Insomniac – Om Moksha Ritam Review

By Samguineous Maximus

The terms “psychedelic” and “post-metal” are usually enough for me to approach any new release with caution—not because those genres lack excellent music, but because they’re so often associated with overlong, unfocused songs. For every Cult of Luna or Oranssi Pazuzu, there are fifty bands peddling overlong, riffless dirges that mistake “atmosphere” for actual songwriting. Atlanta supergroup Insomniac has arrived with their debut record Om Moksha Ritam, with the ominous self-designation of “post-doom.” The title, loosely translated from Sanskrit as “Liberation through merging with the Universal Rhythm,”1 foregrounds its ambitions as a concept album designed to “guide listeners through an aural and spiritual journey across multiple extreme environments.” Have Insomniac crafted a narrative listening experience that successfully conveys its metaphysical aspirations? Or is their debut the “post-doom” equivalent of a bad trip?

On Om Moksha Ritam, Insomniac manages to craft a sound that is immediately recognizable yet distinctly their own. They merge the progressive psychedelia of Elder with the layered, textural approach of REZN, all filtered through the Southern-gothic tinge of fellow Georgians Baroness. The result is a body of songs that draw equally from the contemplative exploration of ’70s prog, Americana-dipped blues rock, and the anthemic heft of post-metal’s sludgier, power-chord-driven moments. What makes this combination work is not just the intuitive chemistry of the instrumentalists, but the commanding presence of vocalist Van Bassman. Each track is surprisingly vocal-driven, and Bassman conjures a sound somewhere between a bluesier Dax Riggs and a John Baizley who’s actually capable of singing. His baritone sits front and center for much of Om Moksha Ritam, often accompanied by vocal layers and effects, creating a kaleidoscopic swirl that amplifies the ebb and flow of the music as it moves between peaks and valleys.

It helps that Om Moksha Ritam’s tracklist is dynamic and well-paced, with each of its 7 songs offering subtle differentiation on Insomniac’s core formula. Much of this can be attributed to the interplay between guitarists Alex Avedissian and Mike Morris,2 whose willingness to balance acoustic and effects-laden electric timbres gives the record a versatile and interesting palette. The guitars ferry the songs between quiet reflection and crushing grandeur. Whether it’s weaving intricate folky arpeggios together with tripped-out leads (“Desert”), harmonizing across doomy atmospheres (“Mountain”) or using post-rock tremolos to punctuate a well-earned climax (“Meditation), the guitar work on Om Moksha Ritam is consistently engaging and varied. Of course, this would be for naught without a strong rhythm section, but Insomniac has that as well. Drummer Amos Rifkin brings a loose, delicate touch to softer tracks like “Sea” and “Forest,” but escalates with thunderous weight when the music demands greater intensity. Meanwhile, bassist Juan Garcia provides a warm, full-bodied tone that both supports and embellishes the melodic core, keeping the songs anchored amid the dense layering of guitars and vocals, which is important on a track like the expansive and sprawling “Snow and Ice.”

Only a few minor inconsistencies keep Om Moksha Ritam from reaching the apex of Insomniac’s sound. The B-side leans away from emphatic “Hell yes” moments in favor of slower, navel-gazing jams. These tracks reward repeat listens but aren’t as immediately gripping. Closer “Awakening” falls just shy of the monumental highs of the opening salvo, with a climactic chorus that doesn’t land as powerfully as it could. For the most part, the record sounds fantastic and balances its many intricate layers, though there are moments (the refrains of “Mountain” and “Sea”) where Bassman’s voice overpowers the rest of the band in a psychedelic spiral. These issues don’t detract too heavily from the record’s overall impact, but they are worth noting.

Om Moksha Ritam takes you on a hallucinogenic trek across the desert, riffs shimmering like heat mirages, the atmosphere thick enough to choke a camel. Insomniac has delivered an album that takes listeners on a true musical journey, drenched in smoke-filled vibes, yet immediately rewarding. Their unique, psychedelic strain of “post-doom” metal blends familiar elements from beloved bands into something greater than the sum of its parts. If Insomniac invite me on another spiritual vision quest through the wastelands of sound, I’ll happily lace up my sandals, pack my water skin, and follow them straight into the void.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: PCM
Label: Blues Funeral Recording
Websites: insomniacvibes.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/insomniacatl
Releases Worldwide: September 1st, 2025

#2025 #35 #AmeircanMetal #Baroness #BluesFuneralRecording #BluesRock #CultOfLuna #DoomMetal #Elder #Insomniac #OmMokshaRitam #OranssiPazuzu #PostRock #PostMetal #ProgressiveMetal #PsychedelicMetal #PsychedelicRock #Review #Reviews #REZN #Sep25

