On an otherwise
unremarkable July evening in 2015, 3 people from Portsmouth decided to meet up
with 2 people from Crawley. Past and present members of underground UK bands
who were drawn together by a musical appreciation of the slow and heavy. Ale
was consumed, obscure bands were discussed and eventually plans were formed to
drag their hungover selves to a practice room at the incredibly-doom-ridden
time of 10am on a Sunday.
Since that monumental day Grim Ravine released a debut self titled EP in 2015 and will now release “The Light is From Below” on Feb 17th via Black Bow Records. This new EP contains 4 tracks of suffocating, atmospheric and thoroughly vile sludge metal that is highly recommended for fans of Rwake and Eyehategod. As the band remarks "We are proud to present our latest offering, The Light is from Below. This recording incorporates doom worship, fuzz and misery to create sounds from the abyss."
Since that monumental day Grim Ravine released a debut self titled EP in 2015 and will now release “The Light is From Below” on Feb 17th via Black Bow Records. This new EP contains 4 tracks of suffocating, atmospheric and thoroughly vile sludge metal that is highly recommended for fans of Rwake and Eyehategod. As the band remarks "We are proud to present our latest offering, The Light is from Below. This recording incorporates doom worship, fuzz and misery to create sounds from the abyss."
Suffice to say Grim
Ravine are one of the finest purveyors of extreme blackened doom to
emerge from the UK and we at The
Sludgelord invited guitarist Martin Shouler to share his thoughts on
his top 5 blackened doom records, as well as debuting a brand new song from
their soon to be released EP, in the form of “Shrine of Misery”
and be sure to turn the dial up to 11.
Indian - "From All Purity"
If you're going to do a final album, this is how
to do it. A huge filthy beast of an album with one of my favourite vocalists in
the genre. Adding the noise element to their sound (probably because they
weren't harsh enough on earlier releases??) shows that they were willing to
expand their sound, who knows where they would have gone after this...
Wolvserpent
- "Aporia:Kāla:Ananta"
The first half is a beautifully eerie orchestral
soundscape which then gives way to a huge wall of distorted guitars and
harrowing vocals. Much like taking a long pleasant country walk up a hill, only
to fall down a cliff on the other side, break both your legs and be eaten alive
by animals. Great stuff.
Culted - "Below The Thunders of the Upper Deep"
The harsh vocals over droning, doom riffs and
general atmosphere make this a very bleak listen. Add in some drone and this is
both haunting and very, very heavy. With a vocalist that's never met the rest
of the band in person it's surprising how well this album works.
Hell
- "II"
Could have chosen any of the trilogy albums for
this but "II" was my first
introduction to Hell and as good a place as any to start. Moving
between dense blackened doom and clean guitars with ease this album is
thoroughly unpleasant in the best possible way. A band that truly live up to
their name.
Sea Witch - "The Blackened Sea"
Instrumental blackened doom that goes for a dark
ambiance rather than all out menace. Crushing riffs and hypnotic guitar rhythms
aplenty. A great example of the title and artwork matching the sounds
within. Never judge a book by its cover, but you can judge Sea Witch by
theirs.
