The Man-Eating Tree - Night Verses

 

Founded on the ashes of Sentenced, Fall of the Leafe and Poisonblack, The Man-Eating Tree was founded in 2009. After a solid debut, the band around mastermind Janne Markus perfected gothic metal with "Harvest" (2011), which is still one of my favourite albums ever. Since then, things have been going downhill: line-up changes and other problems caused the band to take four years to release "In the Absence of Light", which also brought a shift in style to heavier music, with growling vocals and (melodic) death metal influeces. It then took another four years for a single to be released, and in all honesty I had already given up on The Man-Eating Tree, considering the silence ever since.

However, in 2024 the tree came back to life! With an entirely new line-up, most notably former Ghost Brigade singer Manne Ikonen, Markus set out to revive his band and find fresh inspiration. The result of that is called "Night Verses", which is a continuation of the band's heavier direction. It's hard to put a label on The Man-Eating Tree, but let's just call it a mix of gothic and doom/death metal, with a focus on atmosphere and melancholy. In fact, partially due to Ikonen's characteristic vocals, "Night Verses" gives me quite a Ghost Brigade vibe, without losing the typical elements that define The Man-Eating Tree.

I have to admit that it took me a few spins to get into the album, but once the songs settled in my head, "Night Verses" really started growing on me. Janne Markus' songwriting just never disappoints, and he always hits the mark with either crushing riffs or howling leads. And how great is it to have Manne Ikonen back? His growls are still fantastic, while his clean vocals emphasize the melancholic aspects of the music in a truly unique way. In terms of highlights, I am particularly impressed by 'To the Sinking' and 'Abandoned', both being excellent showcases of the band's many qualities.

Having been a fan of The Man-Eating Tree for about 15 years now, I might be a little biased, but it's great to have this band back. Considering the quality of "Night Verses", there still is plenty of life in the band, so I hope this will be a successful restart with more to come. Welcome back, it's been too long!

For fans of: Ghost Brigade, Paradise Lost, Swallow the Sun

Release date: 11/04/2025

Released by: Noble Demon

Website: https://themaneatingtree.fi/

Aeonian Sorrow - From the Shadows

 

While 2024 brought us the revival of silky, smooth gothic metal inspired by The Sisters of Mercy and Type O Negative, 2025 returns us to the heavier sounds of gothic doom/death metal. Pioneered by bands like Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride and Theatre of Tragedy, this genre brings us crushing riffs, a ton of melancholy and a dynamic vocal approach. One of the bands keeping the genre alive is Aeonian Sorrow, who have been around since 2015. The Greek/Finnish band have released two full-length and an EP so far, gradually improving themselves and building their name in the scene.

Their new EP is called "From the Shadows", which is another step forward for the band around singer, songwriting, lyricist and visual artist Gogo Melone. It seems like Aeonian Sorrow are like a fine wine, growing tastier as the years go by, maturing with each release. Stylistically, there aren't too many surprises here: the band stay true to their sound, which provides references to renowned bands like Draconian, Swallow the Sun and My Dying Bride. This is the classic gothic doom/death metal sound, with 'beauty and the beast' vocals, and a good mix of crushing heaviness and melancholic atmospheres.

As you can expect, there is very little happiness here, but there is plenty of beauty in the gloomy sound of Aeonian Sorrow. All four songs are true gems, with the brilliant closing track Mist of Oblivion as the icing on the cake. While the musicianship and production quality are great on this EP, I must specifically express my appreciation for Gogo Melone. With her wonderful vocals, she takes the music to another level, adding the necessary melody and refinement to make the songs truly memorable. If the trend of continuous improvement progresses, the next Aeonian Sorrow album should become a genre classic. Until then, there is plenty to enjoy on "From the Shadows".

For fans of: Draconian, Swallow the Sun, My Dying Bride

Release date: 31/03/2025

Released by: Aeonian Sorrow

Bandcamp: https://aeoniansorrow.bandcamp.com/album/from-the-shadows

Opia - I Welcome Thee, Eternal Sleep

 

I don't quite remember how I discovered them, but I've been following Opia from their first single. The British/Spanish band have now released their debut album, "I Welcome Thee, Eternal Sleep", by which they firmly establish themselves in the 'gothic doom metal with beauty & the beast vocals' genre. While many reviewers may claim that this niche has been oversaturated, I think it's about time to acknowledge that this situation may have occured over 20 years ago, but nowadays releases are few and far between. Of course, there is always the mighty Draconian, but who else is capable of combining the solemnity of My Dying Bride with the melancholy of Paradise Lost and the gothic aesthetic of Theatre of Tragedy?

Right, that question can be answered with 'Opia'. The band tick all the classic boxes of the genre that they operate in: crushing riffs, slow rhythms and a heavy mood, with lyrics inspired by grief, death and the Victorian age. The two-pronged vocal approach is familiar too, with Tereza Rohelova combining chilled clean vocals with a wicked growl. Obviously, none of this matters when the music fails to impress, but "I Welcome Thee, Eternal Sleep" grabs you by the throat to never let go. Obvious album highlights are 'The Fade' and 'On Death's Door Part II', but the entire album is of very high quality, making this an incredible debut album. Congrats to Opia for kicking things off with such an impressive release in an underappreciated genre!

