Spring of doom!

It's holiday, the weather is lovely and heavy, molasses-thick sounds are seeping from my speakers... with fresh albums by some of the biggest and best doom bands around, this is truly the spring of doom! Let's investigate further...

First up, a two-pronged attack from Sweden! Preceding a new Candlemass album, mainman Leif Edling has released his first real solo album, Songs of torment, songs of joy.
Opting to 'sing' on all the songs himself might not have been the wisest choice, but man - those riffs are still carved from molten rock! Just check out the guitar/hammond organ in 'It is not there' and marvel at the eerie atmosphere on most of the album. To me, the vocals let the whole deal down a bit. With a proper singer this could have been lethal! Overall tho, the organ is used well and some haunting background choirs appear here and there around Leif's whispered/snarled vocals, and as a whole it is a good, heavy album. I give it a solid 7 out of 10, because when all is said and done this is still a riff-master at work!

Candlemass weigh in with the second album featuring new singer Robert Lowe, and the album (Death Magic Doom) is a good continuation from the recent ep Lucifer Rising.
It sounds like Lowe has been involved more in the way the vocals go this time, and the songs seem to fit his voice better than some of the tracks on the first album he was on.
Opener If I ever die and songs like Dead Angel are great uptempo metal tracks, but the slow deliberate Candlemass style shines through in songs like Hammer of Doom and the eerie closer My funeral dreams. Try as they might to update the candlemass sound, I will still always prefer the albums with former singer Messiah Marcolin, but this album is the best yet with the new lineup. I award it 8 out of 10 for it's crushing, clear production and the awesome songs Candlemass always deliver.

In England, one third of the dark brotherhood of british 90's metal is stirring again. My Dying Bride released their 10th album, For lies I sire, in late March. With this band, no news is good news, but the album does bring back something that I, personally, have missed a lot in MDB's sound. The violin! Albums by MDB are always a depressing, lamenting trawl through the human hearts dark corridors, and the melancholy violin just adds to that. One song, Chapter in loathing, harks back to the bands death metal beginnings, which I'm not a big fan of. But the rest of the album is pure misery and all the better for it. The acoustic guitars that sometimes sneak in remind me of passages of the album 'The dreadful hours', which was a latter-day favourite. Aaron Stainthorpe's vocals ensure that this band always sounds suitably english, and that is part of the big charm of bands like MBD, and the other two 'dark brotherhood' bands, Anathema and Paradise Lost. A return to form, 9 out of 10!

Already some legandary names, but here comes one that will appeal more to people who like their Doom mixed with desert-dry stoner rock instead of gothic splendour.
Yes, the former Obsessed, St. Vitus and Spirit Caravan leader, Wino, has returned and is bringing a brand new solo album. Punctuated Equilibrium is the title, and Wino himself handles vocals and guitar as usual. Lots of uptempo tracks on this one, with some great solos thrown all over the place, and it seems like Wino is on top form. I would have liked it to be a little more doom-like, with some slower tracks with massive riffs and all, but it is a good rockin' album from start to finish pretty much. Could perhaps have been a little better considering it is the man's first album in his own name, but still - worthy! 7 out of 10.

Soon to emerge is also a brand new Black Sabbath album, with Dio on vocals! Of course it will be under the name Heaven & Hell, and judging by the first leaked track Bible Black, it is going to be fantastic! Review to follow when available!