BLIND MESS ~ The Storm Within (2025)

 Modern sounding stoner with attitude foregoing traditional  fuzz, instead fuelled from a high octane QOTSA like power source. With 'The Storm Within' Blind Mess has effectively blended delightful melodies with prominent punk angst wrapped in tight metallic riffs swept along on a wave of good 'ol gutsy Rock n Roll.

ANOINTING THE SICK #239 ~ Messianic Mayhem

Hallelujah! The Anointing The Sick show is back! Starting with a crust / punk classic and ending with a dose of pummelling sludge. I haven't done a label feature in a while so this week a spotlight falls on Drowning In Chaos Records with three brutal death and black metal bands from that stable  Cryptic Process, Fadeaux and Obsidyen. Recent releases that you really should be checking out are by Beware Of Gods, Blind Mess, Spiral Guru and Madmess. 

~Embrace The Sickness ~

Doom

Spiral Guru

Emperors Lair

Cathode ULT

Cryptic Process

Fardeaux

Obsidyen

Aggression

Sun Of Grey

Beware Of Gods

Blind Mess

Madmess

The Chris Rolling Squad

I Bleed Lava

Inherus

Drawers

Wolves Carry My Name

DOWNLOAD THIS SHOW HERE

 

TURTLE SKULL ~ Being Here (2025)

 

BIO ~ Turtle Skull are a four-piece from the Australian East Coast serving a monolithic dose of psych-doom- pop. They’ve honed an experiential blend of warm melodies and ethereal vocal harmonies over cell-bursting riffs, motorik beats, and warbling drone. 

With Being Here, Turtle Skull have evolved. A new lineup. A fresh approach. A leap forward. While the album builds on the sonic foundations of 2020’s Monoliths, it’s a different beast. Still hefty and considered but more immediate. Made for the moment. A record that values gut instinct over perfection.

Tracked live at NoWave in Mullumbimby, with a paired-back approach to studio tweaking, Being Here captures that ‘lightning in a bottle’ energy that happens when a band fully locks in. New member Ally Gradon’s synths inject fresh energy, swirling around meaty riffs and driving rhythms. It’s expansive yet raw, drawing from the likes of Black Moth Super Rainbow, Idles and Cause Sui with a nod to the cinematic sprawl of Spiritualized and The Flaming Lips. A heavy, heady blend of melody and atmosphere.

'Being Here' was much more about good songs that we had freshly written being captured live in the moment" says Gradon. "No click, no excessive layering, no studio trickery. The only thing that wasn’t captured live was the vocals. Choosing to self-produce and mix the album gave us the chance to preserve our initial vision, even if it nearly did kill me."

The album puts a spotlight on songwriting, covering weighty subject matter, from the life-force drain of social media to the relentless march of time. But it does so with a call to stay connected, empathetic and grounded. In this way, Being Here isn’t just an album title. It’s a philosophy. A mantra. A demand to be fully present, to embrace the chaos, the beauty, the weight of it all.

THE NEW ALBUM 'Being Here'  ~ A new album of psych rock with a new line up featuring Ally Gradon on synth. Being Here is a peppery mix of 60's sounding pop rock and grainy acid suffused heavy psych. Vocal harmonies are lush and syrupy sounding similar to something The Mamas & The Papas would produce, not normally my cup of tea but with a burbling bass line laying the groundwork for edgy shoegaze fuzz a la Bardo Pond at their most caustic, I found Being Here to be a totally immersive experience. ~ Steve (Anointing The Sick Metal Blog)

ANOINTING THE SICK ~ Planetology

 

Go planet hopping courtesy of The Anointing The Sick Metal Blog with its latest non curated fun themed playlist. Due to the subject matter expect more heavy psych jams than usual.

~Embrace The Sickness~

Pools Of Mercury / Venus Blue / Barren Earth / Mars / Jupiter / High Priest Of Saturn / Destroy Uranus / Neptune Is Dead / 

DOWNLOAD IT HERE

ANOINTING THE SICK #238 ~ Heavy Metal Shokk Treatment

 The latest Anointing The Sick Show is here to delight and scare you in equal measure. Opening with a monster doom track from Morpholith and closing with obscure sludgsters Shaitan. Inbetween there are tracks from albums that have made an impression on the blog so far this year from Kiritsis, Tria Prima, Beholder, Nomadic Rituals and Burden Of Despair plus killer albums from last year you may have missed.

