Mini Reviews From Around The Bowl (10/17/25)
Around and around we go
Friendship Commanders – BEAR
Magnetic Eye Records | October 10th, 2025
I’ve been repping this band in TMP for the last few weeks for good reason. The duo is dropping some killer fuzz rock, highlighted by an emotive vocal performance from Buick Audra. Reminiscent of Mlny from Royal Thunder, she can get low and gritty just to turn around and kill with a light melodic run. The arrangements are simple, hook-focused, and sound incredibly lush (thanks, Kurt Ballou). This probably won’t get a ton of attention in the metal world with its poppier sensibilities, but it’s so damn fun. Check it out if you’re looking for something a little different that somehow feels incredibly familiar. – Joaquin Stick
An Abstract Illusion – The Sleeping City
Willowtip Records | October 17th, 2025
I love a huge swing, and the Swedish progressive band An Abstract Illusion has the repertoire to take the risk. The Sleeping City is grandiose, full of rich atmosphere driven by unique keyboard work that is punched straight through by intense black and death metal with shreddy solos. There are some great moments where it all comes together, showcasing the ability to reach perfect climactic highs by using an impressive dynamic range. But I think the enormity of the space isn’t quite filled by those moments. It’s a beautiful room that needs a little more furniture. A rug to tie the room together, perhaps. I’ll likely keep this one on the playlist for a while and see if something clicks, since I think they really have something interesting going on here, and any fan of big heavy prog should too. My criticism might just be a victim of lofty expectations. – Joaquin Stick
Cathedral – Society’s Pact With Satan
Rise Above Records | October 3rd, 2025
Leave it to Cathedral, one of the most iconic stoner doom bands of all time, to get so baked in the studio that they forgot to release a sprawling, conceptual opus like this. Recorded in 2013 at the tail end of The Last Spire‘s sessions, Society’s Pact With Satan stands as a powerful condemnation of global society in late-stage-capitalism and a killer slab of heavy metal in its own right. The track effortlessly flows between thick, funeral doom atmospherics and sludgy pounding with a level of grace that only comes decades into your career. Its hefty, grim, and powerful on a musical level, which perfectly matches the lyrical themes of authoritarian regimes and violence on the world stage (lyrical themes that have grown even more prevalent in the past twelve years since recording. Cathedral sounds as good as ever and delivers a modern analog to Sabbath’s “War Pigs,” just way longer. Get comfy, get high, get scared. – Sean Ghoulson
