Svjetlost - The Forever Silent (Album Review)

Release Date: July 24th 2026. Record Label: Shadow Of Sorrow Records. Released. Formats: DD

The Forever Silent - Tracklist

1.Above the Mountains

2.Lands of Suffering 

3.The Golden Lilies

4.Between the Peaks

Members

All instruments and vocals by Jamie Kobić

Review

The Forever Silent is the debut album from Sludge/Doom/Stoner/Post-Metal entity Svjetlost which is the creative project from Jamie Kobić who also happens to be the lead vocalist/drummer for Doom/Post-Metallers Garvan. This project takes a slightly different route to Garvan as Svjetlost is primarily inspired by a form of music called Sevdah. Sevdah is the traditional music of Bosnia with minimal, slow and folk based rhythms which transform into different atmospherics and progressive chords. 

Svjetlost adds a heavy and pulsating style of Doom, Drone, Sludge and Stoner Metal for this record which spans across four individual tracks running for almost fifty six minutes in length. Each track tells a different story to each other where the dominant Sludge/Stoner Metal sound delivers the dense instrumental passages to crush your hearing with. However, Jamie uses a lush style of Ambient Rock, Drone and Post-Rock where that more restrained style of melody becomes the dominant factor. 

This record is inspired by the likes of SLEEP, OM, Shrinebuilder and High On Fire but given a unique Folk Rock sound which allows elements of acts such as Neurosis, Russian Circles and Pelican to give The Forever Silent a fever-pitch experimental energy. Though, the music is brilliantly riff-centric with opening track Above The Mountains traversing the finer realms of Space Rock and Cosmic Doom with that grounded Folk Rock relevance appearing within the vocals and sudden shift to amplifier distorted Post-Metal delivery. 

The lyrics are completely off the charts with some cool strands of weirdness appearing but Jaime does write some deeply meaningful reasons behind them that touch upon his own heritage and close links to Bosnia and Herzegovina in general. Svjetlost works best when the music drifts into Ambient Post-Rock and tranquil Shoegaze movements which gives a sense of calm before the record explodes in a loud aggressive Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal stance.

There’s a great use of different sound effects and trippy themes that feel inspired by the classic Post-Rock/Post-Metal scene especially on tracks Lands Of Suffering and Golden Lillies. These parts can be quite melancholic with a brooding self imposed style of reflection before the mood changes dramatically for an intense onslaught of Sludge/Stoner Metal grooves. The Forever Silent isn’t always about the heavy destructive journey and even though that’s some of my favourite aspects of the record, you have to experience the lovely therapeutic Post-Rock surroundings that transport you to another time and place.

The vocals are absolutely exquisite and quite heartbreaking in places especially within the quieter moments. Jamie does a wide range of different vocal styles that matches the mood the music brings throughout each individual track’s massive run time. The sound can be quite abstract with a classic “LESS IS MORE” presence before transforming into a commanding Sludge Metal delivery when you least expect this. 

The later stages of The Forever Silent starts merging the early tone of the record with perhaps a bleak and sombre message that results in some epic long drawn out grooves formed by the Atmospheric Sludge and Psychedelic Stoner Metal domains within the standout tracks of The Golden Lillies and Between The Peaks.

Svjetlost have crafted a rich and brilliantly original style of underground music that easily allows the record to be considered as one of the best debut albums to be released this year. The trippy and ambient effects become even more powerful with every repeated listen that leaves The Forever Silent a breathless and unforgettable AUDIO experience.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Viral Propaganda PR for the promo.

The Forever Silent is available to buy digitally now from all good digital stockists.

Links 

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Heavy Psych Rockers INSOMNIAC announce US fall shows; summer tour starts this week!

Atlanta, Georgia's ritualistic heavy rock unit INSOMNIAC has announced a full East Coast tour with festival appearances for the fall, as they prepare to kick off their US summer run alongside Texan doom outfit Slumbering Sun.

