Behold the fully realized expression of this French-Canadian band’s signature sound of somber traditional doom they have been perfecting since their inception.
Rising from their moss-covered crypt, French-Canadian Heavy/Doom Metal act Cauchemar is back with their third full-length opus, darkly titled Rosa Mystica, the band’s first offering since the 2019 compilation Trapped Under Ice. Meticulously composed and rehearsed to perfection, recorded at No Man’s Land Studio, and displaying a stylish cover art by Russian artist Valeria Sakseeva, the album is a fully realized expression of Cauchemar’s signature sound of somber traditional doom the band has been perfecting since their inception in 2007 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, delivered with the vigor of Heavy Metal. The atmosphere on Rosa Mystica is spacious and rustic, gilded by the warm glow of stained-glass luminescence, all carefully brought into being by frontwoman Annick Giroux and her French-language incantations, guitarist François Patry and his austere muscular riffs, and bassist Andres Arango and drummer Joel Ladouceur’s vaulted geometry.
An atmospheric, grim intro to the acoustic guitars by François kicks off the old school opening song Jour de colère (or “day of wrath” in English) while Andres and Joel generate a rumbling ambience with their respective bass and drums, offering Annick all she needs to powerfully shine on vocals, whereas blending the epicness of classic Heavy Metal with the obscurity of Doom Metal the quartet offers us all the excellent Rouge sang (“blood red”), with Annick taking the lead with her solid vocals while François keep extracting fire from his riffs. Leaning towards pure Doom Metal, Notre-Dame-sous-Terre (“Notre-Dame-under-Earth”) is a Stygian composition by Cauchemar with Joel delivering those sluggish beats we love so much, and more of the blazing riffs and solos by François embellish the airwaves in Danger de nuit (“danger at night”), accompanied by the low-tuned bass by Andres in a thrilling hybrid of Heavy and Doom Metal with classic Hard Rock.
The title-track Rosa mystica brings to our ears another round of their cryptic Doom Metal spearheaded by the slow and steady drums by Joel. Needless to say, the guitar lines by François are a thing of beauty, whereas adding elements from Speed and Thrash Metal to their core sonority we’re treated to the high-octane aria Le tombeau de l’aube (“the tomb of dawn”), showcasing another spot-on performance by Joel on drums. Volcan (“volcano”), featuring a guest guitar solo by Alan Jones, is an old school Doom Metal chant with Blackened Doom nuances slightly less visceral than its predecessors but still very enjoyable; and last but not least, François’ acoustic guitars and the low-tuned bass by Andres kick off the melancholic La sorcière (“the witch”), offering our ears six minutes of mesmerizing doom enhanced by a guest guitar solo by Chany Pilote that puts a beyond climatic ending to the album.
Annick and her henchmen are waiting for your feedback on their music on Facebook and on Instagram, and of course if you want to show your total support to the Canadian underground you can purchase a copy of Rosa Mystica from the band’s own BandCamp page, or if you’re in Canada, in the United States or other non-EU country you can also get the album from the Temple of Mystery webstore as a CD, an LP or as a very special gold “Die Hard” version with a 4-page insert, a woven patch, a sticker and an 11″ x 17″ A3 poster, as well as from Record Shop X. In other words, let the atmospheric music found in Rosa Mystica penetrate deep inside your soul, keeping the fires of underground doom burning bright thanks to the talent and hard work of one of the torchbearers of the Québécoise scene.
Best moments of the album: Rouge sang, Danger de nuit and Le tombeau de l’aube.
Worst moments of the album:Volcan.
Released in 2022 Temple of Mystery
Track listing 1. Jour de colère 6:18
2. Rouge sang 3:11
3. Notre-Dame-sous-Terre 5:49
4. Danger de nuit 4:51
5. Rosa mystica 5:28
6. Le tombeau de l’aube 2:50
7. Volcan 5:22
8. La sorcière 6:07
Band members
Annick Giroux – vocals
François Patry – guitars
Andres Arango – bass
Joel Ladouceur – drums
Guest musicians Alan Jones – guitar solo on “Volcan”
Chany Pilote – guitar solo on “La sorcière”
Welcome to the “Strange Machine” driven by this unstoppable Hard Rock and Doom Metal entity, showcasing the band in their most diverse yet focused light.
Hailing from Sabbath City, the unstoppable Hard Rock/Doom Metal entity Alunah continues to tread their own path in 2022 with a fantastic new album, titled Strange Machine, following up on their critically acclaimed 2019 opus Violet Hour. Written and rehearsed during the pandemic whilst overcoming numerous personal struggles, recorded at the famous Foel Studio, and displaying a stylish artwork by Mariano Peccinetti, the album shows frontwoman Siân Greenaway, guitarist Matt Noble, bassist Daniel Burchmore and drummer Jake Mason in their most diverse yet focused light, overflowing with groove, blues, psychedelia and ferocity, therefore welcoming us all to the “Strange Machine” driven by such distinguished band.
And you better get ready for a wicked voyage to the sound of the title-track Strange Machine, with Jake taking the lead with his Doom Metal beats while Siân is absolutely mesmerizing on vocals, all spiced up by the razor-edged riffs by Matt. Let’s keep banging our heads to the rumbling bass by Daniel in Over The Hills, another lesson in Hard Rock and Doom Metal by the quartet that sounds and feels dense and captivating from start to finish; whereas it’s time for over six minutes of somber, melancholic passages and sounds in the form of Fade Into Fantasy, with Siân once again taking our hearts by storm with her deep, stunning vocals, followed by Broken Stone, another enfolding tune that starts in a tribal manner to the beats by Jake and the low-tuned, metallic bass by Daniel, while Matt delivers fiery Black Sabbath-inspired riffs from his axe. And in Psychedelic Expressway the name of the song says it all, bringing forward a romantic, thrilling fusion of Doom Metal with Psychedelic Rock for our vulgar delectation where all band members are on fire until the very end.
