Review by Vladimir on January 1, 2023.

I’ll admit that I am not a huge fan of stoner/doom metal nor sludge/stoner/doom metal, although for some years I’ve been a big fan of Conan from the UK, famous for playing such style of music, inspired by themes of sci-fi, fantasy, and “sword and sorcery” as well. Going back to my first time hearing this band back in 2018 when Existential Void Guardian was released, I was actually amazed by their style and sound which they dubbed “Caveman battle doom”, and upon hearing their earlier albums I got instantly hooked, especially with Blood Eagle. Conan has become my go-to band whenever I needed some escape from reality while imagining a very violent fantasy world of sword and sorcery that was crafted by talented visionaries such as Ken Kelly, Boris Vallejo, Frank Frazetta etc., so it was a big surprise for me when I saw that they released their fifth full-length album Evidence Of Immortality on August 19th 2022. Caveman battle doom legends came back to once again penetrate armors with spears and swords, chop heads with battle axes, crush skulls with war hammers and grind shields with blood and iron. Does Evidence Of Immortality bring back the action we craved for?

Slow, downtuned, heavy distorted riffs with a very dirty/fuzzy guitar tone, shouting vocals by Jon Davis and guttural vocals by Chris Fielding make an epic return to the battlefield for this new album. All tracks possessing such familiar traits that have always been a part of their signature style, with rocking drums that switch to blast beats on 'Levitation Hoax' and d-beat on 'Ritual Of Anonymity'. Tracks 'Ritual Of Anonymity' and 'Righteous Alliance' have quite a bit of catchiness to their riffs which will make you bang your head in sync, even though 'Righteous Alliance' is the shortest track on the album it still does its best to get your attention. The final track 'Grief Sequence' is the longest and definitely a more atmospheric sounding song and is also the only instrumental track on the album, with added synthesizers by David Perry who was also present on the Conan vs. Slomatics split album. The song is quite repetitive on the first half but it decides to switch things on the other half with an added guitar melody and some actual progression, with a very crystal echoing synth noise that wraps up the entire album. The sound production, as always, keeps things the way they’re supposed to be for Conan, dirty and fuzzy guitar tone, distorted bass and both vocals were once again wonderfully produced, mixed and mastered by Chris Fielding. Another great trait of this album besides its tracks is the bloody artwork by Tony Roberts, which fits quite well with Conan’s music and the rest of their discography.

Evidence Of Immortality may not be their best album nor does it want to take that rightful crown which belongs to their earlier works such as Monnos and Blood Eagle, but it is still an awesome album for Conan fans that doesn’t break its promise in delivering caveman battle doom riffs and bloody action. This band will obviously never let go of what they do best and their fans are certainly not asking for it, it is obvious that there is a strong connection between the band and its fans that will be an everlasting union of love and passion for many years to come.

Rating: 8.1 out of 10

Review by Vladimir on January 1, 2023.

I’ll admit that I am not a huge fan of stoner/doom metal nor sludge/stoner/doom metal, although for some years I’ve been a big fan of Conan from the UK, famous for playing such style of music, inspired by themes of sci-fi, fantasy, and “sword and sorcery” as well. Going back to my first time hearing this band back in 2018 when Existential Void Guardian was released, I was actually amazed by their style and sound which they dubbed “Caveman battle doom”, and upon hearing their earlier albums I got instantly hooked, especially with Blood Eagle. Conan has become my go-to band whenever I needed some escape from reality while imagining a very violent fantasy world of sword and sorcery that was crafted by talented visionaries such as Ken Kelly, Boris Vallejo, Frank Frazetta etc., so it was a big surprise for me when I saw that they released their fifth full-length album Evidence Of Immortality on August 19th 2022. Caveman battle doom legends came back to once again penetrate armors with spears and swords, chop heads with battle axes, crush skulls with war hammers and grind shields with blood and iron. Does Evidence Of Immortality bring back the action we craved for?

Slow, downtuned, heavy distorted riffs with a very dirty/fuzzy guitar tone, shouting vocals by Jon Davis and guttural vocals by Chris Fielding make an epic return to the battlefield for this new album. All tracks possessing such familiar traits that have always been a part of their signature style, with rocking drums that switch to blast beats on 'Levitation Hoax' and d-beat on 'Ritual Of Anonymity'. Tracks 'Ritual Of Anonymity' and 'Righteous Alliance' have quite a bit of catchiness to their riffs which will make you bang your head in sync, even though 'Righteous Alliance' is the shortest track on the album it still does its best to get your attention. The final track 'Grief Sequence' is the longest and definitely a more atmospheric sounding song and is also the only instrumental track on the album, with added synthesizers by David Perry who was also present on the Conan vs. Slomatics split album. The song is quite repetitive on the first half but it decides to switch things on the other half with an added guitar melody and some actual progression, with a very crystal echoing synth noise that wraps up the entire album. The sound production, as always, keeps things the way they’re supposed to be for Conan, dirty and fuzzy guitar tone, distorted bass and both vocals were once again wonderfully produced, mixed and mastered by Chris Fielding. Another great trait of this album besides its tracks is the bloody artwork by Tony Roberts, which fits quite well with Conan’s music and the rest of their discography.

Evidence Of Immortality may not be their best album nor does it want to take that rightful crown which belongs to their earlier works such as Monnos and Blood Eagle, but it is still an awesome album for Conan fans that doesn’t break its promise in delivering caveman battle doom riffs and bloody action. This band will obviously never let go of what they do best and their fans are certainly not asking for it, it is obvious that there is a strong connection between the band and its fans that will be an everlasting union of love and passion for many years to come.

Rating: 8.1 out of 10

Review by Adam M on November 20, 2018.

The Ocean come back with another epic album of post-metal bliss that echoes the waves of the ocean once again.  Here we have music that echoes Cult of Luna in its power, yet has an extra dimension of grace to make for a more complete listen.  They even added a guest spot by Jonas Renske of Katatonia on Devonian: Nascent to add more variety to the proceedings. 

Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic definitely isn’t afraid to become more moody and morose at times and cataclysmic at others.  It is an album that balances power and majesty to craft a worthwhile experience for all to witness.  How does it differ from the last album Pelagial?  Well, one could consider it more atmospheric and less progressive, but the music is still complex enough to be considered progressive.  There are sections that flat out overpower the listener, but there are others that are used to create a more subtle mood as well.  The differences from the likes of Pelegial are clear and make this a wonderfully fresh listen.  It is still post-metal however and if you never liked the genre before, this will do nothng to change your mind.  The songs are still trance-like and require some patience to absorb. 

The vocals on the album are nicely done and mostly in the harsh sense although there are the occasional clean portions as well.  Guitars are cascading and deliver huge sounds towards the listener even when more restrained.  The solid drumming nicely rounds out the listening experience. This is an album that fans of the band will jump all over, but will probably not get the amount of respect it deserves.  This band has fully established itself now and has a diversity that is welcome to behold.  Post-metal pundits should jump on this, but so should fans of good music in general.

Rating: 8.6 out of 10