For fans of: Draconian, Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride

Rating: 9/10

Release Date: 25/04/2025

Released by Hammerheart Records

Bandcamp: https://hammerheart.bandcamp.com/album/i-welcome-thee-eternal-sleep

Red Moon Architect - October Decay

 

While I love dark and heavy music, I am usually not too much into funeral doom. However, sometimes exceptions should be made when the quality of album is undeniable. Once of those exceptions is "October Decay" by Finnish doomsters Red Moon Architect. Yes, it has all the crushing elements of funeral doom, but they are enriched by melodic doom/death parts, adding the necessary variation to make things interesting.

The balance between melody and crushing heaviness works really well here, as does the contract between deep guttural vocals and esoteric female parts. The album is also not overly long with 49 minutes, keeping things focused and relatively accessible, within the confines of its rather uncompromising genre. If you're into the heavy stuff, you should definitely check this out. And don't forget to admire the phenomenal artwork by Gogo Melone!

For fans of: Evoken, Draconian, Swallow The Sun & Ghostheart Nebula

Rating: 8/10

Released by Noble Demon

Bandcamp: https://redmoonarchitect.bandcamp.com/

Hangman's Chair - Saddiction

 

French masters of gloom, Hangman's Chair, have released a new album on February 14, called "Saddiction". It's their seventh album and their second on Nuclear Blast. While I've always been interested in the particularly miserable style of Hangman's Chair, their previous releases never really stuck with me to build a lasting relationship. Will it be different this time?

If you haven't heard of Hangman's Chair before, you can roughly see them as what would happen if The Cure started playing metal. Other references would be late '90s Katatonia and the later works of both Type O Negative and Pallbearer. No, the sun doesn't shine here, and it always seems to rain. If you are familiar with the band, you will find no big surprises on "Saddiction", but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Returning to the question ending the first paragraph: yes, it is different this time. I find myself returning to "Saddiction" quite often, and I am captivated by its haunting atmosphere. It's an album that drags you down into despair without a glimmer of hope, but it's a beautiful journey through a desolate musical landscape. Now that I've finally connected with the band, I will make sure to revisit Hangman's Chair's previous albums again. Highly recommended!

Rating: 8/10

Released by Nuclear Blast

Bandcamp: https://hangmanschair.bandcamp.com/

Hanging Garden - The Unending EP

 

Have you heard the new EP by Hanging Garden yet? It's yet another lovely release by the Finnish band, in their familiar style. You can expect classic gothic doom metal with a three-pronged vocal approach (growls, male cleans and female cleans) and excellent musicianship. There are also some elements of post-rock, prog and folk thrown into the music to keep things melodic rather than crushing, with just enough diversity to keep things interesting without losing focus. As we are used to from other recent Hanging Garden releases, this EP contains expertly written songs and just makes you want to hit the "repeat" button over and over again. Highly recommended!

Rating: 8/10

Released by https://www.agoniarecords.com/

Bandcamp: https://hanginggarden.bandcamp.com/

The Bleak Picture - Songs of Longing

The Bleak Picture is a new band from Finland. Founded by multi-instrumentalist Jussi Hänninen (Fall of the Leafe, Autumnfall) and Tero Ruohonen (Autumnfall) on vocals, The Bleak Picture set out to create old school doom/death metal in the style of mid ‘90s Paradise Lost and Katatonia. “Songs of Longing” is their first EP, released by Alone Records. Now the obvious question is: have these guys succeed in bringing us the doom, gloomy vibe matching their ambitions?

The simple answer to that question is yes. From the very start of opening track ‘The Dead Beginners’, it is clear that The Bleak Picture is not shy of showing its influences and at the same time you can hear that there is talent at work here. Hänninen’s riffs set the miserable mood, while Ruohonen deepens the despair with his growls and clean vocals. The band cleverly avoids the monotony that haunts certain doom/death metal albums by adding more atmospheric elements, adding a bit of a Fields of the Nephilim vibe at times, while the more melodic efforts bring back memories of Sentenced’s masterpiece “Down”. All four songs are of high quality, with closing tracking ‘Broken Statues’ being the highlight of the EP, hinting strongly at Katatonia’s legendary “Brave Murder Day” album.

If you’re looking for cheerful music about dragons, swords and trolls, you are obviously not going to enjoy “Songs of Longing” very much. But if you’re into some dark and gloomy music with plenty of heaviness, this might just be your thing. I strongly recommend it to fans of the bands mentioned above, as well as those who enjoy Swallow the Sun, My Dying Bride or Daylight Dies. I can only hope that this EP will not be last thing we hear from The Bleak Picture and that a full-length album will be the next step. After all, 24 minutes is not enough!

Rating: 80/100