#Reek of STOOM

[bogdanklimowicz]

Prima Donna. . “And these times are so hard, and it's gettin' even harder” . Beer (Bier). . “Tryna feed and water my seed, plus teeter-totter” . Drank… in Tilburg sometime in August, a Prima Donna beer brewed by Uiltje Brewing Company at Stoom013. Advertised as “Did we set the bar high by calling her a Prima Donna? We sure did! but before you start judging her, get to know her a little better. Take her hand and walk for a little while trough the Italian landscape. Discover the italian Limoncello culture with some old belgian tradition in the mix. This blonde is not a traditional blonde. narcissistic as she is, she demanded to be called Limoncello Blonde. But to be honest, the demanding ‘first lady’ has a point. She reeks and tastes of Lemon, but she is still classy as she should be. At an easily drinkable 5.0% she’s not that punch in the face, if you don’t count the citrus-limoncello-whip.” . “Caught up between bein' a father and a prima donna” . Listened… to Lose Yourself by Eminem (2001). What title song would you listen to? . “Baby mama drama, screamin' on her” . Stoom013, Burgemeester Brokxlaan 6, Tilburg, Netherlands (Nederland). . . . . . #primadonna #uiltjebrewingcompany #uiltjebrewingco @uiltjebrewing.co #stoom013 @stoom013 #stoom #lokalezaken #waartilburgeet @waartilburgeet #burgemeesterbrokxlaan #spoorzone013 #spoorzone #tilburgdrink #tilburg #nederland #netherlands #shoplocal . #bogdanklimowicz #beer #bier #bia #ubhiya #serbesa #bir #labiera #pia #bieron #byè #bkyè #loseyourself #eminem . (at Stoom013) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClDe-gNKCno/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[devosopmaandag]

Het stond niet in een roman

Las ik het in een roman, ik zou de schrijver achter zijn werktafel hebben zien glimlachen. Die schrijver zou een beetje een symbolist zijn geweest. Maar het stond niet in een roman, het gebeurde gewoon.

We hadden besloten, een beetje willekeurig, de volgende dag naar de plaats O. te gaan. Wat  we steeds al vanuit de verte zagen liggen, een enorm industrieel complex met gigantische gashouders, bleek het begin te zijn van een eindeloos reeks industrieën en commerciële terreinen. In 1951 werd er de tot dan toe grootste gasbel ter wereld ontdekt en de vooruitgang rook vooruitgang.

We verbaasden ons over iedere volgende fabriek die we voorbijreden, over alweer een loods, een verlaten betonnen bouwwerk.  Op een moment begonnen we ons er zelfs wat vrolijk over te maken, temeer daar het ook nog begon met regenen. En toen we de plaats O. binnen reden wisten we het zeker: zo eindigt dus een rit door lelijkheid. De verbazing bleef en de vrolijkheid bleef, want we zouden ons er door O. niet onder laten krijgen.

Uit een splinternieuw gemetseld kunstding op een pleintje steeg wat stoom omhoog. Er draaide water rond dat verdween in een gat in het midden. Een plastic zak draaide vreugdeloos rondjes boven het rooster. Een oude man met een oude hond passeerde ons en zag onze verbazing. Ik weet zeker dat hij er het zijne van dacht. Op het even nieuw ingerichte pleintje vocht een jonge vrouw met een enorme paraplu. 'Ah, un peu de theatre!', zei ik lachend, en zij lachte terug. Lege winkels, lelijke winkels en een enkele dappere winkel liepen wij voorbij. Een dronken oude man probeerde op zijn fiets te stappen met een blinkende zak chips in één hand, een heel oud dametje schuifelde met een stok over het plein. Het miezerde, maar ze had moeten kiezen tussen de paraplu of de boodschappentas. Onderaan het plein voor het stadhuis stonden drie lege, vernielde informatieborden, ontworpen voor de vooruitgang van vier decennia terug. En toen was het echt genoeg.

We reden zuidwaarts. De regen was opgehouden, het eerste bloeiende koolzaadveld diende zich aan. De stille weg slingerde zich door de groene heuvels, die door de regen sappig en uitnodigend leken. En opeens verschenen in de verte de besneeuwde Pyreneeën in het stralendste wit denkbaar, tegen een blauwe hemel, doorweven met loodgrijs en wit. Helemaal daarboven viel vast sneeuw uit de grijze sluiers. En weer verscheen een koelgloeiend koolzaadveld.

De symbolistische schrijver schreef: ' De zuiverheid van de bergen wenkte hun krachtig en dwingend. Het vuil van de mensen gleed langzaam van hen af, en zij werden stil en ademden diep.'

