Doom metal – Page 3 – 7th Level Music

Verbian share “Não vai o Diabo Tecê-las” from upcoming album.

Porto, PT trio Verbian shares the first single from their forthcoming new album on Lost Future Records, Casarder today via Decibel Magazine. Hear and share “Não vai o Diabo Tecê-las” HERE. (Direct on all DSPs HERE.)

Heavy Blog is Heavy recently launched the official video for “Não vai o Diabo Tecê-las” which features an impressive live-in-studio version of the song HERE. (Direct YouTube.)

Verbian understands that evolution is essential to heavy music. And so is commitment to revealing profound emotions and letting artistic expression take your music wherever you dare to go.

“Casarder speaks a little about the insecurities of artistic expression and personal exposure when it comes to fearing being judged for something that is somewhat outside of what is done in each artist’s niche,” the band explains. “This was the theme that also inspired the album cover.”

The distorted, anxious and surrealist visual style of the album’s cover art (see below, painted by artist Madalena Pinta) speaks perfectly to the album’s direct albeit melted psychedelic electronic post-metal. Riff after riff comes and goes, never wearing out its welcome, and instead pulling listeners along on a sonic journey through Salvador Dali landscapes of rock forms, pulled apart and reconfigured into mesmerizing new ones. The mostly instrumental album never lingers on a part too long, never wastes a note. It’s angry, driving and multilayered without sounding overly technical or indulgent.

Since their founding in 2015, the Porto, Portugal band’s music has continued to push forward and fuse genres from metal, rock, electronic, experimental percussion and more into a concise, powerful sound. Guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist Vasco Reis was originally joined by drummer Filipe Romariz, with bassist/keyboardist/vocalist Alexandre Silva joining in 2017 to solidify the trio. Following Romariz’s departure in 2022, drummer/percussionist Guilherme Gonçalves brought an evermore hard-hitting feel to Verbian’s sound.

Verbian’s 2019 self-released debut album JAEZ was followed in 2021 by Irrupção on Italy’s Antigony Records. Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Verbian showcased Irrupção at venues like the Hard Club (Porto) and toured cities including Braga, Viana do Castelo, Santiago de Compostela, and Aveiro. Upon Gonçalves joining the lineup in 2022, the band toured cities like Toulouse, Clermont-Ferrand, Santander, and at the Romaria Cultural in Gouveia. They concluded the year with an Iberian tour alongside Catalan band Syberia, visiting Vigo, Porto, and Coruña.

Casarder was recorded with a different approach from their previous efforts. Produced by Verbian and Daniel Valente, the trio did all of the preproduction in the studio, live. “We then built a tempo map and after that we did overdubs,” the band explains. “But the biggest difference was that these were the first songs we wrote with Guilherme on the drums and we believe that is why it’s so different from the previous albums. He brought a new and fresh groove to our music, maintaining the heaviness.”

Casarder will be available on Limited Edition LP and download on March 21st, 2025 via Lost Future Records. Pre-orders are available HERE.

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[Thanks to Dave at US / THEM Group.]

Bonnie Trash unleash “Hellmouth” from their upcoming album due February 28, 2025.

Today Guelph, Ontario hell-raisers Bonnie Trash share a new single and video, taken from their forthcoming new album, Mourning You, which is set for release on February 28th on Hand Drawn Dracula.

Mourning You finds Bonnie Trash, twins Emmalia & Sarafina Bortolon-Vettor, embracing a newfound sense of urgency. The album is, put bluntly, an album about death. Not death in the macabre, violent, or outrageous sense, but death as you or I might know it. A spectre lurking around the corner. Capricious, indiscriminate, and unexpected. Ordinary and all the more terrifying for it. Real. Fear in the eyes of a loved one about to die, and the fear in your eyes – staring back. This is sorrow not as a lingering bruise, but a gushing wound.

Following previous single, “Veil of Greed”, today they share the howling, urgent new track “Hellmouth“ – a song that evokes the gnarled claw of remorse gripping you in twilight’s terror. “I see you in my dreams every night,” Sarafina intones. Were it not for Emmalia’s blown-out Stratocaster, you might mistake those words for the chorus of an old doo-wop standard. The track launches off as a woozy siren song, before pummeling you with anthemic power chords for Sarafina’s self lacerating chorus: “Drag me to hell and back I go.”