~Embrace The Sickness ~

Morpholith                           Bandcamp NYP

Mr Bison                              #2 Feb '24 Doom Charts

Contortion

The Obsessed                       #4 Feb '24 Doom Charts

Witchorious                          #5 Feb '24 Doom Charts

Punks Of The Empire

Sundrifter                             #1 Feb '24 Doom Charts

Smoke

Kiritsis

Tria Prima

Beholder

Nomadic Rituals

Burden Of Despair

Silent Obsession

Doomsday Sun

Shaitan

DOWNLOAD THE SHOW

BURDEN OF DESPAIR ~ Confutatis (2025)

Well, if I didn't know I had a brain, I do now because its just seeped out of my ears halfway through 'Confutatis' the debut full length from Japanese band Burden Of Despair. This is doom/sludge/death of the highest and unbelievably heaviest calibre. 

I love the fact that Japanese doom often mixes hints of stoner and psychedelia within its dirges but with 'Confutatis' Burden Of Despair has swept away any hint of branching out into slightly calmer aural pastures. Calamitous riffs of Uranium groove dominate your senses from the funereal lament of the opening track 'Slaughterfaith' all the way through to the deathlike hardcore tinged stomp of the final song 'Godforsaken.'. The unstoppable doom death dissonance ripping right through the blackened heart of 'Confutatis' adds chaos to the burgeoning mix and a menacing vocal delivery heightens the sense of foreboding.

An absolutely pulverizing release. An Event Horizon. The point of no return.

Behölder ~ In the Temple of the Tyrant (2025)

 BIO 

Behölder was formed in late 2021 by guitarist Carlos Alvarez (Shadowdance, ex-Power Theory), a lifelong fan of both D&D and old-school doom metal. It seemed only natural for him to fulfill his long-standing vision of bringing the two worlds together musically, but opportunity was ever elusive. When inspiration and timing aligned as his former band went on hiatus, he quickly composed nine songs. However, the project truly came to life when vocalist John Yelland of US power metal band Judicator joined in late 2022. With a powerful and theatrical voice, ranging from grandiose to truly sinister, he was the perfect choice to bring life to the stories being crafted.

Guitarist Matt Hodsdon soon joined the duo, followed by drummer Andrew Julkowski, both from progressive metal band Chaos Frame. As recording commenced in November 2023, bassist Michael “Oneirous” Sanchez (King Ov Worms, ex-Judicator) joined in early 2024, completing the lineup. With the band assembled, so too was their debut album, In the Temple of the Tyrant.

My thoughts on this fine album ~ A hugely impressive debut full length from Behölder. 'In The Temple Of The Tyrant' is inspired by the epic mythology of the likes of Dungeons & Dragons but this album explores deeper more arcane, subterranean levels with a devilish foundation of Candlemass like doom interwoven with the cutting edge and theatrics of classic power metal. Spells are cast and dragons are slain as the multitude of riffs and solos vie for battle honours glorified by the vocals of John Yelland resonating in triumph.

With 'In The Temple Of The Tyrant' Behölder has conjured up a potion of such spellbinding heavy metal alchemy that this first chapter will surely not be the last.

For fans of Candlemass, Solitude Aeturnus, Sorcerer, Memento Mori Etc

ANOINTING THE SICK ~ Sludge Dirty 30 Volume 4

 The first playlist of 2025 is armed and ready to be downloaded. It's non-curated so there's over 2 hours of the (im)purest sludge to dissect and consume.

