Doom metal really hasn’t changed that much since Black Sabbath more or less invented the genre. Things have been taken to their logical extreme, of course, and some bands have wonderfully embodied the belief that end of days is either immanent or, at the very least, imaginable. The parameters of doom are specific, so when a band does it well and avoids sounding derivative, it’s amazing. That’s what Hiram-Maxim pulls off in their upcoming debut.
This track, “Visceral,” builds into an apocalyptic fervor before dissipating into a cloudy haze and ending before you’ve had your fill. Thankfully there’s a whole album of these brutal-but-beautiful goodies. Even better, it’s going to be released on Aqualamb Records—a label that specializes in publishing beautiful 33 1/2-esque picture books alongside their audio releases. You can preorder it here.
