Laser Dracul - Hin Håle Blues (Album Review)

Release Date: October 30th 2026. Record Label: Majestic Mountain Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Hin Håle Blues - Tracklist 

1.Our King is Forever

2.Bringer of Light

3.Walking the Left Hand Path 

4.The End of Time

5.Hornæus

6.Come to me Witches 

Review

Doom/Stoner Metallers Laser Dracul return after a six year absence with their second album Hin Håle Blues which sees the band offer a heavier, darker and menacing sound compared to their acclaimed 2020 debut album. The band have aligned themselves more closely to the likes of Electric Wizard with their bleakly distorted vision having a classic OCCULT DOOM METAL energy appearing within the lyrics and music written for the album.

Hin Håle Blues means “The Devil’s Blues” in English, well according to GOOGLE but I’m happy to be corrected on that score. Laser Dracul employs a seedy Seventies Metal delivery within the early stages of the record that branches out into areas of Fuzz, Psych Rock and Stoner Metal with a record that never feels OLD or completely out of fashion. The songs are wonderfully constructed with Laser Dracul adding some classic OCCULT and HALLOWEEN themes into their music with a grizzled sludgy atmosphere allowing the music to perhaps be more modern within tracks Our King Is Forever and Bringer Of Light. 

The pounding rhythm section has that classic SABBATHIAN energy that emits a ton of amplified distortion that lurks silently in the background before aiming for a complete control within the heaviest sounds of the album. Laser Dracul never play over the top, flashy or progressive grooves as they fully commit themselves into developing a great style of vintage Doom/Stoner Metal with superb modern psychedelic touches adding a real sense of urgency to everything. 

The lyrics are superbly rooted within the Doom Metal and Occult folklore but offer a grounded take that allows Laser Dracul to deliver some violent harsh growls on certain stages of the record. The majority of the vocals are clean based but be prepared for a certain Blackened Doom approach to develop. 

The main bulk of the music is powered through a gloomy mix of distorted sounds and down-tuned instrumental passages that can be quite isolated and solitary on tracks such as Bringer Of Light, Walking The Left Hand Path and Hornæus being my favourite tracks on the album. The level of Blues Rock/Metal is another highlight of Hin Håle Blues with the whole musical atmosphere dripping in menacing Blues Rock that allows the SLOW-TO-MID played music develop naturally but still with a menacing presence.

The sound can be quite deafening at times which surprised me greatly as Laser Dracul aren’t afraid to play some violently LOUD rhythms, melodies and occult soundscapes that left me turning the volume down on my designated player at times. I mean that as a compliment and not showing my advancing years of reviewing music.

Hin Håle Blues is a delightfully sinister record with Laser Dracul firing on all cylinders throughout and perhaps releasing one of the best Occult Doom Metal albums I’ve heard this year.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Viral Propaganda PR for the promo.

Hin Håle Blues is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Majestic Mountain Records.

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

GOATMILKER - Gods & Monsters (EP Review)

Release Date: October 30th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Format: DD

Gods & Monsters - Tracklist 

The Approaching

Cancerlung

Continuum Broken

Don Of Time

Members

Lars Godal – Guitar

Mathias Lieberknecht– Bass/vocals

Petter Ramberg – Drums

Vegard Lindtveit – Guitar/lead vocals

Review

Progressive Doom Metallers GOATMILKER return with their latest EP - Gods & Monsters. The EP follows a similar style to last year’s self-titled debut album with the band being influenced by the likes of MASTODON, Black Sabbath, VOIVOD, CAVE IN and SLAYER. Sometimes the EP can be overloaded with different musical themes and creative ideas but GOATMILKER has this great ability to make everything make sense.

The music is brilliantly deranged and highly melodic with some epic sounds having a certain KVELERTAK energy to them. The Progressive Metal part of the record even allows GOATMILKER to add a certain COMMERCIAL ROCK/POP aspect into their music especially on tracks Cancerlung and Continuum Broken. There’s some fast-paced beatdowns and breakdowns that the band play with a determined EIGHTIES HEAVY METAL approach with some classic guitar shredding appearing out of nowhere. 

The lyrics are quite darker and very conceptual compared to their debut album as GOATMILKER perfectly bridges the gap between the underground metal sounds and the commercial rock based themes that Gods & Monsters superbly contains. However, Gods & Monster really thrives when GOATMILKER aim for that highly experimental style of music that made their debut album such a standout as everything becomes completely FUCKED UP but with a fast-paced riff-centric delivery emerging on tracks Continuum Broken and Don Of Time.

Gods & Monsters is an excellent record with a real warped sense of identity holding everything together and allowing GOATMILKER to release another superb record to really stand out from the crowd and make themselves more known within the underground scene.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

Facebook | Instagram | BandCamp

Human Ape Hybrid God - Scream Into The Camera (Single Review)

Release Date: October 04th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Format: DD

Scream Into The Camera - Tracklist 

The Approaching

Cancerlung

Continuum Broken

Don Of Time

Members

Otto Kinzel - Everything

Review

Scream Into The Camera is the debut single from Human Ape Hybrid God which is the latest creative project from Otto Kinzel who is from Doom/Stoner Metallers Dust Prophet. This project is firmly rooted within the Avant-Garde/Experimental Metal scenes as Otto whips up a creative frenzy with music ranging from Doom, Industrial Metal, Prog Metal and Post-Metal being played at a frantic pace.

