QUICK HIT: Destroyer of Light - "Chamber of Horrors"

It's early, but a heads up is perfectly warranted for the beautifully rendered, dark and haunting, doomscape album, "Chamber of Horrors", by the Austin, Texas-based doom band Destroyer of Light. The album releases on July 14, so be sure to set a reminder. There is a placeholder song, "Prisoner of Eternity", from the album at bandcamp to give you a taste of what's to come.

The music is eerie yet exhilarating, transporting the listener through a vast kaleidoscope of dark delights, songs of black despair rescued by bright runs of gargantuan riffs, and an overarching battle between gloom and hope.  It's engaging, magnetic, and powerful.

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New Band To Burn One To: Intet

If you like your riffs played with a thousand-ton hammer, with your face dragged along broken skulls on a gloomy dark night, with the constant feeling of paranoia and impending death, the holy shit, we have found the band for you! Stockholm, Sweden’s, droning doom newcomers Intet have crafted a demo of epic proportions! Mixed in amongst the slow drone of the apocalyptic backdrop comes absolute killer riffs to melt the heartiest of metallers faces, and vocals spewn from hell itself. The songs are layered, unnerving, and exciting, covering all corners of metal/doom to keep everyone happy.

This is a seriously impressive demo that shows that Intet are going to be creating something masterful with their debut record. Watch this space!

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New Band To Burn One To: Goryl

 

A rather different beast to many of the bands we cover here at Heavy Planet, but one none-the-less that falls directly into our musical category. Solo musician Goryl offers us a chance to explore the far reaches of our darkest souls with his heavy ambient drone project, and having recently released an acoustic take on his work, it’s about time that we divulged these dark lonely winter nights shadowing his drawn out growling riffs.

  

His previous two EPs The Father Of Witches and The Father Of Evil Witches offer mesmerizing droned riffs that only his outpouring soul could decipher as he sits hunched over his bass-heavy guitar shredding out cursed, devastating drawn-out riffs that feel like the hand of death upon your shoulder, encompassing and frightening in alliance.  

  

Describing his sound as “A line of poetry written with a splash of blood - a sonic reminder that you will suffer many hardships and adversities, but you will not die until the day appointed for you doom”, Goryl is not to be taken on board without fair warning. His latest release, Snakes, an acoustic EP, offers as much bleak, droning respite as his previous work, which is an impressive feat. The final track on the EP 'Lovely Witches' even offers some hushed whispered vocals which is a welcome respite from his otherwise instrumental music.

  

Goryl’s musical work so far is utterly transfixing, from each lonely desolate pluck of the guitar string to the next downturned soul wrenching note, you find yourself totally overcome with a sense of being, it’s not a sound which uplifts or necessarily makes you think, but rather a sound which keeps you static, aware of the darkness and decay around you, embracing death as much as life itself. 

Goryl is heavy, other-worldly, and vital. 

 

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EP Review: Destroyer of Light by Destroyer of Light

When I lived in Toledo, Ohio, I rested my head fewer than fifty paces from a vinyl shop- RamaLama Records. I could wake up, roll out of bed, and get into that  record store before my hangover kicked in. It was glorious. I was spoiled. Then I moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan, and my vinyl connection melted into the proverbial sunset.

But, before I escaped from the Buckeye State I scoured apartments in the Zoo, looking for a shack close to a record store. I couldn't  find any places as close as I'd become accustomed to, but I did find a decent shop, and when I walked in and bought Trouble's Run to the Light the manager talked to me for thirty minutes. I'd found my home away from home. My third place.

That store is Greenlight Records, and the manger is Chris, and during one of our frequent conversations he suggested I give a listen to a band of Kalamazoo expats who now dwell in Austin. Destroyer of Light.
Destroyer of Light play heavy doom with a hint of death. They boast mostly clean vocals with a smattering of bowel shaking death growls that are used to season the tunes. These extreme vocals work amazingly well when paired with the at times Messiah Marcolin like clean vocals that are the norm on the album .

