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REVIEW: Joel H Bulsara's doomy debut Hastur The King

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Joel H Bulsara is a Yorkshire-based musician with his first solo album hot off the press. The vocalist of Leeds groove metal force Ireosis, as well as the man behind the trap-inspired Vilitigo. project, and formerly of stoner doomsters (The) Sound Of Origin, he already boasts an impressive musical CV (heavily condensed into one line here). So, where does his new project as JHB sit? Hastur The King seems to mostly act as the spiritual successor to (The) Sound Of Origin, with its heavy leanings into riff-worshipping stoner and doom metal. However, as the lyricist, composer, producer and engineer, performing every instrument, this is far more than the logical next step of an old band. Hastur The King is brought together with occult themes, and a hell of a lot of soul poured into the effort. Conceptually, Hastur The King handles Lovecraftian horror and the occult. This is apparent in song titles such as The Tarot or Mandelbrot Madness (The Musical) - which, in very simple and half-expl...
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LIVE REVIEW: Slaughterhouse Festival 2026

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Music festival season in the UK begins by the time May comes around, and keeps going all the way through the summer. Kicking off a spell of alldayers, weekenders and more for 2026, the first weekend of May saw Slaughterhouse Festival come to Birmingham for its fourth edition. It showcased all sorts of talent in heavy music coming out of the Midlands and beyond, on three stages for the first time. The Castle & Falcon may be a bit out the way from the city centre, but has hosted some of the best Birmingham gigs you'll find over the years, and today's no different. While I'm here, I'd like to thank Rory for asking me to cover the event, for adding Diaries of Doom to the festival poster (that's a first!) and also inviting Slump to headline the unplugged stage for what was our first acoustic performance. My first band of the day are Osiris , who give everything they've got for half an hour on the second stage. Showing off a varied range of influences, Osiris cov...
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Ten songs for your Desertfest London 2026 playlist

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Desertfest London is a bit like Christmas for British people of a certain musical persuasion. It comes once a year, and you spend most of it drunk with the family. Instead of music about decking the halls or reindeer, though, you're more likely to catch someone singing ‘N.I.B.’ or claiming to be Iron Man after hours at The Black Heart. And instead of a traditional roast dinner, you've got virtually the entire world's cuisine within a stone's throw in the Camden markets. I first went in 2017 for the day to see Sleep, then started doing the full weekend every year from 2022 onwards. By now, it's booked into the calendar as soon as the dates are announced. This year will be my second time covering the event for Diaries of Doom and my third time as an artist (more on that later), which I'm very grateful for. If you see something on the merch table that catches your eye, consider doing without the next couple of beers and grabbing it there and then. It's one of t...
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LIVE REVIEW: She Sells Sin make their sacrilegious live debut

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West Midlands-based goth rockers She Sells Sin made their long-awaited live debut at The Giffard Arms in Wolverhampton in January, as main support for longtime UK regulars Rhombus. After releasing a stream of singles in recent years and existing mainly as a studio project led by singer/guitarist Ian Guest, the live lineup is now ready to go and, on tonight's account, already firing on all cylinders. The synth-heavy intro of Sorrow gently leads into a clean first verse, showing She Sells Sin's melodic core from the first moments. Ian's soulful baritone carries the track's powerful hook nicely, before some blasting from their drummer makes for a killer surprise at the very end, showing off some impressive technical chops. Lucifer follows, picking up the pace with its pounding groove and gothic vocal lines. A flashy guitar solo adds another layer of effortless cool before the song's low, doomy, melodic coda evokes Type O Negative at their slowest. She Sells Sin, a...
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SINGLE REVIEW: JustSkye - Internal War

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Brand new solo project JustSkye released their debut single Internal War at the end of January, featuring Neil Hudson of Gutworm and Krysthla on production as well as with a guest appearance. This track is rooted in emotional heaviness, dealing with internal struggle and the process of confronting personal demons head-on. Built upon a strong sense of atmosphere, Internal War unfolds with a restrained, soulful vocal performance before gradually pulling in the listener deeper and eventually giving way to a weighty midsection. With gritty melodies and punishing, low-tuned guitars, the dynamic shift is part of the song's natural ebb and flow. Skye delivers each line with conviction, bringing a sense of vulnerability that suits the song's subject matter in an impactful way. After further dynamic and harmonic shifts, the song's final chorus and coda hit in a satisfying way as the track wraps up. This is a well-considered and well-written number. Internal War is an atmospheri...
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Under the Radar: Five UK Hidden Gems of 2025

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Happy New Year! 2025 birthed some fantastic releases in the heavy music world, and I've picked out five hidden gems from the English circuit that may have flown under your radars. We've got a melting pot of groove metal, sludge, death metal, and all of the above in my recommendations, which mostly saw the light of day over the second half of last year. I want to use this to thank everyone who sends me their music for review. I would love to give space on my blog to every artist who emails or messages me if there was an extra six hours a day and an extra three days a week to make that happen. These five here, though, are genuinely worth your time if you care about grassroots heavy music. We're all excited to see what 2026 brings. Drēor - Hell's Kitchen Rising Nottingham old school death metal trio Drēor (meaning 'blood' in Old English, or 'gore') released their sophomore EP in June, an unapologetic slab of classic OSDM. Dripping with blood and guts, and...
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LIVE REVIEW: Dunes bring the fuzz to Brum

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The Victoria in Central Birmingham filled out for a night of live music, with Newcastle's Dunes the main attraction. But the Worcester-based Fights and Fires opened up with their first gig in two and a half years, playing like a band with a point to prove as they delivered a set full of energy and loads of presence onstage. Their post-hardcore style is unapologetically straight out of the 00s (can we call it retro yet?), delivered with a sense of urgency and a hard hitting punch. The backing vocals that the rest of the band support with really underline the strong melodies that Fights and Fires offer. Performing like seasoned pros, it's surprising to learn that it's their current drummer's first gig partway through the set, as he genuinely slots in seamlessly. It's an energetic start to the night, and great to see a fantastic Midlands band back at it again. Flamebearer are up next, with a fist pumping, rowdy stoner metal style closer in sound to tonight's he...
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