There is a specific kind of pressure that comes with a debut full-length, especially when your preceding EP was hailed as a subterranean masterpiece. Brazil’s Fossilization carry a heavy burden on Advent Of Wounds. It’s a record that attempts to document the slow, grinding entropy of the earth itself, but while it possesses a tectonic level of force, it occasionally feels like a series of monumental landslides rather than a single, cohesive tremor. It is a work of immense potential that sometimes struggles to find its own connective tissue.
The album opens with Cremation Of A Seraph, and the mission statement is immediately clear: this is death/doom intended to be felt in the marrow. The guitars emit a low-frequency dread that fans of Incantation or Dead Congregation will find familiar, yet there’s a professional sheen to the rot that suggests a band aiming for something more architectural. It flows into Disentombed And Reassembled By The Ages, a track that lives up to its name with a rhythmic structure that feels like bones being clicked back into place.
However, as the record moves through Scalded By His Sacred Halo and Terrestrial Mold, a certain disjointedness begins to creep into the frame. The band is exceptional at creating "moments", a sudden, blackened blast beat here, a suffocating doom-crawl there but these elements sometimes feel like they’re being held together by the production rather than an organic songwriting impulse. It’s a collection of brilliant ideas that haven't quite fused into a singular, breathing entity yet.
There is a noticeable shift in intent during the middle of the record. Servo and While The Light Lasts lean heavily into the "cavernous" aesthetic, utilizing dissonance and thick, clotted-cream distortion to create a sense of genuine peril. When they lean into the slow-burn, the atmosphere is undeniable; it’s when they attempt the more complex, high-velocity transitions that the gears occasionally grind with a bit too much audible friction. It’s the sound of a band pushing their technical limits, which is admirable, even if the results are sometimes slightly fragmented.
The finale, Temple Of Flies And Moss, brings the record back to its primary strength: pure, unadulterated weight. It’s a four-minute study in decay that finally allows the atmospheric dread to take the lead without being interrupted by the record's more restless tendencies. It’s a strong, if somewhat abrupt, closing statement for an album that seems to be in a constant state of internal debate.
Is it a triumph? In terms of tone and sheer sonic presence, absolutely. Fossilization have managed to capture the sound of a world being reclaimed by the soil. But as a cohesive piece of songwriting, Advent Of Wounds feels like a high-end prototype, stunning to look at and terrifyingly powerful, but still waiting for that final, unifying spark to turn the potential into a masterpiece. They’ve dug the hole deep enough; now they just need to find a way to make sure every part of the collapse happens at exactly the right time. 8/10
Oreyeon - The Grotesque Within (Heavy Psych Sounds) [Rich Piva]
La Spezia, Italy’s Oreyeon are such a great band. I have loved all of their releases, as they leverage influences from late 60s psych, to 70s rock and proto, to 90s grunge, a bit of prog, a dash of punk...all of which turns into a big bowl of awesome. This delicious dish continues on the band’s latest record, The Grotesque Within. Album four is a darker affair, bringing a bit of bleak atmosphere to their version of psych-leaning stoner doom.
Echoes Of Old Nightmares opens the record up in blistering fashion with a killer riff and a great stoner rock, melodic groove. Dig those harmonized vocals too, which is a nice addition to their already great sound. The guitar tone is perfect here. Nothing But Impurities Pt.1 has a crushing riff with some other great guitar work, reminding us why grunge is listed in their bio, in the best kind of way. Love the psych-y solo on this one.
La Spezia, Italy’s Oreyeon are such a great band. I have loved all of their releases, as they leverage influences from late 60s psych, to 70s rock and proto, to 90s grunge, a bit of prog, a dash of punk...all of which turns into a big bowl of awesome. This delicious dish continues on the band’s latest record, The Grotesque Within. Album four is a darker affair, bringing a bit of bleak atmosphere to their version of psych-leaning stoner doom.
Echoes Of Old Nightmares opens the record up in blistering fashion with a killer riff and a great stoner rock, melodic groove. Dig those harmonized vocals too, which is a nice addition to their already great sound. The guitar tone is perfect here. Nothing But Impurities Pt.1 has a crushing riff with some other great guitar work, reminding us why grunge is listed in their bio, in the best kind of way. Love the psych-y solo on this one.