Featuring guest guitars from Shane Wesley of Crowbar, Alunah present the heavy and dirty The Earth Spins, a good composition that keeps the album at a high level of energy, while putting the pedal to the metal Siân and the boys are going to kick your ass mercilessly in Silver, showcasing those electrifying riffs we all love so much in Doom and Stoner Metal. Put differently, there’s not a single second of boredom throughout the entire song; it’s thunderous heavy music at its finest. And we face more of the raw bass lines by Daniel in Teaching Carnal Sins, who makes a fantastic duo with Matt and his old school riffage, flowing smoothly and darkly until the last second and consequently keeping us hypnotized by the band’s flawless performance. Lastly, the closing tune Dead Woman Walking is just as groovy and enfolding as the rest of the album, with Matt offering Siân all she needs to shine on vocals once again, generating a sensational conclusion to the album.
As usual, you can get to know Siân and the boys better by following the band on Facebook and on Instagram, and by streaming more of their intense, somber and melodic creations on Spotify. In addition, in order to show your true support and admiration for Alunah, you should grab a copy of Strange Machine from the Heavy Psych Sounds Records’ BandCamp page or webstore really soon, adding another fantastic item to your devilish collection. Alunah are taking a huge step forward in their career with Strange Machine, solidifying their sound, shaping up their own style, and as a consequence cementing their name in the history of British Doom Metal. Welcome to the Strange Machine, and let’s keep raising our horns to Alunah in the name of doom.
Best moments of the album: Broken Stone, Silver and Dead Woman Walking.
Worst moments of the album:The Earth Spins.
Released in 2022 Heavy Psych Sounds Records
Track listing 1. Strange Machine 5:00
2. Over The Hills 3:55
3. Fade Into Fantasy 6:15
4. Broken Stone 5:16
5. Psychedelic Expressway 4:14
6. The Earth Spins 5:09
7. Silver 3:37
8. Teaching Carnal Sins 5:02
9. Dead Woman Walking 3:56
Band members Siân Greenaway – vocals
Matt Noble – guitar
Daniel Burchmore – bass
Jake Mason – drums
Guest musician Shane Wesley – guitars on “The Earth Spins”
This Atmospheric Black Metal horde offers in their new opus a transcendental journey of a cold, earthy aesthetic twisted with punishing riffing brilliance.
A representation of conceptual philosophy, progression, and elevation through sound, the uncompromising Cypriot Atmospheric Black Metal project Tome Of The Unreplenished is finally releasing their most anticipated album to date, their sophomore full-length opus entitled Earthbound, a transcendental journey of a cold, earthy aesthetic twisted with punishing riffing brilliance. Formed as a solitary act in the city of Nicosia in 2012 by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Hermes, the project has solidified its lineup with vocalist, guitarist and flutist Alexandros (Macabre Omen), bassist Aort (Code), and drummer Tom Vallely (Omega Centauri, Macabre Omen), who together with Hermes worked to craft the sounds of Earth and Space found in Earthbound, pushing the boundaries of musical progression while experimenting with radical, brutal and unforgiving sounds.
The opening track Tellurian is atmospheric and visceral from the very first second, with Tom sounding merciless behind his drums offering Hermes exactly what he needs to not only vociferate the song’s Stygian words (“I hear a whisper / A form beholding the universe / And I am bound on Earth (or am I?) / Ablaze a prayer beyond the known / My gift to you / Reclaim thy wings”) but also to fire razor-edged riffs from his guitar, flowing into the even more menacing and somber Unbound, where Hermes showcases all his talent and passion for extreme music, growling rabidly accompanied by the low-tuned, sinister kitchen by Aort and Tom. Put differently, it’s infernal Atmospheric Black Metal at its finest for our total delight. Then the beautifully titled Tryst at the Gales of Cyprus will bring to your avid ears the band’s trademark sonority infused with Doom Metal nuances, transporting you to their obscure realm while Hermes gnarls with tons of anguish and hatred supported by the clean vocals by Alexandros.
The band continues to darken the skies with their classy and undisputed Atmospheric Black Metal in Toward the Self, led by the melodic blast beats by Tom while Hermes extracts primeval sounds form his guitar, all enhanced by the song’s background vocalizations; and get ready for over 11 minutes of atmospheric passages, blackened riffs and drums, eerie vocal lines and endless obscurity in the form of Astraios Ayr, a full-bodied, imposing aria by Tome Of The Unreplenished where all band members are on absolute fire from start to finish. Furthermore, the combination of Hermes’ riffs and the rumbling bass by Aort is a thing of beauty, ending in a beyond epic and imposing manner while morphing into the instrumental piece Portcullis to Dodekatheon, a pure ambient voyage that puts a climatic conclusion to the album, exhaling melancholy and darkness to the sound of the reverberating, metallic bass by Aort while Tom masterfully pounds his drums in a pure tribal way.
In order to join the quartet on their journey through the realms of atmospheric and uncanny Black Metal, don’t forget to follow them on Facebook and, even more important than that, to purchase a copy of their new album from their own BandCamp page, as well as from the Avantgarde Music’s BandCamp page, from the Xenoglossy Productions’ webstore, or from Sound Cave in CD or LP format. In summary, Hermes and his henchmen from Tome Of The Unreplenished simply nailed it with Earthbound, bringing forth everything the band stands for and, consequently, providing us fans of extreme music with the perfect soundtrack for a true otherworldly voyage.
Best moments of the album: Unbound and Astraios Ayr.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2022 Avantgarde Music/Xenoglossy Productions
Track listing 1. Tellurian 6:09
2. Unbound 8:35
3. Tryst at the Gales of Cyprus 5:29
4. Toward the Self 5:55
5. Astraios Ayr 11:14
6. Portcullis to Dodekatheon 9:12
Band members
Hermes – vocals, guitars, keyboards, tambourine
Alexandros – clean and backing vocals, classical guitars, flute
Aort – bass
Tom Vallely – drums, percussion
An album of sheer darkness masterfully brought into being by a Black and Death Metal horde hailing from Turkey in honor of the seven deadly sins.
