Altars of Grief

Post Luctum – Timor Lucis Review

Post Luctum – Timor Lucis Review

By Kenstrosity on February 27, 2026 in Reviews, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Funeral Doom, 8 comments

“Even with someone as infinitely absorbent as this sponge, things slip through the cracks sometimes. In 2019, I gave a shout to Post Luctum’s debut EP After Mourning, citing its very promising funereal pall as a welcome comrade to contemporary heavy hitters like Altars of Grief and Slow. Somehow, some way, I completely missed not one, not two, but three full-lengths from the Maryland-based solo artist in the span between then and 2026’s Timor Lucis. But it couldn’t have come at a better time, with the inclement weather demanding tunes of a dour, reposed, overcast character. The only variable left is how much Post Luctum changed in the years since my last visit.” Lighthouse, darkhaus.

Falling Leaves – The Silence That Binds Us Review

Falling Leaves – The Silence That Binds Us Review

By Twelve on September 5, 2025 in Reviews, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 37 comments

“Doom metal and I have not been getting along much lately. I’ve noticed this in recent years—the slow, the sad, the funereal, it just doesn’t have the impact it used to. Even the stuff I used to love has fallen by the wayside a bit. But something about Dubai’s (originally Amman) Falling Leaves has compelled me to dust off my hat and give it another shot. Maybe it’s the gorgeous cover art. Maybe it’s the fact that The Silence That Binds Us is only Falling Leaves’s sophomore full-length, despite having been around since 2009, with their debut released in 2012. Thirteen years is a long time between albums, but few genres benefit from long, careful consideration like doom metal. Suffice to say, I came into this assignment with high expectations.” Summer’s doom.

Ulvik – Last Rites | Dire Omens Review

Ulvik – Last Rites | Dire Omens Review

By Mystikus Hugebeard on June 5, 2024 in Reviews, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, Neofolk, 15 comments

“Last Rites | Dire Omens. Interesting album title, that. Last rites signify mourning and gentle acceptance, while dire omens suggest malevolence, a promise of death yet to come. Likely by design, these contrasting themes directly apply to the kind of neofolk and atmospheric black metal that Canadian duo Ulvik peddles, as the sad beauty of their folk music inevitably succumbs to a more pronounced black metal malevolence.” Nature in your face.

Rise to the Sky – Death Will Not Keep Us Apart

Rise to the Sky – Death Will Not Keep Us Apart

By Twelve on October 6, 2020 in Reviews, Doom Metal, 13 comments

“It was a warm day in June when I first came across the Chilean one-man doom project that is Rise to the Sky. In the Grave of a Forgotten Soul piqued my interest enough that when I learned that they’d been signed to GS Productions and had a full-length coming out later this year, I immediately set up a fiendish trap in the Promo Pit to ensure that I would be the only one to reach that record alive. At last, here it is.” Rise to die.

Bell Witch/Aerial Ruin – Stygian Bough Volume I Review

Bell Witch/Aerial Ruin – Stygian Bough Volume I Review

By Dr. Wvrm on July 6, 2020 in Reviews, Folk, 21 comments

“Dylan Desmond and Jesse Shreibman’s decision to make official their partnership with Erik Moggridge, the man in Aerial Ruin’s one-man dark folk band, made sense. Moggridge’s guest vocals on Mirror Reaper conveyed grief and loss on a frequency that Bell Witch couldn’t have reached alone. Stygian Bough Volume I pries those mournful dimensions wide in a symbiotic give-and-take quite unlike anything either act has produced before.” Witch in flight.

AngryMetalGuy.com’s Aggregated Top 10(ish) of 2018: The List to End All Lists

AngryMetalGuy.com’s Aggregated Top 10(ish) of 2018: The List to End All Lists

By El Cuervo on January 2, 2019 in 2018, Blog Posts, Lists, 283 comments

“We have finally reached the conclusion to 2018’s list season: the AngryMetalGuy.com Meta List. In all, despite our best efforts to bemoan the quality of metal in 2018, 221 unique releases have made their way into our compiled lists which span the entire heavy spectrum. This not only goes some way to dispel any notion that metal is dead but also illustrates that the Angry Metal Hall is now shockingly crowded despite Steel Druhm’s frequent and violent ejections. I am intrigued and entertained to observe which records which rise to the top of the heap and am delighted to honor our collective favorite records from 2018.” The best of the beasts as determined by maths.