The
debut LP from Würzburg’s Cranial was an album high on our list of most
anticipated heavy releases of 2017. “Dark
Towers
Cranial honed their
Earth-shattering attack to razor-sharp perfection and expanded the scope of
their music to galactic levels of grandeur.
All of the hallmarks of post-metal are present; epic ten minute
compositions, seismic shifts in dynamics, crushing riffs, however what set Cranial
apart from their peers is the venom in their delivery, all of the smooth edges
have been filed away to leave only the heaviest and nastiest elements. The band
are a relentless riff engine, churning out a constant flow of thick sludge,
like Neurosis
channelling the almighty crunch of early Mastodon. This is best exemplified by the
cataclysmic ending on the track “Dark”. Just when you think the dust
has settled on the track, an ominous riff slowly moves into view which, when
fully unleashed, feels like it could level all buildings in a ten mile radius,
like a Godzilla-sized version of Sumac.
Cranial have taken a genre that
now often sounds slick and safe and stripped it back to its raw essence to make
it furious and alive once more. This German quartet has well and truly
imprinted themselves upon us at The Sludgelord and have firmly establishing themselves as one of our favourite bands and
we can only hope they leave the same impression upon you.
Today
we invite Bastian, Michael, Julian and Cornelius, better know as Cranial to
choose their top 5 albums from post metal and sludge, as take our weekly trip into the extreme, by cranking it to 11. Why do we go to 11, because “It’s one louder, isn’t it?”
Men In
Search Of The Perfect Weapon – “S/T” chosen by Cornelius
Heavy,
Doom, Sludge, Melody - one of my favourite albums that leaves nothing to be
desired concerning sound, songwriting, rhythms and riffs. Published in 2005,
the album still shows how it’s done. Sadly they split up not too long
afterwards.
Neurosis – “Souls At Zero” chosen by
Bastian
It’s
not easy to pick one album by Neurosis but I think the one that had the
biggest impact on me and how I still see music is “Souls At Zero”. This
album marks (in my eyes) the transition between Hardcore/Punk and atmospheric
heavy music. Perfect atmosphere, dark melodys and heavy riffs without any
savage Metal-Attitude.
YOB – “The Unreal Never Lived”
chosen by Michael
I
stumbled over YOB's
– “The
Unreal Never Lived” a decade ago in a local record store. The opener "Quantum
mystic" with its mesmerizing and thundering main riff was and is
still an instant jawdropper. If you can handle Mike's pissed-off-grandma clean
vocals, YOB
deliver a unique, earthshaking sound that bulldozes everything in its way und
grabs you by your balls. This band is probably the biggest influence on my
guitar play.
Hellshock – “Shadows Of the Afterworld”
chosen by Julian
This
album (released 2005) is very groundbreaking and there is no way to get along
without it. No matter how many times I put on the record, everything’s still
hard, fast, dark, and above all ... just a masterpiece. Especially the vocals,
very cold and straight, but the feeling of gloom never breaks down. A must have
for those, who like dark anthems in their purest form.
Eyehategod – “In The Name Of Suffering”
chosen by Bastian
I
discovered the debut album of Eyehategod when I was 15. I was heavy into
Punk and this music was scary and fascinating at the same time for me. So
nihilistic and sick, it totally caught my attention.
Cranial’s latest album “Dark Towers
Band info: facebook
