Into The Autumn Shade

O' forgotten classic of Death infused Doom, O' shrouded monument of 90s heavy, O' benighted pillar of sorrowful pummel.

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In Absentia Christi

Monumentum may be the best known purveyors of this type of maudlin Italian gothic doom, along with Canaan. In Absentia Christi is Monumentum's debut. It's brilliantly strange, melodramatic, and extremely Italian.

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Weeping

Here's the first release, Weeping, from Mournful Congregation, Australia's long standing purveyors of crushingly slow and despondent doooooom. These dour down underlings have stayed true to their formula for almost twenty years. This demo isn't terribly unlike the fantastic album, Book of Kings they released just last November. I can respect this determination and dedication to doing what they do; play cripplingly depressing funeral doom with beautiful melodic overtones. I have loved every bit of music these gallant men have issued forth. This is sitting home alone, drunk on your floor ruminating on all your failures and shortcomings kind of doom. Listen at your own risk.

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Heavy Drunken Doom

Suppose Danzig was drunk and fronted an Italian Doom band.

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Bell Witch

So the top ten lists are rolling in, and some of you may have noticed an obscure CDR demo being mentioned, a demo by a little known Seattle doom band called Bell Witch. The gracious dudes from the band were kind enough to send me a copy. Admittedly I slept on it a bit, for this I am foolish. Bell Witch have ex-members of Samothrace, so right there I should have clamored to listen. This isn't terribly unlike Samothrace, perhaps a bit more menacing and less delicate in parts than the former band. Bell Witch also can boast some pretty compelling vocal work on this release. A truly special band that will go on to do great things. Someone give them money to make an album. This is gorgeous.

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Wijlen Wij

Cosmic Hearse supporter and friend, Dirk "Dino" Noben is a stand up motherfucker, and hands down my favorite Belgian on the planet (my apologies to Jean-Claude Van Damme and Plastic Bertrand). Over the years Dirk has turned me on to more than a few cool bands (and beers) from his country. The lastest was this masterpiece that so perfectly sated my recent thirst for devastatingly fucked up Funeral Dooooooooooooom. Wijlen Wij (I have no idea how it is pronounced) unleashed this hulking shoggoth of an album in 2007. Spiritually and sonically akin to Esoteric's colossal Epistemological Despondency. My sincerest thanks go out to Dirk and Wijlen Wij for sharing this behemoth.

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Lycus

The Bay Area scene is interesting. It seems that every so often a whole crop of great new bands spring up but then a year later, maybe only one or two still exist. Lately we have been lucky enough to see the formation of such bands as Owl, Hell Ship, Badr Vogu, Pale Chalice, Lady of the Lake, Pins of Light, and one of my personal favorites, Lycus from Oakland. Lycus plays expansive doom with melodic flourishes. There is enough quality material to make this a regular listen. I imagine that Lycus, if they managed to stick it out, could potentially make an album that dominates and eclipses all other bands doing this sort of doom. Watch for them. And you can secure a copy of this tape here.

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Stormcrowfleet

Skepticism, like Esoteric, formed in the early '90s with the intent of creating some of the most deconstructed dooooom the world has ever heard. After and EP and a demo, the band oozed forth this massive shoggoth of sonic bludgeon titled Stormcrowfleet. While the focus seems to be on mammoth tones and unfathomably slow tempos, there is a certain despondency to the material that works incredibly well. The production is sepulchral, conjuring images of vast landscapes, unfathomable dread, and insurmountable sadness. Skepticism are often lauded as the originators of what is called "Funeral Doom" and for good reason, Stormcrowfleet is a monument carved in stone that will survive the ages, forever reminding us just how fucked up things can be. Absolutely mandatory.

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Despondency

Esoteric's lumbering death dooooom starts here with their first full length from 1993 called Epistemological Despondency. And while most of the music lurches and pummels with a low end trudge, Esoteric saw fit to add a bit of strange effects and the occasional shift in tempo to keep this massive release from growing stale or repetitive. Such an odd introduction and mission statement, but thoroughly effective. Should be hailed as monument of avant dark, but will probably remain an obscure relic to be treasured by an elite few.

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Four Burials

Some of the most crippling doom acts of recent joined forces in 2008 for a four-way pout off called Four Burials. The funeral procession begins with Otesanek from Philadelphia. Their contribution, "Seven Are They," plods like a hulking, lumbering pachydoom, but unfortunately it gets a bit tiring. Loss follow up with a gorgeous track called "Death March Toward My Ruin." Loss is a band who have never let me down, this one is no exception, just devastating. Spain's Orthodox is another band whose body of work has captivated me. Their druggy hypnotic "Heritage" stretches over eighteen minutes of delicate Krautrock doom. The whole service comes to a despondent close with the Australian band Mournful Congregation and their song "Left Unspoken" a cavernous lament that towers and then sinks into drunken despair. Four Burials is a massive testimonial from some of the finest and most heartfelt doom bands of the last five years. So highly recommended it isn't even funny.

