[2011] Valborg - Barbarian

The most active Zeitgester Music project as of lately (considering the latest three albums), Valborg's new album is a followup of the sound established in Crown of Sorrow, combining several influences and aesthetics in their music ranging from progressive rock to death and doom metal, making their music hard to describe at first.
Similar enough, however, to the likes of late Celtic Frost and Triptykon (specially the latter), and this comparison is fair given their participation in Tom Warrior's Roadburn Festival 2010 and later praise he gave to the band. What's for sure is that the unique blend of sounds in Barbarian makes it one of my favorites of this year.




Buy it directly from Zeitgeister Music here.

[2010] Rose Kemp - Golden Shroud

Rose Kemp was a weird discovery for me. While I'm used to female vocals in doom metal, specially in the way bands like Serpentcult and Blood Ceremony incorporate them, Rose Kemp goes beyond these two bands, with an energetic, gospel-like delivery that instantly becomes the center of attention. It caught me off guard the first time I heard it, the way the vocals emphasize the heaviness of the band while almost bordering cheesy territories (just barely) was just unique. Musically it stays mostly on a traditional doom metal mode, but it goes into folk rock territory in several occasions, not as much as her previous albums though, but it's definitely there. Quite a mix, for those looking for something different in the genre.


Download it here: [V0]

Buy it directly from Rose Kemp here.

[2003] Toadliquor - The Hortator's Lament

Toadliquor is one of the many influential sludge bands of the late decade, whose slow, devastating sound with drowned, hardcore vocals gave them a special place among the big acts from the beginning of the 00's. Having released only two official albums (Hortator's Lament being their last, and also the compilation of all their previous songs), they garnered instant cult status during Southern Lord's golden era. Easily one of my most inspiring, favorite bands.
Influential material, and recommended for whoever wants a good start in both doom and sludge metal.

Download it here: [V2][V0]


Buy it directly from Southern Lord here.

[2004] Grey Daturas - Dead In The Woods

This is one of the bands I consider one of my main influences to explore and compose music on my own, which could've had a full decade of existence in 2012 if they hadn't disbanded in early 2010. Grey Daturas was an australian collective of improvisers, with influences ranging from Sonic Youth, Black Sabbath, Can and many others, which in turn gave the band an eclectic style. Of course being an improvisational group meant that none of their songs were neither rehearsed nor repeated, and well rooted into the heaviest noise rock with doom metal hints, and even in some cases, drone-doom (in the vein of Earth), as seen in the Yellow Swans collab which was well received by many music critics.
Grey Daturas broke up but it resurfaced shortly as the duo known as Breathing Shrine, with Bonnie Mercer (guitar) and Rob Mayson (drums), and keeping with the heavy live output that made them famous.

Download it here: [V0]


Buy it directly from Breathing Shrine/Grey Daturas official site here.

[2011] 40 Watt Sun - The Inside Room

5 years after Watching From A Distance and splitting up, leaving their fans with only a few records in their back catalog (and none as good as the former), the Warning guys reform with a different bassist (William Spong) to form 40 Watt Sun. Pretty much carrying where they left, The Inside Room is an exercise in despair and melancholy, with the same load of sentimental purity that characterized Warning's now classic album. Musically speaking there's a better use of dynamics and atmosphere exploration in this album, although a similar approach is given to the songs: slow, somewhat simple hooks with little bass focus, and emotional vocals going hand in hand with the depressing vibe. An instant favorite, at least for me.

Download it here: [320][V0]


Buy directly from Metal Recycler (Cyclone Empire's Webshop) here.

[2011] Blood Ceremony - Living With The Ancients

3 years after their amazing self-titled album, Blood Ceremoony's sound has definitely matured and dwelved into heavier territories. Their Jethro Tull-influenced style brought by Alia O'Brien's amazing flute now is toned down a bit to allow the heavy doom metal riffing to fully shine, while her vocals display more personality and range than they used to, specially in Night of Augury, in which the occult, 70's psychedelic vibe is accentuated at great extents. The real highlight of the album is, however, Daughter of The Sun, in which guitars, synths and flute go into a psychedelic wormhole, the perfect closure for this release, that could be considered well ahead their self-titled.

