Atriarch - Forever The End (2011)

"Atriarch is a living entity comprised of four parts, offering catharsis through sonic ritual where there is no god, there is no devil; there is an all encompassing force that connects all living things."

Hailing from the Pacific Northwestern United States, Atriarch is a mesmerizing doom metal force comprised of members from Graves at Sea, Trees, and Final Conflict. "Forever the End" is an impressive debut full-length encompassing haunting atmospheres and droning avalanches of ritualistic sludge.

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Worship

Last CD Before Doomsday (2004)

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Worship is a highly respected German funeral doom act that was founded by “Fucked Up Mad” Max Varnier from France and Daniel “The Doommonger” from Germany in the late 90’s. The Last CD Before Doomsday is a re-issue of the Last Tape Before Doomsday demo, which was released on cassette in 1999. The original tape contained four songs of minimalistic doom metal, driven by the tortured vocals of "Mad Max". In 2001, while their second album, Dooom, was in the process of being written, Max committed suicide and the band was then put to an end. The following year, they decided to reunite, and preparations were made for the finishing of the album, which was finally released in 2007. Dooom has been recognized as one of the most sorrowful, meaningful, and therefore most sought after funeral doom records of all time.

 Dooom (2007)

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Thorns of the Carrion - Gardens of Dead Winter

Country: USA

Record Label: Wild Rags

Total playing time: 53:40

Formed in 1992, Thorns Of The Carrion is an American death/doom band from Ohio who never seemed to have gained the recognition they deserve. The Gardens of Dead Winter was their first full-length and was originally self-released in 1994. It provides a great snapshot of glacial and sorrowful death/doom at one of it's earlier stages.

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Vastum - Carnal Law (2011)

Country: USA
Record Label: 20 Buck Spin
Total playing time: 33:45

Hailing from San Francisco, Vastum play an old-school, doom ridden style of death metal. They formed in 2009 and feature three members of the metallic crust band, Acephalix. Carnal Law is their only release thus far and is mandatory for any fan of punishing yet tasteful and creative death/doom.

"Conceptually ‘Carnal Law’ explores themes of sexuality and psychic disfiguration, not in the oft juvenile way associated with underground metal. Frustration, pain, pleasure, confusion, depravity, death, life and isolation; the lines are blurred. While a newer name to the death metal multiverse, Vastum sound every bit a twisted, seasoned band well-read in the genre’s strengths and weaknesses, and harness them at will toward their own Law."

Tracklist:

1. Primal Seduction
2. Re-member
3. Devoid
4. Umbra Interna

5. Carnal Law
6. Spirit Abused

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Mourner - s/t (2010)

Country: USA

Record Label: Paradigms Recordings

Total Playing Time: 39:55

 "Now this is one monolith of an album - total crushing down-tempo bleakness from Nashville, Tennessee. Mourner summon a haunting 40 minute soundtrack of down-tuned, glacially slow blackness, laced with witch-rasping vocal incantations, crashing percussion and an atmosphere of foreboding dread. Isolationist funeral doom has rarely sounded so claustophonic, epic, beautiful and harrowing all at the same time." -Paradigms

Tracklist:

1. The Death Posture (11:29)
2. Still I (15:06)
3. Still II (13:20)

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Ophis - Withered Shades (2010)

Country: Germany
Record Label: Solitude Productions
Total Playing Time: 01:04:21

Ophis have been active since 2001 and just released their second full-length, Withered Shades, last year. The riffing on this record brings upon a perfect balance of melody and crushing dominance. The songs are very well written and great musicianship is apparent throughout the album, especially during the upbeat death metal passages. The melodies here seem to create a sense of unsettling decrepitude, which nicely compliments the powerful and unrelenting heaviness. I found their logo to be a bit cheesy, but that in no way represents the immense sound that Ophis brings to the table.

Tracklist:

1. The Halls Of Sorrow
2. Suffering Is A Virtue
3. Earth Expired
4. Necrotic Reflection
5. Halo Of Worms

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Bloodiest - Descent (2011)

Country: USA
Record Label: Relapse
Total playing time: 38:46

Descent is the debut album from Chicago-based psychedelic doom metal ensemble, Bloodiest. Drawing indirect influences from bands such as Neurosis and Swans, Bloodiest create a stunningly powerful wall of sound that becomes trance-inducing and very unpredictable at times. This is definitely the most unique and memorable new release I've heard in quite some time.

Tracklist

1. Fallen
2. Col
3. Pastures
4. Dead Inside
5. Slave Rule
6. Obituary

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Anhedonist - The Drear (2010)

Location: Seattle, Washington, USA
Label: Self-released
Total Playing Time: 35:36

Anhedonist is a relatively new death/doom band from Seattle that churns out funeral heaviness characterized by a sense of mournful desperation. They recently played an excellent show in Oakland with Dispirit which led me to tracking down this demo. As the cassette version is sold out, the vinyl is still available through Parasitic Records. You can also check out their upcoming tour dates along with other information at the Anhedonist website.

Tracklist:

1. The Insatiable Hole (11:46)
2. Despond (10:38)
3. Ouranophobia (13:12)

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Lycus - Demo MMXI

Lycus is an active doom metal project that I take part in. This demo was recorded and mastered by Greg Wilkinson at Earhammer Studios in Oakland, CA. Cassettes have been released through Graceless Recordings. For information regarding Lycus shows and other updates, visit our web-site.

