#2 The Devil’s Blood – The Time of No Time Evermore

As European as the Renaissance, as inviting as a red light, as despair-ridden as a dungeon full of skeletons, and as classic as Thin Lizzy, no new band caught my attention more this year than The Devil’s Blood, who rock the Transylvania castle party in a HUGE way. They released a demo in ’07, and a 7″ and 5-song EP last year, so call this one their first full-length, and it’s nothing but a gorgeous offering of ’70s metal (you know, the kind of metal that’s more rock n’ roll than metal, the kind that bands like Deep Purple played) and sacrilegious pop, an occult rock n’ soul record of wicked lore, perhaps summoned from the days of yore. Modernly speaking though, it’s like Urge Overkill jamming with Shiny Mama — this band is clearly the lovechild of Nash Kato and Yana Chupenko sent to hypnotize us all and steal our virtue. Yes! And their song “I’ll Be Your Ghost”? Yeah dude, far and away my favourite song of the year.

Listen to “I’ll Be Your Ghost” from The Time of No Time Evermore!

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I am now the proud owner of Katatonia‘s new album, Night is the New Day.

The wife pre-ordered the double LP for me from Peaceville as a little surprise and, oh baby, is it ever beautiful. It even smells amazing. The little label on the back tells me I have album number 777 of 1,000. What a perfect number.

Katatonia are masters when it comes to progressive, melodic doom. Their music is disgustingly heavy and serenely beautiful; it’s atmospheric metal of the highest order. Night is the New Day is quite impressive and easily matches the brilliance of The Great Cold Distance, which was a very tall task. But they pulled it off. I’m very excited to have this in my collection.

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Obiat
Eye Tree Pi
Small Stone

Obiat comes at you from England by way of Poland and is at once Mastodonian, Katatonian, and Wagnerian (as in Eric, as in Trouble) in all it does, and yet stand well on their own out on the furthest branches of the tallest tree on the highest mountain in your mind. Where Candlemass built shrines, Obiat builds satellites; both speak the same ancient language, but exist in a different space and time. Eye Tree Pi, the band’s third album, is some serious psychedelic doom, a heavy mathematical formula where cosmic dynamite fury plus mystic pagan heresy equals wicked acid flashbacks of aliens building Stonehenge under stormy red skies. So put on your silver jumpsuit, spaceman, and take shelter in the forest of all time.

Listen to “NoMad NoMind” from Eye Tree Pi.

Buy Eye Tree Pi from Small Stone.