Doom Metal – Page 7 – Metal Eclipse Reviews

Matalobos – Phantasmagoria: Hexed Lands

Latinoamérica isn’t exactly known for its Death/Doom scene. If anything, the region is celebrated for its Thrash/Death and Power Metal traditions. So, in a way, Matalobos is carving out a path that, while well-trodden in other parts of the world, feels fresh and unexpected in warmer climates. Phantasmagoria: Hexed Lands is their attempt at crafting your typical Death/Doom experience but with a distinctly Mexican Folk touch—and that’s not something you see every day. Here at MER, we’re all about weirdness; in fact, the weirder, the better! (Note: Just sending me weird stuff won’t guarantee a great score, but it’ll certainly make me love the job more.)

Atramentum – The Wrath Within

Pegah

“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.”

― Haruki Murakami

The Wrath Within is the second full-length album by the German Doom Metal band Atramentum. The album’s title reflects themes of inner turmoil and personal challenges. The cover art’s color palette complements this concept: red symbolizes anger, conflict, and bravery, while the black lines evoke grief, mourning, and death. The two wolves featured on the cover embody duality, representing opposing forces such as fear, anger, and sorrow versus love, hope, and peace.

Caprahed – Empire

Pegah

“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever.” ― George Orwell, 1984

True kvlt: Voragoth, The Host, Bleak Transcendence & Ice Chemicals

It’s Sunday again, which means it’s time to shine a spotlight on our beloved followers and friends who send us their creations every week. We could be like any other site and toss these submissions in the trash, but we (perhaps naively) believe in your capacity to surprise us. These aren’t massive releases, but they often sound like they could be. Let’s dive in!

Best Doom Metal Albums of 2024

Metalcatto

Here we are, about to start the countdown I’ve been dreading. Many of you voted on IG for a more comprehensive list instead of just a top 10 from me. Well, I owe everything to our readers, so here I am. Not every Metal subgenre will get its own list—doing that would take weeks—but I’ve chosen the ones that had the biggest impact this year. Sadly, no Thrash for 2024, but Doom’s incredible diversity makes it a perfect place to start. Doom is as broad as it gets, but every band in the genre follows one rule: play slow most of the time. That means Crypt Sermon’s excellent The Stygian Rose belongs in a Heavy Metal top instead. With that out of the way, let’s dive in!

Pegah’s top 10 albums of 2024

Pegah

Throughout 2024, I didn’t listen to many albums. I still haven’t explored most of the major releases of the year, choosing instead to immerse myself in underrated Doom Metal bands—those overlooked and forgotten in the vast waves of social media. I dedicated my time to reviewing these bands, striving to introduce them to a wider audience. Ranking them wasn’t easy, as they all hold a nearly equal place in my estimation. Still, I’ve done my best to assemble a top-10 list. Let’s dive into what I’ve brought together!

Lost in the Riffstorm 2024: part 3

Part three of the endless search for albums we missed. This is a bit of a mixed bag. We have huge omissions, but also some underground darlings that we couldn’t let pass—regardless of our excuses (usually staff shortages). I’m thinking about opening a review factory in some country with no workers’ rights, of course! So watch out, USA—here we come! But I digress. Let’s continue our dive into some albums worth remembering.

Harkane – Argo

As we approach the end of the year, it’s almost time to annihilate whatever remains in the filter, so we can start the new year full of promises and dreams completely out of touch with reality. However, before I do that, there’s still some time to explore what the underground has left to offer this year. In this case, we return to this blog’s guilty pleasure: Death/Doom. Harkane‘s Argo claims to be inspired by The Argonautica, the most boring-interesting Greek epic I’ve ever read. Let’s hope it delivers more action!

Nepenthe – The Fading Promise of Tomorrow & Elegies of Loss and Doom

SonikGoat

I discovered Nepenthe shortly after writing my review of its labelmates, QAALM, and its mighty offering, A Grave Impression of an Unbroken Arc, under Hypaethral Records. Having found in that album an excellent blend of styles, the description of this Ontario-based band was enough to pique my interest. Would they manage to incorporate these diverse styles into a cohesive blend of their own?

Monolithe – Black Hole District

Monolithe has the honor (or disgrace, depending on how you look at it) of having two 5.0/5.0 albums in my book: Monolithe II and Monolithe III. Both are masterclasses in Funeral Doom. However, those days of ultra Doom are long gone, and now Monolithe has evolved to such an alienating degree that it feels almost unrecognizable. Yet, it’s still the band in Doom Metal that makes my blood flow the most, reminding me how infinitely insignificant our existence is in the vastness of the cosmos. You might not love every risky step it takes, but I find it refreshing that, despite working within such a focused framework, Monolithe always manages to surprise me. Will Black Hole District be the same?