Monuments in Ruin Doom Charts Submissions July 2024
As we sit back, take a stretch and a brief pause from digging through the amazing new releases hitting the stacks this month, it's a great time to take a moment and reflect on our JULY 2024 DOOM CHARTS submissions. After the lists were accumulated and the final totals calculated, our contributors discussed a total of 215 albums to formulate the final Top 40 list.
As it seems certain you likely have your head buried in one of the many amazing magazines, blogs or zines discussing those August gems, taking a moment to reflect on the albums that landed on our radar for July 2024 seems like a good refreshment of the senses.
This week the DOOM CHARTS PERORATION LIST, a list of items our contributors wanted to write about but did not make the official top 40 or possibly had two or more reviews submitted, was officially published and we have 31 records with reviews to continue investigating.
Everything we are about to feature here has already been published on the DOOM CHARTS webpage, on the MONUMENTS IN RUIN webpage, our BUY ME A COFFEE webpage or a combo of all three locations.
This is an alphabetized list of albums submitted by MONUMENTS IN RUIN for the voting process. You can read through them all in one place, if the first wave managed to slip by before you had all of your sunscreen on. Now that you are ready to hit the waters, dive in!
Massive thank you to all of the other contributors at the DOOM CHARTS, the bands, labels, public relations coordinators and writers who deserve every ounce of your support. Hit them with a thank you, a share, a thumbs up or click on subscribe when you visit their page. Every little bit helps keep wind in their sails.
THE LIST
~ AXAMENTA - SPIRES
~ BLACK LAVA - THE SAVAGE WINDS TO WISDOM
~ BOOZEWA - BON VIVANT
~ GRID - THE WORLD BEFORE US
~ INTOLERANCE - WAKING NIGHTMARES OF AN ENDLESS VOID
~ KRYPTICY - THE NON-RETURN
~ OCCULT WITCHES - SORROW'S PYRE
~ OLD HORN TOOTH - MOURNING LIGHT
~ OCTOPLOID - BEYOND THE AEONS
~ SHIPYARD - SWING BRIDGE
~ THE SWELL FELLAS - RESIDUUM UNKNOWN
~ THOUSAND LIMBS - THE AUROCHS
THE BLURBS
Axamenta - Spires
(cinematic, progressive, blackened melodeath)
(Antwerp, Belgium)
(Independent 2024)
Power packed with massive breakdowns and samurai sharp techinallity, Spires by Axamenta seems to check all of the boxes a heavy music fan could want.
As the music slowly works its way in, it may seem like this is going in the direction of a popular rock record. Once the initial welcoming has taken place, they open the door for an absolute assault that could rival most modern technical death bands. The main foundation is more balanced in the breakdown lane as the music evolves and also delivers a mix of clean and cookie monster style vocals. All of which are performed at peak levels. One mastery they achieve is the dynamic shift. At any given corner you could experience an operatic movement or an insanely intense batch of orchestral heavy metal.
Proceed with a willingness to shapeshift. There is no master genre holding court over this release.
~ Bobby Rayfield (Monuments In Ruin)
Bandcamp: https://axamenta.bandcamp.com/
Song: Spires
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Black Lava - The Savage Winds To Wisdom
(metal, black, death)
(Melbourne, Australia)
(Season of Mist)
Black Lava conjures darkness within every note on The Savage Winds To Wisdom.
Riff after riff, chug after chug, these songs bleed with strength and perseverance. Black Lava have sharpened their blades for the ultimate slaughter as they blast through levels of blackened metal and double bass driven thrash that should excite the ear of any fan of the genres. The production is crisp and clean, leaving no doubt the level of precision in the songwriting attack. Their message is clearly written as the vocals scream out for something sinister to come.
Prepare as Season of Mist unleashes the dominion of this Australian black metal monster.
~ Bobby Rayfield (Monuments In Ruin)
Bandcamp: https://blacklava-aus.bandcamp.com/album/the-savage-winds-to-wisdom
Song: Ironclad Sarcophagus
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Boozewa - Bon Vivant
(sludge-punk, grunge, noise rock)
(Coatesville, Pennsylvania)
(DeepRest Records)
A ferocious rumble calls out from the northeast as Bon Vivant by Boozewa delivers a specific brand of sludge drenched noise rock to your stereo.
