Seeding A Dark Future...

The Dunwich Orchestra - H.P. Lovecraft's "The Colour out of Space" (Chapter 1) (2015)

Combining motion comics, animation, atmospheric doom, and the fiction of H.P. Lovecraft, this first chapter of a planned quintet serves as an introduction to and demonstration of the talents of the team working to realize the story in a wordless fashion.  With artwork which captures the rural desolation complemented by twanging strings that easily shift into more menacing forms, the moods and narrative are communicated with style and sly humor, building towards the doom with a nice sense of reserve.
While the group's initial IndieGogo campaign to raise funds for the remaining four chapters didn't meet its goal, they've stated an intent to "go back to the drawing desk" and figure out a way to complete the project.  Hopefully they'll piece it out into funding campaigns for one chapter at a time, instead of trying to grab it all in one go.  If you have a fondness for concept-driven doom, Lovecraft's fiction, lavishly-drawn art, and/or wordless story-telling, give this first chapter ten minutes of your time, and keep an ear out for further developments from The Dunwich Orchestra.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Bell Witch, Earth, Gnaw Their Tongues, Have A Nice Life, Hellenica

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H.P. Lovecraft's "The Colour out of Space" (Chapter 1) (320 kbps)

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Sliding Into Madness...

Obsidian Sea - Dreams, Illusions, Obsessions (2015)

Obsidian Sea have been around for a good six years now, and on their latest LP, they delve into "dream-worlds and psychotic states" for musical inspiration.  "The Trial of Herostratus" begins the album with a big bass crash, quickly joined by a crunchy metal riff from guitar, and the drums drop in with a bang that can make you jump if you're not expecting it.  The dramatic delivery of the vocals and the grandeur of the rising progressions gives things a nicely-utilized edge of prog, enough to buck expectations without going into over-indulgence, and the band flows smoothly from one morbid cadence to the next.  There's very much an '80s sort of doom flowing through their veins, with an emphasis on the music over the production and a mostly-serious attitude backing the lyrics of starry skies and suffering.
One to check out if you like your doom to play it big but thoughtful, Dreams, Illusions, Obsessions is available on CD and download directly from the band, while cassette copies are being put out by Serpent Eve Records.  Get yourself a copy, turn it up, and become a menace cruising the streets as the songs pour out of your car windows.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Kalamata, Possessor, Below, Candlemass, Black Magician

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Obsidian Sea - Child in the Tower (320 kbps)

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Turbulent Atmospheres...

Methadone Skies - Eclectic Electric (2014)

Ever since their first album came out in 2012 (our review of which can be found right here), Romania's experimental doom crew of Methadone Skies have been hard at work on a follow-up, and Eclectic Electric does an excellent job of continuing their already impressive catalog.  With an average run of ~9 minutes per song, the group gives themselves plenty of room to wander and play, opportunities of which they're only too happy to avail themselves.  Bouncing, bobbing, weaving, and careening, the group's ingenuity with writing and riffing technique suggests jazz and prog backgrounds while staying rooted in their metal-edged form of heavy rock.   Things get kind of spacy in the latter half, with the bass throbbing like an underground power line and the voices calling out into overlapping echoes, with the last track managing a sense of isolation like a slow-drifting escape pod tumbling out into the stars.  Fantastic stuff, too amorphous to pin down with easy description, and well worth a listen for anyone looking for something outside of ordinary.
~ Gabriel

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Methadone Skies - Eclectic Electric (320 kbps)

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Combination Of Forms...

Flight of the Seraphim - Fire, Water, Earth, Wind (2015)

It's difficult to give a description of Flight of the Seraphim without mentioning how prolific they are, as the band released four EPs and an album in 2014.  Since their EPs are long enough to pass for albums, you can do your own math on how much time the band invests in refining its prog metal arrangements before sharing them with the world, but the point is that this band somehow arranges a ton of intricate stuff and makes it sound good.
That fine polish and giving nature are clearly still in effect on FotS' latest album, which in addition to a track for each of the title elements boasts an bonus pair of songs, "Quintessence" and "Aether".  The band does an impressive job channeling the nature of each one into the musical textures and attitudes, with the rippling ring mod and overlapping rhythms of "Water" making for some of the more evocative moments (and, of course, "Earth" gets heavy, heavy, heavy, despite being the shortest of the title tracks).
It's all handled with skill and creativity, with no sense of pretension or over-repetition to the tangles of notes and beats, and while the album fits together great on its own, the two extra tracks make for a very effective coda.  Another impressive work from Flight of the Seraphim, certainly worth investigating if you've got a taste for metal mixing heaviness with lush sounds and song-writing.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Chord, Wicked Lady, Mondo Drag, Indukti, Titan

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Flight of the Seraphim - III. Earth (320 kbps)

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