Suffering so you don't have to!
Metalcatto
I know! We’ve just reviewed some Death/Doom, so why are we doing it again? Well, not every day do we get some of it from Poland, and I thought, well, let’s see if pierogi isn’t the only thing they do differently there. So here we are, ready to dive into some hardcore depression that somehow makes us feel good for at least a few minutes before we’re dragged back into the pain and sorrow of capitalist existence. Oh, sorry! This is Death Has Spoken’s Elegy — let’s go!
Metalcatto
Let’s say you’re really into Death/Doom and don’t know who Hooded Menace is. Umm, I’m trying to follow up that phrase with a way to forgive you, but it’s hard. Not many bands have continued releasing reliable and even spectacular retro-Metal like these guys. Albums like Never Cross the Dead, Darkness Drips Forth, and Ossuarium Silhouettes Unhallowed are now considered classics. So, you can imagine the bar is high — and since my 80s nostalgia is non-existent, good luck to the band in this review!
Metalcatto
When you’re a band like Paradise Lost, one that redefined a subgenre and balanced its deep emotional side with relative commercial success, it’s hard to surprise the world. And yet, the band has managed to do that time and time again. I honestly can’t remember the last time it released anything below a 3.5/5 in my book. Ascension has the impossible task of proving that the band still has the resilience and creativity to deliver top-quality Doom Metal. For once, I have faith in these guys—and can you blame me?
Metalcatto
Stoned Jesus is probably one of the best band names I’ve heard in a while. You immediately know this is a Stoner/Sludge Metal band, right? True, but that’s the thing about Songs to Sun — it promises to be so much more than another album to roll joints to. There’s a moment of maturity many bands in this niche eventually reach, and I’m wondering if this is that album in its catalogue. The one where it convinces not just the diehards, but everyone else too, that you can be psychedelic and heartbreaking at the same time. Enough waiting, let’s dive in!
Metalcatto
I felt like reviewing something weird, but not too out of pocket. Liminal Erosion is a Funeral Doom band that has psychedelic and old-school influences. So not every day do I get an album that promises to make me depressed but also high as a kite. In the Time Vulture’s Talons needed some extra attention, which is why, despite its deep underground nature, I’m writing about it. Besides, look at that artwork—it really makes you think of the last time you had a fever dream you couldn’t even begin to explain. That’s optimistic enough, right?
Vicky
I decided to share wisdom on the Doom Metal phenomenon after being asked to do so by some friends who have started listening to this style of Dark Metal and couldn’t find any good bands except for My Dying Bride – according to them, of course.
Metalcatto
You know what this year hasn’t had much of (aside from peace and love)? Sad puppy Death/Doom. So I decided to check the inbox and see if we had some. Of course we did: Sorrowful Land – Hiraeth (I swear I’ve reviewed an album with that name before). However, despite my obvious bias for this wholesome and crushing subgenre, I’m trying to give more balanced views lately when it comes to my guilty pleasures. So, let’s see if this album is something Pegah would love, or just me. Let’s dive in!
Vicky
I had only briefly heard of Pilgrimage in my Doom/Goth/Death Metal groups of friends when some of them said that this band was very promising. I’ve listened to its debut album – Sigil of the Pilgrim Sun – in the Pandemic era, but I have to admit that, to my embarrassment, I completely forgot about it. I have to thank the manager of Metal Eclipse Reviews, our fellow cat lover and Metal enthusiast, Catto, for reminding me that Pilgrimage is about to release a new album, From Amber To Sun. And it’s a very good one.
Ixone
Oh good lord, what have I even gotten myself into? One bizarre mention of influences and I’m on a cruise down the river Styx… absolutely brilliant! The Medea Project have come forward and delivered what I can only describe as an absolute Doom Metal oddball; a fascinating one, yes, but an oddball nevertheless. Crushing, eerie and disjointed are only a few of the myriad of adjectives that come to mind when listening to Kharon (the river Styx mention wasn’t actually pointless), brought forth by both the music and the adjacent elements, such as the stunning cover artwork. That being said, I shall leave the introduction as it is and actually do what I am supposed to.
Pegah
“Where there is sorrow, there is holy ground“
Oscar Wilde
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