ALBUM REVIEW: Order of the Owl - “We Are Here To Collect Our Crown”

By: Hunter Young

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 14/10/2016

Label: Domestic Genocide

“We Are Here To Collect Our Crown” DD//LP Track listing:

1). Brought Below

2). Wolves of True Diamond Hate

3). Hell Rider

4). Wood Valley

5). Resurrection

6). Golden Dawn

The Review:

Fans of doom, stoner, and desert rock, ululate in delight! Order of the Owl have dropped a new slab of metallic glory into our laps, titled “We Are Here to Collect Our Crown”, and it's pretty damn interesting! Mixing doom and stoner genres into what would become dark desert rock/metal, we have so many genres so you can't call me wrong, Order of the Owl freshen up the clone sounds with an album full of groove, fuzz, and acousticness. Sit back and let the purple acid hit as the stars unfold above...

The Atlanta stalwarts like to keep their grooves simple and uncluttered, offering a sound that has been done a couple times but doesn't offend the ear at all. It's close to a traditional doom, but really bleeds a Desert vibe, owing to the feel of the rhythm strumming and vibe (“Brought Below”). And, weirdly enough, there's a dbeat (almost textbook) streak through the track “Hell Ride”, harkening to a wide reservoir of influences that these peeps may have hiding. And to broach the acoustic remark, they threw in “Golden Dawn” to just confuse the hell out of you, but more on that at the end. With styles really ranging many different places, from trad doom to drone, desert rock to crusted punk/dbeat, there's quite a bit to be found in this record.

Now, not all was rose tinted lenses with this album, with the way they kind of jump around with their sound and styles, many fans may have a hard time digesting this one and be turned off by the lack of consistency. There's quite a bit for a listener to like, but it may be a small part or just a single song, and that's perfectly fine. The whole album is a fun trip to many different places, and one worth taking to see the sights; that being said, “Golden Dawn” is my least favourite cut, simply because the song, in my honest opinion, isn't well done., It's not overly pleasing to my ear and doesn't sound well articulated or performed, and just isn't my thing.

All the whole check out Order of the Owl yourself, and see where the journey takes you. You might be surprised what you find.

“We Are Here To Collect Our Crown” is available on vinyl here and digitally here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

TRACK PREMIERE: Order of the Owl take a blessed "Hell Ride"

Unbroken by way of pure unrelenting tone, Order of the Owl are no strangers to pushing the boundaries of their Atlanta roots. In the years since the debut album, “In the Noon of the After Day”, they have worked to push themselves into more than one genre of talent. The trio had replaced drummer Corey Pallon, with Demonaut basher Dwayne Jones, along with Casey Yarbourough on guitars and Brent Anderson crooning his demonic vocals and bass.

Their new album, “We Have Come to Collect our Crown” opens the listener to an expanse of new atmospheric layered psychedelic brutality. Engineered by Josh Lamar, in their hometown of Atlanta, Order of the Owl have stayed true to their influences and cross into doom grooves and sludge laden riffs. The album also features Juan Montoya of Killer Be Killed on Guitar solos on “Resurrection”, “Wood Valley”, and “Golden Dawn”.

The first single, “Hell Ride”, which we are exclusively streaming below exudes a swaying groove that lurches back and forth like a pure Cocaine Super Demon. The unrelenting drums of Dwayne Jones, is a driving force laying the foundation of the song, while the shredding of Casey Yarbourough opens the gates across the river Styx. This new album has an edge that crests on their journey atop the mountain to take their crowns, as they have surely earned them with this album. Check out this mammoth track below and the album is available to preorder here

Band info: facebook

Churchburn & Opium Lord - "Churchburn/Opium Lord" Split (Review)

By: Chris Bull

Album Type: Split 7inch
Date Released: 25/05/2016
Label: FHED |
Domestic Genocide Records

“Churchburn/Opium Lord” Split listing

A). Churchburn – “Before The Inferno”

B). Opium Lord – “Control”

The Review:

Like a swift punch to the throat, this split by Pawtucket, Rhode Island crushers Churchburn and Midlands filth mongers Opium Lord is both unexpected and completely disabling. Released in Europe through the fantastic F H E D and on the other side of the Atlantic by DG Records, this release packs enough of a wallop to take down a herd of elephants.