With their 2025 debut album "Om Moksha Ritam" on Blues Funeral Recordings, Atlanta's Insomniac have coalesced onto our plane like a third eye opening into the beyond, delivering a brooding, heavy, and psychedelic journey filled with riffs and beats written in the Earth's frequency. Dubbed by Treble Zine as "a spiritual awakening" and "one of the most breathtaking and brilliantly surreal pieces of music" by UK website Outlaws of the Sun, the music Insomniac creates drifts between this world and the next, hovering at the periphery of consciousness. REZN, King Buffalo and Dead Meadow naturally arise as points of reference, although it’s clear that fitting within confines isn’t really what the Atlanta band does.

About their upcoming tours, Insomniac says: "It's been an incredible ride over the last 8 months since Om Moksha Ritam released, and we've been working hard both on and off stage while racking up a ton of tour dates and road miles in the process. We're overjoyed to see firsthand how much our music has resonated with people far and wide, and the response continues to grow from the stage to the community daily."

Summer shows:

7/10 - Shreveport, LA - Bear's *
7/11 - Tulsa, OK - Whittier Bar *
7/12 - Lawrence, KS - Bottleneck *
7/13 - Omaha, NE - Reverb Lounge *
7/14 - Davenport, IA - Raccoon Motel *
7/15 - Indianapolis, IN - State Street Pub *
7/16 - Nashville, TN - The End *
7/17 - Asheville, NC - Asheville Doomed & Stoned
7/18 - Atlanta, GA - Boggs Social *
* with Slumbering Sun

Fall shows:

9/30 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
10/1 - Washington, D.C. - Pie Shop
10/2 - Brooklyn, NY - In The Key of Doom Fest
10/3 - Cheshire, CT - Counterweight Brewing ^
10/4 - Cambridge, MA - Middle East ^+
10/6 - Bangor, ME - Old Town Theater
10/7 - Portland, ME - Live At Madrid's
10/8 - Providence, RI - Alchemy
10/9 - New Hope, PA - John and Peter's #
10/10 - Saratoga Springs, NY - Joint Jam Festival ~
10/11 - Cleveland, OH - No Class
10/13 - Grand Rapids, MI - Mulligan's Pub
10/15 - Chicago, IL - Reggies
10/16 - Minneapolis, MN - Zhora Darling ~
10/17 - Green Bay, WI - Wisconsin Doomed & Stoned ~

^ with Heavy Temple
+ with Crystal Spiders
# with Today Is The Day
~ with Howling Giant & High Desert Queen

Insomniac links

Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

Blues Funeral Recordings links

Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram | Youtube

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the details.

Atlanta Heavy Rock Ritualists INSOMNIAC announce US summer shows with Slumbering Sun

Atlanta, Georgia's entrancing psychedelic doom sensation INSOMNIAC announce a short run of US shows alongside Texan doom unit Slumbering Sun this summer, as they keep supporting their 2025 debut album "Om Moksha Ritam" on Blues Funeral Recordings.

With their 2025 debut album "Om Moksha Ritam" on Blues Funeral Recordings, Atlanta's Insomniac have coalesced onto our plane like a third eye opening into the beyond, delivering a brooding, heavy, and psychedelic journey filled with riffs and beats written in the Earth's frequency. Dubbed by Treble Zine as "a spiritual awakening" and "one of the most breathtaking and brilliantly surreal pieces of music" by UK website Outlaws of the Sun, the music Insomniac creates drifts between this world and the next, hovering at the periphery of consciousness. REZN, King Buffalo and Dead Meadow naturally arise as points of reference, although it’s clear that fitting within confines isn’t really what the Atlanta band does.

About their upcoming summer tour, Insomniac says: "It's been an incredible ride over the last 8 months since Om Moksha Ritam released, and we've been working hard both on and off stage while racking up a ton of tour dates and road miles in the process. We're overjoyed to see firsthand how much our music has resonated with people far and wide, and the response continues to grow from the stage to the community daily."

