Weekly Digest, Week 27 / 2026

We're into the lull of deep summer now, but the darkness is being kept alive by the likes of Mortem, TodoMal and Witchsorrow.

The aggression is absent from the big releases, but not the gloom:

Deep Purple – Splat! (progressive rock/heavy-ish metal)

Dominum – Night Is Calling (power/pop metal)

Moonspell – Far From God (gothic metal)

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TOP PICK OF THE WEEK

TodoMal – Graveyard of Joy

Genre: Atmospheric doom metal

Subjective rating: 4/5

Objective rating: 4/5

Country of origin: Spain

Now for something truly fresh. Calling this doom is entirely correct, but also entirely insufficient. For that there is too much going on that breaks with expectations and genre conventions, even though it should absolutely appeal to the same kind of audience that will enjoy more conventional melodic doom variants. The scope, instrumental heaviness and riff style is all there, but is expanded on with unsubtle elements of mildly proggy indie- and space rock.

At times it sounds like The Killers or Muse at their slowest and most atmospheric, but with the reassuring mass of a rumbling low end behind it, and a much darker and despair-prone tendency to it. Perhaps most importantly, it's melodically rich and engaging, without in any way overdoing the emotional investment. It's not exactly gloomy, and stays well clear of the extreme and aggressive realms, with some song sections and interludes perhaps veering a bit too far off the task at hand. But it's a smooth, varied and revelatory listening experience for anyone able to open their minds beyond a fixed slit.  

Highlights: "Point of Coalescence" and "Humanised Gods"

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Mortem – Mørketid

Genre: Black metal

Subjective rating: 3.5/5

Objective rating: 3.5/5

Country of origin: Norway

These days to be considered a bit of a Norwegian black metal supergroup, Mortem actually predates many of the projects that have since made its members famous (Arcturus, 1349, Thorns). The band was mostly inactive (at least in terms of releases) post 1990, before officially reforming in 2018, and "Mørketid" is their second full-length since then. It basically sounds like straight, old school black metal, but with a gothic-symphonic boost to it, and its frigid aggression harnessed by rhythmic control.

Just when you think the album has settled on the high-intensity, attack approach, it settles into doom-style spooky-morbid storytelling mode. The transitions in and out of these aren't always quite as seamless, and while they're clearly going for a certain degree of melodic memorability, it only feels like a half-commitment, which lands several of the songs falling short of their full potential. In the end it's a satisfyingly dark and focused kind of album that comes up a bit short on lasting greatness.  

Highlight: "The Mighty Odious"

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Witchsorrow – The Devil And All His Works

Genre: Doom metal

Subjective rating: 3/5

Objective rating: 3.5/5

Country of origin: England

If you prefer your doom to be lurking in church ruins and among derelict gravestones, this is the album you need to turn to this week. Witchsorrow play old school doom not too far from Candlemass, but with a sharper, black 'n' roll kind of streak to it. It's either quite content to creep slowly forwards in the shadows or jump out and rock out on the mausoleum roof, and these two different personalities don't ever really join together, but stay separated by individual tracks.

The riffs and vocals sound just as spooky-evil as you could hope for, and overall it's a pleasingly uncomplicated affair that delivers on the promise of the concept. It's a bit up and down in terms of energy, but the extremes don't clash as much as they stand clearly apart and provide welcome variation.

Highlight: "Hades Chains"