Churchburn take Side A with their song 'Before The Inferno' which starts with a dark, distant melody which melts into the acrid swamp brought in by the crushing malevolent riffs, the guitars crunchy, warm and abrasive in equal measure. There's not much in the way of alteration, Churchburn instead choosing to relentlessly pummel you.

Opium Lord's contribution 'Control' has more of an upbeat drum beat (if you can call it that) than some of their previous offerings; still maintaining that 'final hour of a 48 hour crack binge' vibe they've always had; the dissonant, disharmonies of the lead guitars crawl into the back of your head while the bass paces back and forth, grinding teeth and flailing arms. Vocals from Nathan Coyle are at their acid spitting best, barking like an overdosing terrier crying out for help. A devastating spilt from 2 hugely underrated bands.

This release is available here (USA) and here (UK & Europe)

Band info: facebook /CHURCHBURN || facebook/opiumlord

The Sludgelord News: MAESTUS: Blackened Doom Collective To Release Debut Full-Length Next Week; New Hymn Streaming At Cvlt Nation + Preorders Available

Pacific Northwestern blackened doom unit, MAESTUS, will unleash their debut full-length, Voir Dire,next week via a joint venture between Domestic Genocide Records and Glossolalia Records. Comprised of Stephen Parker (Arkhum) and Jarrod Hyam (Sophos), with Kenneth Parker (Grst) and Cordell Cline (Dimensionless) recently enlisted to fulfill rhythm duties, Voir Dire was engineered and mixed during the Summer months of 2014 at Parker's own The Wilderness studio and delivers seventy-four minutes of heart-blistering grimness, concluding with a four-part epic, 'Opaque Shadows In Framed Stillness,' the duration of which makes up nearly half the record's length. Mastered by Agalloch's Jason Walton at Earth In Sound in October 2014, Voir Dire integrates black metal, doom and ambient, resulting in a caustic yet lush confessional. 

The dread-bringers at Cvlt Nation are pleased to offer up a sample helping of Voir Dire by way of second movement, "Weeping Granite," remarking, "This blackened doom horde from Eugene, Oregon, will crush your skull with their massive riffs like a mammoth block of slow-moving granite that engulfs your senses millimeter by millimeter. Their music is a blend of black metal, doom and ambient, allowing the listener to drift into peaceful fantasy before they are flattened to a bloody pulp."

Let the flattening commence HERE.

Voir Dire Track Listing:
1. Shrouded by Peaks, Valleys Speak
2. Weeping Granite
3. Tears of Sky
4. Algid Lungs
Opaque Shadows In Framed Stillness:
5. I: Overcast Fields Ridden With Dew
6. II: Specie Æternitas
7. III: Water Sifting Through Iceladen Veins
7  V: Per Æternitas

MAESTUS will bring their solemn odes to the stage this Friday for a special record release show at Wandering Goat in Eugene, Oregon with additional live exhibits to be announced in the coming weeks.

MAESTUS:

2/27/2015 Wandering Goat - Eugene, OR Record Release Show w/ Facing Extinction, Dark Confidant, Black Woofer [info]

Voir Dire follows the release of the band's 2013-issued Scarlet Lakes EP, which A Kvlt Of Personality commended for capturing, "nature in all his horrific beauty.... uncomfortable ...bipolar and dissonant, but often beautiful."  

Preorders for Voir Dire can be placed at THIS LOCATION or THIS LOCATION.