"It's been a busy start to busy 2026 with almost 50 gigs and 12 thousand miles so far, and we're on a mission to keep the good times rolling this summer with a string of dates accompanied by some of our best buds with one of the best bands, Austin/Dallas heavy psych outfit Slumbering Sun, whom we've been fortunate enough to vibe with many times over since the beginning of 2025. Our "waking dream" tour takes us into the Midwest, across many markets we've never experienced before such as Shreveport, Omaha, and Davenport, and we're excited to return to a bunch of places we have a rich history rocking, culminating in the Asheville Doomed and Stoned festival alongside a metric ton of homies like Duel, Order of the Owl, Hot Ram, and more!" 

Insomniac summer shows w/ Slumbering Sun

7/10 - Shreveport, LA - Bear's
7/11 - Tulsa, OK - Whittier Bar
7/12 - Lawrence, KS - Bottleneck
7/13 - Omaha, NE - Reverb Lounge
7/14 - Davenport, IA - Raccoon Motel
7/15 - Indianapolis, IN - State Street Pub
7/16 - Nashville, TN - The End
7/17 - Asheville, NC - Asheville Doomed & Stoned Fest
7/18 - Atlanta, GA - Boggs Social

Insomniac links

Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

Blues Funeral Recordings links

Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram | Youtube

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the details.

Drone/Doom/Stoner Metallers Release New Video For MONASTERY OF THE SEVEN AGES From Their New Album BRAHMAN

Drone/Doom/Stoner Metallers BREATH release their epic new music video for Monastery of the Seven Sages from their recent acclaimed album BRAHMAN.. 

The band says this about the video:

"Monastery of the Seven Sages peers into a distant proto-bronze age landscape obscured by the fog of time. The power and bond of ‘as above so below’ is conveyed through filmmaker Erik Meharry’s vision for our music video. His inspiration from the song birthed a whole outline of Lynchian depth that made us all too eager for him to be at the helm.A song following steps like Oannes, looking to the wild horizon of space and Earth and finding connection."

Brahman is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Argonauta Records.

Links

https://www.facebook.com/Breathpdx
https://inbreath.bandcamp.com/

BREATH - Brahman (Album Review)

Release Date: October 24th 2025. Record Label: Argonauta Records. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Brahman - Tracklisting

Monastery of the Seven Sages

Awen

Sanliurfa

Sages

Cedars of Lebanon

Hy-Brasil

Members

Steven O'Kelly - bass guitars & vocals Ian Caton - drums & auxiliary percussion Rob Wrong - guitars Lauren Hatch - keyboards  

Review

Drone/Doom/Stoner Metallers Breath release their second musical opus with Brahman and it’s equally different and similar to their celebrated 2021 debut album Primeval Transmissions. The band live and breathe MEDITATIVE DOOM throughout this album but still allow themselves their music to form melodies, musical compositions with real SPACED OUT and PROGRESSIVE depth to their music. Brahman may operate on a different Psychedelic and Drone Metal plane to us mere mortals but the record is equally mysterious, comforting and deeply philosophical with Breath developing areas of music that reminds of bands such as SLEEP, YOB, SUNN 0))) and OM whilst also striving to be their own thing.

The opening track of Monastery Of The Seven Sages is perhaps the closest we’ll ever get to the likes of SUNN 0))) and SLEEP jamming for one mighty instrumental WEEDIAN session that transcends multiple dimensions. The vocals from Stephen O’Kelly retain their shamanic quality to them. The swirling psychedelics and slow-paced riff-centric mechanics all combine for a Drone Rock exercise of the highest order.

Second track Awen sees Breath tap into their Space Rock psyche once more with a Sludge Rock riff-fuelled dynamic transforming into hazy amounts of modern day Heavy Psych with flashes of Jimi Hendrix style theatrics courtesy of Rob Wrong’s supremely intelligent guitars. Al Cisernos is most definitely a huge influence with the band’s lyrics and bass playing for main frontman Steven O’Kelly to weave his magical sounds upon the listener. The music becomes quite intense and fast-paced with Breath blending different styles of Cosmic Rock imagery that’s trapped between Drone Rock and Sludge Rock melodies. 