~ Embrace The Sickness ~

The Abominable Iron Sloth / Bardo / Canyon Of The Crescent Moon / Darkmysticwoods / Egeria / Fange / Garadama / Hairy Mary Caterpillar / Icos / James Brown Gang / Kantamus / Lahius / Magnolia / Nautilus / Obsidian Sword / Path Of Might / Rain / Sadhus The Smoking Community / Taser / Ulme / Vails / Wall / Yore / Zozobra / Abrams / Bardus / Caphre / Darqo / Eibon / Fattura Della Morte

FREE DOWNLOAD

Tria Prima ~ Three Primes of Alchemy (2025)

 

BIO

The band was created in September 2024 in the city of Zhitomir(Ukraine) by members of various other famous Ukrainian projects(ex-Drudkh, ex-Lucifugum, ex-Blood of Kingu, Lutomysl, Bestial Invasion, Cosmic Jaguar and Violent Omen). The band's style is characterised as Death Metal with elements of Doom and Dungeon Synth. The main concept and theme of the band is alchemy and its different forms. In a short time the band recorded a 4 song mini album ‘Three Primes of Alchemy’ and shot a music video for the song Solar Sulfur with guest vocalist Anira. The band is currently working on a new full-length album, which they plan to release in the second half of 2025.

MY THOUGHTS

Ukrainian Alchemists Tria Prima blend death, thrash and doom metal stirred by the use of keyboards and symphonic harmonies into a punishing brew of raging riffs starting with the opening track 'Solar Sulfur' which begins in grandiose, operatic fashion before brutality is unleashed with a devastating death/thrash fury. The use of keyboards particularly during the more death/doom sections of the album adds a creepy dynamism studded with blistering solos and the excellent production ensures that the symphonic elements adds an extra tasty layer rather than dull the overall crunch of the guitar.

Based on the excellent quality of this 'Mini Album' I'm really looking forward to what the band has in store later this year with the release of their full length album.

ANOINTING THE SICK #237 ~ Where The Gallows Once Stood

 

Hold onto your breeches because The Anointing The Sick Show #237 is now available to stream or download. Opening with the folky, doomy tones of Distorted Reflection and bleeding out with the Italian jams of Rainbow Bridge.In between is a cacophony of thrash, death, doom and a lengthy section of stoner sounds. The filth pit has spewed forth a track off the new Holy Death album 'Paradice' while another of the heavy newies 'Buena Muerte' by Ocultum also crushes all in its path on this show.

~Embrace The Sickness~

Distorted Reflection

Emergency Rule

Bird                                              NYP Bandcamp

Necrowretch

Tim's Favourite

Exa

Jaggu

Astral Wizard                               Doom Charts Aug '23

Pander

Easy Death

Cactus Cathedral

Foetal Juice

Ocultum                                        Doom Charts Feb '25

Holy Death

Rainbow Bridge

DOWNLOAD THE SHOW

KIRITSIS ~ Kiritsis (2025)

 The debut self-titled album from Indiana band Kiritsis and its right on the money, delivering a gut punch of groovy sludge with a slice of spiteful, crusty hardcore to make your bad day even worse. The guitar sounds like someone's running amok through the abattoir wielding a chainsaw, clogged up with blood, snot and chunks of gore.

Kiritsis follows an increasing trend of crusty sludge bands spattering clots of mid paced death metal among their albums, particularly the track 'Deny.Defend.Dispose, straining the sinews of extreme metal around a thick, congealed core.

Have fun picking the scabs off this one.

ANOINTING THE SICK #236 ~ Crammed In A Coffin

 Who needs a defibrillator when you have the latest Anointing The Sick Show delivering a high energy shock to the heart. 16 tracks to get the blood racing through your veins starting with the hardcore stomp of  Lockdown and ending with the heavily blues infused stoner doom of Witch Mountain.. The filth pit  overflows with the putrid nectar of Spectral Voice, Hulder, Petrification and Yersin and I'm highlighting recent mandatory purchases from Red Eye Acid Magus and a beastly split from Seum and Temple of the Fuzz Witch

~Embrace The Sickness ~

Lockdown

Morbid Saint

In Vain

Spectral Voice

Hulder

Petrification

Night Slasher

The Devils

Deadpeach                                   #6 Feb 2024 Doom Charts

Yersin

Birdwitch

Seum

Temple Of The Fuzz Witch

Red Eye                                         #6 Feb 2025 Doom Charts

Acid Magus                                   BC Name Your Price

Witch Mountain

DOWNLOAD THIS SHOW!

PINE TAR ~ Burial (2024)

Released in 2024, apparently with little fanfare and slipping under most radars by the look of it, 'Burial'  is the debut release from Montreal's Pine Tar. Five tracks of mange ridden, gooey sludge doom with the added toxicity of death and black metal. Riffs of unbreachable power are staggeringly heavy, achieving near critical mass.