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Gates of Slumber

Gates of Slumber may be the coolest band on Earth and I am going to tell you why: First off, look at them. They clearly aren't getting paid, aren't getting laid, the metal just courses through their blood, they simply have to play. They don't give a fuck about overdubs, pro-tools, photoshop, triggers, haircuts, intellectualism, art, Pitchfork, transcendentalism, or any of that bullshit; their rejection of cool just makes them cooler. They play badass, doomy songs about kings and wizards and barbarians without a drop of kitschy irony. I am pretty sure their new album The Wretch will sit high on my top ten at the end of the year (unless 40 Watt Sun or Loss decide to release nine more albums this year) and not to mention, Gates of Slumber were one of the best bands I saw at Roadburn. They channeled the simple beauty of Saint Vitus' spartan riffing with an intrepid confidence. Gates of Slumber won't ever be cool like SunnO))) or Wolves In The Throne Room, because they do the unfathomable, they play actual metal. Today I present the band's second demo from way back in 2002, The Sabbath Witch, which showed a marked improvement over the first, the awesomely titled Blood Encrusted Deth Axe, I urge you to check out The Wretch. See why Gates of Slumber may be one of the last unpussy metal bands in the U.S.A.

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Tellurian

Here's Tellurian's one and only EP, the confusingly titled Reborn. Not sure when this was recorded, sounds like it could easily have been made in 1978, but it was in fact released in 2006. I can't find any information on these guys, which is a shame because this little record is so fucking good. Sabbathy classic doom via NWOBHM deliciousness that leaves me wanting more. Why does something this fantastic remain as obscure as an unmarked epitaph in fog clad English countryside cemetery? Anyone have any info on Tellurian?

R.I.P.

Blue Fire

What's wrong, buddy? You feeling blue? Well check out the debut from classy Italian doom slingers, Canaan. The band rose from the ashes of the legendary cult Ras Alegethi in 1996 with this stunning debut, Blue Fire. Canaan's doom isn't really of the mammoth, lurching sort, the band favors a more ethereal melodic approach. I would venture to describe Canaan as "gothic" in their approach if that didn't illicit images of corny velvet clad vampire divas and tacky keyboards adorned with halloween superstore candelabras. Canaan is so much more, and every release they have done has been fantastic, but start here at the beginning.

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Elu of the Nine

Elu of the Nine is another blackened doom/drone void abyss from the prolific folks of Woodsmoke productions. I get a lot of emails requesting more from these individuals and I am happy to oblige. These young men from Salem Oregon make some of the most interesting home recordings out these days, but painfully hard for the general public to get a hold of, I am very kvlt and have my ways. Now I pass it on to you.

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Keen of the Crow

Keen of the Crow was a very short-lived band that rose from the ashes of epic Southern California doom metal band, Morgion. KotC favored a more user-friendly Opeth approach, but this demo is great anyways. Eventually they recorded and album for Grau records, that in my opinion, wasn't as memorable as this demo. They broke up soon after, with the members forming and reforming various bands and projects soon after. Ludicra had the extreme pleasure of doing a short run of gigs with these guys around 2005, and we have remained friends since. Great dudes.

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Majesty

There have been dozens of metal bands calling themselves Majesty, so finding any real info on this obscure band pretty futile. However, that doesn't detract from how epic this 1995 demo (titled The Natural Architect) is. I know that this Majesty was from Finland, and they bring some serious downer doom ala Vitus or Forest of Equilibrium era Cathedral with a very obvious drum machine. The sentiment is right on the money though, this is a fantastic listen. Did they release anything else? Anyone?

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Dismal

Here's some really odd gothic/doom form where else but Italy. Dismal is an appropriate name for this group of maudlin youth from Turin. Their first demo, Our Sad Saga, treads the same moonlit paths as fellow countrymen Ras Algethi and Arkana, but with less sophistication. Dismal, at least in this early phase, have something very teenage about their approach which works in their favor. The band is apparently still around but I am not familiar with their work after Our Sad Saga. If you hunger for simple classic Italian doom with mournful strings and creepy Mario Bava-esque church organs, Dismal is going to make your night.

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Megaton Leviathan

My friend Chris Beug has a new band called Megaton Leviathan. I saw them play at Gilman recently and they were colossal, emotional, and hypnotic. This is their first demo CDR, self released with a nice screen-printed cover. The sound is ethereal doom/drone/ambient sonic vastness with beautiful hooks. Chris was kind enough to share this with the readers and riders on the Cosmic Hearse. An excellent new band out of Portland. Support!

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Mordor

Mordor was an obscure Swiss doom band that obviously liked drugs. Odes was the band's only release and it is an elusive bit of collector nerd gold. Mordor offer up vague and spacious doom with smatterings of industrial ambience. Colossal and cavernous, and a song called "The Great Kat Is God." Did I mention they liked drugs?

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Trouble

I don't give a fuck what you think, Trouble's 1990 self-titled Def American major label sellout album is a fine piece of work. I had a hard time finding it so I figured it was prime Hearse fodder. Considering how it was pressed into the millions and sold very little, you'd think that copies would be jockeying for cut-out bin space alongside albums by Joey Lawrence and Hammer. The production is standard bone dry Rick Rubin, but Trouble shines through with Franklin and Wartell's gooey resin tones and Wagner's signature wail. A little bit of Jesus, a whole lot of stale bongwater, and a throwaway cover of "Psychotic Reaction." Rubin believed these dudes should of been bigger, and I tend to agree, so what happened?

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