Diaries of Doom

Puresonic Outcasts have finally dropped their long-awaited second EP. The heavy/stoner metallers turn up their amps, downtune their axes and introduce a much heavier era for the band with Endless Contemplation , a six-song selection of some of the finest riffs in Northern Ireland. Indeed, this is a release that worships the power of The Riff™. In a similar vein to 2020's Reflections Upon This Present Condition , they've got stoned-out jams and fuzz-heavy guitar passages that tread the path first laid out by Black Sabbath over fifty years ago. Two of the six are solely instrumental tracks, with their riff worship and creation of atmosphere leading these songs. For example, 'Mudlarker' has an Orion-style, psychedelic bass intro, with a buildup in intensity and atmosphere that reminds me a little of 'Chasing Shadows' from eighteen months ago ( more about that here ), culminating into a Candlemass-like doom metal finish. I've said it before - PSO are absolute m

  The last day of the festival runs around all too quickly, but there are still a few tales to be told before the proceedings are through. Dvne open up the Roundhouse on Sunday afternoon, with a set exclusively drawing from the earth-shattering  Etemen Ænka from last year. Towers sounds, well, as towering as it does on record. Their epic, melodic, progressive sludge seems to have reached increasingly new and bigger audiences recently and their spot on such a big stage, though announced at short notice, is thoroughly well deserved and you can see from Dan's big grin how much they're enjoying their moment in the spotlight. They're full of technical wizardry, but have enough big grooves to get the crowd moving and headbanging - such as the end of Mleccha or the titanic riffs in Satuya. The drum fills are nothing short of crazy at times and both vocalists only seem to improve with every passing year. Their interludes between songs are worth a mention, too - bridging the songs,

Coventry metallers Chaplain released A Disgusting View of Humanity two years ago, but couldn't have been more unlucky with the timing, unleashing it in March 2020 as the world closed its doors for what felt like could be forever at the time. As the world's opened up again, they've re-established themselves on the death metal and extreme metal live circuit, and if you've caught them in a sweaty, beer-stained live room lately, you might recognise this new one. Chaplain are a death metal band to my ears, but that's a simple way of looking at it. They fearlessly do their own thing, with influences from doom and bouncy groove metal. Their focus is more on simple, catchy and powerful bangers than the pursuit of mind-blowing technicality or playing the fastest. It's refreshing, really, who knew extreme could be fun as well? Utopia crawls in with a slinky riff before a rolling snare, earth-moving scream and a bass drop introduces a verse full of swagger and attitude. Th

I get myself down to London after a half-day at work for around half past 5, checking in to the Dev just as Dunes take to the stage. Their groovy, stoner-infused alternative rock is a great first act of the weekend for me. It's laid back without feeling lazy, and with shades of Clutch and earlier QOTSA, is easy on the ears while still rocking out and making my head nod with every bluesy groove. Their new album Gargoyles is only a week old by this point, and they baptise it in glorious, fuzz-soaked style. I'm surprised how full the venue already feels for around five in the evening, and as more pints are poured and the beers begin to flow, the crowd cheer louder and louder, showing them well-deserved appreciation. I can definitely see Dunes on the Desertfest bill again. My next stop is Truckfighters , and I manage to catch about the latter two-thirds of their set. It's full to the brim with sprawling jams, hard grooves and most importantly - good fun. Without a doubt, thei

Five years into their career, Hertfordshire heavies Ritual release their second EP this week. We last heard from Ritual with their 2019 release Operation Copacabana and the Punch-Drunk Blues . Enigma continues the narrative from the previous EP, which reimagined and extrapolated on the song by Barry Manilow. In a very loose way, Enigma continues this story by following the antagonist's trial, execution and descent to hell following a murderous crime of passion. Written before the world shut its doors two years ago, Ritual weren't able to release Enigma as intended, yet the band played this to their advantage. While refining what they already had, the band decided to embellish the songs with guest appearances. ”We thought about what we felt the songs were missing and identified people who we’d ideally like to perform the parts", they explain. Fortunately, their dream musicians weren't touring 'as normal' and were able to lend a helping hand or two (or severa