Forged in 2014 in the scorching fires of Kadıköy, an older settlement than most of those on the Anatolian side of the city of İstanbul, Turkey, the demonic Black/Death Metal horde known as Persecutory will darken your minds and souls with their sophomore full-length opus, entitled Summoning the Lawless Legions, the Stygian follow-up to their 2016 EP Perversion Feeds Our Force and their 2017 album Towards the Ultimate Extinction. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Can Gelgeç at Studio Sirri, and displaying a devilish artwork by Alex Shadrin of Nether Temple Design, Summoning the Lawless Legions is an album of sheer darkness masterfully brought into being by Tyrannic Profanator on vocals, Infectious Torment and Vulgargoat on the guitars, Deathbed on bass, and Kyle on drums, living up to the legacy of the most obscure and infernal form of extreme music.
The piercing riffs by the band’s guitar duo will penetrate deep inside your psyche in As The Serpents Ascend while Tyrannic Profanator vociferates the song’s wicked words like a creature form the underworld (“Beneath the blackened seas which elder ones take breath / Their primal strength summons, the lords of Shammash / Resided in the fixed stars, infernal serpent’s pride / Burnt embers of the fire, splendor of the unholy light”), therefore offering our ears a modern but at the same time primeval form of Black Metal; and Kyle shows no mercy for his drums in Thou Abyssic Fire In Rebellion, a vicious, hammering aria by the quartet where the gnarling by Tyrannic Profanator gets even more satanic and visceral. Put differently, it’s old school Black Metal with a Turkish Death Metal twist, and the music remains acid and vile until the very last second with Infectious Torment and Vulgargoat embellishing the airwaves with their dark and very melodic guitar riffs and solos.
Another explosion of brutality, obscurity and rage comes in the form of Adorned In Primeval Seas, where the blast beast by Kyle are accompanied by the massive, thunderous bass lines by Deathbed, generating an imposing wall of sounds perfect for Tyrannic Profanator to growl like a beast. Then Deathbed makes the earth tremble with his beastly bass in Circle Of The Spirit Devourers, a darker tune with hints of Doom Metal added to its core sonority with the wicked roars by Tyrannic Profanator walking hand in hand with the inhumane beats by Kyle, whereas lastly we face more of the demented lyrics growled with tons of anger by Tyrannic Profanator (“Forlorn mistress of the circle embraced spheric daughters / Forlorn queens of suffering screamed at their presence / Forlorn servants are chained below the seas of cavities / Forlorn goddess of grief dances on seven storeyed mountains”) in The Blazing Spheres, while the music remains as hellish, heavy and disturbing as possible until the very last second.
Summoning the Lawless Legions, which is available for a full and detailed listen on YouTube, is indeed a lecture in contemporary Blackened Death Metal by Persecutory while remaining loyal to the foundations of the genre, proving those Turkish metallers are not only extremely talented, but also true servants of the darkest side of music. Hence, in order to show them your support and to join them in their quest for extreme music, go check what they’re up to on Facebook and on Instagram, and purchase a copy of their newborn beast from their own BandCamp page, as well as from the Godz ov War Productions’ BandCamp page or webstore as a CD, a blue cassette or a red cassette. Let’s all toast in honor of Summoning the Lawless Legions and of the seven deadly sins, and rest assured that while Persecutory are among us the fires of evil will keep burning our damned souls to the sound of their infernal music.
Best moments of the album: Thou Abyssic Fire In Rebellion and Adorned In Primeval Seas.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2022 Godz ov War Productions
Track listing 1. As The Serpents Ascend 7:15
2. Thou Abyssic Fire In Rebellion 7:27
3. Adorned In Primeval Seas 7:06
4. Circle Of The Spirit Devourers 8:23
5. The Blazing Spheres 7:40
A trio of German rockers will attack your senses with their debut album, offering us all 42 minutes of an amalgamation of rock and metal styles that will please all metal enthusiasts with a taste for innovative songwriting.
Raw and sinister, yet diverse and melodic, Hamburg, Germany-based Progressive Metal/Rock band VOLDT has risen from the ashes of several projects to conquer the stage with their bold interpretation of modern metal with an old school vibe. Formed of Al Shirazi on vocals and guitars, Johannes Horas on bass and Wanja Gröger on drums, the trio is ready to rock our world with their first ever full-length album, entitled Vandalism, the follow-up to their 2019 debut EP Voken. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Fabian Großberg, and displaying a Punk Rock-inspired artwork by the band’s own Johannes Horas and Al Shirazi, Vandalism brings to our ears 42 minutes of an amalgamation of rock and metal styles that will please all metal enthusiasts with a taste for innovative songwriting, proving how versatile and dynamic those three German rockers can be.
A wicked laugh by Al kicks off the rocking tune The Great Command, where Johannes fires Primus-inspired bass punches for our total delight while Wanja dictates the pace with his rhythmic and at the same time demolishing beats; and Al continues to slash his stringed axe in Headless Haunting Hound while he declaims the song’s poetic lyrics, blending the melody of Progressive Rock and Metal with the insanity found in Groove Metal. Then enhancing their rage and heaviness it’s time for Killing At the Speed of Light, where Wanja crushes his drums nonstop in the name of Heavy Metal, not to mention Al’s classic riffs, whereas we’re treated to over six minutes of progressiveness in the form of music in Symphony of Suicide, with Al and Johannes hammering their respective guitar and bass from start to finish and with Al once again delivering his Doom Metal-inspired vocal lines.
The groovy bass jabs by Johannes will hit you hard in the head in Monsters Of the Sea while Wanja keeps pounding his drums; it loses its grip after a while though, despite being a good composition. Back to a more visceral and frantic mode the trio offers us all Teachings, a song that exhales madness and groove with Al kicking ass with both his sharp riffage and obscure vocalizations, or in other words, it will surely ignite some fun mosh pits if played live by the band. Their second to last blast of Progressive Rock and Metal is entitled Servant, a song that will inspire you to bang your head together with the band or simply close your eyes and enjoy Al’s vocal performance, and lastly, let’s raise our horns one final time to Shame or Glory, presenting hints of 80’s Heavy and Power Metal and an amazing job done by Wanja with his intricate beats and fills.
