Diaries of Doom

  On this day in 1971 - 50 years ago - Alice Cooper released the much-beloved 'Killers'. Today, Pale Wizard release their first instalment of tribute albums titled 50 Years Later - with eight (or twelve, on the CD/digital releases) handpicked artists from the UK doom, psych and stoner rock circles paying homage to Killer and Alice Cooper in their own way. Tracklist: 01. Green Lung – Under My Wheels 02. The Grand Mal – Be My Lover 03. Sergeant Thunderhoof – Halo Of Flies 04. Ritual King – Desperado 05. 1968 – You Drive Me Nervous 06. Trippy Wicked – Yeah, Yeah, Yeah 07. Mos Generator – Dead Babies 08. Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell – Killer 09. Alunah – I’m Eighteen (Bonus Track) 10. Suns Of Thunder – Billion Dollar Babies (Bonus Track) 11. Possessor – Muscle Of Love (Bonus Track) 12. Sound Of Origin – Sick Things (Bonus Track) Alunah - I'm Eighteen (live in London, July 2021) - featuring two Diaries of Doom contributors Lead single for this release is The Grand Mal tackling...

 Preston trio Callus return with A Breath of Flesh Air , two and a half years on from Hogpocalypse and the Through Blood, Sweat, Piss and Pain EP in 2017. Recorded at Foel Studio with Chris Fielding from Conan back in February, you notice the stunning album artwork (created by Ryan Hancock) and wonderful song titles such as 'Cinderstella' and 'Sludge Guzzler' before you even hit the play button. It's enough to draw anyone in... I had seen the name 'Callus' on a few bills prior to seeing them in concert for the first time at Badgerfest in Manchester a few weeks ago. Their confident brand of progressive sludge metal has hints of Mastodon, Boss Keloid, Dvne and the like, but with an aggression and directness that nods unashamedly to acts like High on Fire. In the live arena, their downtuned riffs and energy absolutely crush, with a dual vocal attack that gives extra dimension and layering to their thick sound - which, somehow, only comes from three musicians....

  Named after the Overkill song and formed back in 2007 in East Anglia, Elimination released a couple of albums and toured with the likes of Evile and Gama Bomb before taking a hiatus in the mid-2010s. Echoes of the Abyss  is now Elimination's first full-length in a decade. Announced in the summer, Elimination treated attendees at Dayfest in Ipswich to a full runthrough of the album shortly before a very last-minute performance at Bloodstock a couple of months ago. Echoes of the Abyss is a thrash album, no doubt, but with nods to all sorts of differing styles of metal throughout. It's full to the brim with melody, aggression and raw talent. More importantly, it shows an evolution and maturity in the band's sound compared to their earlier work.  A creepy, clean guitar intro sets the tone with wailing, distant leads that eventually make way for the big drop into 'Disciples of the Beast'. Elimination progress into a glorious thrash riff, but its sense of melody is undo...

Impressively, Rochester thrashers Incivtra have released 'Of Flesh, Steel and Stone' barely a year after their last EP, 'Chaos Theory '. Formed in 2015, they've gone from strength to strength in the New York metal scene and are already starting to boast an impressive discography. A few tweaks to their lineup over the past year, and they're now on their fourth release in five years. It's a daring step forward that advances their sound and sees them sounding more convincing and vital than ever. Opener 'Vozrozhdeniya' sets the tone like a call-to-arms, with slinky guitar melodies that demonstrate musicality, flair and talent from the word 'go', from creepy clean lines to grandiose, arpeggiated lead guitar licks when the whole band are kicked in, with amps up to 11. Segueing into 'Objects of Rage', Invictra waste no time in upping the energy levels, backed by the darkly melodic guitar riffs, Josh's well-honed screams and the frantic d...

Syncolima formed only in February 2021. Out of the ashes of an old band, Stoff (bass) and Gazz (drums) enlisted Josh Morgan - who played in the recently-on-hiatus Supersonic Death Monkey - to round off a hard n' heavy stoner rock outfit. Syncolima's influences lie with Black Sabbath, of course, as every stoner band does, but also very clearly with grunge acts like Alice in Chains, more so in Syncolima than in Stoff and Gazz's previous work together. There's a bit of Metallica-style aggression, a bit of Eastern-tinged psychedelia, all collected together in a melting pot of attitude, fuzz and beards. Recorded at Arch Studios in Nottinghamshire, Where The End Meets The Beginning came together in the space of only four months. Whoever is to stumble across this record would surely be very excited that this is, indeed, only the beginning... A calm, clean, jangly guitar riff introduces 'Into the Sun' before the band break into a hard-hitting groove that prompts the lis...

Wall's debut release earlier this year was borne of lockdown boredom; a creative way to pass time while there was nothing to do. Clearly, Elliot and Ryan Cole's instrumental sludge outfit isn't done just yet, after dropping another EP a few weeks ago. It's an expansion of their sound and proves that Wall has the potential to be more than just that;  Vol. 2 could really see them lay the foundations for a much bigger beast. Commencing with a proggy sludgefeast, 'Avalanche' is possibly the EP's strongest track. From stoner grooves descended from mid-70s Sabbath, it evolves into a new bridge in a new key with impressive, pounding drumwork from Elliot, before the tempo and mood completely drop, ushering in a trippy, chilled out, doomier section. It's a nice little part to lose yourself into, but just as you find yourself drifting off into the next dimension, Wall cleverly shift this idea into much heavier territory. It suddenly sounds uglier, sludgier and mor...

  They’re back with a vengeance; leaning heavily on their blackened influence, this is sophisticated death metal which is going to make you pull those nasty, yet satisfied faces. With their third full-length album, Lucca Schmerler serving vocals, Marvin Kessler and Nahuel Lozano taking the lead on guitars, Viktor Dick bossing the bass and Danny Strasser blasting on drums, Mental Cruelty are going from strength to strength, proving that they’ve got a lot to offer in this emerging genre. I’m quite excited to share this release with you, I hope you’ll enjoy it as I have. A calming ambience introduces the album [ Avgang ] as a precursor to the forthcoming cavalcade of noise they’ve called Ultima Hypocrita . This feels like a bit of a breath of fresh air for the Germanic Death Metal Quintet, much more akin to the orchestral backdrop accustomed to Lorna Shore or Fleshgod Apocalypse. A high level of intensity bursts out of the stereo field; from the soaring highs of blackened melodies to...