Recent Listening: Pilgrim, Spawn of Possession, Elysian Blaze

Three more albums I've listened to recently, and all of these were definitely worth my time.

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Pilgrim, a young doom band from Rhode Island, released their full-length debut back in January. I've heard that record, Misery Wizard,  compared to Sorrow and Extinction  by Pallbearer. Stylistically, it's true that they're pretty similar. I personally think the Pallbearer record was stronger, but there's no particular reason why anybody who liked that wouldn't like this too.

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Spawn of Possession, a Swedish technical death metal band, released their third album Incurso  in March. The record has garnered a considerable amount of positive attention, and it's easy to see why. The band accents their interesting and creative musical constructions with other elements that would normally seem quite out of place on a record like this. For example, the pipe organ on this track. Really, this may be the strongest new tech death release I've heard this year.

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Elysian Blaze, and Australian funeral doom act, also released their third album this year. Blood Geometry came out in June, and it is yet another strong addition in a year that has been very good for it's sub-genre. The blackened approach taken by Mutatiis, the band's sole member, serves to differentiate this somewhat from other funeral doom that has made a splash this year. The music is very atmospheric and kind of gothic feeling, with cavernous production and extensive keyboard/organ work setting the stage for the doom and gloom. At first I wasn't too crazy about this, but it has definitely grown on me.