Review : CANDLEMASS – ‘House Of Doom’

Coming May 25 via Napalm Records is the new EP: ‘House of Doom‘ from legendary doom metal band ‘CANDLEMASS!’ Clocking in at under 30 minutes, ‘House of Doom‘ is a quick but thoroughly enjoyable listen! We start things off with the title track which for my money has everything that an old school Doom Metal fan could ask for: Insanely catchy riffs, powerful vocals, and Sabbath style rhythm! This is easily the best Doom Metal anthem since “Doom over the World” by the now defunct ‘Reverend Bizarre.’

Continue reading

CANDLEMASS Announce “House of Doom” Video Premiere and Online Game [Official Video Stream]

Swedish doom metal pioneers, Candlemass announce the premiere of the official lyric video for the title track off their upcoming EP ‘House of Doom,’ on Napalm Records. From the first few bars, fans will recognize the familiar, epic doom sound that Candlemass pulls off so well. For those unfamiliar, the track will appeal to fans of bands like PallBearer and Black Sabbath. Continue reading

State Of The Art : GATEWAY TO HELL [Album Stream]


*This is a part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state.*

This month’s state is Maryland!


Hey there, to our frequent State Of The Art segment reader, and Hi to you if you’re new to this segment. Welcome to our weekly dose of State Of The Art where we put some much deserved light on the unheard and unknown, and bring them out from the caverns of underground onto your computer screen. In my edition of the last SOTA article, I featured CROWN OF SORROWfrom Georgia. And now, continuing my tryst with exploring the unexplored, today I present before you an amazing doom/stoner metal band, GATEWAY TO HELL from Baltimore, Maryland. They absolutely rip!

Maryland has an extensive legion of doom/stoner rock and metal bands all across the state, from the legends like THE OBSESSED, the American version of Black SabbathPENTAGRAMEARTHRIDE, to the lesser known but equally musically proficient and kick-ass bands such as GATEWAY TO HELL. Maryland has always been a hotbed for metal’s most veteran sub genre. Alright enough of blabbering, let’s get to know more of GATEWAY TO HELL, rightaway!

Continue reading

State Of The Art : CROWN OF SORROW [Album Stream]


*This is a part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state.*

This month’s state is Georgia!


Hey there! Welcome to this week’s edition of State Of The Art, where we help rupture your virginity about the unknown and the underground. We visit Georgia this month, yes! Home of Grammy winners MASTODON, THE ALLMAN BROTHERS, R.E.M. etc. It’s evident that Georgia houses some incredibly talented musicians spanning all genres of music. I normally feature thrash, death bands when my turn on this segment comes. But today, just to break this monotony I chose to feature symphonic folk metal band CROWN OF SORROW from Fayetteville. Among the very few symphonic bands like those of DEVILWRAITH, KYLE MORRISON, AMIDST THE WITHERING, ETHIRIA etc. in the state of Georgia, today’s featured band CROWN OF SORROW is really working it’s way up the ranks of Georgia’s metal scene. It is really good and satisfying to see a band bring back the lost glory of good old classical and folk metal, in an age where thrash and death metal have been enjoying the throne for a bit long.

CROWN OF SORROW is a symphonic folk metal band that has a tinge of doom metal and surplus western classical elements in it, making it feel like a fine old wine. They are a fairly young outfit having released their first demo just in 2013, which featured three songs. With the demo working out for them, they released their debut full length record in 2015 titled, ‘Exile‘. Before all of this, the band was earlier named The Blasted Heath. What we know today as CROWN OF SORROW is a reincarnation that sought life when the former burned out in 2012 after hanging in on there since 2006. Let’s take a look at CROWN OF SORROW, shall we? Continue reading

Indiana Doom Metallers THORR-AXE To Tour Western U.S. This April

Wonder why their name is the way it is? Cause the doom they bring is as heavy as Thor’s hammer. Ok bad joke. Anyways, doom fanatics! THORR-AXE has got some really good news for you up its sleeve. The crusty Indiana doom metallers are all set to begin a voyage on the western side of America next month, alongside, ravaging eight cities this April 16-26 before ultimately concluding at Chicago Doomed & Stoned Festival this June.

This is our longest run to date,” says longtime guitarist and vocalist Tucker Thomasson. Adding to a few details on the tour here’s what Tucker has to say,”We’re playing with a few awesome bands we’ve worked with before (Green Druid, Wizzerd, Green Altar) and we’re also looking forward to meeting and playing with some new bands as well. We hope to see a lot of people who’ve been following us for awhile out at some of these dates. See you out there!

Continue reading

DUST BOLT To Tour North America With OBITUARY, PALLBEARER & SKELETONWITCH This Spring!

Following an extremely successful North American tour supporting the mighty Obituary, DUST BOLT are now set to return Stateside in May.  The band will again be supporting Obituary, but this time they will also be joined by Pallbearer and Skeletonwitch.  The tour kicks off May 2nd in Atlanta, GA and runs through June 3rd in Miami, FL.  A complete list of dates can be found below.

Continue reading

State Of The Art: RIFT! [Album Streams]

*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured State*

This month’s State is Nebraska!

Coming all the way from Nebraska is the 2 piece instrumental doom metal act Rift. With just 2 complete studio records and 1 live record they make it seem so easy to write and produce 3 stellar pieces in a row!

Continue reading

Review: Nebula – ‘Let it Burn’ 20th Anniversary Reissue

For fans of Nineties psych-fused heavy rock, a group that commonly springs to mind is Los Angeles based power-trio Nebula, a group whose initial incarnation was formed out of the ashes of Fu Manchu and their decaying line-up at the time. Celebrating their 20th Anniversary, the group are planning to reissue their first three recordings under the newly-established, slightly esoteric label under the name of Heavy Psych Sounds. Each individual release features two bonus tracks as well as the original track-listing and is certainly marked by a deep feeling of sentiment and accomplishment. Today we’ll be focusing on the first of their upcoming releases which is also evidently the first plunge into oblivion the group embarked upon as a recording unit; – why yes, of course I’m talking about the EP ‘Let it Burn’ which was in its heyday originally released via Relapse Records. Continue reading

BLACK LABEL SOCIETY To Headline North American Tour With CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, EYEHATEGOD & RED FANG This Winter

BLACK LABEL SOCIETY just announced a massive tour encompassing the entire North America from coast to coast this coming winter. Joining hands with fellow rockers CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, EYEHATEGOD and RED FANG, this mega tour looks and promises to be a heavy weight one to end the year on a high note and similarly start the next year with the same fervour. Spanning exactly two months from this December 27, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY will be promoting their all new upcoming 2018 LP, ‘Grimmest Hits‘, which hits the stores on January 19, next year in the midst of the aforementioned tour. So if you’re planning to hit this up, be pumped cause you might end up witnessing one or two new tunes to groove to.

Continue reading

Album Review: UFOMAMMUT – ‘8’ [Album Stream]

Ufomammut

8

Neurot Recordings

Since their inception nearly two decades ago, Italian space sludge squadron Ufomammut have carved out a singular niche for themselves in the doom community. Unlike many groups who manage to get by on brute strength alone, Ufomammut’s pulverizing yet hypnotizing sound tends to crush with pressure rather than weight; it’s a black hole, massive, swirling, and distorting, that sucks listeners in and rips them apart on a molecular level, as opposed to just beating them over the head with a great big hammer. 8, the trio’s latest offering, is an intergalactic machine of almost infinite force, a riff-hewn monolith perched on the edge of the universe.

Continue reading