There is a thick fog of brutality rolling from the Appalachian area. As it reverberates through the valleys, the listener can imagine stones cracking loose from mother nature's monoliths, built with her loving hands over years of careful construction. The pounding rhythms of drum and bass feel thick, like molasses dripping in mid summer. Sweet, ominously flowing and can not be ignored by anything it touches. The guitars are equally swaddled in low end thunder as the clean vocal style articulates a type of Buzzo-esq presentation.
Prepare to dig your friends out from under the rubble because this thing is going to bring down the mountain.
~ Bobby Rayfield (Monuments In Ruin)
Bandcamp: https://boozewa.bandcamp.com/album/bon-vivant
Song: Maybe I'm a Bird
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GRID - The World Before Us
(post-metal, progressive, sludge)
(New York, New York)
(Independent 2024)
Looking within our human instincts, The World Before Us by GRID calls out with the screams of an aging man who now sees terror in their life choices.
With the backdrop of ambience and spacey tones casually mixed into the writing, this post-metal trip carries its weight in a manner distant from their peers. Blending elements of mellow, post/prog guitar leads and large passages that allow for deep reflection and a calm before the storm, GRID walks us through our environment and what it means to be here in this moment of time.
To open your eyes or stare into a future void is a choice. Mankind can neglect history but Mother Earth will reveal our truth in her own time.
~ Bobby Rayfield (Monuments In Ruin)
Bandcamp: https://gridband.bandcamp.com/album/the-world-before-us
Song: Our History Hidden
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Intolerance - Waking Nightmares of an Endless Void
(blacked, death, extreme metal)
(Spain)
(Memento Mori / Godz ov War)
Intolerance takes us deep into the dark world of gruesome death metal with Waking Nightmares of an Endless Void.
Shrouded beasts manifest, double bass drums thunder, blast beats fire and guttural voices growl from the ever darkening edges of these death metal crypts. Crushing with the weight of all that goes bump in the night, these songs manifest visions of rotting sugarplums. Molding and decay stricken, the riffs are relentless with time changes. Jumping forward with hyper speed and suddenly shifting to slower paced brutality.
Prepare for a crushing blow of death metal as it is meant to exist. In the dingy, the web covered darkness.
~ Bobby Rayfield (Monuments In Ruin)
Bandcamp: https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/waking-nightmares-of-an-endless-void
Song: The Dark Forest
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Krypticy - The Non-Return
(Death Metal)
(Málaga, Spain)
(Memento Mori)
Make no mistake, The Non-Return by Krypticy upholds the traditions of extreme, brutal death metal with a take no prisoners approach.
Machine gun snare assaults, guttural groans from a spike wielding cookie monster and high speed, blistering riff after riff is exactly what is in store for anyone brave enough to bring Krypticy into their homes. When it comes to death metal, there is little deviation from the classic model. It is done with the utmost discipline and is sure to slice the flesh of all who dare walk too close to their blade.
Racking in bonus points with a straight up, "Blech", my favorite lyric, featured in multiple places throughout the album so you know this party is gonna get ripped!
~ Bobby Rayfield (Monuments In Ruin)
Bandcamp: https://krypticy.bandcamp.com/album/the-non-return
Song: Hypatia's Heresy
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Occult Witches - Sorrow's Pyre
(hard rock, blues rock, classic)
(Sherbrooke, Québec)
(Black Throne Productions)
Smokestacks roar and the landscape is layered with stoner ash as Sorrow's Pyre by Occult Witches ignites everything within earshot as it passes.
With a foot firmly fixed to the gas pedal, this vehicle is fully fueled and ready to burn through your stereo. If you want rock, you've got it! These riffs are bathed in the blood of heavy blues rock legends and are not afraid to use this vehicle as a catalyst to forge new roads of their own. The blistering riffs will cut down anything in the path, leaving only charcoal, unsettled earth and burnt speaker cones.
This record is not a joke. The next time someone questions the modern music landscape, show them the smoldering embers from Sorrow's Pyre.
~ Bobby Rayfield (Monuments In Ruin)
Bandcamp: https://occultwitches.bandcamp.com/album/sorrows-pyre
Song: Malice
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Old Horn Tooth - Mourning Light
(doom, stoner)
(London, UK)
(London Doom Collective)
Open up the doors and windows to welcome the neighborhood with the tsunami of psychedelic doom known as Mourning Light by Old Horn Tooth.
