Coming at us from Bradford, UK, it’s the much anticipated full-length debut by WOLVES IN WINTER – much anticipated because we have here a few familiar players from Solstice, Lazarus Blackstar, and Monolith Cult, names that are whispered about by fans here and there as they delve deeper into the hallowed halls of doom’s history.

Wolves In Winter generated excitement when they dropped a few stand-alone singles in 2021. One of them (“Nemesis”) finds its way onto the new album, titled ‘The Calling Quiet’ (2023). A twin guitar attack always has the potential to make things interesting, and here axe-swingers Wayne and Enzo double down on the thick flow of melody.

“Cord That Ends The Pain” is a grungy, somber slow-burner with “Fell on Black Days” pacing that reaches great heights of its own via the fevered pitch of its chorus. The band is to be credited for pushing the song even further, adding a final section that delivers a real coup de grâce.

“Nemesis” is a traditional doomer that borders on epic, with a hearty vocal approach that certainly many will find appealing. Guitars work in tandem with the rhythm section of Izak (bass) and Adam (drums), conjuring a misty, wistful atmosphere that’s both strong and determined. Once again, a stellar chorus presents itself, this time accented with effectual vocal harmonies.

“Pastime For Helots” is the last song on Side A and has a solemn, melancholic opening, but is well worth hanging onto for another sunbreak of a chorus. Every word is brimming with conviction and deep feeling.

Drums bounce and roll with transcendent might, yielding a “Promised Harvest” to begin the B-side. The riffage is as dire and menacing as you could ask for. Dark clouds are on the way and cymbals mark the march of time.

“Oceans” has a certain rhythmic pull, not unlike churning waves. Its verses have a reassuring metallic sheen, where the sweet 'n’ sour melodic line is shared by both the singer and guitarists. Then they break away from one another, each building their case as the song advances. Things end with cooing voices singing in Jerry Cantrelesque euphony.

Bittersweet counterpoint harmony ushers in the album’s closing and title track. The ambience greets us like a dawning day, bristling with life and quiet possibilities. Power is lent to every word and, once again, the listener becomes engrossed by its strange, solitary verses and the cathartic harmonies of its climactic chorus.

And now, appropriately, at the height of winter, we bring you The Calling Quiet by Wolves In Winter, releasing this weekend via Argonauta Records (pre-order here). All-in-all, one of my favorite doomy listens from edge to center since Apostle of Solitude’s 'Until the Darkness Goes’ (2021). For fans of Pallbearer, Spirit Division, and The Gates of Slumber.

Give ear…

SOME BUZZ

Epic, emotional, eloquent… UK doom metal quintet Wolves In Winter reveal full details of their highly anticipated album “The Calling Quiet”, to be released by Argonauta Records on February 24th 2023.

Formed between lockdowns in 2020, Wolves In Winter have worked tirelessly to forge a crushing fusion of traditional and contemporary doom metal. The band is comprised of seasoned veterans from the UK heavy music underground, including former and present members of Solstice, Lazarus Blackstar, Monolith Cult, Slammer and more, effortlessly building on a wealth of experience and carving a fully realised sound and vision.

Wolves In Winter wrote and recorded their debut album with Chris Fielding (Conan) at Foel Studios. Working with Fielding has allowed them to capture enormous tones and crushing riffs. The quintet seamlessly honour doom metal traditionalists such as Cathedral and Candlemass, yet go toe to toe with contemporary favourites including Pallbearer and Windhand.

Wolves In Winter land on both sides of the coin, building dynamic, weighty and nuanced lengthy tracks that are as heavy sonically as they are emotionally. With riffs and chord progressions that are contemplative and melancholic, a subtle yet driving rhythm section, and a powerhouse lead vocal performance which brims with emotive and passionate gravelly harmonies akin to Alice In Chains, Wolves In Winter have already crafted a versatile, engrossing and powerful sound.

The opening song to ‘Venus Skytrip’ (2020) really does “Blast Off.” English psychedelics PSYCHLONA really know how to take a note and ride with it. Strange as it may seem, that single note motif piqued memories of an early Herschell Gordon Lewis film, 'Monster a Go-Go’ (1965), and more specifically the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode in which Crow (one of the robots stranded in space with Joel on the Satellite of Love and forced to watch B-movies) hears a repeated note in the film similar in modulation to “Blast Off.” No longer able to take it, Crow breaks down in cries of: “Stop it. Stop it. STOP IT!” The difference, of course, is that Psychlona know how to take a simple, unremarkable note and turn it into something real groovy. Chances are, you will remember this album for how smoothly that solitary guitar note is cajoled – and you probably won’t want it to stop.