Source: Earsplit PR

http://www.facebook.com/maestusdoom 

http://www.twitter.com/maestusdoom 

http://www.glossolaliarecords.bandcamp.com 

http://www.domesticgenociderecords.com

Ommadon - V (Album Review)

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 4/8/2014

Label: Burning World, 

Domestic Genocide, 

Dry Cough Records

‘V’ DD/LP, track listing:

1). V1 47:15

2). V2 39:24

Bio:

Ommadon record heavy doom by ourselves in the forest in the highlands of Scotland - all live, no overdubs, no bullshit, just pure doom. Split across 4 sides of vinyl, the double LP was mastered by Billy Anderson (Sleep, Eyehategod, High on Fire, etc).

V will be released as a 180gram double-vinyl (gatefold) on August 4th but is available for pre-order now from Dry Cough Records (UK), Burning World Records (Netherlands), and Domestic Genocide Records (USA)

The Band:

David Tobin | Guitar

Ewan Mackenzie | Drums, keyboards

Review:

Ommadon’s ‘V’ is a massive album in just about any way that you might want to measure an album. Sonically, it’s gargantuan and weighing in at an hour and twenty six minutes, it’s also a colossal time investment. The obvious question would be: is it worth it? I would have to imagine that the range of experiences that people will have with this album are going be all over the spectrum. I could envision someone being infuriated by the length of an album with such a narrow direction. I could also see someone enjoying the challenge of trying to sync themselves with the seemingly structureless nature of the album. It’s easy to get lost in an album like this unless you prepare yourself for what you’re getting into.

The omnipresent elements of ‘V’ are always the same: crashing downbeats, heavy chords sustained for long periods of time and woozy guitar sliding occasionally found in the interim. There are some moments of respite; most notably in the second half of “Side B” leading into the opening third of “Side C”. Guitar drone and noise take center stage before coming back to the deliberate bludgeoning characterised during the album’s earlier stages. Because of its length, there might be an inclination to call ‘V’ epic, but I feel like that would be a bit misleading. Rather than taking you on some vast musical journey, Ommadon seems content to stay in one place and crack your ribs with a sledge hammer over and over again. I don’t mean that as an insult, either. They’re dealing in a very confined musical space, and yet they’ve gotten so much out of it. It’s really pretty remarkable in that way.

In a sense, Ommadon have released one of the least commercial albums I’ve ever heard. There aren't any drum beats sustained for any real length of time until you get into the second half of Side C, so for the most part there isn't any groove to get into. Even when the more traditional drumbeats do show up; they usually just collapse into to a crawl when they started out walking. This album is perfectly happy giving you a series of aural stab wounds for the majority of ninety minutes.  It’s too repetitive to just be doom and it’s way too jarring to be drone. There are no vocals or lyrics communicating a message for you to hold on to or to take with you. You’re there to take its beating, and that is it. I know it really sounds like I’m writing a negative review; but I’m not.

If you want some reference points based on other albums, I can give you a couple. Imagine an album where the overall production sounds like an updated version of Thorr’s Hammer’s ‘Dommedagsnatt’, but was musically more like a completely derailed ‘Rampton’ from Teeth of the Lions Rule the Divine. It’s like that, except there are likely hundreds more downbeats on this album. I feel like I need to reiterate that I actually love this album. I love this album because it’s so preposterously barbaric and for such an extended period of time and it’s beyond excessive. It’s an absolute endurance test, and by the end of it I was not the same as I’d come into it. There aren't a lot of albums you can say that about.

Words by: Daniel Jackson

Pre-Order or buy the LP the links below.  Digital copy if available for free here

Burning World: burningworldrecords.com/item/v-double-lp

Dry Cough: www.facebook.com/DryCoughRecords?fref=ts

Domestic Genocide: www.domesticgenociderecords.com

For more information:

http://ommadon.bandcamp.com/

http://ommadon.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ommadon/122816124443493?ref_type=bookmark

Laurasia Awaits Us - Apathy Remains Victorious

Album Type : Full Length

Date Released : 23/04/2013

Label : Domestic Genocide Records

Apathy Remains Victorious, album track listing :