The album kicks off with the "single", or at least the tune a video was made for, Greet Death and it is a great summation of what this band is all about- heavy doom riffing, creepy clean vocals, and scare your dog death growls. A helluva way to kick things off. Next up is The Virgin, a Rosemary's Baby tale about giving birth to Satan. The tune starts out with feedback and builds and builds to a funeral stomp with cough syrup vocals that drip slow and clean. A chorus works its way between the riffs, then more of those codeine calls before the death growls pop up to remind you how evil this ditty is, least you'd forgotten. The tune ends with the whole coven coming down to the studio to sing back up on the chorus. Cool. So Divided could start a whole new genre: protest doom. Current and eternal evils are discussed and I'm reminded of all those great message songs Sabbath put out so many years ago. Coffin Hunter rises next, and you can guess what this tune is all about. There is a solo buried in the mix around three minutes and forty seconds in that's worth checking out, it tries and tries to rise above the sludgy dirge but is soon silenced by death growls. The album ends with Asteroid and I've included a live clip here so I'll spare you my stuttering description. Destroyer of Light are collecting funds to put out some vinyl, so visit their Bandcamp page- if you're so inclined.

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Zac's "Double Dose": All Them Witches / Necronomicon

All Them Witches: Our Mother Electricity (Remastered) 

Man, I love the influence the south has had on music. Whether it be blues, jazz, country, or rock something about the soul of the south etches itself in the music and it remains there... eternally. Case in point, my current favorite record Our Mother Electricity (Remastered) by All Them Witches. That southern soul is vibrant in Nashville's All Them Witches and one listen through Our Mother Electricity will make you a believer. The music the band describes as Psychedelta Rock is full of "sweaty beats and dope riffs" and most certainly inspired by "divine energy". The album is also completely dynamic. For instance the first track Heavy/Like A Witch, with its Alice in Chains dual vocalizing, is heavily blues inspired with moments of intense doom and 70's era psychedelics and the very next track The Urn finds an Americana via alt country twang and has lyrical lines that demand to be sung-along. The album continues to travel through fast paced rockers, soulful grooves and slower chill tracks. The final tracks Family Song For The Leaving and Right Hand are smooth, super chilled and full of luscious melody. Family... being an acoustic plucked gem really stands out while Right Hand has more of that Alice in Chains style vocalizing and then there is the sound of fingers sliding along the guitar strings... simply hypnotizing. The remastered edition includes a bonus track with a power-punk punch, some bad attitude and whiskey-stained breath. Seriously, why are you still reading this? Just go get a copy of Our Mother Electricity at bandcamp or Elektrohasch Records... NOW!

 

Members: 

Ben McLeod 

Robby Staebler 

Michael Parks 

Allan Van Cleave 

Jason Staebler

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Necronomicon: The Queen of Death 

The fans of psychedelic doom will rejoice at the triumphant noise resounding from Brazil's Necronomicon. Playing a low-fi style psych-rock in the name of progress, Necronomicon combine a taste of Sabbathian doom with Floyd-esque space rock. The Queen of Death, the trio's second LP, catapults listeners into an intergalactic adventure of a hit-man blood-thirsty for the evil doer known as the Queen of Death. Yes, we have a concept record on hand folks and this multi-talented trio deliver the story subtly. Most of the emphasis and emotion is placed in the albums diverse instrumentation. Necronomicon will please the psych and progressive crowd with the contrasting sounds of an organ, harpsichord and synths against a wall of guitar, bass and drums. The album truly has that 70's vintage feel. I highly suggest this one for fans of Witchcraft, Kadaver and Graveyard. Check out their official video for The Assassin's Song below. The sun bleached and over-exposed film really compliments the trippy track. Want to support Necronomicon? Order a copy of the record at Hydro Phonic Records or Necro-nom-nom-nom-icon on The Queen of Death at bandcamp.

 

Members: 

Lillian Lessa - Guitar 

Pedro Ivo Araujo - Bass // Vocals 

Thiago Alef - Drums 

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New Band To Burn One To-Conan's First Date

The "New Band To Burn One To" today is Conan's First Date.

Bio:

"Conan’s First Date incarnated in the city of Szentendre in late 2008. Tuned down to the ground, touched by various influences, CFD delivers a modern, catchy, dynamic but yet brutal, complex and traditional metal music involving elements from death and thrash as well as from stoner and southern rock. Such bands would come to mind as machine head, BLS, soilwork, entombed, nevermore or pantera. The very first record of the band was self-made and gained success around the Hungarian rock and metal media. One of the most frequented webzine of Hungary, heavymetal.hu labeled CFD as the ‘already one of the biggest surprises of 2009’, while other magazines also concordantly agreed that this shouldn’t stay inside the walls of the country. Since the summer of 2009 the band is promoted by Powerground management, which supplies local, but widely successful bands such as Watch My Dying, Slytract or Cadaveres. Effigies consist of two different materials including the first recording, ‘The Werewolf Rising’. This ‘double EP’ is an essential record leading from the heavyweight mayhem of Killing Machine to the floating space trip of Million Miles From Home, a cover song from the 90s rave/techno act, Dune. The self-productive effort of the band became stronger as the band created its first video without any involvement of an outside production studio. The video was shot for the song ‘The Werewolf Rising’ from the identically titled debut EP."