Maar wat het gewoon was: een rit, de schoonheid tegemoet! Onze vrolijkheid werd anders van toon.

[notjoppebrothers]

De kamer is gevuld met stoom wanneer Rik de douche uitkom, rustig droogt hij zich af en rolt de handdoek om zich heen. Voor de spiegel maakt hij zich klaar voor zijn scheerbeurt, wat altijd gevolgd wordt door een reeks van lotions en cremes. Het is voor hem een ritueel geworden om na zijn werk, de avond te beginnen met het ontspannen van het lichaam en daarna de geest, mocht je hem niet kennen dan zou je t woord ritueel eerder aanzien als ceremonieel. Hij neemt er de tijd voor aangezien dit een van de weinige momenten op de dag is waarop hij niet gestoord kan worden. Het verlaten van de badkamer gaat gepaard met een stem die zegt “niet storen moment, uit” wat gevolgd wordt door de zin “terwijl u aan t douchen was heeft u heeft een gemiste oproep van Bram ontvangen, ik heb hem aangeven dat u momenteel niet bereikbaar was”. Rik bedankt home/alexa en vraagt of ze het kan afspelen, waarop de voicemail door de kamer te horen is. *voicemail input moet nog bedacht worden* (iets rondom hawaii misschien? herinnering paar jaar terug) *Hij trekt zijn badjas aan terwijl hij ondertussen de voicemail afluistert*, even is het still. even lijkt hij verdwenen in zijn eigen gedachte, de stilte wordt met dezelfde snelheid weer onderbroken met de vraag “wilt u Bram terugbellen” rik zegt dat dat niet nodig is en pakt zijn telefoon erbij, hij kijkt naar de foto’s van toen en zegt tegen alexa dat ze Momentum alvast kan opstarten en dat hij er zo aankomt. Hij staart nog even naar de foto terwijl hij zich begeeft naar de woonkamer en de wijnkast. Hij pakt een glas en fles wijn, tijdens het inschenken van t glas geeft hij alexa de opdracht om de map Relax -> Vakanties te openen en t moment “……..”. Hij loopt verder naar de bank waar hij zich zetelt en nog eenmalig een blik op zijn telefoon richt, nog een nieuw bericht *Bram* jowww maaat had je me spraakmemo al binnengekregen/geluisterd let me know” Rik veegt t bericht weg en legt zijn telefoon aan de kant.  Hij geeft alexa aan “niet storen te activeren en om de herinnering te starten”. Langzaam veranderd de omgeving van kleur en sluit rik zijn ogen, in zijn oren klinkt opeens het geluid van de zee en de wind door de palmbomen, en wanneer hij een keer diep ademhaalt ruikt hij de zee, t bier, de mensen (ook bram) en zegt “ja Bram alsof deze vakantie ook maar enigszins zou kunnen opmeten aan de vakantie van toen” 

[doomedandstoned]

NOTHING IS REAL

Interview by Reek of STOOM

This week we meet the fellow behind those kick-ass riffs we've been feasting on lo these many years: Mr. NOTHING IS REAL himself!

The Los Angeles based one-man band (dare I say composer?) is taking the medium of doom and metal itself to new, imaginative heights. It's something evident in all of his albums, each of which experiments with striking concepts buttressed by deep and imaginative choices in instrumentation and style.

Check out his latest work, 'Transmissions Of The Unearthly' (2021), which was released just this week -- featuring drummer Jeremy Lauria -- as Reeky chats it up with the man, the myth, the legend...Nothing Is Real.   (Billy)

Transmissions Of The Unearthly by Nothing Is Real

You're a proficient multi-instrumentalist. Tell me about your musical background.

I have been playing guitar since I was 8. I originally wanted to play bass because I thought it was the "heaviest" instrument. I soon found I wanted the extra strings and options available on guitar and took lessons until about 16. My teacher dropped me because of my marijuana and drug use (I should have heeded his warnings). I was very much into psych and experimental at the time, but gradually started getting into heavier doom and black metal stuff. I feel I can play any genre of music at this point in my life.

Who were your main influences and how did you come to be writing avantgarde music?

I think the first people that really influenced me as a 14 or 15 year old kid, when I was starting to really write my own songs and play in bands, were Robert Fripp of King Crimson, Larry LaLonde of Primus, and Omar of The Mars Volta. The dissonant and bizarre notations they would use were things I had just not ever heard any other guitarists do and it really opened my mind to stretching what was done traditionally on a guitar. Those "weird" and bizarre notes really resonated with me and that level of dissonance and strangeness is something I hold dear to my heart when composing music. John Coltrane was also a huge influence on me back then from his Love Supreme work onwards. From there, I have delved into the much more weird world of avant garde metal and classical music, but those left the longest impression on me as a developing musician.