Third track Sanliurf allows keyboardist Lauren Hutch to play a mighty fine style of hallucinogenic keyboards to open the SPACE ROCK and EASTERN portal for the rest of the band to build their music around upon. The song is quite slow-paced and highly mysterious though the Art-Rock guitars that Rob Wrong injects into the mix. The first rate progressive drumming from Ian Caton provides the “engine” for this track which joins the heaviest melodies and psychedelic sections altogether. When Breath decide to play a standard “riff-centric” style of music you can’t help being reminded of The Velvet Underground with jagged guitars, experimental cosmic noises and other flashes of sludgy weirdness currently going on in the background.

Fourth track Sages is the track that could have easily been released from their last record as it has similar themes, textures and heavy rock structures but Breath add that frenzied Space Rock movement that showcases a classic style of Nineties Spaced Out Stoner Rock that the likes of Monster Magnet made infamous back in the day. Breath offers a contemporary and glitchy spin with overlapping grooves all vying for musical superiority. This is one of the strangest and standout tracks on the whole album especially if you took certain “herbal” substances to make your journey ever so more pleasant.

The final two tracks of Cedars Of Lebanon and Hy-Brasil shows Breath in a more subdued direction with a loving Post-Doom melody forming within Cedars Of Lebanon which is fully moved over to the epic twelve minute final track of Hy-Brasil. Echoes of The Velvet Underground and Ravi Shankar form within one final sonic journey into surreal levels of distorted heaviness. 

Brahman is one of the most perfect “MEDITATIVE DOOM” records I’ve heard in a very long time that will leave your mind, body, soul and spirit wholly cleansed and refreshed within this dimension, multiverse and beyond.

Incredible. End Of.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Grand Sounds Promotion and BREATH for the promo.

Brahman is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Argonauta Records.

Links

https://www.facebook.com/Breathpdx
https://inbreath.bandcamp.com/

Msytic/Spiritual/Doom/Stoner Rockers ETHEREAL RIFFIAN Release New Song / Video For Entering the City of Light

Mystic rock band from Ukraine, releases the music video for the track "Entering the City of Light". It was shot in 4 countries, 7 temples, and took 11 filming days. "I’ve always had the feeling that something is fundamentally wrong with the world humans have created. I had a vision of a better place, and I kept searching for it. I could feel glimpses of it in Jacque Fresco's ideas, in the ashrams of Sri Aurobindo and Sadguru, in the sincerity of morning rituals in Varanasi, in the spirit of freedom in the air of Singapore, and in how they masterfully blend technology with nature. It was inspiring, but still, it was bits and pieces, and I couldn't find the exact place. I have come to terms with the fact that it simply doesn't exist on this planet. "Entering the City of Light" is a very sincere sentiment and an attempt to recreate a feeling of this place. Where wars and tyrants are in history books, and the progress of spirit and technology happens simultaneously. Welcome to the City of Light," comments Val Kornev. The new single complements last year's video for "Eternal Home" and is the second release of the band as a duo.

Credits:

• Director: Val Kornev
• Shoot by Wild Ether and ខ្មែរយូនិក Khmer Unique
• Edited by Wild Ether
• aMusic composed, recorded, mixed, and mastered by Ethereal Riffian

Filmed during May-December 2024

Ethereal Riffian is: Val Kornev - guitar/vocal Max Yuhimenko - guitar ===LINKS=== Ethereal Riffian on Facebook:   / etherealriffian   Ethereal Riffian on bandcamp: https://etherealriffian.bandcamp.com/ Ethereal Riffian on Instagram:   / etherealriffian   Ethereal Riffian on Youtube:    / @etherealriffian   Wild Ether on instagram:   / wild_ether   Robustfellow on Patreon:   / robustfellow   Robustfellow on Facebook:   / robustfellowprods   Robustfellow on bandcamp: http://www.robustfellow.bandcamp.com Robustfellow on twitter:   / robust_fellow   Robustfellow on Instagram:   / robustfellow_prods   Robustfellow on Telegram: https://t.me/robustfellow

Thanks to RobustFellow Prods for all of the info.

