Shivered – Chains Review

By Lavender Larcenist

Not much is more metal than having to put your life on the line to play the music you love. For Iranians, that is an everyday reality, forced to play underground or flee their home country for fear of persecution. Metal is considered blasphemous (hell yeah) in Iran, and the most famous example of a band suffering under these draconian laws is Confess. I imagine Mohammad Maki, the one-man band that is Shivered, has to struggle with these same challenges. A concept album focused on the end of humanity through collective mass suicide probably isn’t making anyone happy who takes umbrage with metal’s dark themes and brutal nature. But that is exactly what Maki has served up with a heaping helping of gothic doom, a little bit of death, and a whole lot of atmosphere. Under such strenuous circumstances, is Shivered able to deliver a concept album worth risking life and limb with Chains, or will it be doomed (heh) to solitary confinement?

While single-member bands are somewhat common in metal, Mohammad Maki is putting on a show with Shivered. Clean vocals, deathly howls, drumming, piano, bass, production, and guitar are all delivered by Maki, and outside of a couple of featured musicians and a few blemishes with some overly ambitious high notes that he can’t quite reach with his clean range, every element feels tight and polished. Even the production is properly cavernous, serving the haunting atmosphere that is pervasive throughout Chains. No matter what your opinion of the music is, Maki is clearly a talented and driven musician.

Talent aside, Chains is firmly rooted in the school of gothic death/doom purveyed by bands like Paradise Lost, but it leans into the clean side of things, with Maki delivering a majority of the vocals in a high-pitched, ghostly drone. This is likely where listeners will either stick with Chains or drop it entirely. Maki’s voice suits the material; his heavily accented, almost lullaby-esque singing adds to the ethereal ambience of this dark concept album, but a few notes prove too difficult, and at times his voice feels at its breaking point, like on “Human Parasite”. Despite these flawed moments, I found something alluring about Maki’s singing, and his odd pronunciation and unique sound grew on me with repeated listens, making even simple phrases into earworms in ways I didn’t expect entirely due to their delivery.

Chains does suffer from repetition, and while I like what Shivered is putting down, each track follows a similar formula. Grand doom riffs open the track and lead into melodic piano backings with spectral vocals. I kept wishing for Chains to let loose and put the foot on the gas, which it finally does towards the end of the album, which is the strongest part of the record. “Rebirth in Wrath” ends with an all-out death metal assault, and I wish Maki would lean into the harsh vocals more. “Hanging Bloom” features female vocalist Julie Orwell, and it turns the track into an epic duet between Maki and Orwell. I hope to see Orwell return, or even better, become a consistent member of Shivered. Maki and Orwell make for a great team between their different vocal styles, and he leans into the funeral doom with his rasping, harsh vocals on the track. Outside of a few tracks in the back half of the album, Chains doesn’t ever quite open up, but the album is consistent and satisfying across its fifty-two-minute runtime. It would be served by cutting five minutes from the album here and there, but no individual song is a weak point.

Chains is an album that immediately hooked me when I booted it up, but as it continued, it grew more formulaic. Surprisingly, the more I listened, the more I grew to enjoy what Maki was going for with this dour concept album. It may have grown predictable, but in the vein of many great metal bands, the one song that Shivered does; it does well. Chains is full of big riffs, some light Paradise Lost and Katatonia worship, and a heaping helping of atmosphere. The singular talent of Mohammad Maki grounds all of this. If you are on the hunt for some satisfying death/doom with a focus on melody, you can do much worse than Chains. Shivered is on the cusp of true greatness, and with a little bit of editing, the next album may break free.

Rating: Good
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Self-Released
Websites: shivered.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/shivered
Releases Worldwide: November 2nd, 2025

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The Bleak Picture – Shades of Life Review

By Maddog

It’s been a draining year. Lacking the mental energy for new music, I’ve subsisted on a diet of ISIS and Fvneral Fvkk. Clouded by the doomy stylings of the latter, I decided to make my return to reviewing with dismal death-doom. Despite releasing their debut just last year, Finland’s The Bleak Picture is a project of members of Autumnfall. That said, these two bands sound worlds apart, as their names betray. Abandoning the blackened scenery of Autumnfall, The Bleak Picture paints a bleak picture with melodic death-doom that reeks of Finland. Channeling the icons of sadboi history, Shades of Life is a flawed but worthwhile slab of morose doom.