How do you perform live? Do you use a constant pool of go-to artists or is it purely improvised?

Nothing is Real has still yet to ever play live. However this newest album Transmissions of the Unearthly was recorded live and completely improvised with a great drummer in my area so we may be seeing some live shows on the horizon. I think each show or tour would have to focus on one particular album due to the huge variety of sounds and tunings that I implement on each record (none really are alike).

Only The Wicked Are Pure by Nothing Is Real

How do you think N.I.R. fits into the Underground?

I wanted to carve a unique path with Nothing Is Real. My main goal for this project was to be able to have the ultimate freedom to do whatever the fuck I want with no limits and that is exactly what I have done. However if I had to "fit" it into the underground it is always bordering doom in some element or another. I would also categorize it as firmly avant-garde or prog due to the wide scope of sounds and long song lengths.

Do you have any favourite instruments?

Guitar is my main instrument, so I must say I love it dearly just due to my knowledge of the fretboard. However, I really love drums and feel they are hugely important in any energetic or heavy music. I also love piano and keys due to the huge range of emotions and sounds they can convey. I'm definitely partial to the saxophone as well due to its incredibly vocal nature, and bass is an underrated and immensely important instrument for a band. I really just love music as a whole and anything that can move me emotionally with its sound.

How long did the album take to complete and master?

Transmissions was recorded live over the course of two days completely improvised with myself and my guest drummer Jeremiah. I ran two massive amp stacks at once and Jeremiah had a massive beastly kit and somehow we perfectly clicked and were able to spontaneously write these songs. The hard part came later when I had to cut up these massive sessions into specific songs and relearn everything to overlay bass and backing and lead guitars to it. That with the vocals, lyrics and mixing took 2-3 months, most likely -- longer than it takes me on most albums (this was daily work of at least four hours.) After I had my final mix I sent it to my good friend Will at Dead Air Studios, who churned out an amazing master in less than 2 weeks. This is the first time I have had a Nothing is Real album mastered and I am very happy with the results.

What's next in the pipeline?

I work on so much stuff it is honestly hard to keep track of it all at this point. I can say I have just started writing for the next Nothing is Real album, and I have written two songs. I am trying to take my time, because I am getting an amazing custom amplifier from Science Amplification that I am dying to use on these songs. However, I am a very impatient person so we will have to see how that goes. I am planning to continue the live drummer trend and use Jeremiah and my friend Jared, both whom I've worked with extensively with two drummers on the album -- one for the proggy and slow parts and one for heavier and more metal-oriented parts. I also aim to employ a wide variety of synthesizers and soundscapes on this album so I am very excited to see how it turns out.

Which album is your particular favourite and why?

This is so hard for me to choose, because each album is a completely different concept, theme, and all. I have to say I love them all for achieving what they set out to do. I do feel the composition and atmosphere on Symphony Mysterium has to be objectively the best due to the thought put into it. However, Give Me Your Energy has a special place in my heart due to being my first, and that many of the songs were very powerful being written at a time of great transition and self-exploration for me when I was in rehab getting clean from my decade-long heroin addiction. Those songs will be close to my heart forever.

I want to thank everyone who has supported Nothing Is Real either recently or like you, Reek, since the beginning. Music is my greatest passion and it blows my mind that people actually enjoy the bizarre shit I come up with. Thank you all!

Symphony Mysterium by Nothing Is Real

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[doomedandstoned]

Kal-El Usher In the Power of ‘Dark Majesty’

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

By Reek of STOOM

Norwegian Noise Druids KAL-EL epitomise the sound of doom. Their hybrid influences of BS, EW, and CM are worn like proud bandanas, and rightly so!

The band's new offering 'Dark Majesty' (2021 - Majestic Mountain Records) encapsulates the band's ethos: create authentic, credible and exhilarating doom metal in time-honoured fashion. Not only do they accomplish it, they surpass and raise the standard higher than ever.

"Temple" is the greatest intro to a Sabbath album that never existed! Full-on doom & gloom with that irascible Iommian quality. "Spira" puts the foot to the flaw and bursts into a ferocious blues workout replete with fuzzy solo and dirty bass underpinning the flow.

"Mica" is a stuttering, anthemic slamdown that carries a Southern style riff through its darkest sonics. "Hyperion" realises the full fury of the band-slamming riffs -- blues-centered, but true to the expectation of execution.

"Dark Majesty" opens with a filth-crusted curtain of fuzz, saluting all the sounds that drew us into this music to begin with: a mountainous, monotonous riff of displacement and murk.

"Cometa" fizzes off into orbit with velocity and intent. Again, that classic Sabs background is there, but Kal-El seems to have evolved it, run with it, made it something all of their own -- and that is the beginnings of Legend.

No-Brainer for AOTY contention.

Dark Majesty by Kal-El

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[doomedandstoned]

Lowen Return with Stunning EP, ‘Unceasing Lamentations’

~By Reek of STOOM~

Art by Hervé Scott Flament

London-based Doomters LOWEN return with an incredible, stripped back-to-bare-bones release next month. "Unceasing Lamentations" consists of 3 evocative, alluring tracks based on ancient Middle Eastern texts and highlighting Nina Saeidi's incredible vocal talent.

First track, "The Exalted One Who Walketh" shimmers with the arid heat of the desert, vocals soaring, plaintive and mesmerising, like a melding of Ofra Haza and Diamanda Galas, backed throughout by Shem Lucas' soulful Oud-style playing. Indeed, the lone vocal combo stretches across all three tracks, bringing a sultry and beguiling presence as powerful and majestic as the heaviest Doom out there.

Lowen have encountered many issues over the last 12 months, and this EP has been cathartic, heartfelt and deeply reconnecting with their roots. A Triumph!

I spoke with both Nina and Shem and posed some questions about the last year and their new release, out June 4th.

The new EP is obviously an accumulation of recent trials and tribulations for the band. How have you coped with such an acrimonious split?

Shem: It was a difficult situation but the core of the band has always been Nina and myself. The music is about her background and Lowen is a vehicle to explore that and always has been. Anyone that is unable or unwilling to accept that simply does not have a place within the band. There are many wonderful musicians that have approached us eager to work with us and that has been very touching.

Nina: As Shem said, it was a very difficult and sad situation that shocked us to our cores when it happened. The extreme nature of having a racially motivated hate crime directed at me by our ex-drummer has in a way allowed us to view it as a clean break from which we can move on without looking back. Shem and I have felt so much more positive and driven now that we can plan and write completely new material together and look to a much brighter future.

The support from our friends and fans in the immediate aftermath was really touching and we are so excited to work with some insanely talented new musicians this summer!

LISTEN: Unceasing Lamentations by Lowen

I'm also assuming that lockdown has played a part in the stripped-back sound? To what extent has this process changed the way you look at and create Music now?

Shem: Unceasing Lamentations is a result of Nina being invited to perform on a Solo basis by the Brighton Doomsday collective as part of their efforts to raise funds to keep the Green Door Store venue in Brighton open in the face of the pandemic. We were so happy with the results that we decided to have Magnus Lindberg of Cult of Luna master the audio so that we could release it.

The songs don’t represent a new direction so much as a pivotal moment in time for the band, we’re still writing our next album to feature big distorted guitars, drums and bass, though I would say that it was wonderful to finally release something that was a lot more eastern in terms of musical composition. It’s a nice bridge between the first album and the resulting musical studies we have undertaken to bring our sound closer to what we both hear in our minds.

Nina: It was so freeing to be able to improvise and really embrace the more Iranian and Eastern aspects of our sound and influence. It’s something I’ve been pushing to do more since we released our first album and I am so excited that we will now be fully putting that into the second one. This EP is more of a captured moment where I expressed the anguish and longing that I was experiencing at the time.

Due to the improvisational aspect of the performance we went in with no plan at all. Apart from the lullaby what you hear are musical choices that were made in that very moment. It can magical to simply give up all control of a creative situation and see what the body spontaneously produces musically.

LISTEN: A Crypt in the Stars by Lowen

The lyrics were based on folk tales or Eastern myths. How did you come to choose them?

Nina: The lyrics for the first two songs are directly taken from cuneiform tablets. The Exalted One Who Walketh is an arrangement of transliterated lines taken from a Sumerian city destruction lamentation referred to as “e-lum didara”. Against Evil Done by the Serpent is a transliteration of Akkadian from a clay tablet that directed the tuning of an instrument through metaphoric comparisons between gods and each string.

I met with renown museo-archeologist Richard Dumbrill and talked with him for several hours on how the words may have been pronounced and sung in the context of ancient music and modern interpretation. Though we will never know how ancient music and language sounded, it is thought that some of it has been preserved in folk music of the areas in which it originated when it comes to the music of the Middle East.

The third song is an Iranian lullaby that embodies the sorrow of war and abandonment felt by many children during the Iran-Iraq war and is still sadly apt for many children in the Middle East today. The lullaby centres on a child who has experienced the trauma of war being comforted by a mother who promises that she will not abandon them as they tread dangerous ground even in their dreams.

