Death Doom

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.

Ritual Mass – Cascading Misery Review

By Kenstrosity on September 12, 2025 in Reviews, Death Doom, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 19 comments

“It’s difficult to enter a conversation about death doom without thinking, at least once, of Incantation. Or Autopsy. Or Asphyx. Or any number of other acts in between. But not many of them choose “Christian Mysticism” as their primary theme. Here enters Pittsburg death doom upstarts Ritual Mass, primed to unleash their debut slab of biblical horrors Cascading Misery upon this God-fearing world. One can only wonder what fresh Hell this tome holds.” Hell is home.

KHNVM – Cosmocrator Review

By ClarkKent on September 9, 2025 in Reviews, Death Doom, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 14 comments

“While it looks like a jumble of consonants, KHNVM actually has an easy pronunciation: Kha-noom. Their sinister new album, Cosmocrator, derives its title from a Greek word that roughly translates to “ruler of the world” and can also refer to Satan. However, these guys aren’t Greek. Rather, KHNVM is based out of Germany, and frontman Obliterator was born in Bangladesh. Though there are three members pictured in the band photo below, Obliterator does the Billy Corgan thing and records everything but the drums. KHNVM released their first album, Foretold Monuments of Flesh, in 2019, and now six years later, Cosmocrator marks their fourth record. In that short span of time, KHNVM has gradually shifted from putrid death metal to a more nuanced death-doom sound.” Letters from the death trenches.

Clairvoyance – Chasm of Immurement Review

By Maddog on July 27, 2025 in Reviews, Death Doom, Death Metal, Progressive Death, 26 comments

“Yes, I picked this up entirely because of its cover. Girardi’s gorgeous spiral of tombstones and skeletons conjures vintage highbrow death metal of the likes of Death. The title Chasm of Immurement grasps at brutal badassery in the vein of Suffocation’s Effigy of the Forgotten. Clairvoyance’s logo remains indecipherable even if you know the band’s name, suggesting kvltness galore. The promo materials describe lyrics that address the isolating effects of depression, foreshadowing a harrowing listen. In isolation, each of these judgments strikes at the truth but glances off. Chasm of Immurement is the debut album from Poland’s Clairvoyance, an unknown band comprising unknown musicians. Lying at the intersection of brainless death-doom and brainiac digressions, Chasm of Immurement is a powerful foray into death metal.” Are you not immured?

The Bleak Picture – Shades of Life Review

By Maddog on July 8, 2025 in Reviews, Death Doom, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 17 comments

“It’s been a draining year. Lacking the mental energy for new music, I’ve subsisted on a diet of ISIS and Fvneral Fvkk. Clouded by the doomy stylings of the latter, I decided to make my return to reviewing with dismal death-doom. Despite releasing their debut just last year, Finland’s The Bleak Picture is a project of members of Autumnfall. That said, these two bands sound worlds apart, as their names betray. Abandoning the blackened scenery of Autumnfall, The Bleak Picture paints a bleak picture with melodic death-doom that reeks of Finland.” Smell the bleakness.

Jade – Mysteries of a Flowery Dream Review

By Owlswald on May 10, 2025 in Reviews, Death Doom, Death Metal, 52 comments

“Dreams are a gateway into the unconscious, a space where thoughts and emotions flow freely. They reveal what we often conceal, offering a unique and often unsettling insight into our inner worlds. Barcelonian quartet Jade explores this very terrain with their sophomore album Mysteries of a Flowery Dream. Emerging with 2018’s Smoking Mirror EP, Jade forges an atmo-death sound rooted in early death, doom, and black metal, fusing it with the dark and melancholic atmospheres of contemporaries like The Ruins of Beverast and Bølzer.” Just look at the flowers.

Stuck in the Filter: February 2025’s Angry Misses

By Kenstrosity on May 9, 2025 in Stuck in the Filter, Black Metal, Death Doom, Death Metal, Folk Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Post-Metal, post-punk, Rock, Technical Death Metal, 105 comments

February was a filthy, dirty month and the Filter Techs are gonna tell you all about it,

Collapsed Vein – Pain Communion Review

By Thus Spoke on April 14, 2025 in Reviews, Death Doom, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 19 comments

“Not being an Opeth fan, I know it can’t just be me who reads Pain Communion as a deliberate riff on Pale Communion. The debut from Kevin George’s solo endeavour Collapsed Vein, however, seems to have absolutely nothing to do with the famous Swedes and their famous album, though that doesn’t mean it wasn’t named deliberately. It’s rare that doom not preceded by the adjective “funeral” or which isn’t otherwise explicitly DisemBOWELment-coded ignites any excitement within me, but Pain Communion seemed promising.” Slowpeth?

Grave Infestation – Carnage Gathers Review

By Steel Druhm on March 4, 2025 in Reviews, Death Doom, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 33 comments

A double review of the latest nastiness Grave Infestation throw at the masses on Carnage Gathers like so much maggoty mulch. Gross!

Faithxtractor – Loathing and the Noose Review

By Maddog on January 10, 2025 in Reviews, Blackened Death Metal, Death Doom, Death Metal, 78 comments

“Faithxtractor’s second biggest musical contribution was the comment section from their last album. With a Farmers Only joke, a thread about metalcore album names, and a story that must be read to be believed, the birdbrain community’s mockery of Faithxtractor’s name has left me giggling for two years. Of course, the band’s biggest contribution was 2023’s Contempt for a Failed Dimension itself. Perhaps my favorite frill-free death metal record in recent memory, Faithxtractor’s fourth full-length dealt in riffs and also riffs.” Tractor pulling may cause injury.