Uzala - Tales Of Blood & Fire

Tales Of Blood & Fire, the sophomore album by Boise/Portland doom-mongers Uzala is a very different beast from their self-titled debut.

As well as a change of line-up, with bassist Nick Phit departing to focus on the reunited Graves At Sea, and drummer Chuck Watkins leaving Graves At Sea to focus on Uzala, the band simply sounds far more confident having been road-tested on a couple of US tours.

Opening track 'Seven Veils' exhibits this growth immediately, the growing growl of distortion enveloping the listener, as clean guitar wavers and winds its way through the fuzz. When guitarist/vocalist Darcy Nutt's voice arrives, its with a new-found command, the strength of her hypnotic croon putting Uzala far ahead of the pack in the increasingly crowded 'female-fronted occult doom' genre. 

Final track 'Tenement Of The Lost' is a concise distillation of all the elements that make Tales Of Blood & Fire so compelling; haunting vocals over fuzzed-out riffs and hard-hitting percussion. What more could you ask for from one of the best doom albums released this year?

Tales Of Blood & Fire will be released as a deluxe vinyl package available through King of the Monsters 

As well as a limited edition cassette version available from Gypsy Blood Records

Read my full review over at The Sleeping Shaman... 

Ephemeros - All Hail Corrosion

I'm a sucker for West Coast miserablists like Asunder, Aldebaran, Laudanum, Samothrace, and Anhedonist, so I was excited to hear of a relatively recent addition to this band of happy campers, Portland's Ephemeros.

Comprised of various gloomy luminaries from bands such as Nux Vomica, Graves At Sea, Uzala and Bastard Feast, these guys have a proven pedigree for creating harsh sounds for harsh times, and All Hail Corrosion, their debut offering, is an even more dismal sound than anything they've created before.

The title track opens with the plaintive chime of a lone guitar, before the full band come crashing in, all devastating weight and foul growl. From there it's a slow burner of a track, their guitar harmonies have that beautifully melancholic quality present in all the best funeral doom, that sound that instills an ache in your chest. When done right, as it is here, there's nothing like it.

Ephemeros offer both despondency and redemption in their sound.

All Hail Corrosion is available now on CD via Seventh Rule:
http://shop.seventhrule.com/collections/new-releases/products/ephemeros-all-hail-corrosion-cd

With a vinyl release available for pre-order from Parasitic Records:
http://www.parasiticrecords.bigcartel.com/product/ephemeros-all-hail-corrosion-lp

All Hail Corrosion, All Hail Ephemeros!

Read my full review at The Sleeping Shaman...