Diaries of Doom

Brighton-based metallers Tribe of Ghosts are back with another brand new track, serving as a great addition to their fearsome stream of singles. Seemingly emerging out of nowhere just over a year ago, they have made some serious waves since last year's appearance at Bloodstock's New Blood Stage. Most recently to this, they had Ben Mason from Bound in Fear guest on Deny The Rot  - and they're appearing on the Sophie stage at Bloodstock in just over a week. Hive opens with a frantic, agitated guitar riff and punishing electronic sounds before introducing the iconic twin-vocal synergy for a couple of verses from Beccy and Adam, calling and responding with each other, the two disparate styles - importantly - complementing the other. The drumming in particular is very powerful, technical, and locked in with the fret-burning riffs, giving the track a bit of a Gojira-style feel in its groovier verses. The key change into the melodic chorus is really nice, and Beccy's clean v...

  My first encounter with an early incarnation of Epimetheus was back in 2015, when at a university open mic night, a trio of musicians were playing amped-up classic rock covers and catchy twelve-bar-blues numbers, by far the loudest and heaviest band on the bill. Eventually, an 'originals' set began to materialise, and the band would unveil Mandalorian , a riff-heavy stoner rock outfit, at a show in the university student village. Still with an unapologetic classic rock flair, but with bigger riffs, catchy choruses and (even) more volume, it was a natural forward step from their covers act, finally with a firm lineup in place as groove-meister general James Jackson would take permanent residence on the drum stool.  The Machetezilla EP would drop in 2018. Led by emotive, bluesy guitar work from Cillian Breathnach, Jackson's jazzy stylings and a screeching, soulful heart from Ben Price's vocal performance, it now appears - purely in hindsight - to be the sound of a band ...

  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...

London-based mob Tunguska return with their sophomore EP, Decline . It sees them sounding more impressive and more crushing than ever.   Opening with cold, industrial noise to set the scene before a punishing, jaunty, dissonant guitar riff bursts through your speakers, Tunguska offer a healthy dose of brutality in 'A Cold Symmetry', showing with little haste the heaviness they are capable of. Morphing into a more sinister mood with a well-placed key change, their use of clean vocals is as effective as the roaring death growls. Tunguska strike a satisfying balance between the likes of Korn on one end and Meshuggah on the other. 'Hive Mind Puritan' follows in a similar vein, featuring Mike Pilat of Herod on guest vocals. The guitar riffing shows off a cool approach to the modern, post-Meshuggah school of death metal, and accompanies Sean Gibson's vocals that, again, alternate nicely between stomach-churning screams and carefully-placed melodies. An infectious amount o...

Three years beyond the acclaimed Asheran comes this new EP from Scottish progressive/post-sludgers Dvne. Asheran is little short of a masterpiece - how on earth could the band, now expanded to a quintet with the addition of keyboardist Evelyn May, build upon this? With the Omega Severer EP, their answer seems to be more progressive, expressive and bloody impressive as they hint at new music to come and nod to the past. The ten-minute titular track indicates the direction that their upcoming 2021 album will take, and 'Of Blade and Carapace' is a re-recording of a song from their Aurora Majesty EP. Let's dive in...  'Omega Severer' opens with soft ambience and a moody chord sequence before going into heavier territory, with Dvne's tasteful sense of light and dark becoming apparent early on in this song, as strong as has been demonstrated on their previous work. The sludgy riffing is reminiscent of Mastodon or Baroness in their earliest days, although the song we...

There’s a violent storm brewing far in the north. Vast clouds threaten torrential rain, claps of thunder signal an oncoming barrage of electrostatic energy. This isn’t a weather forecast: it’s the only appropriate way to set the scene for Bosphorus’ Slow Burn , set for release on the 25th of September 2020 through Trepanation Recordings. Seriously, the drama, the foreboding, and the essence of space that this record manages to communicate is akin to beholding a storm front. The Glasgow trio develop dynamic and thematic elements with care, showing attention to detail and great care for their song writing into a familiar but original post-metal sound that you’d be a fool to skip.   ‘Silhouette’ instantly begins the assault with a cascading riff that threatens to trip itself up, if not for such talented control on the part of the Teager, Wiseman, and Hamilton. A dual vocal hook that combines hardcore style vocals simultaneously with a more doom laden delivery calls forth a truly bleak...