“Every reminder of what once was, feels like a sharp sword” the band comment. “But, even in the darkest moments, there’s always a path towards love. Remembering the warmth of their smile, as you scrape your nails towards the surface…”

“Hellmouth” video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEPFUHNzbrk
‘Mourning You’ album pre-order/pre-save links: https://ffm.to/mourningyou

A lifelong project christened in 2017 with the release of Ezzelini’s Dead, the band’s debut EP which found the pair mining the Trevisan dialect and archaic Italian folklore of their heritage to grisly effect. Where their first full length, Malocchio (2022), shrouded Bonnie Trash’s nightmares in dusky dreamlike reverb, ‘Mourning You’ is vivid and immediate. Emboldened by the addition of Emma Howarth-Withers on bass and Dana Bellamy on drums – whose thunderous rhythms sharpened 2024’s My Love Remains the Same EP into a fine-edged blade – Mourning You is less a post-mortem fantasia than a sudden, swift dagger to the heart.

Sarafina, the band’s singer and lyricist, has described the album as being about “losing someone you love. It’s about the horrors of grief, haunting you every day.” Inspired, largely, by the passing of Nonna Maria – who provided interstitial narration across the band’s early work – it’s these intimate details which render the songs on Mourning You so devastating. The record explores love and grief as kindred spirits. Grief as love with nowhere to go. Love determined by the fear of its loss. A blood pact. A life for a life. The gnarled claw of remorse gripping you in twilight’s terror.

Though inspired by the shocking iconography of horror shows, slasher flicks, and psychological thrillers, Bonnie Trash turns cinematic tropes on their head. Rather than fashioning nightmares into reality, the band paints reality as a nightmare, rife with pain, suffering, and gothic theatre. Bonnie Trash understands that everyday atrocities haunt the periphery of our lives. A black cloud looming on the edge of our vision. Curses abound. You can’t ward them off. You’d best make an unholy racket.

Mourning You is out February 28, 2025 on Hand Drawn Dracula. In mourning, all is lost.

Bonnie Trash live dates:
Feb 27 – Toronto, ON – Wavelength Winter Fest w/ The OBGMs, pHoenix Pagliacci, Cadence Weapon
Mar 01 – Guelph, ON – ArtBar
Mar 08 – Kitchener, ON – The Union

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[Thanks to Kate at Stereo Sanctity.]

Venamoris covers Scorpions’ “Animal Magnetism” for their newest single.

Venamoris, the heavy, brooding noir outfit who blend darkwave and metal, featuring Paula and Dave Lombardo, release their sophomore album, To Cross or To Burn, on Feb. 28 via Ipecac Recordings.

Alongside the album announcement, Venamoris unveil “Animal Magnetism,” a striking cover of Scorpions’ 1980 love song. The haunting rendition features a guest appearance from Dave’s former bandmate, Gary Holt (Exodus, Slayer). The song is accompanied by a Displaced/Replaced created video.

Dave reflects on the personal significance of including “Animal Magnetism” on To Cross or To Burn:

“The first rock concert I ever attended was on May 25, 1980, with Scorpions opening for Ted Nugent’s ‘Scream Dream’ tour. We (Slayer) had covered a couple Scorpions songs in the early years but I never would have thought of re-imagining one of their songs at that time. Now it seems like the most natural thing to do. I could hear Paula’s sultry voice, the song taking on a slightly industrial feel… and I could fully hear Gary Holt play this insane lead. It’s been incredible to see this idea come to life. To release this at the same time this iconic band celebrates 60 years is a perfect way for me to thank them for an inspiring first show in 1980 and for all that they have contributed since.”

The married duo teased To Cross or To Burn’s 2025 arrival with the 2024 singles “In The Shadows” and “Spiderweb,” which were praised for their unique sound – described by Consequence as “trip-hop style” fused with “the dark/folk metal of Emma Ruth Rundle and Chelsea Wolfe,” while Revolver has described the pair as “spellbinding.”