The talented VOLDT crew is waiting for you on Facebook and on Instagram, where you can get more details about their career, their music, tour dates and so on, as well as on YouTube and on Spotify where you can stream all of their wicked creations. In addition, don’t forget to show them your utmost support by purchasing their new album from their BandCamp page sooner than you can scream “VOLDT!” In nutshell, Vandalism is not only a very entertaining album of rock and metal music, but a statement by those three unstoppable musicians from Germany telling us all that they’re among us to stay, always ready to vandalize our ears with their incendiary and innovative music.
Best moments of the album: Headless Haunting Hound, Symphony of Suicide and Teachings.
Worst moments of the album:Monsters Of the Sea.
Released in 2022 Blood Blast Distribution
Track listing 1. The Great Command 4:36
2. Headless Haunting Hound 5:33
3. Killing At the Speed of Light 4:09
4. Symphony of Suicide 6:33
5. Monsters Of the Sea 5:25
6. Teachings 5:18
7. Servant 5:37
8. Shame or Glory 5:14
Band members Al Shirazi – vocals, guitars
Johannes Horas – bass, backing vocals
Wanja Gröger – drums
Lithuania’s own Death and Doom Metal ambassadors will darken your heart and soul once again with their new EP, inspired by the five psychological stages of grief.
Vilnius, Lithuania-based Death and Doom Metal ambassadors Sullen Guest are ready to strike again with a brand new concept EP, titled Phase, the follow-up to their awesome 2021 opus Chapter III. Inspired by the idea that every person is forced to go through the five primary feelings or five psychological stages of grief, Phase beautifully showcases all the passion and focus that vocalist and guitarist Inanitas, guitarist Tenebra, bassist Mortem and drummer Doloribus put in the making of the album, with each song having its own mood, melody and pace, turning the EP into a must-listen for admirers of the melancholy crafted by renowned acts such as Paradise Lost, Swallow The Sun and Katatonia.
The visceral roars by Inanitas together with his and Tenebra’s raw, dirty riffs create a massive wall of sounds in Come With Me, a vicious Doom Metal feast where Doloribus crushes his drums nonstop supported by the pounding bass by Mortem, darkening our hearts for all eternity; whereas Voice Of The Subconscious begins in an absolutely grim and melancholic mode, living up to the legacy of classic doom while Inanitas exhales anguish and despair through his venomous growls in paradox with the song’s ethereal backing vocals. Furthermore, their guitars will pierce your minds mercilessly in the name of darkness, and the fires of Death Metal and Blackened Doom burn in perfect sync in Assent, with the hammering, sluggish beats by Doloribus dictating the song’s lugubrious pace while the melodic riffage by Inanitas and Tenebra will put you in a damned trance until the song’s somber ending. In addition, if you go for the physical copy of the EP, you’ll be treated to instrumental versions of all three songs which contain some additional riffs and melodies to make them even more interesting and engaging.
You can put your hands of doom on Phase by purchasing it directly from Sullen Guest’s BandCamp page or from Apple Music really soon, and if you want to show your support to those Lithuanian musicians before the EP sees the light of day (or maybe I should say the dark of night) you should follow them on Facebook and on Instagram for news, tour dates and other nice-to-know information about the band, and also stream their music on YouTube and on Spotify. Phase will certainly reach the deepest corners inside your heart, carving the stylish hybrid of Death and Doom Metal by Sullen Guest on your soul and, consequently, taking you on a one-way journey into darkness exactly the way we like it in extreme music.
Best moments of the album: Voice Of The Subconscious.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2022 Independent
Track listing 1. Come With Me 6:54
2. Voice Of The Subconscious 9:26
3. Assent 6:50
Physical CD bonus tracks 4. Come With Me (Instrumental) 6:54
5. Voice Of The Subconscious (Instrumental) 9:26
6. Assent (Instrumental) 6:50
Band members Inanitas – XII – vocals, guitar
Tenebra – I – guitar
Mortem – XIV – bass
Doloribus – XI – drums
A Stoner Rock and Metal lone wolf highlights the illnesses that doom today’s society in his debut opus, paying homage to the early sounds of 60’s and 70’s rock.
Conjured by Imran Manaff (aka Azrael, the multi-talented vocalist and instrumentalist of Singaporean one-man Black Metal band Funeral Hearse) in 2020 during the Covid-19 global pandemic, the newborn Stoner Rock and Metal beast that goes by the name of Witches Coven is set to release the project’s debut opus, entitled World on Fire, paying homage to the early sounds of 60’s and 70’s rock the likes of Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Cactus infused with elements of Japan’s Church of Misery and Sweden’s Monolord. Produced by Imran himself, recorded at Hellblaze Studio, and mixed and mastered by Sonicmonk, all embraced by the sinister cover art by Pedro Rey, World on Fire showcases seven original songs loosely inspired by Allen Ginsberg’s infamous poem Howl while highlighting the illnesses that doom today’s society.
Raw, dirty guitars and sluggish beats ignite the opening tune Reason to Believe, evolving into a Stoner and Doom Metal feast the likes of old school Black Sabbath with Imran also firing his raspy vocals to make things even more infernal, whereas featuring excerpt from Consumption & Consumerism by Joseph Patrick, Shackles of Desire is even more demonic and grim. Put differently, it’s one of those Doom Metal compositions perfect for darkening the skies where Imran is ready to crush our souls with his riffage and beats. And Imran keeps hammering his sonic weapons and delivering ass-kicking Stoner Rock and Metal for our total delight in Waiting for Time, feeling like Imran is simply jamming with himself, sounding very organic and thrilling form start to finish.
Then drinking once again from the same obscure fountain of bands like Black Sabbath, Pentagram and Celtic Frost, it’s time for the dirtier-than-hell tune Blinded by Lights, with the inebriate vociferations by Imran walking hand in hand with his wicked riffs and rumbling bass lines; and let’s keep banging our heads like true bastards to the sound of Falling Through, another Sludge Metal extravaganza by Imran and his Witches Coven that will please all lovers of the most damned side of music. Imran shows no mercy for our necks and souls in Blurring the Lines, with his low-tuned bass jabs and sharp, crude riffs generating a reverberating vibe that penetrates deep inside our minds, and last but not least, Imran’s menacing bass returns in full force in Dawn of the Morning Star, a song that will block all light coming from the sun, therefore leaving us in pitch black darkness with the cryptic vocalizations by Imran sounding demented and hopeless until the very end.