Nothing But Impurities Pt.2 turns up the grunge a bit more and turns the tempo down, bringing some serious AIC vibes which I am sure everyone will be there for. The title track brings the heavy, but the band’s sense of melody and the harmonized vocals creates this perfect balance for this track and across the seven songs.
The cool bass line on Something Over There is what jumps out first, before the riff kicks in and what is probably the heaviest track on the record is unleashed. But never does the heavy overwhelm, with this one again heading out to the Pacific Northwest territory with zero complaints from me.
The quirky I'm Your Mistake is different from the other tracks with its weird tempo and changes, but still keeps us on target. This may be my favourite on a record filled with great songs. The closer, Dead Puppet Eyes, has what may be synths opening up this spacey, proggy, but still nice and heavy coda to another great effort from an excellent band.
Let’s not take Oreyeon for granted as they keep steadily releasing killer record after killer record. Let’s put these guys up there with the leaders of the genre where they belong, especially given how excellent The Grotesque Within is. 8/10
Patriarchs In Black - Completely Covered In Black (NoLifeTilMetal Records) [Rich Piva]
Veteran rockers Dan Lorenzo and Johnny Kelly have been super prolific over the last five years or so with their doomy metal project with multiple guest vocalists Patriarchs In Black. Like a bunch of EPs and full length albums prolific. So why not continue the output with a covers album with some cool versions of 70s and 80s classics, with a couple of surprises along the way.
Did they need to do three Kiss songs? For me, sure, I love Kiss, but I am not sure everyone will want to hear Strange Ways, Almost Human, and Hotter Than Hell so close together on Completely Covered In Black. I might even say just give me a whole Kiss covers record with different vocalists, but that’s just me. All are great though, especially the guitar work on HTH. My other favourites include a slowed down version of Motörhead’s The Chase and the quirky Queen song selection, Dragon Attack.
Let’s not take Oreyeon for granted as they keep steadily releasing killer record after killer record. Let’s put these guys up there with the leaders of the genre where they belong, especially given how excellent The Grotesque Within is. 8/10
Patriarchs In Black - Completely Covered In Black (NoLifeTilMetal Records) [Rich Piva]
Veteran rockers Dan Lorenzo and Johnny Kelly have been super prolific over the last five years or so with their doomy metal project with multiple guest vocalists Patriarchs In Black. Like a bunch of EPs and full length albums prolific. So why not continue the output with a covers album with some cool versions of 70s and 80s classics, with a couple of surprises along the way.
Did they need to do three Kiss songs? For me, sure, I love Kiss, but I am not sure everyone will want to hear Strange Ways, Almost Human, and Hotter Than Hell so close together on Completely Covered In Black. I might even say just give me a whole Kiss covers record with different vocalists, but that’s just me. All are great though, especially the guitar work on HTH. My other favourites include a slowed down version of Motörhead’s The Chase and the quirky Queen song selection, Dragon Attack.
The Zeppelin covers are executed well, but I am not sure how many more versions of The Ocean and Immigrant Song we need, even if they are two of my favourites. The real treat here is the version of Peter Gabriel’s Games Without Frontiers, all metaled up but never mistreated, this one is worth it alone. Rob Dukes (former vocalist of Exodus) did a great job on this one.
Did we need a full covers record from Patriarchs In Black, with multiple Kiss and Zeppelin songs? Who cares, here we are with some fun stuff from the guys doing versions of songs they love on Completely Covered In Black. 7/10
Rules For Radicals – Rules For Radicals (Trench Art Noise) [Spike]
There is a specific, lean power in the number two. Without the safety net of a bass player or the decorative clutter of a second guitarist, a duo is forced into a constant, exposed dialogue where every missed beat or thin chord has nowhere to hide.
Did we need a full covers record from Patriarchs In Black, with multiple Kiss and Zeppelin songs? Who cares, here we are with some fun stuff from the guys doing versions of songs they love on Completely Covered In Black. 7/10
Rules For Radicals – Rules For Radicals (Trench Art Noise) [Spike]
There is a specific, lean power in the number two. Without the safety net of a bass player or the decorative clutter of a second guitarist, a duo is forced into a constant, exposed dialogue where every missed beat or thin chord has nowhere to hide.