1). Stillborn Motivation 10:25

2). When This is Over 05:14
3). Seclusion 03:14
4). Forget Everything 10:57
5).  Nothing Left To Accomplish 11:14
6). Passage  2:20

 

Bio :

A studio project based in Helsinki, LAURASIA AWAITS US’ roots trace back to its earliest experimentations in 2009. Following an assortment of lineup shifts, genre exploration, meditation and a long period of dormancy, only two members remain: founders Lauri Santeri Lohi and Joona Laine. A solid composing and recording process took shape in the Summer of 2012 resulting in their latest full-length, Apathy Remains Victorious. Inspired mostly by life, death and beyond, the lamenting hymns that make up Apathy Remains Victorious are driven forward by the truest of human emotions making for six lush, exploratory soundscapes that are at once somber and sinister. Apathy Remains Victorious will be released via Domestic Genocide Records on April 23, 2013

The Band :

Lauri Santeri Lohi | vocals, lyrics, composition
Joona Laine | programming, guitars, bass, composition

Review :

Sometimes it’s good to get away from what you’re used to.  It can surprise you, when you find something so unlike what you’re used to, yet it still stimulates your senses.  Here’s where Helsinki’s Laurasia Awaits Us comes in: a doom-riddled outfit of the blackest proportions, with some prog elements and dark inspirations to their writing materials.  If darkness is what you desire, let Laurasia Awaits Us and their album ‘Apathy Remains Victorious’ be your hosts. 

On first glance, this album seems more like an EP.  I mean: six songs?  Is that all?  Look again: three of those six tracks are over TEN MINUTES LONG EACH.  And yes, those tracks are bleak, dark and doomier than a doomsayer spouting doom on Doomsday.  Album opener ‘Stillborn Motivation’ is an exploration in the depths of the human psyche, finding torment, sadness and self-loathing on its expedition.  And boy, does the music convey that heart of darkness: fuzzy guitars sound like tolling, drowning bells, and Lauri Santeri Lohi’s strangulated vocals seem to beg the listener to help release him from his sorrow.  As he screams ‘this pain will last a lifetime!’ the rains fall down and a lightning guitar riff flashes upon our sonic skies.  Bad weather brings forth remarkable music, it seems. 

Nihilism and depression flow through the album like a sinister blood, pumped by a heart filled with the angriest despair.  Even the shortest song – closer ‘Passage’ – is a demon of aural oddness, at once claustrophobic and yet, somehow, startlingly exposed.  It’s like being dumped in a snow-strewn forest, with no idea where you are, and no clue how to get home.  It’s just amazing how this two-piece has managed such an evocative song using such minimal musical arrangements: they’ve made darkness through light.  Incredible. 

My personal pick of this half-dozen doom monoliths would have to be ‘Forget Everything’.  It’s one of the epics on the album, clocking in at nearly eleven minutes, and it snaps from experimental soundscapes to snarling, fuzz-filled heaviness, almost like a guard dog that has slipped its leash.  Just pray that you’re not that beast’s target, that’s all I’m saying. 

If I had to define Laurasia Awaits Us’s sound, it would be Joy Division with Friedriche Nietzsche as the frontman, with Trent Reznor conducting proceedings.  But this band is so hard to categorise: instead, I merely urge you to seek them out for yourself and close the world off for its 40 minutes of running time.  It’s a journey of pain, internal conflict and strife: and it’s one every single one of us has taken.  This album is here to let you know that others know how you feel, and that ‘Apathy Remains Victorious’ is your companion through the hard times.  With Laurasia Awaits Us at your side, feel better when you’re feeling bad. 

Words by : Chris Markwell

You can buy it here
 

 

For more information :

 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Laurasia-Awaits-Us/145444735655631
http://laurasiaawaitsus.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/domestic.genocide.records
http://soundcloud.com/domestic-genocide-records
http://www.reverbnation.com/label/domesticgenocide
http://www.youtube.com/user/domesticgenocide
http://domesticgenocide.bandcamp.com