If I was aware of this record at the time it would surely have gained a place in my top releases of 2024 list.

SWEETBEAST ~ Illusions (2025)

BIO ~ SweetBeast is a psychedelic fuzz rock band comprised of four talented musicians who claim to have been placed on this earth for the sole purpose of creating music.

Powerful vocals, fuzz heavy guitars, and a rhythm section that will keep you moving all night long, SweetBeast creates tunes akin to an acid trip in the 70s, ideal for headbanging and perfect for getting lost in

MY THOUGHTS ON ILLUSIONS BY SWEETBEAST ~ A myriad of licks moulded into countless structures, some pitted with acid, some meandering into the far reaches of your consciousness while others are whisked into a sonic frenzy, interwoven through a backdrop of smooth, bluesy, fuzzy heavy psych that  tumbles into stoner territory often etched in weedian doom.

The essence of the band is captured by absorbing, almost crooning vocals complimenting an undulating heavy groove vying with blissful melodies and laced with those amazing jams.

Illusions by Sweetbeast is an absolute delight.

ANOINTING THE SICK #235 ~ Diced, Sliced and Spliced

#235 'Diced, Sliced and and Spliced the latest episode of aural torture from Anointing The Sick is now available to download. Kicking off with one of last years entries into the Doom Charts, the doomgaze of Troy The Band and finishing with stoners Snowburner. In between there are plenty of Name Your Price albums you can pick up from bandcamp, a bountiful harvest from the metal filth pit and a highlight of the year so far from sludgsters Negative 13.

~Embrace The Sickness of ~

Troy The Band              #13 Feb 2024 Doom Charts

Striker

Sinistrum

Ratten

Ghoul

Las Trumien

Pissing Razors

Negative 13

Wildweed                        NYP Bandcamp

Junior Bruce                   NYP Bandcamp

Sun Preachers                NYP Bandcamp

Warpflesh                       NYP Bandcamp

Rot Away                         NYP Bandcamp

Blind Effect                     NYP Bandcamp

Eartheater                       NYP Bandcamp

Snowburner

*DOWNLOAD THIS SHOW HERE*

KLASTOS ~ Born To Ruin (2025)

'Born To Ruin' the new album from Swedish band Klastos has us in its sights on February 14th and I can imagine the band quivering with anticipation at the thought of  unchaining this sludgy powerhouse of an album and setting it loose upon us all.

From the opening track 'Poor Little Thing' which has a thick death metal crunch to it aligned with a groove to die for before culminating in the slow burning, doom leaning final track 'Fatigue Failure' Klastos has concocted a potent coagulate of hulking riffs containing more hooks than a Hellraiser movie and just as deadly, however, instead of being burdened under its own weight 'Born To Ruin' hemorrhages a slick doom/sludge sap.

ANOINTING THE SICK #234 ~ Oscillation Devastation

Anointing The Sick has unearthed another unholy batch of songs to tickle your tinnitus in todays new show 'Oscillation Devastation' Opening with the stoner psych grooves of Tex, I'm continuing to feature bands that made an impression on me last year and you may have missed. The filth pit has spewed forth a bounty of horrors and I'll be highlighting some doom charters and albums that are NYP on Bandcamp until closing with the showpiece track from funeral doomdeath band Aphonic Threnody.

~ Embrace The Sickness~

Tex

Acerus

Deus Ex Machina

Sea Of Consciousness

Byron

Black Groove

Epitaph

Mary Bell

Tumour

Bardo

Moonbather

Chief Of Smoke

Black Magic Rites

Joe Davis Band

Aphonic Threnody

** DOWNLOAD THIS SHOW**

ANOINTING THE SICK ~ Best Of 2024

 

It's difficult to shoehorn a whole years music into a two hour 'Best Of' Playlist but you have to draw the line somewhere so here's 16 bands whose new albums caused such a stir that it prompted me to review them. There are a couple of anomalies. Fireblood feature twice due to the band releasing 2 EP's in a year and Atomic Hand is actually a two band project Iglesia Atomica and Out Of Hand. Unusually one band plays psych jams the other brutal deathgrind. Both sides of this live album are great! 