While the first track stirs up a bluesy dust storm, its companion “10,000 Volts” is a nice juicy slow burn that’s tailor made for the dive bar. You know, one of those unsavory places where the bands come to play for each other. It’s a sturdy, well-put together beast, with a staunch, bluesy heart, the lumbering feet of doom, and a stinging bite.

“Blow” may just well be a song about cocaine. At least they picked the perfect swagger for it, if that is indeed the case. It’s not a celebratory tale of drug abuse, though, and there’s a dark note adjoining the rocking rhythm to remind us that addiction is no joke. One of the groovier songs on the album, which I’m sure will make its way into my personal playlist.

“Star” is a straight up Fu-Manchu/Truckfighters-style rocker, while “Edge of the Universe” features buzzing riffs that dance impishly on the borderline of rock, blues, and heavy metal, daring you to put it in a box. Vocals are on par with King Buffalo, Age of Taurus, and Noctum.

Night falls on record’s flip side, with “Resin” slowing down the pace (though holding back none of the power). The vibraphone towards the song’s end was a very nice touch atmospherically.

“Tijuana” may be my favorite all around song from Venus Skytrip, coming off like an undiscovered gem that was unearthed in the same stylistic neighborhood as Nirvana and the Melvins.

Closing out the album: “The Owl.” A solitary and dankly downtuned theme greets us, joined in short order by clean vocals, and finally by the rhythm section, which pounds out a determined doom jam. Being the longest song of the lot, I halfway expected this to turn Jekyll and Hyde on us, switching gears into one of those Black Sabbath second-section romps or going for a jazzy improvisation. Much respect to Psychlona for letting the song breathe, develop, build, then unravel. A well-spent 9-minute trip.

Venus Skytrip by Psychlona reveals itself on Friday, August 21st via Ripple Music (pre-order here), with vinyled issued by Cursed Tongue Records (pre-order here). And now, Doomed & Stoned is pleased to bring you the album’s world premiere!

Give ear…

Some Buzz

It was in the summer of 2015 when the embryo of Psychlona first started to develop in Yorkshire in the north of England. Same old sketch - rehearse, rehearse, rehearse, gig, gig, gig. Jump forward a couple of years (and 6 drummers later!!) to late summer 2018 and the now fully formed eight legged groove machine was releasing its debut album ‘Mojo Rising’ on Ripple Music and Cursed Tongue Records. The album was well received (sold out and went to re-press) and live performances at events such as Desertfest London, Fuzztival Denmark and HRH Doom v. Stoner Festival along with a European tour saw the band taking their sound to a wider audience. The audience approved.

Never a band to sit back and take things easy, writing for what would become the next album began in the late autumn of 2019. So the four disappeared into The Cave for the winter armed with beers, kebabs and a fistful of ideas for new music and didn’t emerge until the job was done in the early months of 2020. Bleary eyed in the early morning sun and with a desire to unleash the last few months efforts onto the unsuspecting public, 2020 was starting to shape up pretty good. Performances at various Euro fests including Freak Valley Festival plus a UK tour and two European tours were in the diary. Immediately prior to that, the recording of the new album was scheduled for February/March. Recording started and then along came the virus which threw a spanner in everyone’s works.

The band pushed as hard as possible to complete the album which eventually happened towards the end of April. Life in general was postponed until 2021 including all live performances (the festivals and tours will still be going ahead albeit a year later). The record however refused to wait and the eight track album ‘Venus Skytrip’ will be unleashed in August, again via Ripple Music and Cursed Tongue Records.

We’re beyond proud of this album. Comments we hear regularly at live shows mention the power of the sound and the energy in the performance. We believe we’ve captured that power and energy in this record. So we’re proud of the album but more importantly we’re also proud to be members of the Ripple Music and Cursed Tongues Records families. There’s nowhere we’d rather be, so get your trip on and head for Venus…

Oh yeah – we’re still space truckin’ desert rockin’ kebab eating mofos so no change there.

