“Sickness In” – Trees | Mind-Obliterating Drone Metal from the Pacific Northwest

September 21, 2022September 21, 2022 ~ //Ø// ~ Leave a comment

The third offering of Portland’s Trees, “Sickness In” is a sonic nightmare of titanic proportions. This two-track monster opens with sinister groans awash in shrieking feedback and evolves slowly into a hellish maelstrom of megalithic drone metal heavy enough to knock planets out of orbit. While there isn’t a lot of excitement or bombast, that … Continue reading “Sickness In” – Trees | Mind-Obliterating Drone Metal from the Pacific Northwest

“Abominion” – Abstracter | Crushing Nihilistic Misery

February 22, 2022September 22, 2022 ~ //Ø//

When I was about thirteen years old, I crashed a jet ski at full speed and was jettisoned into the air. I flew hard and fast, and my last thought before crashing into the water was simply “Shit” and then everything went dark as I plunged into the cold depths below. When I first heard … Continue reading “Abominion” – Abstracter | Crushing Nihilistic Misery

“Festivals of Atonement” – Nile | A Review in Retrospect

October 31, 2021September 22, 2022 ~ //Ø//

Nile is likely one of the foremost names in technical death metal: Long time listeners and genre adherents are apt to think of the band’s groundbreaking full-length debut “Amongst the Catacombs of the Nephren-Ka” and the ever-popular “In Their Darkened Shrines” (both of which were named in Decibel Magazine’s “Top 100 Death Metal Albums of … Continue reading “Festivals of Atonement” – Nile | A Review in Retrospect

“Sovereignless Souls” – Nameless King

October 21, 2021October 21, 2021 ~ //Ø//

Dungeon Synth albums tend to either hit their mark or run far astray of it; sometimes it works, others it drops like a heavy stone cast into the bottom of a well, dying with an audible plunk! before being forgotten utterly. There are innumerable practitioners of dungeon synth, but in a burgeoning genre of shameless … Continue reading “Sovereignless Souls” – Nameless King

“Master of Dungeons” – Undead Magic User

December 13, 2020December 15, 2020 ~ //Ø//

As a longtime fan and player of tabletop games of every sort I’ve always found it helpful to have music selected for writing material for games, whatever the setting, especially those that are bleak or horror oriented, in which case, Undead Magic User’s “Master of Dungeons” has satisfied my profane desires. The subtle charms of … Continue reading “Master of Dungeons” – Undead Magic User

Towers of Rust: Top Five Albums for Halloween

October 31, 2020December 15, 2020 ~ //Ø//

Today is Halloween, and there’s no better way to celebrate than with some top-notch music, so here are my top five albums for All Hallow’s Eve. 5: “Under a Funeral Moon” - Darkthrone Darkthrone’s “Under a Funeral Moon” was a particularly special album that expertly captured the raw, monochromatic aesthetic of Norwegian black metal in … Continue reading Towers of Rust: Top Five Albums for Halloween

“Stoner Rock” – Bong

October 27, 2020December 15, 2020 ~ //Ø//

While Stoner Rock was not my first encounter with Bong, it was definitely the most climactic. Comprised of but two tracks clocking in at over thirty minutes each, this was an incredibly dynamic and nuanced release. Every time I listen to it I hear something I missed previously. Bong is heavy, but not in a … Continue reading “Stoner Rock” – Bong

“Quest II: The Dire Pass, That Few Have Known as Sarnath” – Dungeons of Irithyll

September 6, 2020December 15, 2020 ~ //Ø//

Four years after the release of “A Journey Through the Dark”, Dungeons of Irithyll has embarked upon yet another jarring and dangerous raid of dungeons deep, this time carrying listeners to a fresh setting which emulates “a small DLC area that could potentially be found within the Dark Souls universe” called “The Dire Pass, That … Continue reading “Quest II: The Dire Pass, That Few Have Known as Sarnath” – Dungeons of Irithyll

“Terminal Aggressor II” -Dragged Into Sunlight

March 18, 2020December 15, 2020 ~ //Ø//

I spent years wondering when Dragged Into Sunlight would release anything after Negative Volume. For a time, it seemed to me that the band had gone dormant, apart from live performances, but I never stopped wondering what would come next and when that day would come. My fondness for the original 2006 Terminal Aggressor demo … Continue reading “Terminal Aggressor II” -Dragged Into Sunlight