Paula, who wrote the album’s nine-original songs, offers insight into the album:

“To Cross or To Burn has taken us down a darker, very different path than our first album. There’s a confidence in this body of work. An overall vibe of heaviness that was unexpected. Verses of hard truths now bound in acceptance. The soul-searching continues.”

To Cross or To Burn is available for pre-order now with the collection available digitally, on CD and on both white and limited-edition red vinyl: https://venamoris.lnk.to/cross.

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[Thanks to Monica at Speakeasy PR.]

Rewind Review: Windhand – Soma (2013)

I don’t know how I missed Windhand‘s Soma album until now. Shame on me because it’s another heavy, stunning part of their catalogue.

Garrett Morris‘ guitars on the first track, “Orchard,” sound like something is crawling out of the dirt while Dorthia Cottrell‘s vocals sound like they’re coming from a deep hole found under the floorboards of the cabin on the album cover as she contemplates death by gunshot – either hers or someone else’s.

Parker Chandler‘s bass crushes on “Woodbine,” a song about calling out to the devil out of desperation and the danger that comes with such a summoning. Morris’ guitar on “Feral Bones” is the sound of Rodan waking up from deep slumber inside a volcano. The song is about how time catches all of us sooner or later.

The acoustic “Evergreen” is a stunning showcase of Cottrell’s voice in a song about wishing a loved one could stay young, and alive, forever, but knowing that’s impossible. The massive “Cossack,” at over thirteen minutes long, has few lyrics, but no shortage of crushing riffs and spooky, heavy drumming from Ryan Wolfe. Morris’ guitar solo on it will stop you in your tracks.

Is that not enough doom for you? Well, the final track, “Boleskine,” is over a half-hour long. It stars with creepy wind sounds and simple acoustic guitar strumming, and then proceeds to come at you like the Blob or a Creeping Doom spell. You see and feel it coming, but you can’t stop it for about twelve minutes, when it drifts back into howling winds and lonely acoustic riffs. That’s just a fake-out, though, almost like a jump scare out of the shadows, because the massive riffs re-emerge from their sarcophagi and swarm you. It’s the kind of doom song that will overtake you.

The whole album will overtake you, but, as a doom fan, that’s what you wanted, right?

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Top 25 live shows of 2024: #’s 15 – 11

The top 15 live shows I saw in 2024 range from doom metal to post-punk. Read on!

#15: The Well – Stubb’s BBQ – Levitation Austin, November 03, 2024

The Well never disappoint. They opened this night of metal at Levitation Austin’s main stage and set a high bar right away. The mix of older material with upcoming stuff from (hopefully) a new record landing this year was top notch.

#14: The The – Salt Shed, Chicago, IL, October 25, 2024

Here’s a band I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to see live. Matt Johnson returned with a new The The album and then a world tour. It was his first time in the U.S. in over two decades. They played two sets: The first being The The’s new album, Ensoulment, in its entirety and the second being a “time traveler’s set” of classic material. Johnson still sounds great.

#13: A Place to Bury Strangers – Stubb’s BBQ – Levitation Austin, October 31, 2024

Here’s another band who never disappoint. It was my girlfriend, Holly’s, first time seeing APTBS. I told frontman Oliver Ackermann (dressed, like his bandmates, as a vampire for Halloween) before the show that I envied her innocence. Her review? “I need a neck adjustment after that.” I don’t think I can sum it up better.

#12: Jon Spencer – Stockroom East, South Bend, IN, July 11, 2024

Holy $#!+. Jon Spencer and the rhythm section of The Bobby Lees played a forty-minute drive from my house. This small venue almost couldn’t handle their energy. The small crowd at this show got a great gift from them.

#11: Gang of Four – Far Out Lounge – Levitation Austin, November 01, 2024

Here’s another band I wasn’t sure I’d get to see live. This great set by Gang of Four was one of the top highlights of 2024’s Levitation Austin Music Festival for me. Everyone in this crowd was hyped to see them, and Jon King smashing a microwave with an aluminum ball bat was gold.

My top ten shows of 2024 include some old favorites and one final (?) tour. Come back tomorrow for more!