Aganoor – Doomerism Review

By Killjoy

Of all the genre labels, doom metal is probably the one that most often prompts me to investigate further. This isn’t because it’s my favorite per se, but rather because doom and its myriad subgenres can sound so wildly different from one another,1 so I try to ensure I don’t miss something good. This time it paid off when I found Aganoor, a brand new doom group from Rome, Italy. Formed as recently as summer 2023, they wasted no time writing and recording a debut LP, Doomerism, which promises an intriguing blend of classic doom, stoner, heavy psych, and goth rock. With an album title that’s maybe a bit on the nose, Aganoor sets out to bend multiple time-tested styles to suit their doomy whims.

Like forebears Black Sabbath or Pentagram, Aganoor doesn’t skimp on weighty, down-tuned guitar riffs. The majority of these riffs are infused with a sense of vaguely bluesy stoner groove peddled by the likes of Wo Fat, with just enough grit and fuzz around the edges. At times, the guitars also take on a darker inflection when vocalist Dan Ghostrider dips into surly Type O Negative goth rock territory. It’s not all doom and gloom, though. Aganoor also has a penchant for luxuriant psychedelic explorations like Elder or (later) REZN, albeit more concise and less indulgent. A slight reverb effect on the guitars lends the music a cosmic vibe and augments the sense of psychedelia. The key takeaway is that Aganoor enjoys jamming across multiple styles.

However, to describe Doomerism as a “jam” may be misleading because it implies that the music is directionless or unplanned. Aganoor never succumbs to the autopilot tendencies commonly associated with stoner and psych groups. In fact, all of Doomerism’s tracks sit in the 6 to 8-minute range, but they feel more like 4. This is due to a keen sense of flow and an intuition of when to go harder with the doom riffs and when to ease off the throttle for an entrancing psychedelic passage. “Icarus” exemplifies this dichotomy best, where an irresistible groove dominates the first half, then smoothly settles into a smoky bass-led segment. This isn’t to say that it’s always either-or; there are plenty of times when the lead guitar goes on a short excursion while tethered to a solid rhythm guitar or bass line (“Morbid Skin,” “Bury My Soul,” “Mind Shadowing”). In this way, not a single minute feels wasted, and even the meandering bits feel vital.

Perhaps the most appealing quality of Doomerism is how easy it is to listen to while simultaneously offering enough to chew on during repeat visits. Aganoor does this by keeping just enough of the familiar popular music song structure but strategically omitting or lengthening components to form something more novel. The more rock-oriented numbers feature traditional choruses (“Bury My Soul” and “Emerald Lake”), but rather than relying too heavily on them for memorability, Aganoor leans more on quality hooks and recurring melodies. They’re also happy to write long, elaborate intros (“Nadir”) and instrumental bridges (“Mind Shadowing”) without ever approaching proggy excess. Doomerism’s 6-track, 39-minute runtime is the perfect amount to feel satisfied but still wish for one more song. If I must nitpick, it can sometimes feel like Aganoor are a bit too secure in the shadow of their various influences, but it’s hard to complain when their execution is this good, and they still undeniably put their own spin on this retro flavor of songwriting.

Aganoor came seemingly out of nowhere with an enchanting combination of doom metal and adjacent styles. Doomerism feels like the best of both worlds; the riffs-first approach and gothic tendencies keep the psychedelic elements focused and grounded in reality, while the stoner rock grants the perfect amount of levity to an otherwise stifling atmosphere. The net effect is warm and refreshing like a summer breeze. Each song has a smooth, buttery flow that’s easy to zone out and get lost in. I would not have guessed this to be a debut album; the band members sound as comfortable as if they’ve been playing together for years. As such, things already look promising for a future Aganoor sophomore record.

Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: My Kingdom Music | BloodRock Records
Websites: aganoor.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/aganoorband
Releases Worldwide: June 6th, 2025

#2025 #40 #Aganoor #BlackSabbath #BloodRockRecords #DoomMetal #Doomerism #Elder #GothicMetal #ItalianMetal #Jun25 #MyKingdomMusic #Pentagram #PsychedelicDoomMetal #PsychedelicRock #Review #Reviews #REZN #StonerMetal #TypeONegative #WoFat

Church of the Sea – Eva Review

By Tyme

I’ve often thought Adam’s rib-mate, Eve, got a bad rap. Led astray by the pesky serpent, Eve took that first bite of the fruit from the Forbidden Tree and shared it with her man. This act not only resulted in their expulsion from the Garden of Eden, but in Eve becoming traditionally branded as the original sinner, who eventually suffered the pains of childbirth as part of God’s consequence. Formed in 2017, and after releasing their debut album Odalisque in 2022, Greek doomgaze trio Church of the Sea has partnered with These Hands Melt to drop sophomore effort Eva, which aims to reimagine the story of Eve, celebrating her defiance and casting her in a different light. One not of sinner, but rebel, who willingly embraced what others consider ‘forbidden.’ I wondered what form Church of the Sea‘s doomgaze would manifest on Eva and whether it would have me reveling in Eve’s now reconstructed rebellion.