Bury St. Edmunds’ Rules For Radicals don’t just inhabit this space; they weaponised it. Featuring Shannon Hope on drums and Jay Mills on guitar, their self-titled debut is a masterclass in sonic economy, a record that somehow translates the flat, windswept horizons of Suffolk into the vast, sweltering soundscapes of a high-desert psych-noir.
I caught them recently supporting IAN, and the transition from the stage to the studio hasn't robbed them of their ability to utterly swamp a crowd. If anything, the isolation of the recording process has sharpened the edges of their "dialogue."
The record opens with Suffolk Sands, a track that acts as a bridge between their local geography and their global sound. It’s a shimmering, atmospheric threshold that feels like heat rising off a tarmac road, quickly giving way to the rhythmic grit of Oxblood. Mills has a gift for finding that specific frequency of fuzz that feels like it’s vibrating in your sternum, while Hope’s drumming is less about "keeping time" and more about providing a physical counterweight to the guitar’s erratic, bluesy stabs.
On Outriders and God's House, the band moves with a mechanical, almost predatory intent. These aren't just jams; they are tightly wound compositions that rely on the silence between Hope’s snare hits to create a sense of impending disaster. It’s a stark, unpolished sound that manages to feel massive through sheer conviction.
The tectonic heart of the record, however, is Dry Crop. Clocking in at over eleven minutes, it’s a sprawling, hallucinogenic journey that demands total submission from the listener. It begins as a slow, parched crawl, a study in sustained tension, before eventually exploding into a feedback-saturated delirium. It captures that "swamping" live energy perfectly, showing a band that knows exactly how to build a crescendo until the room feels like it’s being reclaimed by the earth.
The energy shifts into a final act of defiance with the title track, Rules For Radicals. It’s a sharp, jarring finale that brings the focus back to the immediate friction between the two performers. No overdubs, no studio magic, just the raw, unvarnished sound of two people making a hell of a lot of noise in a very small space.
Rules For Radicals haven't just made a "minimalist" record; they’ve created a document of sonic survival. They’ve proven that Bury St. Edmunds can produce a soundscape every bit as vast and terrifying as the Mojave. It’s honest, it’s loud, and for those of us who saw them tear the roof off while supporting IAN, it’s the definitive proof that there are indeed "more of us, always" lurking in the gaps of the local scene. 9/10
I caught them recently supporting IAN, and the transition from the stage to the studio hasn't robbed them of their ability to utterly swamp a crowd. If anything, the isolation of the recording process has sharpened the edges of their "dialogue."
The record opens with Suffolk Sands, a track that acts as a bridge between their local geography and their global sound. It’s a shimmering, atmospheric threshold that feels like heat rising off a tarmac road, quickly giving way to the rhythmic grit of Oxblood. Mills has a gift for finding that specific frequency of fuzz that feels like it’s vibrating in your sternum, while Hope’s drumming is less about "keeping time" and more about providing a physical counterweight to the guitar’s erratic, bluesy stabs.
On Outriders and God's House, the band moves with a mechanical, almost predatory intent. These aren't just jams; they are tightly wound compositions that rely on the silence between Hope’s snare hits to create a sense of impending disaster. It’s a stark, unpolished sound that manages to feel massive through sheer conviction.
The tectonic heart of the record, however, is Dry Crop. Clocking in at over eleven minutes, it’s a sprawling, hallucinogenic journey that demands total submission from the listener. It begins as a slow, parched crawl, a study in sustained tension, before eventually exploding into a feedback-saturated delirium. It captures that "swamping" live energy perfectly, showing a band that knows exactly how to build a crescendo until the room feels like it’s being reclaimed by the earth.
The energy shifts into a final act of defiance with the title track, Rules For Radicals. It’s a sharp, jarring finale that brings the focus back to the immediate friction between the two performers. No overdubs, no studio magic, just the raw, unvarnished sound of two people making a hell of a lot of noise in a very small space.
Rules For Radicals haven't just made a "minimalist" record; they’ve created a document of sonic survival. They’ve proven that Bury St. Edmunds can produce a soundscape every bit as vast and terrifying as the Mojave. It’s honest, it’s loud, and for those of us who saw them tear the roof off while supporting IAN, it’s the definitive proof that there are indeed "more of us, always" lurking in the gaps of the local scene. 9/10
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