The unstoppable Imran Manaff and his Witches Coven are waiting to darken our hearts and minds on the official Facebook page for Funeral Hearse (simply because Witches Coven doesn’t have its own specific page, or at least not yet, and because we can consider both bands as Imran’s alter-egos), and if you want to show your support to such hardworking and skillful lone wolf, you can purchase a copy of the excellent World on Fire from the Spy Satellite Records’ BandCamp page. May the hands of doom touch your soul through the infernal and piercing music blasted by Witches Coven, and may the energy and mystery of 60’s and 70’s rock and metal music keep flowing in the air for centuries to come thanks to awesome musicians from the independent scene such as Imran, who will surely bring forward more of his wicked music in the nearby future with both his Funeral Hearse and Witches Coven.
Best moments of the album: Reason to Believe and Blinded by Lights.
Worst moments of the album:Falling Through.
Released in 2022 Spy Satellite Records
Track listing 1. Reason to Believe 8:11
2. Shackles of Desire 8:15
3. Waiting for Time 6:25
4. Blinded by Lights 4:45
5. Falling Through 6:41
6. Blurring the Lines 8:26
7. Dawn of the Morning Star 7:56
Band members
Imran Manaff – vocals, guitars, bass, synth, drums programming
“I wanted to play drums because I fell in love with the glitter and the lights, but it wasn’t about adulation. It was being up there playing.” – Charlie Watts
And there goes another year without a single metal concert in Canada. Another year full of uncertainties, fears, polarization, restrictions, and everything else we “love” so much. I honestly don’t know what to say about 2021 apart form the fact it was undoubtedly much better than 2020, but that means nothing considering the total nightmare that 2020 was. We lost a lot of huge names in the rock and metal scene such as Joey Jordison, Dusty Hill, Mike Howe, Johnny Solinger, Marsha Zazula, Alexi Laiho, John Hinch, John Lawton, Charlie Watts and Hank Von Hell, among many others. Tons of festivals including Download, Wacken Open Air, Hellfest, Bloodstock Open Air, Sweden Rock Festival and Dynamo MetalFest were scheduled to return this year after the 2020 editions of those festivals were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but unfortunately Sweden Rock, Hellfest, Download and Wacken Open Air were once again cancelled. With that said, why do we metalheads still believe in a better future? Is it because, despite all adversities, our favorite bands released some of their best albums from the past few years?
Hence, as new lockdowns are being imposed upon us in a never-ending pandemic loop, there’s not much we can do but enjoy The Headbanging Moose’s Top 10 Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Albums of 2021, excluding EP’s, best of’s and live albums, keeping us sane until this madness is finally over. Or maybe I should say if it will be over one day, of course. There’s a bit of everything for all types of fans, from classic Heavy Metal to the brutality of Death Metal, from the modern nuances of Melodic Death Metal to old school Thrash Metal, and so on, and in my humble opinions one of the most interesting facts about several albums launched in 2021 is their duration, with many of those surpassing the one hour barrier such as Senjutsu, Helloween, Persona Non Grata, Existence Is Futile and Blood on Blood, not to mention the over four hours of music from the Lordiversity boxset, which for me proves how much the bands responsible for those albums love their fans by offering them a lot of new music to enjoy during such difficult times. I would say that even if there are ZERO metal albums launched in 2022, we’ll still have a lot of great music to enjoy throughout the year thanks to all the amazing records released in 2021, don’t you agree?
1. Iron Maiden – Senjutsu (REVIEW) Behold another masterpiece by the one and only Iron Maiden with its 82 minutes of tactics, strategy, war, resilience and determination.
Best song of the album: Hell on Earth
2. Helloween – Helloween (REVIEW) A dream come true for all generations of “Happy, Happy Helloween” fans from all over the world.
Best song of the album: Skyfall
3. Trivium – In the Court of the Dragon (REVIEW) It’s time to join Trivium in the court of the dragon to the sound of their magnificent new opus.
Best song of the album: Like a Sword Over Damocles
4. Exodus – Persona Non Grata (REVIEW) Don’t be a “persona non grata” in the world of heavy music and get into the circle pit to the sound of this newborn thrashing beast.
Best song of the album: Lunatic-Liar-Lord
5. Cannibal Corpse – Violence Unimagined (REVIEW) State of the art Death Metal played with passion and breathless precision by the most violent and unrelenting band of all time.
Best song of the album: Surround, Kill, Devour
6. 1914 – Where Fear and Weapons Meet (REVIEW) Ukraine’s own doom infantry is back into the battlefield with another masterpiece, telling the gruesome tales of World War I.
Best song of the album: Pillars of Fire (The Battle of Messines)
7. Motorjesus – Hellbreaker (REVIEW) Let’s drive through the fires of hell together with one of the best bands from the German rock and metal scene.
Best song of the album: Hellbreaker
8. Nervosa – Perpetual Chaos (REVIEW) A deadly and thrashing lesson in perpetual chaos by four metalheads hailing from Brazil, Italy, Spain and Greece
Best song of the album: Time to Fight
9. Gojira – Fortitude (REVIEW) Let’s all face up the world to the sound of the new masterpiece by one of the most dynamic bands of the current metal scene.
Best song of the album: Amazonia
10. Blaze Bayley – War Within Me (REVIEW) The man who will live for a thousand years is back, inspiring us all to fight the war within us and to take our future in our own hands.
Best song of the album: Pull Yourself Up
And here we have the runner-ups, completing the top 20 for the year:
11. Running Wild – Blood on Blood (REVIEW)
12. Lordi – Lordiversity (REVIEW)
13. Cradle of Filth – Existence Is Futile (REVIEW)
14. Diabolizer – Khalkedonian Death (REVIEW)
15. Angelus Apatrida – Angelus Apatrida (REVIEW)
16. Moonspell – Hermitage (REVIEW)
17. Lutharo – Hiraeth (REVIEW)
18. Unflesh – Inhumation (REVIEW)
19. Scarlet Aura – Genesis of Time (REVIEW)
20. Coiled Around Thy Spine – From The Ashes (REVIEW)
In addition to all that, let’s bang our heads with our Top 10 EP’s of 2021 to prove once and for all that not all great albums of the year have to be so long. The EP’s from this list are simply awesome, showcasing the band’s talent and their ability to sound epic even if the music lasts for only a few minutes.