Keep your mind open.

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Bonnie Trash announce first full-length album, “Mourning You,” and offer its first single – “Veil of Greed.”

Today Guelph, Ontario hell-raisers Bonnie Trash announce details of their new album, ‘Mourning You’, which is set for release on February 28th on Hand Drawn Dracula. Along with the announcement they have shared the first single and video from the album, entitled “Veil of Greed”.

‘Mourning You’ is, put bluntly, an album about death. Not death in the macabre, violent, or outrageous sense, but death as you or I might know it. A spectre lurking around the corner. Capricious, indiscriminate, and unexpected. Ordinary and all the more terrifying for it. Real. Fear in the eyes of a loved one about to die, and the fear in your eyes – staring back.

Bonnie Trash is the horrorgaze project of twin sisters Emmalia & Sarafina Bortolon-Vettor, wedding post-punk’s steely-eyed austerity to goth rock’s brooding grandeur.

‘Mourning You’ finds Bonnie Trash embracing a newfound sense of urgency. A lifelong project christened in 2017 with the release of ‘Ezzelini’s Dead’, the band’s debut EP which found the pair mining the Trevisan dialect and archaic Italian folklore of their heritage to grisly effect. Where their first full length, ‘Malocchio’ (2022), shrouded Bonnie Trash’s nightmares in dusky dreamlike reverb, ‘Mourning You’ is vivid and immediate. Emboldened by the addition of Emma Howarth-Withers on bass and Dana Bellamy on drums – whose thunderous rhythms sharpened 2024’s ‘My Love Remains the Same’ EP into a fine-edged blade – ‘Mourning You’ is less a post-mortem fantasia than a sudden, swift dagger to the heart. This is sorrow not as a lingering bruise, but a gushing wound.

Bonnie Trash unveil their new project with this first single “Veil of Greed”. Emmalia’s gripping and unyielding guitar riff with all the icy malice of Nine Inch Nails’ Pretty Hate Machine introduces the urgency of the uncomfortably ordinary horror story that unfurls across the record. The song’s gruesome imagery – feasting on hearts with rotten teeth – finds Sarafina worshipping at the altar of her agony. “I bow down before you and I know / You feed.”

“When you lose the one you love so dearly, it’s a cut that’s so deep, it rips your heart out of your chest. You try to continue on, but you suffer and you bleed” the twins comment. “Grief is like an open wound that will never fully heal. It can consume you if you let it. Sometimes, it’s best to let it feed, allowing the pain to exist with the beautiful memories you hold close to your heart.”

“Veil of Greed” video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQzTivht8mE
‘Mourning You’ album pre-order/pre-save links: https://ffm.to/mourningyou

Sarafina, the band’s singer and lyricist, has described the album as being about “losing someone you love. It’s about the horrors of grief, haunting you every day.” Inspired, largely, by the passing of Nonna Maria – who provided interstitial narration across the band’s early work – it’s these intimate details which render the songs on ‘Mourning You’ so devastating. The record explores love and grief as kindred spirits. Grief as love with nowhere to go. Love determined by the fear of its loss. A blood pact. A life for a life. The gnarled claw of remorse gripping you in twilight’s terror.

Though inspired by the shocking iconography of horrorshows, slasher flicks, and psychological thrillers, Bonnie Trash turns cinematic tropes on their head. Rather than fashioning nightmares into reality, the band paints reality as a nightmare, rife with pain, suffering, and gothic theatre. Bonnie Trash understands that everyday atrocities haunt the periphery of our lives. A black cloud looming on the edge of our vision. Curses abound. You can’t ward them off. You’d best make an unholy racket.

‘Mourning You’ is out February 28, 2025 on Hand Drawn Dracula. In mourning, all is lost.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe while you’re here.

[Thanks to Kate at Stereo Sanctity.]

Sleepbomb releases “Refuge / Resist,” latest single from upcoming album “The Sleeping Dead.”

“Refuge/Resist is like the film (Night of the Living Dead) itself.” – explains Clair Hamard. ‘Alternating long, uncertain pauses with both dramatic and physical tension. Just like the scene in the movie that presents characters at complete odds with each other building up a precarious shelter threatened by the zombies amassing outside, the harmonic construction of this track is constantly challenged by an imminent dissonant attack.’

