FROM THE SWAMPS

Anhedonist is a now defunct death/doom band from Seattle. One of their members has gone on to be the bassist of up and coming band, Mortiferum . If you are currently on a Spectral Voice and diSEMBOWELMENT binge as I am, this band is certainly for you. Netherwards is their only album :'( Very funeral-y without any overindulgence or melodrama, so it can just barely be referred to as such. Mostly just heavy, slow, and oriented toward the void... Netherwards

Plague of Carcosa is a doom metal band from Chicago, IL that just released a single called Rats In The Walls. Listening to it is like watching a stick of incense slowly burn, smoke floating to the ceiling in tight curls, inundating a cathedral with the smell of marijuana. The riffs do NOT disappoint, and if you are hungry for Bongripper-tier doom, don't hesitate to download this shit. After all, it was mastered by one of the guitarists of Bongripper, Dennis. Very contemplative instrumental doom that milks the sweetest of their riffs without losing any heaviness or grit. For fans of Beast In The Field, Fister, and Conan. Download it for free on their bandcamp! Plague of Carcosa

Some super nihilistic sludge/doom for wintertime listening. FFO Grief, Noothgrush, Primitive Man Hymns of Slumber

The only recording from Münn, of Woodsmoke Records. Woodsmoke, run by Paul Riedhl, the guitarist/vocalist of Blood Incantation , is known for being on the cutting edge of crushing, nihilistic doom and black metal, fostering bands such as Hell , Ancestortooth , and Leech . Münn is no exception. If you want doom in the same vein as Wormphlegm , this band is for you. Selbstmordwald Rehearsal 2/27/08

Wormphlegm was a Finnish doom band that was active for a mere six years, producing one EP and LP, after which deciding to call it quits. This music is crushing, dark, misanthropic, demented, and nihilistic--all important traits in making some good extreme  doom. Along with the heavy drone dirges they create, they are known for rumors about them engaging in self-harm to step up the insanity of their vocals. And trust me, the rumors totally make sense. Their vocals sound so genuinely twisted and deranged, that at points the music gets pretty...disturbing. If you're into this kind of thing,  Tyranny  is the band that came out of Wormphlegm's dissolution. Also really good, just not as crazy, more like traditional funeral doom. Track Listing: 1. Epejumalat Monet Tesse Muinen Palvenltin Lauran ja Lesse 2. Tomb Of The Ancient King 3. Return Of The Ice Age And The Tortyrant Tomb Of The Ancient King

Snail is a psychedelic grunge/stoner metal band from Seattle and this is their first album. Though it may not sound like it, this is some very original stuff, and can give you some hardcore jollies the whole way through. I mean, why else would I feel compelled to post this thing? Super stoned out and groovy, I'm lovin' it. If you dig this for sure check out Sons Of Otis and Fudge Tunnel . Track Listing: 1. Deep See Fishin' 2. Confessions 3. Sprain 4. O.D. 5. Chewing Aspirin* 6. Hard Lung 7. Full-Acid 8. Intuition 9. Lycanthrope 10. Your Song 11. R= Theta [Instrumental] Snail

Rippikoulu is a Finnish death-doom band that came out with two demos in the '90s, only to disappear with near-legendary status for twenty years after their guitarist passed away. In 2014, they got back together and released an EP that's pretty universally regarded as weaker than this demo. Musta Seremonia  is what earned them their place among the best of the best death-doom bands, especially because 1993 was around the time that the genre began to form, with  Anathema ,  Asphyx , and  My Dying Bride  defining it. If you're normally not one for demos because of the sound quality, don't fret. It really doesn't sound much like a demo, it's mixed and recorded surprisingly well--not amazing or anything, but not your typical "demo-quality." Somehow I have neglected to mention by now that the reason why  this thing is so legendary is how MASSIVE it is. Chugging riffs accompanied by thundering drums and brutal vocals. Also, apparently they are the fi...