1. Eonian – The Nomad (REVIEW)
2. Lady Beast – Omens (REVIEW)
3. The Agonist – Days Before the World Wept (REVIEW)
4. Tantivy – Eyes in the Night (REVIEW)
5. Grale – AGITACIÓN (REVIEW)
6. Bouquet of Dead Crows – Hemispheres Part 2: Cerebral (REVIEW)
7. Kadavereich – Radiance Of Doom (REVIEW)
8. Wolvencrown – A Shadow Of What Once Was (REVIEW)
9. Juliet Ruin – Dark Water (REVIEW)
10. Black Hole Deity – Lair Of Xenolich (REVIEW)
Do you agree with our list? What are your top 10 albums of 2021? Also, don’t forget to tune in every Tuesday at 10pm BRT on Rádio Coringão to enjoy the best of classic and underground metal with Jorge Diaz and his Timão Metal, and every Thursday at 8pm UTC+2 on Midnight Madness Metal e-Radio for the best of underground metal with The Headbanging Moose Show! And if you lost some or most of our special editions of The Headbanging Moose Show, including our Top 20 Underground Albums of 2021 – Parts I and II, go to our Mixcloud page and there you have hours and hours of the best of the independent scene, sounds good?
Metal Xmas and a Headbanging New Year! See you in 2022!
And before I go, I’ll leave you with some touching words by Mr. Lordi and his crew of monsters…
Something something blah blah to you All the sincere wishes come true I put vengeance on my wish list And that’s what Santa brought So have a merry something and a happy blah blah blah
This unknown entity will crush your soul with its newborn beast, offering endless midnight mysticism and reverence for all that goes by night.
Formed in the Spring of 2021 in the Pacific Northwest region as a one-man anonymous project, Portland, Oregon-based Black Metal entity Nocturnal Wanderer has just released its debut full-length opus, entitled Gift of the Night. Recorded and produced at Sacred Atavism, and featuring illustrations by Thaumaturge Artworks and lettering by NW, the album showcases a traditional Black Metal sound and minimalist compositions, yet allowing the occasional Heavy Metal style solo to seep in. Ferocious while at the same time strangely serene and triumphant, Gift of the Night is a singular beast offering us all endless midnight mysticism and reverence for all that goes by night, being therefore highly recommended for admirers of the music by Havukruunu, Malokarpatan, Panphage and Arckanum, among others.
The opening track Twilight Befell is an infernal, raw Black Metal feast with darkly poetic lyrics (“Eventide arrive / Sunlight’s glow fading / Darkness creatures stirring / Bats flitter across the black sky / Aria of dusk / Air chill and sharp / Breathe the night into lungs”) to properly kick off the album, whereas our anonymous lone wolf continues to hammer his drums and extract sulfur from his stringed axe in Darkness in Rapture, another demented old school Black Metal tune presenting all elements we love in the genre. Then adding the most Stygian elements from Doom Metal to his core sonority it’s time for the sinister Sentient Shadows, where once again this one-man horde presents a visceral job on the guitars and drums until the very last second; and drinking from the blasphemous fountain of classic bands the likes of Mayhem, Immortal and Dark Funeral he brings forward By Moonlight, showcasing another round of sick riffs, incendiary blast beats and venomous roars. His second to last breath of darkness comes in the form of Distant Stars in Distant Skies, sounding absolutely haunting and vile, all spiced up of course by his grim, otherworldly gnarls, and there’s time for one final blast of obscurity by Nocturnal Wanderer entitled The Amberdawn, which takes too long to take off and lacks those traditional Black Metal words and growls, but nothing that would cause any harm to the album.
If you consider yourself a true servant of darkness, you can enjoy Gift of the Night in its entirety on YouTube, and of course purchase a copy of such raw and intense album from the project’s own BandCamp page, from the Nameless Grave Records’ webstore or from the Balor’s Eye Productions’ BandCamp page, diving even deeper into the void that consumes our souls. Although the entity behind Nocturnal Wanderer doesn’t want to disclose his identity (at least not for now), that won’t stop fans of the darkest side of music, including myself, to thank him for bringing into being Gift of the Night, a precious gem of the underground that will help in keeping the flames of Black Metal burning for centuries to come, leaving us even more curious to know the real name of a creature so loyal to the dark.
Best moments of the album: Darkness in Rapture and By Moonlight.
Worst moments of the album:The Amberdawn.
Released in 2021 Nameless Grave Records/Balor’s Eye Productions/Altare Productions
Track listing 1. Twilight Befell 4:45
2. Darkness in Rapture 3:57
3. Sentient Shadows 5:39
4. By Moonlight 5:27
5. Distant Stars in Distant Skies 5:25
6. The Amberdawn 6:10
As another weird and dark year is coming to its inevitable end, and as winter is finally coming, let’s set The Headbanging Moose on fire and warm us up this month of December with our tribute to the last metal lady of 2021, the unstoppable Johanna Sadonis, also known as Johanna Claudia Platow, the frontwoman for Heavy/Doom Metal/Rock entity Lucifer. Born on January 21, 1979 in Berlin, Germany, but currently residing in Stockholm, Sweden due to being married to Lucifer’s own guitarist and drummer Nicke Andersson, Johanna is not only an accomplished and extremely talented vocalist, but also a DJ, a designer, an art director and a lyricist involved in various metal bands and projects during the 90’s and early 2000’s. Having said all that, are you ready to join Johanna in her quest for dark and doomed music?