This feels like the project was inspired by certain Mike Patton projects with the vocals having a slight resemblance to them. However, the music itself is wonderfully weird and highly inventive especially when the song moves into a more Jazz Metal direction with some screeching thrash metal interludes being added for good measure.

The song doesn’t follow a straight forward narrative as such with Human Ape Hybrid God exploring different areas of the Extreme Metal spectrum. Everything does feel out of place but Otto does include some intense Doom Metal and Post-Metal surroundings on the later stages of the track. There’s a great DIY approach being used for this project that allows for the song to have a great musical dynamic when everything is said and done.

It’s not the easiest track to listen to and is perhaps more suited for fans of Experimental music than your casual music fan. This is a great track if you're feeling brave enough to give Scream Into The Camera a chance. I’m excited to see what Otto releases next under the banner of Human Ape Hybrid God.

My advice is give this track a try. You may enjoy the warped music that appears within some of the craziest four minutes you’re likely to hear this year.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

BandCamp

Exclusive Album Premiere Of Doom/Sludge/Post-Metallers PALEGAZER Debut Album WHITE MOURNING

By mapping sonic landscapes that shift from immersive, melancholic passages to shuddering heaviness, Palegazer, a trio from Porto, Portugal, crafts their own reflection on humanity. 

Shifting between clean vocals and drawn-out guttural growls, from shimmering cymbal resonance to the snap of the snare, and from fragile melodic phrases to cavernous, weighty riffs, their sound inhabits a space between the atmospheric depth of post-metal and the crushing density of sludge and doom. About "White Mourning" album: 

The idea behind this project has always been to create something that feels deeply human, reaching out and allowing for connection through the most raw and yet ubiquitous of feelings, no matter what shape they may take within each of us. 

The album "White Mourning" explores the fragility of human nature, how we are vulnerable both to ourselves and to the world around us. It reflects on the imagined narratives we construct to comfort ourselves, and how our perceptions ultimately shape the realities we experience. "White Mourning" can symbolize freedom from loss, whether the loss of a life, of a burden, or of something deeply cherished, representing not only grief but also rebirth and self-discovery through the act of letting go. 

Influenced by bands such as YOB, Russian Circles, REZN, Deafheaven, Conan, Bölzer, Mastodon, Ahab and Bell Witch, as well as some early 2000s metal, the sound ranges from immersive, melancholic melodies to shuddering heaviness, drawing from sludge, post-metal, and doom. 

The album was recorded at our own studio over the course of several months, and it was mixed and mastered by Diogo Santana from Noise Portrait Recordings, who has worked with several Portuguese and international bands over the years. 

You can listen to the album in full thanks to the great folks over at Grand Sounds Promotion.

Tracklist

Imminence - 5:52

Searing Light - 6:52

As What Remains Drifts - 6:12

Ancient Twin - 5:39

White Mourning - 14:07

Thanks to Grand Sounds Promotion for the promo.

White Mourning is available to buy now on CD/DD via Octopus Rising.

Links

BandCamp | Instagram

Palegazer - White Mourning (Album Review)

Release Date: October 30th 2026. Record Label: Octopus Rising. Format: CD/DD

White Mourning - Tracklist 

Imminence - 5:52

Searing Light - 6:52

As What Remains Drifts - 6:12

Ancient Twin - 5:39

White Mourning - 14:07

Members

Francisco Malojo - Guitar and Vocals

Nuno Silva - Drums

Gil Pereira - Bass

Review

White Mourning is the debut album from Atmospheric Sludge Metallers Palegazer and is a crushing mix of Doom, Post-metal, Sludge Metal, Stoner Metal and Ambient Metal for a record that’s viciously dark and emotionally engaging at the same time. The record has different styles of vocals leading the complex narrative with harsh growls that are quite easy to understand and the gloomy ambient themes allows the album to grow naturally. 

There’s a great build of LIGHT vs DARK elements throughout the album with some vibrant strands of Post-Rock that branch out into heavier forces of Post-Metal and Blackened Doom which you experience throughout the stunning opening tracks of Imminence and Searing Light. Palegazer are clearly influenced by the big hitters of the modern day Post-Metal scene but you can hear other great artists such as CONAN, Mastodon and Deafheaven. 

The level of Progressive Metal attitude is what fully sells Palegazer’s music as this allows their music to drift into different areas of music such as Heavy Psych and Cosmic Doom with great lyrics being written to accompany the music. Palegazer have a fine ear for detail where they blend harsh soundscapes against a calmer backdrop of Ambient Post-Rock before returning to that heavy Atmospheric Sludge Metal world they fully build their music upon. 

The songs are superbly technical and highly inventive with Palegazer adding a real emotional core to their music whilst adding some unexpected musical beatdowns and breakdowns on tracks such as Searing Light, As What Remains Drifts and the epic final track White Mourning that runs for fourteen minutes. The production values are handled superbly well with Palegazer demonstrating a fast-paced delivery within their music. Sometimes the band switches things up for a heavier and calmer vibe but it’s still within the rules of modern day Post-Metal. 