Nadja is a music project between husband and wife, Aidan Baker and Leah Buckareff, that mixes elements of dark ambient, doom metal, drone, and shoegaze. They've put out a ton of stuff, and have pretty much stayed active since Nadja started as a solo project by Baker in 2003. Once Buckareff joined the project, their sound definitely changed, and not necessarily for the worse. It just depends on one's own personal preference, if you like shoegaze-type stuff better, their later stuff as a duo is definitely for you. If you want more of a metal sound, stick to their earlier albums . I chose to post this because A) it's one of my favorite albums, B) for some reason, ever since Touched  was reworked in 2007 by Nadja as a duo, the original 2003 version of the album is kind of hard to find online, and C) since I fell in love with Nadja via the 2003 version of this album by finding a copy of the CD in my local library a long time ago, I thought it deserves more exposure, especia...

Warhorse was a stoner/doom band from Massachusetts that broke up only a few years after their first studio album, As Heaven Turns To Ash , came out. And what a damn shame it is that they did! The whole album is heavy and slow as fuck. Pretty much exactly what you would expect from a band signed to  Southern Lord  early on in the label's career. Nothing too original or shocking, but if you love stoner metal, this will be perfect for you. Seriously some of the fattest riffs I have ever heard. If you've ever seen the meme "[slow heavy metal music playing]," " Doom's Bride " is the perfect song to imagine while looking at those silly pictures. Track Listing: 1. Dusk 2. Doom's Bride 3. Black Acid Prophecy 4. Amber Vial 5. Every Flower Dies No Matter The Thorns (Wither) 6. Lysergic Communion 7. Dawn 8. Scrape 9. ...And The Angels Begin To Weep... As Heaven Turns To Ash

Thorr's Hammer was a project of future Burning Witch/Goatsnake/Sunn O))) members Stephen O'Malley and Greg Anderson in collaboration with Runhild Gammelsaeter, a Norweigan foreign exchange student, in 1994-1995. They released one demo and one EP, and upon hearing their music it is crystal clear as to why O'Malley and Anderson have enjoyed so much success in the doom scene. Dommedagsnatt  was their only EP, and it is very unique in comparison to other doom bands, especially at the time. The instrumentation sounds very much like that of Burning Witch, with droning, heavy guitars and sluggish tempos, but what makes this EP special is the vocals. It is difficult to believe that Gammelsaeter, a woman, produced the sounds that are recorded on this record--some of the gnarliest, lowest death growls I have ever heard. Along with these, there are some sections of pure, contemplative clean vocals that are a nice complement. Give it a shot, and if you like the vocals, be s...

Corrupted is a Japanese sludge/doom band that incorporates dark ambient, acoustic, and spoken word elements into their music. Their typical sound is similar to that of  Grief  or  Whitehorse , with extremely downtuned guitars, guttural growls, and glacier-paced tempos. The band has many interesting idiosyncracies that I find tasteful, and not overly gimmicky: most of their album titles, song titles, and lyrics are in Spanish, with the occasional inclusion of Japanese or English; they refuse to do interviews or take promotional photos of any kind, the only photos of the band that exist source from fans who took them at live shows; they adhere to an aesthetic and methodology similar to bands in the powerviolence genre, by releasing many split 7" records and choosing bleak, black-and-white photos of landscapes or atrocities for their album covers; and they have written a good amount of songs for their studio albums that exceed 40 minutes. Compared to most doom band...

Bong is a stoner metal/drone band from the U.K. that takes cues directly from Sleep's Dopesmoker . If you enjoy  Dopesmoker  and other forms of drone doom such as Sunn O)), Earth, and Boris, I would highly recommend Bong, especially this album (it has a cover of Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun!). However, If you are looking for something with a lot of activity, variety of riffs, tempo changes, short song-lengths, etc. this album and artist is not for you. One kind of has to listen to this album with a different approach than your average metal. Track Listing: 1. Stone Mountain 2. Bethmoora 3. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun Bethmoora