Woods of Ypres

Novembers Doom – Major Arcana Review

By Steel Druhm on September 19, 2025 in Reviews, Doom Metal, 52 comments

“Chicago’s Novembers Doom have charted a unique course for themselves over the last 30 years. Their unnatural pairing of beefy, cargo-beshorted death metal and highly emotional doom originally felt unstable and liable to erupt into chaos at any moment, but over time, they became adept at finding the ideal balance between madman and sadboi. Albums like The Pale Haunt Departure and Hamartia were loaded with ripping riffs and plaintive gloom, and at their best, Novembers Doom can tear at the heartstrings even as they snap your neck.” Fall in the heart.

Esox – Watery Grave Review

By Thus Spoke on May 8, 2025 in Reviews, Ambient, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, Shoegaze, 41 comments

“Pikes—the genus Esox—are perfect predators whose size and ferocity have made them somewhat legendary. However, as an emblem, they are somewhat understated and powerful but unobvious: literally hidden under the surface of the water, part of the sempiternal and vital river ecosystem. This lends weight to the already evident fact that Esox is an incredibly personal project for its creator, Federico Sturiale. 5 years in the making, Watery Grave tells the story of a suicidal drowning, with the drowner’s final reflections making up the album’s acts. It’s a tale that feels every bit as organic and raw as it ought to.” Immersion therapy.

Midnight Odyssey – Biolume Part 3: A Fullmoon Madness Review

By Carcharodon on November 21, 2023 in Reviews, Ambient, Ambient Metal, Black Metal, Doom Metal, Symphonic Metal, Synthwave, 83 comments

“The Biolume trilogy is massive, not only in runtime but also in the scope of its storytelling. The records move from darkened subterranean halls on In Tartarean Chains, through a blinding desert of celestial light on The Golden Orb to stare at the haunting night sky, dimly lit by that same light reflecting off a dead satellite on A Fullmoon Madness. Perhaps it was always inevitable that, as we moved up through these levels, each would be vaster in scope and scale than the last.” Size matters.

Ǥứŕū – Nova Lvx Review

By Dear Hollow on June 8, 2023 in Reviews, Black Metal, Blackened Death Metal, Doom Metal, 14 comments

“Just as the painting focuses on a spectrum of blacks, earth tones, and distortion, so Ǥứŕū does with their fusion of black metal and doom metal. Expect the typical unholy blackened trinity of shrieks, tremolo, and blastbeats, alongside the dramatic and full-bodied baritone and thicker tone of doom.” Painting with tar.

Eric Wagner – In the Lonely Light of Mourning Review

By Steel Druhm on March 18, 2022 in Reviews, Doom Metal, 31 comments

“I truly hate posthumously released albums. Whether they ultimately end up good or depressingly bad, there’s always so much inherent sadness hanging over the final product making it impossible to avoid the whole “music from the grave” effect. When the deceased in question is Eric Wagner, long-time vocalist of legendary doom act Trouble, it cuts extra deep. Still, it’s hard to deny that the grim context only enhances the kind of downtrodden music the man is famous for. In the Lonely Light of Mourning, Mr. Wagner’s second solo outing, plays almost like a goodbye to fans of the man’s 40-plus years in the metalverse.” At the end of my daze.

Inner Missing – Dead Language Review

By sentynel on March 3, 2022 in Reviews, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, 16 comments

“I’ll be honest, my expectations for Dead Language were low. First, wow, that is a terrible name. Second, Inner Missing are a two-person gothic metal band releasing album number nine in twelve years. You have to give them credit for persistence, but nine albums without a breakout isn’t promising. Third, my first impression of the lead single “The Quest” was entirely dominated by the inexplicable near-monotone vastly over-inflected bass vocals. It was not looking good. Expectations and first impressions are funny things, though.” Lost and found in translation.

Kolossus – K Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on October 24, 2021 in Reviews, Black Metal, 21 comments

“As I do with all bands that have a discography, I started from the top. It was only last year that Kolossus dropped their debut record, The Line of the Border. In those forty-plus minutes, my lips would involuntarily mouth, ‘What the fuck?’ Each song is nothing like the last. Each brings something new to the plate, and none cared what came before or went after. It refused to follow the rules—it’s own or anyone else’s. And, to an extent, K is no different.” K is for Klosers.

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.

Winterfylleth – The Reckoning Dawn Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on May 11, 2020 in Reviews, Black Metal, Folk Metal, 51 comments

“Wtf’s occur in everyday life. I’ve broken a thumb of one hand under the hammer held by the other and exclaimed the same betrayed question. Hell, I’m sure my mother pinched me out and exclaimed those same three words to my father. I sure did whisper it when I heard Winterfylleth’s The Hallowing of Heirdom. An acoustic album was not what I expected. I had hoped, instead, for a strong release to balance out the mediocre The Dark Hereafter. Upon the first spin of The Reckoning Dawn, my mouth hung open once more and I exclaimed, ‘what the fuck.’ But what kind of ‘wtf’ is this? The good kind? Or the bad?” You can’t spell Winterfylleth without WTF.

Deathwhite – Grave Image Review

By Steel Druhm on January 27, 2020 in 2020, American Metal, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, Post-metal, Post-Rock, Reviews, Season of Mist, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, Post-Metal, 41 comments

“Deathwhite have been playing it annoyingly coy for nearly 6 years now, releasing increasingly sophisticated music while steadfastly keeping their identities concealed. Grave Image is their sophomore full-length, and therefore a critical moment in their career of mystery. Their For a Black Tomorrow debut merged elements of goth, doom, and post metal with alternative rock, creating something unusual and highly compelling, and in the process nearly created a whole new type of mope rock. Back when I was absorbing Black Tomorrow and drafting the review, I was struck by the nagging feeling the band was only just getting started on its musical odyssey and things would only get weirder. Grave Image fulfills that expectation.” A grave you can live with.