White Mourning is a superbly entertaining record that’s emotionally rewarding at the time which is sometimes quite hard to achieve for a debut album such as this. However, Palegazer have delivered a record that demands your undivided attention and offers a great musical experience every time you listen to the album.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Grand Sounds Promotion for the promo.

White Mourning is available to buy now on CD/DD via Octopus Rising.

Links

BandCamp | Instagram

Wasteland Sludgers SARAKSH Unleash Relentless Second Single "Confinement: Bottom Deep"!

Following the intense first glimpse offered by "Forlorn", German Wasteland Sludgers SARAKSH have unleashed "Confinement: Bottom Deep", the second single from their upcoming full-length album "Abiram" (out November 20, 2026). Diving even deeper into the record's dark and narrative universe, the new track reinforces the band's signature blend of nerve-crushing riffs and atmospheric depth.

- Listen to "Confinement: Bottom Deep" HERE -

Founded in 2018 by guitarist/vocalist Severin Mäker, the dystopian/sci-fi-influenced project SARAKSH counts three releases so far, with 'Moloch: refactored' (2023) marking a plunge into a more conceptual approach to the themes of SARAKSH. Contrasting its brutalist title track with three concentrated tracks 'Drive', 'R.T.W.Y.A.' and 'Eden in Waste', the quartet delivers by navigating between groove-oozing and nerve-crushing riffs, whilst chaotic outbursts are eerily surrounded by psychotic, then liberating chants, just to be completely resolved in proliferated guitar layers and atmospheric, synth-driven passages.

Being influenced by the likes of Converge, Ulcerate, Totem Skin and Omega Massif, the band keeps their organic, yet tight playing style very closely tied to the aspect of musical storytelling. Thus, the upcoming album "Abiram" picks up right where the grand finale of the title track from the band’s last release left off, in which the wanderer leaves 'Moloch' full of despair and hopelessness.

Tracklist:

01. Scavenger
02. Confinement: Carving Me
03. Confinement: Circles
04. Confinement: Bottom Deep
05. They Come At Night
06. Forlorn
07. Mire
08. Designation

"Abiram" arrives on November 20, self-released by SARAKSH.

SARAKSH are:

Severin Mäker - Guitar, Keys, Programming, Vocals, Production (Editing, Mixing, Mastering)
Christian Busch - Guitar
Max Hönig - Drums

For more info visit:

https://linktr.ee/saraksh
https://www.instagram.com/saraksh_band/
https://www.facebook.com/SarakshBand
https://saraksh.bandcamp.com

Thanks to All Noir PR for the details.

Forest Horse - Botany (Album Review)

Release Date: October 28th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Format: DD

Botany - Tracklist 

A Stirring

Spore Lord

Elixir

The Fallen Limb

Ploughman’s Prayer

Ritual Reckoning

Unspeakable

First Light

Review

Botany is the second full length album by Forest Horse who specialise in a fuzzed up style of Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal with some scorched earth Desert Rock soundscapes being added into the mix. The record is an interesting take on the standard Sludge/Stoner Metal sound with this project inspired by the likes of SLEEP, KYUSS, Electric Wizard and Truckfighters. The music itself is played at a cool mid pace that allows the amplified heaviness to aim for a commanding performance throughout.

The vocals are mostly clean based but they’re some vicious growls along the way which gives Botany an unexpected area of GLOOM & DOOM to appear. The album is quite riff-centric that branches out into areas of Americana, Psych Rock and Post-Metal on different stages of the album. Forest Horse even applies to some Droned Out surroundings that reminds me of SLEEP before the album takes a darker and vicious turn. 

The later stages of Botany sees Forest Horse create Post-Rock elements that allows the layers of Droned Out Doom to bring a more apocalyptic sound to the whole album. The use of soundclips and certain trippy effects gives Botany a more primal and destructive feeling that really sells that down-tuned level of heaviness to a wider cinematic scope on tracks such as: Spore Lord, Elixir, The Fallen Limb, Ritual Reckoning and First Light. 

There are certain sections that may play it safe against the classic template and folklore of Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal but Forest Horse won’t be the first band to apply that creative logic into their music. However, it’s the band’s clever use of violent vocals and intense lyrics that makes the album really standout especially when the FUZZED OUT atmospherics results with some epic instrumental solos appearing out of nowhere and leaving you in a hypnotic trance.

This is an album that relies on BRAINS and BRAWN in equal measure which becomes one of Forest Horse’s greatest strengths to help deliver a record that’s superbly produced and brilliantly put together from start to finish. The WEEDIAN effect on Botany is quite grounded but don’t be surprised when the album does go for that classic “OVER THE TOP” feeling that will definitely appeal to fans of BONGZILLA and WEEDEATER.

Botany is a superb album and one that can easily become a cult favourite within the underground scene. I’m excited to see what comes next from Forest Horse as Botany is a dark, delicious and twisted journey worth taking over and over again.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

https://foresthorse.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/foresthorsemusic