With every moment of calmness, supported by repetitive drone-sounds, Sleepbomb deliver the symbiosis of etherial vocal harmonies and agressive riffing. While the absence of any real resolution at the end of the track heralds the future failure of the plan hatched by the characters, unable to cooperate.

According to bassist, Tim Gotch, “Refuse/Resist” reflects the dichotomy of the film “as a whole.” “It begins as a refuge for Barbara, who enters the seemingly deserted house while fleeing from the zombie. She quickly discovers that the house is less of a refuge than she thought, exacerbated by the abrupt arrival of Ben. Ben quickly proves himself to not be a threat as he dispatches multiple zombies.”

Subtitled Excerpts from their score for George Romero’s 1968 ‘Night of the Living Dead‘ and based on their full length score for the film, The Sleeping Dead is an epic serving of filmic doom. Starting with the drum parts fully synchronized with the cinematic imagery, during the recording process each track was pared down to the essential character of each scene from the most influential zombie film of them all. ‘Unlike ‘The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari’, we knew that the final product would not be a fully synchronized score due to rights issues and the large amount of dialogue in the film.’ states Gotch. ‘This meant that we were able to edit down some of the longer sections into a “song” format and really focus on the feel of the scenes for The Sleeping Dead record itself rather than retaining the full length of tracks just for timing requirements.’

Recorded, mixed and mastered at Earhammer Studios by Greg Wilkinson (High on Fire, Autopsy), The Sleeping Dead shows Sleepbomb in a heavy, focused mood.

Pre-order The Sleeping Dead coming out this January 24 via Koolarrow/Consouling Sounds here. Or on Bandcamp here.

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[Thanks to Dan as Discipline PR!]

Rewind Review: Windhand – self-titled (2012)

Richmond, Virgina’s Windhand released their self-titled full-length debut in 2012 and have become doom metal heavyweights since then.

You might think it’s an EP at first, since it only have five tracks, but the last two are each over ten minutes long. There are more heavy riffs and growling menace on this record than there are in a den of angry bears.

Starting with “Black Candles,” the double-whammy of guitarists Asechiah Bodgan and lead guitarist and producer Garrett Morris hits you out of the cemetery gate and Dorthia Cottrell‘s spooky vocals must have caused chills in 2012 because they still do now.

“Libusen” starts with the sound of a thunderstorm, and it’s peaceful at first, and then Nathan Hilbish‘s bass and Ryan Wolfe‘s drums hit like sledgehammers. Cottrell sounds like she’s singing from, or possibly toward, a portal to another dimension that Morris’ guitar solo has apparently opened.

“Heap Wolves,” the shortest song on the album at a little under five minutes, wastes no time in hitting hard and heavy for its run time. Cottrell’s vocals are often hard to decipher, but that’s often the point. They become another instrument, a chant, a spell, a hypnosis.

“Summon the Moon” starts off slow and menacing, like something awakening under a swamp. Hilbish’s bass is the low rumble of a yawning beast until it turns into a hungry roar. Cottrell’s hypnotic voice becomes one of ancient, seething rage while Wolfe uses big hits with simple cymbal hits to create a slightly unsettling effect.

You can help but crank “Winter Sun.” It’s perfect for putting on a suit of magic armor, casting a spell to commune with spirits, and digging an ancient book out of a collapsed tomb inhabited by a wraith. The fuzzy snarl throughout makes you feel ready for battle rather than dreading the dark forces plotting your demise.

It’s a powerful debut and Windhand has since taken the metal world by storm. I’ve been to multiple shows where they’re not playing and people are talking about them. This is a great place to start if you’re still new to them.

Keep your mind open.

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Levitation Austin 2024 – Day Four

We decided to end Levitation 2024 with a lot of metal.

My girlfriend slept and relaxed during the day, while I went to End of an Ear Records (where Drop Nineteens were doing a signing) and scored some fun CD compilations of everything from Italian late 1970s disco to classic British punk.

