Stygian Crown - Stygian Crown (Cruz Del Sur, 2020)

As far as I am concerned, you can never have enough doom metal, particularly when it is of a high standard. While this in itself is a simple philosophy, Stygian Crown have once again proven it valid with the release of their self-titled debut, an album that does everything right. As a result, it has rapidly ascended to a firm place on my top releases of the year so far and would appear to be one that I will be returning to quite regularly in the future.

River Of Souls - Usurper (Independent, 2020)

Anyone who knows me is well aware how big a fan I am of doom metal so the fact that I somehow managed to miss "The Well Of Urd", the debut album from River of Souls that was released three years ago, is a travesty given that their interpretation of doom metal is clearly, with the benefit of hindsight, something that I really should have been all over*. Thankfully history didn't repeat itself with the purchase and arrival of their second album "Usurper" which has proven to be a very welcome surprise in a year that has already been strong when it comes to doom metal.

My Dying Bride - The Ghost Of Orion (Nuclear Blast, 2020)

It is appropriate that the first post here is about the new My Dying Bride album "The Ghost Of Orion" as they remain one of my favourite bands and have never disappointed me, even the derided "34.788%...Complete" has its merits as far as I am concerned. Having divulged this information it is probably fair to say that the chances of me being completely objective are slim at best so take what follows with a grain of proverbial salt.