With zero expectations of what doomgaze should sound like, I was pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere Church of the Sea creates on Eva. Vangelis provides the doom, comprised chiefly of his sparse, spindly, and sometimes spooky guitar lines, while Alex rounds out the gaze of Eva’s instrumentation with subdued, synth-driven darkwave. Melodies undulate like roiling black seas under steel-grey skies, leaving me stranded on Darkher and REZN-filled waters, searching for salvation. Trent Reznor-inspired synth beats greet us on the first proper track, “The Siren’s Choice.” When the spider-like guitar notes and Irene’s sultry, velvety Shirly-Manson-meets-Sara-Bianchin vocals enter the fray, we get a glimpse of how powerful the doom of Church of the Sea‘s sound can be. This power is undeniable when fuzzy guitar chords coalesce with distorted synths to add heavyweight exclamation points throughout Eva‘s thirty-minute runtime, succeeding at creating a hypnotically hazy, drone-like, yet heavily doomy experience.

Each note on Eva means to satisfy the alpha waves of mind and body like a 432 Hz tone. From the Dead Can Dance meets Vermilia tribalism of “Eva,” with Irene’s native Greek vocals establishing a very folk-forward cadence, to the electronica dominant closer “How to Build a Universe, pt. II,” Eva is full of highlights. None more evident than the three-punch combo that starts with the very Darkher-inspired “Widow,” imbued with “Lowly Weep” vibes to the Bloody Hammers-like spookiness of “Garden of Eden,” where you can almost feel the snaky villain slithering toward our defiant and rebellious heroine. It’s not until the fateful lilts of “Churchyard” enter that the triptych at the apex of Church of the Sea‘s Eve story reveals itself, an ebb and flow, tension-packed track full of sanguine beats, ethereal vocals, and hard-hitting doom tones that find Eve defiantly accepting her role as the ‘mother of all living’ and embracing her newfound knowledge.

Church of the Sea creates music for certain moods, and Eva is no exception. More lulling than pulse-pounding, Eva’s hazy drone succeeds mostly by staying true to what it is and never attempting to stray from that mission. Songs plod, crawl, and cautiously sense their way through Church of the Sea‘s garden of Eva with arachnidic stealth. While stellar in its execution, this fact limits accessibility. This music will not energize you as much as it will have you delving into sub-plateaus of self-inquiry, lazing about in effortlessly created atmospheres. In an age where we admonish bloat and overly long opuses, my biggest quibble is that Eva is not long enough. Minus the two-minute intro, Eva clocks in at a scant twenty-eight minutes, and while I am quick to hit replay, I’m left wanting to hear more of what Church of the Sea has to offer.

April has been a month that could very well find me flung back into the n00b pit. I’ve stumbled on a string of releases I’ve really connected with. I chose Church of the Sea to diversify the kinds of albums I was grabbing, and much to my chagrin, I fell in love with it. Though short in stature and length, Eva is chock full of quality. Irene’s vocals mesmerize, and the guitar-synth combo is way heavier than it has any right to be. I know there will be albums in my future that I won’t connect with, and I anxiously await their arrival, but Church of the Sea‘s album Eva is not one of them. I recommend it fully, and I hope you check it out.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320kb/s mp3
Label: These Hands Melt
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: April 11th, 2025

#2025 #35 #Apr25 #ChurchOfTheSea #Darkher #DeadCanDance #DoomMetal #Doomgaze #Eva #GreekMetal #Review #REZN #Shoegaze #TheseHandsMelt #Vermilia

🔥 New Artist announced for ArcTanGent Festival 2025

Rezn

Listen to the current LineUp on YouTube, YTMusic and Spotify: https://fyrefestivals.co

#ArcTanGent_Festival_2025 #Rezn #fyre_festivals #livemusic #youtube #spotify #music #2025 #musicfestivals #announcement

REZN - Burden (2024)

https://rezzzn.bandcamp.com/album/burden

#music #rezn #bandcamp #alternative

REZN – Burden Review

By Dolphin Whisperer

When choosing things to review, many of us choose based on genre affinity, name affinity, vibe affinity—just about any calling works.1 REZN’s whole concept of providing heavy shoegaze-laden psychedelic doom speaks deeply to me, even if the waters where music that self-describes this way provides an often less-than delivery, I accepted the band on their terms. With a DIY aesthetic that has built REZN a following over the past seven years, their hard work has paid off and brought them to the Sargent House family to release Burden more widely as a partner album follow-up to the critically good Solace. But with an experience that’s so entwined, the two cover arts even connected, can Burden prove an experience worthy all to its own?