I chose all these because I am deeply interested in the history of language and culture in the Middle East. It moves me that music and lyrics that are thousands of years old can be resurrected and performed once more in a context where the sorrows and joys of multiple cultures that were geographically close can be viewed millennia apart.

How is the new line-up going? Any major differences or effects on the dynamic?

Shem: Lowen has always revolved around Nina and myself, but Richard Stevenson (our live bass player) is still very much a part of the band. We have been approached by other musicians who would like to work with us and we are excited to move forward with an array of incredibly talented musicians.

Nina: Our dynamic is stronger than ever as Shem and I are able to write and move forward with much greater speed and productivity than before. We always wrote the music in the past, but now we feel that we are able to be a lot more free creatively.

We are so grateful that we have Richard Stevenson, our live bassist, with us for what will be a very exciting summer in terms of shows. He always brings amazing energy to the stage and has been a dedicated member and friend for years now.

Soon we will be able to reveal who we will have drumming for us live and we can’t wait.

You have always been vocal about political and social issues in the East. What are your hopes for the future?

Nina: My greatest hope will always be for peace. War and political savagery has felt never-ending in the Middle East, and much of it is because of interference and backing from non-Eastern countries that profit from terminal instability and conflict. For example, we’re currently seeing horrendous atrocities in the news with the state of Israel attacking and tearing apart even more innocent lives and I hope that those who are actively campaigning for ceasefire and recognition of what is truly happening in Gaza and Sheikh Jarrah succeed. I’d like to clarify that my criticism of the state of Israel is not tied in with Jewishness or the nature of Judaism, I think it’s important not to veer into anti-semitism and anti-muslim sentiment when noting political matters in Israel.

My personal hope is to be able to go and see my family, who live in other parts of the Middle East, without fear of arrest and execution. I would be overjoyed if women were able to sing in public again and for the LGBTQ+ community in Iran to live without fear of death and persecution.

Will you be planning a tour or appearances at any festivals in the coming year?

Shem: we’re very excited to begin performing live again, the performances prior to pandemic had begun to feature increasing intensity, so we can only imagine what a renewed and focussed line up will add to that, as well as the prospect of playing new material.

Nina: We have a few more shows to announce in what is already feeling like a packed few months of shows around the UK but I can’t say anything yet.

What was the last thing you had to kick to get working again?

Shem: there was nothing to kick per se, but the many many hours of study into eastern music, rhythm and maqam are certainly paying off and the music we are composing now is focussed and features many techniques and devices not widely seen within western music, there’s also a lot of double bass drum!

Nina: A few cobwebs and a couple of boxes in order to find my stage mic after so long.

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[doomedandstoned]

Dread Sovereign Wage ‘Alchemical Warfare’

~By Reek of STOOM~

Album Art by Constin Chioreanu

Dublin's premier doom/sludge outfit DREAD SOVEREIGN return with a killer platter of rancid rock and despairing doom!

Alchemical Warfare by Dread Sovereign

Opening with squeals of necrotic phase and samples, 'Alchemical Warfare' (2021 - Metal Blade Records) plunges straight into the murky fathoms of subterranean riffage with "She Wolves of the Savage Season" which then propels itself into a full-on, sludged-up belter.

Slowing the pace, "The Great Beast We Serve" blends melodic doom with an old-school NWOBHM riff reminiscent of Rifflord. The stand-out track for me is "Nature Is The Devil's Church."

Looming in quietly with atmospheres, it quickly transforms into a blistering blackened sludge tempo, twisting through tempo changes, tribal drum beats and feral guitar licks. "Her Master's Voice" creaks and groans under gargantuan weighted riffs and narcoleptic rhythm, before "Devil's Bane" cranks up the speedo and puts the pedal down creating a Thrash/Death chugging classic.

"Ruin Upon the Temple Mount" again slows to a vile trudge; atonal guitars roaming and penetrating the mire. Closer "You Don't Move Me (I Don't Give a Fuck)" is another death/sludge crossover, frantic and hammering in it's pace and delivery.

Dread Sovereign have delivered a well-crafted album of truly enjoyable sludge-doom, and the Sovereign reigns supreme once more.

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[doomedandstoned]

Japanese Death-Sludge Legends Release Epic Collection of Rarities

~By Reek of STOOM~

Prolific Japanese crusties COFFINS deliver a sludged-up splatter of gore and brain-matter with 'Defilements' (2021), the 25-year old band's massive new compilation album.

