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EP: Coscradh, 'Of Death and Delirium'

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Last July, Dublin’s  Coscradh  descended on the Kasbah in Limerick with Vircolac, Apostate Viactum and Trenchknife for a pleasant night of apocalyptic death metal. As it turned out, their performance turned out to be one of the most impressive sets I saw in 2017. With no talking, wreathed in a haze of incense smoke and red lights, they delivered a blackened death sound that was equal parts atmospheric, fluid and chaotic. The theatrics complimented it perfectly, and you can see the commitment and consistency in everything down to their album artwork. Naturally, I got my hands on their EP, simply titled ‘Demo XVII’ immediately, and was pleased to find that plenty of the effect survived on recording. November’s ‘Of Death and Delirium’ is a solid follow-up that keeps the outfit firmly on my radar of bands to watch, a short, intense, unwavering effort. There are only three tracks here, but it’s a healthy 20-minute runtime with decent variety. ‘Disappeared’, the opener is the most
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Album: Causticgod, 'Sullen Sanctuary'

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What is it with Ireland and doom? Since I’ve started looking into the Irish metal scene proper, I’ve increasingly gained the feeling that we gravitate to it, North and South alike, with releases and the festival scene being heavily weighted in its favour. This is not a problem; it’s a damn good genre, and I’m endlessly impressed at the extent to which bands leave their mark by taking its key features in different directions: you have heavier death-doom acts like The Crawling and Graveyard Dirt going heavier, post-rock acts like Third Island and zhOra making it stranger, and melodic or Celtic influences giving us Old Season and Darkest Era . Evidently the simple, recognisable tenets of doom give bands plenty of opportunity to carve out their own identity. Enter Causticgod , who find another direction again, with a debut record that is fresh and familiar at once. In keeping with this trend of diversity, Causticgod's niche is deep in the classic, stoner doom province of
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Album Review: Apostate Viactum, 'Before the Gates of Gomorrah'

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( By Philip Morrissey, Irish Metal Archive ) When is a new band not a new band?  For many fresh-faced youngsters, starting off, it can prove to be a struggle to gain credibility or awareness.  Using a current sound will see them derided as trend hoppers and fly by nights, employing an image and feel from yesteryear will see them being dismissed as a pale imitation by those who were around at the time and by going their own way with a unique sound will get people complaining that they should sound more like (insert name).  They just can't win.  Getting their name out can also be a challenge.  They cannot hope to get allotted the more lucrative support slots on festivals and tours unless they know the people who are involved in putting this all together.   Being around the scene for a while will allow you this chance, but often they might be asking the wrong people.  Spamming information about themselves will also have a detrimental effect as you end up annoying those you are t
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The Crawling for Metal Days 2017!

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Northern Irish doom-death trio, The Crawling , are set for Metal Days in Slovenia this July! The lads from Lisburn are playing Monday 24th July, on the Boško Bursač Stage at 16:15. Andy Clarke, guitar/vocals said: "We are beyond excited about playing Metal Days! We have played a few large festivals so far, and it is just the most enjoyable experience a band can get, so to travel even further afield and do it again is fantastic. Slovenia is a magnificent country, and the setting for the festival is just serene - I can't wait to look out from the stage across the beautiful scenery; not to mention we get to share the stage with Venom Inc and Batushka!" Having come together in the winter of 2014, Stuart, Andy and Gary describe themselves as 'three old death metal heads playing slow death metal'. 2015 saw their debut single ‘Choking On Concrete ,’ which put the band on the scene, followed by the critically acclaimed 'In Light of Dark Days' three-tra
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EP: BAILER, 'PTSD'

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I've reviewed EPs before, so I'm aware they're generally samplers rather than little albums. In that case, what's important is that they are free of filler, and show the band operating at maximum capacity for the entirety. Cork's BAILER pull this off with flying colours, and 'PTSD''s set of dirty hardrcore/metalcore numbers will leave you eager for more. The lads inject the tracks with non-stop energy, every segment sounding like the most intense part of the song, with variance in tempo the closest thing to letting up. No clean vocals, no playing with samples, not even a lot of loudquietloud. It's just hardcore plain and simple. A metalcore twist adds a somewhat slower tempo, plus some breakdowns to keep the crowd fighting. Alex's vocals are a highlight for me, but all cylinders are firing here. The sample single 'In For a Penny, In For a Pound' is pretty much a statement of intent, with a roaring vocal lead over a few second
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Press Release: Death The Leveller unveil debut EP artwork and track listing!

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​Just received an exciting press release from Overdrive : Irish doom supergroup Death The Leveller have unveiled the cover artwork and tracklist for their highly-anticipated debut EP, due for release on June 12th . Drawing experience from their work in legendary Irish outfits such as Mael Mórdha and Cursed Earth, Death The Leveller are already creating a stir. The track listing for 'Death The Leveller' EP is as follows: 1. A Call To Men of Noble Blood (available now on Bandcamp!) 2. Gone Forever 3. The Day Before The Night of Broken Glass 4. How to Break Pernicious Spells The cover art is by French artist and graphic designer Anais Chareyre, whose work has featured on the TV series Penny Dreadful. In a recent interview with Overdrive, drummer Shane Cahill commented about the cover art: "The concept behind this piece is based on the Egyptian book of the dead, where the heart of the deceased is weighed against a feather, to decide if they had lived a jus
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Album: Baleful Creed, 'Seismic Shifter'

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I’ve used the phrase ‘old-school’ a lot lately for various artists, but Baleful Creed may just take the cake in this regard. While other releases take more modern genres like epic doom and power metal and shoot them through with classic metal vibes, Baleful Creed throw themselves in wholeheartedly; it’s vintage hard rock with more modern influences rather than the other way around. Indeed, it may not be possible to listen to ‘Seismic Shifter’ without purchasing a motorbike soon after. It’s head-nodding, foot-tapping, groovy, sexy heavy metal, shot through with blues rock and laid-back cool. Freshened by some snarling grunge energy and with fantastic execution, this is a top-notch record for any listener, not just those with an interest in the genre. If we’re going to use labels like old-school and classic (and they're used a lot in this review), let’s clarify what’s signified here. Baleful Creed deliver a generally slow to medium pace, clean but growly vocals, and chunky, r
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