Download it here: [320][V0]


Buy it directly from All That Is Heavy here.

[2006] Khlyst - Chaos Is My Name

For what it seemed to be a one-off recording (although confirmation is still needed), Khlyst is a twisted reminiscence of Khanate's Things Viral era with a strong free jazz/noise vibe, an absolute portrayal of insanity. Tim Wyskida, James Plotkin and Runhild Gammelsæter, two parts Khanate and one part Thorr's Hammer, are the ones behind this bizarre recording, which touches upon the darkest places of the mind. Wyskida's percussion really adds up a lot to the atmosphere, from his arrythmical drumming during every odd song, to his sparse crash and gong on every even song. The same could be said about Plotkin, a veteran in dark ambient and guitar/bass mindfuckery.

Stephen Kasner (Utech Records) did the artwork

Download it here: [V0]


Buy it directly from Hydra Head Records here.

[2003] Neurosis & Jarboe - Neurosis & Jarboe

The closest it'd get for Neurosis to collaborate with Swans (although, who knows?), Neurosis & Jarboe is an unique album among their discography, which focuses on their mainly experimental side that was a result of their Swans influence, aided by Jarboe's famous vocal style. Only until the last song (Seizure) we get to hear Scott and Steve's melancholic grunts, but through most of the album we have Jarboe exerting her full vocal range with shrieks, moans, screams and delirious frenzy, while Neurosis performs their doom/tribal kinda style (heard in some of the songs from A Sun That Never Sets) with plenty of noise and synths experimentation. The only music akin to this album is either one of Jarboe's solo album, or Swans' earlier career, with Jarboe instead of Gira. Absolutely essential material.

Download it here: [320][V0]

Buy it directly from Neurot Recordings here.

[2009] Bushman's Revenge - You Lost Me At Hello

Second album of this norwegian trio, formed by one of the members of the jazz fusion band Shining (Even Helte Hermansen) on guitar duties, Rune Nergaard on bass, and Gard Nilssen on drums. They've been described as "Black Sabbath meets Ornette Coleman", and it fits like a glove. Combining the heaviness of doom metal with the complex drumming and jazzy guitar typical of their influences, this album is a perfect display of the unique sound of this band.


Download it here: [192][V0]


Buy it directly from Rune Grammofon here.

[1998] Keiji Haino With Boris - Black: Implication Flooding

First live collaboration of Boris with the well-known noise/free improviser Keiji Haino. Unlike other collabs, this one really outshines Boris, focusing a lot more in Haino's frantic vocals and guitar fiddling. I consider it great, actually. It brings a lot of Boris' heaviest moments in a live session, which is often mistaken as being only present in albums like Feedbacker or Amplifier Worship (which are slow building and relying on heavy riffs); in this album we have a lot of feedback usage, fast, free-form drumming, and unusual traditional instruments (via Haino). Fully recommended to those wanting to explore unheard of facets of this excellent band.

Download it here: [320][V0]


Buy it directly from Inoxia Records here.

[2006] The Gault - Even As All Before Us

The finest work John Gossard was part of, The Gault is the perfect mixture of the subtle beauty and haunting vocals of Amber Asylum with the fierce riffing and despair-evoking melodies of Weakling, in a musical project that can't be likened with any other within its genre. For those unaware of this band which released only this album before splitting, this music will capture you with its unmatched way to channel complex emotions. Only either Amber Asylum, Jarboe or mid-career Swans would come close to the wave of feelings evoked from the 7 songs contained in this album. A big time favorite, and in my opinion an essential listen for every single one of you with a deep interest in music.

Download it here: [320][V0]

Buy it directly from Ván Records here.