I’ve seen a couple of miserable sounding posts suggesting that there’s not been much good dark music this month, and I have to say that I disagree! For me, the month started with Supernormal festival, where I saw some amazing bands, like Ashtray Navigations, The Cush, Tomaga and Heather Leigh, and then when I got back from that cool bands kept releasing cool albums. This post is about a few of them.

Triumphia - Imminent Sonic Destruction

First off, we have an album which might be the most prog thing I’ve ever heard. Triumphia by Imminent Sonic Destruction – what a ridiculous name! This album covers the whole gamut, ranging from chilled ballads to proper chugging guitars with screams. The vocalist takes a little while to get used to, and the vocals alone will probably put some people off, but this is amazing music, so give it a listen.

Listen on:

SubRosa - For This We Fought the Battle of Ages

I can’t find a youtube video for this one, but here’s another great album you should definitely listen to. I’d not heard of Subrosa before this album, but this is a band calling itself:

SubRosa is an experimental sludge-doom metal band from Salt Lake City, Utah. Within the SubRosa crucible, sludgy low-end and crushing volume mix with melodic folk and experimental elements delivered through the haunting ambiance of two electric violins. The overall effect is dark, emotional, bleak, and beautiful.

This is what would happen if My Dying Bridge went sludgy and ditched the clean (male) vocals.

Listen on:

Orphaned Land & Amaseffer - Kna’an

Here’s a pretty cool collaboration, Orphaned Land’s cool guitar sound matches up really well with the Amaseffer vocal style. The result sounds much like you’d expect!

Listen on:

Moloken - All Is Left Too See

Another recommendation from Heavy Blog, this is a beauty. This is another band you can’t pigeonhole, with a cool mix of black metal, doom and sludge, the closing track is epic, so watch it below.

Listen on:

AWOOGA - Alpha

Here’s a band I heard about from the mailing list of another band (Amplifier). This is a three-piece up north somewhere, playing:

… their signature sound. A brooding hybrid of space-rock psychedelia, sludgy doom with a generous nod to the golden age of alternative rock.

and what a signature sound it is! Check it out!

Listen on: