Doomsday

Would it be treading into obvious territory to describe the aesthetic vision of a group named Doomsday, with an album named Doomsday, as apocalyptic? Featuring current and former members of such bands as Wolvhammer, Bones, Goatwhore, Forest of Impaled and the Gates of Slumber, Doomsday border on being a blackened super-group, with the street cred to back it up. Coming in at just over 21 minutes, Doomsday doesn't waste time with pleasantries or atmospheric filler — every moment of this album is a full-blown nuclear assault on the senses. The sonic massacre that is Doomsday starts right out of the gate with "She Will Be the One," a tremolo-heavy track that's closer to pure black metal than anything else on the album. "Empty Vessel," the album's best track, shows some retro-influence, with a throwback dual-guitar section. Doomsday is a solid debut from a band with Armageddon on their minds. Besides the satisfying and intensely charming sounds, they've mastered the necessary components of a good apocalyptic metal album: blasphemy ("Black Judas," which features a stand-out solo), morbidity ("Bring Down the Knife") and general depravity (G.G. Allin cover "I Kill Everything I Fuck"). In a fitting move for an end-of-times group, the album is crusty and blackened, a true sonic massacre!