Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Bandcamp Picks: Soliloquium, Monachus, Head of the Demon, Seal of Beleth



Soliloquium is a two man band featuring members of NWOOSSDM upstarts Desolator. The Concept of Escape is a pristine slice of atmospheric doom, cold and desolate - just the thing I need as summer comes to an end. As Katatonia slowly transforms into a Swedish version of Lawrence Welk, bands like Soliloquium are welcome to make the style their own. The three song release is available as a free download.



Neurosis cast a pretty big shadow over Monachus, though with their reverbed guitar, moments of Below feel a lot like surf rock on quaaludes (a compliment). The four track album is available as a digital download for €5 (or $6.69 according to Paypal). Their first two albums released under the name Icos are also available on their Bandcamp page as "name your price" downloads.



Mystery is one of the most powerful tools an artist can employ; not knowing is what keeps us coming back. In the case of Head of the Demon, mysteries abound. Are they an actual band, or one guy with a home studio? Was their self-titled debut recorded in stereo, converted to mono, and then converted back to stereo? These questions make their psychedelic blackened doom all the more intriguing. The album isn't available as a standalone download, but one is available when you buy the vinyl or CD version.



Coming from Finland, Seal Of Beleth have a long legacy of doom metal to live up to. Slow Music For Dead People (I see what you did there) utilizes melody and clean vocals to smart effect in making their trudging doom more memorable. The six track album is available as a digital download for €6.00 (or $7.90 according to Paypal).