songs; Tome Of Fathomless Darkness, leads into the epic climax of Wanderer Of The Mind’s Eternal Storm, this final song the culmination of everything before in one song. The Mind’s Eternal Storm is a an extremely strong debut album from Echoes Of Gloom, fans of atmospheric black metal need to check it out. 8/10
After Earth - Dark Night Of The Soul (Self-Released)
Some records work on headphones, others through speakers, Dark Night Of The Soul is a for speakers album, it hits a totally new dynamic when I played it through my stereo than when I listened on my headphones, the bass is rich and deep, the guitars bite down harder and the melodic moments and tremolo leads are a bit more impressive. That’s not to say that it sucks when on headphones, an album that does melodeath, the way the Swedes have mastered it, this well will impress no matter how you choose to ingest it.
Formed in 2017, any live momentum they had gained was destroyed by the pandemic so they focussed on writing, members came and went but they finally released their debut offering The Rarity Of Reason in 2023. From there it’s been non-stop for the Swedes, refining their Gothenburg meets black metal assault on stages across Europe before heading back into the studio for album number two. Dark Night Of The Soul, which is the name of album number two sees the band swelling their skills for the most ambitious set of songs yet.
As we’re welcomed into the record by Shivelight, which has the epic folk touches of a Howard Shore and shifts into the swaying, swashbuckling riff of us The Lucent Sun where the band showcase their melodeath credentials, with an influence of Amon Amarth very strong here and on Dark Night Of The Soul, which is the first shredfest from the twin axe players.
There's a definite groove to their style of music (King From Within) but they speed up and take it back to the early days of that Gothenburg scene with Skinwalker, snarling and thrashing before the melodies creep in at the end, its At The Gates (R.I.P Tomas Lindberg), Dark Tranquillity and In Flames rolled up together, while with Throe it's full battery into 90's groove metal that explodes back into melodeath ferocity on Serfitude.
I'm always a fan of guttural vocals that have a clarity to them meaning you can hear every word something that a lot of extreme metal bands don't prioritise, here though they're just as important as the death metal battery and virtuoso widdling. With the string/piano motif from the beginning reoccurring on the seven minute penultimate track, it feels like After Earth have crafted this record to be a cohesive musical experience in sublime melodeath. 9/10
Echoes Of Gloom - The Mind’s Eternal Storm (ATMF)
Yet more atmospheric extreme metal now as Australian black metal band Echoes Of Gloom deliver their debut album The Mind's Eternal Storm in a maelstrom of clashing swords, galloping horses and pitched battles.
As the Intro subsides into Immortality Manifest, the full bore attack of Echoes Of Gloom is immediate and savage, tremolo picking, snarling vocals and blast beats come at you like a thousand arrows but there's an undercurrent of synths beneath everything. Alongside an ear for classic metal two in the middle when things shift towards a steady rhythm in the middle section. It's got plenty of atmosphere to it, with a cinematic edge, coming from the synths and choral moments.
Things stay more traditional with the ferocious Immortality Manifest which is blistering black metal that leads into the post black and more atmospheric styles of The Wandering Moon where the moments of post black creep in to swell the progressive nature of this record. What impresses me is that Echoes Of Gloom is a band made up of just one man, Dan Elkin plays everything on this record, previously of Stellar Remains, he shifts from Sci-Fi to Fantasy here but manages to captivate with the epic two part Throes Of Bereavement.
With black metal, prog, post metal, folk all crammed in to these eight songs; Tome Of Fathomless Darkness, leads into the epic climax of Wanderer Of The Mind’s Eternal Storm, this final song the culmination of everything before in one song. The Mind’s Eternal Storm is a an extremely strong debut album from Echoes Of Gloom, fans of atmospheric black metal need to check it out. 8/10
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