I’ve been friends with the clan of MONOLITH CULT since the inception of Doomed & Stoned. Lee Baines (guitar), Wayne Hustler (guitar), Ian “Izak” Buxton (bass), Bry Outlaw (vocals), and Damo Clarke (drums) operate out of Bradford in West Yorkshire and have forged lengthy and impressive resumes in all kinds of English metal projects going back decades. Among them, a handful of classic doom bands dating to the early ‘90s: the beloved Solstice, Serenity, and Chorus of Ruin, and more recently Ironrat, Khang, and my personal favorite Lazarus Blackstar. In other words, you’ve got a ton of experience and depth in this line-up, folks. That equals tight musicianship, thoughtfully crafted songcraft, and above all else the burning soul of doom we’ve all come to know and love from the UK scene.

After gracing us with a memorable debut in 2013, Monolith Cult are following-up the fan favorite Run From The Light with Gospel of Despair. Three days into the New Year, we were surprised when the title track suddenly popped up on social media, hinting at this much anticipated new material. Today, Doomed & Stoned is privileged to take you one song deeper into Monolith Cult’s second long-play record.

I reached out to frontman Bry Outlaw to ask him about the song we’re premiering today, “Sympathy For The Living.” What is the story behind this new song, I wondered?

“The song idea started out around the time of the Orlando Night Club Massacre and then the shooting of Jo Cox focusing around these senseless fucking killings,” Bry told me. “As I continued to add to the song, I brought in themes surrounding one of my key interests which is nuclear history, which if used again would be the ultimate expression of senseless fucking killings. The title 'Sympathy for the Living’ is obviously in regards to those who are left behind to suffer the effect of these losses.”

As to how this fits in with the overall theme of Gospel of Despair, Bry echoes something he shared earlier in the year: “The album itself is mostly a mantra on depression and fragility, which I believe most people have experience of, and the battle to overcome this negativity is the glue that binds humanity together for better or worse.”

Musically, I could sense some evolution between the first and last records and I had to ask Bry about that as well. He credits Lee Baines, who “has been progressing musically with the song writing, adding more melody and harmonies, without losing the heaviness and intensity.” That last bit will be music to the ears of everyone who has followed this band with great anticipation for their next step in the heavy underground. No surprise that Monolith Cult

Gospel of Despair is due out this autumn on Transcending Records. “We really appreciate Mike and Transcending for putting the album out,” the band says – this album’s been a long time coming and has demanded everyone’s sold-out commitment. In the meanwhile, feast your eyes on this amazing album art by Dan Goldsworthy as you listen to the powerful new single “Sympathy For The Living,” receiving its worldwide debut this week on Doomed & Stoned!

Four years may have come and gone since Monolith Cult’s first album, but the specters and shadows that give birth to doom have continued unhindered. The world, after all, is more unstable than ever, the future more uncertain. That, and life itself often finds ingenious ways of fucking up our program, or so it would seem. Under these circumstances, doom remains my soul food and the return of Monolith Cult has given me hope that we’ll be finishing '17 strong with one of the most memorable records to emerge from the scene yet.

The band’s deep roots in the UK underground, left a rock solid impression with all of us in 2013. Back then their catchy namesake song was the most requested thing we played in our weekly radio shows and podcasts.

You’ve lost it all
No second chances
Have faith in this
It’s never getting better

No use in hope
That’s for the non-believers
Don’t know what’s good for yourself
This god’s a pessimist

If you’ve been pining for more of this Weltschmertz sentiment, buttressed by murderous riffs and singing mired in the epic school of doom, you’re in for an early Christmas present with Monolith Cult’s latest contribution to ever growing global soundtrack of the Apocalypse, appropriately called the Gospel of Despair.

You’ll notice straight away that the title track, like the other single we’ve debuted today, owns an absolutely stellar sound. It is gritty and chaotic, but never distorted, with a clarity that’s avoids being overly-polished. We have Conan’s Chris Fielding at Skyhammer Studio to thank for the top-notch production of Monolith Cult’s sophomore record – yet another in the growing manifest of credits to his CV.

On deck for Gospel of Despair: Bryan Outlaw on vox (and yes, that’s his actual surname, though it does double as one hell of a stage name, too). Lee Baines and Wayne Hustler are as sharp and incisive as ever in their guitar play, and Ian Buxton is holding brave and steady on bass guitar. Monolith Cult had the good fortune of securing Dan Mullins from My Dying Bride as a session drummer for this recording, which is very special, indeed. In August, original drummer Damo Clarke would rejoin the band’s live line-up.