Despite its lush guitar textures and breathy, dreamy vocal work—reminiscent both of the nasally drift of jam bands like Elder or the infiltrating snap of Smashing Pumpkin’s Billy Corgan—Solace felt like a smooth and level experience that was building to some sort of darker drama. In Burden, the opening chimes that give way to a present and grinding bass that rattles into industrial snare hits signal where Solace feared to go, or rather that to which it aspired. And as this tonal descent persists, Burden carves out a defined spot in the wobbling REZN discog with a glistening but rock-dragging edge. This act has gone a long way in using their pedal exploration and watery vocal modulations to define a sound that rings both true to the continually hazed-out scene of psychedelic doom while retaining a few traceable REZN nugs.

Most importantly, though, throughout Burden REZN maintains a sense of forward motion, which can be tricky in a lane that prides itself largely on “tone porn” and iterative sounds. Several jangles recall refrains from their previous work (“Indigo,” “Collapse” specifically), but the careful construction of each song as thicker and more hissing entity gives even similar characters an extra YOB-y edge—a little more earth in REZN’s air, if you will. And, much like those legendary long-form, slow-burn performers, REZN uses percussion that snaps from rock-driven and playful to heavy-handed doom crushing on the calculated and cascading roll of a riff. Only on “Bleak Patterns” does Burden wander about a mode that places too much value in a tempo-crawling repetition, which feels out of place among the fuller in frolic attitude that fills so much of the album.

Yet for all of this album’s immediacy in riff impact and success in moody hypnotism, a lack of sonically stunning and memorable peaks continues to define a REZN trend. The introductory puff that pulls through “Indigo” threatens the cool and calm demeanor that this band normally possesses with a welcome turbulence. Similarly too does the near-heroic guitar wailing that closes “Instinct” and the Pink Floyd-ian sax crooning that tags a dark side to “Soft Prey.” But, even after as many listens as I’ve sunk into Burden—probably too many given how comfortable the ride is—its space between these climactic posts becomes notably drifting and atmospheric in an attention-dropping manner. Undoubtedly, many of you dear readers and listeners are the kind of dreamer who may swirl about each modular oscillation or track the trajectory of each space-bound, dissipating lead. However, I find myself often rudely awakened from the peace of happening by the train whistle guitar squeal2 that screeches forth the call of the closing and fuzzed-out “Chasm.”

If it sounds like I’m being a touch tough on the exploratory and serene sounds that these Chicago psychmongers offer with Burden, forgive me—I never expected to be reviewing REZN three times now in the span of about fifteen months. But I do think that it is a marker of success that even in that tight calendar turn, REZN has managed to stay consistently good, if just a tad over-consistent. Burden, as each record in this quick sequence has, adds another fold into the inward-gazing reflections that this musical tribe prizes. REZN may not have re-aligned the stars with riffed-out yet atmospheric tone summoning, but they give me all the reason to still try and wait for whatever it is they do next.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Sargent House | Bandcamp
Websites: rezn.band | rezzzn.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/reznband
Releases Worldwide: June 14th, 2024

#2024 #30 #AlternativeRock #AmericanMetal #Burden #DoomMetal #Elder #Jun24 #ProgressiveRock #PsychedelicDoomMetal #Review #Reviews #REZN #SargentHouse #Shoegaze #SmashingPumpkins #Solace #YOB

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#MetalSucks
Sh*t That Comes Out Today: June 14, 2024
Featuring releases from Fu Manchu, Malignancy, and Ulcerate.

https://www.metalsucks.net/2024/06/14/sht-that-comes-out-today-june-14-2024/

#FuManchu #Malignancy #SquidPisser #Ulcerate #Alarm #Amnify #APES #Eivør #Fórn #Golgotha #ImpactApproved #Mono #REZN #TheRedScare

Audio stream: REZN - "Indigo"

https://metalnerd.net/audio-stream-rezn-indigo/

#REZN #SargentHouse #metal #shoegaze