Church of Metal

Listening to Acid Witch tonight, and revisiting Witchfynder Finder 2010 released on the album Stoner.

You can listen to this death doom classic mp3 and read the lyrics.

Acid Witch Witchfynder Finder

Acid Witch Witchfinder Finder lyrics

She was left raped and bleeding, freezing in the snow
A soldier I, returned from war, to find my bride like so
Her family dead, her father hanged at the gallows in the square
He was accused of witchcraft, a devil priest
By blood, revenge, is the oath that I now swear

Witchfynder finder
Witchhunter slayer
I shall be a grim reminder
of the lives he undid here

Destitute and surely deranged
I now drift from town to town
Maddened with my lust for revenge
In the bottle my sorrows drowned
I search the name of Hopkins
When our paths cross cross, I’ll take away his life
I’ll bash his f**king skull in and scalp him with my knife

Vengeance! Vengeance! On the Inquisitor, slay!
Vengeance! Vengeance! The hunter becomes the prey!

Witchfynder Finder 2010 from the band Acid Witch album Stoner

The Supreme Force of Eternity is the debut album by death/doom band Runemagick.

Every once in awhile when listening to modern metal I sometimes get bored and crave metal from the old days and releases like this showcase how good death metal is timeless and can mend these open wounds from battle.

Runemagick plays a very well balanced death/doom brand of metal that features melodic guitar and battle inducing drums and bass!

Runemagick The Supreme Force Of Eternity

Runemagick – The Supreme Force of Eternity

1. “At the Horizons End” – 8:01
2. “The Black Wall” – 4:14
3. “When Death Is the Key” – 4:29
4. “For You, My Death” – 3:52
5. “Curse of the Dark Rune” – 3:20
6. “Nocturnal Creation” – 4:58
7. “The Supreme Force” – 4:37
8. “Sign of Eternity (Pt. II)” – 2:53

Most of these new “death” bands especially the deathcore stuff tend to fail miserably because they have no foundation in old school death! Stick to the hardcore and leave death to the elders ok little emo kids? The songs on this album have such awesome power and majesty for a late 90s death release… death metal fans will love it and hopefully turn some new fans onto this great band.

Never Cross The Dead is the second full length album from the Finnish death/doom metal band Hooded Menace.

“2010 release from the Finnish Death Metal monsters. Never Cross The Dead takes the Hooded Menace sound of their Fulfill The Curse debut into heavier and doomier terrain. And of course further into the depths of plodding brutal Death Metal terror. A bludgeoning and sprawling mix of old-school Death Metal and heaving glacial Sludge Doom, Never Cross The Dead is a horror-filled journey through the eyes of Hooded Menace mastermind Lasse Pyykko, one of the most notorious, productive and prolific musicians in the underground Death Metal scene.”

Hooded Menace - Never Cross The Dead

Hooded Menace – Never Cross The Dead (2010)

1. Never Cross The Dead
2. Terror Castle
3. Night Of The Deathcult
4. The House Of Hammer
5. Rituals Of Mortal Cremation
6. As The Creatures Ascend
7. From Their Confined Slumber
8. Theme From Return Of The Evil Dead

“The Divinity of Oceans is the second album by the German funeral doom metal band Ahab. This album was also released through Napalm Records in 2009.”

Slow drone funeral doom.

“Not unlike a baleful Leviathan, AHAB’s latest album, “The Divinity of Oceans”, emerges from the obscure ocean depths to provide an impressive account of the Essex and its condemned crew.

Ahab – The Divinity Of Oceans (2009)

Offering a kaleidoscope of human emotions that find tragic conclusion within deep despair and cannibalism, the terrible events are told within the perfect, though dark and disturbing confines of slow doom metal, brutal vocals, and melodic interludes. Markus Stock (Empyrium, The Vision Bleak) of Klangschmiede Studio E gives “The Divinity of Oceans” its finishing touch. With this latest offering, AHAB have managed to more than outdo their debut release, delivering a masterpiece of Nautic Funeral Doom Metal.”

Ahab The Divinity Of Oceans

download Ahab – The Divinity Of Oceans mp3s

1. “Yet Another Raft of the Medusa (Pollard’s Weakness)” – 12:40
2. “The Divinity of Oceans” – 11:03
3. “O Father Sea” – 7:07
4. “Redemption Lost” – 10:25
5. “Tombstone Carousal” – 7:27
6. “Gnawing Bones (Coffin’s Lot)” – 10:48
7. “Nickerson’s Theme” – 8:06

Feel the slumber of awakening ancient doom.

Leather Nun is an American doom metal band from California.

Absence of Light is the album the band Leather Nun released in 2008.

Ready for some groovin stoner doom from Cali?

Emblem starts out very stoner rock and doom and progresses into guitar solos and a long groove,… if you make it through first song and that is what you are after you’ll be satisfied. The second song is a bit more sludge doom but do not expect funeral doom – this is old school!

Absence of Light (2008)

“Another work of killer doom metal from the Californian trio. Unapologetic worship of Saint Vitus, The Obsessed and Pentagram!”

1. Emblem
2. Portcullis
3. Ly Loa
4. Below Zero
5. Some Might Grow
6. Tools Of The New Church
7. Final Resting Ritual
8. Dark Crusade
9. Hm Ending

Although this is a doom album it is not very dark, it feels more stoner than death so if you’re not much a stoner rocker skip it and move on to the death metal, but this is a crowd pleaser for the stoner doom seekers.

