"Virginia is for lovers" or so it is said of the state that saw the birth of Doom Metal exporters FOEHAMMER. Make no mistake, there is no love to be found anywhere on their new self-titled album, released in April of 2015. And just to specify, there is no relation to the song "Foe Hammer" by EXMORTUS, though the very name is pretty cool and I believe is a reference to the sword Gandalf wields in the "Lord Of The Rings" saga. On that note, this album is chocked full of as much of the Sludge, fuzz, and wall-of-sound that you can handle.

"Foehammer" is a three-song-and-done release that has a no-frills approach to the Funeral Doom style that the band decided to create. That being the case, the total playing time still hits and exceeds the thirty-minute mark, courtesy of the stereotypical extremely long Doom Metal song lengths. The mood is set by the imagery of hooded figures in black robes, walking two-by-two out of some sacred temple, under the cold moonlight after performing rituals of darkness.

Like so many other bands in the genre, FOEHAMMER have now churned out some heavy-hitting, massive-sounding tunes that seem to imply that the band could care less if you blow up your speaker system as a result of playing their music too loudly. The notoriously slow Doom Metal tempo is present and trance-inducing. "Jotnar" gave me the feel as if I was tripping on acid while sitting on a nasty couch in a smoke-filled room with a single red light, surrounded by faceless intoxicated figures. I totally dig it.

The riffs will drone the sanity from your brain, and Jay Cardinell's vocals reminded me of a Death Metal style and gave me the urge to try and clear my throat. All elements of the music are well-executed and the recording expertise of Noel Mueller (Grimoire Records) at the Cellar Door studio helped to complete the process and give the elements that sick tone. All in all, FOEHAMMER are exactly on par with some of the biggest names in Doom Metal and this album says they are twisting the genre to be their own and making no apologies!