Diaries of Doom

  Today's big news is the announcement of Conjurer 's sophomore full-length Pàthos and the unveiling of lead single 'It Dwells'. It'll be the four-piece's first on Nuclear Blast . Preorder it here. Conjurer are currently on tour in Europe with Celeste and will play festivals such as Siege of Limerick, Hellfest and  Arctangent later in the year. The full album drops on July 1st 2022. I interviewed bassist Conor Marshall last year for MMH Radio , who explained to me that compared to their last album 'an evolution is a good way to put it - it's definitely not Mire 2'.  If you've seen Conjurer live in the last year, such as at last year's  Bloodstock or the Download Pilot you may remember 'It Dwells' from the start of their setlists. Dan Nightingale  (guitar/vocals) comments, "I think 'It Dwells' is a good introduction to the sound of the record, from the musical influences to the lyrics and how we’ve drawn from what’s been g...

Konvent return with their second full-length offering this week, via Napalm Records. A dismal, downtrodden and destitute collection of material, the quartet draw from sludge, black metal, death metal and doom to create a cold, thick smog of heaviness, maintaining its intensity from the first minute to the last. It's another great effort from the Danish dames; not for the faint of heart, but incredibly rewarding for those that can stomach such an aural assault. Opening with a tolling bell, Rikke's first guttural roar in 'Into The Distance' lets you know without question that Konvent are back and with a vengeance. The pounding drums in the background build up tension, sending chills down your spine and creating a true feel of an epic album opener before it drops with a slight drop in tempo that's supremely effective and punishing. The song is mostly quite slow and foreboding, but Konvent cleverly switch up the tempo again towards the end - this time, making for a fast...

From the depths of England and Ireland, DeathCollector arise from the mire with their debut EP. Planted firmly in the old-school style of death metal, it's a brutal, unnerving endeavour. Its lineup is enough to make heads turn, with past and present members of Bolt Thrower, Memoriam, Darkened, Zealot Cult, Severe Lacerations, Ashen Crown and Grimorte collaborating on this effort. Yet its eye-watering amount of musicality and flair makes it stands out from the crowd on its own merit. Kieran Scott (vocals) explains that the album title is ' a comment about the fragility of life and how easy it’s taken away from you, irrelevant of how you struggle, when your ‘Time’s Up’, you’re done '. Clockwise from top left: Andy Whale (drums) - Mick Carey (guitar) - Kieran Scott (vocals) - Lee Cummings (bass) As the first, dread-fuelled notes of eponymous track 'DeathCollector' ring out, claustrophobic energy hangs in the air, remaining permanently over the course of the EP. It'...