Oh, and not to be overlooked: Dan Goldsworthy created the killer artwork, best known for his hideous covers of Accept, Sylosis, and Gloryhammer.

The combined experience of sight and sound, set against the backdrop of a rich doom heritage, makes this an exciting entry as the days get shorter and the leaves begin to turn color. As Bry suggested earlier, there are indeed indications of artistic grown between the two albums. For example, there are some interesting musical choices in the riffs and vocals here, which reinforce the urgent message of the title track.

“I’ve had the lyrics for the Gospel of Despair chorus for about 10 years,” explains Bryan Outlaw, “but never had a song for them. But when Lee wrote the music last year, the rest of it came easily. It’s about the apparent hopeless and fragile nature of humanity. Whereas the Noah’s Ark fallacy suggests that we will be saved, reality shows us that unless we as a species are willing to save ourselves, then we are ultimately fucked. We’re living in an era where selfishness and isolationism is seen as the way forward.”

All things considered, Monolith Cult’s sophomore effort will doubtless be sitting alongside my go-to doom favorites well beyond this year!

The old year may have come and gone, but the specters and shadows that give birth to doom will continue unhindered. The world, after all, is more unstable than ever, the future more uncertain. That, and life has a way of personally screwing us over (and we to ourselves). Under these circumstances, doom remains my soul food and the return of Monolith Cult has given me hope that 2017 is going to be a goddamned good one for heavy music.

The band has deep roots in the UK underground, with members serving in respected projects, such as Lazarus Blackstar and Solstice-Englander, for instance). They left a rock solid impression with that 2013 debut, Run From The Light. I remember it being a constant request back in those early days of Doomed & Stoned, when Melissa and I were experimenting with those popular live-blogging shows. The band’s namesake anthem, in particular, was on constant rotation.

You’ve lost it all
No second chances
Have faith in this
It’s never getting better

No use in hope
That’s for the non-believers
Don’t know what’s good for yourself
This god’s a pessimist

If you’ve been pining for more of this Weltschmertz sentiment, buttressed by murderous riffs and singing mired in the epic school of doom, you’ve just been given a New Year’s gift. This week, the West Yorkshire four returned to announce the next phase of mankind’s demise. Monolith Cult’s contribution to the growing global soundtrack of the Apocalypse is appropriately called the ‘Gospel of Despair’ (2017).

You’ll notice straight away that the title track from this sophomore record owns an absolutely stellar sound. It is gritty and chaotic, but never distorted, with a clarity that’s avoids being overly-polished. We have Conan’s Chris Fielding at Skyhammer Studio to thank for the top-notch production – yet another in the growing manifest of credits to his resume.

On deck for Gospel of Despair: Bryan Outlaw on vox (and yes, that’s his actual surname, though it does double as one hell of a stage name, too). Lee Baines and Wayne Hustler are as sharp and incisive as ever in their guitar play, and Ian Buxton is holding brave and steady on bass guitar. Monolith Cult had the good fortune of securing Dan Mullins from My Dying Bride as a session drummer for this recording, which is very special, indeed.

Oh, and not to be overlooked: Dan Goldsworthy created the killer artwork, best known for his hideous covers of Accept, Sylosis, and Gloryhammer.

The combined experience of sight and sound, set against the backdrop of a rich doom heritage, makes this an exciting entry in 2017. There are definitely indications of artistic grown between the two albums. For example, there are some interesting musical choices in the riffs and vocals here, which reinforce the urgent message of the title track. I suppose this as good a time as any to transition into the concept behind the record.

“I’ve had the lyrics for the Gospel of Despair chorus for about 10 years,” explains Bryan Outlaw, “but never had a song for them. But when Lee wrote the music last year, the rest of it came easily. It’s about the apparent hopeless and fragile nature of humanity. Whereas the Noah’s Ark fallacy suggests that we will be saved, reality shows us that unless we as a species are willing to save ourselves, then we are ultimately fucked. We’re living in an era where selfishness and isolationism is seen as the way forward.”

Bryan concludes: “The album itself is mostly a mantra on depression and fragility, which I believe most people have experience of, and the battle to overcome this negativity is the glue that binds humanity together for better or worse.”

All things considered, Monolith Cult’s sophomore effort could very well be sitting alongside my go-to doom favorites for the year. A sampler of each track follows. The release date and label for Gospel of Despair is yet to be determined, but we’ll keep you apprised, as always.