Diaries of Doom

Tumanduumband's third release dropped out of nowhere at the end of January. A testament to the lads' will to keep the ball rolling over lockdown, as it has been recorded at home on smartphones, it proves that little will stop this four-legged beast. It also signals a change in direction and sound - the instrumental drum and bass doom riffs are replaced with sludgy, droney, blackened evil performed with guitars and vocals instead. So, fair play for keeping things going, and fresh, given all the shit going on in the world at the moment. The title track is a droning slow burner, with Luke's tortured howls creating a genuinely unsettling vibe. It weaves in and out of different sections with a free flowing structure. More than anything, the focus is upon atmosphere and a different kind of evil that the duo's last two releases have been based around. The very raw production ethic works well here. As much as this choice has come out of necessity, with a national lockdown in fo...

We all celebrated the death of 2020 a month ago. But, the first moon into 2021, are there any bets on when things are going to start feeling any better? Okay, so many of us here were probably happy to see an oversized tangerine baby collect his P45 from the White House, but in the depths of a grim Corona winter, where Glastonbury Festival has already been cancelled for this summer (the first of many?), there's been fruit and veg shortages due to the unholy cocktail of Brexit, Covid and cold weather, and we found out about the untimely death of Alexi Laiho, you have to wonder when the pendulum is going to swing back in the other direction. Music has always kept many of us sane during difficult times. To keep us optimistic, we've had new singles from Monolord and Eyehategod, an incredible debut EP from Wall , and three particularly grim releases I've picked out from the last four weeks below. Music for the times, to be sure. Gatecreeper - An Unexpected Reality (death metal/gr...

  I remember seeing This Is Turin at Bloodstock back in 2016, although I've been aware of them dominating the Manchester scene since the early 2010's in their early days. They must have made an impact on me as a youngster, because I'm very excited that they're still going strong, stronger than ever in fact. I was impressed back then at their technical facility, and T.U.R.I.N. is a mean feat of an EP, retaining their flair for technicality whilst showing us a new, more polished sound. Strap in, prepare yourself (as if you're in that scene in Casino Royale, the one where Daniel Craig's getting his balls smashed), and let the intensity take you... I’m feeling a little reminiscent of All Shall Perish’s “The Price of Existence” when I hear the first track on the EP: “Excommunicate”. It’s got a strong opening, showcasing technical prowess whilst presenting that familiar sound of blast beats framing a riff that wouldn’t be out of place in an early Black Dahlia Murder t...

We were told to always look on the bright side of life by Monty Python, which was admittedly difficult in 2020 when we were forced into lockdown due to a global pandemic. But with musicians staying at home instead of playing shows, we've started to see albums, EPs and new projects altogether come to fruition that may well not have happened otherwise. Wall is the latest lockdown project we can feast our ears on, formed by Ryan and Elliot Cole of Desert Storm and The Grand Mal. This five-song EP is a monolithic slab of instrumental sludge metal (mostly), full of big riffs written at home by the twins before they headed to the studio in the summer of last year to get them down. 'Wrath of the Serpent', the EP's first single, has epic, sprawling riffage and dual guitars before they make way for a sudden escalation in tempo, and the song turns into a frantic, thrashing High on Fire-esque ripper with well-controlled drumming. The song evolves, with furious, fiddly guitar line...

The Highdrators formed in lockdown, consisting of past and present members of notable riff-heavy bands in the UK underground, ultimately coming together to sound nothing like the bands that they've congregated from. That's what enjoying yourself and making music's about though, right? You would surely get bored making the same sounds day in, day out. You can hear the fun coming out of your speakers that these musicians are having in their new project. Sometimes, amongst heavy musicians, we forget what having a good time's all about.  'Let's Get Drunk & High' is the second song from The Highdrators, and is a real raucous, rebellious, rowdy, rock 'n roll rager. With an irresistible punk swagger and rock n' roll piano tinkling in the background, it's hard not to smile and bop along as you listen to the unpretentious 'Let's Get Drunk & High'. You wouldn't have thought that the track features Siân Greenaway from Alunah as a gue...

This year didn't really go to plan, did it? I'm sure we're all relieved to see 2020 finally on its way out - who's taking bets for 2021? Zombie apocalypse, anyone? Regardless, there's been some absolutely stellar new releases all year round. The Diaries of Doom writers team have gotten their heads together and picked out 40 of their favourites from 2020 - in alphabetical order, to avoid lengthy, meandering arguments. Find something here that you previously missed. As you'd expect, there's a lot of sludge, doom and stoner here. But we've also got everything else, from Pearl Jam to grindcore. Here's our essential 40 releases of 2020. Anaal Nathrakh - Endarkenment (blackened death) Battalions - Pure Humber Sludge (sludge) Beggar - Compelled to Repeat (sludge) Cillian Breathnach - Lothric (drone/dark ambient) Fæðm by Cillian Breathnach Corrupt Moral Altar - Patiently Waiting for Wonderful Things (death/grindcore) Deftones - Ohms (alternative metal) ...

I wasn't too familiar with Thrashsquatch until earlier this year, when an Instagram account plugging the UK thrash scene brought them up. Wasn't going to forget a name like that, was I?  As you can probably tell, they don't take themselves too seriously, but do play a blistering, unpretentious, fist-pumping take on thrash metal, with elements of hardcore punk and wider heavy metal scattered into their sound.  Thrashsquatch's second EP comes a little over three years since their self-titled debut release.  'Return of the Living Shred' picks up from where the Chesterfield quintet left off last time, with a sound that doesn't reinvent the wheel but certainly comes across as more refined and unified than on their last outing. The groovy 'Human Compost' opens the EP at a relatively medium tempo. It's made for live shows and you can see the sweaty moshpits, masses of windmilling hair and lyrics being shouted back in your minds eye above the dissonant m...