Psychedelic death metal, to put it bluntly, lacks a strong definition. Often the genre is aesthetically dependent or rooted in how many Gilmourisms the guitarist deploys per solo. No matter how wet the reverb, nor how boomer the bends, these two approaches miss the fundamental underpinning of psychedelic music. But what if the riffs were really, really dank?
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Sergeant Thunderhoof – The Ghost of Badon Hill Review
If you’re into psychedelic stoner metal and bands with names that sound like they moonlight at medieval jousts, The Ghost of Badon Hill by Sergeant Thunderhoof is for you. With a title as riveting as a wargaming brony, this album promises trippy vibes, and no curveballs about its genre.
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Pillar of Light – Caldera Review
The second a band chooses to use a Lewandowski painting for their cover, they set a certain expectation. Ever since his association with Bell Witch’s seminal funeral doom album, Mirror Reaper, this decision implies a certain confidence in quality. Detroit’s own Pillar of Light should know this. With the quiet-loud formula brought to bear on their debut album, Caldera, they make the case that they earn this monolithic cover through sheer emotional heft. It just might blow your top off.
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Thyrathen – Lakonic Review
“Thyrathen hail from Larissa, the birth place of Achilles, but have elected to honour a different group of the bloody-minded and bloody-handed with their second album, Lakonic. Laconia was home of the Spartans for those who don’t know, and as such, the name suggested I could expect some suitably belligerent, stripped back black metal.” If this is the case, Pete’s ears will rejoice, never to rumble in boredom again… if…
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Ashen Tomb – Ecstatic Death Reign
Some albums grab you by the throat from the first note and refuse to let go until the very end. From the very first moments of Ecstatic Death Reign, Finnish death metal band Ashen Tomb unleash a massive sound that demands attention. And this Bear was ready to study it from the comfort of his forest den.
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Fellowship – The Skies Above Eternity Review
Fellowship’s The Saberlight Chronicles carried the flag high for those hoping to sing and gallop not with challenge but with a smile. And though I’m not typically one to fall for such gallivanting, their underlying talents give me hope in a way that their music does not. But with The Skies Above Eternity boasting both a trimmed runtime and darker narrative promise, can it turn my worm to weenie in its glory?
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Gaerea – Coma Review
At this point, Gaerea have become a band with expectations. And yet, somehow, Coma is my first Gaerea album, my first listen to what this Portuguese black metal powerhouse and their cathartic take on the genre has to offer.
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Defeated Sanity – Chronicles of Lunacy Review
Scuttlegoat just knew Chronicles of Lunacy would be good, and it led him to almost being resigned to it — “I was not excited or looking forward to it, I simply accepted that it would be good”. Oh, the drum performance! Beating some sense into your liking…
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Opeth – The Last Will and Testament Review
Make Åkerfeldt growl again” (#MÅGA). This is the premise on which The Goat Review makes its firmest political stance.
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Crypts of the Unknown: Loss – Horizonless