A late bloomer in the Hard Rock scene, Johanna started out in the 90’s playing and singing Extreme Metal in the underground scene, gradually moving to a darker and more melodic 70’s-inspired Hard Rock and Heavy Metal style after founding Lucifer back in 2014. But let’s take a step back in time and talk a little about her early days and how she started in music before moving on to her current band. Johanna got into rock music when she was really young with her parents’ record collection, getting to know bands the likes of The Rolling stones, AC/DC, ZZ Top and Deep Purple, among others, as well as Punk Rock from her older brother. Then in 1992 when she was 13 she went to see Guns N’ Roses and Metallica, with her next gig being Danzig when she was 14, setting her first step into the dark side of music and moving on to heavier and darker styles such as Death, Black and Doom Metal.
According to Johanna herself that happened because she was at a summer camp when she was 12 and two of her friends were into metal, and when she was 16 those guys asked her to guest sing on the demo cassette of their Death Metal band (which by the way ended up happening a few more times as that was the thing in the 90’s), getting her more and more involved with the underground scene in Berlin. At that time Johanna said she was very serious about all that. She had black hair, black clothes, her whole room was black, and she got into magic, having worked at an esoteric book shop after school. However, her earliest memory of her fascination with singing and music was when she discovered the song Leader Of The Pack by the Shangri-Las on a Rock N’ Roll compilation cassette that her mom gave her when she was six. As she couldn’t speak English at that time, she said she started writing lyrics to songs down phonetically so she could sing along as a child. Later in her early teenage years she started to write poems and lyrics, and bought her first acoustic guitar, teaching herself to play and to sing.
It was only in 2014 in Berlin when Johanna formed Heavy/Doom Metal/Rock outfit Lucifer, and after a few lineup changes Johanna became the only original member of the band currently comprised of our stunning frontwoman together with guitarist and drummer Nicke Andersson, guitarists Martin Nordin and Linus Björklund, and bassist Harald Göthblad, having also relocated the band to Stockholm, Sweden, as already mentioned. When asked if she’s ever faced any legal problems with using the name Lucifer considering it’s a name other bands have already used throughout the years, she mentioned she wouldn’t have chosen the name if it would have belonged to a larger active band, but so far she hasn’t had any problems with it. In addition, when asked about how dark the name of the band is, Johanna reminded us all that bands like Black Sabbath and Pentagram are not Black or Death Metal, also mentioning The Rolling Stones’ classic Sympathy for The Devil as an example of how demonic figures can also be used successfully in a more Rock N’ Roll way.
Playing what can be called a 70’s-inspired fusion of Rock N’ Roll and Doom Metal, Luficer have already released four full-length albums, those being Lucifer I (2015), Lucifer II (2018), Lucifer III (2020), and Lucifer IV (2021), with Johanna obviously being the lead singer in all of those records, plus the keyboardist and sampler on Lucifer I. If you want to have a very good taste of how awesome the music by Lucifer is, you can stream all of their albums on Spotify, or watch all of their breathtaking videos on YouTube including Dreamer, California Son, Bring Me His Head, Leather Demon, Midnight Phantom, their cover versions for The Rattles’ Devil’s On The Loose and Angel Witch’s Loser, and enjoy several amazing concerts like their ass-kicking performances at the Crossroads Festival in Bonn, Germany in 2018 and at Rockpalast in 2018 and in 2019.
Before forming Lucifer, Johanna could be seen in several distinct bands and projects. She was the vocalist for German Symphonic Black Metal band Cryogenic, with whom she recorded their 1996 demo and the 1998 album Celephais; sang for German Black Metal horde Dies Ater on their 1999 album Reign of Tempests, from 1999; formed the Heavy/Doom Metal/Rock band The Oath with her friends Vincent Wager and Linnéa Olsson in 2012, her last band before Lucifer, having recorded their self-titled full-length album in 2014; was part of the Electronic Indie Pop band Informer along with Rayshele Teige, a former employee of Century Media in the United States, in 2010; and was part of Swedish Melodic Black Metal unity Vinterkrig from 1996 until 1997, having recorded with them the demo Härskare över stjärnorna och mina drömmar (which was just released earlier this year).
Not only that, you can also find our beloved vocalist as a guest musician in different bands and projects through the years, those being the female vocals for the songs Marie Louise and Black Wedding, from the 1996 album Leviathan by a German Death Metal band called Ferox; vocals on the songs Now Howls the Beast and Psychic Visions, from the 2017 album Inside the Skull by American Doom Metal act Beastmaker; and vocals on the song Queen Among Rats, from the 2009 album Privilegivm, and on the cover version for Alice In Chains’ hit Them Bones, from the 2010 EP Them Bones / This Inner Soil, both by German Black/Gothic Rock/Metal band Secrets of the Moon. Not only that, Johanna was also the designer, producer and art director in all of the Lucifer’s albums, proving how talented she is. When asked if all her past experiences with the bands that came before Lucifer had an impact on the way she handles the band, she said that she certainly learned that she’s not putting up with ego bullshit and phoniness anymore, and that with Lucifer it’s all about the passion of creating music and enjoying the ride.
Regarding her idols and influences in rock and metal music, Johanna always lists some of the best, most classic vocalists and performers you can think of, including Ozzy Osbourne, Robert Plant, Ann Wilson, Stevie Nicks and Patti Smith, also saying that she listens to a lot of 70’s classic Rock N’ Roll, Hard Rock and early Heavy Metal, and that fictional horror, real life horror and the horror in one’s head also have a huge influence in her lyrics. Furthermore, in one of her interviews she was asked to list ten albums which she feels don’t get the proper attention from the media and the fans, and her list was very diverse, including Hard Attack by Dust, Bloodrock U.S.A. by Bloodrock, the self-titled album by Starz, Electric Jewels by April Wine, Straight Up by Badfinger, the self-titled album by Bob Seger, the self-titled album by Journey, Special Forces by 38 Special, Year of The Cat by Al Stuart, and Lucifer III by “you know who”. Johanna also mentioned that Lucifer do not have a specific formula or concept behind their albums, that they simply think of what kind of songs would make people excited, what makes them feel good, and hope that the band doesn’t lose quality or doesn’t get stale with every release.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
In terms of her life on the road with Lucifer, Johanna mentioned that she has already performed hundreds of shows with the band and that each one of those are important in their own way, saying the band plays the same way in front of 20 people in some village or at Helffest in front of over 7,000 people. In addition, when it comes to organizing their setlist, she said that they usually like to start off the set with a mid tempo number to get into the groove and end the set in some sort of sonic eruption, never putting two songs of the same kind in a row (such as two ballads, for example), maintaining an interesting flow to keep the attention of the audience. She also shared an interesting story that happened on the road, when guitarist Martin Nordin ended up playing ping pong with Ace Frehley on the Kiss Kruise where Lucifer played three sets, and also mentioned she would love to play in places such as Australia, New Zealand and South America.
