This White Mountain - Spanning The Void

Review by Aaron Sullivan.


Hailing from Connecticut comes the one man BM band This White Mountain. The first thing that leaps out is the production. Guitars are crisp and full. Drums are audible, and the vocals are mixed perfectly. Adding the quiet moments of Atmosphere help to add dynamics and depth to the songs. Reminding one of Wolves in the Throne Room and Skagos at times.

As his bandcamp page shows, this guy is pretty prolific. Four albums and two splits in two years. Each album different and showing growth from one to the next. Yet all with quality and forward thinking.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Beyond Terror Beyond Grace - Nadir

The new album by Beyond Terror Beyond Grace has been released on the Willowtip Bandcamp. Nadir is an intriguing mix of several different styles. A short description could be atmospheric blackened death. Teufel's Tomb adds

They combine the accessible blackened atmospheric melodies of Krallice with the melodic technical ferocity of Ulcerate, with the familiar tempo and intensity changes of a good death doom album.

Rumbling wall of sound riffs, dynamic drumming and powerful throaty rasps and growls. Moody, intense, and often beautiful music. Here'a review from Metal Review and here's an interview from the wonderfully named The Fuck Whisperer.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Alpthraum - Eyes of a Monument

Alpthraum's Eyes of a Monument is symphonic metal. Think Dimmu Borgir symphonic not Nightwish symphonic, despite it having nothing to do with black metal. The metal itself takes backseat to the well crafted orchestration. The riffs are almost too simple to stand on their own, but work very effectively when combined with the symphonies.

The word "Alptraum" (without the H) means nightmare in German, and Eyes of a Monument does work as a epic score to your dark dreams. Like a metalized version of Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds, not about conflict from outer space, but from the inner dreamworld. Here's the review from Don't Count on it Reviews.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Fire in the Cave - Fire in the Cave

Review by Aaron Sullivan.

Artwork by Jean Saiz (Shroud Eater).

From the ashes of Bad Actor comes a new band Fire In The Cave. Consisting of the same line up but with a different approach. This time with a more atmospheric type Sludge. The riffs are meaty and the vocals have a Hardcore Punk feel to them. The ebb and flow of the songs work well. They balance the heaviness with the softer parts, allowing songs to breathe and progress naturally. The lead work is also something that stands out adding an old school metal feel to it. Only two songs. But they show the promise this band has. Hoping to hear much more from these guys in the future.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Old Mountain - Demo

Psychedelic doomsters Old Mountain have updated their Bandcamp, now all three songs of the demo are available. The standout track is still the incredibly heavy and atmospheric Clarissa, give it a listen below. A little warning: At around 13:30 the doomy goodness ends, the rest is ambient noise and some druggy banter. As this Doommantia review states, that is probably why Clarissa is subtitled 'Explains Hallucinogenic'.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]