We were famished by late afternoon, and I realized that my girlfriend hadn’t yet experienced Stubb’s for their food, so it was an easy decision to go there. She fell in love with their Serrano cheese spinach.

I was surprised that the show that night, featuring Gran Moreno, The Well, Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol, Pentagram, and The Sword, didn’t sell out right away – especially since it included The Sword reunion set. Lo and behold, it did sell out before day four arrived and the crowd was massive.

There’s about another third of this crowd behind us in this photograph. The turnout was wild. I hadn’t been around that many metal fans since probably Psycho Las Vegas in 2020. The line to buy The Sword’s merch was over an hour long for some people, and people were dropping money like mad. Metal fans always bring cash to spend.

We missed the first part of Gran Moreno’s set, but what we heard was a lot of heavy Latino garage rock from the duo. Up next were local doom darlings The Well, who crushed it as always and teased their upcoming album with “Christmas Lights.” The night crept in during their set, which was appropriate for their material.

Up next were another Austin trio, Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol, or, as I saw them listed on a fan’s shirt, “Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Whatever the Fuck.” The mosh pit for their show of what I call “goofy metal” (I mean, they have a song called “Peanut Butter Snack Stix,” after all – which they played.) was insane. Their drummer is impressive, laying down thunderous stuff. They also teased new material coming soon.

Metal legends Pentagram showed they still have chops and commanded the stage with wizard-like power. The gray hair and beards only seemed to be lightning erupting from their bodies.

The crowd was at full capacity by the time The Sword hit the stage, and everyone was singing / yelling “Barael’s Blade” with them for the opener. “Cloak of Feathers” was a welcome addition, as was “The Hidden Masters.” Crowd surfers were abundant and everyone was going bonkers for most of their set.

It was a heroic return for them, as big as some of the epic tales they spin on their albums. “I didn’t know there were so many different kinds of metal,” my girlfriend said.

It was another fun year in Austin. The vibe was, as always, great, and the people were all lovely.

On Day Three, at the Hotel Vegas “Levitation Lounge,” I chatted with a father, Eric, and his son, Charlie from Minneapolis. Charlie had convinced Eric to come with him for the festival, and Eric was surprised to discover “This is all my music.” He was stunned at the sounds he was hearing, and loved how “You tell people you’re here for this festival, and they don’t know what you’re talking about. I love that. It’s like they don’t know it’s going on.”

Levitation still, somehow, feels like a secret even though it brings in some of the best bands in the world. “The level of musicianship here is amazing,” my girlfriend said after experiencing the festival for the first time.

It’s true. It’s always true.

See you next year, Austin.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Bonnie Trash – My Love Remains the Same EP

Bonnie Trash (Dana Bellamy – drums, Emmalia Bortolon-Vettor – guitar, Sarafina Bortolon-Vettor – vocals, and Emma Howarth-Withers – bass) are no strangers to heavy subjects. Their debut EP from 2017, Ezzelini’s Dead, told the story of a real-life cannibalistic tyrant. 2022’s Malocchio and 2023’s Hail, Hale! told horror tales often spoken to sisters Emmalia and Sarafina by their grandmother. Now, on their newest EP, My Love Remains the Same, they tackle themes of love and the loss of it.

Howarth-Withers solid bass groove locks in the opener, “Kisses Goodbye,” which has Sarafina Bortolon-Vettor walking away from a relationship she knows isn’t going to last but also is gut-wrenching to end. Her sister’s guitar fuzz reminds me of some Jesus and Mary Chain cuts with its deft flow between almost garage-pop and melt-your-face assault.

“What Have You Become” gets darker, thanks in large part to Bellamy’s heavier beats and lyrics like “Love is not enough to take the pain away.” and others that confront the agony and relentless questions your mind creates during deep grief.

The EP ends with a slick and menacing cover of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds‘ “Red Right Hand.” They up the metal growl in it and you can feel Sarafina Bortolon-Vettor practically casting a hex upon you as she sings it.

Bonnie Trash is working on a new full-length album due in 2025. Keep your eyes open for it. It might sneak up on you in the shadows.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Kate at Stereo Sanctity!]