Conan's First Date from Hungary creates a devastating mixture of in-your-face Death n' Roll. While listening to their tunes on MySpace I could hear elements of Stoner/Southern Rock and Death Metal. Fans of Entombed, Down, and Black Label Society will rejoice.




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New Band To Burn One To-Druid Lord

The "New Band To Burn One To" today is Druid Lord.

Bio:

"Formed in early 2010 by Pete Slate and Stephen Spillers, Druid Lord quickly gained the attention of many in the metal scene. Initially, Druid Lord set out to self-release a 4 song EP but due to interest by labels and fans decided to proceed with a full length cd. Recently signed to HPGD Productions, Druid Lord have just released "Hymns for the Wicked" on Oct. 31st of 2010. In addition to joining Druid Lord on bass & vocals recently, long time friend and band member Tony Blakk is handling the engineering of this deadly release. Fans of doom and old-school death metal are already hailing this release as one of the best offerings to surface in ages. Druid Lord, interestingly enough, is comprised of three of the members of the '92-'99 line-up of another well-regarded death metal act from Florida, Equinox. Pete Slate honed his skills as a member of Incubus, Acheron, Massacre and Kauldron . Tony Blakk gained respect and recognition with bands such as Acheron, Apostasy and Diabolic. Stephen Spillers was a founding member of Equinox and recorded numerous releases with the band including "Return to Mystery", "Journey into Oblivion" and "As the Moon Swallows the Sun"."

Druid Lord from Orlando, FL have just released an amazing collection of what you could call Death Doom. Citing influences ranging from Cirith Ungol to doom legends Pentagram, the band takes doom and despair to a new level. The music would have made the perfect soundtrack to a creepy horror flick from the seventies. The plodding tempo and blistering riffs along with death vocals make this band one to look out for. The band is currently streaming their latest CD "Hymns For the Wicked" on their Bandcamp site. Make sure to purchase their merch if you dig the band.

Check out a few reviews of the album at the followings websites.

Doommantia
Deafsparrow




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High On Fire-"Death Is This Communion (2007)

Track listing:
01. "Fury Whip" - 6:14
02. "Waste Of Tiamat" - 5:44
03. "Death Is This Communion" - 8:34
04. "Khanrad’s Wall" - 2:27
05. "Turk" - 5:03
06. "Headhunter" - 1:24
07. "Rumors Of War" - 2:51
08. "DII" - 3:45
09. "Cyclopian Scape" - 7:30
10. "Ethereal" - 6:56
11. "Return To NOD" - 6:18


Stream "Death Is This Communion"

HIGH ON FIRE: Brooklyn Concert Footage Posted Online

Oakland, California-based band HIGH ON FIRE (Relapse Records) invited the crew of the new music social networking site Woozyfly.com to film their Europa nightclub show in Brooklyn, New York.

You can now watch the concert on Woozyfly.com by clicking here.

MetalKult.com recently posted a 14-clip question-and-answer video interview with HIGH ON FIRE guitarist/vocalist Matt Pike.

The video was shot on August 15, 2007 in New York City, when Pike was visiting the East Coast to promote HIGH ON FIRE's latest album, "Death Is This Communion" (Relapse).

During the interview Pike discusses the foundations of his brutal tone and style, HIGH ON FIRE's exotic sonic elements, the departure of bassist Joe Preston (THRONES, ex-MELVINS) and what HIGH ON FIRE's new bassist, Jeff Matz, brings to the mix. Also on MetalKult.com is a 25-minute video riff lesson with HIGH ON FIRE's Pike, in which the guitarist demonstrates how to play some of the classic riffs in his catalog, from SLEEP's "The Druid" and "Dragonaut" to HIGH ON FIRE's "Baghdad", "Blessed Black Wings" and "Turk".