Droni Eye Omi - Liminal Mass (Album Review)

Release Date: March 07th 2025. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: CD/DD

Liminal Mass - Tracklisting

1.Chromosphere 29:53

2.Black Flare 14:13 

Members

Brad Frye (Guitar One)

Ronaldo Baca (Guitar Two)

Review

Liminal Mass is the debut album from Meditative Doom/Drone Metallers Droni Eye Omi who use an instrumental blend of Doom, Drone and Ambient measures to conjure up a storm of distorted noises, moods within a spaced out environment. Consisting of two tracks across forty four minutes, the band contain a lot of different styles of meditative doomed out ambience into their music with a slight shift to Middle Eastern passages. 

The record is quite minimal and has a linear fashion to how Droni Eye Omi deliver their music. This closely resembles SUNN 0))) at times but with the band still allowing themselves their own creative freedom to experiment with certain noises and psychedelic hysteria coming from the amplified airwaves from every corner. The production values are quite solitary that allows Liminal Mass to have a unpolished vibe and a feeling that it was recorded live. 

The opening track of Chromosphere is a mammoth thirty minute number with Droni Eye Omi polluting the Drone Metal airwaves with a drone heavy style of long drawn out grooves, intense psychedelic sounds and a ton of guitar reverb from both Brad Frye and Ronaldo Baca. This is the sound of the DESERT being scorched into oblivion and wiped out of existence altogether.

There is a sense of eternal dread amplifying from the speakers as the band permanently filters out any moments of uplifting vibes for a song that retains its destructive and depressing energy to the very end. I was surprised at how riff-centred and focused this track actually is with multiple different methods being used to bring a sense of heavy grooves to the mix. Imagine OM jamming with SUNN 0))) and that’s the best way to describe the band on this track alone.

Second track Black Flare continues a similar message to the opening track but with Droni Eye Omi using their collective musical space on a more minimal and smaller level with the track only running at a compact fifteen minutes. However, that still doesn’t stop the band conjuring up more gloomy and downbeat experimental rhythms, fractured notes and distorted melodies that are brilliantly drawn out for a highly dramatic conclusion.

Liminal Mass is the ultimate experience of expression and minimalism if you’re a true fan of the Drone/Doom Metal sound. Be prepared for Droni Eye Omi to go off on a mystical tangent and play some standout sludgy guitar solos along the way.

Yeah, I kinda loved this mystical odyssey of destructive energy. Brilliant stuff. End Of.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

 

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Brand new Drone Metal band, DRONI EYE OMI to release debut album ‘Liminal Mass’ via Desert Records on March 7th, 2025

Photo by S. Seibert

Two guitars, one from Brad Frye (Red Mesa and Desert Records founder) and a second one from Ronaldo Baca (renowned New Mexican gypsy jazz band Swing Magique and flamemco guitarist) bring you a dense electric guitar drone mixed with psych and space minimalism, and meditative heaviness.

However, desert/stoner rock or gypsy jazz/flameco this is not!!

This is true drone and minimalism inspired by Lamonte Young's "Composition 1960 No. 7" and Earth's "Earth 2"

Droni Eye Omi take these influences as a base starting point and send them straight into the cosmos.

“The band name came from a text between myself and Michael DiMartino of Fowl Sounds. We were conceptualizing a drone pedal for guitar/bass (coming soon?) and he sent me two words: Droni Iommi. I laughed and said that would be a perfect name for a drone band. Well, a few months later I pitched this meditative drone project to Ronaldo Baca, and we got together and immediately found a connection with this style of music. The album was done live, all in one take. We recorded ourselves with a ton of mics on many amps with a psychedelic digital light show projecting on us. Enjoy melting your brains on this music.” -Brad Frye

Album cover by Diogo Soares

Links

Facebook | Instagram | BandCamp

Thanks to Desert Bloom PR for all of the details.