Hello! Welcome back to Doomsday. The year plugs on and is past its zenith but the excellent releases just keep coming. I've found that 2024 so far has been marked, at least for me, less by big, cavernous releases and more with lighter but no less satisfying grooves. As I touch on in my entry below, it's also been a fantastic year for a very specific type of release, blending post-rock, stoner, doom, shoegaze, and grunge into a very particular sort of sound which I happen to love. It's also a good fit for the last days of Summer, as the energies seem to linger and the days stretch on forever.
Please enjoy this month's offering. It's a more relaxed but very deep one, with plenty to dig into.
Magmakammer - Before I Burn
I’ve been on quite the binge of music with chill vibes as of late, so it makes sense that I’ve been returning to the slow-burning proto metal of Oslo’s Magmakammer. Following up their rock solid 2018 debut LP Mindtripper (aside: thank you Bandcamp’s “follow” feature for the nudge on this — it’s truly the gift that truly keeps giving), it’s apparent this power trio is devoted to the craft of the classic doom sound, replete with ominous occult flavors, psychedelic atmospheres, and even drawing inspiration from some unexpected sources. Before I Burn is a shining example of capturing that vintage spirit authentically while also opening a few doors to expand on this foundation.
Opener “Doom Jive” connects with a sultry sinister swagger that’ll inevitably draw comparisons to the likes of Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, but as the album continues, songs like “Apocalypse Babes,” “Cult of Misanthropy,” and the album’s title track reveal some distinguishing perspectives. And though Magmakammer’s keen songwriting is often predicated on service to a memorable melody or knock-out hook, they also demonstrate a knack for penning songs that step outside the bounds of your standard occult/doom faire with elaborate structures and thoughtful sequencing. The title track wears its Neil Young inspiration on its sleeve to the point where I’m now wondering what Neil would sound like covering it, while “Cult of Misanthropy” exhibits a strangely relaxing and patient stroll through trippy bluesy soundscapes until it hits its heavy duty climax. In tandem with the bouncing “Apocalypse Babes” and Sabbathian “Zimbardo” (holy fuck, I know I compare stuff to Black Sabbath all the time here because duh, but this is true Sabbath worship) it’s obvious that Before I Burn is best experienced as a whole as no single track embodies everything found on this album.
I’m probably mistaken to wash Magmakammer’s ”stories of egoism, greed, and the evil it promotes within people’s minds” as something “chill,” but these are strange times we’re living in. Plus, I can’t think of a better way to melt the day’s burdens away than with something as casually haunting as “Cyanide Fever.” Honestly, I’m often turning my nose up at the bulk of new proto metal/doom releases because there are just too many outright derivative or “good, not great” releases in this style. This said, I really fucking dig what these dudes got going on. Before I Burn is a bit familiar with its retro production (and rightfully so, no?), but when consumed as a whole it’s apparent to me that Magmakammer have a step on their peers in executing a complete vision from top to bottom including recording, mixing, and art direction. DIY is alive and well, and every time it produces a gem like this, it shouldn’t go unnoticed.
-JJ
RENEWER - SUNNE
As you might know, I am no longer in the business of talking about trends or eras; I’ve been burnt too many times and, besides, I find the perspective boring these days. But sometimes, there is just enough serendipity to tempt me. A bunch of albums of the same type will drop closely together and the muscle in me which seeks to summarize and collect will twitch. We shall indulge it only a little bit when describing RENEWER’s SUNNE, an album that could firmly be placed alongside Towers of Jupiter’s latest release, Shun’s excellent recent album, and Mountaineer incredible foray as well. It utilizes that same mix of doom, post-rock, shoegaze, and grunge that those releases use as well to create an enchanting and very rarified sort of sound. So rarified that I actually didn’t find it all too appealing when I first heard it. But, implored to dive deeper by my good friend Nate, I spent some more time with it and fell into its embrace.
It makes sense, right? If you take away the heavier parts of doom, namely more of the aggression on the harsher vocals, and connect what’s left with shoegaze bridges, riffs, and ideas, you get something very abstract. But when done correctly, as it's done here, the end result is more than the parts that you removed; you end up with something tantalizing in its contrast, still driven by that slow, doomy heaviness but now also possessed with something even more melancholic and moving. On SUNNE, the mix tends even further towards doom than the above releases; the riffs are heavier and there are even some harsh vocals that were maintained, mostly high pitch backing screams. This lends the album more meat, something to grab hold to, priming you to pay attention to the quieter and softer passages.
RENEWER are also more willing to expand their reach with the addition of many beautiful string sections and guest vocals spots that add a lot of variety to the release. If you’re looking to add another album of this type (I didn’t say trend!) as Autumn draws close, I can’t think of a better addition. SUNNE takes what makes this type of music great, namely the contrast between light and heavy, and drives it to the extreme, both in melancholy and in heaviness.
-EK
QAALM - First Light of the Last Dawn
Listening to QAALM is like swimming in the ocean: your focus is drawn to the large, crushing swells, but it’s the sudden wave against the tide that truly knocks you over. In their sophomore EP, First Light of the Last Dawn, the sludge-ridden funeral doom band infuses the groove of progressive rock and lushness of melodic black metal into their sound for a beautifully tumultuous journey.
The opening track, a 9 minute behemoth, greets us with a careful and haunted melody that swells into massive guitars and caustic vocals. As quickly as it came, however, the wave softens into lush, clean vocals. Doom and melodic black metal flow into each other like saltwater and freshwater, creating a powerful tide that carries us alongside QAALM. Add in a lilting instrumental track with just the right amount of eeriness and a Black Sabbath cover that supercharges the classic “Heaven and Hell” with funeral doom bleakness, and you have an EP that flips funeral doom on its head. First Light of the Last Dawn captures how much QAALM has transformed since their 2022 debut, delivering their signature lush heaviness with even greater range and creativity.
-Bridget Hughes
Kumara - Nukes and Napalm
Estonian heavy psych/sludge band Kumara is the soundtrack to a long-lost sci-fi series from the 1970s. Hallucinogenic yet groovy, acidic yet catchy, Nukes and Napalm delivers fuzzed out jams with a post-apocalyptic edge.
Muscular riffs rollick across the oversaturated landscape, punctuated by defiant vocals. But underneath the heady rhythm lies something sinister - guitars are blown out to the point of bitterness, half-shouted lyrics sound almost…desperate, worn out by exhaustion. Swirling psychedelics are turning down a dark path. The sound is less feel-good experimentation, more acid trip gone wrong as caustic sludge mixes with heavy psych. A dangerous journey, but one absolutely worth braving in pursuit of relentless grooves.
-BH