Diaries of Doom

Chicago rock trio Dead Original's debut album is now available to stream pretty much everywhere. Having built up hype for Bought And Sold  for some time with a series of singles throughout the last couple of years, it comes as a relief to Dead Original's longterm fanbase to hear this long-awaited full-length. A healthy, fully fleshed out track listing feels very rewarding after all this time.   Fronted by Paul Wandtke, former touring drummer for Trivium and also of Rock of Ages and Bedlem, one can hear the obvious influence of grunge on the band's sound from the off. My first interactions with Paul were as a Trivium fan, as the Florida metallers made their way around the UK on a 2016 headline tour. Knowing that Paul also performed in the Smells Like Nirvana tribute act, we had a chat about our shared love of the grunge legends in a dingy pub in York, with Nirvana being my favourite band throughout my teenage years. Although his Trivium gig was ultimately not meant to be, ...

Callous Hands burst onto the Midlands live scene in early 2019 and made their mark very quickly, soaring all the way to the final of the Coventry Metal 2 The Masses competition before they could count their played gigs on two hands. As with many other bands, the pandemic stopped them in their tracks, but with a glimmer of hope on the horizon for live music, Callous Hands are poised to become one of the truly essential modern bands in the metal scene when concerts return. Earth Mover is due out at the end of the week, and as they put it themselves, 'I mean at the end of the day, it’s heavy as fuck.  We hope people enjoy listening to this EP as much as we’ve enjoyed making it'. Their blistering, groove-infused brand of extreme metal indeed has the impact of a ton of bricks and should signal the start of a big chapter for the guys. A solemn, soft guitar opens the release, before a piercing scream really introduces 'Heed the Call' amid epic-sounding instrumentation. It ki...

The black metal project of Lewis Borthwick, who helped mastermind the recent debut Grimorte EP, Archierophant return with a spellbinding sophomore release. A breathtaking balance of brutality and beauty, Archierophant enlist the vocal talents of Ffion Elisa and Sami Tuohino of Oenos to contribute to the wide-ranging spectrum of sound found on Birds Of Joy And Sorrow . What's arguably most impressive here is how cohesive the music all sounds here, with regard to how many different spheres of influence are present. Trust me, though, this is not one to go under the radar. The release splits itself nicely into two parts; the first being crushingly heavy with a more 'straight-up' metal approach. Opening track 'Alkonost' immediately tears through the speakers with a descending, dissonant minor key sequence, but laden with pianos and haunting backing vocals to create an unmistakeable symphonic black metal vibe. A drop in tempo around the two-and-a-half minute mark creates ...

This article originally appeared on the MMH Radio website Birmingham stoner/punk duo God Shame The Queen formed a few short months ago in the middle of the pandemic. With little else to do but jam out, the songs wrote themselves very quickly, and with time to practice and record in the Boooom Room , a recording studio in the heart of the Jewellery Quarter, we find ourselves with a debut EP that’s come together from scratch over a time where most bands are unable to do anything or even play. With Jack on the bass, David on the drums (also of Slump and Fractura) and both sharing lead vocals, they take a stripped down approach, although the thick wall of noise from the bass and sheer power from the drums would leave you surprised to realise this. The EP dives in with wailing feedback and a distorted bass riff that could have come straight from Lemmy Kilmister’s library of licks. The punk beat and aggressive vocal delivery does give ‘Stains of Love’ a distinct Motörhead flavouring, althoug...