You won’t find much innovation here, but The Bleak Picture has learned from the best. Blending harsh vocals and spoken word, doomy plains and deathy mountain ranges, Shades of Life consists of familiar elements. The opener “Plagued by Sorrow” offers the listener zero seconds of respite before launching into a persistent doom riff. Melodic guitar leads steer the album along, stitching the doomy cuts together in a manner that recalls Enshine (“Without the I”). Rather than slowing to a standstill, The Bleak Picture uses Insomnium riffs to push the album along without diluting its sorrow. The guitars (handled by Jussi Hänninen, along with the other instruments) are the core of Shades of Life, but Tero Ruohonen’s vocals broaden its horizons. While he largely dwells in standard harsh territory, Ruohonen’s cleans tinge the album with gothic influences, like the distorted spoken word of “Absolution.” Indeed, sections like the straightforward rock of “Without the I” recall Paradise Lost. However, lest this lengthy description fool you, Shades of Life is largely standard fare.

It feels criminal to listen to Shades of Life on a 90-degree summer day. The Bleak Picture conveys emotion through the sheer enormity of their riffs, burying the listener like an avalanche (“Absolution”). Elsewhere, Shades of Life deftly intersperses these assaults with tranquility, like the transition from an explosive chorus to minimalist bass-led instrumentals on “Plagued by Sorrow.” These strengths reach their apex on the 11-minute spectacle “Silent Exit.” Evoking Swallow the Sun’s Plague of Butterflies, the track progresses through a nightmarish acoustic melody, forceful doom riffs, and girthy bass lines. Cult of Luna-style drumming leads the song into a climactic ending that raises the bar even further. Across these highlights, The Bleak Picture’s sophomore release boasts a mature approach to songwriting.

Shades of Life still struggles to transcend its melodic death-doom formula. The album’s biggest weakness is its monotony. In their quest for chunky riffs, The Bleak Picture tends to overuse ideas, emulating an uninspired version of Rapture (“Code of Ethics”). Even the album’s best pieces sometimes fizzle out, like the abrupt ending of the otherwise-powerful “Absolution.” Similarly, while the penultimate track “Silent Exit” showcases the best of Shades of Life, the closer “City of Ghosts” settles into a low-energy doom routine that never picks up steam. Despite its apparent variety of influences, The Bleak Picture’s by-the-book approach to death-doom doesn’t always keep my interest.

An album like Shades of Life is difficult to dissect; its success hinges on the heart, not the brain. The Bleak Picture is on the right path, and tracks like “Silent Exit” hit hard with their bulky riffwork and creative variety. But as a whole, Shades of Life isn’t the gut punch I’d hoped for. It doesn’t match the raw power of Paradise Lost, the otherworldly sadness of Enshine, or the narrative prowess of Insomnium. Still, I have no regrets. There are strong whiffs of talent here, and with its mature and tempered approach to songwriting, Shades of Life is an easy, rewarding listen. It’s worth a shot for anyone who prefers moping over sunlight.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Ardua Music
Websites: thebleakpicture.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/thebleakpicture
Releases Worldwide: June 27th, 2025

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Faithxtractor – Loathing and the Noose Review

By Maddog

Faithxtractor’s second biggest musical contribution was the comment section from their last album. With a Farmers Only joke, a thread about metalcore album names, and a story that must be read to be believed, the birdbrain community’s mockery of Faithxtractor’s name has left me giggling for two years. Of course, the band’s biggest contribution was 2023’s Contempt for a Failed Dimension itself. Perhaps my favorite frill-free death metal record in recent memory, Faithxtractor’s fourth full-length dealt in riffs and also riffs. Unlike the other wannabes that litter the old-school death metal revival scene, Faithxtractor stood out through thoughtful songwriting. The album’s doom-tinged riffs were punchy, and its cohesive flow has withstood two years of wear. Ohio’s underground farmers are back with another slab of death metal. As I started spinning Loathing and the Noose, I knew what to expect.