Sometimes when I hear something I just say to myself “this is what I’ve been wanting to hear!” And that is exactly how I feel about Hooded Menace Fulfill The Curse.

Hooded Menace – Fulfill The Curse is the first full length album released by Finnish Death/Doom metal band Hooded Menace.

Hooded Menace - Fulfill The Curse (2008)

Hooded Menace – Fulfill The Curse (2008)

1. Rotting Rampage
2. Fulfill the Curse
3. Grasp of the Beastwoman
4. Laboratory of Nightmares
5. Beauty and the Feast
6. They Eyeless Horde
7. The Love Song of Gotho, Hunchback of the Morgue
8. Arcane Epitaph
9. Theme From Manhattan Baby

As if death itself was creeping up on you slowly, Hooded menace shakes the ground and the shadows as they sludge their way through the deep and dark ends of doom and death!

Coming at you like 400 tons of thunder and steel is Ancestors Neptune With Fire.

Neptune With Fire is the debut release by Los Angeles-based metal band Ancestors.

Ancestors – Neptune With Fire is a concept album that tells of metaphorical characters (namely Neptune on the title track and Orcus on the first track), and their cosmic, psychological journey through war, celebration, remorse and revelation. The character of Neptune was written as an immortal personification of the mortal man, and for the band, his plight was conceived of as a way of realizing their own epistemological struggles.

Ancestors - Neptune With Fire

Ancestors – Neptune With Fire (2008)

1. Orcus’ Avarice 16:47
2. Neptune With Fire 21:39

Yes, it is two tracks and over 35 minutes of music. Ancestors album Neptune With Fire is perfect for a long rainy day like today.

Hope you’re ready for some funeral doom because today we are featuring Ahab – The Call Of The Wretched Sea . The Call of the Wretched Sea is the debut album by the German Moby-Dick-themed funeral doom band Ahab. It was released in 2006.

Wiki says… “Ahab is a German funeral doom metal band founded in 2004 by Midnattsol guitarists Christian Hector and Daniel Droste and former Endzeit guitarist Stephan Adolph. The band is named after Captain Ahab, a character in the novel Moby Dick by Herman Melville. Along with its name, the band also draws thematic and lyrical inspiration from Moby Dick – some songs even feature direct quotations from the book.”

When I think back I realize now how life-changing this album was for me. I had been into “doom metal” for a very long time, in fact, my mom was a Black Sabbath fan in the 70′s when I was born so I was introduced to Doom at birth! But this album is responsible for really turning me on to “funeral doom”…

Ahab The Call Of The Wretched Sea

Ahab – The Call Of The Wretched Sea (2006)

1. Below The Sun 11:45
2. The Pacific 10:07
3. Old Thunder 9:54
4. Of The Monstrous Pictures Of Whales (Interludium) 1:52
5. The Sermon 12:36
6. The Hunt 11:13
7. Ahab’S Oath 10:11

Amazon says… “Inspired by Herman Melville’s classic Moby Dick, the German trio Ahab, which includes Christian Hector and Daniel Droste of Midnattsol, debut with the perfect soundtrack: An unrelenting odyssey into the depths of the human soul. Sluggish Doom Metal, complete with the heaviest of riffs and uncompromising vocals, intertwines with powerful Death Metal and isolated moments of melodic interludes to distinguish Ahab’s sound. Far removed from commercialism and romance, Ahab’s “Nautik” Funeral Doom celebrates brutality and utter despair.”

Ahab’s 2006 release The Call Of The Wretched Sea which still manages to mesmerize me and can bring about a trance unlike many band’s and their attempts. Aboard the ship and sail the wretched seas with me this morning.

Dawn of Solace is a side project from the guys in Before the Dawn. The story goes like this… While in the writing process for their third album, “The Ghost“, Saukkonen ended up with over 30 written songs. The first plan was to make a double album for Before the Dawn, but some of the material was slower, more melodic and darker than the songs chosen for “The Ghost” and Saukkonen wanted to take things further without any limitations that Before the Dawn might create.

The result was Saukkonen’s solo project, Dawn of Solace. The first album, entitled “Darkness” features a melodic sound akin to that of Before the Dawn, albeit with a much stronger gothic metal and doom metal influence.

Dawn of Solace – Darkness

1. Dying Daylight 2:50
2. Wings Of Darkness Attached On The Children Of The Light 7:23
3. I Was Never There 6:50
4. Dead Air 5:18
5. I Am Chaos, I Am Destruction 5:59
6. Winter Song 2:36
7. Wrath Of Gods Amongst Us 4:51
8. Avalanche 3:39

There are some epic songs here and definitely get the day started with good metal. \m/

Let’s start this beautiful day with some funeral doom from the slow and doom bringing Evoken and their 1994 release Shades of Night Descending. This is not thrash or death metal, this is “funeral doom” at its finest.

Evoken is an American funeral doom metal band from Lyndhurst, New Jersey, that is influenced by the Australian band Disembowelment and the Finnish band Thergothon. The band name Evoken was taken from the Thergothon song found on the Fhtagn nagh Yog-Sothoth demo. The band was founded by guitarist Nick Orlando under the name Funereus in April 1992.

Shades of Night Descending

01. Intro
02. In Graven Image
03. Shades Of Night Descending
04. Towers Of Frozen Dusk
05. Into The Autumn Shade

With only a 2 minute intro and 4 songs this epic release still clocks in over 35 minutes of funeral doom and is highly recommended. Fans of doom in general will enjoy this, but the tempo is very slow…