As a prominent woman in the world of rock and metal music, Johanna believes you have to have a little bit of a thick skin if you’re a woman due to the fact the scene has always been a male-dominated one, saying that things got a little better in recent years compared to when she was a teenager as now we can see a lot more bands with girls, but at the same time there are still weird expressions like “female-fronted”. Johana strongly believes gender shouldn’t be a genre, also commenting about how deep that’s within our culture as you get treated differently as a woman in obvious ways, but also in really subtle ways. Johanna also pointed to the fact that there are still too many sexist and nasty comments on social media whenever a woman is part of a rock or metal band, but that fortunately that’s changing. “I felt it necessary for the first time to post, ‘if you’re a homophobe, you’re a sexist, racist, you are not welcome here.’ If you feel like you have to burn your Lucifer album now, please do so. I don’t care. That post went around quite a lot. A lot of people were applauding it, but then there was also all kinds of people going, ‘you suck anyways.’ Because I’m against sexism, racism, and homophobia? I mean, what side are you on then. I’m really shocked at how much racism is out there. But luckily that’s getting talked about too. We’re still a little bit in the middle ages, unfortunately. It can’t go fast enough.”
When asked about the metal scene in her hometown Berlin versus her current home Stockholm, Johanna mentioned that there isn’t a huge difference between those places as the rock and metal community kind of networks around the world, as people in New York, Berlin, Stockholm, London or any other city in the world are connected and know each other through social media, making it a little bit more globalized and organized. She said though that although she used to go out and DJ quite often in Berlin, she doesn’t do that much anymore in Stockholm not because there aren’t enough clubs or because the scene is not big in Sweden, but mainly due to her busy touring schedule as she feels happier with the quietness of her home nowadays after so many weeks on the road. She still misses her DJ years, though, when she used to run a monthly old school Heavy Metal party at the Kill ‘Em All Club in Berlin, which by the way she started together with the same Vincent Wager from The Oath.
Having founded Riding Reaper Records in 2020 alongside her husband and bandmate Nicke Andersson, Johanna commented that some of her advantages of making music today are her wisdom and experience gathered through the years, but also saying that she can’t really compare it to the music industry in the 90’s when she started because she was only part of the underground music scene as a musician. Also, she considers streaming services like Spotify and any social media as necessary evils because they allow the band to stay closely connected to their fanbase and to feel the pulse of what’s up. That connection was actually very important for Lucifer during the pandemic, as Johanna and the boys also had to stay home in isolation for a long period of time without playing any concerts. She mentioned the sales were pretty good, though, probably due to the fact people had more time to listen to music at their homes.
Lastly, when asked about what she considers the most amazing thing in her life, she answered that musically it’s having met Nicke and marrying him because “he is the perfect partner in crime when it comes to music,” also saying that it’s a luxury that they can do what they love the most together, which is recording music and playing live. And if you want to know more about Johanna and her incendiary band Lucifer, there are countless video interviews online such as this one to Metal Insider’s Newsroom, where she talks about Lucifer’s overall sound and other nice-to-know topics; this one where Johanna and Nicke pick the best albums from 1975; this one to Doomed & Stoned in 2018; the ‘How Well Do You Know Your Bandmate’ for Metal Injection; and this one with Darren Paltrowitz (host of the Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz podcast) where she talks about the influence of Glenn Danzig, getting through the Coronavirus pandemic, future plans and more. As you can see, there’s no reason not to fall in love for Johanna and her Lucifer, succumbing to the dark side to the sound of her unique voice and charisma.
“After my initial love affair with classic rock and heavy metal I got heavily into death, doom and black metal at the age of 16 and sang on a variety of demo cassette tapes of local death and black metal bands in Berlin. I had black hair, black clothes, my whole room was black and I got into magic. I worked at an esoteric book shop after school. I was very serious about this all. My mother thought it was just a phase but look at me, not much has changed!” – Johanna Sadonis
Rising from their moss-covered crypt, French-Canadian Heavy/Doom Metal act Cauchemar is back with their third full-length opus, darkly titled Rosa Mystica, the band’s first offering since the 2019 compilation Trapped Under Ice. Meticulously composed and rehearsed to perfection, recorded at No Man’s Land Studio, and displaying a stylish cover art by Russian artist Valeria Sakseeva, the album is a fully realized expression of Cauchemar’s signature sound of somber traditional doom the band has been perfecting since their inception in 2007 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, delivered with the vigor of Heavy Metal. The atmosphere on Rosa Mystica is spacious and rustic, gilded by the warm glow of stained-glass luminescence, all carefully brought into being by frontwoman Annick Giroux and her French-language incantations, guitarist François Patry and his austere muscular riffs, and bassist Andres Arango and drummer Joel Ladouceur’s vaulted geometry.
Annick and her henchmen are waiting for your feedback on their music on Facebook and on Instagram, and of course if you want to show your total support to the Canadian underground you can purchase a copy of Rosa Mystica from the band’s own BandCamp page, or if you’re in Canada, in the United States or other non-EU country you can also get the album from the Temple of Mystery webstore as a CD, an LP or as a very special gold “Die Hard” version with a 4-page insert, a woven patch, a sticker and an 11″ x 17″ A3 poster, as well as from Record Shop X. In other words, let the atmospheric music found in Rosa Mystica penetrate deep inside your soul, keeping the fires of underground doom burning bright thanks to the talent and hard work of one of the torchbearers of the Québécoise scene.
THE HEADBANGING MOOSE 