Definitely one of Earth's strongest releases since The Bees Made Honey. Lots of people seem to be focusing on the usage of guest vocalists on the album -- which is an interesting change of pace from much of their previous work -- but the music also seems to be taking a turn towards the darker, while maintaining its psychadelic western aesthetic.
9. Usnea - Random Cosmic Violence
After releasing a killer debut album, Usnea signed up with Relapse and released a killer sophomore album. Still heavy, still sludgy.
8. Arcana Coelestia - Nomas
I've been waiting for this album for a while. Arcana Coelestia's 2009 album Le mirage de l'idéal is a favorite of mine and rumors of Nomas being in the works have been around for a few years now. If you like super melodramatic and atmospheric blackened funeral doom check these guys out.
7. Fatalism - Mystery of Death
Music to get lost in; Ethereal and hypnotic.
6. Menace Ruine - Venus Armata
A beautiful avant garde release by this Canadian duo. A diverse album, with notes of drone, dark ambient and folk.
5. Ancst - In Turmoil
Technically just a compilation of extremely rare and limited run cassette and demo tape releases. Hardcore packaged in a black metal aesthetic, one of the more addicting releases Ive heard this year.
4. Fórn - The Departure of Consciousness
I had been eagerly anticipating this album since their 2013 ep. Gritty sludge. I get tired of trying to think up adjectives to describe heavy doom. Crushing, heavy, uhhh.... thunderous? Pick one, or just listen to Forn.
3. Barren Harvest - Subtle Cruelties
Dark ambient featuring members of Atriarch and Worm Ouroboros. Primarily acoustic guitar and synth, the emphasis is really the vocal duos stark contrast that seem to dance around each other.
Amazing funeral doom from the southwest. Full of plodding riffs and ritualistic nuances, this is an album for people who appreciate bleak and tortured music.
France's Monarch have been releasing some of the most terrifying doom music for nearly a decade and Sabbracadaver isnt an exception. The care given towards subtle aesthetics on this album is what I appreciate, more than any heavy riffs. The haunted singing and occult whispering buried in the tracks create an atmosphere of terror, fear, and darkness.
Other noteworthy releases of 2014:
Concrescence Of The Sophia by Mournful Congregation, Elder Giants by Sun Worship, Coping With Loss by american, Earthless by Doom:VS, Black Flower by Sonance, Promulgation of the Fall by Dead Congregation, Lunarterial by Swallowed, MMXIV demo by Predatory Light.
Concrescence Of The Sophia by Mournful Congregation, Elder Giants by Sun Worship, Coping With Loss by american, Earthless by Doom:VS, Black Flower by Sonance, Promulgation of the Fall by Dead Congregation, Lunarterial by Swallowed, MMXIV demo by Predatory Light.
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