Occult Metal

Ciminero, Shadows Digging The Grave (Argonauta Records 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , ,

The sophomore album from occult doom metal band Ciminero is out now, Shadows Digging The Grave.

From the northern climes of Finland comes Ciminero. Their debut album, Subterranean Awakening, was favorably received in the occult rock and metal community when it was released in 2019. Having now had a few years together, the principals return with a new record that fulfills the promise of its predecessor. Information about the musicians is thin on the ground here in North America, so I will say band might be Jukka Aravirta (guitar), Valentina Vigato (vocals), Paavo Karppinen (bass), and Waltteri Laamanen (drums).

There are nine cuts on the new record, beginning appropriately with “Invoke Me.” It is an up-tempo rock number that has a nice groove and weighty thump. The first blush of Vigato’s voice is enchanting, and her vocals are accentuated by a nice periodic guitar pairing. A pleasant throwback lead guitar break takes us toward the exit. This is a well-executed opener. “Torment” follows. Operating at a slower pace, the doom facets are clearer here, and the more mystical tone fits more closely to my idea of what occult rock might sound like. It is an excellent song with a deceptively simple structure that draws you in and wraps itself around you.

“Ring of Perpetual Insanity” marks a turn toward a journey on a dark path. The molten guitar riffs form an encasing fabric for the vocals to inhabit, move away from, and ultimately return to. The tempo breaks toward the middle and a sense of quest ensues. I am fully committed at this point – the album is solid musically and its themes and temperament are intoxicating. Other stand-out tracks include “The Leaper,” which is a surging wrecker, and “Nettare d’Estasi,” a song that exudes sorrow, at least in my ears. The album is splendid, and Ciminero is a band to watch in the years to come. Recommended.

Shadows Digging The Grave is out now through Agonauta Records. Help yourself at the links below.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://ciminero.bandcamp.com/album/shadows-digging-the-grave

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/cimineroband

Argonauta Records, https://www.argonautarecords.com/

© Wayne Edwards

Ciminero, Shadows Digging The Grave (Argonauta Records 2022)

Weedevil, The Return (Abraxas Records 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Weedevil presents dark stories told in doom on their first full-length album, The Return.

From São Paulo, Brazil, Weedevil is Flávio Cavichioli (drums), Lorraine Scar (vocals), Dani Plothow (bass), Paulo Ueno (guitar), and Bodão (guitar). The records show that the band has been releasing material for only a couple of years, with two EPs and a live album already out. The Return is their first long-player, and it is solid through and through.

The new album includes five huge slabs of doom. First up is “Underwater.” It is a steady heavy beat that seems at first slightly softened by Scar’s vocals until you realize what she is singing about. The music matches the desperation of the narrative and complements the turn towards dark power that occurs. “The Void” follows and grinds on you like pyramid stones being dragged up a ramp, forcing down the weight of history and reality on your being.

“The Return” has a deep-seated witching feel to it. To wit, “Offer me green grass and accursed men’s head / I will keep the beast away, if I’m well fed.” The circumlocution reinforces the powerful chant and the spell sinks ever deeper in. On “Isn’t A Love Song” the approach is more melodic but the messaging does not stray far from grim tidings, even with the beautiful piano in the finish.

The final track is “Genocidal.” It has an impressive tall-wall presence in the guitars and a creepy, disturbing whistling at the front. As with every track, Scar’s vocals are a center point, and a place of return. This song is the most determined, grimmest conclusion in a set that has been full-force doom all along. It is a welcome end that has you turning back to start at the beginning and experience it all over again. Recommended.

The Return emerges on Friday, April 8th in digital through Abraxas Records, with vinyl to follow from DHU Records.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://weedevil.bandcamp.com/album/the-return

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/weedevildoom

DHU Records, https://darkhedonisticunionrecords.bigcartel.com/

© Wayne Edwards.

Weedevil, The Return (Abraxas Records 2022)

Doctor Smoke, Dreamers and the Dead (Ripple Music 2021)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , , , ,

The second album from Ohio heavy rockers Doctor Smoke stirs the cauldron and speaks the words.

The Witching Hour came out in 2014. That album set a rattle in my bones that still gives me a tingle now and then. The music is a collaboration with darkness and groove, horror and insight, and it presents the world to you in a way you might not have thought about before. And yet it rings absolutely true. There are not a lot of groups who can do that, so Doctor Smoke occupies a rarified ethereal realm. The band is Matt Tluchowski (guitar and vocals), Steve Lehocky (guitar), Jeff Young (bass), and Cody Cooke (drums).

Ten sinister tracks of rock and metal mayhem, that’s what Dreamers and the Dead is. The tendency is toward mid-tempo enhanced by an enthusiastic flair that moves the music along like an evenly distributed accelerant. Rebellious shifts abound revealing alcoves and clandestine mysteries. As an example, “These Horrid Things” is a song burbling with variegation and insistent twists highlighted by elegant guitar work. And it is not the only one. The entire album is an enigma in the sense that it is fascinating – a reliably wicked puzzle from which you cannot look away.

I particularly appreciate “What Lies Beyond” with its lounge-tuned section followed immediately by a ripping lead break, and title track, with its blunt assessment of the nature of reality. This album absolutely cracks. I was enormously impressed by the band’s first album, and I like this new one even better. If you don’t yet have Doctor Smoke on a playlist you are really missing out. Highly recommended.

Dreamers and the Dead is out now from Ripple Music. You will find the digital, CDs, vinyl, and merch at the links below.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://doctorsmoke.bandcamp.com/

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/doctorsmokeband

Ripple Music, https://ripplemusic.bigcartel.com/product/doctor-smoke-dreamers-and-the-dead-deluxe-vinyl-editions

Doctor Smoke, Dreamers and the Dead (Ripple Music 2021)

Bewitcher, Cursed Be Thy Kingdom (Century Media 2021)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , ,

The third album from Bewitcher is filled with sinister metal mayhem and headbanging kicks.

After releasing a handful of demos in the mid-twenty-teens, Bewitcher put out their first long-player in 2016, Bewitcher. Three years later there was Under The Witching Cross and the new one is a big step up in distribution and availability. This is a good thing for the metal listening public because the band has a style that will definitely appeal to a broad base of fans.

After a brief acoustic intro piece that transitions into the electric, the first song is “Death Returns…” It is a peppy metal positioning, upbeat in the rhythm and hoisting a roughened vocal presentation to tell a cautionary dark fantasy tale. It is goodtime music for bad times.

“Satanic Magic Attack” is another banger in a similar vein and we are getting the feeling that this is going to be a high-energy roll – and that is what you get, one song after another. Highlights include the title track with its short smash and grab attack and “Metal Burner” for a similar reason but at an even higher burn rate. “Valley of the Ravens” sticks in my head as well because it diverges and is more ponderous and has a weightier kind of power.

The out-song is “Sign Of The Wolf” and I think this one will get a lot of play on tour. I sure hope so. It is a great way to wrap up a good metal set, with catchy hooks and a short whirling lead break. I will be playing this album on the long summer road trips ahead. Recommended.

Cursed Be Thy Kingdom is out on Friday, April 16th in all the places you would expect.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://bewitcher.bandcamp.com/

Website, https://www.bewitcher.us/

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/BewitcherOfficial

Label, https://www.centurymedia.com/artist.aspx?IdArtist=2019

Bewitcher, Cursed Be Thy Kingdom (Century Media 2021)