Kicking off with "The Hatred Storm" (an aptly-named piece if ever I heard one), you're hit with a chugging groove metal riff with a filthy sludge undercurrent, breaking into a fierce death and black metal section that has you headbanging like a demon until it breaks down into a crushing doom finale!

Defilements by COFFINS

"Tyrant" replicates the doom-paced riff and descends further into a mire of guttural blasphemies and Old School thrash and death riffing. There's even a slew of covers ranging from Eyehategod, Noothgrush, and Grief to Death, Buzzoven, and Iron Monkey, in addition to a solid slate of live tracks.

There's a very strong doom presence throughout the album: the tortured cadences of "Craving to Eternal Slumber" and "Carpet of Bones" bear stark witness. The rest is crusted, misanthropic filth of the kind that will shake you to the core and gleefully finger your entrails...ooof!

Some Buzz

Horror Pain Gore Death welcomes back Coffins with the new double CD collection, 'Defilements' (2021)! This two-CD compilation presents material from these out of print EP releases: 'Craving To Eternal Slumber' (2015), ' 'Noise Room Sessions' (2014), 'March Of Despair' (2012), 'Sewage Sludgecore Treatment' (2012), and 'Live At Asakusa Deathfest' (2016).

This official Coffins collection was designed and approved by Uchino himself, clocking in at nearly two hours of horrific, bone crushing Doom infested death metal which further cements the bands legacy as leaders of the underground!

For fans of Abscess, Acid Witch, Anatomia, Asphyx, Autopsy, Carnage, Celtic Frost, Cianide, Disma, Divine Eve, Grave, Hellhammer, Hooded Menace, Mythic, Venom and Winter

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[doomedandstoned]

The 12 Reeks of 2020!

~By Reek of STOOM~

Still from These Final Hours (2013)

As we continue our week-long Doomed & Stoned team retrospective on the music that moved us in 2020, the notorious Reek of STOOM has his favorite albums broken down by month by dreadful month!  (Editor)

January:  ELDER DRUID – Golgotha

Golgotha by Elder Druid

Bellicose Belfast outfit Elder Druid breach the salt lines to manifest their virulent breed of doomed sludge in their latest offering, Golgotha. Every yard is as epic as its title. Its power and majesty bleeds through every low-fuzzed corpuscle and sinew. Golgotha is the Sound of Wrath. Elder Druid is the Sound of Doom. Faultless!

February:  SLIFT – Ummon

UMMON by SLIFT

The French penchant for Spacey Psychedelia goes into full-blown Ion Drive for this dejeuner delicieux. Roaring space rock workouts, krautrock meanderings, and atmospheric ambience. Stunning!

March:  THEY WATCH US FROM THE MOON – Moon Doom

Moon Doom! ( The full experience.) by They Watch Us From The Moon

Kansas-based Doom entourage They Watch Us From The Moon! deliver a rich cornucopia of sound on their debut album, Moon Doom! -- a virulent mixture of heavy, slow riffs, and space rock theatrics. TWUFTM have brought us one of the best debut releases I’ve heard in a long while and they should not be ignored.

April:  JG THIRLWELL & SIMON STEENSLAND – Oscillospira

Oscillospira by JG Thirlwell & Simon Steensland

The Right Honorable Lord Foetus brings his considerable and prolific experience to this extraordinary avant garde work. Broody, mesmerising, and off-kilter, smarting with anguish and glowing with epicness!

May:  VROVL – La Chasse au Marais/De Eendenjacht

La Chasse Au Marais / De Eendenjacht by Vrovl

Belgian outfit VROVL pull out a masterpiece of intricate, top-notch progressive rock -- deftly spanning the bridge between pastoral, symphonic, and progressive metal in a way that is both unique and breathtaking!

June:  ORGÖNE – MOS/FET

ORGÖNE - MOS/FET by HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS Records

A bewildering, dazzling and bizarre array of songs, noises and shiftless innovation from this amazing French band. The gamut of prog, krautrock, musique concrete, and space rock are despatched with real flair and musicianship!

July:  THE EX PAST – The Experimental Experience

The Experimental Experience by The Ex Past

Expansive, ballsy heavy psych from Russia that delivers tonal treats and trippy trap-doors a-plenty. A definite head-melter!

August:  MOTORPSYCHO – The All Is One

No intros needed for this spectacular group of Norwegians. Confident, challenging, brimming with pure invention...grandiose is the word!

September:  MOTHER’S CAKE – Cyberfunk!

Cyberfunk! by Mother's Cake

More delectable Austrian Prog from this ridiculously talented ensemble. A fusion of classic '70s hard prog, fuzzy psych, and sonic theatrics that will have you bouncing!