At least, I thought I did. While Contempt for a Failed Dimension reveled in riffy simplicity, Loathing and the Noose is much more adventurous. Faithxtractor’s signature remains, with extra chunky riffs that alternate between furious death metal and Asphyxiating death-doom. However, while Contempt turned everything up to eleven, Loathing shatters the knob altogether. The most intense sections veer into blackened death-thrash, landing in between Morbid Saint and Panzer Division Marduk (“Fever Dream Litanies”). Even early Suffocation rears its head in Faithxtractor’s most bludgeoning brutal riffwork (“Flooded Tombs”). Spastic flailing guitar solos complement this unhinged assault on the senses. However, Faithxtractor ventures in the opposite direction as well. Loathing’s soaring leads and its melodeath-inflected riffs make it feel more melodic than Contempt. Meanwhile, the album’s starkest change lies in its bluer shade of doom. Faithxtractor’s melodic death-doom passages recall Swallow the Sun, displaying a newfound emotive side rather than merely adding heft. While Loathing and the Noose is far from an avant-garde record, it marks a sea change for Faithxtractor.

Miraculously, Faithxtractor’s experiments pay off. Even the most unexpected pieces are bafflingly powerful. Despite my knee-jerk skepticism, the melodic death-doom escapades are as evocative as the genre’s best (“Cerecloth Vision Veil”). Conversely, Loathing and the Noose’s speediest blackened cuts hijack my brain using frantic melodies and Marduk riffs (“Ethos Moribund”). These varied elements fit together with uncanny grace. The mid-section of opener “Noose of Being” mutates from blackened riffs to melodeath to sadboi death-doom to knuckle-dragging Autopsy worship, with fluid transitions that make each long jump feel like a natural step. Similarly, “Caveats” shines through its dynamic back-and-forth between an elegiac key melody and an enormous doom riff. While Faithxtractor’s round-trip transitions are sometimes abrupt, like the funeral-doom-and-back of “Flooded Tombs,” these are rare exceptions. Indeed, because it’s so well-crafted, Loathing and the Noose is an immediate hit despite its evolution; even the doomy seven-minute closer flies by, lodging into my memory by my second listen. Over-experimentation can be a turn-off, but Faithxtractor makes it work by whole-assing their every move.

Of course, it helps that the caveman segments slay. Even on its more adventurous tracks, Loathing’s overpowering death metal riffs are grin-inducing (“Cerecloth Vision Veil”). I have a soft spot for guitar solos paired with a dominant rhythm guitar, and Faithxtractor delivers on this with reckless abandon (“The Loathing”). If anything, Loathing and the Noose’s explosive tendencies make it a more visceral and infectious listen than its predecessor. And because the album’s climactic fury is sprinkled across each track rather than being sequestered, its 37 minutes are consistently lovable. While Loathing’s loud in-your-face master blunts its teeth, it remains a delight to revisit.

This is not the death metal album I was looking for. I showed up expecting a single-minded half-hour curbstomp. While Loathing and the Noose retains these simple roots, it does so much more. With influences ranging from blackened thrash to weepy death-doom, Faithxtractor’s newest record marks a transformation that initially left me worried. But its gargantuan death metal riffs, its smooth songwriting, and its excellence across its genre romps won me over. Contempt for a Failed Dimension was not just one of the greatest albums of 2023; it shocked me, revitalizing a subgenre that rarely rises above a 3.0. Loathing and the Noose sounds worlds apart, but checks the same elusive box. Mastermind Ash Thomas continues to understand my taste better than I do, releasing fantastic records in styles that often let me down. Keep an open mind and give this a shot.

Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Redefining Darkness Records
Websites: faithxtractor.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/Faithxtractor
Releases Worldwide: January 10th, 2025

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