As the tempo is steady with a slow, leisurely pace through the album, the song lengths allow the listener to sink deep into the riffs. There is a nice arc with the songs that allow a bit of breath and reflection. The consistent flow tends to create a type of hypnotic meditation. Opening the mind to wander a bit while not getting worn out by the main theme, added low and drifting segments indulge the thought process to restore harmony. The songs are absolutely crushing with a steady thunder pushing every chord. Fans will need to be patient in listening but the reward is well received.
Doom fiends who prefer clean vocals should take note. These riffs are massive and the vocal style is very mellow and easy to digest.
~ Bobby Rayfield (Monuments In Ruin)
Bandcamp: https://oldhorntooth.bandcamp.com/album/mourning-light
Song: Precipice
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Octoploid - Beyond The Aeons
(death, melodic, progressive)
(Helsinki, Finland)
(Reigning Phoenix Music)
If Bolt Thrower is the album you want to take into battle, Beyond The Aeons by Octoploid is the triumphant soundtrack to your return.
Undeniably top notch production, monstrous death metal roots and a massive soft spot for all thing victorious, Octoploid brings all of the classic elements and aggression of angry Amorphis blending it with a touch of early era Anathema for a batch of jams that consistently requests the volume keep getting louder. Around every turn, the listener sinks into the pure and precise attack. Moderate pace, clean transitions and head nods for days.
Raise those glasses because this album is fit for the unvanquished and thirsty metal fan.
~ Bobby Rayfield (Monuments In Ruin)
Bandcamp: https://octoploid.bandcamp.com/album/beyond-the-aeons
Song: The Dawns In Nothingness (feat. Mikko Kotamäki)
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Shipyard - Swing Bridge
(Stoner, Sludge, Doom)
(Geelong, Australia)
(Independent 2024)
Amongst towering ocean monoliths, those creaking vessels slowly decaying at dock, you will find the massive weight of Shipyards doom soaked undercurrent at play.
As slowly as the tide rises and returns to the depths, Shipyard brings low end rumblings forward from the depths. Rippled wavelets shimmer acoss what was once glasslike waters as sound waves break loose the sediment disguised platelets. As they shift and grind, it is a somber and monstrous sea creature that Swing Bridge brings to the surface. We now see the kraken rise and instantaneously behold its waking spoliation.
As if floating through a trancelike state, the somber tones connect with the surge of power to emit a tsunami of destruction.
~ Bobby Rayfield (Monuments In Ruin)
Bandcamp: https://shipyard1.bandcamp.com/album/swing-bridge
Song: Sirens
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The Swell Fellas - Residuum Unknown
(Prog, Psych, Stoner)
(Nashville, Tennessee)
(Independent 2024)
Psychedelic music fans can rejoice as Residuum Unknown by The Swell Fellas becomes their new holy grail among the ancients.
When the inevitable date of our universal demise occurs, the earth will slowly be pulled into the clutches of a black hole. Never again will it be free of this grasp. Not until it is one with the ever unknown. On the other side will await The Swell Fellas to provide the soundtrack to a new place in the cosmos. Starting over with a wash of soft seduction, massive tones emitting from orbiting stars, the pulses flutter and the psychedelic nature of how we were created now becomes clear. Clean vocal style over heavily psychedelic, fuzz drenched prog helps symbolize a mystical newness for a neuropath of psilocybin. Forecasting the magic as it was intended.
Though it may be a place of fantasy to look this far into the distance, The Swell Fellas help the mind develop visions of a happy place within such chaotic motions.
~ Bobby Rayfield (Monuments In Ruin)
Bandcamp: https://theswellfellas.bandcamp.com/album/residuum-unknown
Song: Chore To Bathe
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Thousand Limbs - The Aurochs
(doom, sludge, instrumental)
(Auckland, New Zealand)
(Azathoth Records)
Infused with uplifting emotion, The Aurochs by Thousand Limbs has delivered a new path for the post-metal fan.
At times this feels like we are blasting into a progressive metal album. Blazing through riffs and high tide triumphant vibes. Then before we dive off of that cliff the direction changes to an extremely dark, gloom drenched powerhouse of slow monster sauce. The riff machine does not stop, either path we are taking. Take this mix of sounds, attach it to a post-metal undertone and the recipe has been set.
Fans of instrumental metal will be happy to read a report of no vocals present or accounted for.
~ Bobby Rayfield (Monuments In Ruin)
Bandcamp: https://thousandlimbs.bandcamp.com/album/the-aurochs
Song: A Dim Light to Guide
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Click here to check out the entire Doom Charts Peroration List for July 2024
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