~ Embrace The Sickness ~

Black Groove ~ Low End Scum

"Contains seven tracks of sluggish, de tuned, sludge caked hatred"

Cannabus ~ Other Side

The fuzz is still thick  but edged with barbs, pierced by blazing reverb and wah both shrieking in agony.

Fireblood ~ Hellaluja and Goatslayer

"The no frills, hard hitting, clunky riffs easily loosen the neck muscles, enabling the listener to bang their head with wild abandon to the sludge leaden groove."

Sun Moon Holy Cult ~ Sun Moon Holy Cult

"Citing influences from bands such as Black Sabbath, WitchFinder General, Acid King and Belzebong"

Severed Arm ~ Reaching Murderous For The Banker's Neck

"A purulent discharge of infected blackened sludge doom"

Demon & Eleven Children ~ Demonic Fascination

"Riffs are mighty, and the multitude of jams have been dipped in the same vat of acid"

Wormthrone ~ Enlightened Through Darkness

"Here lurks a suffocating, toxic album, spewing forth sulphurous riffs from a fermenting tarpit."

Bleed This Earth ~ The Shapes That Stood In Silence

"Straddling the the various emotions of despair between My Dying Bride and Mournful Congregation"

Sangria ~ Esclava De La Ira 

"'Esclavo de la Ira' has a darker, enraged sound to it, reminding me of Triptykon in parts."

Atomic Hand ( Iglesia Atomica & Out Of Hand) ~ Live

Iglesia Atomica ~A constant chatter of barbed jams squeal and shriek from the speakers. Out Of Hand ~ "spits deathgrind of the most poisonous kind."

Vulgarian ~ Eye For An Eye For An Eye

"Hateful sludge bloated with the DNA of slow, stagnant doom"

Harsh Realm ~ Death Carries On

"A coagulate of unemotional death doom encapsulated in a bloody crust."

Volume ~ Joy Of Navigation

"Joy of Navigation' is the band's latest album and contains five songs of immersive psychedelic stoner."

Sea Of Snakes ~ Bow To No One

"There is an abundance of riffs, huge and full of depth for the listener to revel in."

Pyrogaric ~ The Serpent

"Pyrogaric is back with more Welsh stoner doom Druidry"

Monolithic Architecture ~ Our World Grows Worse

"a raw and devastating bombardment of drone infused doom"

DOWNLOAD THIS 'BEST OF LIST' HERE

CRIMSON STORM ~ Livin' On The Bad Side (2025)

 

BIO

"Livin' On the Bad Side", the debut album by Crimson Storm, will be released on January 14, 2025, through Fighter Records. The Spanish speed/heavy metal band Crimson Storm was originally formed in 2009 by guitarist and primary songwriter Lögan Heads in Sardinia, Italy, with the goal of reviving the glory of ‘80s heavy, power, and speed metal. Their name was inspired by Riot’s track "Sign of the Crimson Storm."

Following several lineup changes, Crimson Storm released their first EP, "Motor City Maniac" in 2014, followed by the 7" EP "Speed Hammerin' Metal" in 2015. Later that year, Lögan Heads moved to Barcelona and reformed the band with new members, eventually leading to the release of their second EP, "Outrageous," in 2019. In 2022, the band made a triumphant return to live performances, supporting Stallion in Murcia and playing at Trveheim Festival in Germany and Pyrenean Warriors Open Air in France.

In 2024, Crimson Storm entered the studio to record their first full-length album, "Livin' On the Bad Side." The album features new tracks alongside reworked versions of earlier singles, delivering a mix of nostalgia, rebellious spirit, and the raw energy of ‘80s metal.

MY THOUGHTS

I'm a fairly recent convert to speed, heavy, power metal having been a musical knuckle dragger for many years and I'm so glad I saw the light otherwise I would have ignored this sizzling example of the best and heaviest of 80's US metal and U.K's Iron Maiden. 

What attracts me most to Crimson Storm is how combustible this album is, shying away from anything too syrupy or symphonic, instead  launching riff after rampaging riff, blistering eardrums and causing concussion. The music is diamond hard, tight and dramatic and I love how abundant blazing solo's stitch the album together along with the pummelling rhythm section that somehow manages to keep the tracks from tumbling into speed metal chaos.

Don't wear your bullet belt near this one, it's liable to ignite