Steel Druhm descends from his lair atop Mount Crumpit to deliver his Top Ten(ish) of 2025. Prepare to be carved like a roast beast.
Professor Emeritus
Professor Emeritus – A Land Long Gone Review
“There are some pretty disastrous band names out there, and Professor Emeritus is up near the tippy-top. Why anyone would name themselves after a retired college instructor is beyond me, but their 2017 Take Me to the Gallows debut was an entertaining dose of epic/trve/doom metal with enough muscle and magic to win me over despite some rough spots and vocal missteps. Nearly eight years later, we get the follow-up, A Land Long Gone, and the lineup has undergone a massive overhaul, with only guitarist Lee Smith (ex-Satan’s Hallow) remaining. In comes vocalist Esteban Julian Pena of Acerus, along with several former members of Black Sites, and the result is an entirely different beast.” The Professor is in.
Fer De Lance – The Hyperborean Review
“From the mean streets of Chicago come the epic doom metal warriors in Fer De Lance, out to conquer the world and fly the banners of trveness for all the world to see. Featuring members of Satan’s Hallow and Professor Emeritus, Fer De Lance rock a sound blending elements of Atlantean Kodex, Visigoth, Crypt Sermon, and Bathory, with folk elements woven through reminiscent of SIG:AR:TYR. If that sounds like a winning stew of influences, you aren’t wrong.” Boots n’ Lance.
Professor Emeritus – Take Me to the Gallows Review
“Yes, I know what you are thinking, and no, this is NOT a Ghost spin-off act. Professor Emeritus is no one’s Papa I, II or III, and rather than getting their hands dirty with unwashed ghoul masks and slightly metallized Blue Oyster Cult ditties, these Chicago road scholars chose to major in epic trve metal at the olden learning institution, while also carrying a minor in doom.” The ivory tower is metal.