October:  KEVEL – Mutatis Mutandis

Mutatis Mutandis by kevel

Poland’s grip on the stoner-doom genre was fastened to death-like by this incredible release. Heavy as a bag of anvils, crawling through depths, valleys, the void, and beyond with its breathtaking scope!

November:  SUN CROW – Quest For Oblivion

Quest for Oblivion by Sun Crow

The Seattle stoner doomsters pull out an incredible display of Power, Craft and skill! A fantastic blend of sludge, doom, and stoner metal along with psychedelic flair make this a very serious AOTY contender!

December:  THE AMORPHOUS ANDROGYNOUS – We Persuade Ourselves We Are Immortal

We Persuade Ourselves We Are Immortal by The Amorphous Androgynous

Future Sound Of London teams up with VDGG legend Peter Hammil and a star-studded array of musicians for this incredibly diverse, lusciously-produced and precision-executed smorgasbord of progressive rock wonder, weaving seamlessly through prog rock, trance, ambience, and electronica. Incredible!

[doomedandstoned]

Next Month’s Noise: November Preview!

Doomed & Stoned's loveable malevolent Reek of STOOM dusts off the scrying orb and peers into the foreseeable future, plucking astral projections from CULT BURIAL, ENIGMA MACHINE, VARANAK, ACID MESS, CORRUPT MORAL ALTAR, and more finds from the heavy underground.

This is...NEXT MONTH'S NOISE.

(00.00.00) CULT BURIAL - Moribund (00.05.09) SNURFU - No Fucks Given (00.07.35) DISTORTION RIDE - Going Down (00.10.52) KARKARA - Falling Gods (00.14.40) PLINI - I'll Tell You Someday (00.18.46) ACID MESS - Fuego Al Templo (00.24.50) KIMONO DRAG QUEENS - Hunters (00.30.26) ALBINOBEACH - Jugga (00.34.58) ENIGMA EXPERIENCE - Lonewolf (00.38.56) L'UOMO NERO - Nel Deserto (00.43.28) ATLASES - The Unsung Lament Pt 2: Shadows (00.49.02) CORRUPT MORAL ALTAR - You Smell Expensive (00.52.17) TOMBS - Barren (00.57.57) DARK DOOM - Dusk (01.03.26) SOLSTAFIR - Akkeri (01.13.22) ONOSKELIS - Saturnal Surfer (01.20.13) POST TRUTH - Drowning in Thunder (01.23.16) MAGIC COBRA - Magic Cobra (01.28.36) MOUNTAIN CALLER - Journey Through The Twilight Desert (01.34.35) TOMORR - Grazing Land (01.41.02) TEN PAST SEVEN - Turf War (01.45.00) VARANAK - Aconites and Marigolds

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Doom From Oregon As Caerulean Welles Set Off "Oblivion Rides A Horse"

~By Reek of STOOM~

Oregon bands seem to drink deep from the Well Of Doom. Consistent excellence in the doom/sludge genres seems to emanate from the pores over there. CAERULEAN WELLES from Fall Creek join the ranks of the OR illuminati with this superb release 'Oblivion Rides A Horse' (2020): four extended tomes of tortures, tremors and terrors lurk perilously within.

The aching, introverted opening to "Al-Nakba" beguiles and allures until the crushing death blasts and angular shreds decapitate you, Then the Doom breaks down and collapses in a heap of gore and rot, manifesting visions of evil djinns and forbidden rites in dark Arabian caverns.

Oblivion Rides A Horse by Caerulean Welles

A squealing, throbbing entrance to "Schismatics And The Sowers Of Discord" bleeds into more anguished, baleful guitar noise and tremor-inducing bass blows then the death drums thunder once more and the savage riffs rage unrepentant until some old school doom slithers in to shatter the tension.

Oblivion Rides A Horse by Caerulean Welles

"Round The Clock Lightning and the Black Inane" is pure BM incarnate: a gnarling, twisted refrain smothered on a bed of grisled percussion creating a foaming and insatiable frenzy of pace and potency.

Oblivion Rides A Horse by Caerulean Welles

Closer "Apotropaic" enters a different dimension -- trippy repetition and spike-maced Wraiths drooling in a melancholic stupor of strychnine-laced strings and festering bass, unsettling like the punk in the corner idly toying with his switchblade.

Oblivion Rides A Horse by Caerulean Welles

Oblivion Rides A Horse delivers deep-rooted delirium and macabre glee from every antechamber of the Haunted Realms; the sour aftertaste of defilement in dark alleyways.

