Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath (Vertigo 1970) Each one of the first six Black Sabbath albums has enjoyed a spell as my favourite Sabs record. At the moment though, it’s the groundbreaking 1970 debut that takes the top spot. The evil riffing is timeless, Ozzy’s voice sounds uniquely mournful and I love every note of Tony Iommi jamming away on The Warning while everyone else has nipped to the pub. And, in case the cover’s upside-down cross, haunted watermill and iconic magical, mystical woman aren’t Hammer Horror enough for you, Black Sabbath captures the Brummies at their most atmospheric and sp ..read more

“An apostle of all misery” Gather and give praise at the Holy Parish of True Doom. Here’s Reverend Bizarre and Burn In Hell!, the opening track from their 2002 debut In The Rectory Of The Bizarre Reverend. This is doom at its most pious and humongous: pushing the style to its saturnine and elephantine limits while staying true to the traditional form and vibe of genre pioneers like Saint Vitus and Pentagram. The eight-minute song only has about three riffs but a shift in mood from minor to phrygian keeps things evil and interesting and Albert Witchfinder’s operatic, admonishing croon and the ..read more

“You are the embodiment of pure freedom” The lengthy, linear songs, relentless changes and a lack of repetition make Opeth’s debut album Orchid a tough nut to crack but it’s well worth the effort. Here’s one of the album’s best and most accessible tracks, The Twilight Is My Robe. It’s brilliant questing stuff that gallops across rolling Maidenesque hills, ventures through bleak forests of gothic doom and rests its weary head in a dingly dell of acoustic enchantment. It’s astonishing to think this band hadn’t been in a proper studio before they recorded this. It’s audacious, ambitious stuff f ..read more

With pesky January out of the way, it seems like a good time to have a wee catch-up on all things HMO. Recent Posts 2023 got off to a galloping good start with Tyrant and their righteous NWOBHM single Hold Back The Lightning. On the softer rock side, I’ve been talking about Marillion and Journey. Marillion’s Holidays In Eden got me wondering about albums with shite title tracks… can you think of any? And the comment scuttlebutt seems to be that Wheel In The Sky is the best Journey song. It’s official! On the more extreme end of things I’ve selected songs from Napalm Death and Testament and I’v ..read more

“But I know I’m in your calendar” I don’t know what the UK Christmas Number One was last year but mine was Avatarium’s Death, Where Is Your Sting. Taken from the album of the same name, Death, Where Is Your Sting is one of the Swedish band’s most affecting and memorable songs: dark, sumptuous pop with a doomy bottom end and a stirring vocal performance from Jennie-Ann Smith. I treated myself to the album in December and listened to it tons over the holidays. Mostly because it’s tremendous but also because its lush Scandi-mood made it the perfect soundtrack for 2022’s other festive obsession ..read more

It’s been two whole months since the last digest so let’s not waste time with idle banter! Here’s what’s been happening on the blog. Recent Posts Thin Lizzy – Thin Lizzy (Album Review) Lynott and chums scatter their beans over different scenes on their eclectic, but sleepy, debut. Stratovarius – Hunting High And Low (Song Review) Helloween – Why? (Song Review) Two power metal classics in a row. Why? Why the hell not. KISS – Bang Bang You (Song Review) Cause 80s KISS is the best! And you wanted the best. Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Knife-Edge (Song Review) This song rhymes seagull with eagle w ..read more

Extra! Extra! Read all about it. May was a very black metal month here at HMO, with strong new releases from Watain and Devil Master. I also listened to the Abbath album… a lot. And three of my four reviews on the blog were of that nefarious ilk. Athenar of Midnight Recent Posts Midnight – Lust Filth And Sleaze (Song Review) I’m fairly aggrieved that the phrase “put their log in the fiery place” has gone unnoticed. Emperor – I Am The Black Wizards (Song Review) In the comments, Kingcrimsonprog brought up the fun topic of mis-spellings on album sleeves. Any favourites typos out there? It wasn ..read more

“Hatred coming on from greater heights” Written and recorded specially for Paradise Lost’s 1994 EP Seals The Sense, Sweetness has become a much-loved gem in the band’s discography. Over time its status has been enhanced by its position as a B-Side underdog, to the extent that the band amused themselves by calling it “the greatest song ever written” in a recent interview. Northern piss-taking aside, it is an excellent track that hits the sweet spot between the heavy doom of Icon and the goth of Draconian Times. The combo of lead guitar and grinding riff in the chorus section is especially kil ..read more

“Put your legs in the flames” This is one winter wonderland you won’t be walking in. Autopsy’s In The Grip Of Winter is one of my absolute favourite death metal tracks. It’s a tale of arctic demise, perfectly expressed with (impending) doom metal swagger, panic-stricken death metal hammering and blizzardy guitar solos. It’s brilliant stuff and one of the tracks I always spin the minute I feel a chill in the air. There’s an even frostier version of this on the Mental Funeral album but this earlier version (from 1991’s Retribution For The Dead EP) emphasises the doom with its humongous, fat so ..read more

“How much longer are you gonna pay, for yesterday” Today I was listening to The Sab’s Dehumanizer for the first time in ages. Sins Of The Father stood out, which caught me by surprise cause it’s usually my least favourite track on the whole thing. It’s a bit meh of riff and the Beatlesque opening bit doesn’t do much for me. But as it picks up pace and intensity it creeps up on you and Dio sounds so committed: giving it full majestic welly on the awesome chorus and delivering the typically cryptic lyrics like they’re the most important words, ever. A dark horse track on an album that still im ..read more