Tracklist:
1. Resonance in Aether (7:55)
2. Among the Ruins (8:02)

3. Aghast (9:07)

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Artwork by Bryan Proteau of San Francisco, CA.

Corrupted Discography

Anciano EP (1995)

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El Dios Queja 10" (1995)

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Nadie EP (1995)

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Originally released on CD by Third Culture (Japan).

Repressed on vinyl in 2008 by Throne Records.

Grief split 7" (1995)

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Noothgrush split CD (1997)

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Black Army Jacket split 7" (1997)
 
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Paso Inferior (1997)

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Paso inferior is the first full-length studio album by Corrupted.

The album was originally released by Corrupted's own label, Frigidity Discos.

The title is Spanish for "Underpass".

Enemy Soil split 7" (1997)

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Dios Injusto EP (1999)

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Scarver's Calling split 7" (1999)
 
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Phobia split 7" (1999)

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Llenandose de Gusanos (1999)

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Llenandose de gusanos is the second full-length studio album by Corrupted.

The title is Spanish for "Filling Oneself with Worms".

Machetazo split 7" (2000)

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 Meat Slave split 7" (2000)

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Sloth split 7" (2000)

 

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La Victima Es Tu Mismo EP (2001)

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Discordance Axis/Corrupted/324 (2001)

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Cripple Bastards split 7" (2002)

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Infaust split 7" (2002)

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Se Hace Por Los Suenos Asesinos (2004)

 

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Se Hace Por Los Suenos Asesinos is the 3rd full-length album by Corrupted. 

It was released on January 17, 2004 on vinyl limited to 1000 copies.

The title is Spanish for "It is done for assassin dreams".

El Mundo Frio (2005)

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El Mundo Frio is the fourth and latest full-length album by Corrupted.

The title is Spanish for 'The Cold World'.

Vasana EP (2007)

 

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 An Island Insane EP (2007)

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Pallbearer - 2010 Demo

Location:  Little Rock, Arkansas, USA

Record Label: Shadow Kingdom

Total playing time: 23:22

"What is really interesting here is the immense, suffocating gloom that Pallbearer wields in the light of their very melodic sound. Dual guitars weave rich harmonies that simply seem to suck the will to live. In the best possible way of course." -Lurker

1. The Legend
2. Devoid Of Redemption
3. Gloomy Sunday

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Mournful Congregation - The Monad of Creation

Country: Australia

Label: Weird Truth Productions
Release date: April 19th, 2005

Total playing time: 01:00:39

Although The Monad of Creation wasn't officially released until 2005, it consists of songs that were composed during the 1994-2003 era. It was their first "proper" full-length release and is widely acclaimed as one of the greatest funeral doom records of all time. The atmosphere is truly incredible with a perfect balance of darkness, austerity, heaviness, and melody.

 Tracklisting:

1. Mother - Water, The Great Sea Wept
2. As I Drown In Loveless Rain
3. When The Weeping Dawn Beheld Its Mortal Thirst
4. The Monad Of Creation  

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Dark Castle - Spirited Migration (2009)

This is the amazing debut album from Florida-based doom/sludge/psych duo, Dark Castle, released through At a Loss Recordings. The amount of power and intensity that Dark Castle deliver is quite unbelievable.

Tracklisting:

1. Awake In Sleep (6:51)
2. Into The Past (5:35)
3. Spirited Migration (1:46)
4. Growing Slow (4:31)
5. Weather The Storm (3:26)
6. Flight Beyond (4:14)
7. Grasping The Awe (4:12)
8. A Depth Returns (6:33)

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Monarch! - Speak of the Sea (2006)

 

Country: France

Record Label: Throne Records

Total playing time: 38:42

"Monarch! unleash a slow motion avalanche of impossibly glacial, blackened sludge and hypnotic feedback, each song a series of epic tarpit riffage stretched out eternally over lumbering drums and the cavernous rumble of speaker cabinets. Over these yawning expanses of black void appears the demonic, throat-shredding shrieks and ghostly singing of Emilie, whose petite appearance belies one of the harshest throats in the underground Doom spectrum. Beyond heavy."

1. We Are The Music Makers
2. Speak Of The Devil, Speak Of The Sea

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Mindrot - 1990 Demo

"Back in the summer of 1989, four gloomy souls got together to create a sound that forever change the face of the Southern California underground music scene. For a year straight the members of Mindrot holed themselves up in a studio in Westminster, CA and honed their musical craft. Then in the June of 1990 they played their first ever show in a living room in Huntington Beach, CA with local crust-masters Glycine Max. The rest as they say was history. 

Mindrot combined the heaviness of doom-metal, the gloominess of goth, and the political awareness of punk to create something at the time which was not being done"

1989-1992 line-up:

• Adrian Leroux- vocals
• Matt Fisher- bass (Confrontation)
• Dan Kaufman- guitar (Dystopia)
• Matt Parrillo- guitar (Dystopia)
• Al Higdon- drums

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Ahab - The Call of the Wretched Sea (2006)

Ahab, often described as "Nautical funeral doom", will leave you stranded in the oceanic abyss. "The Call Of the Wretched Sea" is a bleak masterwork that is mandatory for anyone remotely into the genre of doom metal.

1. Below the Sun
2. The Pacific
3. Old Thunder
4. Of the Monstrous Pictures of Whales
5. The Sermon
6. The Hunt
7. Ahab's Oath

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