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[doomedandstoned]

Sweden’s Sleepwulf Prove a Name To Be Reckoned With

~By Reek of STOOM~

The very first thought that entered my head was, "Is this a reissue?" Some long-forgotten Tull or Life recording liberated from the dust? Such is the sound of SLEEPWULF.

Wizard Slayer by Sleepwulf

From the opening zazzle of axe and bass, "Wizard Slayer" is as vintage as it gets: brooding and bombastic in equal turn, it unfurls into the kind of prog-cum-proto metal track you'd swear you heard on some early- seventies compilation at a party somewhere. The rough and tumble Tull-like joust of "Beasts of Collision" bursts with pockets of guitar leads and breaks, allowing the band to really rock out. Clear, melodic vocals with that genuine old school rock voice conduit the energies through torrid tales of doom.

"Lucifer's Light" and "Standing Stones" are blues-driven burnouts of sparse melodies, bass and rhythms, the latter exploding into a tour-de-force of raw riffage and fiery licks. The folky interlude of "God of the Gaps" gives way to the rumbling groove of "Tumbling Towers," more heavy, hefty blues. The finale, "One Eyed Jailor" doffs a feathered cap to the proto-metal pioneers of Iron Claw or Blue Cheer with it's subdued, almost restrained power simmering below the surface.

Misty Mountain by Sleepwulf

Sleepwulf have delivered an album of timeless sound: an album that lovingly recreates the raw rampages of bygone heroes and celebrates the beauty of pure, unadorned heavy rock music. A bona fide classic of the genre! Look for it March 6th on Cursed Tongue Records (preorder here).

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[doomedandstoned]

Astral Bodies Take Us On A Doomed Space Rock Adventure In ‘Escape Death’

~by Reek of STOOM~

UK Space Rock purveyors ASTRAL BODIES leave the physical plane once again for another voyage into the unknown maw, Their latest intrepid adventure 'Escape Death' (2020 - Surviving Sounds) runs the gamut of spaced-out jams, ambient bliss-filled dimensions, and low, potent slithers through unfathomable voids.

Escape Death by Astral Bodies

Opener "Neptune" brings the cold, barren orb to life with stark, ice-veined atmospherics and lush synth backdrops before "Europa" bursts in with heavy beats, cosmic oscillations, and frequencies, ushering forth a simple melodic guitar refrain over strident percussion and low rumbling bass.

"Oumuamua" heralds the arrival of the Intergalactic traveller in a series of feedback squalls and weird echoes before gathering speed and power in a doom-riddled, post-hardcore surge. Plunging returns into the emptiness beckon during "Orchidaceae," a sweeping, mellow yet anthemic concoction of slow breaks and angular guitar tones.

"Equinox" breaks through the cloud cover of some distant world like a flaming missile of distortion and taut percussion-bass interplay. "Pale Horse" is slow and brooding, awash with spacey ebbs and flows, underpinned by gentle guitar patterns and shrill, plaintive vocals.

Closer "Mythic Phantoms" punches through the fabric of the gloom with hard attacking bass and crunching riffs, weaving and meandering through hidden asteroid fields of heavy drum and fuzz-strewn debris.

Astral Bodies aptly live up to their name, bringing you a multi-layered, genre-defying morass of modern space rock that simply enthrals from beginning to end.

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Elder Druid Erect Monumental Doom on ‘Golgotha’

~By Reek of STOOM~

Bellicose Belfast outfit ELDER DRUID breach the salt lines to manifest their virulent breed of doomed sludge in their latest offering, 'Golgotha' (2020). Every yard as epic as it's title, its power and majesty bleeds through every low-fuzzed corpuscle and sinew.

"Sleeping Giant" is a thorax pummeling of clubbing bass and clobbering riffs vehicles the evil emanations of guttural rage. Title track "Golgotha" opens with a drunken, blurred bass pounding over a sea of shredded riff-skin, warping into a viscous discourse of drums and sick licks. "Sentinel" makes an ominous entrance that widens to a chasm of slo-mo dankness and sharp guitar leads glistening like blood spatters on a cold corpse.

Golgotha by Elder Druid

The stand-out track for me is "Dreadnought": a prowling, malicious predator of brutal mass and hate that unfolds through your entrails like mercury, agonised screams of vocal maleficence echoing the torturous sounds beneath. Uncouth and heathen, the blasphemous crust of "Paegan Dawn of Anubis" is an uncontained explosion rippling through stone-thick riffs and temple-crumbling percussion. The final track, "Archmage," starts with fuzz-fuelled disdain and rabbit-punch drumming before its descent into filth-ridden, impenetrable rivers of sludge.

Golgotha is the Sound of Wrath. Elder Druid is the Sound of Doom. Faultless!

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