Earth
Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II
Southern Lord

Having been locked up for about a year (since it was recorded at the same time as Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I), Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II finally meets its emancipation, and while you’ve no doubt got its dark, drawn out revelry already figured out, there are some differences to be noted between the two sisters. For one, II is only three quarters of an hour long, a good fifteen minutes shorter than I, despite the same number of songs, and in Earth terms, that’s a good spell. That doesn’t mean it feels any less shorter, though, and that’s largely due to II‘s more optimistic tone. If I was the descent, II is the ascent, punctuated by more prominent contributions from Adrienne Davies’ percussion and Lori Goldston’s cello, both of which seem to pull songs like “Waltz (A Multiplicity of Doors)” and “The Corascene Dog” toward the glowing embers of some distant fire. Much like I — and Earth’s last few albums before it — II is a dust n’ bones affair, albeit a somewhat more redemptive one, meaning it’s got plenty of that hypnotic Americana gothic sound worked into the band’s signature drone doom, but the way Dylan Carlson’s guitar reaches for something akin to a riff on “The Rakehell” is a subtle but dynamic move that reveals beauty and hope in the blackness.

Listen to “The Corascene Dog” from Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II!

Dwellers
Good Morning Harakiri
Small Stone

Well, it turns out that Peace, and Other Horrors, the four-song EP Dwellers put out last year, was an experimental little project because there’s not much folksy, acoustic Americana Gothic to be found on their debut full-length, Good Morning Harakiri. Although, to be fair, Good Morning Harakiri does contain a good deal of slide guitar, but it’s used as a vehicle for delivering some grungy psych-blues instead. I suppose the idea behind this one is that the six songs included here are the musical equivalent of splitting yourself open and spilling your guts all over the place, and if that’s the case, this Salt Lake City trio (comprised of Iota and Subrosa members) has made one fine mess. While it is atmospheric, exotic, and trippy at times, Good Morning Harakiri is, ultimately, blessedly doomed, absolutely heavy, and full of Southern-fried muscle, and if Gideon Smith was to ever rip through a set of songs from Soundgarden’s Ultramega OK in Earth’s jam room, this is what it would sound like. Forget what it does to your insides — this ritual rock rattles your goddamn bones.

Listen to “Lightening Ritual” from Good Morning Harakiri!

Seven Sisters of Sleep
Seven Sisters of Sleep
A389 Records/Southern Lord

Belly-squelching full-length debut from California’s Seven Sisters of Sleep, who have one of those amazing band names that offer a dark promise, and in this case that dark promise is a hellish renaissance of doom and gloom. Sure enough, these Sisters deliver, conjuring up a hardcore sludge that contains all the Gothic madness of an Albrecht Dürer woodcutting come to life through walls of black fuzz. Now, the eight songs here only run for about 20 minutes, which ain’t really your conventional method for dispensing doom metal, but then again, this doom metal just happens to be wrapped in a cloak of aggression, so it makes sense. In as much, Seven Sisters of Sleep strikes a chaotic balance; the majority of the riffs toe the brutal line, rolling slow and deadly, while the beat and vocals run rabidly ahead and sniff out the corpses. In some cases (“Tide is Rising,” CCEC,” and “Swamp”) it’s all grind and gnash, the hunting party descending upon you without hesitation, ruining your life.

Listen to “Monasteries” from Seven Sisters of Sleep!