Katatonia

Frozen Ocean – Askdrömmar Review

Frozen Ocean – Askdrömmar Review

By Grymm on March 1, 2026 in Reviews, 19 comments

“One of the biggest challenges I’ve encountered as a music reviewer is trying to describe a band’s musical aesthetic when their discography is all over the place. Now, I know what you’re thinking: Blut Aus Nord, and you would be correct, but at least there’s an intangible thread connecting the various gnarled branches to their undulating, pulsing roots. Vaarwel, the mastermind and sole proprietor of Russia’s Frozen Ocean, takes his project to where it needs to be, and how he feels it should be delivered, musically.” Oceans of despair and dread.

Soen – Reliance Review

Soen – Reliance Review

By Dolphin Whisperer on January 16, 2026 in Reviews, Progressive Rock, 134 comments

“At their very best, the Sweden-by-way-of-globetrotting Soen has produced music ranging from forlorn and mystical to organ-blaring and heart-wrenching. While we often talk about progressive music in terms of its tendency for extravagance and meticulous detail, we skip that many of these artists iterate around ideas that lean insular and lacking broad appeal. By its many definitions, this recontextualizing of rock music has sought to express even more directly the hopes of its creators at whatever cost. But in that pool, bands like Soen have attempted both to attack with this personal expression, in the frenetic footwork of Martin Lopez (ex-Opeth) and the lilting mic mastery of Joel Ekelöf, and lay barbed chorus with these same tools.” Only rely on your best weapons.

The Eternal – Celestial Review

The Eternal – Celestial Review

By Steel Druhm on January 16, 2026 in Reviews, 37 comments

“Australian Gothic doom act The Eternal came into my life with their 2018 opus Waiting for the Endless Dawn and caused me much consternation. I loved their depressive Paradise Lost / Sentenced / Katatonia style, but struggled with the sheer length of the compositions, which ranged from 10 minutes upward to 20. I underscored the album despite some amazing material due to its sheer size, and I regret that still. 2024s Skinwalker saw them tone down the running times somewhat, and it was another glum victory with huge moments of sadboi glory. Now The Eternal drop a mini-album/EP named Celestial, and lo and behold, it’s economical in size and scope.” Tears in the eternal void.

Nattradio – The Longest Night Review

Nattradio – The Longest Night Review

By Andy-War-Hall on December 9, 2025 in Reviews, Ambient, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, 10 comments

“It doesn’t seem to take long for the “wee hours” of the night to kick in these winter days. With them comes a very specific, almost hypnotic sadness that anyone who sleep has forsaken knows well. That tag-team of coldness and isolation brought on by the night just can’t be beat sometimes. Swedish goth/doom duo Nattradio know this sensation intimately, as their new album The Longest Night was written and shaped exclusively in the latest hours of the night. Injecting their Katatonia-inspired Gothic doom with elements of ambient music and noir jazz, Nattradio crafted their sophomore record to reflect the somberness of wakeful late nights, framing its ideal listening time in those hours.” Music for a midnight dreary.

Shivered – Chains Review

Shivered – Chains Review

By Lavender Larcenist on November 9, 2025 in Reviews, Doom Metal, 14 comments

“Not much is more metal than having to put your life on the line to play the music you love. For Iranians, that is an everyday reality, forced to play underground or flee their home country for fear of persecution. Metal is considered blasphemous (hell yeah) in Iran, and the most famous example of a band suffering under these draconian laws is Confess. I imagine Mohammad Maki, the one-man band that is Shivered, has to struggle with these same challenges. A concept album focused on the end of humanity through collective mass suicide probably isn’t making anyone happy who takes umbrage with metal’s dark themes and brutal nature. But that is exactly what Maki has served up with a heaping helping of gothic doom, a little bit of death, and a whole lot of atmosphere.” Forbidden dooms.

Harvest — For the Souls We Have Lost Review

Harvest — For the Souls We Have Lost Review

By Creeping Ivy on October 14, 2025 in Reviews, Death Doom, Doom Metal, 16 comments

“Since nostalgia drives the creation and consumption of so much contemporary metal, metalheads might be interested in its etymology. A borrowing from post-classical Latin that combines the ancient Greek νόστος (‘return home’) and ‑αλγία (‘pain’), ‘nostalgia’ meant something like a pathologized homesickness when it came into English usage in the eighteenth century. So if you’re nostalgic for, say, the gothic doom metal of the 1990s, then 90s gothic doom is your musical home, your longing for this home rises to the level of a physical ailment, and Harvest may have the cure. A new Italian quintet, Harvest describes itself as an earnest tribute to bands like My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost, and Katatonia.” Peaceville to the world.

HERETOIR – Solastalgia Review

HERETOIR – Solastalgia Review

By Owlswald on September 19, 2025 in Reviews, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, Post-Metal, Shoegaze, 48 comments

“Fall in the Pacific Northwest means two things: foggy air and the official start of sadboi season. And German post-black quintet HERETOIR are here to offer a choice soundtrack for the colder, darker months ahead. Since its inception as a solo project by multi-instrumentalist David Conrad in 2006, HERETOIR has been a mainstay in the blackgaze scene, crafting music that has been a long-standing source of catharsis while operating in the darkness with other well-known acts like Alcest and Fen. Solastalgia marks the trio’s fourth full-length album, but the first one we’ve reviewed here. Still, the group’s presence at AMG Industries isn’t entirely new.” Birds of gaze.

Theurgion – All Under Heaven Review

Theurgion – All Under Heaven Review

By Steel Druhm on August 7, 2025 in Reviews, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 20 comments

“I’ll give it to the folks at Profound Lore’s PR department. As I processed the All Under Heaven debut by unheralded doom-death act Theurgion and prepared to hurl it into the reeking promo sump, I felt the irresistible urge to take it for myself due to this subtle teaser tidbit: “comprised of seven sculptured sonic monuments that hail those that came before Solitude Aeturnus, OLD Katatonia, OLD Anathema/Paradise Lost, first October Tide LP….” Those are mighty big FFO nods, and I fell victim to the hype like a lowly n00b, tucking the promo in my ape pouch and skulking into the sultry night.” One ape’s Heaven is another chimp’s Hell.